Don's Superhero Bash

I got really excited when I was invited to Don's Superhero themed birthday party.  I was hunting for a costume and finally found a Green Lantern costume.  Yes!  Jimmy was also able to borrow a Robin costume that was a little small which was perfect for showing off his pecs.

 This was the first time I've attended one of Don's party and I was really impressed with the detail like this polaroid station at the entry.

And the comic book style guest book!  Oh yes - Joker Nurse outfit was amazing.

The bats in the bathroom caught my eye.

So many desserts!

When Don did his birthday speech he announced that he was dressed up as "Fatwoman" because he's old and fat now.  He also introduced his straight friend who is a virgin.

A lot of similar elements to 321 parties, but taken to the next level.  Don's place has real furniture, not stuff off the street.  So it felt less frat house more adult living space. The backyard is large and with a projector playing old super hero cartoons.  He also had real catering from a Thai place.  I rarely feed my guests. LOL - yall can feed yourselves!

Charles was freaking out about not having a costume, but woah - he forgot about his leather pull over and skull mask from our prop bin.  Work that whip!

They also up-ed their photobooth game with a remote timer, amazing comic props and a cityscape backdrop that probably took HOURS to make.  That's all tape and I have no idea how they achieved that.

Wilton wins as Sailor Mercury!  Nailed it!  Ryan also made his Nightwing costume.  Loved seeing variations of the same superhero costume.  My borrowed costume was nicely padded and my ring pop lit the way.

Spectacular party!

90s Party on the Marina

Found myself in the marina on a boat wearing clothes from the 90s.

I wore my butt crack hair style that I did for homecoming in high school and I pulled out my baggy jeans.  Other folks went for boyband, office person, eminem?

These two practiced their Wayne's World face.

The weather and view was perfect.  I've boated in the Marina before, but I was usually too busy drinking to fully appreciate my surroundings.

Sailboats coming our way!

Sunday Brunch at Escala

 Escala - Artistic Soul Food.

I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered Sunday Brunch at this place in Koreatown.  The Chapman Market Plaza looks like a mystery for any one who just drives past it down 6th street.  That's because all of the bars are facing inward so you don't have much of a store front.  But not any more with the entry of Escala.  The giant windows face the street and give patrons great ventilation and view.  I can hear in my head passerbys saying.. WHATS THAT!?!

The decor inside is very cool.  The DJ spinning tracks on Sunday adds to the vibe which I was soaking up all morning.  Some of the decorative elements are obviously added in, but some made me wonder if they were originally a part of the building.  There was a Spanish church/mission feel that I thought was very unique.

Eventually this place will be busy, but right now it's not on the radar and all the creatures-of-habit will continue go to their usual brunch spots and wait one hour for a seat.  While Escala smiles from across the street.

 Food was pretty good.  Portions are smaller than what I'm used to, but this is probably a good thing.  We should get away from the notorious American sizes.  #supersizeme.  Chilaquiles,  Eggs Benedict and Loco Moco interpretations get an A plus for plating... but nothing to travel out of the way for.  The venue and energy were the most delicious parts of the morning.

 Oh and this Mango Chili Mimosa... t  Though I wanted a better punch.  MORE Mango.  MORE Chili!  For that I should have ordered the Sancho Reyes.  But tequila in the morning.. i guess I've made worst decisions.

 Oh and the Cafe de Columbia is $.25.  No joke.  Get it.

Sixty Beverly Hills - Rooftop Pool Party Movie Screening

My company hosted a summer party for our clients:  a roof top pool party movie screening in Beverly Hills.  No sure how much Los Angeles you can get with this event.

 During the early evening we enjoyed some sliders and the view.  I didn't know this place existed, but it was definitely one of the best rooftops I've experienced.  I'm wondering how open to the public this place is.  I also wondered how much my company put down to reserve all of this.

 As the sun set, the DJs started to relax and watch the screening of Weird Science from their cabanas.  A couple of people including myself got into the pool.

 I really wanted to invite my friends.  At the end of the night there were a ton of tubes and beach balls left to be disposed.  One of the clients took a handful of deflated ones for her church retreat.  I took as much as I could and called for a Lyft.  I stuff the giant trash bag of inflatables into his backseat and opened the passenger door to find my driver holding up a white board that read, "how's your night?  I'm deaf."  I was amused.  He was probably amused by my bag.  We chatted via white board at each red light.  He was a nice guy and I was interested in "talking" to him as much as I could write.  Like a white guy showing off his second year Mandarin, I gestured "thank you" in American Sign.  I didn't really see any sign that he was impressed so I just exited the car... maybe my accent was off.

Selfies as Reassurance

Last Thursday I attended a comedy show.  After the show, I got on stage to take a picture with some guys.  The mic was in front of us and the guys thought it would be funny to speak into the mic and spit gibberish.  We were quickly scolded by the staff, but here is the result of that group picture.

Lots of things weren't working for me that evening.  My awkward expression as a reaction to being yelled at.  My shirt that's one size too small even though I recently bought it and my hair which fell flat on my head giving me a really nice middle school look.  It's also not my best side.

One of the comedians that evening made a joke about how we look in the mirror and get disgusted with ourselves until we find the perfect angle.  When we find our go-to angle we say to ourselves, "I'm hot shit" and continue with out day.  After seeing this picture I declined an outing in Hollywood, Sunset Strip.  I felt inadequate.  I came home and showed Jimmy pouting - "HOW CAN YOU LOVE SOMEONE THIS UGLY!"  He looked at this picture and started to laugh!  Defending his chuckles as a reaction at the silly expression that I had.  But to me, this is what I look like that evening.  And it made me sad.   This is what I look like when I'm not smiling, adjusting, posing for a camera.  I dramatically concluded from this photo that I have completely let myself go and I should just jump into the gross tank and die.

The next day I put more product in my hair, wore a better shirt and took a selfie.  There it was... my angle.  Hair is up, mustache is macho, tummy is hidden, eyes are soft.  This is the guy that I think I look like.. this is the guy that I think appears in front of people 24/7.  This is #me.

It's a reassurance.  It's an adjustment of my reflection that I'm satisfied with which allows me to feel confident, capable and valuable.  Regardless of what people say - "stop it, you look fine!" The only thing that can convince me is... a selfie.  A selfie that is not candid, but rather an image of the BEST angle, best expression, best side, and best lighting.  Completely not candid... completely a facade.

And it helps that people "like it" to make me feel that much better, giving me more self worth. You can conclude that more reassurance is achieved with frequent selfies.  And this one picture was sufficient... for the weekend.  15 likes?  Including my own like?  I'll take it.

#selfie #nofilter #selfimage #candid
#generationAnalysis

Echo Park Lake... It Looks Like A Painting

I've blogged about Echo Park Lake many times before, but it's because I love it and don't use it enough.  I get amused when people from West LA ask me if it's safe.  To them I respond with the picture above.  It looks like a fucking painting... but with people of color.. that's how safe it is.

In July we enjoyed the return of the Lotus Festival  which brought us some culture dance shows, festival foods and dragon boats.

But I guess it's good that people think Echo Park is dangerous because it keeps them out of the neighborhood. For your organic kale and cupcakes, please stay west of the 405.  The fact of the matter is, this neighborhood is ethnically diverse and if you're scared to come here please stay away so that we can enjoy it.

PADDLE BOATING

In June, Tommy had a low key birthday celebration at the lake.  We had brunch at the boat house where they served us food at our picnic spot (So as long as our number was visible from the kitchen)  What wonderful service.  Tommy wanted us to paddle boat and pretend we were mario karting... but we quickly realized how tiring padding was.   Though we got pretty close to the fountain and got a little moist.   We noticed a drone above our heads and I found the video clip! If you squint, you can see us!



I also made a video using a simple video editing APP.  Check it out!