Viva Las Vegas
Category: travel
Visions of Hawaii
Just returned from a week-long visit to Hawaii. I lived there for a couple of years, and it’s bittersweet to see it again. I miss it already. Hawaii is a place where the blues and greens take over the senses and the ocean water wears the skin down, just like it would a stone rolling in the waves for hundreds of years. Here are some photos from the trip:
I’m lucky enough to miss this place
Well open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and damn you’re free
Look into your heart and you’ll find love love love love
Listen to the music of the moment, maybe sing with me
All – ah peaceful melody
And it’s our God-forsaken right to be loved.
Jason Mraz’s video “I’m Yours” was filmed on the islands of Oahu and Kauai. I stumbled upon it today, and can’t stop watching it.
I was lucky enough to live in Hawaii for a couple of years, and there’s no place like it on earth. People are friendly, the sky is a beautiful piercing blue and the friendships last forever. Greens and blues are as ever-present as the sun. There, possibilities are endless, as is love. Some people say paradise doesn’t exist. They’ve never lived in Hawaii.
I try not to think of it too much because my heart breaks a little every time. I never thought I could develop a love for a home so fast. And at the same time, feel I’ll never get it back as it once was.
If you’ve never been there, I insist you must go. Stay for a week, stay forever.
Someday, I hope to have a home there. Someday.
San Diego
Butterflies, fauna and flora–San Diego’s a beautiful place. More photos from the beach and Balboa Park:
And something a tad strange:
A woman at Balboa Park has confused her dogs with babies. Instead of walking them, she strolled her two pups around in a stroller, and then held them like infants. That’s love.
Death of a Nightclub– GOA
I’ve been working in the nightclub business for the past couple of years. While I think bottle service is ridiculous, it has paid for food on my table and a roof over my head.
An added benefit has been a crash course in the business of nightlife. What I’ve realized is that in a city like LA, nightlife is a world of its own.
Clubs come and go faster than a rainstorm or the latest fashion trend here. The best recent example of this is GOA.
I went to GOA right after it opened. A beautiful chain-link ceiling, large spacious rooms and a beautiful crowd made is seemed destined for Hollywood greatness. But it turns out GOA is already floundering.
Because of a licensing conflict, GOA is changing into a restaurant. This Friday is the last night for one of their biggest promotions.
There have been several complaints about the noise and over-capacity of the place as of late, filled with D-list wanna-be-celebs like Heidi Montag. So, the owners are putting in tables, and serving sushi.
Even though they’re trying to stay afloat, most people know that a nightclub serving food doesn’t float well here. You don’t want to dance where you eat, most of the time. So, it is only a matter of time until GOA sinks all together.
Crowd at Goa
Sharkeez- Hermosa Beach reopens– A review
Hermosa’s most popular bar is ready for its comeback after burning down two years ago
By Rebecca Ford
Two years ago, Sharkeez in Hermosa Beach caught fire in the dark of night. The 80-year-old building burned to the ground, and by morning Hermosa Beach’s most famous bar was reduced to ashes.
But last month, the new and improved Sharkeez reopened after a $2 million rebuild. While keeping the same basic layout as the original, the beachside bar has undergone some serious upgrades. What was once beach-shack casual has turned pirate chic. Sharkeez now also offers a full food menu seven days a week, during all business hours. Add to that spiffy new LED lighting, a top-of-the-line DJ system and a disco ball. Luckily, Sharkeez has managed to keep the Cabo-like laid-back party atmosphere alive…
…see the rest at Metromix
Palm Trees
Something about a sunset and palm trees in LA….
Airport Havoc
Philadelphia (and also Newark it seems) airport have gone to the dogs– as in raining cats and dogs. Weather has caused a certain someone I was supossed to pick up at the airport at 6:30pm to be stuck at the Philly airport until 9pm, so that he will arrive at LAX at 2 :30AM. After waiting on the runway for SIX hours, the plane had to turn around and go back to the gate to refuel, adding a couple more hours onto the wait time.
And this is after a 9 hour flight from Europe.
Airports and flying are becoming one of the most frustrating vortexes in the world. I used to love traveling– the excitement of the airport, the friendly staff, and even the food. These days, after you take off your shoes, throw away your waters and expensive face cream just to make it through security, and then cram into your tiny seat only to receive water on a cross-country flight, well, all the magic is pretty much gone.
Now, add to that ridiculous delays and the grummbling that airlines are cutting the amount of fuel in the planes, and the experience becomes as much fun as your last dentist appointment.
Something’s gotta change. Or maybe it’s everything that’s gotta change– the economy, gas prices– everything.
Update on cell phone law
Driving in Santa Monica yesterday, I forgot–for about 30 seconds– about the new hands-free phone law. At a stoplight, I picked up my phone, dialed, and after one ring hung up when I remembered. It was only then that I noticed the taxi driver in the car next to me screaming at the top of his lungs for me to get off the phone.
I also have yet to see ONE person breaking this law, although I’ve heard about a few people getting tickets. It amazes me that people are following this law so religiously. Maybe it’s the novelty of it. If only people were as careful to follow the rest of the laws.
In the same day, I saw a car run a redlight, cut me off on the freeway (without a turnsignal) and one person not wearing their seatbelt.
Terminology of Traffic
Today is the day: the first day of the cell-phone ban. I never thought this day would come.
I was raised not to use my cell phone while driving. When I was pulling into my driveway once at the age of 16, my dad caught me talking on the cell phone and threatened to take away my car… ever since then I’ve pretty much avoided the drive-and-chat. Besides, I drive a stick and I lack the hand-hand coordination to drive and shift and talk.
So, I am often annoyed by careless cell phone drivers. And today’s law is OK with me. I took a random poll on my way to work this morning, wondering how many drivers would break the law on day one. On my 45 minute drive, I saw not one “hands-occupied” talker. And I only noticed about 7 blue tooth talkers. Maybe those little ear clips are too hard for me to see. Or maybe they are too cyborg-ish to wear.
My dad has a “hang up and drive” bumper sticker. That’s how important it is to him. I almost called him on my drive to work to celebrate…. but then I remembered… ah, the humor of the world.
So, to celebrate, I thought I would finally introduce my traffic terminology. It is often said that eskimos have hundreds of words for snow… well, I think there are probably about that many for the causes of traffic in LA. So here are a few I’ve come up with during my spare time in the car.
1. Ebb-and-flow: the mysterious slow and speed of the freeways. There’s no reason to it, but you can see the cars ahead of you breaking but the ones ahead of them speeding up. It’s like a slinky, but not as fun.
2. Accidental: There’s an accident. Whether a crane falls on the 405, or it is a fender bender, this really can be the end of the beginning of a good day for anyone.
3. Rubberneck: There’s an accident on the other side of the freeway, which has NOTHING to do with your side, but still causes painful traffic.
4. Rush hour: 7-10 am or 5-8 pm. Really big chunks of your day when EVERYONE is trying to get somewhere.
5. Event-based: Lakers game, Dodgers game, concert at the Hollywood Bowl. I once spent an extra hour in traffic because of a Jay-Z concert. Thanks for that.
6. Construction: Not only is your road closed, but the detour is jam packed. Like the night they closed the 5 when I was trying to get home from the airport at midnight. Not cool.
That’s all for now- gotta save some for my book!
Rebecca M Ford 