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Today: TWO chai lattes from Starbucks. One grande, one tall. VV and I came into work separately. I picked up a grande for myself on the way to work and when I got here I found the tall waiting on my desk. I've since finished both and now I feel kind of weird.

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Monday I was at the gym reading a Gwen Stefani interview and she mentioned a concert she had played at Irvine Meadows a few years back and I was like "Hey that's across the street from me right now!" and at that moment realized that No Doubt's "Settle Down" was playing over the gym's sound system. Coincidence? YES. I was amazed at the time. Anyway.

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HEYOOO

ready to roll

My only experience with the goth scene was something like 7-8 years ago when we accidentally went to a club on goth night. I was wearing a red t-shirt and jeans and was already kind of drunk. We paid cover and I hung on to Steve a little deliriously as we did a walkthrough of all the rooms and walked right out. My only experience with the Standard (both the Hollywood and DTLA locations) was being shut out. We tried going to the bar at the Hollywood location mid-week only to learn that it was closed to the public because there was going to be an event there later that night. We tried going to the DTLA location once but couldn't even get into the building (we wanted to go to the rooftop to dance) because we weren't hotel guests (and we paid for parking, too!).

Last Saturday was much more successful. We started out at the Standard for dinner and finished up at Dragonfly. It seemed legit to me but the Counselor and his gf K were disappointed that the goth revelers weren't quite as outré in dress as they normally are. The Counselor described it as being "a dive bar for vampires".

Photos, semi-color.

roasted baby artichoke

braised bacon

photobooth by the bathrooms. we tried taking some but they ended up being mostly k's head. counselor got cut out completely

whiskey soda

Left before closing. Hair smelled like fog fluid. Fell asleep in the car. In bed by 2:30.

HOLY WALK OF SHAME, BATMAN. Or that's what it looked like, anyway. Especially since she seemed visibly uncomfortable and kept tugging at the hem of the dress. I'm all about being overdressed and I have no issues with short skirts and visible bras and 5 inch stilettos (which she was also wearing) but whoa nelly it's 2pm on a Wednesday in an office building that has law offices, tech offices (that's us!) and a physical therapy office that caters mostly to the elderly...?! Where are you going...and where were you coming from?

Anyway, yay for my little non-update. I used to do a lot of these. Probably how I managed to create over 300 posts a year back in the day.

370 Common in Laguna Beach. Highly, highly recommend. Complimentary soft pretzel bites with horseradishy mustard to start, good cocktails, poutine (YUM), shepherd's pie, baked mac and cheese, and bread pudding. The bread pudding was good but not the best I've had. Everything else was above and beyond.

Break of Dawn. Always good.

Ramen Fujisan. Sides were subpar (karaage chicken and gyoza) but the ramen was delicious. Rich broth, perfectly cooked egg. For some reason it was super hot inside, though. Thermostat was set over 80F which seems to be a little extreme for a place that serves steamy cold-weather food.

More from the weekend later.

What’s the best black food?
Gim/Korean nori. Although I guess it's really green. But it's a blackish green, right?

How did you pass the time during your most recent extended blackout (power outage)?
I can't remember our last extended blackout! The last time I remember actually experiencing a blackout long enough to make me worry about the contents of my fridge was probably about 6-7 years ago. I was looking up places to buy dry ice and then the electricity came back.

When did you last play blackjack?
A couple months ago I think. Just one or two rounds during lunch with nothing at stake.

What are some songs in your iTunes (or other media player) whose titles contain the word black?
I need to go look!

Friday fivin' it for the first time in years!

(04:28:28 PM) vv: i need new shoes again
(04:38:40 PM) me!: we can match! http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/calvin-klein-russel-double-monk-strap-slip-on/3333655?siteId=J84DHJLQkR4-ttlvGKULudI_4DdBCKg7pg
(04:40:26 PM) me!: http://distilleryimage10.s3.amazonaws.com/be2f5f40464d11e2b9d422000a1fa429_7.jpg

Using youtube to learn how to gothdance

One of my new year's resolutions should really be to post more than I did last year, which shouldn't be hard. I haven't actually gone back and counted, but I wouldn't be surprised if my # of posts was below 50. Record low! (edit: just checked...I made 49 posts!)

Anyway, self-portrait because I haven't done one in a while. Remote but no tripod. Camera propped up on the stairs. I need some good ab exercises to do on days I don't go to the gym because they're pretty squishy. I also need to get better legs from somewhere.

And below is the big pile of crazy I'm making in the coat closet. I got rid of a ton of shoes over the summer when I moved out of my apartment but I think I need to do a second edit.

Here's last year's roundup. Apparently I was on my period on 12/31 so maybe I'm sort of regular after all. Hoping I'm not explosively bleeding on my wedding. This is a real concern of mine.