#21: Drag Queen Bingo at Hamburger Mary's

I have to say, this was one of the items on my list that I was MOST looking forward to.

I first heard about Drag Queen Bingo from my fabulous friend Jacob who introduced me to a drag queen named Miss Barbie Que who told me she sometimes calls bingo at Hamburger Mary's on Wednesdays.

Say whaaaaah?? Drag queens... bingo... hamburgers... sign me up!!

I decided to go over to Hamburger Mary's in West Hollywood on a lovely Wednesday night in February. My amazing friends Meaghan and Tracy came with me for the festivities. There are two bingo shows each night - one at 7:00 and one at 9:30. We opted for the later show since I had to work late that night. So when we got the Hamburger Mary's, we had to wait in line a bit outside for the first show to end. After a few minutes they sat us, and we immediately ordered big margaritas (I got a "Skinny Bitch" which was pretty strong and delicious). Tracy and I decided to split a table of sliders, which was a great idea because we got to sample each of their specialty burgers.

After we ordered we signed up for bingo, paid $20 per person (100% of the proceeds go to featured charities, that night it was the Trevor Project) and got our cards. Each person gets a pack of 10 bingo cards, plus 2 smaller cards to play for special prizes at the end. We got our markers and were good to go!

Then our Bingo Madame of the evening came out. Her name was Bridgette of Madison County and she was feisty!!! She taught us some of the call backs like "I-29... Yes I am, and holding!" and "O-68... you do me and I'll owe you one!" Our first game was going to be traditional bingo, any 5 spots in a row would win.

Bridgette: What do we play?

Crowd: BINGO!!

Bridgette: And how do we play it?

Crowd: LOUUDDLLLYYYY!!!

So we played the first game, and much to our delight when we lost, they made the winner run through the crowd while we crumpled up our losing cards and threw them at the winner!

The 2nd game, we were going to play "tops and bottoms" meaning you had to get the whole top row, or whole bottom row. Pretty soon into the game, I had 4 of the top spots on my card filled. Oh hell yeah, I might just win bingo for the first time in my life!! All I needed was B-14. So when I heard Bridgette shout out "In order to date Roman Polanski, you have to.... B-14!!!" I pretty much screamed BINGOOOO!!!! and ran to the front of the restaurant. Bridgette congratulated me on being a "top." Unfortunately, another girl had gotten bingo with me as well... so for the tie-break Bridgette had two bingo balls in her hand and said "GRAB MY BALLS!" so we each took one, and the person with the highest number would win. I had 74 (highest number in bingo is 75) so I was pretty certain I had won. AND I WON!!!!!!!! So then I had to do my very own run of shame through the restaurant, getting pelted by loser cards from every direction. As I ran past my table, Tracy and Meg had no shame about chucking theirs at me too! (Even though Tracy was SO stoked that I won!). When I made it back up to the front, Bridgette presented me with my prize... as she prefaced it, "the BEST prize of the night!" I won the "Disney Basket" complete with some Disney DVDs, a Disney autograph book with pen, a mickey-ears hat, and 2 tickets to Disneyland!!! The rest of the night, the prizes weren't nearly as good. I could hardly believe my good luck :)

The next few games we played were a bit different.. we played "M for Mary" where bingo was having a big M on your board, and a fan favorite, "pork and beans" where you have to basically get the shape of a penis on your card to win. During that game, a girl called bingo, but when she went up to claim her prize, Bridgette saw that she didn't actually have bingo. So she made the false-bingo caller put her hands on a table and bend over, and Bridgette spanked her (HARD!) with a small whip! The girl thought it was going to be funny but when you heard the CRACK of the whip... we all felt a bit sorry for her, even if she did try to cheat at bingo!

I already knew that this night was going to be one of the most fun Wednesdays I had ever had, but I didn't even have any IDEA how rad it was going to end up. It's such a great feeling to go into something with high expectations, and STILL be completely blown away. Of course, WINNING didn't hurt that at all, but my girlfriends who I was with still had a ton of fun even though they didn't win. I cannot wait to go back again, support a charity, yell really loudly, throw things at people, and drink a strong margarita. This is a definite MUST-DO for all Angelenos and friends visiting on Wednesdays!!

Oh and PS- they bring you your bill in a high heel shoe. Love it!

Me with my winnings - thanks to Tracy for insisting I take photographic evidence!!

#31: See a movie at the El Capitan Theatre

No matter who you are or where you are from, if you find yourself in LA you will most likely end up walking down Hollywood Boulevard. You will be accosted by creepy celebrity impersonators, mobbed by hoards of Asian tourists with $3,000 cameras, you will be blinded by all the LIGHTS!, but also... deep down inside, you will be somewhat awe-struck and inspired by the old-style Hollywood glamour that still shines through.

The El Capitan is a truly iconic theater, and a dazzling example of old Hollywood glamour and excess. The exterior is beautiful, with a huge marquee that literally lights up the street, but the inside is amazing as well. The theater was built in the 1920's, at the same time as the other famous theaters, the Egyptian and the Chinese, just down the street. It was built for stage performances, and though there is now a huge screen there, the stage remains. The walls are intricately guilded, and walking in you really feel like you're being transported to another time.

Besides its beautiful decor, what makes the El Cap different from all other theaters is that it exclusively plays Disney movies. And with the increased ticket price, they usually have added-on features, like a 30-minute play beforehand, models from the animation studios on display, etc. I was hoping to wait till summer and see Cars 2 there, but when randomly saw online that they were playing THE LITTLE MERMAID for a limited engagement, there was no question.

I happened to mention this to my friend Meaghan, who flipped out since apparently the Little Mermaid is her very favorite Disney movie of ALL TIME (I was always an Ariel fan, but my #1 pick has to go to Sleeping Beauty). We made arrangements to go on a Wednesday night in February. Before the show, we went to Mel's Diner on the corner of Hollywood and Highland. It was a classic little diner, with lots of kitchy Hollywood paraphernalia (doesn't hurt that Mel's shares a wall with The Hollywood Museum!)

After our quick dinner we went to see the show. The interior was breathtaking (as expected) and we made it to our VIP Balcony seats (Meg insisted on paying for the BEST seats, so she could get the best view of her Ariel!). Before the show, "Ariel" came out, and welcomed us, introduced the movie, sang us a song and then floated off (back under the stage) amidst a sea of bubbles. It was pretty cute, and I can only imagine how stoked I would have been to see this as a kid. The people sitting around us were all early-20-somethings, and luckily they were game to sing along to all the songs like we were!

I absolutely loved my El Cap experience, but I'm sure that has a LOT to do with the fact that I went there to see a classic film from my childhood. If I had paid $22 to see "Mars Needs Moms" or some other potentially lame movie, I would probably have been a bit disappointed. Luckily I found the perfect combo.

I will be checking the El Cap website regularly to see when they are playing other childhood classics, and then I will be sure to return!

The marquee as seen from Hollywood Blvd