It's fun to be a skeptic of psychics and clairvoyants, but it's even more fun to be a believer and to be totally blown away. I've always wanted to get my tarot cards read, just to see how close they could come to the eventual truth.
My friend Barbara and I went and got our tarot cards read the other day. It was a last-minute decision and I didn't even prepare questions, but had a great time sitting back and hearing what the psychic had to tell me.
She gave me 5 separate readings, each of which I picked 12 random cards out of a deck of about 50. Each time, she was excited and happy to tell me that everything in my life was super, super positive. Lots of good things coming my way (yay!!). She had asked me if I had moved or relocated lately (yes!) and she told me that it was the absolute best decision for me and this new location was where I belonged. She asked if I was looking for a new job (yes!) and said she saw big success coming to me in my job search, specifically that I would find a job I LOVE at a big, industry-leader company.
She also knew I had an older brother who was a Taurus who traveled a lot and loves to fly. Like seriously, how could she know that?! She said that my brother looks over me and I'm lucky to have such a great relationship in my life. Awww, thanks Broski!
I loved all the positive messages, and she even gave me pretty specific times as to when I would get a job, get engaged, and have kids. Not that I will hold her to the dates, but I am excited to see if she's right!
With all this positive news, it was a completely wonderful experience. The psychic said that she really enjoyed my reading because she rarely gets to deliver such positive, good news! I'm sure I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if my future was filled with negativity or uncertainty.
However... She also told me that if and when I decide to have kids, I will have twin boys. Lord help me.
UPDATE: She told me I would find a job by the end of Pisces, which ends March 20. I was giving a job offer on March 14 and signed the papers on March 18! She said the pay would be great (it is) and that it would be an industry-leading company (also true)!
Showing posts with label Mid-City. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mid-City. Show all posts
Friday, February 1, 2013
Monday, May 30, 2011
#34: Comedy shows at Upright Citizens Brigade and the Groundlings
I've never been a big fan of comedy clubs. I've been to a total of two comedy shows in my life, both coincidentally at Cobbs Comedy Club in San Francisco. The first show was an absolutely crude, vile woman talking about how she "pleases her man" to put it lightly (ew) and the second show was Tracy Morgan doing stand-up. Though I'm a huge fan of his work on TV (Brian Fellows skits on SNL, Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock) his stand-up was crude and vile as well. I found myself laughing more out of shock than actual humor. So when my friends suggested going to some of LA's famous comedy clubs as part of my 2011 list, I did my very best to think of something else to do instead.
But then, around Christmas time last year, I found myself reading Kathy Griffin's memoir. Besides being an absolutely hilarious book, she talked about her years as a student and member of the Groundlings theater. Immediately, I knew the improv theaters of LA would be very different from the comedy clubs of SF.
The Groundlings and the Upright Citizens Brigade are both improv schools, where part of the curriculum is to perform nightly in front of a live audience. There are different themes to the shows, and a few are actually scripted. Even though sometimes they may have famous guests, for the most part it's unknown young actors in the shows. Both theaters boast impressive alumni lists (Groundlings: Kathy Griffin, Phil Hartman, Lisa Kudrow, John Lovitz, Ray Romano, etc; UCB: Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Amy Pohler, Aziz Ansari, Sarah Silverman, etc) and both offer cheap, sometimes even free, shows for the public.
Part One: Upright Citizens Brigade
UCB has several shows every night of the week. As I was looking at the calendar trying to decide which show to see, one popped out at me that I absolutely HAD HAD HAD to see. I would have gone alone if no one wanted to go with me. It was called "The Realest Real Housewives" and featured 7 women re-enacting unedited, unabridged scenes from different episodes from the Real Housewives franchise. I am ob-sessed with the Real Housewives (Beverly Hills, Atlanta, NY and NJ) and I know first-hand how ridiculous and hilarious these shows are, so the comedy re-telling would be pure gold. I got together my other Housewives fans, Jannine, Tracy, Joey and Josh, and brought Ronny along as well.
We got to the theater about 30 minutes before showtime, and waited in line on the sidewalk outside. When they started letting people in, we filed down a narrow hallway and into the theater. It is very, very small, only about 80 seats, so even though we sat in technically the back row, we were about 20 feet from the stage.
The show started with the ladies all singing their own rendition of "Tardy for the Party." The narrator then introduced the seven ladies, one of whom I recognized as a feature player on SNL. There was also one man in the cast, who played all the husband/gay hairstylist parts in the show. They then went city by city, reenacting all the best scenes. There was Bethenny and Kelly's "I'm up here, you're down there" scene from NY, the famous wig-pull between Sheree, NeNe and Kim from Atlanta, the incredibly awkward dinner scene with Camille Grammar and her electonic-cigarette-smoking psychic friend from Beverly Hills, and OF COURSE the now infamous table flipping scene from New Jersey. Among many other scenes from those cities as well as Orange County, DC and Miami. It. Was. Hilarious.
And the best part... my boyfriend, who has never seen one episode of The Real Housewives and rolls his eyes whenever I mention a recent episode, was laughing the loudest and hardest of anyone.
The show was only 1 hour, and definitely left us wanting more! Afterwards we went right next door to a pizzeria for dinner, where we practically ran into Jack McBrayer (Kenneth from 30 Rock!) who is a UCB Alumni. I am looking forward to going back to UCB for sure. I can't think of many other things you can do in this city that are this fun, and that cheap!
Part Two: The Groundlings
My friend Kaio used to take classes at the Groundlings, and has been telling me about it for a while. So when he found a show he wanted to see, I was happy to accompany him and his girlfriend Regina. The show was called "Black Version," which is an improv show where an all-black cast takes classic films and makes "black versions" of the movie. In past shows, they have re-enacted Top Gun, Titanic, The Godfather, Gone with the Wind, etc. The most recent one they had done was Silence of the Lambs, renamed to "Bitch, Why You Eatin' People?!?" We were in for a good show.
But then, around Christmas time last year, I found myself reading Kathy Griffin's memoir. Besides being an absolutely hilarious book, she talked about her years as a student and member of the Groundlings theater. Immediately, I knew the improv theaters of LA would be very different from the comedy clubs of SF.
The Groundlings and the Upright Citizens Brigade are both improv schools, where part of the curriculum is to perform nightly in front of a live audience. There are different themes to the shows, and a few are actually scripted. Even though sometimes they may have famous guests, for the most part it's unknown young actors in the shows. Both theaters boast impressive alumni lists (Groundlings: Kathy Griffin, Phil Hartman, Lisa Kudrow, John Lovitz, Ray Romano, etc; UCB: Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Amy Pohler, Aziz Ansari, Sarah Silverman, etc) and both offer cheap, sometimes even free, shows for the public.
Part One: Upright Citizens Brigade
UCB has several shows every night of the week. As I was looking at the calendar trying to decide which show to see, one popped out at me that I absolutely HAD HAD HAD to see. I would have gone alone if no one wanted to go with me. It was called "The Realest Real Housewives" and featured 7 women re-enacting unedited, unabridged scenes from different episodes from the Real Housewives franchise. I am ob-sessed with the Real Housewives (Beverly Hills, Atlanta, NY and NJ) and I know first-hand how ridiculous and hilarious these shows are, so the comedy re-telling would be pure gold. I got together my other Housewives fans, Jannine, Tracy, Joey and Josh, and brought Ronny along as well.
We got to the theater about 30 minutes before showtime, and waited in line on the sidewalk outside. When they started letting people in, we filed down a narrow hallway and into the theater. It is very, very small, only about 80 seats, so even though we sat in technically the back row, we were about 20 feet from the stage.
The show started with the ladies all singing their own rendition of "Tardy for the Party." The narrator then introduced the seven ladies, one of whom I recognized as a feature player on SNL. There was also one man in the cast, who played all the husband/gay hairstylist parts in the show. They then went city by city, reenacting all the best scenes. There was Bethenny and Kelly's "I'm up here, you're down there" scene from NY, the famous wig-pull between Sheree, NeNe and Kim from Atlanta, the incredibly awkward dinner scene with Camille Grammar and her electonic-cigarette-smoking psychic friend from Beverly Hills, and OF COURSE the now infamous table flipping scene from New Jersey. Among many other scenes from those cities as well as Orange County, DC and Miami. It. Was. Hilarious.
And the best part... my boyfriend, who has never seen one episode of The Real Housewives and rolls his eyes whenever I mention a recent episode, was laughing the loudest and hardest of anyone.
The show was only 1 hour, and definitely left us wanting more! Afterwards we went right next door to a pizzeria for dinner, where we practically ran into Jack McBrayer (Kenneth from 30 Rock!) who is a UCB Alumni. I am looking forward to going back to UCB for sure. I can't think of many other things you can do in this city that are this fun, and that cheap!
Part Two: The Groundlings
My friend Kaio used to take classes at the Groundlings, and has been telling me about it for a while. So when he found a show he wanted to see, I was happy to accompany him and his girlfriend Regina. The show was called "Black Version," which is an improv show where an all-black cast takes classic films and makes "black versions" of the movie. In past shows, they have re-enacted Top Gun, Titanic, The Godfather, Gone with the Wind, etc. The most recent one they had done was Silence of the Lambs, renamed to "Bitch, Why You Eatin' People?!?" We were in for a good show.
The moderator started with asking the audience for ideas of which movie to parody. I wanted them to do Zoolander, but apparently that wasn't "classic" enough. Oh well. They ended up choosing Star Wars, which was promptly renamed to "Space Fight," complete with an improv theme song set to the tone of Boyz II Men's "End of the Road."
They began to tell the classic take of Pookie Lowrider's quest to leave his job as a VCR repairman ("This just isn't for me!! I don't even know when it's fixed or broke, cuz no one has no VHS tapes anymore!!!") to find his greater calling in life. He then meets Shaft, a wise man that knows secrets of Pookie's past, and who trains him in the ways of the force using xbox ("You'd THINK they'd have a Wii up in this shit!") Along the way they find Lashawn Double to pilot an airplane ("Yo yo yo, watch this! Imma bout to put the hydraulics AND anti-gravity on at the same time!!") so they can all go save Lil' Princess ("Shaft! We need yo help up in here!") from the evil clutches of Cocoa Butter.
All the classic scenes, spun into a ridiculous black comedy (complete with outtakes and DVD commentary!) I think it goes without saying that the show was HILARIOUS. They are doing another Black Version show in July, and I will most definitely be there.
This show was a little more expensive, $15 compared to UCB's $10. However, it was a 2 hour show (instead of 1) and it was equally as funny. I don't think one could say one comedy club was better than another, because they are both so different and successful. There is definitely room for both in Los Angeles! I am so happy that I went to both clubs, and already have plans to return!
Monday, April 18, 2011
#19: The Price is Right
"YOU'VE JUST WON.... A NNEEEEWWWW CAAAARRRRRR!!!!!"
Psh... I wish. But that was the hope, anyway!
For my first day off in 2011, I decided that instead of sleeping in and relaxing, I wanted to get up earlier than I do when I go to work, drive to CBS Studios and sign up to see a taping of The Price is Right. Ronny, ever the good sport, took the day off with me to participate.
I have always heard that seeing a taping of The Price is Right is something that you "must" do if you are in LA. Maybe it's just one of those things that out-of-towners think is glamorous and "cool," because I never really saw the appeal. But, I figured that I should see for myself what all the hype is about!
On the days that they tape TPIR, they have two tapings a day. One is at 12pm, the other at 4pm. In order to get into the noon show, you have to show up (no joke) no later than 6am. Since there was no way in hell we would get up that early for pretty much anything, we signed up for the 4pm show. CBS suggests you get there at noon. A few Google searches of other people's experiences recommends you show up at 8am.
Ugh.
So before we even showed up, we knew we were in store to wait a minimum of 7 hours before the taping would even start. We groggily showed up at 9am and received little pieces of paper that represented our spots in line (even at 9am we were 91 and 92. The guy who was first in line got there at 6am... crazy!!) We were then told to come back at noon. So luckily that gave us time to go to brunch. We went to Blu Jam, which I have always heard good things about but have always avoided because it's always SO crowded on weekends. I figured this sunny Monday morning was perfect. We had a lovely brunch, and Ronny gave it a 4-star Yelp review.
Our bellies full, we headed back to the Grove where we had to park. I convinced Ronny to let me go to Anthropologie for a bit, which he obliged to but I think it was only because Mario Lopez was just outside Anthro taping for that night's "Extra" episode. (Ronny's justification: "Who would pass up an opportunity to see AC Slater in person??!"). We watched him talk for a bit about how Charlie Sheen had bombed his first show on his comedy tour... ironically enough, Mario messed up a bunch of times himself and they had to keep re-doing it.
Around noon we headed back over to CBS (which is walking distance from the Grove shopping center). We then sat for about hour. Then they started lining us up, putting us in order of which we first arrived. After we were all in order, we each had to fill out a form with our names and social security numbers (to claim prizes I guess) and then wait in ANOTHER line to get our name tags. We were then shepherded to another long row of benches where we waited to get interviewed. We waited there for about an hour (it's now around 2:00 pm) before our group of about 15 people was called up to be "interviewed" by the show's producer. All this interview consists of is the producer going down the line, and saying "Hi Susan! What do you do?" and pretty much the crazier and louder you are, the more likely you are to get chosen as a contenstant. Obviously, Ronny and I weren't CRAZY enough, and neither was anyone from our group.
After that, we are herded around a corner to wait in ANOTHER line to then check our cameras, phones, all other electronic devices, and go through a metal detector. These security guards should be employed by the TSA - they caught EVERYTHING. I have never seen a more thorough bag search! I guess they have a lot to lose if someone uses their phone to look up the prices of bleach and dog biscuits.
Our only source of entertainment gone, we now had to sit on ANOTHER row of benches with nothing but a CBS magazine to entertain us. I read some of the articles (obviously, focused only on CBS shows) and I think Ronny was trying to count his eyelashes or something. Since we were in the 90s, of over 300 people, we waited for about 45 minutes before everyone filed in. THEN the TVs around us turned on, and we were able to watch a recent episode of TPIR, plus a short video about crazy contestants. That was another hour.
When we were finally herded into the actual studio, I got a kick out of how it is soooo obvious the studio hasn't been updated since the '70s. I mean... pastel rainbow curtains on either side of the stage. Flower-power flowers galore. It was fantastic. When we were directed to our seats, Ronny and I were excited to see that we were sitting 2 rows behind the "winners row" where people make their initial bids to get on stage. We thought it was cool, but soon realized how EXHAUSTING it would be, since we were constantly on camera, we had to be cheering and shouting out numbers constantly as well.
Unfortunately, my Bucket List good luck ran out and neither of us got called down. But either way, the actual taping of the show was a lot of fun. Drew Carey was really funny and personable, and told us long jokes and talked to the audience a lot when they were on commercial breaks. From the few times I've seen shows tape, the hosts usually completely ignore the audience when the cameras aren't rolling (I'm looking at you, Nick Cannon!) so it was actually quite nice . The energy in the room was crazy, though I'm sure it was mostly fueled by a lot of jealousy of people that came from all over the country hoping to get called down, and didn't.
Some of the prizes were totally ridiculous. One girl won an RV trailer, another won a dictionary set.
The girl that won the Showcase Showdown was really sweet. She had just gotten married, and they had just bought a house, so winning a new car and $10,000 plus some trips was really life changing for her. Her excitement was infectious and I was happy for her! (and laughed a little... I mean I'll take the 10k but really, who wants a Dodge Charger?).
And then, just like that... 70 minutes later it was over. Time to go wait in line to get our cell phones, and go home.
So like I said, the taping was a lot of fun, but the ridiculous amount of waiting
and waiting
and waiting
and waiting involved with getting into the taping was hardly worth it. If you were retired and had as much time in the world as you wanted, I would say HECK YES go see a taping (but try not to sit where you will be on camera a lot, or you might wear yourself out!). But if you're like me, and taking the 1 day off led to almost 100 emails in my inbox on Tuesday.. it's not the best use of time. But I'm really glad I did it! Now I can check it off and move on with my list. :)
Psh... I wish. But that was the hope, anyway!
For my first day off in 2011, I decided that instead of sleeping in and relaxing, I wanted to get up earlier than I do when I go to work, drive to CBS Studios and sign up to see a taping of The Price is Right. Ronny, ever the good sport, took the day off with me to participate.
I have always heard that seeing a taping of The Price is Right is something that you "must" do if you are in LA. Maybe it's just one of those things that out-of-towners think is glamorous and "cool," because I never really saw the appeal. But, I figured that I should see for myself what all the hype is about!
On the days that they tape TPIR, they have two tapings a day. One is at 12pm, the other at 4pm. In order to get into the noon show, you have to show up (no joke) no later than 6am. Since there was no way in hell we would get up that early for pretty much anything, we signed up for the 4pm show. CBS suggests you get there at noon. A few Google searches of other people's experiences recommends you show up at 8am.
Ugh.
So before we even showed up, we knew we were in store to wait a minimum of 7 hours before the taping would even start. We groggily showed up at 9am and received little pieces of paper that represented our spots in line (even at 9am we were 91 and 92. The guy who was first in line got there at 6am... crazy!!) We were then told to come back at noon. So luckily that gave us time to go to brunch. We went to Blu Jam, which I have always heard good things about but have always avoided because it's always SO crowded on weekends. I figured this sunny Monday morning was perfect. We had a lovely brunch, and Ronny gave it a 4-star Yelp review.
Our bellies full, we headed back to the Grove where we had to park. I convinced Ronny to let me go to Anthropologie for a bit, which he obliged to but I think it was only because Mario Lopez was just outside Anthro taping for that night's "Extra" episode. (Ronny's justification: "Who would pass up an opportunity to see AC Slater in person??!"). We watched him talk for a bit about how Charlie Sheen had bombed his first show on his comedy tour... ironically enough, Mario messed up a bunch of times himself and they had to keep re-doing it.
Around noon we headed back over to CBS (which is walking distance from the Grove shopping center). We then sat for about hour. Then they started lining us up, putting us in order of which we first arrived. After we were all in order, we each had to fill out a form with our names and social security numbers (to claim prizes I guess) and then wait in ANOTHER line to get our name tags. We were then shepherded to another long row of benches where we waited to get interviewed. We waited there for about an hour (it's now around 2:00 pm) before our group of about 15 people was called up to be "interviewed" by the show's producer. All this interview consists of is the producer going down the line, and saying "Hi Susan! What do you do?" and pretty much the crazier and louder you are, the more likely you are to get chosen as a contenstant. Obviously, Ronny and I weren't CRAZY enough, and neither was anyone from our group.
After that, we are herded around a corner to wait in ANOTHER line to then check our cameras, phones, all other electronic devices, and go through a metal detector. These security guards should be employed by the TSA - they caught EVERYTHING. I have never seen a more thorough bag search! I guess they have a lot to lose if someone uses their phone to look up the prices of bleach and dog biscuits.
Our only source of entertainment gone, we now had to sit on ANOTHER row of benches with nothing but a CBS magazine to entertain us. I read some of the articles (obviously, focused only on CBS shows) and I think Ronny was trying to count his eyelashes or something. Since we were in the 90s, of over 300 people, we waited for about 45 minutes before everyone filed in. THEN the TVs around us turned on, and we were able to watch a recent episode of TPIR, plus a short video about crazy contestants. That was another hour.
When we were finally herded into the actual studio, I got a kick out of how it is soooo obvious the studio hasn't been updated since the '70s. I mean... pastel rainbow curtains on either side of the stage. Flower-power flowers galore. It was fantastic. When we were directed to our seats, Ronny and I were excited to see that we were sitting 2 rows behind the "winners row" where people make their initial bids to get on stage. We thought it was cool, but soon realized how EXHAUSTING it would be, since we were constantly on camera, we had to be cheering and shouting out numbers constantly as well.
Unfortunately, my Bucket List good luck ran out and neither of us got called down. But either way, the actual taping of the show was a lot of fun. Drew Carey was really funny and personable, and told us long jokes and talked to the audience a lot when they were on commercial breaks. From the few times I've seen shows tape, the hosts usually completely ignore the audience when the cameras aren't rolling (I'm looking at you, Nick Cannon!) so it was actually quite nice . The energy in the room was crazy, though I'm sure it was mostly fueled by a lot of jealousy of people that came from all over the country hoping to get called down, and didn't.
Some of the prizes were totally ridiculous. One girl won an RV trailer, another won a dictionary set.
The girl that won the Showcase Showdown was really sweet. She had just gotten married, and they had just bought a house, so winning a new car and $10,000 plus some trips was really life changing for her. Her excitement was infectious and I was happy for her! (and laughed a little... I mean I'll take the 10k but really, who wants a Dodge Charger?).
And then, just like that... 70 minutes later it was over. Time to go wait in line to get our cell phones, and go home.
So like I said, the taping was a lot of fun, but the ridiculous amount of waiting
and waiting
and waiting
and waiting involved with getting into the taping was hardly worth it. If you were retired and had as much time in the world as you wanted, I would say HECK YES go see a taping (but try not to sit where you will be on camera a lot, or you might wear yourself out!). But if you're like me, and taking the 1 day off led to almost 100 emails in my inbox on Tuesday.. it's not the best use of time. But I'm really glad I did it! Now I can check it off and move on with my list. :)
Look Mom, I'm on TV!!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
#13: Pink's Famous Chili Dogs
They might call their chili dogs famous, but I'm pretty sure Pink's is most well known for the RIDICULOUSLY long lines that always wrap around the building. I drive past Pink's everyday on my way home from work and have always been curious what all the fuss is about. Plus, the place is an institution, easily the most well-known hot dog stand in the whole city, and has been around since 1939. But I have been putting off going because I really hate waiting in lines, even if it is for potentially the best hot dog experience of my life (and we all know how much I love hot dogs).
It was a lovely warm day in Los Angeles (the 3rd week of January of course) when my boyfriend Ronny and I decided to check out Pink's. We initially went around 2pm on Saturday, and there were at least 100 people in line. Ronny was hungry (and he gets pretty grumpy when he's hungry) and there was no way we were going to wait that long for lunch. It wasn't until the next day, Sunday, that we passed by that part of town again, this time around 9pm. Lo and behold, there were only about 10 people in line!
We hopped in line and had a great time reading all the different "specials"... I seriously considered the "Ozzy Dog" which was a spicy polish dog with nacho cheese, grilled onion, guacamole and tomatoes. Even with the 10 people in line, it still took almost half an hour for us to order... which was a little annoying. But I guess since they custom- make each hot dog to your specifications, it just takes a long time. My arteries protested the Ozzy Dog, so I settled on a plain spicy polish dog with ketchup. And boy, was it SPICY!! I actually had to trade Ronny for his grilled mushrooms and swiss dog (he was just thrilled about that, let me tell ya). He also got a chili dog with kraut, which didn't sound appealing to me at all, but he vouches for its awesomeness.
Overall... Pink's was underwhelming. Good hot dogs for sure, but I feel SO SORRY for those tourists that hear from everywhere that these are the best hot dogs in the world and are worth wasting an afternoon waiting for. Kind of like when I was in Philadelphia and we waited in line for a Philly Cheesesteak, only to leave the line and go to a less well-known place and have a just-as-good cheesesteak for half the cost and no wait!
The most valuable take-away from Pink's is that I can now say I've gone there. That's really it (and I think I got a little heartburn too).
This really only shows about a quarter of the whole line... ridiculous
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