30 Before 30: A Color Run

If something is advertised as the "most fun anything on Earth," I will probably try it.  So it was no surprise that when I heard of The Color Run - advertised as "the most fun 5K on Earth" - I was determined to do one.  Even though I had only moved up to the Bay Area weeks prior, I traveled back down to Los Angeles in early February to do the 2013 run with Barbara and Marsha.

One of the main reasons why I wanted to do the LA run was because it was held at my beloved Dodgers Stadium.  The course consisted of twists and turns around the huge stadium parking lot, with four different "color stations" along the way.  We would go under an arch of colored balloons (first blue, then orange, yellow and finally pink) where volunteers would then cover us from head to toe in coordinating colored powder.  It was a bit unfortunate that they started with blue and orange, as those colors ended up looking brown for the majority of the race.

Marsha was smart and brought us all red hats which not only protected our hair, but helped us spot each other in the huge crowd.  They said 10,000 runners registered for the morning race, not to mention 10,000 more for the afternoon shift.  It was a bit crazy, but lots of people got really into it with full outfits, tutus, rainbow socks, wigs, and everything in between.

For $40, it was definitely worth the experience (and the cute free shirt), but it's probably not something I will do again.  The girls and I had a blast (not to mention a little exercise!), but the process of getting clean after the fact wasn't so fun!  Barb had green-tinged hands and I had blue between my toes for days!

30 Before 30: Get my Tarot Cards Read

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)!

30 Before 30: A Broadway Show

After living in Los Angeles for five years, you would assume I had seen lots and lots and lots of plays.  The sad truth is, however, I barely saw any.  I worked in Hollywood and went to lots of movie screenings, and saw some live improv theater, but never saw a Broadway-caliber production.  After seeing basically all of my friends at one time or another check-in on Facebook at this play or that theater, I became absolutely determined to see a big musical play production before I became a 30-year-old grown up. 

Being a life-long fan of South Park (it debuted when I was 11, which means it has been airing for more than half my life), when Trey Parker and Matt Stone announced they were developing a musical play called The Book of Mormon, I was intrigued.  When it won 9 Tony awards including Best Musical, I was set on seeing it. 

As part of my Christmas present, my boyfriend bought us tickets to see The Book of Mormon at the Curran Theater in San Francisco on December 29, 2012.  A day after he bought them, our $80 tickets were selling for $400 each, but since he knew how much I wanted to see it, he didn't sell them.

The theater was old and majestic, with a very intimate feel.  We sat up in the balcony but still got as good of an experience as if we were in the orchestra section.  The play was hysterical, the music was catchy, and it was overall a fancy and fun experience.  I hope we will be able to see many more Broadway-style plays in the future, and one someday actually on Broadway!

30 Before 30: A Pro NFL Football Game

The very first thing I did after finishing my Los Angeles list was promptly move from Los Angeles to the Bay Area.  It was a decision long in the making, and I'm sure that the majority of the items on my 30 Before 30 list will now have a Bay Area slant.  I've never been one to be afraid of new experiences, and look forward to all the amazing discoveries I am sure to make in the Bay Area! 

Of all the items on my new 30 Before 30 list, I'm sure seeing a pro NFL football game is the one my boyfriend was most excited to help me with.  Before I had even finalized my list, he had bought tickets to the San Francisco 49ers game vs. the Arizona Cardinals at Candlestick Park on December 30, 2012.

We tailgated beforehand with a large group of his - and now my - friends.  Fun was had by all, and since this was the last regular season game for the Niners, a win was crucial for a favorable playoffs position.  The air was buzzing with anticipation.

After a slow first quarter (not a single first down) and a few missed field goals, the Niners were able to pull it together, and beat the Cardinals 27-13.  I very much enjoyed seeing the "behind the scenes" goings-on of a football game that would have otherwise been filled with commercial breaks.  As we all know, Los Angeles hasn't had a pro team since 1995, and I am excited to be a part of a football fanbase for the first time in my life.  But don't worry, my heart still belongs (and will always belong) to the Los Angeles Dodgers!

A New List: 30 Things to Do Before I Turn 30

As my LA List has finally wrapped up, I am itching to start a new goal for myself.  My boyfriend had a great idea of making a 30 Things to Do Before he turns 30 List this year for his birthday, and he inspired me to do the same.  I tried to make the list ambitious, but also do-able, knowing that in the next 4 years before my 30th birthday I will be working a lot, trying to save money, and being a mother to this guy.

Without Further Ado:

1. Visit 4 new US cities
2. Visit 3 new states
3. Visit 2 new countries
4. See 1 Wonder of the World
5. Do a Color Run
6. Visit Yellowstone National Park
7. Donate 1 gallon of blood (that's 8 pints)
8. See a Vegas show
9. Buy a Mini Cooper
10. Go hot air ballooning
11. Go to Redwoods National Park
12. Take a Pottery class
13. Read 10 classic literature books
14. Go to Mt. Rushmore
15. Go to a pro NFL football game
16. Make a pysanka
17. Visit Yosemite
18. Go to a Broadway show
19. Get my tarot cards read
20. Ride an exotic animal
21. Donate 100 things to Goodwill
22. Visit the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve
23. Visit 5 more MLB baseball parks
24. See the Northern Lights
25. Take a glass-blowing class
26. Go on a 1,000+ mile road trip
27. See Paul McCartney in concert
28. Buy a pair of Louboutins
29. Take a watercolor painting class
30.  See a volcano, glacier or geyser in person.

It's going to be a fun four years!!

#7: The Sprinkles Cupcake ATM

After living in Los Angeles for five years, I'm sure I've used the phrase "only in LA" more than once, as the only way to possibly justify all of the ridiculous things this city has to offer.

"Only in LA can you take a 70s themed fitness class from Richard Simmons."

"Only in LA will you see Leonardo Dicaprio in an Anthropologie." (this made my life)

And truly, only in LA is there an after-hours ATM for cupcakes.

Yes, CUPCAKES.  Because Angeleos have such tough lives that sometimes the only cure is a cupcake fix at any and all hours of the night.

And the cupcake ATM doesn't dispense just any old cupcake... it dispenses LA's boutique cupcake  du'jour, Sprinkles Cupcakes.  One could argue that Sprinkles is single-handedly responsible for the country-wide cupcake craze, and for good reason.  They are really amazingly delicious cupcakes.

Now don't get me wrong, I love me a good cupcake, but I have never quite found myself NEEDING a cupcake after 8pm (especially when there is ample fro-yo available, hello!)  But I am apparently in the minority with that thinking, as there is a line for the Cupcake ATM every single night.  I quickly learned this when my friend Kaio and I popped by the ATM at around 9pm on a Thursday in December to buy myself a novelty cupcake and check this final LA oddity off my bucket list.

I could hardly believe that there was a line, but as we waited ever so patiently while two guys five people ahead of us bought literally a dozen cupcakes (made 12 times worse by the fact that you can only purchase one cupcake at a time), we started conversations with the people in line with us.  Two young girls behind us, the must have been high-school aged, were particularly enlightening.  They both said that they were "like totally addicted" to Sprinkles cupcakes, and they come to the ATM - and wait in line - almost every single night.  They also told us that this long line we were complaining about was actually "like totally short in comparison to most nights."  A dad in front of us with his tween-age daughter told us that they waited in line, in the rain, on the ATM's opening night... FOR THREE HOURS.  I have never felt so out of place in my beloved Los Angeles, except for maybe the time I accidentally stumbled upon Skid Row during dinner time.

So anyway, after about 30 minutes of waiting, Kaio and I finally made it to the front of the line and it was time for me to order my cupcake.  Of course they didn't have the flavor I wanted (lemon, the best cake flavor ever to exist... though it is worth noting that they DO sell doggy cupcakes for your furry friends) so I settled on vanilla, knowing I would be giving it to my mom as an early "thanks for feeding me for a week over the Christmas holiday" gift.  Of course when I swiped my credit card it didn't work, and after four attempts, as I'm breaking out in a sweat knowing there is a huge line of people behind me waiting on the bozo who can't get her credit card to swipe, the in-the-know girls behind me told me to swipe down to up, and it worked.  They obviously had this down.  I selected my vanilla cupcake, and waited with anticipation as I saw the robot ATM arm reach up and grab the box, then ever so gently place it in the recepticle, which then spun around and TA-DA my cupcake was in front of me.  Not to mention that it was (naturally) about half the size of an in-store Sprinkles cupcake, but whatever, here I had a $4 cupcake in a cute little box delivered to me via an Automated Teller.

When I gave it to my mom the next day, I insisted that after ALL the work I put into it, she had to share it with me (I'm a great daughter, I know).  She said it was the best cupcake she'd ever had, and I thought it was pretty delicious too. 

You can see all the boxes of cupcakes behind the cute pink mesh

Who waits in line for a cupcake machine?! I do.

My excitement is barely contained after waiting in line for 30 minutes!

My cupcake is on its way!!

#16: Santa Anita Park Horse Races

The first year I lived in LA, I technically lived on the Westside.  I say "technically" because, though Westchester is considered the Westside, it is much closer to the ghetto than the beach, and is most famous for being the "Home of LAX."  But anyway, for a weird 6 months of my life, I lived in an apartment right under the flight path of planes flying into LAX.  It was only after I moved in that I realized this apartment wasn't actually in Westchester, but Inglewood.  And as I mentioned in my Watts post, if you know a city's name from a mid-90's gangsta rap song, it's probably not the ideal place to live.  I like to think I built up tons of street cred (I didn't) but the one thing I did learn about Inglewood is that it was home to a huge ghetto horse track and casino called Hollywood Park.

I always wanted to go to Hollywood Park, if simply to revel in how misleading the name was.  Hollywood Park sounds pretty legit, a classy place where stars go to classily bet on horse races, but no, it's definitely in the ghetto whose most famous former resident is Ice Cube.  And the naturally shady aspect of horse racing could only have been intensified in such a setting.  I was fascinated.  But as soon as I moved out of the ghetto and into the 'Hills, I realized that maybe I should just try to be fabulous, not ghetto fabulous, and go to a legitimately classy horse race park instead.  I think it goes without saying that my move to Beverly Hills was a life upgrade in more ways than one.

So, a few years later, I finally made it out to Santa Anita Park in Pasadena, host of the Breeders Cup and other actually meaningful Southern California horse races.  My good friend Marsha - a veritable horse expert - agreed to go with me, and I can't stress how much better the experience was going with someone who knew what a "thoroughbred" was.  I certainly had no clue.  We even wore pretty dresses and fancy hats, just to add a little extra something fun.

General admission cost I think $7, but we paid $20 each for the fancy eat-lunch-while-you-watch-with-a-TV-at-your-table seats, which was definitely worth the extra money.  We were able to sit under an awning, which would have been essential on a hot day, but was EVEN more essential as it was a bit drizzly that day and we didn't want to ruin our fab horseracing dresses.

After we walked around the stadium and checked out the parade of horses about to race, we made it to our table to order lunch and a bottle of wine, which we leisurely consumed over the next four hours. Marsha spent a good part of our afternoon teaching me the different types of horses, and how to read the stats pages.  She also taught me to correct terminology associated with horse racing, such as "trifecta," "superfecta," and the differences between "winning," "placing" and "showing" (basically fancy ways of saying first, second, and third).  She was so patient with me and taught me about the science and speculation behind what people "think" makes a good racehorse.  It was truly fascinating, and she saved me lots of googling.

There were 8 races that afternoon, and we sat through the first five trying to guess the trifectas - basically which horses would come in first, second AND third in the race.  Trifectas have a big payout, something like 50-to-1, and needless to say I didn't correctly guess a single one.  As the sixth race approached we finally finished our delicious lunch and decided to place some real bets.

I bet on a superfecta, which guesses the top 4 finishers, in any order.  Marsha placed three separate bets, for a specific horse to win, a different horse to place, and yet another to show.  I got 3 out of my 4 for the superfecta, which was "close but no cigar" but Marsha actually did correctly predict which horse would place.  Of our total $12 we bet (high rollers, I know) I think we got $5 back.  I was hesitant to bet much more, simply because after 6 races having not even guessed correctly once, I just knew I would just be throwing my money away. 

We sat through the next two races before deciding to head home.  We had spent about 4 hours at the track, and had a blast.  I learned more than I ever thought I would about horse racing, horse breeding, and horses in general.  Marsha was totally in her element and I had a truly fabulous (non-ghetto) time, that I'm sure I would NOT have had at Hollywood Park!

Me, Marsha and our hats checking out the Winners Circle, where the jockeys walk around the horses before their races.

Horses racing towards the finish line, right in front of our seats

Enjoying a late afternoon lunch at the races :)