The painters who were supposed to come and shine up our seven-years-faded apartment walls never showed yesterday -- adding another insult to injury in the ever-continuing saga of our borderline-tolerable living situation. Sigh, well, I took Akhil out to Santa Monica in that case so Marivel could give us both haircuts - she's a natural! And doing great in her new career after leaving the world of entertainment PR just under two years ago -- check out Floyd's for yourself: it's just past the Nuart Theatre on Santa Monica Blvd. I think they've got another one in Melrose, but no Marivel at that one.

The two of us are headed -- on different days, different planes -- out of town next weekend to take in the last few days of summer in the place where they do summer best -- New England. It'll be nice to get out of the land of the Fast & the Furious that has become Glendale, CA. I loved L.A. when I worked on the west side and never understood why Akhil didn't feel similarly. Now that we're both confined to this side of the hill every day in the 100-degree heat with nothing to look at but the 134 freeway, I can kind of see his point of view. Major difference.

That said, it's still pretty good -- but good enough to fork out 700k for a place with 2 bathrooms in a sub-par school district? That is the question. A hard, hard question.

Okay, off to cruise the neighborhoods... oh, and Happy August Birthday Regina, Craig and Sabrina Rose!

Tarek Read Anthony, a solid 7 lbs, 11 oz., made it out into the open via C-section very early this morning, at 2:35 a.m. Congratulations Rob and Carolyn! (Tarek = "Morning star" in Lebanese.)

Just this minute I confirmed with Carolyn that she has NOT quite yet given birth. Her due date was Wednesday, so stand by, stand by!

You've got to try La Boheme in Carmel if you find yourself up there. It's a charming French-themed restaurant where just one meal is served each night so you just check the sked and make your reservation. John, Kendra, Akhil and I thought it was great - and no menus means no breaks in conversation - who would've thought of that? We lucked out with filet mignon aux champignons with mashed potatos and broccoli - yum. The wine was Californian.

We finally got to meet Dylan Tomeki, already 3 months old. What a kid! We sorely miss Kendra and John out here.

Ashley Cap, second daughter of Jenner's sister Sam, was born on Friday. And Carolyn is due in days, if not hours! Otherwise Akhil and I are getting our painting gear together to try and polish up some of these seven-year-scruffy apartment walls. Maybe we won't keep living here forever (maybe, just maybe?) but can't hold off painting for eternity.

Well somehow I mixed up the expectation dates for Minda, Kendra, and Carolyn and missed the whole thing in Minda's case - so I am sorry to be late with the news of William Pacifico Alena, born 3 weeks early on May 25! He's a beautiful baby, no surprise there - congratulations Alenas. I'll have to start asking if I'm allowed to post the pix. One more beautiful baby to report: Riya Sheth, born to Akhil's cousin Raj and his wife in July. And one more: Jenner becomes an aunt for the fourth time this week, we think (sister Sam's having Baby II).

Over the weekend Akhil and I reunited with a couple of days on the west side, including dinner at the way-too-popular-these-days Malibu Seafood (strangely, it had somewhat of a Euro crowd this trip), beach reading and a quick visit to the Adamson House. On the way we ventured all the way out to Newhall, then to Simi -- just to make sure we've covered all the bases on feasible housing solutions. Turns out, I think, we have.

Gas costs more than 3 bucks a gallon for some varieties out here, yet, this week oil cos. got tax cuts. Am I missing something? If anyone can explain this please email me. Else I'll just keep reading the Onion.

Baby watch continues for Minda and Carolyn this week! Updates soon...

I realized today it might sound strange to some that I regularly get off the phone with my husband, far away in Florida, with him saying things like, "Well, I just got out of the Hall of Presidents, and later we might go see 'A Bug's Life.' Call ya later!" Perfectly normal. That would be "work." Pity dinner is in order when he gets back on Friday, for sure (you ask: pity for him, or pity for me?). Meanwhile, join me on the latest 'Baby Watch': Carolyn has just three weeks to go til the big event -- and Minda's due any day as well. 'Tis the season of our lives... It's mind-blowing. Time just marches right on by, doesn't it. No respect, no favors!

Working away here at our spiffy new desk, spiffy, that's right. No more dining room table-PC. We've arrived! And so has Lance -- again. Unless you live sous rock, you know he won the Tour. Seven times. Seven. Into cycling or not, all humans must agree we're seeing something pretty amazing here. Apparently, he calls all autograph seekers "trolls." (Does that mean Akhil's a troll? Does that mean John Kerry's a troll?) Our presence during the early time trials surely brought him luck.

Speaking of amazing, it's been topping 100 degrees all this week and we've got -- that's right -- humidity! Why let the east coast have all the sweaty, frizzy fun. Lots of ponytails this week, lots of laundry. We spent the entire day here in the heat yesterday but today we got smart. Manhattan Beach reminds us of the goodness that is/well, can be, L.A. every time, and bonus: We literally stumbled into the Hermosa Beach Open volleyball tournament, only to get front-row bleacher seats for the semi-final with Athens gold-medalists Misty May and Kerri Walsh playing, and winning, against Elaine Youngs and Holly McPeak.

Vive le Lance! Et la France!


We're back with somewhat of an inside scoop on the Tour de France: it's easier than you'd think to see all the action up close! Evidence? Pics like these, taken from five feet away from the man himself. Our ten days began with a Sunday, July 3 arrival at CDG in Paris, taking the TGV to Tours, and checking in to our hotel on Avenue Grammont, the very street upon which the Tour de France teams were to arrive Monday, and depart Tuesday afternoon. Perfect setup.

Seeing the cyclists arrive and depart was easy, as was getting up close to the team busses near the starting line on Tuesday - NO security. None. Simply some steel rails to keep people out of the roads.

Place Plumereau in Tours is quintessential French - 16th century buildings bordering a square filled with outdoor cafes and bistros -- that's where we dined our first night. The Loire runs north of town, and the shopping is decent! From Tours we moved on to Amboise, and from there to Nancy, and over the course of the week we also saw the Tour depart from Chambord -- with the chateau as an unbelieveable backdrop, then the departure from Troyes, and of course we took in the most impressive chateaux, prioritized perfectly, I thought: Chenenceaux, Villandry, and the incredible Chambord:

Chenenceaux:

Villandry:

Chambord:

The departure at Troyes:

Our final Tour experience was the arrival in Nancy on Thursday. The six-hour drive from Amboise was worth it -- and the chance to see it all again after more than a decade was surreal. Ah, the good old days... and they truly were! ICN (my school), St. Epevre, Place Stanislas, even the "Made in France" sandwich place -- still intact, still perfectly beautiful.

We stayed in the Latin Quarter in Paris, just around the corner from Akhil's old digs at College of Pierre et Marie Curie, and by the end of the weekend, we'd become way too attached to the place -- sat by the Seine behind Notre Dame on Sunday night, watching the sun set, well after 10 p.m.



And then suddenly, Monday again. Sadly. France is to SoCal as silk is to cardboard. The people seemed friendlier this time, the wine tastier, the food more indulgent -- although we're off cheese and andouille sausage for a while (okay, maybe forever on that one). Recommended: the Clos d'Amboise, tartes framboises, Hotel Monge and Air France. Not recommended: Delta Song, French-cut boxer shorts and losing your luggage.

See more photos if you're interested here.

This must be one of our busiest Junes ever with the least amount to show for it, but we're just a day away now from our much-needed vacation to France, where we'll challenge our endurance by flying 14 hours and getting straight into a rental car from Paris to Tours. Once there, ahhh... let the vacation begin.

Amidst job dilemmas, another lost house bid ($40k over a fixer in Glendale this time), BBQs with friends and colleagues, etc., etc., etc., our second anniversary crept up on us this week. Two years, already? Feels like one! Here's me on anniversary, with custom wrapping paper for my traditional cotton gift: an LCD monitor.


Meanwhile we're keeping it interesting, at least on the weekends. One of our recent L.A. finds: the house on Lyric Ave. in Silver Lake that Walt Disney lived in with wife Lillian from 1927 to 1933. Here's a photo, but there's a great piece on the renovation you can read here. Drool away, SoCal house seekers -- purchase price? $200k.

Last week we drove to the top of Mt. Wilson, which is a quick 20 mins. up the Angeles Crest Highway, but for some reason we'd never done it before. Worth the trip for some great views, but next time we'll go when the observatory's open.

Bon Voyage until after the 12th -- and Happy Fourth!

We may be nuts, but are we crazy? We booked some flights on a whim last week to go see Lance in France. Of course, that also means we get to spend a week in the Loire Valley as he flashes by with the smelly peleton (we hear the B.O. reeks from a mile off) in Tours, in Blois, and again, perhaps, in Nancy, way up in Lorraine, three hours east of Paris. Nancy, of course, the city in which I spent one of the best years of my life, would be a rather surreal experience for me. It's like I dreamed the whole thing, 1994.

Which reminds me, Khanh has inspired me by taking up cycling, begun at first for raising money for MS in the two-day tour taking place next weekend, but now, she's all buffed up and getting in like 60 miles a weekend! Go Khanh! Lance would be much more impressed with her than with me, or with Akhil for that matter. The girl bought her FIRST BIKE EVER just for this event.

Heather and Jon have departed, Craig and his family are back in New York, and our overly social weekend is behind us so we can once again concentrate on "normal" -- whatever that is. Happy Flag Day everyone!

What a crazy week, trying to regroup and settle back into life in L.A. -- we're in a twilight zone, having discarded quite a load of junk including furniture, clothing and knicknacks, bought and sold cars, rearranged our spaces. But here we are, same old surroundings. Everything's different, somehow.

Heather is back again too, this time with her companion Jon, a very charming and sweet guy who got her (and me) interested in the Congress for the New Urbanism, national conference to be held this week in Pasadena (that's partly why they're here).

I survived drinks and dinner at Mezbaan in Pasadena, Thursday, yummy cakes and treats at the Alcove again on Friday, then Saturday the four of us started at Pedals in Santa Monica, braved a stand-up burger dining experience at Father's Office, and finished up at the gorgeous bar called Toppers at the top of the Huntley (formerly Radisson), also in Santa Monica, which has a killer view of Santa Monica, Malibu, and the ocean. We drove all the way back out on Sunday for breakfast at the Georgian, where they were staying, to revisit our wedding night digs!

Sunday afternoon, Akhil and I konked out for naps but made it back out for Star Wars: Episode III. Gotta see it, whether you think Lucas is FX-loony or not.

If there's one thing Akhil and I know how to do it's get out of town, and so we did, this past weekend, to San Francisco. We needed it more than ever, and made it through 3 days with just a couple of arguments, after a long month of life decisions (more like, indecisions?) made by a pair of very different types of thinkers.

So we hopped in the Civic and headed up early Saturday on the 5 with all the traffic, straight to the Cliff House for lunch at the bar -- a spectacular sea view. The place reopened in September, and the food and the beach were perfect; the crystal clear, sunny skies stayed with us all weekend long. From there it was strolling in Cow Hollow, then to Hotel Rex at Sutter and Powell, which is by far the best place we've ever stayed up there (oh, okay, besides the Mark Hopkins in '98)... highly recommended! Dinner was a trek around town to find long lost Little Joe's, an old Akhil haunt, which is now in the bottom of a dingy hotel on Van Ness but the food's still great.

Sunday was hiking up to the east peak of Mt. Tamalpais in Marin, which was gorgeous, with killer views of the world's best city (except maybe for Sydney -- but it's close). There's a lodge mid-way called the West Point Inn along the railroad grade from the tracks that used to go up until the early 1930s. They tore up the tracks when people started getting their own family cars.

Here we are en route, over the Golden Gate and up on the trail...



We drove all the way out to Stinson Beach so I could see it afterwards, and then we went down to Sausalito for food, followed by dessert in the city with Hiten and Suzanne, and managed a Union Square stroll and Coit Tower ascent on Monday before heading over to Berkeley -- where Akhil spent his formative years -- briefly on the way home, where we treated ourselves to dinner at Saladang in Pasadena. Splurge! Meanwhile, I neglected to publicly wish Akhil a happy birthday earlier this month, so here is a bonus pic of the birthday boy from May 18 (we celebrated a day late, on the 19th, for various reasons, ahem). Happy Birthday my love!

Been a while since I've been in a state of mind that allowed for a visit to the old blogging interface, but here we are. The stay-or-go, stay-or-go, stay-or-go debate will not cease, and it's been among the most exhausting couple of weeks of our entire lives. We did manage a momentous achievement amidst all this, however: Plush has gone off to a new home in Granada Hills, sold for a mere two grand. Oh how sad! Our 1987 Wagoneer with the wood paneling and 130,000 memorable miles is gone, gone, gone! In "her" place is a shiny new pewter pearl Honda CRV SE, with leather interior, oh yes, but no more power seats. Sigh. A bittersweet transition.

Farewell, Plush!


Akhil turned 37 this week and we were too stressed out to celebrate but one of these days we'll make up for it with more than just cake and roses. Anyhoo, enough of the whining, the real point of this whole post is to welcome, finally, the beautiful Dylan Tomeki Tanouye, born May 12 to Kendra and John, a whole week late! Congratulations! And Regina and Bill have officially left New Jersey for a new life in Cary, N.C. Things are rolling along.

We managed to make a brand new experience out of L.A. yet again this past weekend. That's among the most outstanding of the many beauties of the place -- you can do that, every weekend, for like, a decade (well, six years anyway, and counting)... god I love this town!

All we did was see 'Fever Pitch' (don't hate us) in La Canada (first time to movies there), then on Saturday headed to the Alcove on Hillhurst, which I can't believe we've never been to before (just chocolate-dipped macaroons and coffee but they've got a TON of stuff including my favorite: big, bad, sugary baked goods), and then on Sunday, after Fatty's pecan-coated french toast, it was off to Monrovia to look at cars. We're in the market -- I mean it this time. Monrovia is a step back in time, to, like, maybe 1973. Quaint and small-towny, but still western, like Greely, or the old Scottsdale, and a little surreal. Never been there before. Weird. It almost (not quite) felt like a (very) mini vacation.

The real reason for all this was to get a little QT in before Akhil was off, yet again, to Florida for another week. And this time, it's the "big show": Disney's 50th Anniversary Celebration kickoff. He's doing some press (!) for R&D, specifically Lucky the Dino. And never one to disappoint, he had a stellar star-sighting on the flight to Orlando this morning. That's right, folks: Carrot Top. Contain yourselves. Meanwhile, I, left alone yet again to my 7-4 daily grind, feel like the proverbial boiling frog.

Akhil's back after a basically successful three-week period of "Lucky" training, surreal bachelor-style living at the Animal Kingdom lodge, and minimal but sufficient amounts of cavorting through the Disney parks. So, yes, we've resumed our life together, sleeping in the same place once again. It seems to me three weeks exceeds a comfortable limit for separation from your spouse -- after about two weeks and two days you get a little too accustomed to the solo situation; then it takes a good couple of days to get reacquainted with each other.

So, "the stranger" and I finally used our first-anniversary gift certificate for The Raymond in Pasadena on Saturday night. Too bad, but this time, the food was just okay, and our table was pretty cramped. But it was nice to dress up, get out, and drink champagne together after Akhil's long stint with resort chain food and my steady diet of Luna bars and popcorn. We saw "Melinda & Melinda" on Sunday (B-) and tooled around on the West side, where Akhil thinks he spoke with Laura Innes at the Peet's in Brentwood, but I think he didn't. He DID sit behind Syndey Pollack on the plane back from Orlando Friday night, however. It's true -- he always gets the good airplane stories.

So let me be sentimenal for a second. Over the last couple of weeks I finally felt like I have a "home" in L.A., with true, hip and wonderful friends here that I just don't see enough of. When I listen to that "L.A. Songs" CD Heather left here by mistake, I almost get misty-eyed these days. It only took me a little under six years. People had told me that here it takes three -- I think it's probably more like five.

One last thing: Stay tuned for Baby Tanouye, due any day now. We're waiting, John and Kendra!

Heather's gone to San Francisco and so I'm finally alone in my Glendale abode. Akhil's got two more weeks living down in the, ahem, "Happiest Place on Earth" in Florida. I crashed for a two-hour nap after work tonight, after six days of nonstop dining, driving, shopping, strolling, touring, phoning, and yes, working, while the two of us caught up on things -- adulthood is hard, but maybe mostly for the lessons we've learned too late that we can't apply to situations that are gone for good by now. Heather and I don't agree on everything, but on that, I think we're in sync. She's having the best time of her life right now and I think mine just has to be around the corner.

Best discovery of the week: Father's Office in Santa Monica. The beer selection is super (they've got Belgian white), bar scene is solid, but the burgers are the best I have ever had, living up to all the hype. And I don't even EAT burgers -- go -- order -- eat -- and be sure to get a side of the sweet potato fries!

Akhil found an incredible Web site summarizing Glendale's aviation history recently, and the other day, I wrote up a gloriously detailed post. Just as I was about to wrap up, wouldn't you know it, our power went out (again). Luckily, however, my friend Mike has done a better job on his blog - with graphics -- and all I need to do is link! See here for what I wanted to say about that -- and here for the Go Dickson site itself. Thanks Mike!

The airport in Glendale was located precisely where the Imagineering buildings sit just south of the RR tracks that run along San Fernando Road, where Akhil has worked for the last six years. It's fascinating and heartbreaking to see how different the area is now from what it was in its glory days. The main terminal still stands, and we hear that Disney owns and plans to integrate the building into its future campus development there. I certainly hope they keep their word. It would likely be the last standing tribute to the history of what is now pretty much a sprawling industrial wasteland.

The big event in the household this week is the coming unveil of Lucky the Dinosaur to the general public. Akhil and his team set off this morning to Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando where they'll spend three weeks prepping and training Florida staff before Lucky becomes part of Disney's 50th anniversary celebration, kicking off officially May 5. They got a nice mention on the Animal Kingdom Web site -- and even a video clip. Apparently, there's merchandising too... haven't seen the evidence yet.

That said, the serendipitous arrival of Heather is happening in an hour, as she just happens to be doing the west coast leg of her 22-city "Hello, I'm the new big boss" trip this week. She's here tonight until Monday morning, and we are going to rage.

Could anything be more fascinating than the news released this week that octopi have been found to walk on two, er, legs, in order to disguise themselves? Prepare to be amazed: See this Discovery Channel video that shows the "algae" octopus, discovered off Indonesia, and the "coconut" version, discovered near Australia, on the move. Both have found ways to go mobile in which they take on the look of objects in their natural habitats, "walking" away quickly, disguised, when predators approach. This is really something - perhaps what's most incredible is that nobody's documented this before.

A beautiful spring has returned to L.A. this weekend -- cool, clear, though slightly hazy, and the hills and mountains are covered with green. We brunched in Santa Monica this afternoon and plan to view, finally, "Leoda's head" at the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland this evening to check in on Akhil's handiwork. Meanwhile, Todd's in Vegas with the guys, betting on NCAA games, Heather's got a work trip to L.A. (yippee!) planned two weeks from now, Carolyn's prepping for baby, as is Minda, Regina & Bill bought their new house in N.C. already, and Kendra's due in six weeks! Counting down...

They're calling the wildflower explosion in the SoCal desert a "hundred-year bloom" that we're unlikely to see twice in a lifetime. All the rain we've had this um, winter, has created the phenomenon that's driving thousands out to Anza Borrego, Joshua Tree, and Death Valley -- though they say the same type of thing happened after the El Nino weather of 1998. Hundred-year bloom or not, we had to see it. So, we drove out to Anza Berrago, the nation's largest state desert park, about 150 miles southeast of here, on Saturday. They're not kidding - blooming like crazy! And as full of winnebagos and motorcycles as cacti and other flora, I must say.

Here are some photos from the park:





We stayed the night in Julian (pop. 203), an old gold mining town that's very rustic, old-fashioned, and full of pie (we bought a Dutch apple to go). And it was freezing there -- like 30 degrees. First time for us in this area, which took us through Temecula and San Ysabel. Strangely enough, this part of SoCal was really similar to the New Zealand experience. Same type of rocky, hilly landscape, sparsely populated, lots of baked goods. No snowcapped mountains, a few less sheep, sadly no flat whites, but truly striking in resemblance. Ignore the end-of-the-world-like development you'll endure along the 15 freeway. Once you get to the 78 it's pleasantly bucolic.

Back at home, we're anticipating Monday. Doom. This week I'm losing my favorite colleague, Mark, to greener pastures and Akhil's getting closer to his very long trip to Florida (3 weeks).