Fall in L.A. is paradise - beautiful sunny skies and just over 70 degrees. Even the leaves are turning colors, and people are just a little less on edge. Heather was not as happy as she could've been to leave this morning on account of the SNOW, yes snow, that fell all yesterday back home in Boston, but you can't blame her in the least because it's October - now that's just unreasonable!

We didn't get a chance to see her on our short jaunt to the east coast last weekend so she made up for it with a stop here in Los Angeles this week on the way home from business in San Francisco. Here we are at Disneyland yesterday where I finally figured out how to use a fast pass (to go on Indiana Jones) and we saw the Honda Asimo demo in addition to the Haunted Mansion and this Stitch attraction, developed by folks in Akhil's R&D division:



I left the fun, fun office a little early on Friday so we could eat cupcakes at Sprinkles in B.H. and then, the Tut exhibit at LACMA. I recommend the cupcakes, but I don't recommend Tut -- it was over-hyped, over-crowded and unlike the last Tut exhibit that made the rounds about a decade ago or more, this one didn't have much of anything that actually belonged to Tut himself - not even a sarcophagus. I got pretty tired of crushing my body up next to throngs of people to read tiny boards about artifacts that were of course beautiful and interesting but lacking in terms of their relevance to the namesake of the show.

Ah but then there was Disneyland (Heather has been about 35 times to Disney parks here and in Florida). But Laguna Beach, where we strolled and had dinner Sat. night, was the best. The sign in front of one of the little cottages off the main drag down there says it all, I think, and has got it right: "If you're lucky enough to live at the beach, you're lucky enough."

Happy Halloween-eve. Clocks back one hour today too -- bonus! We're going to examine another house for sale today but secretly I think we're still waiting for the crash - cuz 700k for a starter home just HAS to be too much.

Sorry, one more thing. Read this L.A. Times essay by Patrick Goldstein that takes the movies out on Truman Capote ("Capote") and Edward R. Murrow "Good Night and Good Luck") as a jumping point to give a sense of the philosophical battle going on in the so-called journalism biz that I work in. The point is summarized well with his ending, at least from my point of view.

Thunderstorms in L.A.? And, a dam in Taunton, Mass., may burst, and so people are apparently evacuating. This after two weeks of heavy rains in New England. Is weather seriously becoming this much more threatening lately or is media hype making it seem so? Or, perhaps, is weather responding to more media coverage? Hmmm... fishy. Akhil and I saw Broken Flowers this weekend and went out to Thai Town for cheap, good noodles on Sunday. Sketchy part of town (sort of part of Hollywood) but it was authentic. I still think Saladang is better but for the prices. I think I'll swear off blogging for a while til something interesting happens - with 80,000 new blogs a day - that's right, 80,000 (that's one a second, pretty much) - people all over the place are surely boring others to death and I am afraid I might be one of 'em.

Sorry.

"Americans are becoming ruder."

Aha, so it's not my imagination. A CNN story today refers to an AP poll that says a lot of people have noticed:

"A slippage in manners is obvious to many Americans. Nearly 70 percent questioned in an Associated Press-Ipsos poll said people are ruder than they were 20 or 30 years ago. The trend is noticed in large and small places alike, although more urban people -- 74 percent -- report bad manners, then do people in rural areas, 67 percent."

Here's a case in point. I work right next door to a Jewish temple in Encino. Yesterday was Yom Kippur, so it was jammed at temple time mid-morning. As one woman drove up to the entrance to the parking lot, another woman and her children were waiting their turn to drive in as well, and I heard this presumably religious, middle-aged, coifed and primped, ready-to-worship woman scream out her window: "I'm sitting here waiting to get in, you stupid SH-T. Get out of my way, you dumb SH-T."

Not very benevolent. Not very festive.

Meanwhile, we're hoping for much-needed rain this weekend. It's been in the 90s this week and they're warning of an unseasonal power crisis as a result. Our lasagna party last weekend was well-timed and kicked off a decent week, for once! If it wasn't for that unfortunate job I've got to mess it up for me... well, can't have everything.

Red Sox season is over - and I'm surrounded by disgusted fans who thought a team with that good of a season record would've done a little bit better against the White Sox. My poor brother even had a ticket to Game 4 tomorrow. Oh well.

Akhil and I spent the evening cleaning up in anticipation of tomorrow's visitors to our abode, so once again, he's fast asleep with exhaustion already. My early work hours seem to wear on him more than they do me -- one good consequence of starting a job at 7 a.m.: I get by on less sleep. Another good consequence: would you believe I can get from Glendale to Encino in 12 minutes? If I get on the road at the right time that's all it takes - but if you're on the road at 5 p.m. it can be an hour. Who says we don't need mass transit? Don't answer that.

Do try Corner Bakery mini bundt cakes, however. Especially the chocolate one.

More than two weeks since I've been in here? At the moment, it's about 8:30 and the household's already asleep, so, I've got some time to get back into blog action. What have we been up to, well, let's see... there were those fires, which spun a lot of ash around through the valley over the last week or so and made my building in Encino rather smoky. But they've got them all under control now with minimal people-damage. Leslie and I were among about seven people total at Max on Ventura in Sherman Oaks the other night. People weren't terribly interested in dining out that night but inside, you couldn't smell the smoky air. We had trout and filet mignon and french silk pie for dessert. It's been a long time since I've eaten so fancy but we needed a little lift, both of us. The weekdays are a blur, the weekends are too, for the most part. Akhil and I once again dashed all over town this weekend, from Pasadena, to Camarillo, to Manhattan Beach, to Pasadena again. Housing still killing us, or something...

My little mom has become a little bit smaller this week with the extraction of her appendix, which happened unexpectedly on Monday. Quite a scare, quite a scare, to say the least! But she's home and okay now. Should be back on track next week. They did not keep it in a jar even though I asked them to. Oh well.

Fall has kicked us back into "productive mode" (I think) so it was perfect timing for the painters to come last Saturday and buff out the scuffs on the walls -- we're in the midst of reassembling the living room but the new blinds are up and pics are on the walls and it's really quite exciting.

Whenever people get down on L.A. a dose of the Hollywood Bowl seems to pick them up -- me included. Caroline and Mike got us all tickets to Brazilian night last Saturday and we ate picnic dinner beforehand so it was all good even before the orchestra came out -- but man, Pink Martini was fantastic! I had no idea. Vocalist China Forbes puts so many other singers to shame, I can't believe more people don't care about this 12-piece orchestra/band. They played with the L.A. Philharmonic, so you can imagine. Excellent.

Our whirlwind weekend was worth the effort for the perfect weather, QT with the Peavey family, and quick visit with Heather and John -- but I've GOT to find a job with more than 5 allotted vacation days a year. By caffeinating ourselves, we packed a lot into 3 days: Todd took us out into Salem Harbor to the Rockmoor Restaurant, this floating contraption that serves pretty decent seafood, then we drove all over the north shore to ogle beach houses before dinner at Victoria Station near his place up there, right off Salem Common.

Saturday the entire Peavey family (incl. Akhil) paddled out by kayak from Wequetequock (yes, that's spelled right) Cove to Sandy Point, and then we all splurged on a rich and giant dinner at Skipper's Dock in Stonington Borough. It was hard to sleep with pitch black and only the sound of chirping crickets, I'm not kidding, but then it's been a very long time since I've been "home" to Connecticut in the summer. Three years, I think, at least. Amazing! I thought my hometown was kind of lame growing up but now that I've seen some alternatives it doesn't seem all too terribly bad. Here are the intrepid:

Akhil and I zoomed up to Boston to see Heather's funky new condo in Beacon Hill on Monday and then took off to the western burbs to see how the pre-bubble buyers live there, too. The sunny, clear, balmy beautiful weather put the northeast in its best light. Somehow I was still glad to get back to L.A. Sunday night -- at least until the alarm went off at 5:45 Monday morning.

Life has a way of putting things in perspective, and this week has an eerie feel similar to Sept. of 2001. Coverage of the Katrina aftermath seems absolutely unreal -esp. for those who know New Orleans and even for those who don't. My 24-year-old cousin Colin and wife Aimee, a Folsom native, bought a house in Mandeville last year and they drive to New Orleans to teach every day. School was just about to kick off this week but they evacuated to Auburn, AL pre-Katrina and they're fine -- maybe even their house too -- we don't know that much yet. Having spent a couple of memorable Spring Breaks and Mardi Gras there as well (during Colin's wedding weekend), I know why they say it's one of the nation's most glorious cities. I've noticed a lot of people using the word "was," as if they think it's gone for good. Sure looks dire but I just can't imagine there won't be a reconstruction effort. Not much to do but send cash: American Red Cross has our info solidly in their database, that's for sure. Large-scale tragedy has become somewhat of a regular part of our generation's lives. Off to the east coast tomorrow night!

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!