Universal Studios and El Conquistador

Our friend Steve, from Washington DC, was in town for a conferene this past week. So he extended his stay by a couple of days to spend some time with us in L.A. Steve, as you remember, is accompanied us on our trip to the Virgin Islands last year. We've already taken him to Disneyland. We've done the Getty Center. The only thing in the area he hasn't done is Universal Studios. So that's what we did (and we even invited our friend Jason along to boot).


The Universal backlot taken from the top of the hill. (03/31/07)

Tim and I each hadn't been there in years. The last time for me was in 1996. It was the first time I met Lisa, my cousin Michele's partner. I remember getting along well with her from the moment I met her (she was the only one who wanted to do the Backdraft experience with me).


On the famous Universal Studios tram. (03/31/07)

It's actually changed a lot since I was last there. They no longer have the dumb E.T. ride, and they've added a Terminator 3-D experience, as well as The Mummy roller coaster (which was disappointingly short). The best part, as always, is the backlot tour.


The Grinch That Stole Christmas set. (03/31/07)

Yes, the tour is cheesy, especially with all those tired gimmicks, like the Earthquake, King Kong and the Jaws shark that is so old it has to be carbon dated. But what I like about the tour is, unlike the backlot studio tour at the Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando which seemed so manufactured, you get the feeling that there was actual filming done at the Universal backlot. The other cool thing was the crash site from War of the Worlds, which was pretty impressive (much more so than the film, so I'm told).


The crash site from War of the Worlds. (03/31/07)

Afterwards, we headed to one of our favorite restaurants, El Conquistador in Silverlake. The food is pretty good, but the main attractions are definitely the margaritas (or in Tim's case, the Blue Margarita) and the molcajete salsa, all of which were in high demand after our long day at Universal.


Steve and Tim share one last blue margarita at El Conquistador. (03/31/07)

If you ever get a chance to go, may I suggest the Sonorense - a chicken dish with peppers, onions and crubled bacon. It's so good. My second favorite, which I got this time, is the Ropa Vieja, a dish of tender, slow-roasted beef.


Jason and James pose with longtime waiter Ricardo. (03/31/07)

It was a great day and the perfect closing to a fun month!

Davis Gaines at the Carpenter Lounge

Tonight I saw a performance by a Broadway legend (to me, anyway) — Mr. Davis Gaines. Okay, I realize he may not be a household name. But for we musical theatre fans, Davis Gaines is best known for having played the title role in the Phantom of the Opera for more than 2,000 performances in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.


Davis Gaines in a photo from his website. (1998)

He actually played the role the one and only time I saw Phantom, back in 1993 with Tom and Christine and the gang. I remember being quite impressed with his voice. In fact, if you were to ask me if I could sing like anyone in the world, I'd answer Davis Gaines in a heartbeat (followed closely by Michael Ball).

I last saw a Davis Gaines performance in September 2004 when he was in Side By Side By Sondheim at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. The show itself was kind of weak, but his solo numbers were great.


The Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts. (03/30/07)

Strangely he looked about 10 years younger in tonight's show than he did when I saw him in 2004. I'd say he looked like he was 33 years old, and not 53 years old like he really is. Gee, I wonder how that happens? :)


The Carpenters' gold records. (03/30/07)

The show was at the Carpenter Lounge (aka backstage at the Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts) located at Long Beach State University. They had all sorts of Carpenters memorabilia there, including awards, gold and platinum records, and even some of their musical instruments.


Karen Carpenter's drum set and her brother's organ. (03/30/07)

Davis did an outstanding show, consisting of old standards for the first act, and Broadway performances in the second act (with The Music of the Night from Phantom as his encore). In between songs, he kept us well entertained with lots of fun stories from his long career. It was a great night!

2007 Disneyland Kickoff

I know most people think we're at Disneyland every week. But believe it or not, despite having annual passes, we haven't been there once since last December. Until today.


Music that rocks on coasters that roll. (03/25/07)

We met up with our pals Jon and Amy who were there with Amy's family. The big goal of the day: Ride Space Mountain and California Screamin', the two roller coasters that were enhanced with new soundtracks by the Red Hot Chili Peppers (Amy's favorite band).


Tim and James play with the Tomorrowland orb. (03/25/07)

As it turned out, those were the only two rides we rode that day, because the parks were so crowded! The wait for Space Mountain alone was about an hour. But the ride, which featured the Chilis' cover of the Steve Wonder classic, Higher Ground, was awesome. It wasn't just the music either. They also spiced up the rides with new effects.


James in front of Space Mountain. (03/25/07)

The California Screamin' coaster in Disney's California Adventure featured the Chilis' Around the World. It didn't have as much of an impact me as Space Mountain , but it was lots of fun nonetheless.


The Mariachi Divas pose for a pic. (03/25/07)

If you want to check out the enhanced versions of the rides, you better hurry. They're only here through April 26.

Eating Our Way Across L.A.

It happens in the life of every restaurant. Things are going really good. And then the next thing you know, there's a change of ownership and the food and service kind of slides downhill. Unfortunately, that seems to have been the fate of our favorite Vietnamese restaurant — the one that was so conveniently only a quarter mile away from our house.


We're told that Pho 999 is one of Los Angeles' best Vietnamese restaurants. (03/24/07)

The last time we were there, on my birthday, things weren't as good as they usually are. So when we met up with our friends Tom, Christine and Laura after our tax appointment, we set out to find a new Vietnamese restaurant of choice. And we set our eyes on Pho 999, which is reportedly one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in Los Angeles (or Van Nuys, technically).


Tom was impressed by the Vietnamese coffee. (03/24/07)

The first thing we noticed was how much more crowded it was than our Vietnamese place. We had to wait about 15 minutes, which wasn't bad. The next thing we noticed was how many more menu items Pho 999 had. The menu was gigantic! It took us a while to sort through it and try it out.


Christine, Tom and Laura delve into their Pho. (03/24/07)

Tom, Christine and Laura each opted for some soup variation (For Laura, it was Pho; For Tom, it was Hu Tieu). Tim settled for a more traditional stir-fry dish. I was probably the most adventurous one, opting for their fried tilapia, served whole, including the head and eyes (although I didn't eat that part).


James shows off his whole tilapia. (03/24/07)

Overall, I was very pleased with my food. The fish was crispy on the outside, yet incredibly delicate on the inside. It was a little challenging to eat, however. Plus you had to be careful with the bones. Tom and Christine liked theirs, but unfortunately Tim did not care for his food at all (some sort of lemon grass chicken dish). Laura wasn't very impressed either, preferring the pho soup stock of her local Vietnamese restaurant. Overall the reviews were mixed. I guess it depends on what you get.


We couldn't resist a picture of Laura in front of the wallpaper. (03/24/07)

Afterward we stopped for dessert at Pinkberry in Studio City, one of a chain of trendy frozen yogurt stores that are the current flavor of the month in L.A. They sell only two flavors of yogurt, with a variety of toppings that range from fruit to breakfast cereal. It was good, but a little pricey. But it's still worth checking out if you're in the area.


Afterward, we had our dessert at Pinkberry. (03/24/07)

In the meantime, if you know of any good Vietnamese places, let us know!

A Night at the Roller Derby

For most people, St. Patrick's Day is a day of drinking green beer, eating corned beef & cabbage, and celebrating your Irish pride. But for us, it was a day of women's roller derby, BBQ food and celebrating our white trash pride (or, in my case, my off-white trash pride).


Jarrod, Jason and Tim get ready for the roller derby rumble. (03/17/07)

Our friends Jason and Jarrod invited us to a roller derby match between the OC Roller Girls and the Angel City Derby Girls. Since neither Tim nor I had ever been to a women's roller derby game before, we couldn't pass this one up. Making it even more appealing was our plan to deck ourselves out in our best white trash duds.


This is the best pic I could get with my Canon Elph. (03/17/07)

Tim donned a trucker cap, a flannel outer shirt and a Coors Light t-shirt (that he picked up at Wal-Mart, no less!). For my garb, we went to the Army surplus store where I picked up a "BORDER PATROL" t-shirt and cammo shorts. The boys rounded out the night with Jarrod in sleeveless flannel and a Girls Gone Wild hat, while Jason slipped into his overalls. We looked tight!


During the breaks, we were entertained by an Elvis impersonator. (03/17/07)

After a round of margaritas at the house, we made our way to our favorite BBQ pit: Johnny Rebs. After that, we headed to the Anaheim Hockey Club for the game. It was lots of fun, although sadly, no one questioned our clothes in the least. Oh well.

Spotted Today: Drive-Up Prayer Booth

We've seen a lot of interesting drive-thrus, but this one takes the cake. We came across this drive-up prayer booth while shopping today and just had to capture the moment.


Anyone looking for a drive-up prayer booth? (03/17/07)

If you're in the need for some drive-up prayers and are in the Tustin area, you can find this on Red Hill Ave. between El Camino Real and San Juan St.

20,000,000 Minutes Old Today

Remember last October when I turned 20 (in Mars years)? Well, I'm now celebrating another alternate birthday. At 10:02 p.m. tonight, I turned 20 million minutes old! Or at least so says the Alternative Birthday Calendar.


James and Scott at the party celebrating James' other birthday. (03/03/07)

Well, I may be 20 Million Minutes old, but I only feel like I'm 19 Million!

Liele and Juliet's 2nd 2nd Birthday Party

Due to my fairly decent planning and scheduling skills (which I completely attribute to having lived with master planner Tim for 10 years), I arranged the day so that after Disney on Ice, that we could go directly to Liele and Juliet's 2nd 2nd Birthday Party (That's not a typo ... it literally was their 2nd 2nd birthday party).


Liele, Juliet and the trick candles. (03/10/07)

What I mean by that is, their birthdays are the same as mine: March 4th. And on that date, they each had a birthday party with their friends. But this party, on March 10 at my godparents' house in Daly City, was a party for the relatives.

Liele, once again, is the daughter of my cousin Michele and her partner Lisa. And Juliet is the daughter of my cousin Olga from Palmdale, CA.


Anna and John Paul in the bounce house. (03/10/07)

It was a fun party, with lots of good food. Lisa cooked up some awesome hot dogs. And my godfather Ralph made some really tasty homemade salsa and these amazing barbacoa tacos. And my aunt Elvira even made some chicken in a pipian sauce, which is a spicy sauce made with pumpkin seeds. Topping off the day was a tres leches cake.


Shel, Lisa and Ralphie. (03/10/07)

One of the more interesting moments came when my dad attempted to reach for the jalapeños, which were in one of those old Tupperware pickle holders. Foolishly thinking the handle was meant to lift the entire container (not just the handle to lift the jalapeños out of the juice), he yanked it hard only to spill a pile of jalapeños and jalapeño juice all over my godmother's table. Dinner and a show!


Cousin Michael, Dad and Cousin Beau. (03/10/07)

The second most entertaining moment was watching all the kids blow out all the candles. They pulled the perennial trick candles gag — always good for amusing the adults and confusing the kids. Afterwards it was the chaotic opening presents melee, which was compounded by the fact that there were two birthday girls. Once that calmed down, we headed our way back to San Ramon.

Disney on Ice at the Cow Palace

I had plenty of events scheduled for this weekend, including Disney on Ice: A Disneyland Adventure. It was at the historic Cow Palace in San Francisco.


The Incredibles get ready to save Disneyland. (03/10/07)

In its 66-year history, the Cow Palace has hosted basketball, hockey, track & field, roller derby, rodeos and professional wrestling. It has also hosted concerts by countless legendary acts, including the Beatles, the Doors, the Grateful Dead, Elvis Presley, the Who, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Pearl Jam and Nirvana (and many more).


The famous Cow Palace. (03/10/07)

First and foremost, I thought it would be a lot of fun for Anna and John Paul (and it was). But at the same time, I was also looking forward to going to the Cow Palace again. I hadn't been there since 1984 when I attended a professional wrestling event (yes, I had a phase of my life when I was really into professional wrestling). I don't remember many of the wrestlers I saw, although I do remember that one of them was Mr. Saito.

As a youngster, I also attended the circus at least once there. I'm pretty sure that's the place where I got to ride on the back of an elephant (although I couldn't enjoy it fully since I was worried that my untied shoe would fall off and never be seen again).


Dad, John Paul and Anna wait for Disney on Ice to begin. (03/10/07)

Okay enough of my historical commentary. Back to Disney on Ice. It was a lot of fun. The basic premise was that the Incredibles went to Disneyland and had all sorts of adventures. Everything was fine until at the end of the first act, when Syndrome took over the park. And it was up to the Incredibles to save Mickey and Minnie and all of Disneyland (which they did at the end ... sorry, didn't mean to spoil the ending).


The finale. (03/10/07)

It was really fun — and a bargain too! Just $10 a ticket for the kids with the McDonald's coupon we had, and $15 for me and my dad (Malena opted to stay at my aunt's house in Pacifica during the show, since she's seven months pregnant, after all). I'd recommend the show to anyone.

A Quick Trip Up North

This past weekend I took a quick four-day trip to the Bay Area to visit my family. It was just me this time, since Tim had other obligations (plus, it's just easier on our dog Simon if somebody stays home).


My best attempt at a family portrait. (03/10/07)

I had a few specific events scheduled (which I'll write about separately), but mostly the point of the trip was to spend some quality time with my little sister and brother.


We drove by the house where my family lived from around 1962 until 1976. (03/10/07).

I flew up to Oakland on Friday night. Saturday we had a pretty full schedule (again, I'll cover those separately). On Sunday, I took Anna to the movies for our traditional movie excursion. This week's selection was Bridge to Terabithia, which we both enjoyed. It was a little more mature than the films I usually take her to (Rated PG instead of G, but still not PG-13). She still liked it.

On Monday, I walked her to school, after which my dad and I went to visit my Aunt Nicky and Margaret in San Jose for a little while. We were sad to hear that they had to put the dogs to sleep since the last time we visited.


Big Brother, Stepmom and Little Brother. (03/12/07)

We didn't get to stay too long, since we had to get back home to pick Anna up. It was only a half-day due to parent-teacher conferences. Fortunately, Anna's parent-teacher conference was on the day I was there, so I got to sit in on that and see her classroom.


Anna in her classroom. (03/12/07)

John Paul was funny. That weekend Malena started putting him in underwear instead of diapers. You could tell he liked the underwear better since he kept changing from one pair to another to another. He was cracking us up.

That night my older brother Robert came over after work (he's working closer to my dad nowadays instead of in Sacramento). I had received a gift card for Applebee's from Tim's parents at Christmas, so that night we went to the Applebee's near my dad's house for dinner.


The plane flew right over Catalina as I returned home. (03/13/07)

While there, John Paul must have forgotten he was in a public place, because while he was underneath the table, he handed his mother first his shorts, and then his underwear! I don't think he meant it to be funny, but we were laughing our asses off (as Malena quickly rushed to put everything back on). It was a fun way to bring the trip to a close before my flight home the next morning.

James' Roller Boogie Birthday

For my birthday (#38, if you're keeping track) Tim threw me a great party: Dinner at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant followed by roller skating at a nearby rink. Rather than bore you with a long-winded commentary, I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves (I believe I included everybody that was there except for DeeDee's boyfriend who mysteriously did not appear in any photos). It was a great night. Thanks Tim!


The tres leches cake, complete with Sponge Bob theme. (03/03/07)


The Holiday Skate Center in Orange, CA. (03/04/07)


James, Tom and DeeDee take a break from the rink. (03/03/07)


Cass pauses for a photo. (03/03/07)


Dori shows off some moves. (03/03/07)


Tom fronts some bad-ass maneuvers. (03/03/07)


Megan struts her stuff. (03/03/07)


Manny and Everett stride in style. (03/03/07)


Eric and Sabrina tie up. (03/03/07)


James and Scottie enjoy their Icees (03/03/07)


Tim, Christine, Jon and Amy toast at the actual moment of James' birthday. (03/04/07)