sha in LA

Ahi tuna for dinner, octopi for dessert and a few martinis in between

Mad love to Julius, Keith, Tatsu, Emily, Michelle and Vanessa for crossing La Cienega Blvd. and traveling all the way to Downtown last night from their comfy confines on the Westside.

Essentially Eric had to be at the Orpheum last night for a Conservancy event. I had to be at the Daily Grill for dinner with relatives. We decided that since we were both in the area that we'd "christen" the new drinkin' digs Downtown, The Broadway Bar. Plus Eric REALLY wanted to check out the new neon sign which, sad to say, wasn't lit. I invited some dancin' fools...I mean friends, and we made a night of it. To feel as if you were there too check out the photos.

Good times were had by all however when it comes down to it I'm still partial to the Gopher. If I lived Downtown I'd most likely end up being a Cole's girl but sometimes you gotta switch the atmosphere up a bit and try different sights, sounds and smells. Next anticipated opening, Bills.

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developMEnts

So much good stuff in this weeks Downtown News that I could be kept busy for a week talking about it all and a year or two watching it come together.

First off. Related Companies, that NY conglomerate in charge of the Grand Avenue Plan, is intent on converting my favorite Little Tokyo parking lot and the location of the Tofu Festival into 750 market rate apartments and condos. Read more about it here. This could be very good for the area as there's lots of dining and shopping to be had within walking distance. Also. St. Vibiana's and the Little Tokyo Branch Library is directly across the street and the Higging Building (with intended restaurant on the ground floor) is 2 blocks away.

Second. The KOR Group, most recently known for helping relight the neon clock atop the Eastern Columbia Building, has their sights on 2 new properties...one of which is in Chinatown (yes!) the other is in the Arts District near the Molino Street Lofts (another KOR property). Yay, for exploring areas other than South Park. And Double yay for the Chinatown location. I'll be keeping my eye on these developments especially since good friends of mine have recently purchased a Molino Street Loft. Guess who's their new house sitter when they go on vacations???

And finally, something fishy is going on in the Central Business District as a local Seafood Company is converting a few of their buildings into a mixed-use residential project. One can only hope that there will be no pesky "fish odor" in those structures...or the surrounds. Yay, for Central Business District. Yay, for warehouse conversions. Those are the nifty-est.

All in all, an exciting time for Downtown just as people were saying "we've done converted all the buildings available, what are we gonna do now?" Um, keep looking...I'm sure you'll find something.

All photo credits go to Gary "take my picture" Leonard. The man.

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hiatus?!? what hiatus?

Remember back a few weeks ago when I said I'd be taking a little "vaca" from theatre so I could be a real person and do fun stuff on the weekends? Yeah, well, that idea has gone by the wayside. A good friend called me today with an offer I couldn't refuse thereby making me COMPLETELY unavailable for any out of town trips and/or weekend "date nights" until mid September. Ah, the life of a workaholic. Gotta love it. Sorry boys, call me in Rocktober.

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reshape the landscape

I must say, after my life altering experience on Saturday, I've been rather uninspired to type about anything. Rather, I just want to let that last post sit for a while. Jumping out of a perfectly good airplane definitely was the best event of my entire 35 years of existence. However time continues and one should not live in the past so I must plug onward with the entries. I hesitate to post about the various drinking adventures that will most likely take place this week (Broadway Bar on Wednesday and The Golden Gopher's Anniversary on Thursday) because I'm starting to feel like a broken record. Then I logged onto the Downtown News website seeing as how I've failed yet to pick up my copy of this week's paper and low and behold an article struck me as interesting. And like that (snap) inspiration has returned.

The article in question was written by David Friedman and is an opinion piece on how to revitalize not only the economy but the greater urban landscape of both Chavez Ravine and the Los Angeles River. In a nutshell, he proposes relocating the baseball stadium to the western bank of the Los Angeles River in close proximity to Union Station and converting Chavez Ravine into a great urban park, one that could rival other larger known parks in major cities.

Anyone who knows me knows that I would be the first person to throw my body in front of any wrecking ball slated for Dodger Stadium however David's proposition is intriguing. What's happening to me? A historical preservationist toying with the idea of messing with such history? Well, I am also an Angeleno who wants to see progressive positive action towards the betterment of this great metropolis.

Read the article.

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she's alive!!!

Holy shit. Yes, I jumped out of an airplane today and have lived to tell about it and all I can say is "Wow." Actually the first word out of my mouth as we landed was "amazing" but I think you get the point.

The day started bright and early at 8am when Danny & Christa came to pick me up. Next we were off to City Terrace to pick up Gabriel and finally we were on our way to Perris Valley Skydive. A mere hour and a half later we arrived, bright eyed and bushy tailed. After essentially signing away all our rights we hung out for a little bit until we were called to "gear up." Tom, my instructor, gave me key pieces of information to remember...the one I liked best was "before you leave the plane make sure you're hooked to me." Um, OK, yeah, I'll try to remember that one. Baby, I'm sticking to you like glue from here on out so I don't think that'll be a problem.

The plane ride to 12,500 feet was the longest part of the journey. A few experienced jumpers were with us and left first then it was my turn...the first of our group. We tumbled out of the plane with my videographer, Alex, who proceeded to do fun little tricks with me in the air...thumb wars at 10,000 feet is a first. He let me win. It was extremely loud and my ears were popping and it was difficult to breathe, but then 50 seconds later the parachute was pulled and instantaneously there was silence. And the most amazing view. A few minutes of descent and we were safely on the ground with the rest of the gang following behind.

Somehow through it all I never felt nervous and all the skydivers I met were so nice and had a great sense of humor. Although I guess you have to have a sense of humor considering the major risk factor involved.

The kicker of the day came on the final leg of our drive home when we heard the most appropriate song to sum up the days events. In the words of Pat Benetar from the song titled "Invincible":

"It's a do or die situation
We will be invincible"

Oh yeah, photos are up.

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at the tone the time will be, 9:02 and 20 seconds

Pics are posted of the Eastern Columbia neon clock tower. Sadly the moon was absent from the skyline as well as the lit up Orpheum sign. Hopefully next Wednesday I'll be able to get a closer shot of the two magnificent signs glowing brightly on the Downtown horizon. The pics are blurry because of the non-manual settings I'm forced to use on my digital camera but whatever...I like 'em.

Mad Hot Ballroom tonight at Cal Plaza.

And in other non-Downtown news, I will be tossing my body out of an airplane at approximately 12,000 feet tomorrow morning. God willing, I will report back on Monday. What's up with the religious references recently??? Oh yeah, I guess if you're going to tempt fate you have to be a bit prepared for the unfortunate.

Bombs away!!!

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eastern columbia clock

This evening the KOR Group, which is the developer of the following adaptive reuse/new construction projects; Eastern Columbia, Molino Street Lofts, The Broadway at Hollywood and Vine and Sunset Silver Lake will be relighting the historic Eastern Columbia neon clock. I've been invited to what I believe to be the party that is mentioned in the linked Downtown News article. Our vantage point will be the roof of the Pegasus. My camera is with me and tomorrow, god willing, I shall post pics.

To the powers that be, let me be the first to say "Thank you."

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wednesday's the new thursday

I have determined that Wednesday is the new Thursday, not only in Downtown but in greater Los Angeles as a whole. Last night a few of us made it to the nicely-packed-but-not-too-crowded-to-get-a-seat Golden Gopher. Unfortunately Celia couldn't make it so needless to say the festivities were tame. Just a few drinks and interesting conversation with Keith The Birthday Boy...and when I say boy I do mean boy, Lord Julius and my fellow Wednesday night drinking partner (for the time being) Eric. I made eyes with some hot looking dude with a beard proving that either A) Eric is a good luck charm, B) the outfit I was wearing is a good luck charm or C) all of the above.

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gopher a drink, stay awhile

Son of the Sheik at the Orpheum tonight. I'll be donning the Red Badge of Courage and manning whatever post they deem fit for me. Afterwards I'm rallying a few other select docents and possibly some swing dancers to go have a drink or 3 at the Golden Gopher. All other interested parties are invited to meet us there as well...say after 10:30pm???

who are you?

I must share this story with someone because I'm going batty in this office all by myself.

I just called my boss who happens to be in Cannes for the Advertising Festival. Earlier I left a message but she hadn't called back so I thought I'd try again. Mind you it's about 10pm and she was on a plane last night and probably didn't get much sleep AND she was at a party. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Hey.
Her: Who's this?
Me: Shannon.
Her: Who?
Me: (louder) Shannon.
Her: Who?
Me: (even louder) Shannon!
Her: Hey.
Me: Did you get my message?
Her: No.
Me: Really? I called earlier and left a message...(this is where I started to give her some work info)
Her: Is this really Shannon?
Me: Yeah.
Her: It doesn't sound like you. That's weird.
Me thinking: (Well I guess that's because there's hundreds of people in the background whooping it up and I'm sure alcohol is involed in this little shindig...I mean it IS the south of France and all.)

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