sha in LA

tiki me

After taking Tuesday evening off to "recharge the batteries" I decided yesterday that I was ready, willing and able to go have a drink with my good friend P-Mitch. After tossing around a few options he chimed in with "I personally vote for Tiki Ti's seeing as it is Wednesday and Ray's Mistakes are only $5." That settled it, theTiki Ti it was.

Now I have to admit that I live about 1 mile away from said establishment and have only been there once previous, before I moved into the 'hood oh so many years ago. Maybe it's because it's so tiny, or that I never knew the official hours, or simple forgetfulness on my part. Whatever the case let's just say it is now back on my radar - and the fact that I currently work approximately 75 steps from the front door doesn't hurt too much either.

At first I was a bit overwhelmed with the drink menu, until I saw PINK FIRE under the VODKA section. Viola! That was easy. The next drink selection was a bit daunting as well until I finally decided to leave it to fate and "spin the wheel" which deemed me a LEMON HEAD - another vodka drink - the tiki gods definitely played a part in that decision. I had a sippy sip of a RAY'S MISTAKE and although tasty it was, it was not the drink for me. The topper of the evening came when I was presented with my very own Tiki mug from my drinking partner. YAY! I can't wait to use it when I go back as I have already figured out my next 2 drink orders. Gotta stay ahead of the game here people.

So there you have it. I highly recommend checking out the website in full detail if you've never been and do decide to go, there are a few "Survival Tips" available for the Tiki-Ti virgin.

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dancing with the pop stars

Last night a local dance venue, Sugarfoot Stomp, played host to Dancing With the Stars' Cheryl and Drew.

For a while I used to make Sugarfoot Stomp a regular Monday night stop but, as usual, life got the better of me and for the past few months Monday nights have become "shannon time." The venue closed for a few months due to dancer apathy however recently they were contacted by ABC and the Dancing With the Stars people about doing a location shoot where a "star" would be taught some Charleston moves. Last night was the filming for the segment that will be shown this coming Thursday night.

Don't even try to look for me as you will not succeed. I showed up late and stayed in the back until the filming was over then I proceeded to go "shoot some stick." I finally got around to dancing after the hoopla was over.

Just to prove I do dance, here is a picture from a venue just outside of D.C. and one of the better shots of me in action.

photo credit: Dorry Segev

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likin' my new mattress a bit too much

Just before the holiday break I decided to finally grow up and get a new mattress. For the past, oh I don't know, 15 years I've been sleeping on a futon mattress. As any futon sleeper knows, a crease where you normally sleep usually occures and once that happens there's no turning back. It just gets deeper and deeper and deeper. Numerous shoulder and back problems over the past few months had me threatening to get a new mattress and I finally gave in and purchased a Sealy. A lovely Queen size mattress (for this Princess of a girl) that has me smiling as I lay down to go to bed at night...or in the morning. So much so that I slept an absurd amount this weekend. This may become a problem in the future however as of right now I'm such a happy girl.

Sweet dreams.

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crash

During the holiday break I decided to treat myself real nice and took myself out to see a movie. After perusing the local listings I picked Crash as I like to wait at least 3 months after a movie has been released so that I don't have to deal with the crowds. Let's not even talk about going to a concert.

I chose the Laemmle Music Hall Theatre as I rarely make it west of La Cienega and wanted to check out the happenings in the BH on a Tuesday night in the middle of a holiday week. There were 10 people in the theatre, max. YAY! My own private screening with a few of my not-so-closest freinds. Needless to say I loved the movie but what impressed me even more was what happened afterwards. You see, I am one of the few who will sit through every last credit. Why? Usually I like to see the location credits, music credits and thanks, which inevitably end up being the last to roll by. Sometimes in the masses of names that scroll by I see one or two that are familiar in some way. Over the years I've worked with a few people that make magic happen in the movies and seeing a familiar name reminds me that this city of a couple million really ain't all that big. What impressed me though is that every single one of those people in the theatre stayed to watch the credits too! That never happens in LA but on that particular night, of all nights, things were different and I wasn't the lone freak.

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sha in SD

I’m back from my fun filled trip to San Diego this past weekend. I’ll spare everyone the gorey details about all the fun stuff we did and summarize as thus:

Thursday: ate, drank, danced
Friday: slept, ate, shopped, ate, drank, danced
Saturday: slept, ate, drank, danced
Sunday: packed, danced, ate

We stayed at the Best Western Seven Seas, which was conveniently located near the 8, 805 and 5 freeways. Hotel Circle Drive has every hotel chain known to man so if you’re planning a trip to the area and want a cheeeeeeep rate that is your best bet. Granted, you will have to deal with kids who like to bounce balls at 7am and play with “do not disturb” tags attached to your door but who cares.

Many thanks to the following leads who made my weekend that much more enjoyable: Julius, Trevin, Reuben, Swifty, Austin Dave, Chad, Rye, Jacob, Dave, Sailor Mike, Tip, Idaho Matt, Jason and Phillip. And to my awesome travel partners: Sassy Lisa and Alyss. Lisa and I frequently travel together and know each other’s quirks quite well and Alyss was a doll for going along with our crazy flow.

For those of you with a voyeuristic streak you can look at my pictures from the weekend. Unfortunately it’s a whole lotta us and not much else. I’m frustrated with my camera and already looking for another one which is compact and has adjustable settings so I can get the pretty pictures without so much blurriness.

Update: More pics as taken by LordJulius can be found here.

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