Alright, so here are the details of my weekend in L.A. (as bland as they may be to some...):
FRIDAY: Arrived in Long Beach at 8pm where AJ picks me up and I see 2 NY-ers (both actors from Atlantic...here for the Oscars, gentlemen?). We eat Mexican which I've been craving desperately and it is good. AJ and I stop by Here Lounge to see my friend Mark who is bartending. Bump into Carlos and John (two more NY-ers). Down a couple super-sized margaritas then home to spend time with AJ.
SATURDAY: AJ takes me to the uber-trendy L.A. coffee chain Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf where I order an ice blended. Wasn't impressed -- too milky; still dunno what Britney and Cameron D. see in them. Spot Brooke Adams (Monk's wife...not the bitch who's Lace's mother) getting her morning trendy on. AJ drops me off at the Metro which I take to Long Beach to meet up with Dad and his wife Barbara. The three of us drive down to Laguna, where we spend the afternoon shopping downtown Laguna with Barbara's son Scott, daughter-in-law Cindy, and granddaughter Chelsea. I am on the ONLY search for sunglasses. None are found. A Jamba Juice was in order for me and Chelsea so we ditched the others and got them (yes, full of sugar...I know). The six of us go back to Scott and Cindy's beach house, drink wine, and watch the sunset. A perfect afternoon, I must say...
That night, the six of us go dinner at an island themed restaurant called Cabana where I spot yet another New Yorker (though his name escapes me...) After dinner, Bob-n-Scott come and pick me to take me up to L.A. for some homosexual hijinks. We meet up with AJ at Hot Dog hosted by the former "King of the East Village" Mario Diazwho has successfully brought the East Village to Hollywood...and for that I'm impressed. As soon as we walk in the door, yours truly has to use the restroom due to his lactose intolerance, and since there are no doors at this fine establishment, Bob and I head across the street to The Pleaure Chest to use their facilities (they have a DJ spinning there on Sat. nights...). After cackling a bit over my incontinence, we head back to the waiting Scott and AJ. We drink, do shots, dance, sweat...basically have a great time. STAR SIGHTING: the incomparable ::Matty:: (New Yorker number 6). Always good to see Parker's mommy out and about... After Hot Dog, we march on over to The Spike for a quick after-hours spin on the dance floor. Even after a Red Bull, it's still boring so we leave (but not before seeing 2 other New Yorkers...names withheld.) We say out goodbyes and AJ and I go back to his place.
SUNDAY: My phone waked AJ and I up and it's Mark who wants to meet at Hugo for brunch. We shower, change and meet him in front of Hugo's where he introduces us to his friend Wilson Cruz. Too many pre-Oscar eaters at Hugo's, so we venture off to Basix (a gay eatery). Food is good. Bellini is best. After AJ and I say goodbye to Miss Mark, we head off to The Grove which I creeps me out (think: Disneyland's Main Street meets Hollywood backlot). More sunglass searching. Still nothing. We go back to AJ's apartment to watch Joan and Melissa and wait for Jenn to take us to AJ's friend's house for the Oscars. We sleep through all 4 hours of the Lord of the Oscars, then go home.
MONDAY: Post-Oscar losers are those who surround us at breakfast on Sunset and most look hung-over and tired. I pittied them all for not being from New Zealand. After leaving the misery behind, AJ and I decide to see a movie, but have time to kill beforehand, so we drive to Santa Monica. The two of us walk the 3rd St. Promenade, AGAIN with my sunglass seach. Find some that work, but don't wanna spend the $ they require. My search continues... We then pop over to WeHo for a quick bite (of Mexican, of course) and the rain starts. AJ and I drive over to Melrose and see Latter Days which we liked...if only for the actors and the story's outline otherwise...not so much. AJ then ends my trip by taking me to an incredible sushi dinner at Hump at the Santa Monica Airport. Strange place for a restaurant, but the fish was amazing. Afterwards, AJ drives me to the Long Beach Airport where we say our quick goodbyes. It's the first time we have said it since we met on New Year's...
I walk up to get my ticket and something falls at my feet. It's a brand new pair of Chanel sunglasses, still in their case. I (timidly) look around for who they may belong to..but, alack, they're mine.
Mission accomplished.
Hey, found your blog from a link on Towleroad, which I read often. Bookmarked yours now too, me likes. Anyway, just reading this and it dawns on me that we almost met, well kinda sorta not at all. I was in LA on holidays from Ireland until this week. I ended up going to a taping of the Sharon Osbourne show the day after the oscar nightmare...with a good friend from LA. But I was staying in WeHo. I don't know you, you certainly don't know me. Still, I find it kinda cool how paths can cross...or almost cross. Just some mental misdirections.
Posted by: graham | Friday, March 12, 2004 at 09:19 AM