Confession

I do not like to wear my seatbelt. It is the truth. And my work car for some glorious reason does not make any noise if I do not wear it. Even though I do love being in my car without the seatbelt, does not mean I am willing to pay a seatbelt ticket. So I made a compromise with myself and the LAPD. The LAPD is not aware of this compromise. I let myself drive in parking lots and parking garages without my seatbelt, but before I enter the motorway (yes, I said motorway. Because I think it is a funny word.) I fasten my seatbelt.

Lion was a good cat

Birthday Boy

Today is my nephew Blake's 7th birthday. I called him tonight and he made me laugh....a lot. I asked him why he had not sent me any artwork lately and he explained that his parents were keeping him too busy with all sorts of chores. Like taking out the garbage, and feeding the cows and chasing the cows around and sometimes his dad forces him to go out and spend time with the cows. He asked me about my job. I told him I talk to doctors about using my medicine. "You sell medicine to doctors? That sounds like a good job."

I wish I was seven again.

One Night Off

So, it seems that I have been having way too much fun lately. I blame my Uncle Toby. He has been telling me for so long that I need to have as much fun as possible before I get married and have kids....so I am finally listening. Tonight I am taking a night off to recharge my batteries....and I am actually feeling a little bored, so I will recount the excitement of the last week.

Thursday August 6th
First night of the Topanga Film Festival
Thanks to my friend Jeannette, I got to volunteer as a bouncer at the super cool film festival. And I was introduced to Topanga, which oddly enough felt a lot like a mixture of St. John and Twain Harte.

Friday August 7th
Second Night of the Topanga Film Festival
Another night of volunteering that really ended up with me getting a very cool expensive sweatshirt for free and involved minimal effort on my part. It was such a cool experience and I most definitely feel that I got so much more out of the experience than I contributed.

Saturday August 8th
The Gas man came and fixed my oven!!! The oven has not worked since before I moved in. It is brand new and the pilot had never been lit. I pride myself on being very self sufficient and I was very disappointed that it was impossible for me to light on my own. After a few months here, I called the building manager to report the problem and she instructed me to call the Gas Company. The problem with the Gas Company coming out is that I have a job and am gone all day. I finally scheduled an appointment on Saturday. I was frustrated that the time slot they gave me was 7am to 5pm. Luckily enough for me, the tech showed up around 9. And now my oven works!!

And Saturday night found me at Legends watching UFC 101 with and old UCLA friend and an old manager. It was a very fun night especially since my favorite fighter kept his title.

Sunday August 9th
Afternoon at the Rechenmacher pool. Hanging with the clowns is always a good decision.

Monday August 10th
Happy Hour and Sushi in Venice. I remembered on Tuesday morning why it is not typically a good idea to go out on a week night, but I still cannot talk myself into regretting it. I love LA.




Tuesday August 11th
Dinner with Carla to begin working on our book. We have so much more material than I even thought possible.

Wednesday August 12th
If I allowed myself to count down the days until anything, this would have been one of them. Jackson Browne at the Greek Theatre! Jackson Browne did not disappoint, the Greek Theatre turned out to be a super cool venue that I will for sure revisit, and Jeannette and Uncle Toby were the best concert companions. Jeannette and I screamed enough to make the couple in front of us look at each other every time. It is not our fault they are too old and boring to enjoy the show. Unfortunately JB did not play all night even though Jeannette specifically requested him to do so.



Thursday August 13th
One night off. Trying not to be bored.

First Time Part 2

Tonight I was a bouncer. At first I did not have confidence that I would be a good bouncer due to my size. But I was wrong.

First Time for Everything

Tonight I played the Lotto. Something I thought I would never do, but hey, why not live a little? I was at my favorite Thai restaurant with two of my favorite people and when we got our fortune cookies we decided to take advantage of the lotto numbers for once. We walked another block to the liquor store and all felt very silly asking the clerk how to play. I felt like a country mouse again. And we laughed a lot.

So I am very certain that on Saturday I will be a millionaire. In fact I think I will turn in my resignation now. Who needs a job when you are a millionaire. And with so much unemployment it is almost rude for me to keep this job from someone who might need it now that I will be a millionaire on Saturday.

Pet Peeve

I hate stupid questions. I hate it when people follow a script without thinking of what they are saying. For instance, I was in a store today. I could not find what I was looking for, I assumed they had discontinued the product and I found something that I hope will be a suitable alternate. Never once did someone in the store ask if I needed help finding something. That does not annoy me because most often when a salesperson asks me I am just looking, and therefore as a rule I prefer not to be harassed while looking. When I made it to the counter the cashier asked if I had found everything ok. What a weird question. This question always annoys me, but in situations when one has been aimlessly looking for a long time, it is especially annoying. What kind of answer to give. Yes, I found what I brought to the register. No, I did not find the things I was actually looking for and did not bring to the register. Anyway, I told her the truth. I told her I did not find the item for which I was looking. Did she ask me what that item was? No. Did she offer to assist me? No. Did she ignore my answer to her question and check me out? Yes.

Why do they ask those questions? What does it help?

Topol!!

A month or so ago, Jeannette and I went to the Pantages Theatre to see Dirty Dancing the musical. It was fabulous. But more importantly, while we were there, we noticed that at the conclusion of Dirty Dancing, the Pantages would be hosting Fiddler on the Roof. Now I am always a fan of Fiddler on the Roof thanks to my mother. I have seen the film many times and my grandma took me to San Francisco once to see it on stage. This production of Fiddler on the Roof was the most exciting though because it was starring Topol. Topol is the actor that starred in the film version. He has performed the role of Tevye over 2500 times. I think by now it is just muscle memory for him. I bet he even daydreams while saying his lines. I was not disappointed one bit in Topol!

The interior of the Pantages is absolutely spectacular.

I think it will be a while until we return to the Pantages. Nothing looks appealing in their lineup for a while. We will have to find something else to occupy us. Like Jackson Browne! Next week is the Jackson Browne concert!!

Baseball Stadium Odyssey

So the Naperville/Chicago trip also gave me the opportunity to mark off another stadium in my Baseball Stadium Odyssey. Wrigley Field was all that I expected and more. Until now, Fenway was my favorite. Now I cannot choose. The biggest difference is the crowd after the game. After the game at Fenway the surrounding area was a ghost town. After the game at Wrigley, it was a party!!

At the Cubby Bear before the game.

And not only did I reunite with Rechenmachers that weekend, I also met up with my favorite Angle cousin....

Wrigley!

Uncle Toby and Aunt Kim...partners in the odyssey

The need to get free souvenirs comes from being number 8.

Hey, Chicago, what do you say

The Cubs are gonna win today

Go, Cubs, go

Go, Cubs, go

Hey, Chicago, what do you say

The Cubs are gonna win today.

They got the power, they got the speed

To be the best in the National League

Well this is the year and the Cubs are real

So come on down to Wrigley Field.

Next stop in the odyssey, Camden Yard.

Chicago Trip

So a few weeks ago I went to see part of my heritage that I have heard about for years and years but have never experienced. Naperville. My Grandpa Rechenmacher grew up in Naperville and every other year the Rechenmachers that are left in Naperville host a reunion. For me it was more like an introduction than a reunion. My uncle Toby has been telling me for years about how fabulous it is to hang out with all the relatives in Naperville, and I believed him, but I never thought about going myself. A few months ago, he called to say the tickets were really cheap to Chicago and I decided to go and then I procrastinated. Only about a month before the reunion, my sister in law called and said, "Are you going to the reunion? Because we told the kids you were going and they are really excited to see you." Now how could I flake on that?! So I went to Chicago/Naperville!

Aunt Honey, Hannah, Aunt Nancy, Cousin Kathy and me at the memorial for my Uncle Dick Rechenmacher (Kathy's father) who died in an accident in a fire truck with two other firemen.

Uncle Al, Uncle Toby and Grandpa

Me and my big brother

My Brother's family

Tia and Taylor

Every good Catholic family has at least one nun. Sister Annie would be the one for Aunt Bea's family.

Cousin Billy teaching Quincy the harmonica.