California Dreamin' (Part V)

Hey Folks,

So, wow, it's been a whirlwind few days. I went from bored and nothing to do to not even having enough time to get my laundry done. I don't know exactly what happened to all of my time, but it was fun losing it.

On Sunday, I went and took a magic lesson from a local LA magician through the Magic Castle. It was sort of slow and I basically only learned about two tricks and a couple of shuffles. It was a good start off into trying to get back into magic, but I don't think I'll be taking more lessons. He was a good teacher, but I don't have the time or funds. After that, I went to a seminar at the Magic Castle, to nail the point home that I learned more in a free seminar, and while I was waiting to go into the seminar, guess who sits down next to me? Mallory Lewis, of Lamb Chop fame (see previous post). We got to talking a bit, and she told me some pretty funny stories of behind the scenes and her travels, etc. The one thing I'll say here is that, apparently, all you have to do to wash Lamb Chop is take off the buttons and eyes and pop her in a washing machine.

After the seminar, I rushed over to the second opera in Wagner's Ring Cycle at the LA Opera. This was Die Walküre, and while I do love this particular opera, who doesn't like "Ride of the Valkyries"?, I've never considered it my favorite of the four operas in the Cycle. However, after this production, starring Placido Domingo as Siegmund, I may rethink that. It was stunning and I'll admit I wept at the end. It all began when Wotan, lord of the gods, casts his favorite daughter, Brunnhilde, out of the heavens for betraying his word, even though she insists she was being true to his heart. The exact moment was when Brunnhilde went to hold him and, at the very last moment, he moved away. She collapsed to the ground and he slowly walked away, one step at a time, then turned back and returned to her side. He outstretched his hand to just half a foot above her head, then turned away again... I was a wreck.

And that wrapped up Sunday. Monday started off slow, then with a text from a friend, we headed off down the road to the LA Zoo. As it was Memorial Day, the zoo was packed, so we decided to try our luck at finding the Hollywood sign. And thus began the more touristy day of my LA experience. We found the sign, got our necessary pictures, and then proceeded on to Hollywood Blvd where I took way too many pictures of random celebrity stars on the sidewalk.

After eating at the "famous" Mel's Diner, we returned to the apartment complex where I met up with some other friends and hung out at the hot tub for awhile. From the hot tub, we decided to go to the infamous Dimple's karaoke bar. It was a blast and, as I found out, they actually video record your first song... which, for me, was the Blues Brothers' SOUL MAN. So, that will be posted later. Also at Dimple's that night, for the Bravo watchers, was the Millionaire Matchmaker and her crew, which made my friend Melissa go crazy with excitement.

And that wraps up my Memorial Day weekend. I continued the fun into Tuesday, and today was my first day of work. I'll tell more later, but for now, you've got the skinny. Hope you all are enjoying yourselves even more than I.

le grá,
Cody