Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Wow, I can't believe my last blog was so long ago. It really doesn't feel like that much time has passed. I guess the best place to start is where I left off...

Since I live in an area with so many great boutiques, hair salons, restaurants, TWO giant robot stores and karaoke, I made it my personal goal to find everything I needed in a 5 mile radius. So far, I've been pretty damn successful.

Mission 1: get a hair cut. After some research on Yelp and Google, I found a hair salon a couple blocks from my apartment. It had a ton of great reviews, so I thought I'd check it out. The place is called Taka Salon. Since I'm a new client, I didn't request a specific hair dresser. I figured it would be better to see who I ended up with. To my surprise, the girl who did my hair was from Hawaii! It was only her second day of work and she had just moved out to LA for a guy. It gets better. She recently found love on Match.com. Her and her new beau had known eachother for only 6 weeks before she left Hawaii to shack up with him. Amazing.

Anyway, she's a great girl and I'm so happy to have met her. I hope it all works. She had great energy. It's not everday that you meet another person from Hawaii who's sister went to your high school. I know it would seem as though all Hawaiians know one another, but we don't. I mean, there are 8 islands and most of the time the people I meet aren't even from the same one as me. It was kind of a big deal.

Mission 2: find a sample sale. Sassy City Chicks puts on these great sample sales and I've been waiting to find one in LA. My wish came true because there was a HUGE sample sale at the Fairmont in Santa Monica. A good friend of mine agreed to come along with me and we braved the crowd. It was completely worth it. Unfortunately, I lack the patience and aggression to really take full advantage of such events, but overall I'm happy with my purchases. I encourage everyone to go. The discounts are amazing.

Mission 3: buy some furniture. Living alone and being single can sometimes be a bit frustrating when it's time to do some heavy lifting. Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means objectifying men, but it's difficult for us girls to carry around furniture. It's a known fact. Luckily, I found a Crate & Barrel nearby and got some stuff delivered. The not so lucky part was that it wasn't pre-assembled. I spent a lot of time putting together an oak dresser. Turns out, the directions had me assemble it upside down. Needless to say, I'm in a bit of pain from flipping over an oak dresser. At least I got a work out.

Anyway, those are the major things that I got caught up in. Yes, there were a few dates, a random Sunday Funday and an advertising mixer in between. Nothing too blogworthy, though. I'll definitely do better for the remainder of the week. So much information to share, so little time to actually write about it.

I Heart Dance Parties

I don't typically go out on Monday nights, but a friend invited me to karaoke. I can't really recall a time that I've said no to karaoke. It's one of my favorite past times and I definitely don't do it enough. So when I found out a place called Central, which is next door to LAX, hosted karaoke every Monday, I was all over it.

The meeting time was 11pm and I thought that way too late for a Monday. Turns out, 11pm was too early, since my friend and I showed up close to midnight. Who knew I still had it in me to start my night at midnight? On our way there, I got a text message from a friend telling me that some friends would probably be there for a fundraiser. To my disappointment, karaoke was canceled because of this alleged fundraiser for Freckle & Bean, but it all ended up working out.

I really liked the venue. It was loungy and very laid back. The DJ was great and played a diverse mix. I decided to call it "Rock Hop" because he was able to mix Rock n' Roll with Hip-hop without making it seem forced. The dance moves were a combination of hair whipping with pop and locking. It ended up being a great dance party. Coincidentally, dance parties are also on My Top Ten Past Times List. It was a win-win situation.

What can I say? I'm an 80's child

Springing Forward

It's true what they say about moving to LA -- There's ALWAYS something to do. This weekend was no exception. If it weren't for the level-headed girls I was with, I probably would've stayed out a lot later than I needed to. It was so awesome to not have to look for fun things to do. It's more a matter of narrowing it down and making a decision. The even bigger issue is figuring out what to wear. I know, it's a typical girl problem to have. Truth of the matter is, my closet needs a major update if I intend to keep going out on a regular basis.

Friday night I ended up going to my friend's housewarming party/welcome party for her new roommate/an excuse to throw a party. It was a pretty good turnout. About 35 people RSVP'd to the Evite, but I didn't think they'd all really show up and bring friends. Her little shindig, hosted in a two bedroom apartment, was better than all the stops I had made the night prior. Go figure. Although I didn't know anyone, it was the perfect opportunity to meet new people.

I met another Australian guy who had just returned from traveling the world. He was so refreshing and enthused about telling me all of his favorite destinations. Given the fact that my current favorite show is 1000 Places to See Before You Die, there wasn't a better person for me to meet in the room. Now, I'm even more determined to retire early and travel the world.

There was a guy who went to college with me, but I had never met him there. He played football and said my ex-boyfriend was a "sub-par" quarterback. What a catch! I was not impressed. Guys can be tools sometimes.

The party was just starting to get good. The main indication of the level of "drunkeness" was a quick disappearance of appetizers, which had remained untouched all night. We left early because my friend who drove had a boot camp in the morning. Thank goodness because I was about to devour all the spinach artichoke dip.

On Saturday night, I went to Area with a group of friends who had gotten bottle service. It's the place Avril Levigne was at when her and her bf spit at the paparazzi.

In case you're unfamiliar with that incident, check out this video:


I got there a bit earlier than them, so I had a chance to observe the people waiting outside. There was a group of girls who kept trying to get in, but weren't having any luck. Not fun times. I accidentally on purpose heard them say that they deserved to be paid because the bouncers were obviously not letting them in just to have hot girls outside the door. Now, I would usually agree with this rationalization, but the entrance isn't even located on a major street. It's in the parking lot and people driving by can't really see you.

Once we got inside, I was surprised to see that it wasn't crowded at all. The crowd was typical and the music was great. I hadn't been to Area yet, so it was cool to check it out. The last time I was there it was called Prey. Funny how a name change and moving furniture around can make a place so much more popular. Club promoters are geniuses...or maybe people are just lemmings.

On a final note, I have to mention that I had a delicious dinner Sunday night courtesy of Club Gourmet. A good friend of mine and her father have started an amazing organic food delivery service. They just so happen to be my neighbors as well! I'm pretty lucky. Anyway, check it out.

Turns Out, Thursday Isn't The New Friday

Seeing as I just moved to LA and have finally found myself actually "living" in my apartment (as opposed to traveling for work), I thought it was due time to begin exploring what's around here. I decided to enlist two of my girlfriends, who are also fairly new to West LA, and off we went.

We started our night at The Arsenal. I did a bit of research and found out on WalkScore that it was less than a mile away. After reading some reviews on Yelp, I thought it was a safe bet. Overall, the place had 3 1/2 of 5 stars or something. Their website was pretty entertaining, too. So, I let the gals know we're heading to The Arsenal and recite the reviews as though they are my own. Ok, cool - SOLD!

Parking the car was painless, which can mean one of two things: this place is lame or the universe is telling us to come here. The former ended up being accurate. The bar itself is trendy and clean, with modern furniture and a covered smoking patio. Not that I'm a smoker or anything. I'm just sayin'. The bartender was a nice guy, too. Unfortunately, the music was bad and there was no one there. It was confusing. I thought it would be busy on a Thursday night. Maybe the DJ scared everyone off. Who knows. Either way, it was time to go to the next place...

The next location was again my idea. This time I chose Brennan's. It wasn't midnight yet, so I definitely thought we'd get to see at least one Turtle Race.

To my dismay, not only did we miss the final race of the night, but the bouncers were mean and treated us pretty badly. Odd. Additionally, there were daggers being thrown at us from all angles simply because we were somewhat dressed up when it was obviously a sweater and jeans spot. Whoops. I apologize for my cute clothes. At this point, I was 0-2 and wanted someone else to choose the final spot, since it was nearing last call. [insert complaints about California's 2am closing time here]

Thankfully, one of my friends suggested the Huntley and that ended up being okay. It was still a bit dead, but we at least met some interesting blokes from Australia who made us laugh. It was my first time at the Huntley Penthouse, so I thoroughly enjoyed the people watching. It must've been date night because everyone was coupled up there. Cute.

That was my Thursday night. Quite a mix of venues, huh? I bet The Arsenal is fun on the weekend. Maybe it was just an off night. I have every intention of going back. I might even return to Brennan's for the first turtle race of the night next Thursday. Having a good time at a place has so much to do with timing. Kinda like relationships. Don't worry, I'm not gonna get on that tangent.

Now that it's Friday, I feel that I need to make up for last night's short comings. I plan to hit a housewarming party, then who knows where I'll end up next. Tell you tomorrow.

I've Always Wanted To Do This

I've decided that too many interesting, exciting, awkward, funny and down right random things happen in my life on a daily basis to not document it. I can't even count the number of times that I've laughed hysterically and wanted to tell someone, but later forgot and let that moment go unshared. Tragic. Additionally, those times that I actually do remember to tell my story, I get sick of repeating myself so it only makes sense to blog it instead. That way, I can tell one person and direct the others to my link. :) jk. I would never do that. Portuguese people love to talk and I'm no exception.

Aside from the day to day unbelievable moments, I also like to speak my mind, analyze and contemplate things that I don't necessarily want to verbalize. I'd rather blog about it instead of talk about it. AHA! Perfect tie in to my blog title. WOW, this just might work.

I'm new to the blogging world, so if anyone happens to read this, please be kind. I embrace constructive criticism, but in no way, shape or form claim to be some kind of writer. I will put that out there right in the beginning. I'm just a girl in her mid-twenties experiencing what some refer to as a quarter-life crisis, but what I see as my prime. I mean, let's face it, twenty- somethings have A LOT to look forward to. At least that's how I see it. Plus, I just know I'll live to be a hundred so this might be my only way to recount the past before the CRS kicks in.

A little background on me. Seven years ago I left home in pursuit of my college degree, something the generations before me had not attained. Home coincidentally is a tropical paradise, Hawaii, and the location I chose for college was Orange County. I know, disgusting, right? I've been fortunate, that's for sure. After being in "OC" for seven years, I decided it was time to leave the bubble and spread my wings. I moved to LA about three weeks ago for work and I couldn't be happier with my decision.

As I discover/uncover LA, I'll definitely keep you posted. This encompasses places to eat, drink, live, sing karaoke, shop, explore and even avoid. I'll also be sure to include the resources I used to figure it all out. Up to this point, there have been some sites, which really helped me find my way around and pick an apartment.

To research the area, I used LA Life and Walkscore to figure out how safe it was and how many places I could walk to. Those were honestly my only two concerns. Oh, and I needed them to accept pets and not charge me pet rent.

Anyway, more for tomorrow. I'm off to bed. Before I go, I just want to send as many positive vibes as I can to Patrick Swayze. Dirty Dancing is one of my all time favorite movies.