I traveled back to SoCal for a bit while Knitgrrl had to teach some classes all around the area. Saw friends, went out, saw the folks, and caught a nasty flu along the way. I blame the smog! Next time we go off together, we’re hitting Joshua Tree and Vegas, so watch out!
We discovered that having a cane is a golden ticket to easy street in airports. Priority lines, no getting felt up, I got to ride the beep-beep cars everywhere, and extra legroom at no extra charge. Oh, and the first-class bathroom! These were small luxuries when sharing a plane with 5 small children; I swear none of their parents thought to change their diapers before or during the flight, I wished I had a cold because I thought the smell was going to kill me! This is why I drive everywhere I can manage.
We first stayed with my pal Susan in Westwood. Susan owns more Gerald Laing prints than I do!
She also still has these creepy big eyed pieces. I remember these were up around our dorm room at CalArts!
The theme of the trip was “driver, driver! What’s this on my hand?” and other Rachel Zoe references. Well hot damn, look who Susan lives down the street from!!!
After lunching, munching, a few trips for drinks and tacos, (and I kid you not we saw a woman INJURE HERSELF SHOPPING in Beverly Hills!) and eating French macaroons driving around to Depeche Mode, we decided it was time to go find David Lynch! I used to drive up in the hills ages ago looking for his house, and again, we had no success. But, I got some nice views up from Mulholland. David, where are you?
“you there!” to stinky downtown LA. Which I should say, my old street where I used to work has cleaned up a lot! There’s actually stores, and people aren’t peeing in front of you anymore! Anyways. We had to jam it to Burbank, so we went shopping at It’s A Wrap (the Ugly Betty cast offs were way ugly indeed!) and visited the vintage store where the Mad Men costumer gets all her clothes for the show. The lady talked Shannon into buying a few brooches. I however, was a good girl and bought nothing.
It was time for the book signing Shannon was doing at Unwind in Burbank. It was packed! There was actually a guest list just so they wouldn’t get over capacity! They also brought out a cake for Shannon’s birthday, nice huh?
While Shannon was busy doing knitty things, I met up with my friend Donna from Clockwork Couture, and we went to a faux dive hipster bar for vegan bratwurst. Yes, faux dive in Burbank! I always laugh at these kind of places, because they look like every bar in the rust belt! Except our Blatz light fixtures are real and weren’t bought on Ebay, baby! The brats were good though!
oh you guys.
So figuring Shannon would dig on the animatronic woodland creatures, we headed to the place where I spent every Tuesday and Wednesday night of my life for 2+ years: The Bigfoot Lodge. It has since gotten fancier bathrooms and a better floor, but beyond that? The same old place.
The DJ booth my husband and I spent many a night.
I wanted to take Shannon to see the Thai Elvis for her birthday, but alas he was no more…or the restaurant wasn’t, or he just didn’t feel like showing up. Whatever the case, the next best thing? My old favorite Thai place across the street, with a picture of Elvis on the wall. Good enough I say!
I was actually really upset to see a lot of old landmarks and places that were no more. Mo’ Better Meaty Meat Burgers down where I lived on Pico is now a Walgreens. The French Cottage Motel (where many crack whores hung out) that was in front of my old pad in Hollywood is now leveled. The neon sign should have been kept at a historical monument! But in LA, nothing gets kept and all is torn down. Well, except anything having to do with…
The Church of Churchology! Erm, Scientology. They weren’t too happy about us taking photos. This was a hospital at one time, but now, it’s just creepy.
So it was at this point that finding Crispin Glover’s house became important. We can’t have David Lynch? Well, as Donna informed me, Crispin was not at home (touring with his films, rather) so why not settle for him? OK! And no, I’m not a creepy stalker, I’M NOT. I’m sure his security system got some interesting footage of me rubbing myself all over the flowers outside his home. What?
At least I didn’t go poking to see what kind of cars he had under the tarps in the front yard. Because I could have!
Well, now we had an appointment in downtown to go find fabric. I think this chair would look great in Crispin’s house…or my house with Crispin…when he becomes my second husband — you know — if anything were to happen to my current husband. Just saying. What?
It’s fabulous, I’ll take it all!
Turn your truck around and gimmeh a taco! I love these hand painted signs.
My favorite cake shop in my old neighborhood. I see Cher is still there…
As well as the cake I wanted for my 23rd birthday, but we settled for booze at the Kibitz Room instead. I still wouldn’t mind a boobie cake. Just sayin’
That evening we went to La Luz de Jesus for a quick stop into to see the 4-person show that was up. Wish I could have stayed longer, but my leg was acting up and the pain was a bit much at that point. A man kept daring me to use my cane to lift the hat off the taxidermy.
We had a mini CalArts reunion at Good Luck Bar on the schedule, wish I had gotten more photos of people, but here’s one.
Crazy that we graduated 10 years ago. The best were current and former students of my friend Helder being super drunk and their minds being blown at seeing him outside of school…at a bar. “I’ve know Helder since I was 18, and I’m 21 now, THAT’S CRAZY!” to which his girlfriend replied, “yes, we’ve known him since we were 17 and are in our 30s now”. Dude, her brain got broke at that point — it was amazing. Also, things you find out after years of not seeing people? That your college boyfriend became a porno actor and escort! I wish I was making it up, I really do. But supposedly he’s not doing that anymore. I can only hope.
The next day I sat in on the Social Media class Shannon was conducting for TNNA at the Long Beach Convention Center. We actually got lost in the shipyards on the way there, it looked like Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome and I was hoping Tina Turner with those awesome earrings was going to pop out from being a shipping container. Alas she did not.
TNNA is a huge thing, I had no idea. It’s like a “thing” and a whole industry.
Speaking of social media, I went to a Social Media Club meet-up in San Juan Capistrano. Yeah Cleveland, we need to have ours at locations like this more often, just sayin’
Here’s Maria Brophy talking about arty farty things and how to utilize social media for all things arty farty.
Darin here proves that you can’t throw a stone in the air without hitting one anywhere in SoCal…
Casa Dana in Dana Point, aka the homestead. Despite it being 58 degrees versus 22 in Cleveland, I got my California blood back and was actually cold!
Speaking of Rachel Zoe. This was my best “raisen face” I could muster.
One of the things I forget about being in a surf town is that everything is EXTREME. Even the tacos.
Here’s a new David Miretsky my mom got. I discovered when I got home I had one waiting for me as well.
This is the big one bought the year I was born. It always scared my friends in school when they came over. “Why is the man eating himself?!” they’d ask.
This Soudekin I grew up with too (I used to stare at it constantly), but it was falling apart badly. After a year or more, it finally is back at home and repaired by a pro. Although I have to say, I hate the frame!
One of the creatures in the house. I think my mom was a tad upset Shannon claimed him for the weekend.
The poodle who flops.
File this under “goths in hot weather” because we both have canes! Albiet mine is the TSA approved one for when I travel. Andrea and I used to hit the goth clubs back in high school!
So aside for all of that, I tortured my mom and step dad with this video and this video. They wanted to understand the Crispin Glover thing. It’s a thing okay, I like his nose. This is the good part about visiting a place and no longer being a resident: doing stupid and wasteful things because you have the luxury of time to do them! Because I tell ‘ya, LA traffic has gotten worse and I look forward to never having to drive it when I have to be somewhere on time! Cruising along to First Wave and eating French macaroons is a better way of doing things.
Arty Farty 
I recall seeing the big eyed paintings in the huge glass windows of some building in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, not sure it was an art gallery (sometime in the early eighties). I happen to love them, I guess some people do find them creepy. I don’t think I saved the article, but there was an article, NY Times, maybe, about the artist who did the big eye paintings, apparently the husband had been saying he did them, odd case, sort of like Collette’s husband claiming to have written the Pauline (Paulette?) series. Can’t tell if these are the same paintings, it may have been a popular style at the time, they look like they cold be color by numbers, those are always fun!