I'm going back to Cali.. Cali...

After an educational fun filled 3.5 days in Los Angles for an annual conference, I’m back and I’m damn tired.

Even though I only lived in LA for a short time when I was just a young pup, every time I visit, I get this calming feel that I’m home. I don’t think I would live there anymore, but I really like LA, even with the smog, traffic, and the pretentiousness of some areas. I still feel home there.

Compare to where I live now, it’s so wonderful to see all the diversity that the Midwest is missing. One major delicious difference is food. Sure we’ve got BBQ here, but you can’t eat that all the time.

Well you can, but it’s just not a good idea. I went through a ‘All-BBQ-All-The-Time’ diet which after a month, I’m pretty sure I’ve shorten my life by about 5 years not to mention acquiring some major poundage.

Anyway, back to the food. There were all kinds of food everywhere, and it was all good. In the hyper competitive restaurant scene there (I’m thinking specifically at the Chinese restaurants), if it’s not good, it won’t be around very long. So if you see some place with lots of people eating there, you can’t go wrong.

I went to a taiwanese dumplings place where the food was so delicious, they only make a specific amount of it each day. If they run out of something, better luck next time. They’re also opened only a few hours a day (less than banking hours). It’s pretty interesting how successful they are and that they stick to their guns about not killing themselves just to make loads and loads of money. They do more than ok with their 3 restaurants (LA, Taipei, Tokyo), they’re not greedy people.

On Friday morning, we were laying around on the bed and watching the traveling channel. There was a show on great hotels in LA. One hotel that was mentioned was ‘The Standard’. It was a very retro hip hotel with a very trendy bar. Walking between my hotel and the conference hotel what do I notice? The Standard was only a block away!

So on Friday night we decided to go. The aura and environment of the place just screamed hip. Shag carpets from floor to ceiling, sleek soft lined furniture, and waitresses in 70s flight attendants outfits. It was a very nice night so we sat outside by this fire place-type thing and people watched. As mentioned earlier, people watching rocks.

There were so much to do and so little time. On Saturday, I did manage to go to the conference (even more than I had planned to), had incredible dumplings, drove down sunset blvd and Hollywood, go waddle in the Pacific Ocean, walked around giant outdoor mall, go to jazz/eclectic bar, and all while finding time to hang out with the bro and a high school friend from the OC and being drunk a lot.

One big thing for the trip. After years of living there and dozens of visits, I finally saw the giant Hollywood sign on the side of the mountain. Yay!

One thing that I’m disappointed with during this trip was that during 2 separate occasions, I saw a dance-off in the streets. Any of you who know me even a little know that I’m all about taking it to the street. So I was pretty psyched about it.

The first dance-off was while we were driving through Hollywood, the other time while we were in Santa Monica. There wasn’t anything I could do in the Hollywood situation because we were in the car and we were rushing off for something else. But when we were in Santa Monica, it was right there in front of me.

I saw what was going on. Them boys had some skillz, I’ll give’em some props, but they needed to see what the Pup is all about. I didn’t know the format, but I stretched a little and I was about ready to jump in. However, I was drinking early that night and as I have no bladder, I had to run off to find a bathroom before I can lay out my sick moves in front of the crowd.

It was a horrible when I got back. Everyone had disbanded by then. I wasn’t gone very long to find a bathroom, but the big crowd and all the dancers were gone. Argh!! I missed it again!

I will have my dance-off! Mark my words!

The best part of the trip is definitely who I had with me. I’ve gone on a lot of trips and see a lot of things. One thing that I’ve learned is that what makes a good trip a great trip is who you’re with and who you’re able to share the experience with. For example, sure I’ve seen the Pacific ocean, but to be there who’s never see the Pacific and is stepping into the cold waters for the first time makes the experience just as exciting for me as well or taking that first flight after a couple of decades.

SO much more to blog about, there’re great stories of drunkenness, nudity, the attacking ocean, and a run-in with the LAPD. I gotta catch up from the 3 days of work I missed last week, so more later!

Have a good Monday!