right on bro!

Today I found out that I work across the street from the company that produces the TV show “COPS.” Bad boys, bad boys…

Just finished watching last night’s episode of Alias. Despite a certain amount of unbelievability, it was really, really, really good. Alias has been inconsistent this season, but episodes like last night’s gives me hope.

I feel much better after having settled down at work today and cranked out a bunch of stuff. Priorities still suck, though. I still want it all.

I gave Hurry Curry another shot tonight. I was really jonesing for Indian food. It took less time to get my food, and it was pretty decent. I still have to find a replacement though.

Went to OSH last night and they didn’t have the grill that I wanted. I’ll try to get one on Saturday.

A quick entry - one and a half weeks in, and I’m already jammed up at work. Things are cool there, but I came home last night and was totally exhausted, so I went to sleep early and slept for like 10 hours instead of my usual 7.

Maybe I’m still getting used to having a work schedule. I would like to hear Matt’s opinion on this. It’s been a pretty nutty month with the move and all that, but I’m already starting to miss some of the stuff that I thought I would enjoy when I decided to move.

I just want to give a shout out to two people: Frank Franco, tax man; and Kelly for referring me to him. I drove out to Burbank tonight to see Frank, and he performed the most solid of solid workings on my taxes. I initially ran my taxes through TaxAct, and it said I owed money, but now I’ll be getting money back. Highly recommended, for both Frank’s expertise and the fact that it was painless compared to spending two days doing taxes on my own.

Today was an okay day, I guess. I didn’t really get any projects done, which always makes me feel kinda stressed at the end of the day. Instead, I spent most of the day “shadowing” people in other departments, which means, basicallly I go to different departments and ask them what they do, why they do it, and the processes that are involved. It’s a great way to meet everyone, and also to learn how the overall business works, which will be integral to me producing some cool shit on the job. So, I guess it was worth it.

Now I’m just sitting out on the patio, writing this entry in my blog. Thanks to the Comcast DVR, there was no rush to get home in time to watch 24, and I’ll start watching in a few minutes. Jon and Brian went to see Behrooz at a taping of 24 Inside, and that sounded like it was fun. Now waiting for them to comment on it….

I ran into gridlock on the 405 south tonight at 10:30 P.M., when I was going home from Sherman Oaks from Sunday dinner with the Reasler and half of the Best Couple. What the hell? Where is everyone going at that hour that it causes a traffic jam?

Regul: Kelly gave me an Easter egg filled with candy to give to you. However, in true Easter spirit, I hid it somewhere in the house for you to find. Good luck. (Big “don’t wake me up” hint: It’s not in my room.)

I have had a good weekend so far. On Friday, Regul’s sister and her friend came into town, and we all went out to the Kabuki at the Howard Hughes Center. The fish was really good that night. They went back the next day, and I don’t blame them.

Yesterday I went to Ikea and bought a chest of drawers. It was the first piece of Ikea furniture I bought that required tools. Weird. Well, the drawers aren’t going to win any style awards but they’re fine.

After that, Matt came by and we got liquored up, played Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon 2, and ate some food from that Hawaiian place I had wanted to check out. It turned out to be not very good. Too bad. However, Ghost Recon 2 is pretty cool - it’s a lot like SOCOM for the Playstation. Brian and Mike came over, and then Jon came home, and it turned into a mini Halo fest.

Today, I did laundry, ironed some shirts, and prepared some stuff for tomorrow’s meeting with Frank Franco, tax man. I hope it goes well.

I didn’t know it was Good Friday today, did you? This morning I went into the office to be greeted by an email that said the office would be closing at 2 P.M. Unplanned time off is a straight bust.

I got most of my software up and running at work. They bought me the Adobe Creative Suite, so I spent today playing around with InDesign, which I’ve never used before. Neither have I played with the CS versions of Illustrator and Photoshop, so that took a bit of adjusting. I’m feeling a bit more comfortable in the office now. The first three days were pretty weak but I’m starting to settle down.

So this is my first weekend in seven months. I’m just gonna chill tonight, maybe Kabuki with the Regul and his sister. Gotta go run a bunch of errands this weekend, but looking forward to it all.

Oh - this week’s Alias wasn’t very good at all. Are Sydney and Vaughn following two separate story arcs because Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan split up in real life and can’t stand to be near each other or something? At least I have Jack Bauer to keep me entertained.

Went to breakfast at Izzy’s Deli today with a bunch of my new co-workers. They’re pretty cool. Some of them I’ve worked with before. The food was pretty good. I’d go eat there again.

On Monday, I am going to see Frank Franco, tax man. They apparently love Kelly over there. I hope they will love me, too, in a lower-my-taxes kind of way.

Oh, by the way, if you haven’t noticed, the templates on my blog are totally screwed, except for the homepage. I’ll get around to fixing it, someday maybe.

I really miss not having music during the day…

There was an earthquake here today. The earthquake shook the building where I’m working in. It was really wack.

After that, it took me an hour to get home because, apparently, when it rains, everyone in Los Angeles automatically slows down.

As promised, here’s where I’ve been to eat and a short summary of what the deal is with that joint:

Aunt Kizzy’s Back Porch, Marina del Rey. I worked on a movie that had a scene shot here, and ever since I saw it, I wanted to eat here. This place has the best cornbread and lemonade I’ve ever had - better than Weaver D’s Fine Foods in Athens, Georgia, which I rank as one of the best places I’ve ever eaten, period. Anyway, soul food, lots of it, tasty, and reasonable ($10-$15 per plate). I’ll be back again, multiple times, for sure.

Benny’s Bar-B-Q, Marina del Rey. This is a little hamshack on Lincoln Blvd near Washington, so don’t go here if you want a romantic dinner. However, come here if you want good barbecue. Those were some tasty-ass pork ribs. I’ll be back here again. About $10-$15 for dinner.

Hurry Curry, Venice. I really liked the idea of having takeout Indian to pick up on the way home from work. But I’m sorry, the food I got the first time I went there wasn’t very good at all. If you’ve ever been to Star of India on Melrose, or even Shalimar in San Francisco - this place doesn’t hold a candle to them. Not going back here again unless I’m desperate for Indian food.

Crest House Family Restaurant, Mar Vista. I thought this was going to be a cool place since it looked like an old-school joint that advertised steaks and seafood, but I just got back from eating dinner there, and it’s a solid zero. I’m down with Denny’s/diner type places, but I could microwave a frozen dinner better than this. I might come back here for a burger or a cheap breakfast, but probably not.

Versailles, Venice (the one on Venice Boulevard). I liked the Versailles on La Cienega, and this place is the same, except it’s real close to my pad now. The garlic chicken and pork dinners rule. End of story.

Wabi Sabi, Venice, on Abbott-Kinney. Good sushi, but expensive. If I wanted to try to impress a girl, this would be on my list of places to take her on a date. If I ever had a date, that is.

Alejo’s Italian Restaurant, Westchester. Not much of an atmosphere, but good food, and the free bread comes with an awesome olive oil/garlic sauce. I’d go here again.

Hacienda del Rey, Westchester. Cheap Mexican food, strong drinks. What more could you ask for?

Jina’s Pizza on Centinela in Mar Vista. They prove that local advertising works - once. They stuck a menu in our screen door, and I didn’t feel like going out on Saturday to pick up food, so I called them and ordered a pizza. It sucked. Half of it is still in the fridge. It will probably stay there until Regul complains about it, because it was so bad, I don’t want to touch it ever again.

Ragin’ Cajun, Hermosa Beach. The cajun catfish I had (with shrimp etouffle) was okay. The red beans, rice and sausage were awesome. I’m coming back here again. Again, not a date place unless you are dating a chick who moved here from the Louisiana bayou to be an actress and is feeling homesick.

That is all. I am seeking recommendations for more good places around here, so if anybody has any (especially you ex-81st’ers), please speak up. Thanks.

The building in which I work has the coolest parking gate system. I drove up to the gate to leave, and I didn’t see a card reader for my parking card. I sat there for about 30 seconds looking for it. Finally I just held my card up in the air, and the gate opened.

Everyone seems real nice at the new place.

I’m pretty tired so I’m keeping this short so I can go to bed early.

24 on RegulVision (a.k.a. 50″ TV) looks awesome. Today’s episode was eh. Too much setup, not enough fool-killing.