Episode Four: Cherry Chapstick to Jazz Fantastic!

Wow. It's been a while since my last post. School has been getting really hectic, but it's good hectic. Instead of worrying about readings and tests, I'm worrying about writing scripts and scouting locations for my next film (which will probably be a visual essay on Hollywood set to Sutton Foster's "I Want To Go To Hollywood" from Grand Hotel. So psyched!). While some classes like my sound class and tv class have readings, they're not bad at all and are so interesting! My first assignment for my television class is a flow outline where I look at the flow of programming on one channel between the last 10 minutes of one show and the first 10 minutes of another. It's a really cool assignment and school is a blast right now!

Life has been pretty good. It's really funny to see how deep friendships can grow in college. While I really don't have a set group of friends, I instead have amazing friends from different walks of life. It feels so different from high school with having that set group of people, but being so close with so many different people is forcing me to look at myself and the world in a new light, as cliche as that sounds...anyway...

Last night was SO amazing! I got tickets for Lauren and I to go see Katy Perry and the Alphabeats (a Danish pop group she got me hooked on) a while ago and the night finally arrived! Anyways, I didn't realize tickets went on sale until a few days after they were already on sale so we got tickets 4 rows from the last row in the balcony. Oh well hahaha. Then, once we got there, we didn't see anything about the Alphabeats and found out that they backed out of the tour at the last minute and were replaced by this ho-hum band called The Daylights. They were okay, they just sounded like every other angst ridden rock band out there. Then, Katy Perry came on and it was awesome!!! While the dance floor would have been fun, it was good to have seats so we could sit down when she sang her slow songs. This creepy gay black guy kept trying to dance with Lauren and I and it was just awkward enough to be amusing without being sketchy, if you get that lol. At least he was having fun as some of the other people there looked like they were serving time sitting there. Katy Perry was A BLAST live and she had so much energy. She also didn't have enough songs since she's only had one album, so she sang Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" and...the Hokey Pokey...all in all, such a great time.

Afterwards, Lauren and I found this jazz club in Bel-Air in this Dating Zagat book she got me for Christmas so we could find really nice and eclectic restaurants and this one was amazing!!! The concert let out at 10:30 and the restuarant was about a half-hour away...but the kitchen closed at 10:50 so we had to put our order in over the phone. Our reservation was at 10, but they were so gracious and helped us out. We arrived at 11:05 and they sat us right near the stage and this huge fireplace and our food came out in 5 minutes! This place was amazing as it was like walking into a 1950's NYC nightclub...the place was a deal considering we also had live music throughout the night with a jazz band and Barbara Morrison singing...she's a jazz legend with 30+ years experience and has performed with Ray Charles, Ella, and all the greats...she was amazing and talked to us during dinner. Lauren went up to her to buy a cd from her and had the following convo;

Lo: Thanks so much, you're amazing, yada yada yada....
BM: Thanks sugar. Do you want to get another CD for your husband?
Lo: (glances over at me) What?
BM: Your husband!
Lo: Oh...no..he's my best friend.
BM: (winking) It always starts that way, sweetie.
Lo: I'm 19...
BM: WHAT?!?! (did a double take since Lauren looks 25)

Hysterical. Anyways, she was AMAZING and sang tons of awesome songs while we ate mac and cheese with a bacon brioche crust and a kobe beef burger with gruyere cheese, pulled short rib, and caramelized onions on top...SO GOOD. I also had a caeser salad to start and we split this flourless chocolate cake with mint ice cream...it was SOOOO GOOD!!!

The night was amazing and so bizarre as we were in nosebleed seats with Katy Perry and then got to sit rows away from a jazz legend. The ride home was also fantastic as we took Mulholland Drive and saw all of LA below us...it was so perfect. I love LA, USC, and my friends here.