Mark's (almost) debut on the LA stage

While we were in LA, Mark's good friends arranged for us to go and see a 'show'. Mark was in on what the evening's entertainment was to be, while I was left in the dark (I agreed to be surprised...).

After dinner and cocktails at Brian and Anthony's fabulous house, we all piled into Brian's Saturn hybrid SUV (?) and headed in some direction. The tension was mounting and I was ready to know what was going on.

As we drove past The Dragonfly slowly, I brilliantly deduced that this was to be our destination. After finding a good parking spot, we ambled back to the Dragonfly where, above the door, was a banner saying "Point Break Live!". I must admit that even this information did not tip me off ...

Once inside, Brian handed me a ticket stub and a small see-through packet. It was a rain poncho.
I guess the guys were not kidding when they were giving me hints: "wear something you don't mind getting wet/dirty"(I assumed we were going to see the comedian Gallagher ... you know - watermelon, mallet, etc...?)

Brian went to get us all some beer and Mark and I went to find Kyle, who had gone in ahead of us on a mission to secure good seats. He did just that. Second row on stage right. Mark and I began to walk down the row of seats away from the aisle, but Kyle insisted that Mark needed to be at the end of the row. This sentiment was echoed by both Brian and Anthony as they came back bearing beer for all. Mark and I exchanged "uh oh" looks a la' Luci and Desi and sat where we told.

The action began almost immediately when a dude with a bad wig (supposed to be Gary Busey, I think?) asked for all the potential 'Johnny Utah' s to come up on stage and audition. Now it was all sinking in ... those guys had planned this - oh poor Mark - does he even want to do this? I wouldn't ... no way .. but he was a trooper and got up on stage with about 8 other guys while we hooted and hollered for him.

...(Now I was beginning to wonder ... was this it? the reason they insisted he sit on the aisle? or did they also somehow plant him to get the role? I mean I knew they were 3 of the most powerful men in all of Hollywood, but just how far did their influence reach? hmmm... I decided to wait and see)...

Mark was fabulous. He did as he was asked with a smile and finesse. I could see he had much of the audience swooning, but was he what they were looking for? Was he too smart to play Keanu Reeves playing Johnny Utah? I feared he might be.

It was obvious that several of the men auditioning (why were there no women?) seemed to be dressed for the part and/or 'acting' just as they saw Keanu do in the film, which may or may not have been an advantage (a question 'real' actors struggle with in auditions too - so I'm told).

In the end, Mark did not win the role. If it were cast solely on who had the best butt, he would have won. Ditto on charm, good looks, sharp dressing and blushing ability. But this is Hollywood, my friends, and that large man in the middle with a drink in his hand and a booming voice outshone our boy... this time.

I don't think Mark was disappointed one bit. As a matter of fact, he looked quite relieved as he once again returned to the end of our aisle amid our hooting and hollering. I was v. proud of him. That is not an easy thing to do at all. Let me reiterate here - I would not do that. (I hope this discourages any rogue surprise planners ...)

I was v. glad that the boys had not set him up for any more than this and I think M. feels the same. I also think he was a little flattered that they wanted him to be the star and had confidence that he could do it. Awww. Friends. So cute.

The show began and we all laughed a lot, but none more than Kyle who was the only one in the group who had previously seen the show. It was a riot looking over at him in his green rain poncho cracking up. Brian was stealthy at getting the beer while the show was going on and I for one, never ran out - a talent to be sure . (Thank you Brian!)

Although I had never seen the movie, I think I was able to follow the 'plot'. Regardless, much hillarity ensued, water was splashed and dumped on the audience, though we stayed relatively dry and I could tell the actors and audience were having a blast.

When it was over, we hung out on the great roof deck for a bit before heading to Blockbuster - yes, that's right - someone decided it was a good idea to now sit through the movie version ... I watched for all of 5 minutes until I could no longer bear Keanu's voice and Swayzee's mullet - perhaps another time.
All in all, a fine night in the city of Angels. Ain't nothin' like being out on the town with 4 hot men. Word.

a unique welcome back to Zurich

After a rip-roaring time in LA and SF, I arrived back in Zurich on Saturday and promptly fell into a deep sleep as soon as we got back to the apartment. I had been traveling for about 20 hours and hadn't sleep a wink.

Being the ever so supportive husband that he is, Mark joined me for the nap. We awoke about 6 hours later, scrounged in the refrigerator for some snacks and decided we were ready for another nap.

Just as I was about to climb into bed I spied the largest spider I have ever seen (save for the huge ones in my mother's barn) close up, on the inside of the curtain v. near my side of the bed. Not wanting to alarm my husband - who is not afraid of much, but does not love spiders - I calmly called his attention to the beast and offered to 'take care of it'.

He cautioned me not to be too hasty as this may be some sort of jumping or flying spider that could get really pissed off and somehow attack us if we did not succeed in killing it on the first attempt. (I think he was confusing this behavior with a wasp or bee, but kept my mouth shut).

He left the room and came back with one of his size 12 flip flops in hand and proceeded to stand at a safe distance and watch the non-moving arachnid. Reminding him of the time he put an end to a snake that was freaking me out in our yard and how much I appreciated that and how I would like to return the favor, I gently pried his fingers from the shoe and killed the sucker.

I disposed of the body, rinsed the shoe off and washed my hands thoroughly. When I returned to the bedroom, the window was closed though it was quite warm. Good move, M. - better to be a little hot than eaten by a giant spider.

Tragedy averted.
Welcome home
and a fine how-do-you-do.

(note: objects in photos appear MUCH smaller than than truly are/were)

it's time for another diversion

I realize that it's been quite some time since I have offered/provided a little distraction for your day and am here to remedy that:




submit your own or just go and browse, it'll easily kill some time...

"Don't tase me, ___!"

Thank you to Will Shortz, editor of the NY Times crossword puzzle for helping me get my husband more interested in solving the puzzles with me.

With clues such as "Don't tase me, ___!" (Bro) - from today's puzzle - I think we may have scored a few 'fun' points with my v. smart, clever partner ... in the mean time, I'll likely get him the t-shirt and continue to search for more ways to reel him into my geekdom ...

left coast

I left the east coast yesterday after several weeks of fabulous fun with my mom at the farm, cleaning and organizing the barn, getting caught up on reality tv, visiting friends, playing cards, going through old college papers and becoming a Godmother to my beautiful neice, Kaitlyn.

I had not seen Mark in nearly 6 weeks and was v. excited to reconnect with him while he was on business in LA. Being the fabulous 'surprise-r' that he is, he booked a great hotel in Santa Monica, right down the street from one of his best friends and kept it a secret from me. I arrived yesterday afternoon and was greeted at the airport by Rhonda, a limo driver who took me to the gorgeous Fairmont Miramar Hotel right on the beach.

She was the second interesting person who I had met within an hour of arriving in LA. The first was a guy named Erik I sat next to on the plane who was coming to town for a voice over convention. He gave me some great info and I'm looking forward to reconnecting with him when I get back to Zurich and start setting up my home studio.

Rhonda was on a chatty roll when I got into the car and continued the entire way to the hotel. She is an actor and sometimes limo driver because the insurance she gets through the limo company pays for 4 rounds of IFV (in vitro fertilization) and she and her husband have been trying to have a baby for a few years now. She had lots of advice for me on the subject and, urged that I freeze my eggs just in case - she wishes she had when she was younger...(she's now 45)

When she asked me where I was coming from and heard me say, NH, she said she had been to Nashua and Exeter. Then she added, "ooh - is the Flume in NH or Maine?" I told her NH, and she informed me that she tells everyone who she drives and that talks about New England to check out the Flume - she said it was one of the coolest things she had ever seen. (I'll have to let my friends at the state know the source of the likely increase in traffic at this tourist spot..)

Rhonda dropped me off and I checked in was shown to our v. own little bungalow. Really, really great. No sooner had I started unpacking and jumped in the shower than came a knock at the door. I ignored it, assuming it was room service. Then the phone rang. In the bathroom. I reached out of the shower to pick it up and it was Mark. He was outside the door, without a key and had to jump onto a conference call immediately. Bummer.

I let him in, gave him a quick kiss, returned to the shower and finished rinsing off, threw on a robe and sat on the bed reading the paper for the next almost hour trying not to distract him. Not easy!

We had a great dinner at a downtown sushi place - only $58 for 3 of us with lots of sushi, beer and green tea ice cream! What a bargain. We were almost an hour late, as we decided to follow the navigation system in the Prius that M. had rented instead of the directions Kyle had given us...Ooops. But it was a good people/architecture watching adventure.

Mark had to go to the office in Northridge today so I took a walk to explore the neighborhood. I wanted to hit a drug store so I asked a guy on the street, who (shockingly... ha) turned out to be an actor/writer. He steered me in the right direction and walked with me for about 5 blocks. He has written a play that is being produced right now at a little theatre called The Miles Memorial Playhouse. He asked if I was an actor. It was weird, especially as I had already told him I was only visiting LA from Switzerland. So I told him I was v. famous in NH and left it at that. Ha.

Now I'm back in the bungalow waiting for my handsome husband to get back so we can go down to the Pier and hit the beach.