Saw Angels and Demons. I’d rather have my teeth pulled than watch this one again.  Which by the way is what Brit had done this morning.  I thought a movie would talk her mind off the pain once the Novocain wore off.  Not sure this Hank’s “masterpiece” helped much.

#57 Done. I was lecturing Brittany on the way to school today when she said, “jeez, your teeth are white.”  A couple of months worth of Crest White Strips has done a bang up job.

Began a course taught through Stanford devoted to developing applications for the iPhone.

It may have been the most uninteresting Memorial Day in a long time, but a major home cleaning was necessary.  We continue to prepare for a major garage sale that we will have next weekend. $1500 is the lofty goal.  Stay tuned.

Spent our weekend at UC Irvine watching Brittany and her team just miss the finals by a couple of points.  Her play continues to impress me.

Saw The Brother’s Bloom last night.  It was a creatively ambitious con man flick.  Liked not loved.

#24 in progress.  Lunched at the newly opened The Counter today.  My fourth burger in four days.  If you’re into opening a franchise (Sean), this one is a good one.

After moving up a division, the Wilshire Bombers are champions once again.

#21 STILL in progress.  95% sure this deal is falling through.  Despite the house needing little things here and there, we asked the sketchy caretaker, a diminutive Thai woman who turned out to be the owner, nothing except for a $300 safety repair job on the balcony’s railings in order to prevent any unnecessary deaths.  The owner refused and said that the railings were fine as long as no one leaned against them.  Well, we felt there was a good chance that someone would indeed do just that at least seven hundred and thirty times over the next, say, seven hundred and thirty days, so we stood firm.  It’s a great house, but I, represented by my former co-tenant Matt Lucey, have already taken one landlord to court and I don’t care to do it again.  Wouldn’t want to tarnish the one for one record.  Long story short, we’re still looking for our view.

#21 in progress.  The new abode. Moving in June.

Watched the Lakers barely win with my Dad, Sean and Sonia.  Won’t be a cake walk.

Add Star Trek to #23.  I was never a Trekkie, but this was watchable. Live long and prosper.

#21 in progress. Starting to look.  Fell in love with a place with a view that will ultimately break my heart.

Prom 2009.  More to come tomorrow.

Finished off the regular season with a 9-8 loss to a sub-par team.  Could’ve won the league, but we end up sharing the title with another team.  A truly pathetic finish.

#25 not really in progress. After demolishing a pulled pork sandwich, baked beans and a few brews I got to thinking, am I losing weight?  Well, turns out that I am not.  In fact, I may have added a few lbs.  How could this happen? Looking back on the week that was it is easy to see why the pounds aren’t flying off.  Over the past seven days I have eaten buckets of sushi, two burgers and fries, an enormous steak dinner, syrup and butter covered pancakes, a large pizza (not once, but twice), an all you can eat brunch, a big fat burrito, an all you can eat BBQ dinner, a few hot dogs, a bagel every morning and the above mentioned pulled pork sandwich.  Oh, and maybe a beer or two to wash it all down.  So why am I not losing weight?

#81 in progress. My dad let his Chicago office know that he would appreciate it if a few tickets to the Cubs vs. Reds game on July 24th were made available for our trip to the city.  A few hours later we had six seats locked and loaded. Few things are more enjoyable than a Friday day game at Wrigley. Thanks, Dad.

Back to the grind.  Burritos and Margaritas to cap off the work day.

Happy Mother’s Day from Lake Sherwood Country Club where we ate, drank and were more or less merry.  For some more pics from the day click here.

#24 in progress. Finally tried Casa Bianca in Eagle Rock, a down home Italian joint famous for its pizza.  We waited 45 minutes to be seated, another 45 minutes to be served, but in the end it was well worth it.  Great Za.

Dry Heat

#24 in progress. Took Sonia and Brittany to Morton’s for a steak dinner.  Despite spending eight or so years in the midwest I had never eaten at this Chicago staple.  I have to say, from apps to entree it was excellent.

#53 Done. Escaped to Palm Springs for a couple of days for a pre Mother’s Day celebration.  We scored the best poolside bed with amble shade for the 95+ temps.  Kindle + Food + Drinks + Pool is just what the doctor ordered.

Happy Odd Day.  Today’s date, 05/07/09, is a rare occurrence in that it consists of three consecutive odd numbers.  It is an event that happens only six times a century.  The first Odd Day of this century occurred on 01/03/05.  So if you’re feeling odd today now you know why.

Happy 5th of May.

Now who’s paranoid?  The Swine Flu has struck at Devin’s school and class has been canceled for at least a week. Fear the swine.

Netflixed “The Happening” last night.  This movie has a good shot of gaining cult status for being so god awful it has to be seen over and over just to reaffirm that it was actually made.  The Crappening is proof that once you produce a hit you can work in Hollywood forever.  Ever since The Sixth Sense, M. Night Shamalamalawhateverhisnameis has been getting paid tens of millions of dollars a picture to write and direct the most absurd and unwatchable movies around.

APRIL RECAP.  If I had only waited for the Kentucky Derby to bet my long shot, the race in which long shot Mine that Bird (60-1) won, my $50 dollar bet would have netted me $50,000 dollars.  Damn.  Nevertheless, April was a good month.  I turned 36, our business grew up a bit, hung out with my sister Michelle briefly, haven’t contracted Swine Flu (yet), baseball is back, and my buddy Matt, a guy who couldn’t even arrange for a proper haircut (as evidenced in the above photograph) had a kid.

Over the last month Sonia and I knocked off another eight goals and continued to chip away at a number of others.  Let’s start with the ones we put to bed…

#15. We finally got ourselves insured.  Thankfully my Ambien fiasco didn’t result in a hospital visit.  Which reminds me of some great advice, never take Ambien and a laxative at the same time.

#60. Sonia bought me a watch for my birthday.

#50. We visited the largest buddhist temple in the country.

#17. Got our passports.  Trying to figure out where to use them.

#13. We became altruistically generous.

#23. Saw my tenth movie of the year in the theatre.  At least ten more to follow.

#39. Took a boat ride.  Regretted it.

#83. Put metal in my daughter’s mouth.  Good to see the immediate confidence boost.

As for the ones we’ve put a dent into…

#5. Hardly

#8. Revenues continue to grow.  Expenses too.

#19. Yep.

#22. Read Tropic of Cancer, my second of five.  Review to come.

#24. New restaurants tried are: XIV in Hollywood, Castaway in Burbank, The Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, 8oz Burger Bar on Melrose, King Fish in Long Beach and Kiwami in Studio City.

#25. Going the wrong way.

#28. Saw my second of five. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

#57. Better every day.

That’s about it for April.  Off to May.

# 8 in progress. April was an interesting month for LA Fashion Insider.  We suffered a minor setback when a vendor launched an attack on us after learning one of his employees wanted to join us.  Nevertheless, the vendor was easily replaced and damage appears to be minimal.  As a company our April revenue was up 63% from April 2008 and up just over 5% from last month.  We also hired our first employee who starts later this month.

The Youmans brothers locked down the left side of the infield and Devin was a thief in the outfield as the Wilshire Bombers took control of first place with just one game to go.

Tickets have been bought.  We’re NYC bound July 9th thru the 12th.  Numbers 9, 35, 46, 78, 92 and 93 will fall. I can already taste that New Yawk Dawg.

#24 in progress.  Anyone who knows us knows our obsession with Katsu-ya sushi.  Well tonight that obsession grew with the discovery of Chef Katsu-ya’s new restaurant Kiwami (Japanese for The Ultimate). Kimawi is the seventh restaurant under the Katsu-ya umbrella, but unique in that Katsu-ya himself is actually behind the counter.  Sonia called tonight’s meal her best ever.  High praise.

#83 Done. Brittany completed the first step in what will ultimately “perfect” her smile and facial features.  I remember from the time I was about ten years old being told by every dentist I saw that braces were necessary.  My parents always seemed to disagree.  After being presented with Brittany’s bill I guess I understand why.

#44 in progress.  The next item to discuss in my bequeathment series is this framed Avalanche Super Bar photograph. Not only is this masterpiece the centerpiece of our home, it is also a daily reminder of some of my fondest memories at Marquette.  I may have spent more time in the Lanche than the classroom, but the friendships and alcohol tolerance gained made the loss of brain cells well worth it.  And I couldn’t have lost half of those brain cells if it weren’t for my buddy Matt who often paid the five quarters it took to buy a can of Pabst Red, White & Blue when I couldn’t afford it.  With that said, I bequeath my Lanche’ masterpiece to Matt Lucey and his new daughter Addie.

#24 in progress.  Tried 8oz burger bar on Melrose in West Hollywood.  Love my burger and this place had a good one.  Laurel Tavern is still in first place.

#22 Done. While I’ll probably see at least a dozen more, Earth was the tenth and final movie I needed to see in a theatre to complete this goal.   Like the Discovery Channel series, Earth is a fantastic documentary.

Movies seen at the theatre in 2009 are:

1. Gran Torino
2. Revolutionary Road
3. The Wrestler
4. Taken
5. Confessions of a Shopaholic
6. The International
7. I Love You, Man
8. Sunshine Cleaning
9. Observe and Report
10. Earth
11. Star Trek
12. The Brothers Bloom
13. Angels and Demons
14. The Hangover
15. Bruno
16. The Hurt Locker
17. 500 Days of Summer
18. District 9
19. Inglorious Basterds
20. Paranormal Activity
21. This Is It

Netflixed Body of Lies.  A good modern day spy flick.

LAFashionInsider is officially an employer.  Good-bye frequent Katsuya dinners, hello operating costs.

#13 Done.  While we’re not in the position to be sponsoring others, our list has pushed us both to do so.  Two players on Brit’s team are unable to come up with their dues, so Sonia and I have pledged a couple of bar nights a week to the cause.

90+ degrees today.  This is why we live here.

That’s more like it.

#18 Finito.  Finally have a passport.  Now I just need somewhere to go.