FINAL WEEKEND: Results

Okay, so I had to spread my planned adventures across 2 days, but here's how it went...

- Went by an Open House in Marina del Rey.  I'm finally seeing real estate prices venture into the believeable levels of reality, so I thought I'd check it out.  The owners are auctioning the place via in interesting concept of round-robin bidding, executed over the phone.  Best of luck to them, and I'm curious to see how much they get for the 2-2.5, 1,575 sqft condo.  If it goes for under $450K, I'll know that the market is serious about attracting buyers, but until then, I'm happy to sit on the sidelines and watch the equity bloodbath.

- Find an after-party spot:  Looks like Liv Lounge will be the spot; just have to talk to the folks there and see how they can accomodate.

- Santee Alley:  Huge success, got everything I needed and more.  I always get excited when I'm there, yet depressed that I don't frequent the place more often.  Oh yeah, they started a rewards program that a number of the bodegas are participating in; 10% off purchases at participating stores, and the card only costs you $1 for the month!  Definitley put that bad-boy to use.

- Photos:  It was so gorgeous on Sunday morning, I had to head to Echo Park to take some photos.  I'll post them this week after I get a chance to touch them up a bit.

-Massage:  Got my monthly over at Massage Envy.  Received devastating news that my massouse is leaving next week, but I'll survive.  Never had any Thai worked into my massages before...whoa!  A stretch with the massage is something I could get used to!

- Never made it to Fry's and still need to get blank CD's. See, this concept is so foreign to me that I forgot to complete the task!



Oh, BTW....this is THE SPOT'S 100th Post...Wahoo!

FINAL WEEKEND: What to Do?

So this is my final weekend as a 'single' man...what to do?  Well, I've been blogging about myself more than I'd care to of late, so I would enjoy deflecting attention by doing some passive blogging and taking-in the environment.  That's right, it's adventure time!  And while I'd like to post an update or two to The Spot during the day, it'll be much easier to update twitter, so follow the feed on the right side of the page, or follow me @cbucka on twitter.  But anyway, here's the rough itinerary...

- Santee Alley:  Need shades, and a ring-bearer gift for the nephew.
- Fry's, Manhattan Beach: Need blank CD's (I know, who uses those anymore, right) to copy music for the wedding
- Redondo Beach: Hang with the 'rents and Grandpa down in the South Bay
- Pasadena: Check out potential after-party locations
-Glendale: Probably going to take photos around town, we'll see.

8 Days to go: Random Thoughts

Okay, the wedding is just 8 days away....aren't I supposed to be freaking out, mid-life crisis style!?!....still waiting on that.

8 days left; everything will be different after that!  Really? Like 28 and 364 days felt any different than my 29th birthday? Granted, I'll be wearing a ring, but I'm in a rather rationally-charged, mature relationship, so the concept of everything changing is lost on me until I hear the life altering phrase, "I'm pregnant!"

On my flight to Vegas, I was utterly crushed when I realized that we didn't register at Sky Mall.

I'm seriously contemplating just losing it and making up a tragic story the next time someone gives me those googley eyes and asks if I'm ready for the 21st. Honestly, that question alone causes me more stress than the process has.

A Test of Greater LA Mass Transit

The latest string of posts related to my upcoming bachelor party in Las Vegas has been a little Christopher-centric and a bit self-serving.  If you've ever had a face-to-face conversation with me, you know that I'm reaching my limit of personal sharing, so I'll direct the conversation the way I usually do: analytical.  That way, perhaps some information of value to someone else spews out onto the page!

So I leave from Bob Hope Airport at 10:55am on Thursday morning in order to ensure that I arrive in Vegas as soon as it's acceptable to drink (12:01pm).  I'll be gone for five days, so I'd really prefer not to spend $40 on parking my car just 7 miles from my own garage.  I've heard that in most big cities, people use....get this....public transit to get to and from the airport! (no way!)  Time to put LA to the test!

A quick review of the Metrolink website and the Glendale Beeline website, and I've got a gameplan situated.  Did you know there's a Union Station to Bob Hope Airport Metrolink line?  I didn't either.  LA is horrible at marketing its mass transit, in part because it is so fragmented.  Anyway, if I walk out my front door and 3 blocks west to Brand, I should supposedly be able to catch the Beeline at 9:30, be at the Glendale Transit Center at 9:51, on the Metrolink at 10:00, and at Bob Hope Airport at 10:11, ready to walk into the terminal and board.  If this works, it will be the first time I've been able to identify mass transit as a convenient transportation alternative around town.  Heck, the travel times aren't even a deterrant in this case!


P.S. - Upon return from Vegas, I'm going to be adventuring/exploring LA via mass transit and reporting back.  Traffic in LA is a bear, and traveling by trains is fun and efficient, so stay tuned to hear about how you might be able to take advantage of LA's evolving transit system as well!

Happy Easter, Go Lakers!

Happy Easter everyone!  To me, it always seems like Easter is the true beginning of Spring, the beginning of that great part of the year where it's warm but not hot, where the hills are still green, and it's inevitably time for Lakers Playoff Basketball!

The Show heads into game 4 tonight in New Orleans with a 2-1 lead in this first round series.  Pau actually showed up last game, and if he keeps up his intensity level, we should be watching another Showtime display of dominance beginning at 6:30 tonight, and headed back home to close out the series.

LA Mayor Villareigosa Visits the West LA Chamber

This past Wednesday, mayor Villareigosa visited the West LA Chamber's monthly networking breakfast.  Rather than giving a speech, the mayor took a Q & A session, and was pretty open and straightforward with all questions brought forth.  The mayor was emphatic about the 30/10 plan, and noted that while the Westside had previously been opposed to rail line expansion, the area has become a large advocate of the program.  He added his enthusiasm for the Expo line opening this Spring/Summer.
The mayor also addressed the issue of education and the struggles of budgetary constraints.  Education is another issue the mayor spoke passionately about, and recognized that the UTLA, and CTA as a while, is operating in a broken system and needs to recognize the need for prudent reform.
I really enjoyed the opportunity to interact with the mayor in this town-hall type venue.  Mayor Villareigosa will be touring the various Chambers in LA this spring.

Photos: My latest

I just realized it's been a minute since I've posted some of my amateur photos, so here's some of the latest...

Amazon is Getting Feisty!

Okay, so I'm pasting an image directly from the Amazon site that is a letter to customers explaining Amazon' new Cloud Player and Cloud Drive.  Shameless re-patriation of content, I know, but I think it's important to note what Amazon is doing, here.  In the last six months, Amazon has revamped its mp3 offerings and delivery mechanism while fully embracing the Android Platform over Apple's (something to be read into, for sure).  The Amazon mp3 App is pretty user friendly, and the Cyber-week deals they had over the holidays- $4 for some of the hottest new albums and $.25 tracks- definitley got them some attention.  Now, Amazon has recenly released their own App Store for Android, and then this.....

THIS JUST IN:  Amazon isn't playing around in the sandbox anymore.  They're done conquering the brick-and-mortar shopping revolution and have all eyes on the digital marketplace, now.  Get ready for some dynamic growth/changes/capabilities in the coming months!

The Madness of March

What a month!  With so much going on, I've only got one post this month other than this one so far.  But I'm determined to add a few more posts before months end, and of course there's no shortage of topics for this informed op-ed forum, so stay tuned for more, including the new landscape of college basketball...

That's a Lot of Rain!!!

Here's a quick graph of seasonal rainfall in LA this year, courtesy of climatestations.com.  As you can see, we've cleared the average annual rainfall by over an inch already!