Emily, Lived By:

Well, as you probably know from watching your television, it’s been raining all week in Los Angeles.  But I’m like the U.S. Postal Service, in that nothing can stay me from the swift completion of my appointed rounds.  Their motto is or was, I don’t know, something like that.  At least that’s what I once read in a Beverly Cleary book.

MONDAY was a simple day of being lived by Lauren.  Not only were all my directives for the week optional, my schedule didn’t trickle in until after noon (lax is the operative word these days) & so my directives for Monday had the added benefit of being totally easy.  Outside it was probably raining a lot.  I spent the day in my coziest clothes.

Then I went to the grocery store where I picked up three dietary staples.

never got around to eating the NY-er

Then I made a grilled cheese sandwich & a cup of cocoa.

See?

I kind of watched The Buried Life premiere on MTV, but I was kind of at the store for most of it, kind of being the sharpest crayon in the box.  Then I watched The Royal Tenenbaums streaming on Netflix.

In the middle of it, I saw an ENORMOUS COCKROACH!

just in time for dessert!

It was as big as my thumb!  I hear my thumbs are large.  I put it in my mouth to scare my girlfriend, no, just kidding.  I threw it off the balcony & kept watching my movie.

Wow, & with that another long day at the office came to an end.

TUESDAY was a nice day.  It was, as Lauren predicted, rainy. I slept in &, around noon, headed to the LACMA.  That’s the Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art for you Philistines.  Or maybe County instead of contemporary, I don’t know.

do i LOOK like a girl who knows things?!

I spent most of my afternoon there.  It was nice, no one to bother me or try to explain their favorite paintings.  I wandered from room to room & took it all in.  Pollack. Picasso.  Dutch realist vases of flowers.  I stopped in the restaurant & had beet salad & a glass of wine.

pinot noir, fyi

The wine was excellent, the food just ok, & the waiter (not the guy in the picture above) was a jerk, but he smiled a lot.  As I finished my last sip of wine he said “Drive safely!” in this bland, insufferable way.  Well, he can answer for that when I am king.  But I wish I hadn’t tipped him so very generously.

Anyway then I headed into another wing & spent a few more hours browsing.  But by the end the bloom was off.

Altogether, I saw a lot of interesting things.

Three in particular

interested me

very much

& with that, I made my way home for a mellow evening.

I was supposed to go to Avatar with Lauren but at the last minute she was unable.  Rather than going by myself, I took advantage of the “optional” nature of the week’s tasks & stayed in with a glass of white wine & some mindless television.

On WEDNESDAY things took a turn for the strange.  I was supposed to go to Lauren’s house at 11 for a hike, then spend time in Culver City, eat at a restaurant called Father’s Office, & spend the evening teaching Lauren to cook one of my favorite meals.

She called me in the morning & pushed back our meeting time until one.  Then, hike & Culver City plans cancelled, she & I headed out with our friend Robyn.

They stopped for kombucha

& then we went to a Mexican restaurant. God, it’s not my Father’s Office, but it will have to do.  Then we didn’t know what to do.  We were maybe going to cook dinner but first we thought it would be fun to make some paintings.  Then we heard we were going to go to something called the Fantasy Factory – apparently it’s some MTV show? I don’t know.  Then we thought it would be fun if we went to American Apparel to get matching outfits to do our painting in.  We tried on a bunch of leotards & things but when push came to shove we just didn’t have the cash.

My own famous striped leotard fell into tatters from overuse while I was in the dressing room.  Well, I was in just the right place to buy a new one!

We went to the art supply store & got a bunch of canvasses & paint.

Tell me more X 2, like did he have a car?

While we waited in line I entertained my pals with some livedby shop talk.  Evidently I was entertaining the rest of the store as well, as this guy was all “Wow!  Thanks for the story!” before he left.  I was all, “Don’t thank me, thank my fans.”

Then we made a run for it.

Once we were back at Lauren’s we warmed ourselves by the fire & then took off all our clothes.

Anything in the name of art!

But hold it.  It’s not what you’re thinking.  We just wanted to cover ourselves in paint & the lie on the canvasses & see what it looked like.

Anything for you, Art.

I ? LA

They came out pretty well, if I do say so myself.  Robyn’s was the best, I think.  I got a little carried away with mine.

After we showered we headed downtown or something to the studio where they film Fantasy Factory & hung out w. the Buried Life guys who we all went to high school with &/or are related to, & who were there to meet with Rob Dedrick.  We did lots of fun things, like jump into a giant foam pit & ride around on this weird tricycle but most of the photos are on Robyn’s camera.  So you won’t get to see any of us poised in flight or anything like that.

That's the way the cookie crumbles.

I’ll save it for my private totally locked down Facebook.

Then we went to a dinner party in Venice.  We all got lost for an hour or so but when we eventually arrived we  ate spaghetti.

& bacon cookies.

& then after some aerial yoga, home to bed.  You know how it goes.

Anyway, Lauren & I had to wake up early because THURSDAY I was supposed to work in her boutique, Public Service.  My hours were altered to 1-7.  I was nervous because I’ve never worked in retail, but it wasn’t that bad.  I labeled some bags,

Ooh, fancy

& priced some clothes & entered a lot of email addresses into a database.  It was basically all very thrilling & at one point we ordered pizza & the pizza was very good.  I also drank lots of soda.

Lauren insists I didn't get in the way

The store was nice & if I was a man I would shop there. They have some shirts that say “I (love to party in) LA” or something like that, with lovetopartyin in a heart, perhaps?  Well I really want there to be T-shirts that say “I ? LA.”  That should be the new thing.

We closed at 7:00.

Then we went back to Lauren’s & just hung out by the fire. Drank some wine.  Made some calls.  Recited some poetry.  I spent the night.

FRIDAY woke up around 7:00 in Lauren’s bed & drove back to DF’s.  Napped for awhile & then headed out in search of a particular taco stand. I think it was on Vine & Santa Monica.

Found it.

The tacos were good (but they messed up my order), the 32 ounce horchata even better, & I brought Lauren a shrimp taco & Diet Coke at her store.

Then in the night I was supposed to do something fantastic so I met Lauren & (new friend alert) Annina at O-Bar & had a glass of wine.

Annina was fine with water

& then we went to another bar with Jason & drank some beer.

drink & the devil took care of the rest

SATURDAY everything was cancelled.  In case you can’t tell, LA is a city in which aimless young girls such as myself find it best to just go with the, you know, which anyway often proves to be much more interesting than the, like, whatever.  So Lauren, though she canceled an epic number of assignments, helped provide us with a truly exemplary Los Angeles experience nonetheless.  MTV soundstages instead of cooking dinner.  Workdays starting in the early afternoon.  & so forth.

On Saturday, I didn’t go to Venice with Lauren, but I did go shopping at Annina’s store, where I bought some AMAZING pieces for my upcoming NY excursion.  Wait, NY?  Yes, NYC.  I’ve heard a girl can make it big out there.  I’m leaving soon.  Just for a little while.

Then I headed to my aunt Jennifer’s house to meet up with my mother, who was briefly in town, & wow Jen had ALL these clothes she was getting rid of & so before dinner I sorted through as many as possible as quickly as I could.  & left with a whole SUITCASE of wonderful clothes!  Perfect, because I came down here in a hurry & didn’t really pack anything warm enough for an East Coast winter.  Plus, thieves have stolen my winter coat.

But I now have plenty of sweaters & t-shirts & wow will I be warm & stylish.

Then I went to dinner with my mother & her friend.  & we ate a lot of steak.

& then I went for a drink at the Culver City hotel with Kevin.

& I don’t have ANY pictures. Of any of it.

Spent most of my DAY OFF gearing week for the intimidating Week 29 that looms ahead!  The schedule will be up later tonight & you can feel free to pass out in shock then.  Until then, stay conscious, & god willing I will see you next Sunday (or Monday or… you know).