Time travel

Everything has life to it, even if it isn't living. In an effort to support my friend and expand my curiosity I went on a tour of Broadway st in Downtown Los Angeles. I've lived 30 minutes away from L.A. most of my life,been to different events hosted in the city, and overall I've neighbored this city for most of my life, been in and out of it's streets, and I have yet to understand the essence of the city. Behind the busy street flooded with jewelry stores, dress stores and various random commodities,are these silent but historic buildings. Inside the buildings are time machines, pockets of history that take you back in time and hold the memory of what the city once was. On the tour we visited around eight different historic theaters. Walking by and inside these very historic buildings I would think to myself how driving through these streets I may not have even glanced at these storybook structures that simultaneous hold the memory of what once was and gives birth to new life. Many of the theaters have been renovated to new business, apartments, and more. Some stand untouched waiting for their rebirth. My two favorite places were the Los Angeles theater and the Bradbury Building. In the Los Angeles Theater I was amazed at how much it was in it's original form. I imagined myself walking in as one of the theaters guest when it was up running. In today's day and age going to the movies is an ordinary weekend event. Years ago going to the movies was an extravagant event requiring the finest clothes, and often took up the entire night. The Bradbury building to me held so much beauty, walking into the natural light gleaming down from the skyline on to the elegantly carved wood that created the walls, staircase and general structure of the building. There is still life in things that stand still, that are old and fade into the background as eyes glaze over them not recognizing their beauty. These buildings hold life because they hold history, and remind us what the city once was and what it might be again. Take the time to find and appreciate the beauty that you may over look. Whether it is in the people or places around you. For more on L.A. tours check out And special thanks to Jeremy for a great tour.

Weekend in Review: Food

After a week of carefully counting calories I had a pretty guiltiness carb filled weekend. Hopefully it didn't completely cancel out my hard work during the week. My conscience might not have been happy but my taste buds sure were. My carb rebellion started Friday night. A friend and I went to LACMA for the live jazz. Unfortunately we missed the live jazz, so that review won't be until later. Fortunately in the pavilion they had this outdoor bar/ restaurant called Stark bar. I had already ate before I came so I was in the mood for a nice drink to wash everything down. My friend and I ended up having a little beer tasting. I started with a Hefe. A very light beer, which most Hefe's are. Easy to drink down but not full of flavor or body. I tried the Rasputin beer that my friend ordered and I immediately quenched my cheeks as soon as the beer hit my tongue. A dark beer with a very bitter taste, so if you are a fan of IPA's or Guinness you'll like Rasputin. Next I tried the Downtown Brown, which is an Ale, and had a slightly less bitter taste, and a little easier to drink. Saturday I committed double sins. I first attempted to eat at Simmzy's in Manhattan Beach. A very small, cozy and very popular place located right off the strand. So popular that we waited 45 minutes for two people to be seated. However, after the 45 minutes we decided to head elsewhere and came to and was sat very quickly at Brewco the Manhattan Beach Brewery. There I had a turkey burger and my ultimate guilty pleasure, french fries. My friend had a veggie burger which she devoured in an instant. I also had the Acai Berry beer. Not to sweet despite the berries mixed it. The nice little perk to it was that it is organic and locally brewed. For dinner I ended up at another highly populated place. This place actually had some media coverage in the L.A. Times but luckily I didn't have to wait no more then 10 minutes to order my food. Chego, is definitely the spot for foodies, or anyone that wants to try something they have never had before. I had the Sour Cream Hen House which included: marinated grilled chicken rice bowl w/ fried egg, Chinese broccoli, sour cream sambal, Thai basil, toasted sesame and red jalapeno. I opt out of the Jalapeno. It had a slightly spicy taste, but the basil definitely made the bowl sweeter. Sunday, while passing through one of my favorite cities, I had to stop by the Greenhouse Cafe in Long Beach for the Green House Panini which is packed with locally and organically grown ingredients. Needless to say, soups and salads for the rest of the week.

the do over

" Don't wear white to the Do Over". A warning that i didn't quite understand until I walked in to this Hidden, almost secluded backyard party, and saw the glasses and pitchers full of red sangria. It wasn't long before i witness the reasoning behind this saying as people grooved within inches of each other to the old school but always fresh sounds, of Jay-Z, Snoop Dog, Michael Jackson and other hip hop artists from the 80s and 90s. As the crowd dance they would raise the cup of sangria above their head, and droplets would escape onto an unsuspecting shirt or jeans.
When i first walked in i was led to a bottom area where i overlooked a colorful group of people. I thought to myself this what LA has to offer. As i explored the not yet heavily crowd in the inside and outside area, I was thankful that the lady working the door was nice enough to help my girlfriend and I get in a lot sooner then we would have waiting in line. All it took was matching us up with two other random guys, who were really nice, to make sure the girl to guy ratio was met.
Hours past and I simply got caught up in downing my sangria followed by jack and coke. But it the drinks long added to the good time. It was simply the people, the vibes, the company because everyone was there to simply have a good time.

weekend in review

Friday: Full 8 hours of work followed by an improv belly dancing performance at My Studio in hollywood, followed by rehearsal at until 3am... all on 3 hours of sleep. CHOw!!!
yea that was crazy... but there were some really great moments during the day that i am very happy and proud of.
the first was at the show...which was a fashion show called ART OR DIE PUT on my emileigih barrett and dj sasan... i performed for one of their other shows about 2 years ago and was welcomed back to perform for them again. I am so grateful to have worked with them, they are both just nice and genuine people who believe in artists of all shapes and sizes. Emileigh thank you so much for believing in me and i hope to work with you again in the future.
After the show i literally jumped right into rehearsal, with a competition the next day I had to be there no matter what the time. Its times like those when my passion pulls through, pushing myself to the limit for something I love. Very proud of my team for pushing through as well. Much love to Beat Jerkeez

Saturday: For about a year now I have never liked going to parties. Something happened when i would continuously end up at parties with bad music, lame people and parties that would get shut down at 12. So i took a chance and went to a party and boy did feel good to dance all night... and i finally learned how to take shots... with a chaser..i think i took about 4 shots... which is a record for me.. i'm a one drink a night kind of girl

sunday: was horrible.. well the start of it was because i woke up with a spider in my bed... it was really terrifying and i still am checking my sheets just in case. but i took a little road trip with some of my teammates to watch a dance performance. Great performance by studio429 and participating dancers. Dance is an unlimited art form that can be used to communicate so many different things.
then ended the night with Mexican food and a $3.60 LA water.

3 new bars/clubs

okay so at the beginning of my winter break i started a winter break to do list. one of my task was to try out at least 3 new bars/clubs. I successful checked out 4. Here
1.wokocano's in Long Beach
We went on a slow night, needless to say it was the day after new years eve. SO when we got there it was pretty dead, but most likely because people were all partied out. But there were a few party goers who were still up for some fun, because around 11:30 people started to show up.
There are three things i look for when I go to a new place/
1.atmosphere ( space, bar, decor)
2. people ( including guest and hostess)
3. Music

1. Atmosphere: good size dance floor, wasn't to crowd because of the lack of people. But the bar was a good size, average drink prices, $8-10. however they didn't have all the ingredients for a scooby snack, was disappointed at first. but then found a mabliu and pineapple and was happy again. There was an upstairs place but it was due to lack of people. But its nice to know they have more space for people.

2. People: overall pretty friendly, Had the one overally drunk crowd but no one acted too cool to dance

3. regular top 40, a couple repeats, a few old school jams

Place: Moutain Bar
over all my favorite place.

1. Atmosphere: the definition of chill. and the chill vibe happens when you walk in the door. Because there is very strict security, pat downs and purse checks. but they don't hassle you about your attire and once your in everyone is relaxed.

2. PEOPLE: laid back. everyone is either conversing or dancing. very diverse crowd. a colorful sea of people.

3.music: probably the best part about mountain bar is that down stairs is all reggae, and the upstairs is all real/ underground hip hop. i'm talkin q-tip, lauryen hill, common, the real hip hop cats. none of the rap game.

place: Underground Pub/ Chelsae's
1. Atmosphere: dive bar on the bottom, dance floor on top.

2. People: a lot of mixed ages, but you can expect that from hermosa. but you had your chill people, the girls that want be on the center of the dance floor, then my friends, which were the coolest people in the place. hahah jk

3. top 40


place: on the rocks in redondo beach
1. atmosphere: nice set up. there is a sports bar section then a dance floor. hate it when bars try to cram in the bar, the sports section, the dance floor, and the bathroom all in one place.
2. people: pretty mixed group. the dance floor wasn't to packed when i went but still a good amount of people.
3. top 40, couple of old school and reggae jams.