Borke Comes to Town!! Part One.

Nothing like having your friend call you from the airport at midnight, ready to be picked up, only to go out to your car and find that it won't start. Yea. Great way to start a vacation. Luckily for me, I have a doll of a roommate who helped me out and chauffeured me to pick Kristin up. That didn't solve the problem of the dead car though. What was really unfortunate was the fact that my car was parked on the side of the street that was going to get street cleaned the next morning. Street cleaning = big fat ticket. That was all the motivation I needed to get my car started. But start it would not. Last week when my my car did the same thing and wouldn't start, AAA came out and pounded on my starter and it started right up. He told me sometimes te starter just gets a bit stuck. Nothing like a little wack to get you going. So he showed me what to do and I thought, "humm....well, that's a bit ghetto, but okay." I mean really, anything to save me from having to take my car to the mechanic. As papa knows best, he told me, "Kara, sounds like you better get your car in before it decides to not start somewhere you don't want to get stuck at." Yea yea yea. I thought as long as I could just give it a wack, that would be a few less bucks I'd have to spend. Only once last week did I actually get in my car to not have it start. So I had to jump out of the car, pop the hood, wack the starter a few good times, jump in the car, start the car, then hop back out of the car, run to hood, close the hood, jump back in the car, close the door, then drive off quickly hoping nobody saw what I just did. From there I drove immediately home, not wanting to risk that again. So yea. Next morning, first day of Kristin being in town, we get up bright an early to take care of my car. I again call AAA and this time have them tow my car to the shop. Now, being semi-new and all to LA, I didn't have a handy mechanic I trusted on speed-dial. Here we come across my next dilemma. Who the hell do I have my car towed to!! Well, after a bit of research on Yelp. com, I decided on Ed Little Auto Service. After getting my car towed, Kristin and I had to get ourselves to the mechanic. Here starts the adventure. Thankfully, Kristin is a truly patient friend and put up with all of my shenanigans. Thank you, Kristin.

Which brings us to our first photo. Kristin at the Culver City bus stop. Yes folks, it's true. Kristin and I spent the whole day exploring the great city of LA by bus. It wasn't so bad really. It was kinda fun. I think Kristin might even agree. By no means was it a horrible experience and it saved me the headache of having to drive. Anyways, this photo is the first leg in our great journey. Here we are heading towards the mechanic.

Well, we made it to the mechanic and after he dropped the bomb on how much it was going to cost me, I went on a mission to find the part myself, to help reduce the cost. Here I am in Pep Boys, where I found what I needed for less then half the price. This face came after the sales boy told me they didn't have any in stock at their particular store and that their store in Westchester, 20 minutes away, had one. I wanted to ask the guy how long that would take walking, but I bit my tongue. To say the least, I put the mechanic Bob, and Kristin, through quite the ordeal. In the end, and 2 hours later, I got the shop to lower the price $50 bucks and I just had them do it.

After leaving the car at the shop to get worked on, Kristin and I were back off on our adventure. Here is Kristin waiting at the bus stop that will take us on the next part of our journey.

Opps, we had to transfer buses. Kristin, again, being a real adventuress at yet another bus stop. By this point we were getting real hungry and couldn't wait to arrive at our first destination of the day.

Finally, we made it to PINK'S!! Pink's hot dogs, featured on the Food Network and famous for their HOT DOGS! Yep, hot dogs. It's totally ridiculous, besides being known for their dogs, they must also be known for the line you stand in to get the dog. I've been here three times now and the line is always the same.

After standing in line for 35 minutes, we finally got to enjoy our hot dogs. Kristin got the hot dog with mushrooms, swiss cheese and mayo. Mayo??? Ugh. I got the Jim Morrison veggie dog with guacamole, tomatoes and onion. Yummy!!

After filling our tummies, we headed into Hollywood to do the ever popular Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Here stands Kristin at a statue like thing. Sort of a "Welcome to Hollywood" type object. However, I think it gets overlooked most the time. Besides, the homeless guy with a James Earl Jones type voice saying, "Welcome to Hollywood" was more entertaining.

Me, as usual, posing next to inanimate objects. One of my most favorite things to do.

Kristin being adorable.

Me trying to be adorable, only to have my crack hanging out the back of my pants. That's what you get for wearing low-riders.

The revised version of the above photo. I made Kristin re-take the picture after I saw the above results. I originally would have deleted the first picture. But in an attempt to get some laughs, I chose to post it. Kristin did a lovely job covering my bum this time.

From Hollywood, we hopped the metro link to Union Station, in downtown LA. This was my first recollection of ever riding Los Angeles version of a subway. It was......interesting. Wouldn't you agree, Kristin?

We made it! Theme for this picture: hands on your hips.

Kristin outside of Union Station.

From Union station we made our way over to Olvera Street. A street the tourist books describe as, "a pedestrian marketplace bursting like a pinata with Mexican knicknacks." I think that's a spot-on explanation of the place.

From Olvera Street we walked two blocks to China Town. With it being a weekday, and nearly sundown, the activity level was low and the shops were starting to close up. I think we saw everything we needed to see within the few minutes we chose to stick around.

From China Town we hopped on the bus to 5th and Broadway where the Downtown LA Art Walk was going on. Having never been to the art walk before, I had no idea what to expect. However, I know that downtown LA isn't the greatest place for two young women to be walking around, especially after dark. When we got off the bus, I think we were both surprised to see so much activity. It was a blast. There were people everywhere, music blaring out of the different galleries, and security outside every gallery.

Kristin inside one of the galleries. This particular gallery had some neat art. Other galleries had some not-so-neat art, and others had some controversial art that made you tilt your head and say "hummm.......", but the architecture of the old buildings were great and gave me something to look at!!! In one particular gallery I had this guy come up to me and ask where I got my jeans, with fancy jeweled, back pockets. He said he thought his sister might like them. (WHAT A PICK UP LINE!!) Me, being ever so proud of my bargain finds, replied, "on the street corner of a farmers market for $2! Quite a bargain, huh!?!" I give the guy credit for originality, but really??After this guy made some poor attempts at striking up a conversation, and me, not having it, I politely replied, "Okay, nice talking to you, Bye." And headed straight out the door, with Kristin in tow. Shortly thereafter, Kristin and I were leaving a book store and this same guy was near the door. He turns toward me and says, "fancy running into you again!" Yea right, like it was coincidence or something. BLAH!!

Just a building that I fancied for the different graffiti on the fire escape.

That was the end of our Friday. After a very full day of exploring LA, by bus, we were even too tired to stop and get dinner. Lounging at home in our sweats won us over, so we opted for Mac and Cheese in a box from the grocery store and called it an evening.

Gracie took quite a liking to Kristin while she was here. Here she is helping Kristin check her e-mail. At one point she laid her whole down across the key pad and wouldn't let Kristin type. She's NEVER done that to me before!! Sniff Sniff.

Saturday: Kristin and I got up early and headed to my favorite little breakfast joint called The OP Cafe. It's a quaint little restaurant that doesn't hold many, but they've got great food and a breakfast menu for only $2.99. Fun and delicious way to start your morning!! After breakfast, Kristin, Gracie and I headed up to Malibu for a day of hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains. We stopped along the way to watch the surfers and enjoy the view.

Gracie smiling big for the camera.

Walking along the shore. The black dots in the ocean are the surfers.

Kristin and Me.

From the parking lot to the trail head we had to walk a short portion of the road, the above house, or more appropriately called estate, is just one of many we pasted by. This thing was HUGE!!!

At the start of our hike.

One of the many, many stream crossings we had.

Kristin on a power hike.

A "senior-photo" type moment gone bad. A possessed Gracie in the background.

Me showing-off my Jackie Chan like moves.

There were some pretty steep hills to climb to get to the top.

Some portions we kinda just scooted on our butts.

Tiny fall in the background.

Hanging off a tree.

At one point I thought I was going to roll off the side of this steep hill.

Thankfully, I didn't.

It would have hurt.

And I probably would have peed myself laughing.

The waterfall at the top was totally worth the hike.

Gracie had quite a spurt of energy and managed to fall into the water. Unfortunatly, I missed getting that on film. Here she is getting back across the water.

Check back soon for:

Borke Comes to Town!! Part Two.

Celebrity Update, TMZ Style.

As requested, here is my latest celebrity sightings:

-Ben Affleck, twice now he's been into my Starbucks. Twice now, I've mostly missed him. First time he came in, I was on a ten minute break, sitting at one of our tables with my noise in a book. He stood in line and ordered a coffee and not 30 seconds after he left, my break was over and my co-workers told me I just missed Ben Affleck. "WHAT!!!" I screamed. "And you didn't tell me!!! What's wrong with you!! I as sitting right there!!!" At which point I told my co-workers I was extending my break and was going to go find him. After a failed attempt at hunting him down like a crazy fan, I went into Barnes and Noble next door to ask if they had by chance noticed if a certain Ben Affleck was in their store. They said he hadn't come in. As any good citizen would do, they told me if they saw him, they'd come and let me know. So, with the look of defeat on my face, I went back to work. Half heartedly I continued to work, all the while letting my co-workers know how they'd really let me down and they'd better not do it again. Next thing you know, the Barnes and Noble guys are knocking on the window and madly gesture for me to look out the window. BAM!!! Their he was!!! Ben Affleck in a big poofy black down jacket and a beard that made him look like a mountain man. I just barely caught a glimpse of him before he past by our store window. But I saw him, and that's what counted. Next time, if I get to be lucky enough to make his drink, I think I'll write my phone number in the foam, smile sweetly, give him a cute little wink and hope for the best!

Well now...if he isn't the cutest thing ever.

-Well, wouldn't you know. Ben, as I'll furthermore refer to him as, came in again. This time, I was in the back room, counting tips. My manager comes back as says to me, "Kara, stay calm and breathe." At which point, I know someone good had to be out in the lobby. However, this time, my manager got me so worked up that I was giggling uncontrollably, and half way hyper-ventilating. By the time I composed myself enough to walk out front, he was gone. AGH!! I didn't even get a glimpse of him this time. I only got to see his black Mercedes, with windows tinted so dark you couldn't see in, pull away. Shoot. Another missed connection.

Let's see, who else....

Oh yea, LeAnn Rimes walked through with her boyfriend. They didn't stop to get a coffee or anything, just passed through into Barnes and Noble where they proceeded to peruse the magazines. She definitely wasn't looking like this. She had jeans and a hoodie on, minimal make-up. LeAnn Rimes none-the-less.

A

lanis Morisette showed up to one of Bash's trunk shows. This was all the way back in December. That was exciting. I guess she's like best friends with one of the girls who was showing her stuff. Anyways, at such a small intimate event, it was pretty cool having her there. It gave me something to do.....which was watch her out of the corner of my eye. She has that big toothy smile that was fun to see in person.

Well, that's the good ones I can think of right now. One of my co-workers said that we had one of the ladies who played Austin Powers assistant come through the line. I remember looking at her and trying to place her, but, as I'm not an Austin Powers fan, she didn't look familiar to me. She did, however, have bright red hair. If that is any clue for you Austin Power fans out there.

Lastly, Linda Hamilton from Terminator was another one that supposedly came through. Again, I remember looking at her and thinking, is that you?? I'm going to guess it was. I'm sure I've served coffee to several "somebodies." They just all look so differently outside their roles on the big screen or stage. They look like........normal people. Humm, who would have guessed that!

More Going on Then Running.

It's taken me awhile to finally get this posted, but, I think it's worth noting that when Mom and Ron came to visit, they didn't drive for 18 hours just to see me run, they also came to have fun. And fun we had!

Shopping the LA Garment District with my very pregnant step-sister, Natalie.

Looking for the good bargains. Mom, Ron, Natalie and Me. Funny story, I asked a vendor how much a hat was. He replied, $4 dollars. Not 5 seconds later another girl comes over and asks him the same question, only in Spanish, and he replied, in Spanish tres dollars. So I said, "so it's only three dollars?" The vendor pretended not to hear me, and he lost my sell. I might be white, and I might not speak fluent Spanish, but COME ON!! Give me some credit buddy!! Note to self: To get to good deals, learn to speak Spanish fluently.

Momma always says there's an awful lot you could tell about a person by their shoes. Where they're going. Where they've been. I've worn lots of shoes. I bet if I think about it real hard I could remember my first pair of shoes.

Anyway, like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There, uh, shrimp kabobs, shrimp creole... shrimp gumbo, panfried, deep fried, stir fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp... shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich... that's, that's about it.

Workin' the Camera. Sizzle Sizzle.

I LOVE MY MOMMA!!

We ventured into Hollywood one day and came across the filming of the tv show 90210. Mom happened to get a pretty cool shot before security takes notice and ushered us on our way. Mother, of course, gets excited and says, "Oh WOW, Look! They're filming 90102!!" Yes Mom, those are also sharks swimming circles by the pier. (inside joke.)

HA! And you thought Elvis was dead.

I was drawn to the moment, I couldn't pass this picture by.

Cruising the Venice Canals looking for a geocache.

Hello! Found it! How I got into this pose, one never knows. I suppose that might be why Ron is looking at me so strangely.

A trip to the beach wouldn't be complete without see the original Muscle Beach.

Love and Peace.

LA Girl

Be My Fan!

To all my loyal readers, and my now and then readers, please add yourself to my list and become "my fan." I enjoy posting to my blog and I like knowing I've got interested readers. It's a simple process. On the left hand side of my page, click follow. From there, choose your account, lastly, hit follow this blog. Wa-la!! You've now joined my ever small, but growing community. Thanks to everyone who has already joined!!

Huntington Beach Surf City Marathon

I DID IT! I REALLY DID IT!! I ran my first ever 1/2 marathon on Super Bowl Sunday, February 1, 2009.

After what felt like an intense training period preparing for my race, I felt ready to compete. The night before the race, Mom and I cooked a large pasta dinner and I gorged myself to very near the point of sickness. I laid my clothes out and got my timer chip put on my shoe and we were off to bed. We had an early morning and a long run ahead of us.

My shoes and my time chip.

Bright and early the day of the run. Mom, Ron and I had to get up at 4:00am to get on the road by 5:00am and make it to Huntington Beach by shortly after 6:00am. Not wanting to eat to much before the run, I put down a small yogurt and keep my eyes open for an open coffee shop. Much to my dismay, nothing was open that early on a Sunday morning.

Getting some serious stretch time in before I take off.

Having never participated in such a large race before we had no idea what traffic would be like. Let me say this, with 18 thousand runners alone, not including all the spectators, traffic was heavy. The extra time we had allotted ourselves to park and go get coffee, ended up being used to park. Again, much to my disappointment, no coffee for me. By the time we parked and took the shuttle bus to the start line, we only had several minutes before my wave took off.

I've got Rhianna on my i-pod and I'm ready to get this party started!!

Mom and Ron were SUPPOSED to come and meet me near mile marker 10 on the map, (only mile 6 in my run). Check out this link to see a map of the course: http://www.runsurfcity.com/Course_Information/HalfMarathonCourse.cfm

However, much to my disappointment, they weren't there. They later told me that after getting themselves some coffee and checking out all the festivities, they realized they'd never make it down there and get back in time to see me cross the finish line. Lucky for them I was still on quite a high by mile 6. I was feeling good and still had a spring in my step. Fast forward to mile 8. I started having some major side cramps and had numerous waves of nauseous. Not one for backing down, I told myself, I'd be a real loser to slow down now and besides, how cool would it be if I could say I puked running!! I've never done that before! I've read in numerous running magazines that some extreme runners, going for 1st place, have been known to crap their pants in order to not lose anytime . I can't say I'd ever go to those extremes, but..... Anyways, when times were getting though, I said to myself, "Kara, you slow down now and you're a quitter." "I AM NOT A QUITTER!!!" I would yell out loud. This got everyone else running next to me to start yelling it out loud also. I felt like a drill Sargent leading my troops into battle. "I AM NOT A QUITTER!!!" "WE ARE NOT QUITTERS!!" "I AM NOT A QUITTER!!!" "WE ARE NOT QUITTERS!!!" Okay, so maybe it didn't play out exactly as I'm telling it, although, looking back on it, we could have used some pep rally action to keep us all going. Honestly, what did keep me going was looking around and seeing all the diverse people running for one reason or another. At one point, during a slight uphill climb, I passed a man with no legs in a wheelchair. I remember saying a small prayer on how fortunate I was to have both my legs intact and working properly. And it was such an inspiration to see the guy working so hard. It wasn't until the downhill slope when he came cruising past me that I cursed him under by breath. Ha Ha. NO! I'm kidding, but I sure would have liked to have hopped a ride. Obviously I didn't, I just ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran.

Don't be fooled. If you look hard enough, you'll see me in my pink tank top on the left side of the photo. In fact, look at my feet and it looks as though I'm about ready to trip myself. Mom completely missed me going by. She said she was looking for my white stocking cap. Ron told her that by mile 13 I was not going to still be wearing my stocking hat. She refused to listen and missed me going past. When Mom e-mailed me this photo she enclosed these words, "I got you!! Just zoom in multiple times and you can tell its you!!" Silly Mom! I love you!!

Having just crossed the finish line. My legs felt as though they might collide under me, but I've always got time for my fans.

Mom did a good job capturing a moment of pain.

Trying to stretch the pain away. Also waiting on the race results.

Me, still stretching, and my #1 fan!!

Finding enough strength to show of my medal.

Always enough energy for a fun photo!!

So yea. It was tough. What I thought was a grueling training process leading up to this race, my Mom, ever so nicely pointed out. "Kara, you've only been running for the last month." Phooey!! Why'd she have to point that out?!? But she was right. What felt like a lifetime of training really only amounted to a months worth of "training." Training amounting to whatever felt good for the day. My goal for the run was 2hours, 10 minutes. My actual time was 2hours, 13 minutes, 46 seconds. I was estactic!! Out of the women I placed 2333 out of 6533. Not to shabby. For all my statistics go to www.runraceresults.com Select the half-marathon race and I was bib 8037.

This certainly won't be my last run!! I had way too much fun!! I'm alreadey looking forward to signing up for a marathon. Let me know if you'd be interested in running with me!!

Love & Peace!!

Ben Comes to Town.

There is nothing like a trip to La La Land to revive a persons soul. With the sun, surf, beautiful people, and ME, LA can be a great place to come to escape your worries. And that is exactly what my friend Ben did. For a total of 24hrs!! It was the shortest amount of time I've ever had anyone come visit me for. We did, however, make the most of our time and had a great time doing it!! And just to embarrass Ben a bit, if that's even possible, I think it is important to note that Ben did ask if this would be appearing on my blog. I think he was secretly hoping to get a little face time. Ha Ha!! Here's to you Ben!! I hope it is everything you were hoping for, and more.

Ben, being Ben, on the Santa Monica Pier.

Our evening started out in Macy's. Yes. That's right. Straight from the airport to Macy's. As the weekend of Ben's arrival was approaching, I informed Ben that LA was having a bit of a "cold," wet spell and he better bring something warm. Did he listen. No. This is where Macy's comes in. Of the 24 hours Ben was in LA, 1 1/2 hours was spent shopping for something warmer for him to wear. That stripped sweater he's wearing is it. And some new kicks that gave him blisters.

It was a chilly evening, but not with his new sweater!! And the sunset was amazing.

We spent quite a bit of our time goofing off on the Santa Monica Pier. Riding the roller coaster, the ferris wheel and playing air hockey in the arcade.

A visit to the Santa Monica Pier is not complete without a ride on the roller coaster.

*check back soon for a video of the ride! I'm having technical dificulities at the moment.

Enjoy the ride! And hold onto your sunglasses!

Equally important to the roller coaster is the ferris wheel on the pier. This was taken at the tip-top of the ferris wheel. Amazing views all around.

And when not taking in the view, we were making funny faces,

and in general just being goofy.

Another amazing view from the ferris wheel, looking down on the pier.

After the pier and much indecisiveness on where to eat we ended the evening ended at a fantastic new Mexican restaurant I scoped out in Hollywood called Pueblo Viejo. I loved the atmosphere of the tiny joint and the food was great!! It's one of those hidden treasures a person can get excited about finding! It was definitely the sort of place to go when you want to chill for several hours and enjoy the conversation with the people your with. Plus, a major bonus was that the margaritas were NOT lacking in tequila, as the above picture testifies. And after Ben ordered three different appetizers, all involving chips, (my weakness), I certainly did not leave the place unsatisfied. After dinner, Ben wanted to check out the tattoo parlor where they film "LA Inked," so we swung by there and checked it out. I tried to convince Ben to get a tiny tattoo, just to say he did it. I figured since he already has 18 of 'em, what's one more. I think I had him convinced to do it until they told us the minimum was $200 bucks. Fugetaboutit we said. It was a neat place though. After that we headed home and zonked out. I think we were asleep before midnight. We acted like a couple of old farts. Oh well, we didn't care. Thanks for visiting Ben!!