KZalan's Blog

It's been raining heavily now for the past 12 hours and I finally was able to establish some kind of connection. I haven't properly set up this new router I purchased and hopefully, this time, I'm actually online. Otherwise, I can only re-write this post so many times and I may just give up entirely. Hopefully my signal has not deceived me yet again. Anyway, the rain is unusual but relaxing. Regardless of the nightmare it is to drive amongst Californians driving in the rain, I still enjoy the "sound of the pouring rain". But it has put a damper on my "eating on the patio" habit. I've since discovered a new place in L.A. and by new I mean to me, not as in brand new. It's been there for a while and I've always wanted to try it but as strange as it sounds, I never had the "right" opportunity to go.

Cafe Med. Situated in Sunset Plaza, the same place in which I dodged heavily for half a year in fear of running into my ex. He purchased a place up on that hill and finally I braved the waters. A friend of mine invited me on a very sunny friday afternoon. She's a producer who found herself free for the lunch hour. She picked me up and we headed to this bright, cheery spot. Although the meal was a modest amount, I very much enjoyed the atmosphere. Yes, it's one of those typical "L.A." spots and we sat right next to Dave Navarro (who was having a meeting) and within minutes we spotted Jessica Simpson and eventually some others rolling in around lunch. It's one of those places that makes you feel obligated to get a midday drink or two and yet still not feel guilty about it. It also makes you smoke that cigarette that you've worked so desperately to quit the past 5 weeks. Everything was great, the food, the people, service, conversation, the company, the drinks, until...he appeared. I heard his voice and like slow motion looked up only to see him greeting another patron. As soon as I tried to hide, I made myself noticable. It was inevitable. Nevertheless, it went smoothly and I said hi hello, how are you and that was that. We stayed for a couple more hours and drank until it looked like the sun was going down. Nice way to start the weekend...

So this past week was Valentine's Day and I ended up going out and landed at the Grove. It wasn't too long into my first "Bellini Martini" that I saw the Federlines. It wasn't too surprising that he looked decked out in his fedora hat and matching attire and she well, she looked like the typical 'I'm Britney Spears and I don't have to try' and believe me, she wasn't trying. Anyway, it was funny to see and sure enough they were making their way out hopefully home to their newborn baby. I had worked all day and usually try to avoid drinking at all costs on the weekdays but after my first martini that night, I was feeling tipsy. Reluctantly, I decided to go shopping in the middle of the date (I know). Note to self: do not shop while drunk. Excessive amounts of spending may take place...and it did. I think I managed to buy a bookshelf and had it shipped to my new address. I guess time will tell, or my bank statement. Whichever comes first.

I attended a special screening this past week for the new movie Eight Below. You must be thinking to yourself who the celebrities were since it's a bunch of dogs but it ended up being a really great night. No, the dogs weren't there (most live out of state) but there were a good handful of actors and their friends and family and of course their other actor friends present. I was interested in seeing the movie but didn't realize in the end how much I enjoyed it. Disney movie and all, it was a better viewing experience than some of these "Oscar" worthy features I've seen. It did make me miss my Siberian Husky and I'm looking into getting one of those Alaskan Klee Kais now. The next day, I spoiled my dog rotten. Gotta love those pooch pals.

I checked out at bar/restaurant this past weekend, The Continental. It's at the corner of Wilshire and La Cienega and apparently is co-owned by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. I have to say, although there were no celebrity sightings, this place was definitely worth checking out. Extremely modern interiors and decor with these huge inviting leather booths big enough to fit you and your guests. We opted to sit in the bar area and grabbed a three top. It was three of us and we decided to splurge into the dinner menu as well. Not the best choice in the world...while the food wasn't too phenomenal, the atmosphere and the drinks were. I started with my ketel one apple martinis and even tried the caramel apple martini and returned it because it was too sweet. My dinner choice, the fresh island ahi, wasn't worth the 20 dollars it was marked at. Anyway, it didn't ruin the night and anyone knows once you start drinking you slowly lose your appetite and later regain it once the night is over. And our cocktail was very sweet and not too mention pretty. The bartenders weren't bad either. So great service, beautiful atmosphere (did I mention the huge plasma screens?) and beautiful people, can't go too wrong. But do get a reservation because it does pile up quickly.

So the night didn't end there. We ended up leaving and going to Jones (yes, that place again) and had a couple drinks there. This place was pretty packed and when the smoking room isn't open and there's not where to sit, it can be obnoxious no matter how great it is. So needless to say we downed the drinks and decided to head to a friends place. Before I knew it most of us were in the jacuzzi and some even bared it all and jumped it. Once it got too hot we jumped into the pool which was freezing cold. Anyway, there were people working out who must've thought we were insane but we weren't the ones working out at 2 in the morning. If anything we made more sense...of course once people caught on they invited themselves over and before we knew it, it was a complex party. We slowly left and retreated back up to the apartment. I hadn't been up this late in so long and the adrenaline from the night kept us up talking until the wee hours. It was a blast and well worth the shitty feeling the next day. Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Only in Hollywood do you walk amongst actors that are four legged. I've since discovered this new phenomena of pet sgencies and pet actors. I was immediately intrigued, not only being a dog lover myself, but the sheer awe of how well behaved these dogs were drew me in. For instance, they go beyond normal training and exceed the normal standards of dog behavior. Most are trained to accept commands from the trainer or owner on the first try. Anyway, I decided to look into this and enroll my dog for these training courses. Surprisingly enough, my dog has already been through a SAR (Search and Rescue) training course and was issued his certification almost 3 years ago. He'll be 4 this year. He's been to an audition recently for dog food and since he's a Jack Russell, he'll be sure to entertain... we'll see what happens...

Anyway, so yesterday was the Super Bowl and Hollywood wouldn't be Hollywood if somewhere in the city there wasn't a huge party - much less thrown by who else? Sony PlayStation! It was also not surprisingly thrown by big party promoter Brent Bolthouse. A production company I freelace for helped with the production and for that, we were able to attend this oh so private event. Since I'm not really into football (unless it's the Redskins) I wasn't paying too much attention to the game. Some of the people spotted there was Usher, Snoop, Jessica Alba and whatever her boyfriend's name is, Jamie Lynn (don't know which name after she divorced..), the D listers of Laguna Beach (anyone heard of the new series 8th & Ocean to follow?), and some members of Black Eyed Peas. Didn't see Fergie though, maybe she ran off somewhere to pee in her pants...GO STEELERS!!!