Visiting Griffith Park

Hey Everyone,

We're a bit late posting our photos and well a bit lacking in regular posts, but hey... life, busy, and all that:) 

Our friend Lee visited us last week, he was in town for business but had the day before and the evening of his meetings to do some sightseeing in Los Angeles with us. The first time we took a trip out to Griffith Park, which was a bit coincidental b

ecause Danielle's new girl friends in LA had invited her out to a hike there. We got there early and so had a chance to explore the top of the park where the famous Griffith Observatory is located. 

Here's some cool pics for ya. Our apologies for the blurry nat

ure of the distant shots, these were taken with Fil's iPhone and there was some serious LA smog in effect that afternoon.

The view from the top of Griffith Park. This is West LA... I think. It's hard to tell with the smog. But trust us the view is pretty spectacular.

So close to the sun, you can hold it in your hand...

Griffith Observatory

Danielle proves to Filip that she is indeed the center of the Universe. 

This was a pretty cool aspect of the Observatory. In the front walk/lawn area they had created a to scale map of the our solar system. Danielle is standing on the Sun.

Yup, even at almost 30 years of age, this is still funny.

(Close up of one of the orbit plates on the Solar System map)

Believe it or not, that's the Hollywood Sign just below the tower on the the hill there. You can't see it thanks to sweet, sweet polluted air...

Hope everyone is doing well!

LA does not fair well in rare rain

Yesterday D and I tried to commute home during an unexpected and VERY rare rain storm. It normally takes about 30 minutes in the afternoon to get home on surface streets. Not a bad commute. Occasionally I pick D up from work and double back to my office so she can drop me off and I can get in another hour of work before biking home. Yesterday after trying to double back for almost an hour, we gave up and went home. It took us 2 HOURS! 

There were no accidents as far as we could tell on the surface streets, just what felt like every car off the highway and on the surface streets. Mind boggling!

It's Been a While

Howdy Everyone,

It's been a while since either Danielle or I posted on here. So long, I'm not sure anyone is still reading this blog. In fact, if you are drop us a comment so we know you're still out there.

Danielle and I have had some ups and downs in Cali. Juggling two new jobs, sharing a car, and my traveling a lot has made one thing clear - time is a pr

ecious commodity. We're doing our best to keep up with friends and family, but I can say for may part I could be doing better. So, my sincere apologies for the length of time it's been taking for me to respond to emails, phone calls, and other "how you guys doing?". 

Last night reminded me one of the big pluses to California. Danielle and I spent most of the day cleaning the apartment and finally organizing the guest bedroom (her mom is visiting us beginning Wednesday). We made dinner and watc

hed a movie together, but finished up pretty early in the night. So on a whim we drove over to Venice Beach for Coldstone and walked out to the pier to eat our delicious ice cream concoctions (mine was Dark Chocolate ice cream with Twix, Caramel, Pecans, and Brownie. Hers was Sweet Cream with chocolate chips, cookie dough, and bits of waffle cone). Standing out on the pier, listening to the waves crash on the beach, looking out at the lights of LA and watching planes taxi into LAX in the distance - it was quite a sight. We're 5 minutes from ice cream on the beach. Pretty cool:)

We also drove down to Redondo Beach on Saturday night and hung out with my buddy Alan, who has an apartment literally right on the beach. His front windows look out on the volleyball courts on the beach. It was a great sunset and we grilled some tasty burgers and capped off the night with root beer floats.

We're making new friends out here and I'm reconnecting with old friends from Diamond who are now on the West Coast. 

Also just for fun here's a shot of me and the guys from work at "Pink Taco" on Cinco De Mayo (photo courtesy of Danielle who avoided our cowboy hat/tequila shot shenanigans). 

I'm the one double fisting in the red. 

Take care,

Filip

Back to the West Coast...

Well, we finally made it back to the West coast...with only a few minor bumps along the way. I flew Virgin America- which was actually a pretty nice experience. The flight attendants were pleasant and they had a screen on the back of each seat where you could listen to music, watch tv or movies, or play video games. I watched a few episodes of Top Chef on my way and listened to some cool tunes. It definitely made the flight go faster.

I don't think Filip had as good of a flight- stuck in the middle seat of the plane and feeling quite uncomfortable. He did have some celebrity encounters in LAX and in New York. First, Elizabeth Berkley in LAX and then Stan Lee and Lauren Graham (from Gilmore Girls or Bad Santa, depending on how you like to remember her). I'm sure he will update later about the rest of the NY Comic Con... if he can find a free moment!!

I had a great time at home. It was great to see my sister, Carl and baby Morgan and my Mom and Dad. I was also lucky enough to get to see both Kim and Justin and Earl and Noel as well (unfortunately, not at the same time). It was so good to see friends again-- do some catching up, some reminiscing and lots of laughing. I also got to see Earl and Noel's wedding album- which is amazing. You can see some of the of their awesome pictures at: http://lukewalkerphotography.com/main.html (click on portfolio and then weddings).

Morgan's birthday party was awesome! My sister and Carl did such a great job organizing and executing the event. On Thursday, Jenn and I took Morgan for her 1 year birthday photos at the Picture People. Aside from getting a little lost on our way, it worked out really well. Jenn got some shots that Morgan will one day hate her for (like the little Morgan in her "birthday suit" with only a birthday crown on her head!), but they were SO cute! Morgan was a crazy little monster, though, and Jenn and I were both exhausted by the end of the day. Some of the pictures became take home favors for the adults, while the kids got adorable little princess favor boxes. (Well, the boys got little fire truck favor boxes.) The whole back yard was decked out in pink and princess! And the little princess herself had a great time being the center of attention-- plus she had 3 wardrobe changes! haha. She is so beautiful and full of energy!



I also loved the party because it was baby central! There were many cute little ones there. One of my favorites was Jenn's friend, Jackie's, little girl Brooke. She was so calm and cute and cuddly. I love my squirmy little Morgan, but it was nice to hold a baby who just let me cuddle with her. hehe. She was very sweet. I would have MANY more pictures, including pics of Brooke, another cutie pie, Jaden, and tons of pics of Morgan eating birthday cake, playing with her presents and looking adorable, IF my camera had not gone to crap! So, I now have to wait for Jenn to email me the ones I took with her camera (which might never happen).

The flight home kind of sucked for me. Basically, when Filip and I booked my tickets we booked my return flight for Monday the 28th instead of the 21st. So, there I am at 5:30am at the Virgin America counter trying to find a return flight that didn't cost a butt-load of money... but I was unsuccessful. So, I paid a butt-load of money and made it home safely. It was definitely frustrating and I was annoyed that neither Fil or I caught the mix-up...but, whatever. Thats the way it goes sometimes. :o)

If you get a second, send some love. We would love to hear from you. Hope to talk to you soon!

Off to New York City!

Danielle and I are flying back East tomorrow to New York City until Monday. I have a big show (the New York Comicon) over the weekend. I'll have a chance to meet the director of the "Wanted" film at our booth and possibly "The Man" himself, Stan Lee. 

The latest Wanted trailer - 

Danielle will be spending time with her family and celebrating her niece's first birthday. I'm a bit bummed I'll be missing out on the festivities, but such is life. She'll also get a chance to hang out with her parents and sister and brother-in-law which I know she's looking forward to.

Comedy Walk LA 2008

Last night we went out to Comedy Walk LA, which was a really interesting event in downtown Los Angeles. The event occurred across 5 venues with several comedians doing 10 minute bits on a rotating basis. The premise of the event was that you could walk out on any comedian that wasn't hitting your funny bone and go to another venue.

The concept was great but the execution was a little bit lacking. The event had 5 "stages" but some of the stages were really just rooms with no chairs, no microphone, and no actual stage. They had bright lights on, which made it REALLY uncomfortable when you wanted to leave. In general, the comedians were good but not great. It was kind of like watching the opening act over and over again...

There were a few good lines from a few different comedians. One comedian whose gig included a guitar did a great rendition of Chris Isaac's Wicked Game... demonstrating how Chris Isaac was really falling asleep during the recording. It doesn't make as much sense to read, but to hear it was very funny. All in all, it was a pretty cool event and definitely something different!

Fil Met Someone Special Today

I had a brief celebrity encounter this afternoon which made my day. Who was it? See if you can guess...

Here are some movies this celebrity has starred in:
Pulp Fiction
Invincible
Star Wars
The Incredibles
The Long Kiss Goodnight

I actually was part of a meeting with this celebrity and had a brief conversation. It felt really surreal and I was amazed by the presence and power of their personality. A very cool LA experience and one I wasn't expecting to be a part of my job when I took it.

Random celebrity sighting and some other fun stuff...

Today we hit up our local grocery store... Ralphs... which is in walking distance from our apartment. As we were walking down one of the aisles, I saw "the Todd" from the TV show Scrubs. I tried not to be too obvious in staring at him and as soon as he passed I called for Filip and told him that I thought I saw the Todd and sure enough it was. We ended up behind him in the checkout line, where he chatted with the checkout lady about how well priced his groceries were and how much he saved using his Ralphs card. Fil had an almost unstoppable urge to call for a "Big Savings Five"!! But he managed to restrain himself. :o)



We have recently enjoyed a few other events in the past couple of days. On Thursday night we went to a Korean BBQ restaurant with several of Filip's work buddies in LA's Little Korea. The place was in a random row of store fronts and was tiny. It was, however, authentic Korean BBQ and VERY yummy.



On Friday night we had planned to go to an outdoor party that included art, horses and live music. I'm not quite sure where the horses came in, but apparently it had something to do with the art. After kind of a later dinner at a great French bakery, we pulled up in front of the event and noticed that it seemed a little too "biker bar" for us. Instead, we ended up visiting the Oyster House where Filip's Top Cow co-worker, Phil, tends bar. When we got there we noticed the big sign outside that said "BEST SEAFOOD IN LA" Zagat Rated. Later, we were told that the quote was from the owner and that they were, indeed, Zagat Rated (although the actual rating isn't know)! How is that for creative advertising?!? But, best seafood in LA or not, they did have some mighty tasty Clam Chowder and some... interesting... peaches. The peaches will set your mouth aflame- so beware! Phil is probably one of the nicest guys in all of LA-- the drinks were strong, the company was good and I left with a very pretty red rose. :o)

Today, in addition to seeing "the Todd", we also dropped the car off for an oil change (the dealership, luckily, is in walking distance to our place) and walked around the Marina for a while with some Starbucks. The Marina is gorgeous and the park that borders it is really beautiful too. We also took Ender to the vet so that he could get some medicine for his poor little face. Other than his allergic breakout, the vet said he is looking good! And in the afternoon we had Pinkberry for the first time. It was definitely interesting and tasty:)



Tomorrow we have found a Farmers Market to attend after church to get our fresh produce for the week. (I love the Farmers Markets here- they always have the greatest stuff.) And then back to the apartment to prepare for company.

Its too bad the weekends are so short around here!! hehe.

Fil's Job

Hi Everyone,

Here's a quick sneak peek at Fil's job at Top Cow in the new luxurious office digs. That's right about the same time as Dee and Eff moved, Top Cow moved one whole building over to larger and more swanky offices. 

Here's the building from the outside. You can spot the MGM Tower in the background. I can see it from my office out the window on the third floor. Pretty cool, it makes me feel like I'm in LA for real. I can also see the building that John McClaine takes on Hans Gruber in Die Hard. Woot!

Here's the entrance to the offices. We just got our name plaque the other day so it still feels pretty new and cool. 

And here's a shot of the waiting room/lobby area to the offices. As you can see we haven't had a chance to fix it up yet, but when we do it will be super sweet. The standee against the wall is Harper from "Madame Mirage" and came from the set of "N3mb3rs", a TV show which used some of our art as a backdrop in a comic convention for one episode. 

Here's a shot of the main office hallway. We have some nice built in book shelves to show off all our product and ancillary items. A few people work out in the cubicles here, but most of us have offices. Mine is next to Marc Silvestri's (the founder of our company). My comic fan friends will think this is pretty cool.

This is a shot of "The Pit" where the artists (including Marc) work and create the comics. It's pretty awesome to go in there from time to time and see work being created and get recharged for why I love this job.

Here's a couple shots of my new office, filled with my old furniture from the glorious Baltimore home office. I just ordered a new desk this morning so these will soon be a memory of the past. Everyone else in the office had swanky looking corporate pieces so my IKEA furniture just wasn't cutting it. As you can see I have yet to really unpack. Maybe next week?

And just for fun some random shots from LA and right before. 

Here's Ender at our failed Moving Sale in Maryland. Anyone want to buy a sweet kitty for a low, low price (check out his paw)?

Here's a shot from The 405 on my first day coming into work at around 7:30am. Backed up already! The traffic out here is unreal. 

And the real reason to come out Cali. A nice view from the Santa Monica Pier looking north up towards Malibu.

Unpacking!

Hi Everyone,

We're still working on getting in the habit of updating the blog on a more regular basis. We're hoping to have everything caught up this week and then we can just jump on and give everyone quick little updates and anecdotes as we go.

Folks have been asking to see the new apartment and how the unpacking process went. Well the good news was that the truck was there waiting for us when we arrived in Marina Del Rey. Most of the stuff we packed was even intact! 

We had a good crew of friends helping us unload the truck, who busted their butts for 6 or so hours to get everything up to the apartment. The main pain in the butt was walking the items around the back of the building and through the labyrinth that is the inside of our building. 

Here's some shots of the new apartment immediately after we got all of the crap into it:)

The packing took approximately three days after we got everything inside. It involved a lot of shifting of items from room A to room B in order to organize room A. Then reverse and repeat the process. Plus trying to set up our internet and TV, each which took more hours than we were told to expect. And then calling in maintenance to activate more than the two phone outlets we had working. You can see here how much Fil loves unpacking. Please note the monkey t-shirt. 

The cats were also working very hard to help out. 

When they weren't looking demonic or hiding in boxes... or both.

Also for those of you curious, here's a shot of our car after our cross country trek. The pictures don't even do it justice as to how utterly filthy it was. It was so bad, that we didn't want to touch the car to open the back hatch because we ended up with dirt and road nastiness on our fingers every time. Last week we finally got it to a car wash for a great hand wash service. The guys at the car wash scrubbed it clean, dried it off lovingly with towels and gave it a protective coat of wax. Blue Steel feels much better now:)

In the next day or two we'll get some pictures up of the now pretty much finished and unpacked apartment. The final touches of hanging up shelves and photos was done this past weekend so the place is starting to feel like home. 

We miss you all!