Labor Day

The last two weeks have been very busy. My mom and Raul came to town for a visit over Labor Day weekend. It was my mom's first time to California, so I gave her a whirlwind tour of LA. We did so much running around, I was exhausted by the end of it. I can't imagine how my mother must have felt having to get on a plane again and fly back across the country.

In the middle of it all, we looked at another apartment near where I work between Sunset and Hollywood. It's really nice and very spacious (2,000 sq ft.), not to mention I would have my own parking space. No more tandem parking, hallelujah! I think I may take it, especially after the continued problems I have in my present building, especially with parking.

One night last weekend we came home only to find someone parked on the right side of the driveway of my building. Well, the only way I can pull into our space is to swing in from the right side of the driveway. I waited up until 3am for the car to move but it never did. Mind you, there are signs up that say no parking there and you will be towed at owner's expense. So, yes, I called a tow truck company, but they never came. I also left a message for the building's manager, who never returned my call. However, I did leave a lovely note, expletives included, on his windshield.

Then, the morning I have to take my mom to the airport ... the power goes out. Which means the garage doors won't open ... Again, we tried to get a hold of the manager to no avail, so Raul unscrewed the door and we popped it open ourselves. Thankfully, I got my mother to the airport in time. The latest thing now are kids riding their bigwheels and bikes back in forth between our building and the building next door, screaming. At the top of their lungs. It sounds like they're right inside in my bedroom. Ugh! So yeah, I think I'm going to be moving to a new apartment in a much, much better location.

Celebrity sightings: Naveen Andrews (Sayid from "Lost") at LAX getting off a flight from Honolulu; John Reilly (formerly Sean Donely on "General Hospital" and now on "Passions") at the Grove during lunch; Josh Souza and Erika Landin from "Big Brother" Season One & Three (they were holding hands) and Jennifer Tilly at the Grove; Robert Blake in the parking lot of a shopping plaza on Beverly Glen.