On the ipad and droid at bangkok airport

16 hours later and almost there. Luckily bangkok had a starbucks and m&ms world ready for us. KL here we come.

Saying Au Revoir to LA

Harry at the foot of my bed, where I would often
find him when I woke up in the morning.

Well readers, things certainly have gotten more interesting for the return of bloggers Herczeg and Bell (nee Koch).  We asian adventurers are most glad for the addition once more of their witty repartee, even if we will be spread across three continents.  Let the hunt for the best story of wacky French-inspired antics - in Paris, in a country once controlled by the French or with Fabrice in DC - begin.

Sadly my time in LA is winding down.  Tuesday morning began with a lovely stroll to a local coffee shop with Aim and Harry and enjoying some iced teas while sitting outside in the once again perfect LA weather.  (Apparently it's hot by LA standards, but after this summer in NYC and my only sometimes air conditioned living room, it feels lovely).  Aim then went off to have an important Hollywood lunch.  It may have just been for networking/meeting people in LA, but as far as I'm considered every lunch in LA is like those lunches in Get Shorty where people are pitching scripts left and right and ordering obscure dishes off menu.  So she probably green lighted three scripts while there.  I meanwhile headed to the Grove and Farmers Market, where I explored a food wonderland.  While enjoying my second set of pork tacos in two days, I overheard a woman say to her friend that eating at the mexican stand where we were was a quintessential LA experience.  Success!  Though all the talk about Amy and Matt's upcoming trip to France also required me, bien sur, to have a nutella crepe for dessert.

After a stroll through the shops, Amy and I came home and she headed off to her writing class, where she is in training to become a v. famous Hollywood writer, second only perhaps to her already v. famous husband Matt Bell.  (Note to all Hollywood executives reading this blog in secret - there is a dynamic writing duo residing here in West Hollywood.  You probably want to hire them.)  I then borrowed Amy's car and drove to see a good family friend Hanka Orsten, who came over to the US on the same Army transport ship as Babi and Deda, arriving on Thanksgiving Day 1949.  We had a lovely visit. Between Babi and Hanka there are two pretty fabulous 90-somethings putting most 60 year-olds to shame.  (I took pics with my blackberry but I am having trouble getting them off the device, so photos to come in a bit - apologies.)

Of particular note in our visit (and especially for blogger Herczeg), Hanka taught me some translations of great Czech expressions about Hungarians.  Babi had already taught me:

- After midnight all Slovaks become Hungarian (which I think means they are sloppy drunks)

In that vein, Hanka added:

- A Hungarian will go into a revolving door after you and come out before you
- What's the difference between a Hungarian and a Romanian?  They both will sell you their mothers, but the Hungarian will actually deliver

There are definitely getting added to my repertoire.

After such a nice visit, I then returned to Casa Bell and Matt and I scooped Amy up from her class.  We adventurous three then went across LA - so many neighborhoods! - to Little Tokyo for some DELICIOUS ramen and grilled pork.  The absolutely perfect way for me to get ready to transition to a diet of Asian cuisines for the next two weeks.  What a treat.

Harry knows it is important to stay
hydrated when one is hiking in the heat

At the top of our hike

This morning (Wednesday), Amy and I with our fearless canine leader Harry headed off to Griffith Park for a hike up to the Observatory.  It was pretty hot and sunny, but the hike was great fun, especially when pulled along by an unbelievably energetic dog.  Harry must have known what a nice morning was in store for us, because as soon as we got in the car he started hopping up and down with excitement.  Again, slightly different reaction than Harry the bulldog.

This sign always reminds me of the episode
of Mathnet with the gorillas.  Anyone?

After the hike we stopped in Larchmont, which apparently also exists here as well as on the Metro-North, for yummy Italian sandwiches.  Up ahead for up this afternoon will be last minute errands and laundry, followed by hopefully scooping Josh up at the airport for a quick Bell-Olken double dinner date at a cuban place near LAX.  And then, just a brief 16-17 hour flight later (yikes) we'll be in Asia!  See you all there!

OUT OF OFFICE

TO: Readers
FR: Me (Jon)
RE: Fwd: re: URGENT TIME SENSITIVE PLEASE ASSIST!
Attachment:  V. Important Document REDLINE -- PRIVILEGED & CONFIDENTIAL -- DRAFT

Thank you for your message.  I (Jon) am currently not on vacation right now.  I do not anticipate being away from my computer, Blackberry, landline, cellphone or desk in the near future.  If I do not respond to your email within 10 minutes, please forward the same message to me, only this time mark it as urgent with a red exclamation point so you can be sure I see it in my inbox.   If 10 more minutes pass, please call my assistant at [REDACTED] and she will send an email alerting me to your call.  Sometimes it helps if your assistant calls my assistant directly with the message that you are looking for me. 

In any event, of course I am happy to assist with this pressing matter.  Please be advised that I am in the office and not in Paris crunching a baguette or in Hue slurping up pho, though I plan to be out of the office next Thursday recruiting at [REDACTED]; the Acela now has wi-fi so I will be available on a consistent basis as needed.  Your email to me that says only "please assist" provides clear and consistent guidance that is in no way vague.  I can easily follow the correspondence you forwarded me from [CLIENT] and I can interpret [CLIENT]'s unambiguous request.  Though I have no previous experience with this issue or knowledge of the relevant legal standard, I should be able to turn this around without delay by COB yesterday. 

In the meantime, I do hope to interrupt Amy/Matt/EB/Josh's posts about vacation adventures with a few short entries of my own.  Please let me know if you have any questions.


Best,
Me (Jon)

Breaking News!

Dear reading public, you've  been misled.  You'll note that at the bottom of this post it says that Jon and Amy are here in absentia.  False.  Present.  I (Amy) am very much here.  Or as EB just said "the inmates are in charge."  I think I'd prefer something more along the lines of "student becomes teacher."  

But Amy, why are you blogging, you ask?  Well, let me count the ways (er, reasons):
1.  I am unemployed.  Yes my numbering is in order of importance.  If you are reading, in Los Angeles, and interested in paying me to do something other than be a litigation associate, it's great to meet you and I would love to buy you lunch and I'm a quick learner with a real appetite for reading for pleasure.  Surely these things qualify me for something.
2.  I am jealous of EBs and Josh and their adventure part deux.  Uncontrollably jealous/envious/furious.
3.  I will also be traveling in the next two weeks, and though I won't be in Asia, I will be in a former colonial power, and who doesn't love a little mercantilism humor.
3a.  If you're now wondering who is to blame for giving me the password to the blog, it was EB.  
4.  This is mostly just a challenge to Jon to write something hilarious for our benefit.  See that, readers?  I'm here to help.

On Saturday, Matt and I leave for 10 days in France: first attending the wedding of our friends in Burgundy, and then wandering around Paris for a few days on a belated honeymoon of sorts.  EB taught me some french while we were stuck in traffic yesterday, so I'm feeling pretty confident we'll have no trouble at all.  I can now say:
-"give me that croissant"
-"I adore wine"
-"I adore you"
-"two coffees please, thank you"
-"where is the Louvre"
-"cheese"

I dare you to think of any other truly essential phrase.  Let the adventure(s) begin.




  

Ladies who lunch (and enjoy happy hour)

Sunday evening was a lovely reunion with the Chapin girls at Bld for dinner followed by the evening's episode of Mad Men at Kathleen's wonderful apartment. Nothing like a night of reminiscing over the high school quote book and gabbing while watching tv to make you feel like it's 1999 again.  It's always nice to know that no amount of graduate school, careers or marriage changes the friendships (and the ability to find middle school teachers hilarious) that result from 13 years of all-girls' schooling.  

The beautiful Zuma Beach in Malibu

Lawyers on the loose

Monday was another perfect sunny day in Los Angeles. Amy (after she got up very early and went to morning pilates and I snoozed right in - guess I'm not quite ready for LA life yet) and I went on a little beach adventure. We headed out to Malibu where we had a yummy lunch of tacos at the hilariously named Malibu Country Mart (think Nobu and $150 jean shorts not Cracker Barrel and overalls) and then wandered around the shops. Next we were off to Zuma beach for a stroll, dipping our feet in the Pacific. It was beautiful.  Though it may only be for a short time of unemployment, we decided we could definitely get used to spending Monday afternoons at the beach rather than in an office.  If anyone is looking to hire two law school grads to enjoy leisurely lunches and weekday strolls on the beach in Malibu, look no further.

In front of Bodega, the fashionable wine bar where Mandi and Amy had the good sense to order wine and I got a neon blue cocktail.  Oops.

After having the full LA experience of getting stuck in traffic on the way home, we got back to West Hollywood, changed into our evening attire and headed out to meet Mandi at a new wine bar on Sunset Boulevard (it is literally impossible for me to say that without starting to sing the theme song from the musical Sunset Boulevard). We had a great girls' night out- happy hour pricing on cocktails and wine (what a deal!) and yummy bar snacks. Not to mention learning all sorts of secret Hollywood insider gossip about the biz- thank goodness I know someone so connected with what's going on.  I can't wait to get home to astound all my east coast friends with what I learned about cool stuff in the film industry. But first I should probably learn some cool stuff about unpronounceable southeast asian cities as well.        

A weekend with my nephew, niece and neph-dog

If my travels getting to LA were a little less than perfect, all that was cured by the joy of spending the weekend with my "nephew" Shepherd, "niece" Ella and "neph-dog" Harry Bell. Bates and Shep had come down from Palo Alto, Ali and Ella had come up from San Clemente and Harry, well, being the movie star that he is, lives in fashionable LA with Amy and Matt in their lovely West Hollywood home.

Saturday morning we had an absolutely delicious brunch courtesy of Amy and her wonderful cooking (though she did snag a recipe or two from this gem of a food blog        http://www.alexandracooks.com/). Mandi joined us (that's high powered Hollywood executive Amanda Schweitzer to those of you in the biz) as did Matt's delightful mom Renie visiting from Oakland.  After breakfast, the young moms and the "aunties" and Harry the dog went for a walk around West Hollywood, keeping eyes peeled for celebrities at every turn, though no luck so far.  We spent the afternoon astounded by the wonderousness of the babies as Ella made clear that she is ready to start crawling (extremely fast learner) and Shep revealed his amazing array of facial expressions, with the piece de resistance being his own adaptation of lobster face.  For dinner, Amy once again treated us with a delicious meal, this time the Zuni roast chicken and bread salad.  YUMMY!  What a successful day.

Sunday began with spooning in bed once again with Harry - apologies to my dog Harry back on the East Coast but this Harry can jump into bed without the aid of an ottoman or a helpful lift.  Breakfast with the babies again and then we were off for a stroll to the Melrose flea market.  Cute as we grown ups are, Shep and Ella once again were the stars of the show.  I think they were offered several trendy LA outfits by some of the vendors, but naturally refused, referring all discussions about what to wear (and what not to wear - they of course read US Weekly) to their managers.  These are two celebabies in the making.

Sadly, we had to send the babies off to their respective homes Sunday afternoon, but not before several attempts at kidnapping by their aunties when their moms weren't paying attention.  Surprisingly enough, the kiddies weren't psyched about the prospect of stowing away in my bag for a trip to Southeast Asia.  Though I'm pretty sure that several of the baby sounds made by Shep and Ella over the course of the weekend were the names of places we'll be going in Laos.

Next up, dinner with the Chapin girls! 

Oh you'd like to fly to Los Angeles? How about two days from now?

No Continental, thank YOU.

Our adventures began somewhat inauspiciously on Friday when I (EB) arrived at Newark airport for my flight to Los Angeles. Upon attempting to check in at an e-ticket machine, I was informed that I could not check in because it was more than 24 hours before my flight. Odd, I thought, given that my flight was in just over 1 hour. But upon further inspection it was revealed that the machine believed my flight was on Sunday rather than Friday.

A swift discussion with a Continental representative revealed that my 3:25 flight had been canceled and I had been rebooked on the 3:25 on Sunday.*  Apparently Contintental believed that my primary interest was in flying at 3:25, irrespective of the day. Surprisingly, I informed them that actually what I really wanted was to get to California THAT DAY rather than fly at 3:25 and encouraged them to make that happen. Though all direct flights were booked, after a little persistence they found a spot for me on a flight to Chicago and then from Chicago to LAX.

Well, at least someone was glad I was there.

A couple hours later, I was off to Chicago and all seemed to be well in the world.  After a lovely airport dinner in O'Hare and the joyous news that I was being given an exit row seat on the flight to LAX, thunderstorms rolled into Chicago and all flights were halted for an hour and a half.  Luckily I had rented a movie on my snazzy new ipad, so the time passed relatively quickly.  Finally at 10:30pm Chicago time we took off and at 12:45 am the flight touched down in LA.  A quick ride brought me to the wonderful home of Amy and Matt Bell, where a lovely guest room and delightful dog to spoon with awaited me.  I had arrived!

* Side note for this story - are there actually people who go to the check in machine, see their flight has been canceled and they are rebooked for two days later, and just shrug their shoulders and go home to come back in two days?  Is that really a winning strategy for airlines?  I am dubious.