birthdays in the age of social media

today is my favorite day of the year, my birthday! it's my very own holiday that i don't have to share. it's a day in which the spotlight shines directly on me, and for each and every birthday i am consistently showered with tons of attention and affection. and i love it!

facebook makes today even better because i hear from soooooo many people from so many chapters of my life. i know it's easy. we all get a notification of who has a birthday today, so it's not like anyone actually had to remember that today is my birthday. but it doesn't take away from the fact that that little notification on the right side of the screen caused each and every one of the hundred plus people who have posted on my page today to take some pause, think about me and our lives' interaction(s), and devote some energy to helping make my day that much more special. and it truly has.

i feel so special and so loved, and that my life is so full of friendship and admiration, i am truly honored. today really is my very own holiday.

~k

chasing steeper hills

to keep our minds focused more on the beautiful day and less on stuff that sucks, megan malawi and i stumbled into an impromtu but grand tour de echo park.

that slug-bug of hers led us up one hill and down the next, ever seeking the next steepest climb and even more outrgeous downward grade. one of those is a hill we like to call rollercoaster road (which, incidentally, google ranks the 4th steepest street in the world), because while it is utterly terrifying - whether it be daytime or night, reaching the summit of that hill, over which you can see absolutely nothing, and can do little more than trust that there really is a road on the other side, it tickles me to hysterics. whilst megan malawi cried out that she was seeing her life flash before her eyes, just before she turned the car around so's to avoid driving over the peak, i was laughing so hard i couldn't breathe.

the hilly byways eventually dumped us into elysian park (where the slug-bug hugged the mountain - even when it was on the wrong side of the road - to keep from driving right next to the precipice from which any faller would most certainly meet his untimely death). while trying not to give the gunfire too much thought, we scouted locations for the picnic we tenatively planned to plan, and found openings a plenty where we just stood in jaw-dropping awe, beholden to the breathtaking views.

when you're down in the grease and grime of the gridlock, it's easy to forget how truly spectacular this town really is, but when up in the hills, looking into downtown, over at the hollywood sign and observatory, or catching glimpses of the sea crashing into the shore, it's impossible not to see that this city really is one fit for angels.

and just as the clock ticked a reasonable starting line for an afternoon of drinking, we found ourselves settling into a local bakery/cafe for a most delightful booze-infused snack in anticipation of our trek back into the hills...

~k

a day with radiohead

it's been one of those days, of the really amazingly serendipitous sort...

~k

a night with the potus

when i showed up at the beverly hilton, my car had to be searched and sniffed out by dogs. and it took five secret service guys, my two friends, and the instruction manual to the car to figure out how to pop the bonnet.

and then i met the president.

the end.

~k