my-ped

I want to buy a moped. The only problem is that I have no where to park it. We don't have a garage or anything and I don't think it's possible to drag it up two flights of stairs and leave it parked in the apartment. So, I'm going to hold off for a little while.
I rode my friend's Vespa a couple weekends ago and had a lot of fun. It would be cool to ride around Santa Monica on the weekends. I could even start my own moped gang.

p.s. Miss you guys! How was the storm?

WOF BOC

Last weekend I spent some quality time with my college friends. We usually try to get together every few months and hang out like we did back in the day. There is a group of us that live up and down the West Coast. Shell Beach, where my friends Nate and Jason live, is kind of in the middle for everyone. Our reunions are called "Weekend O' Fun" or 'WOF' and this past weekend we created a new tradition of the 'Beer Olympics' and the 'Beer Olympics Committee' or 'BOC'. Otherwise known as the WOF BOC.
I forgot to take photos but my friend Niko did. Here are some he took with his blackberry.

Oh, and I decided that I am going to buy a moped. (more on that to come...)

Happy Birthday to Me

Monday was my birthday, so we decided to celebrate last weekend. Against my wishes, Derek told me he was planning a surprise for me. I really don't like surprises. I don't mind little ones hear and there - but I could do without the big ones. Am I the only one who thinks that? Anyway, Derek met me at Union Station, which is a short train ride from where I work. He surprised me with two train tickets to San Diego to stay for the night. We stayed in a cute little funky hotel in Point Loma where we had dinner and went shopping. It ended up being a nice little get away - but I still don't like surprises.
Sunday we had brunch with family and friends. The food was good but they didn't have Bloody Mary's. As if. Here are some photos of the hotel we stayed at. I didn't take any photos at brunch, but I'll post some soon.

Hollywood Bowl Photo Shoot

Killing some time waiting for Gnarls Barkley...

Happy Birthday Derek!!

Yesterday was Derek's 29th Birthday! 29! That's practically 30.

We had fun last night at the Santa Monica Pier listening to music and drinking wine at our beach birthday picnic. Last weekend we all went horseback riding through Griffith Park to celebrate. Griffith Park is an amazing place in the center of Los Angeles. There are 52 miles of hiking trails through those hills. It was very dry and dusty - which is normal during the summer months. (And some of the winter months too!) In fact, there was a brush fire in that same area a few days after we were there.

It was a really good time despite how sore we all were the next day - I think Derek had the most fun out of all of us. His horse was named Colonel Mustard and looked just like his horse he had when he was growing up. Here are some photos that he took...

EARTHQUAKE!!!

We had a lovely earthquake today! I've never been in an earthquake that large during work hours. It was fun. We took an early lunch to celebrate.
These are my favorite kinds of earthquakes - short and sweet and no one gets hurt.

Hey Matey

I got a promotion last week! My new title is:

Alexis Altoon Yemma, LEED AP, Project Captain

the GLOWness - Videos

Here are some good videos of us at Glow.

the GLOWness

Last night was GLOW - an art and music event at the pier in Santa Monica. It was so much fun!! They had all different types of interactive art installations that mostly revolved around lights and the ocean. It was also the running of the grunions - which was funny to watch. The event started at sunset and went until sunrise. We didn't last that long. Around 2am we decided to go home - but there were still tens of thousands of people roaming the streets. The city estimated around 20,000 people at the event, but I would say it felt like double that amount.

We started the night out at a friends house with a BBQ and some beers. He is a friend that I went to school with and never see (even though we live 2 miles apart - it's kind of ridiculous) Him and his girlfriend have a boxer named Sukki and they were house sitting their neighbor's dogs - the little one is named Ziggy. So freaking cute! Derek fell in love with him immediately. He is only 5 months old and is the sweetest puppy ever.

It was a really fun night. I hope they decide to have the event again next year.

more new yardwork

I am helping my Uncle Butch and Auntie Jan fix up their front yard. They live in a nice older neighborhood with cool houses from the 50's... the problem is that most of the houses haven't had a yard make-over since they were built.

We decided to tear almost everything out: the old landing, stairs, railings, concrete walkways and planting. We extended the patio to make it larger and built an overhead trellis to match the house detail. We also constructed large flat concrete pads that step down to the street. They just poured the concrete on Thursday and did a great job! Next, they will paint the house, install a new irrigation system and then we buy all new plants. I can't wait to see it all come together.

Keep you posted...

vroom

I want to drive a kick-ass old El Camino. One with sparkley brown paint and camel leather interior and gold rims. Do you think I can get one with a hybrid engine?

Little Known Fact?

I don't drink soda and I hate squirrels.