I filmed Mythbusters again!

Yeah, that's right, again.  In January 2010, I did a crazy 21-hour roundtrip drive to San Francisco to film an episode of Mythbusters at the workshop.  It was excellent...but really not a super smart idea to do it that quickly, essentially pulling an all-nighter-and-a-half.

This time, I planned ahead.  I got confirmation on a Tuesday for a Thursday (September 29) shoot day, and immediately booked a cheap motel room in Oakland for Wednesday night.  I drove up to SF from LA after work on Wednesday evening, and made it easily by 10:00pm. I got to sleep this time!

Driving up in the evening wasn't so bad

My classy, classy motel room matched my bags

On Thursday, I did a little exploring before meeting the crew on Treasure Island.  I drove over the Bay Bridge and found a television icon.

The Full House house!

View of SF and the Bay Bridge from Treasure Island

There were eight of us invited to film...and we did a lot of waiting.  They took us two at a time, apparently a men vs. women experiment.  Those of us left behind kept trying to figure out what we were going to have to do, based on some of our survey questions earlier. Or maybe it was mainly me who was trying to figure it out.  I was impatient.

There's been some press already on the episode, but I still can't talk about the details until the episode airs.  Boo.

Because we wrapped relatively early, and it was still pretty light outside, I did even more exploring.  I tried to find Lombard Street's craziness and the Golden Gate Bridge.  Yeah, should've researched an address or something earlier.  Found 'em eventually, though!

I DROVE DOWN LOMBARD STREET

I finally headed home after that. I got back really late, and probably could have left two or three hours sooner, but I'm so glad I did a little extra exploring this time.

I Hate Running

I seriously hate running.  I've done two 5Ks with my friends within the last year and a half (Warrior Dash and Spartan Race)...but I was in it for the obstacles.  And the beer at the end.  That is the way to motivate us: hijinks and beer.  But even on those "fun" courses, I remember asking (several times), "Why am I running? No one is chasing me..."

Here's the thing: I will be turning 25 next year. Twenty five.  That's a grown-up age.  I need to do something big to mark the occasion.

So I'm going to run a half-marathon.

The Disneyland Half-Marathon is held in September.  I don't want to run a random course just for the sake of running, because I hate running.  But I love Disneyland.  The timing and location are perfect.

I kinda-sorta started going to the gym to take spin classes with my roommate (maybe I've only done that twice), and sometimes I get on the elliptical machine.  Last Friday, I got on the treadmill and ran 2.1 miles in 22 minutes, and on Sunday I did 1.6 miles in 16 minutes. So I'm like one-seventh of the way there already.

I know I should be running outside for real terrain, but it's so easy for me to stop then. I can't as easily stop on the treadmill because it's moving. And people will judge me for walking on it.  So until this becomes a habit, I'm sticking with the moving treadmill in a judgmental environment.

I'm heading over to the gym again now.  And I really, really hate running.

Muay Thai fight

Last night, my friend Patrick had his second muay thai fight.  We used to train together in Krav Maga (he even came in to beat me up in the sparring on my Green Belt test last year), but his passion was always more for the fight than the self-defense element.  He left our training over the summer and went to a muay thai academy to focus more on that.

He won his first fight a month or two ago, and last night, he won his second.

Frederick's of Hollywood party

On Wednesday, I received an invite for a special event at the Frederick's of Hollywood flagship store in Hollywood.  As this store has taken a lot of my money (alllll those shopping trips), I had to go: Cocktails!  Discounts! Gift bags!

Emphasis on discounts!  Time for a shopping trip again!

I arrived about a half hour after it started, and there was a line from the door around the corner.  I did not expect that.  I also did not expect the girls in line to be dressed as if they were going into a club.  Little party dresses all over...making my long sundress look lame by comparison. There were a few people in "regular clothes," so that did make me feel a little better.

On all my other trips to the store, there were a handful of other customers, but never anything overwhelming.  Employees were always on top of things and offered assistance, dressing rooms, "let me hold this at the register for you..."—but last night, it was busy.

The staff was definitely doing the best that could, though.  I had a drink in one hand, a few items in the other, and several times I was offered help in finding a size so I didn't have to juggle a way to look through the clothing rack.  The line for the dressing rooms was insane, but the staff there also was good about running out to grab a different size if necessary.  It was very well-organized...just busy.

After an hour and a half, I spent far more money than I should have. (But I'm a shareholder of FOH stock, so eventually they may pay me back...right?) Whatever, I got some fabulous stuff and felt all fancy at the store party/event, so I win.

My shopping bag + gift bag (and all the gift bag goodies)

An evening at La Descarga

Last night, we celebrated a friend's birthday at La Descarga, a Cuban rum and cigar bar in Hollywood.  So.much.fun.  It was a classy affair—ladies in cocktail dresses and men in jackets. And of course, I enjoy any chance I get to feel a little Lucille Ball-esque...redhead at a Cuban rum bar, close enough connection to Lucy/Desi.

First of all, when you get into the door, you're led upstairs to a little room...and enter the main bar room by walking through an armoire, pushing a few hanging guayabera shirts aside. You step through onto a raised platform that reminded me of a theater catwalk, then down the metal spiral stairs to the main floor.  We were a large party, so we had a reservation for a table and bottle service, and we were escorted to our corner.

So.  Bottle service.  It's a Cuban rum bar, so of course we went with rum.  A $300 bottle of rum.  Fancy glass pitches of soda and a glass of limes were also delivered to the table, but the rum was so smooth (with hints of vanilla and cinnamon) that most of us drank it on the rocks.

Every hour, there was a short burlesque performance, and the dancer can really move.  I was so impressed with her quick footwork and swinging of her hips.  She was obviously a trained dancer.  We sneaked off to the cigar lounge after the first performance, and though I didn't partake in that, it was quite a sight to see another retro room filled with dressed up people.

After we finished the bottle, there were a few more cocktails and a lot more fun with friends.  It was such a great group of people, and of course we ladies took turns dancing to the latin music with our birthday boy.  So.much.fun.  We already were asking who has the next special occasion so we can have an excuse to return. Because, you know, you kinda need more reason than "just because" when you order a $300 bottle.