Time to catch up on some blogging

This past few weeks has been very busy, so I have to do a marathon session to catch up on what's happened since the 22nd, when Dara and I flew to Toronto. That seems like a good place to start:

On the 22nd, Dara and I took a bumpy flight to Toronto to visit friends and family. The primary reason for our visit was to see Dara's Grandpa John, whose smiles and hand-holding alone was worth the price of admission. And on top of that, we got to see our great friends and family, had plenty of dinners, and lots of good times. Of course the only complaint with trips like these is always how short they have to be. But we will see our good friends again. I picked up a cold in Toronto, grabbed some Xanax for the flight home and arrived with a fresh new cold and a cough that persists to the present day.

The week that followed our trip was just as frenzied, but involved a lot of trying to catch up on sleep and working hard.

In the meantime, my little bro Cat turned 23 (Happy Birthday Cat!) Cat was born in the very Orwelian year of 1984, and although I'm the big brother, I think Cat is proof that there is something to be paranoid about. Just joking, bro. Love you. Happy Birthday!

Finally, this weekend was an L.A. weekend. For our Christmas Party, the president of my company (Steve) bought his employees tickets to see the play "Wicked." So Dara and I got a hotel (Westin, downtown L.A. Cool elevators, too much ambient noise, and paper-thin walls), and had a great time. Friday night was a trip to The Largo, my favourite music club/cabaret/piano bar/place in the world. Here we listened to the sublime comedy of Paul F. Tomkins, and some lesser-known emcees who entertained us in the "Shark-a-thon," fundraiser, for the house sound technician, who found himself on the business end of a tiger shark (and survived). The evening was comprised of surprisingly funnny shark jokes, aquatic-themed music (played by my favourite musical savant, Jon Brion) and some good times. I was excited because this was Dara's first live exposure to my all-time favourite artist, JB, and although she was looking forward more to the "Wicked" show than the Jon Brion one, his brilliance, and the general fun of the night turned her opinion. We also made believers out of good friends Anthony and Rosio, who also had a great time. Anthony approached Jon Brion and, as always, I shook hands, said hello, told him I'm a huge admirer, then ducked out shyly. I want to listen to his music, not to be friends with him. But he is a very nice guy.

Anyway, back to the hotel to sleep (or try to). This persistent cough of mine has been keeping me awake at night. I had a difficult time falling asleep, especially in the too-loud Westin Bonadventure. We woke up, had some room service, then drove over to see "Wicked." Although Dara has turned my opinion of musicals (which was previously low), I have read the book on which this play is based, and was thoroughly unimpressed. In short, I hated the book. But the play turned my opinion around. Everything the book wasn't (concise, well written, entertaining), the play was. It was essentially the same story, but tighter. For those who don't know, "Wicked," is a play detailing the life of the Wicked Witch of the West (nee Elphaba, performed with brilliance by Eden Espinosa). The play is an etiological play, showing how the world of Oz came about, as well as an essay about moral ambiguity. It was entertaining, and we had a great time.

Then it was time to come home and sleep. So now you're all caught up. If you care.