A CUT Above

"To the victor go the spoils" - or so the saying goes. So thanks to the Philadelphia Flyers loss of Lord Stanley's Cup in June, I won a bet I made with my friend Tammy and had the privilege of dining in one of the finest restaurants in Los Angeles.

Tammy and I both appreciate a good meal, and when we made the bet, we knew someone was pulling out the spare credit card. We did not bet on dinner at a specific restaurant, only that the location would be the winners choice and there was no budget. In LA, that gives you some dangerous options, to say the least. When were getting around to scheduling the evening and discussing restaurant choices, I really didn't have anything specific in mind when Tammy started throwing out names of steakhouses. We both enjoy a good steak, and it's not the kind of meal either of us enjoy on a regular basis. But I also wanted her to help choose the location, because I thought it would be fun to go somewhere neither of us had been before. That helped narrow the choices sufficiently for us to choose CUT in Beverly Hills.

Attach the name Wolfgang Puck to anything related to food and you know you're in for an amazing experience. Locate a Wolfgang Puck restaurant in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel (which is owned by the Four Seasons hotel group) and you have an evening fit for a princess (That would be me, in case you were wondering who the princess is in this little dining drama).

Can I move in?

I had a bit better luck than Tammy in the traffic department, so I enjoyed a cocktail at Sidecar (conveniently located right next door) while I was waiting.

The gentleman seated next to me was enjoying some bone marrow flan off the restaurant menu. Gorgeous presentation, but a little off the scale in experimentation for my taste buds.

When Tammy finally arrived, we got seated and she started perusing the wine list.

The sommelier stopped by and asked if we needed some help deciding, and I was impressed immediately by two things. First, the sommelier was a woman. Second, she didn't linger and make us feel pressured to choose. She made some lovely recommendations and left us alone with our thoughts. After an additional few words of encouragement from our charming waiter, Tammy chose a perfect syrah for our meal.

Cheers!

Then we set about the formidable task of deciding what to eat. If you've never enjoyed dining at a place like this before, everything is a la carte, so you order entrees and side dishes separately and the portions are large enough to share. And because you're spending a Kings ransom on a steak, they even bring the various cuts of meat over on a gleaming silver tray so you can inspect the degree and consistency of the marbling (or in steak parlance, fat, which makes it more tender and juicy when cooked) in the cut of meat you're considering. And we also received a bit of eduction on Kobe beef, which apparently is under embargo right now, so unless you go to Japan you cannot enjoy "true" Kobe beef, although you can have very fine beef in the "Kobe style." So many decisions....

Of course, in addition to being charming, our waiter was French (originally from Lyon) and retained just enough of his original accent to contribute the perfect ambiance to the ordering process. This was our conversation:

Adorable French waiter: "And for you madam?"
Me: "I'll have the Nebraska rib eye, please."
Adorable French waiter: "Lovely! How would you like it prepared?"
Me: "Rare."
Adorable French waiter: "Very good...*raising eyebrows*...and your side order?"
Me: "I would love to try this incredible macaroni and cheese."
Adorable French waiter: "*smiles and nods*...The perfect meal!"
Me: "Can I take you home with me?"

Before we got down the main course, we did have a lovely crab and shrimp appetizer. I promptly apologized to Tammy for photographing my food, but I don't live like a princess every day, and documentation was necessary.

I had every intention of taking pictures of my incredible steak, the heavenly mac and cheese, and some truly amazing creamed spinach I shared with Tammy, but the wine and the appetizer got the best of me. Plus there was a very handsome fellow at the next table that kept glancing over at me. Initially, he sat down alone and I thought he might be security, ready to throw me out of the place for photoing Mr. Puck's lovely food and attempting to steal his secrets. Luckily another man joined him, so he's probably just an out-of-work actor.

And even though we had absolutely no room for dessert, we got just a little something sweet to finish off the loveliest meal I've had in a long time.

Sadly, it was time to leave.    And even more sadly, THIS chariot was not included in the deal... 

But a girl can dream, right?

Every Day Is A Birthday

I've been fielding questions for the past several days from friends asking what my "big plans" are for my birthday. I think because my life is normally so busy in general, everyone expects some kind of superhuman craziness out of me on "The Big Day."

But aside from a fire drill in my building sometime between 6-10 PM, I have absolutely no plans for "The Big Day." And it doesn't concern me in the least. Because birthdays are like life. Some of life's moments are big, colorful, momentous and unforgettable. Some are peaceful, easy, and simple. And as hectic and my life has been lately, I've actually been looking forward to peaceful and easy. Besides, my life is pretty darn awesome on a daily basis, whether it's my birthday or not. Isn't every day a cause for celebration?

Then I got a text from a friend who was preparing for an interview where one of the questions was, "Do you have a philosophy for work and for life?" And I realized I do. My philosophy is this:

Live every day like it's your birthday.

Birthdays are a celebration of life. The day you were born, the world changed irrevocably. And it keeps growing and changing in new and wonderful ways every day you're here. With every choice you make, every experience you have, every investment of your time and talent, and every person you touch or share your life with, you change the energy in the universe! Sometimes it happens in little ways, and sometimes the changes are big. But no matter what size the impact, it's uniquely yours. Isn't that worth celebrating?

Special things happen to you every day, if you just pay attention and recognize them. The smile on your face from a silly text message from your craziest friend. The feeling of the sun and wind on your face driving the freeway with the top down. The unexpected invitation to a baseball game. The joy you hear in someones voice when you call them out of the blue. The fun of wearing your favorite party dress and strappy silver shoes to work on a random Thursday.


(Yes, I am wearing this to work...today!)

So don't wait for your "official" birthday to celebrate all the amazing things in your life. Get out every day and LIVE IT.

Farewell to Frolove

We suspected it by the end of last season, but the reality hit yesterday when the theories became fact. Alexander Frolov is no longer a Los Angeles King. Our Frolove is gone, and he's not coming back.



The hockey/business reasons on both sides of this parting of the ways have been exhaustively covered by people more qualified than me to write about them. But reporters, bloggers, and armchair GM's with Twitter accounts don't explore the human factor, which is where I come in.

Alexander Frolov and the Kings started out together young, with great intentions of building a beautiful future together. But like a romance between high school sweethearts, the passage of time saw them grow apart. In fairness, no one ran away at the first sign of trouble. The love was there all along, with both sides trying what they could to make it work.





It was a long, slow decline, but in the end everyone involved recognized it was unrecoverable. It's like looking across the breakfast table at someone you once loved with all your heart, knowing that you still care about them but you have no choice but to pack your bags and leave.

Alexander Frolov, the hockey player, has talent. I hope a change of scenery helps him show it again. He deserves that chance.

I only spoke to Alexander Frolov, the person, on a handful of occasions, at fan events and such. And I use the term "spoke" loosely, partly because I was hopelessly tongue-tied looking into those gorgeous blue eyes, and partly because Fro is so quiet. Sweet, kind, exceedingly polite, and a little mysterious too, with this slow smile that make you feel like he was looking into your soul with those eyes and reading your every thought. I'll miss that.



And I'm not the only fan that will miss the beautiful man that wore #24. My friend Nichole Glaze (aka "The Frotogropher") will be without her favorite subject. Nadine will miss screaming, "спасибо, Sasha! хорошую работу!" during games, and speaking Russian with Alex at player events, prompting him to sign her jerseys "To Nadia"...

And I will miss those blue eyes...



New York Rangers fans, our Frolove is now yours. Take good care of him. And love him well -- just like we did.

The Russian is Coming! The Russian Is Coming!

OK, so it's not the start of the Third World War, but it might as well be. Because as much as speculation about the Ilya Kovalchuk-LA Kings free agency negotiations have divided Kings fans ever since July 1st, there is one sure thing to come of out of all this. NOTHING in LA-LA land will be the same when it's all said and done.

This drama has played out like a Tolstoy novel, and today's latest plot twist is a rumored face-to-face meeting between Kovy and Kings GM Dean Lombardi tomorrow. The folks already on the Kovy to LA bandwagon are immediately seeing this as a sign that ink and paper will meet, and we'll finally have a deal that lands the missing piece of the Kings play-off puzzle.

Whether it happens on or not is anyones guess. And whether it happens or not, I remain unconvinced Kovy is the magic bullet to ensure the Kings success. Here are the tangible reasons.

• Even if Kovalchuk lowers his reported $10 million a year asking price, the Kings still accept responsibility for a huge contract that will be tough to move if things don't work out on the ice as neatly as everyone thinks.

• The Russian star's demands have changed little since he started talking about a contract extension with the Atlanta Thrashers, where he was team captain. Leaders that are more focused on money than the team aren't leaders to me, and everything about his guy's actions say he cares more about himself than any team he plays on.

• Yes, he scored 40 goals last year. But so did Alex Ovechkin, and the Caps got ousted in the first round of the play-offs after winning the President's Trophy. Having a 40 goal scorer does not guarantee you a Stanley Cup, folks. You need other things like goaltending, solid defense, etc. Hockey is still a TEAM sport, which is why I love it.

Then, there are the intangibles. IF we manage to land this guy, expectations will be so high no one will have any patience if he or the team don't meet them. Kings fans are already a cynical bunch in some respects, and their cynicism is probably earned after many years of watching their team get close to the big prize, then come apart at the seams. I mean, even The Great One couldn't bring us a Stanley Cup, so why should Kovy be able to do it?

What happens if this is the season he DOESN'T score 40 goals? Then we have buyers remorse, we're stuck with it, and half the fan base will be ready to crucify Dean Lombardi for pushing to make the deal they so desperately wanted in the first place. Or what if he does score 40 goals and we still don't make the play-offs? What then?

But the biggest thing that makes me want to turn away from this deal is the fact that we're having to cajole this guy to be interested. My friend Su Ring hit the nail on the head when she said Kovy is like the guy everyone wants to take to prom. He may be the hottest date around, but if you're the girl that gets to go with him, do you even have fun? My gut says no. Because it's a hollow victory to win him knowing he wouldn't commit to you until he exhausted his options with the prettier girls. You're now the one he settled for, not the one he wanted. I LOVE my TEAM, and they deserve to be treated better.

As the Russian saying goes, "The heart wants what the heart wants." And my heart wants no part of this guy breaking it into pieces. Thankfully there's a lot more to love on this Kings team already. I hope it stays that way.

In Training: The Mental Game

Have you ever started the weekend with grand plans to get so much accomplished, then gotten yourself into such a funk that you not only got NOTHING done, you proceeded to beat yourself up about it? Welcome to my July 4th weekend.

It started with looking at the calendar and realizing I only have 30 DAYS LEFT until my one year "In Training Challenge" deadline. And I'm not where I want to be, physically or, as I quickly discovered, mentally. I've spent the past week getting over a cold, but I've been feeling better every day. So why did I suddenly run out of gas this weekend?

I woke up Saturday morning when the alarm sounded with grand plans to catch up on my lengthy to-do list to get my life back in "perfect" working order. I laid in bed for about 30 minutes pondering just how I would attack the day, then proceeded to roll over and go back to sleep. By 10 AM, I was finally up and moving, but all I managed to accomplish by noon was eating some cold leftover pizza and doing a little Facebooking. So much for productivity!

The more I thought about how much time I had already wasted, the more I lost energy. I figured I was just still tired and needed to sleep more, so I took a nap Saturday afternoon. When I woke up, I was upset I slept longer than I expected and wasted the majority of a perfectly beautiful day. And since my amazing productivity plan was now shot to hell, my brain sapped the last of my energy, and I didn't even want to get out of bed.

But I did get out of bed long enough to do one thing. I picked up a book from my ever-growing pile of unread gems. It wasn't on my to-do list for this weekend, but working through that pile was on the hockey off-season to-do list, so I figured it was better than nothing. And by the end of the weekend, I had finished the book and had the start of a new outlook.



Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral is a celebration of life, love and friendship as experienced by a group of women fulfilling the last wishes of a dear friend. I won't give you the rundown on the whole book, because I hope you'll read it and I don't want to spoil the fun. It's probably the most uplifting book about loss you'll ever read. But one of the other big themes in the book that resonated with me this weekend is the importance of taking time in our busy lives to just BE. As Annie writes in a letter to her friends:

"Just pause and remember....I should have done it more. Just pause, my loves, remember me, and then keep going..."

So instead of beating myself up for everything I didn't do, I decided to appreciate the gift of perspective this book gave me, and I felt some of my energy return. Once again, Coach Nadine to the rescue! She was the one that brought this book into my life and helped start to turn my lousy weekend around.

But my biggest motivation came on Sunday, as I was catching up on blogs of friends I follow. I came across an update from my former co-worker Tiffany Mather. About a year ago, Tiffany's husband Kevin was hit by a truck while biking with friends from his church. He sustained a serious spinal cord injury, lost the use of his legs, and ended up in a wheelchair.

But Kevin's story is one that demonstrates exactly how much power the mind can have over the body. He and Tiffany shared a video of his struggle to get back his mobility, and it's nothing short of awe inspiring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3kv-daO3B0

As I sat there and watched Kevin give every ounce of effort he had to walk using leg braces and a walker, I felt ashamed. How could I let myself get demotivated so easily? Kevin has to overcome obstacles every day that I don't even think about, and here I am being basically lazy. Because I'm a little tired? Why am I not out making the most of all the opportunities I have?

It turns out that Annie and Kevin were just the kick in the head I needed to get going again. So now that my head is back in the right place, I've got 30 days left...and I've got work to do! Time to get to it.

Film and Madness in LA

When you mention Southern CA to most people (and Los Angeles specifically), the first image that comes to their mind usually involves Hollywood in some way. Personally, I always think of the scene from "Pretty Woman," where Julia Roberts is hooking on Hollywood Boulevard and walks by this dude who belts out to anyone who will listen, "Welcome to Hollywood! What's your dream?" Given their choice, I think most people would love to be part of a movie.

So when a friend asked if I wanted to attend a poolside chat about Twitter as part of the LA Film Festival, I couldn't resist. It's a Wednesday night (boring), it's two days before the draft and the event is located at the JW Marriott, where portions of the draft events are located (always a hockey connection).



And then, there were the TwiHards.



That's right...I was right at the center of the camping madness the night before the "Twilight: Eclipse" premiere.





The streets next to the Nokia Theatre were a mini-tent city of teenagers, their parents, and curious onlookers sweating in the heat, waiting for a glimpse of R-Patz and K-Stew as they walked the red carpet.


Is it just me, or does she look a little OLD for this?

Granted, none of these people would actually be seeing the movie, and no one was going to be walking the red carpet until the next day. But if you're a real TwiHard, that's hardly the point, now is it? You support your favorite vampire no matter what the cost! (This coming from the only person on Earth who has not read any of the Twilight books or seen the previous movies).

Watching all the madness in this little tent city, I had an epiphany. If someone could find a way to harness the energy of obsessive teenage girls, we could end world hunger, poverty, and probably achieve world peace. Until then, smart folks took advantage of the opportunity to serve drinks to thirsty people and raise money for a good cause. I think Bella would be proud.



After we'd had enough of the TwiHards, we headed over the Marriott pool for the main event of our evening. Entitled "Poolside Chat: The Power of the Tweet," it was a panel discussion with a group of directors who are active on Twitter talking about how they use it. The list of panelists was interesting, although I was struck by the fact that there were no women.

Jon Chu (Step Up 2: The Streets, Step Up 3-D)
Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko, The Box)
Eli Roth (writer/director, Hostel; actor Inglourious Basterds)
Adam Shankman (director, Hairspray; judge on So You Think You Can Dance)

If you're familiar with Twitter at all, they didn't offer a lot that was groundbreaking in terms of strategy. Interacting with the audience, offering teasers on content, release dates, and such, polling them for input on set design ideas, etc. What was interesting was the impact they thought social media in general, and Twitter specifically would continue to have on the health of the Hollywood system.

As Eli Roth put it, if the audience thinks your movie is crap, you'll find out 15 minutes into the first showing when the Tweets start to hit. Before Twitter, if the movie opened on Friday, you'd find out what people thought on Monday. In the new world, if your film sucks you won't survive the weekend.

In Roth's view, directors will have to continue to step up their game and create quality films that will engage audiences to survive. The days of sliding by on uninspired studio-system driven garbage are ending. As a long time fan of independent film, I like the sound of that.


Adam Shankman, Eli Roth, and Richard Kelly

All the panelists are on Twitter, so check them out! Eli Roth in particular is very entertaining. Who knew a horror director could be so funny!

I wonder what he thinks of the TwiHards?

The Thought Locker: Coast-to-Coast Edition

With my mini-break to Delaware over, today was, dare I say, rather eventful. Herewith, some thoughts on the joys of a long day getting across the country....

• I had A LOT of fun with my Foursquare checkins on this trip, but Foursquare and I disagreed on a couple of locations. Can someone tell me how I can get a message that says "Your phone thinks you're a little far from the Route 404, so no points or badges for this checkin" when I'm STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DARN ROAD waiting for the construction flagger to alternate turns so my lane can go? In happier Foursquare news, I am now the Mayor of 4 more locations.
  

• I think it's pretty lousy of Hertz not to apply the discount I keyed in WHEN I MADE THE RESERVATION until AFTER I returned the car and noticed my bill total was wrong. Yeah, trying to get me to pay $158 when you know darn well it should only be $39. I wonder how many people fall for that?

• Attention pilots! Don't say we might get a few light bumps after you ask the flight attendants to take their seats. If they're sitting, we're in for a ride. The experienced fliers aren't fooled for a second.

• Words you don't want to hear when making a connection on a late in-bound plane -- "They're holding the plane for you...."
  

• For some reason I only get a pile of mail when I'm gone. Of course, the only piece I really cared about was this one:

• I thought my roller bag was a little noisier than usual on the way home. When I was unpacking it, I discovered why. This....
  

Is supposed to look more like this...



I think I need a break from my break!