Last morning in LA.  It's gone incredibly fast, actually.  And the answer to the riddle as to what 'play' I was being taken to lies in this photo of Chris is a plastic, 'blood' covered smock:

The show?  Re-Animator the Musical.

The reason Chris is covered in 'blood' is because this musical is based on the film Re-Animator, which I guess is a bit of a cult film, about a doctor re-animating dead people/tissue and the shenanigans that ensue.  It was very fun and very campy and Chris naturally had us down front, where they outfitted the audience and seats in plastic due to the sprewing of various fake bodily fluids and such.  We went to the 10:30pm showing as the earlier shows has sold out. 

Earlier in the day we went to Chinatown and had, for the first time in my life, dim sum, which is the serving of lots of smallish portions of food by people who walk around the giant restaurant - it was huge! - with little heated carts, stopping at each table as they make their ways around, and offering whatever is their ware.  Human/visual menus vs written ones.  It was pretty odd and exceedingly popular - absolutely jam packed.  I had lots of items with shrimp in them - rollup things resemble egg rolls, turnover-y looking things, noodly things.  It was genuine Chinese food and unlike any I've ever had.  Cool.

After, we walked around the building it was located in, checking out various Chinese owned businesses, then drove off in a what-the-hell-it's-my-last-day decision, to Hollywood to check out the Walk of Fame.  Unfortunately being Saturday afternoon, it was hugely overloaded, of course, with tourists.  I guess I should have gone with my gut instinct, which has been to not feel any real compulsion to visit this area, as it wasn't much worth it.  Yes, the 'stars' in the sidewalk are interesting, but, and Chris and Janet agreed, when people like Paula Abdul and Celine Dion have stars, and even freaking Nancy Sinatra, it sort of dimishes whatever prestige the thing might once have had, but oh well.  The last thing to do it give it any credence to begin with and just dig it.  Also, As Chris pointed out, Nancy Sinatra's signature song is about walking ...

One thing I wanted to mention is that we parked in two different parking garages at different points during my stay, and the one by the walk of fame, which is beneath a big mall, was only $2.00 for the first I think 2 hours.  The other time totalled $1.50.  Did not expect cheep parking in LA, but there ya go.

So we were home at 12:30am, and I was out of my mind tired, to the point where, during Re-Animator, my lids kept closing despite flying liquid and singing actors 10 feet from us.  Speaking of the former, Chris will attest to the fact that, later in the play, an actor is supposed to be pulling out a long line of intestine in a cadaver, and it spews blood, see, and he was spraying it playfully at us and I raised my plastic bag thingy as a shield, and when some of it landed on my face I raised it in front of my face and hid there while Chris in particular got soaked, giggling away like a crazy man the whole time.

I think that's the thing.  He's absolutely in his element in LA.  This town was truly made for him, as someone nutsoid about film as he is.  Everything is here - there isn't a single play, film, show, event, tv show, act of every kind etc., that doesn't either start or at least come here.

*

So, now it's to Phase 3 of my trip - the craziest part, in which I'm alone for a solid month in two big cities, living like a resident in local apartments.  It's all a bit surreal.  I feel like I'm floating, ie I'm rootless.  Not sure what my brain & body think is going on, ie my I'm being away from home like this for so long, on purpose.   What the fuck is she doing?  It's probably saying.  I don't really miss being home - I've been too busy, really.  I do worry a bit in the back of my mind about stuff happening to the house, I guess, or stuff with my highly allergic tenant (he's already written asking if I'd done anything 'different' in the house or basement as his allergies are bad inside his bedroom but not outside or the rest of the house.  No, I didn't.)  Problem being, his lease is officially up I think June 15th, and I'm back on June 2nd, but he's confirmed with me twice that he wants to stay til spring 2013, but I wonder if he might change his mind due to allergy issues.  Hopefully not.  It would be a fuck of a lot better if I wasn't unemployed, spending money on crazy long trips, and without a tenant.   Two out of three I can handle.  Cross yer fingers.

Anyway, it's all good, as they say.  Whatever happens, happens.  I'm gonna enjoy the crap out of my trip, especially Phase 3, and really get maximum mileage out of it and sink my teeth into San Fran and lovely Seattle.  I'd better, cuz the likelihood I'll ever be able to take off and travel like this again seems slim.  I try a lot these days to remember, pollyanna as it may sound, that life be super short, and that the point is not to slave away behind a desk the whole time, if you can possibly help it.  I've done that for 23 frickin years. 

So, farewell, LA, and Chris and Janet.  It's hugely fab to have stayed at their nice comfy back house thing.  Gives both of us privacy when we all need it, and yet we're right next to each other.  And the free use of Chris' car was fabtastic, especially.  Very spoiling.  Someone I managed not to crack it up, too, though I told Chris I'd rear ended a cop car at one point, and injured the officer, I think, who is presently unable to work, now, and that there were several parking tickets on their way to him, as well.  He's such a trooper.

Last thing I'll say is what Chris said, that while LA is hugely and famously sprawled out, which is a negative, there is a good side to the sprawl:  it means that each community is entirely self sufficient.  Pasadena is a good example of this - loads and loads to see, culture, bookstores, restaurants, a lovely and throughly walkable downtown (inside of which I conversed with some sidewalk folks the other day raising funds for a charity which deals with what they term 'blood diamonds', ie forced African diamond mining that's done so rich westerners can buy engagement rings.  The price the workers pay for disobeying the people that are in effect their slaveowners is to lose fingers and partial limbs.  Unbelievable.  The charity is set up for awareness purposes, and also for prosthetic limbs.  It's disgusting that we don't really hear about such things over here - people dislike the idea of child labor to make clothing for example, but this is about a million times worse and for something none of us actually need.) (Yes, I donated - 5 bucks - it was all I had on me, and they were really super nice and made a very compelling case, and yes, I confirmed it was a real charity.)

So thanks, LA.  One week ain't enough.