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Japanese female wrestling š¤¼āāļø & earthquake apologies
Tales from a weekend spent at the beach.
Hi friends!
How are you? I hope youāre doing well! I hope you enjoyed Mark PagĆ”nās Morning Diary on Monday as much as I did. It made me miss New York a little, especially the part about standing around with neighbors watching firefighters on the street. One thing I miss about New York is how whenever something is happening on the street, people will stand around watching, and you can just walk up to a stranger and ask them whatās going on and theyāll give you the tea. People donāt gape in L.A., they keep it moving, and nobody ever knows whatās going on. Thereās a real lack of curiosity in favor of self-involvement.
Well, Iām sorry to say that at the moment, my cat is the healthiest person in my household. My husband Ross came down with a nasty cold this week and has been really suffering. While I havenāt caught that (yet), I did change up my medication routine this week and have been plagued by side effects. Our cat Zadie is the only one who seems to be thriving right now. She seems to enjoy the fact that weāve been spending a lot of time rotting in bed, though, where she can join us for snuggles. Zadie is excellent at bed rotting.
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Zadie on the verge of sleep
At the end of next week, I will be taking a red eye flight* to New York City to attend a dear, dear friendās baby shower. If youāre keeping track, that makes two different baby showers Iāve flown out for this year. On top of that, I have another, local baby shower to attend this Sunday in L.A. So many besties havinā babies!! Also, they all seem to be having boys. Youāve never seen so many registries full of dinosaur print pajamas in your life! I know this is not a new observation, but itās kind of shocking how early on things get gendered. Who decided that baby boys even like dinosaurs, especially at 0-3 months? Theyāre still learning to lift their giant heads up, they can hardly care about prehistoric reptiles!
* People hate red eye flights, but itās really the only way to travel from the west coast of the U.S. to the east without losing a whole day. Plus, I like how quiet and calm the plane is with everyone sleeping in the dark.
Anyway, Iām excited to spend some time in New York and New Jersey and have a decent bagel or two. The weather there can be unpredictable in Juneāsometimes itās sunny and beautiful, other times itās muggy and gray. Iām hoping for more of the former. Either way, it will be great to catch up with friends I havenāt seen in far too long. Plus, Iām actually going to be able to be with my dad on Fatherās Day, which hasnāt happened in about a million years.
Speaking of things that havenāt happened, well, ever: last Thursday, Ross and some friends and I went to see Sukeban, a Japanese female pro wrestling show. We got the tickets through Rossās mom because one of the producers is a family friend, and the vibe was very, āplease please come, we just need butts in seats.ā To be honest, we were expecting something pretty rinky-dink. Well, letās just say they definitely did NOT need our butts in those seats! It was a whole scene! The Gen Zers were out in droves. People dressed up and wore cool outfits and shit. I paid $12 for a White Claw, and that was the cheapest alcoholic drink option!
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wrasslinā
Best of all, we had a really good celebrity sighting: Steven Yeun was there! He was keeping it super low-key in a black hoodie (hood up) and joggers. Honestly, he just looked like a tired dad. Some famous people have this aura of āthis is a starā ā Ross always points to the one time we saw Sarah Paulson walking into Ye Rustic Inn and he turned to me and went, āThatās someone famous, isnāt it?ā Steven Yeun just looked like some guy who could be introduced to you as someoneās coworker or a friend of a friend. You would never know he was a whole-ass movie star with an Oscar nomination.
Saweetie was also there for some reason, but she wasnāt keeping it low key. They brought her out on stage in between the matches, and she walked up and down the stage and waved to the audience. Then she sat in the VIP-VIP section (we were in the ālesserā VIP section), stayed for one match, and left. It was a little baffling.
At any rate, the wrestling was a lot of fun to watch. Most of my experience with pro wrestling is with lucha libre, which Iāve been lucky enough to see live in L.A. and in Mexico City, so I wasnāt sure what to expect from Japanese female wrestling. There was a lot less flipping and flying at this show, and a lot more tit punching and āhittingā people with chairs. Also, the hair and makeup and costumes for the characters were a lot of fun. I believe Sukeban is still on tour in the U.S., you can follow them on Instagram @sukeban_world for updates.
The next day, Ross and I left for Ventura, a beach town on the coast about an hour and a half northwest of Los Angeles. Weād previously spent a lovely weekend up there a few years ago celebrating our anniversary, in which weād eaten lots of seafood (including oysters!), walked along the beach, drank sparkling rosĆ© in our Airbnbās hot tub, and met up at a tiki bar with a dear friend of mine for drinks. Well, this time that dear friend of mine was getting married!! So we decided to make a weekend out of it.
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Ventura Harbor views
Ross also has a work friend who moved to the Ventura area a few years ago, and he and his wife invited us over to their house for drinks on Friday night. It is worth mentioning that this friend and his wife are quite a bit older than us, in their 60s, with grown children who are out of the house. The friend is weeks away from retirement and his wife is already retired, and they lavish their attention onto their three little dogs, two tiny Yorkies and a slightly less tiny rescue mix.
Anyway, their house was beautiful. There is something so nice about hanging out with older parents who have their shit together. Itās just cushy. We drank some wine, they turned on their gas fireplace, and they had laid out a lovely little cheese and charcuterie spread, and they had these perfect tiny little appetizer plates and tiny little forks to go with them. The plates looked something like this. I am married and had a registry and everything, but Iām not put-together enough to have stuff like that. I would probably serve you appetizers on old snowflake-printed paper plates from Christmas or something.
They were very kind and quite fun to hang out with, and their dogs were super friendly and adorable. I was wearing a dress with leggings and shoes, but the dogs kept licking the inch and a half strip of skin that was exposed around my ankles, which made me giggle. Most of the time I am happy with just having a low maintenance cat, but man, I do love hanging out with other peopleās dogs.
On Saturday morning, we had a huge breakfast at Alisonās Country Cafe, a brunch spot with insanely big biscuits, and then it was time for the wedding! I am so, so happy for my friend, I know this is something sheās wanted for a long time, and Iām so glad she gets her happily ever after.
The wedding ceremony was a full Catholic mass in a historic mission at the center of downtown Ventura, which was pretty cool; we walked a few blocks and got Americanos between the ceremony and reception. Inspired by the suggestions on the wedding website, I brought a little black dress to wear. Unfortunately, I had not even tried it on before the day of the wedding, and lord, there was a lot of cleavage!! Tits were OUT, before God and baby Jesus and the Holy Spirit! Luckily for me, it was gray and chilly that day, so I spent pretty much the whole wedding covered up with a wrap. But let this be a lesson to all: try on the dress before the church wedding!
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On Sunday, we left Ventura pretty early because Ross had to do some work, and we made it back to L.A. just in time to feel the 3.5 earthquake that hit South Pasadena, the next neighborhood over from ours. That was a weird one because I heard it before I felt it ā our building started creaking before it began shaking. Earthquakes donāt all feel the same. Some roll through you like a train passing underground, some whoosh like a gust of wind, some just shake back and forth.
The craziest one Iāve felt so far was several years ago, when two friends and I were at the Magic Castle. We were in one of the basement theaters, watching a magician perform, when the curtains around the stage started swaying back and forth. That was probably the longest one Iāve experienced, and yet, we all still just sat there and looked around at each other like, āWhat do we do?ā My friends were in town for the weekend from San Francisco, and I felt the need to apologize to them afterwards?? As if I were in charge of the city of L.A.ās seismic activity?? Classic girl moment!
Anyhow, wow, this has been a real rambly, tell-you-about-my-week one! I hope you like these kinds of newsletters once in a while. Let me get into a few shows Iāve been keeping up with real quick, for the pop culture heads:
- Buying London, season one (Netflix). I needed a show to watch when Ross was out and I was bored at home, so I threw this on one night. Itās a real estate reality show very much in the style of Selling Sunset, except it takes place in London. They even use some of the same music as Selling Sunset, and yes, itās pretty sad that I recognized that, haha. One thing that annoys me about the O group on Sunset is that they are always bragging about getting these huge, $50 million listings, but then they donāt ever actually sell them! The listing always expires without a buyer and itās like, so what was the point? DDRE, the real estate group on Buying London, lists unbelievable, luxury properties and then actually closes deals on them. Itās pretty impressive. Plus, I love British accents.
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I do have to say, the outfits on Buying London are much more work-appropriate than Selling Sunset.
The funniest thing about this show is that Reme, the 21 year-old baby agent is actually the most mature and level-headed in the office. Thereās Oli, who is half pinstripe picture of elegance, half spluttering doofus, who looks so much to me like Mr. Jellineck from Strangers With Candy that I keep waiting for Stephen Colbert to show up. Rasa, who is Lithuanian and never met a siren eye she didnāt like, is super childish and volatile, and itās great. Sheās one of those classic āI canāt hide how I feelā types, which, itās like, then maybe donāt work with the public??? Get a computer job where you can flip off your inbox from the privacy of your own home. Then thereās Daniel Daggers, the boss of the whole operation, which is an incredibly fun name to say in an English accent. I recommend the show if youāre looking for something fluffy, with spectacular properties.
- Top Chef, season 21 (Peacock). This current season of Top Chef takes place in Wisconsin, and is the first one hosted by former winner Kristen Kish instead of Padma Lakshmi. I think Kish is doing a pretty good job for her first season as host. The first couple episodes were a bit stiff, but I think sheās finding her own style. I also love that theyāre featuring Wisconsin, which I think gets often overlooked as a foodie destination but has a lot of its own cool regional food and restaurant styles. Out of all the contestants so far, I think the one person whose food Iād like to try is Michelleās. She has been super inconsistent as a contestant, but when she nails it, itās a real triumph.
- RuPaulās Drag Race: All Stars, season nine (Paramount+). I think this season has been just okay so far. I was thrilled to see Gottmik back, and Plastique Tiara has really impressed me, but otherwiseā¦? Iām not really feeling the fantasy, as they say. I never really understood Ruās obsession with Jorgeous, and as much of a Drag Race icon as Vanjie is, she had never won a single challenge despite being on two different seasons, so??? ĀæPor quĆ© estĆ” en All Stars? I like the charity aspect, but it does seem kind of fucked up that they can āsabotageā each other from making strides toward the grand prize money. Idk, man. If youāve been watching, what do you think?
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An incredible Gottmik look. Photo by Albert Sanchez
- Kansas City, Missouri. Ross and I are starting to plan a small anniversary trip for September, and we are seriously considering going to Kansas City, Missouri, just to eat barbecue and see the tree kangaroos in the zoo there. Ross recently fell in love with tree kangaroos when the Instagram algorithm started serving them up to him, but sadly, they are very endangered, and only in a few zoos in the U.S. Has anyone been to Kansas City? Any highlights of traveling there?
Alright folks, thatās it for now!
If you have a second, Iād love it if youād like or comment on this postājust click this link to go to the post page. Or just hit reply and say hi! :)
Until next timeāsorry about all the earthquakes!!!
Love,
Liz
XOXO
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