LA is a great big freeway but 152 is a parking lot

On Thursday, I drove down to LA for a party event that evening. Got going late and then hit traffic for my last 13 miles. The first 380 miles or so went fine. Didn't see any CHP and made good time despite the fog that was socking in I5. The last 13 miles, though, were killer. Traffic slowed to a crawl and it took me 1 1/2 hours to make it through. This made me late to the party which was not a good thing because I wasn't dressed for it and it was being filmed by USA Network. I snuck in just as the filming was to begin and made a beeline for the bathroom, pulled out my clothes and makeup bags, did a quick change and put on my makeup and jewelry. All the time, I could hear the camera crew instructing guests to go out in the hallway and ring the doorbell, then, excitedly say, "Merry Christmas", when the door opened as if they were just arriving. Group by group, I could hear the guests coming in as I was changing in the bathroom. I came out of the bathroom just as the last guests were "arriving". I then had to make my way upstairs past the camera crew to stow my stuff. While I was doing this, Ted, one of the hosts, decided to start the party by giving thanks to God for Christmas. As Ted was giving thanks, you could hear me clomping across the wooden floors upstairs in my boots. I was really trying to be quiet but it wasn't working. Ted said it was funny like God was communicating with them.

The party went well. There was a baby grand piano and a clarinet player, several good singers (don't count me amongst them) and musicians and a comedian. We had some dynamite Christmas tunes sung live. Each of the performances was opened with a short gay commentary to support the theme of the party since it was Drew's and Ted's Christmas celebration. The acts were a showcase of gay talent and I would say they were a showcase of talent of any kind. The comedian was happy to give a good ribbing to the 5 of us straight friends that attended. After the entertainment, there was cookie decorating and a prize for the most creative with 2nd and 3rd runnerups. I didn't win but finished a respectable 4th, much to my surprise. I'm sure the judging was fixed. The cookie decorating was backed up by snow created by a snow machine. It looked so real and, since the temperature was about 48 degrees, felt real as well. So we had a white Christmas in LA!

Friday, I woke up nice and early to go make a visit to my house and check on the painting being done inside. While I was there, I was able to visit my good neighbors and say thanks for their support over the past year. My nasty neighbor was also there and, I must admit, I took small pleasure out of yelling at him to get off of my lawn, to which he responded with a very exaggerated gesture but removed himself from my lawn.

I called the auto body shop to check on my car which is still being repaired after the accident. The shop notified me that my car would not be ready since they were having "technical difficulties" getting the hardware to fit the new door. This is a bit scary to me and I am hoping to have a fully functional, normal, new looking door and car when I get it back. Since I didn't have to rush back home, I decided to drive down to PV for a nice sushi lunch with my long time friend and college buddy, Beth. It was great catching up on that beautiful sunny day with great views of the ocean.

Finally, I headed back up I5 to come home. Just as I was coming across 152, I heard a blurb on the radio about a 12 mile backup but couldn't tell where. Soon, I came to a dead stop on 152 and realized that is where the backup was. Realizing that I had just passed the 156 junction, I turned around and headed back to cross over to the 25 and finally the 101 - a 28 mile detour but better than sitting for who knows how long on 152. As I was driving, I heard the updates on the report. A big rig had turned over about 4:00 (It was now 8:30PM) and they were still getting it cleaned up. Then another big rig turned over. Who knows? Those people might still be sitting there. I was just too tired for that.

And now, happily, I am home after an eventful and enjoyable 2 days.

The dogs did fine while I was gone although Suzie informed me that she had to do the Heimlich maneuver on Thomas when he choked on his food. All in all, they loved her since she gives them lots of play time and love. They were happy to see "Mom" and I was happy to see them when I got home.