Yesterday was a scorcher here in SoCal and I spent much of the afternoon running around town taking care of a few errands. It was time for my beautiful 2009 VW Tiguan, which I named Wülfgang Jürgen-Klaüs, to have its annual check-up (almost 1 year to the day that I brought my baby home from the dealership) so I spent sometime waiting for my oil change … then I had to run to the bank, the drug store and drop off a thank you gift for some dear friends of mine. I have been DYING to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince so I made damn sure to see the flick last night:

I made sure to see it in IMAX in 3D and TOTALLY loved it!! While purists are pissed that many things in the book were left out of the movie, I absolutely commend the filmmakers for continuing to bring the books to life in the best way they can. The movies will never do the books justice. Never. Ever. Never. Movies cannot be 8 hours long so things have to be left out. I honestly believe the Harry Potter movies just keep getting better. It’s amazing how much the cute little kids have grown into young adults. Their acting performances have gotten better with age as well. Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy was a revelation … his performance was excellent. I loved the blue tint quality that the movie had over all … it felt a lot like a black & while film. I really did love this big screen adapation … I want to see it again. The opening portion in IMAX 3D was fun … I might have to see it again ;)

Also, it’s time for me to re-read the series. When my reading pile gets a little smaller, I’m planning on re-reading all of the Harry Potter books straight thru. I need to be ready for the final, 2-part film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I think the only way to do the final book justice is over 2 movies … perhaps, at last, HP purisists will be satisfied.

Tonight, I’m planning on hanging out with my friend Tony … not sure what we’re gonna be doing but I haven’t seen him in ages. It’ll be good to hang out again :)

Yesterday afternoon I had about a trillion things to take care of but with careful planning and orchestration I was able to get everything accomplished with precision and grace. OK, actually I was really running around like a chicken with my head cut off but I did manage to get everything I needed to take care of taken care of and still had time to relax last night. The most important thing I had to take care of involved suit shopping. Because I wasn’t too thrilled with my old boxy suit, I wanted to pick up a nicer, sleeker suit for the wedding that David and I are attending this weekend in Jackson Hole, WY. After looking around a bit, I settled on this lovely grey suit at John Varvatos:

I loved the way it looked on the mannequin (and the picture doesn’t really do it justice) so I decided to try it on and it actually looked great on me, too! I’m going with a bow tie so the look is very 007 … hahahaha. I really want to look good for our friend Sashie’s wedding … it’s gonna be a lavish affair so David and I are gonna look fly (pics from the wedding to come, I’m sure).

This afternoon, I have to take my baby Wülfgang Jürgen-Klaüs (my newborn VW) back to the dealership for a Bluetooth install which works out perfectly because Darion and I are seeing The Dark Knight in IMAX as well. My babykins should be ready to roll by the time the movie is finished. See, precision planning and orchestration, y’all.

Wee! Yesterday was my first full day back in LA after my recent world tour to London, Paris and NYC which meant that I was *FINALLY* able to spend the day driving my new car :) Because I had an appointment in Beverly Hills, I was able to take my new baby, Wülfgang Jürgen-Klaüs, out for a spin on the mean streets of LA …

… which basically meant that I spent a lot of time in stop and go traffic ;( Ah well, it was still fun getting to drive my car for the first time since bringing it home from the dealership! OMG, I am so in love with it … it is such a swank car, weeee! Last night, I met up with Jordan for dinner at Pho Cafe and then we made our way to a charming little French bistro nearby to just sit and chat. I love Jo Jo, he and I don’t spend nearly enough time hanging out as we should.

Today, I am getting my hair chopped off … it is so overdue for a cut, I might have to just shave it all off. I dunno, I think I need a change. Afterward, I’m meeting up with Darion for dinner and hanging out … ah, it’s great to be back home again :)

Ack … my time in LA is running out really fast so I’m scrambling today (as I usually do on travel days) to get everything done before I have to jet off to NYC this afternoon. I didn’t really leave the house — I had tons of cleaning and packing to take care of, which is fine, cuz I was finally able to finish watching all 7 seasons of The Golden Girls on DVD:

Now, it’s gonna take me some time to work up my Best Of post but it’s coming … stay tuned.

In all of my travel preparations I had to make time to figure out what to do with my brand new VW Tiguan crossover (which I love, love love). The car is only 3 days old and I’m already leaving it parked in my apartment garage for just over 2 weeks! In order to play it safe, I did get a car cover for my baby and had to tuck it in for a long sleep:

Hee hee … I’ve been kicking around German names for my new baby, I think I’m going to call it Wülfgang Jürgen-Klaüs … that has a nice ring to it, I think. It’s hard leaving my car so soon after bringing it home but … it must be done.

And so … I’m off to NYC for a few days before David and I fly off to London and then Paris. It’s deffo looking like it’s gonna be a great birthday trip … we’ve got a few things in mind to do — we’ll be seeing Kylie Minogue live in concert next weekend — so I’m pretty geeked. No worries, I’ll be working on a daily basis, as usual, so things should be relatively normal along the way. Wee!

OY! Yesterday was a very long day … since I only got 4 hours sleep the night before, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make it thru the day … but fortunately there was enough exciting stuff to take care of to keep me going. At long last, I finally took possession of my new 2009 VW Tiguan crossover! All my life I’ve only had small, sporty cars so this time around I wanted to get something a bit bigger but still sleek and cool. I was looking for a crossover (SUV coupe) and was very happy to learn that VW *just* came out with their own crossover model. I am a big VW fan, I can’t bear to part with my VW Beetle (which is back home in Detroit) so I was very happy that I had a new VW option this time around. I placed the order in May and the car arrived from Wolfsburg, Germany Thursday … and I got to bring my baby home yesterday:

I am so happy … the car is sharp as hell :) I didn’t have much time to play with it cuz last night a bunch of us got together for Mike’s birthday dinner at Bella and party at Paul and Corey’s … here are a few pics:

The night was very chill, very fun. Mike’s friends Blair, Adam and Eric (along with his sister Jill and brother Jeff) joined us for the festivities as did Darion’s friend Cameron. A great time was had by all.

Today, I’m keeping holed up in my apartment … I have to pack for NY/London/Paris and take care of a million other things before I fly out tomorrow. I feel so fortunate to have great friends in my life. I’m looking forward to traveling with David and seeing Steph and Alek in France. I gotta say, I life is good …