2nd Celebrity Encounter...sort of

I got back to my apartment on "Super Tuesday" to 3 messages on my phone...the first message was from Mitt Romney making sure I voted for him at the primary elections...nope. Second message was Mitt Romney asking if he could count on me at the California primary...delete.

The third message had me...it was Scarlett Johannsen. Sounded just like her, and then she said her name..."Hi, don't hang up, this is Scarlett Johannsen and I wanted to remind you about how important today's primary voting is..." Wow, Scarlett called me to remind me to make my voice heard. Then she said the magic words..."Barack Obama". Okay, no deleting this one, let her finish her plea. Plus, I like the sound of her voice better than Mitt's. Sorry Mitt, it is just that you sound like you are reading your message to me off of a script. Scarlett sounded like she was talking to me, PERSONALLY. She deserves an Academy Award nomination for best actress for the phone message she left. Oh, and she is darned cute!

I told you all before, I am a solid conservative that wants Barack for President. I can't explain it other than my need for change. I don't see it in Hilary (her life is full of special interest ownership), and I am afraid the John McCain will not be able to enact the change we need in the US.

Unfortunately Hillary took California. Washington State settles things today. Obama seems to be a cash-making machine...that usually bodes well for candidates. I see a strong finish for him, and hopefully he slides into the National Democratic Convention with enough support to put himself on the ballot. I think a great strategic move would be to announce his running mate now. I think John Edwards would help him take it...

Life in LA continues to shock me. I am amazed daily at the displays of wealth (or pseudo-wealth). I am dazed by the focus on physical beauty. If SoCal was a swimming pool it would be only 6 inches deep it's entire length it is sooo shallow.

My friend LR took me to Aunt Kezzie's for lunch the other day...now that was real food! Awesome southern comfort food. I had the smothered pork chops, cabbage, corn bread, red beans and rice, and dressing and gravy (don't you dare say "stuffing"!) I will go back for more cornbread, fried chicken (looked amazing!), ribs, and greens.

My co-workers have been dragging me to all kinds of California natural places, raw food restaurants, organic, local, etc. The raw food restaurant Cafe Euphoria was unique...the food is not cooked at all, but they seem to be able to duplicate (well, that is a little bit of a stretch) breads, meats and other foods that normally NEED heat to make. I had a Cocao-Euphoria "sandwich". Some dried leathery "bread" with coconut jerky (the meat substitute), lettuce, guacamole, and dried fruit. It was tasty, and the texture was reminiscent of meat and bread...sort of. It was a little chewy, but the flavor was good. The unexpected part was how it left my body the next day. We will leave out the details, but "violent" describes it best. I could actually feel the scraping action on my colon. Oh, I said I would leave out the details. Sorry!

After a few weeks of organic, I rebelled and had to have a burger. I took a friend to The Counter in Santa Monica. If you love burgers, this is a must stop for you. It is like In-n-Out meets Starbucks. The level of personalization is amazing. The quality of the ingredients are superb. They don't hand you a menu, they hand you a clipboard with blueprints on how to build a burger. Pick a meat (the beef is Niman Ranch, the Chicken is Rosie, and the Turkey is local, heirloom), even a veggie burger. Pick a bun...English Muffin (homemade), Honey Wheat (same), and Homemade White. Soft, doughy, fresh...yum! Pick your toppings next. 16 types of cheese, and over 30 other toppings of vegetables, fruits, pickles, onions, chili, salsa...you get the idea. Pick your sauce...no need to explain the variety of mustards, ketchups, bbq sauce, and Teriyakis. Pick your sides...less choices here...yummy sweet tater fries, regular garlic fries, onion rings, and 50/50's of each. For those of you that can't decide, they do have a few pre-made uncustomized burgers. You can even get your burger in a bowl (bunless). I will have to go back because I saw so many other toppings I want to try. I did a 2/3 lb. well-done beef, honey whole wheat bun with jalapenos, avacado and chili, with a 50/50 sweet and regular fries, and an Arnold Palmer to drink.

LR promised me a list of "musts" restaurants on his local hit list. Game on! He and a co-worker had a 15 minute "argument" on which place in LA had the best hot dogs. I think arguments need to be resolved the old fashioned way...I will just have to try them all and decide for myself!

Life in LA continues on...more stories to come.

Chow!