Current Kiki Events - Part I

Wow. It's been so long since my last post and I have tons to talk about. Before I go any further, I should mention that we are fine, our apartment is fine, and our respective workplaces (though both were imperiled) are fine. After that, it's hard to even know where to begin.

First, work is going much better in many respects. I'd rather not get into this too much but I will say that our interim director has been doing a great job of getting our "management team" to come up with more consistent policies and procedures. I think we, the peons, know more of what's going on and feel more involved. There, of course, have been bumps and things we don't like. My current least favorite change so far has been the new day-off-request policy...or at least the part that may keep me from going to Comic Con next year. We'll see how that plays out.

Speaking of days off, I just had some vacation. I went to visit my parents about two weeks ago. We went to the KC Zoo. I got to see their African hunting dog puppies (5 of them) play with the adults. The male black footed cat was out (they also have a mom with kittens) and active. I got this great picture of the meerkats.

[Picture coming soon]

Other highlights included some great scimitar horned oryx, a very visible pride of lions, active Sumatran tigers and orangutans, and a beautiful day.

It was very windy and rainy about half my time in KC. We planned accordingly. One rainy day, we went to see Across the Universe [review coming soon]. Another day, we took a trip to the Nelson Art Gallery and took a tour of the new Bloch Building. It's not my favorite style, but I thought it was a nice addiction to the grounds (I also love the giant badminton birdy sculptures, so I'm the pro side of both of the most controversial additions) and it's a very fitting surrounding for the modern art. We also ran through the European art in the old building and found all our old favorites. My only regret is that, because of the downpours, we couldn't tour the grounds. I don't think I've been through the sculpture garden since high school.

On another beautiful (though still windy) day, we went out to Liberty Memorial and toured the new World War I Museum there. We thought we'd be there half a day...we stayed from open to close. it is a wonderful museum. There is way too much stuff to read for a single visit. There are lots of videos, great recreations of the trenches and a mortar shell crater, interactive displays, quiet booths where you can listen to speeches, music, poetry, and prose of and about that time, and an absolutely fabulous set of various wartime posters. We didn't make it to the side galleries and barley made it up to the top of the memorial, before it closed, for a fantastic view of downtown KC. If you are ever in the area and are the least bit interested you have to go. Another reason: it's the only WWI museum in the whole country.

I didn't do much else, really. I went back to the Zoo to meet up with ed. folks to share program ideas. Hung out with D and some of his friends (and his cute, cute kitties). Did a teeny bit of cleaning of my stuff in the attic. Went shopping - bought: a new pair of shoes, Alien 3 for the SNES, an Ace of Base CD (ya'll can all just shut up), 3 Dragonlance books, Demon City Shinjuku (DVD), and a trade paperback with Batman and Tarzan for F (and to help support my theory that Batman will eventually fight with or against every other character ever created). All of these were bought on the cheap...and I totally needed none of them! Of course, I visited some of my favorite eateries, including Genghis Khan (awesome Mongolian BBQ joint in Westport) and Fiorella's Jack Stack (KC BBQ at its finest). We also went to a cute little new Japanese place called One Bite...so...good...

Hello from Sicksville, Part II

Let's see. What other horribly boring things can I tell you about. Last month we went to LA for the weekend to hang out with some friends. We went to the Florida Tech Alumni Picnic (LA Chapter) there and had a blast. We also learned to play Pirate's Dice (aka Liar's Dice), which was awesome. And C, B, F, and I played a nerd game: Scene It - Marvel Comics. Hardest Question: Name the five original members of Alpha Flight. If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't ask. You don't want to know. I posed this question to my D&D boys. Put aside the fact that most made snide comments about Alpha Flight, as I did when I heard the question. S just began rattling off names...so he wins...something.

F and I also had the opportunity to take a tour of the Warner Bros. Studio lot. Not the regular hop-on-a-cart kind, but the personal tour of one of his acquaintances. It was very cool. We saw all kinds of Gilmore Girls sets (F and our guide are both huge fans of that show), some ER sets, and the FBI headquarters set for Without a Trace. We also went to the props building...very, very cool. Here are some shots from our trip:

Here we are, just walking around the studio on a beautiful day.

Stars Hollow. Gilmore Girls takes up a huge amount of space on the lot, but turn the corner and you're at the ER ambulance bay. Freaky. Go through any building and the other side may be another building you know if you watch the show. For example, down the street on the right is Suki's house. If you go in, it's Suki's house. The back exterior is Lorelai's house. That interior is on a sound stage.

So, of course most of the hospital on ER is on a sound stage. However, the ambulance bay has an entrance that leads to a fake room. So, we are in that fake room, standing behind the counter, just past the receptionist station. Behind is is a painted wall...I mean right behind us.

Here's a set they were finished with and about to tear down. It's for Oceans 13. Looked cool. WB basically rents out their lot for anyone to shoot on, unlike most other studios, who only allow their own shows/movies.

Props everywhere. Most rooms were filled with furniture. Furniture was labeled to tell which show would be using them and when. The amazing thing was that no one really cared that we were there. Our guide had her badge on. She would just ask if we could walk in and see what was going on. We didn't see any tapings, but ER, Studio 60, and Gilmore Girls were all filming while we were there and we saw some minor actors.

Speaking of which, I recently did my first "celebrity tour" at work for Tracy Tweed. If you don't recognize the name, don't worry. Neither did I. But, watch the Gene Simmons reality show. I also thought the stars were aligning for me to do a tour for Laura Dern, but it was not to be.

Our other huge announcement at work...which is old now...is that we have another elephant baby. He has yet to be named, but was born March 11. Cute, cute, cute!!

I'm sure there are other random things I was thinking about writing, but I can't remember them right now. I'm sure as soon as I post this they will all pop back in my brain.

Warning: TMI

Wow, it's been, like, a week or something since I was on here last. See, this is what I was talking about with the flush of enthusiasm ebbing and all.

Anyway, on Sunday, I went (with L from work) to Battle Day at San Pasqual Battlefield/State Park. It's their reinacment day. Had some fun watching dancing and watching kids throw tomahawks and going to the museum and seeing the battle. Of course, no one could "die" because they were all on horseback and didn't want the horses to run amok. In fact, a rider was unseated, and his horse ran right into the road and accross back to its trailer. Fun.

I learned a lot, too. The battle took place in December, 1846, near the end of the Mexican-American War. Pointless battle, though at least it didn't come after the war, like the Battle of New Orleans (War of 1812...go find the song...Johnny Horton?...*rolls eyes*...you people:). Supposed to be the bloodiest battle in California history, which says a lot about CA history since less than 200 people were even involved in the battle.

Tomorrow, I am going to take animals out for animal therapy at a nursing home. We do this often, but tomorrow the photographer will be coming along. So, good time for me to have chapped lips from hell (read herpes...eew, no, cold sore herpes...you guys are nasty!) and be walking around like I belong in the nursing home. I had shots in my feet today. No really, don't ask. I'm sorry I wrote this...but you can see why I dread the photographer!

So...you can probably figure out why I haven't posted in a few days. Nothing much to say causes me to tell you all waaay too much about me. You're welcome. Goodnight!