Wendy's Excellent Canadian Adventure

I have uncovered a dark, dirty secret of this city -- ok, I'm quite certain Los Angeles has MANY a dark, dirty secret, but this one is especially unsettling.... at 3am, right in the heart of Hollywood, America's poster-child region for health and beauty, you can find the most AMAZING fresh doughnuts nightly. Man. Hot, straight from the oven (or wherever) -- all sorts. I know, it's no Krispy Kreme, but honestly, those get a little sweet after a while. I'm talking REAL doughnuts here -- cinnamon twists, longjohns (remember those?), chocolate-covered... Somehow stuffing two of these into my face at 3am doesn't seem like cheating - in fact, I think most things eaten at that time of night are calorie-free, aren't they? You just can't get doughnuts like these in Atlanta -- all of the Dunkin' Donuts seem to be weeks old. Ironic in a city full of people who "don't eat" I'm finding the most outrageously wonderful foodstuffs. A few nights ago, finding myself on Sunset around 3am craving Thai food, we made our way to Toi, the fabulous Thai joint open until 4am (although no alcohol after 11:45pm -- again with the antiquated liquor laws I'll justnever get)... Amazing food and seriously cool vibe, if you ever find yourself in Hollywood with a jones for Thai. Anyway, while waiting outside to talk to the doorman (a friend), we had to wait for him to finish his conversation with Brittany Murphy (Clueless, Girl, Interrupted) -- small world here in Hollywierd.

Ok, since we're on the celebs, I'll give you the rundown of this week at the restaurant. First off, we had Luis Gonzales and a whole host of Arizona Diamondbacks in for lunch before taking on the Dodgers. Later on, we had Josh Groban (who, in addition to an amazing voice, also apparently possesses an amazing lack of gratuity knowledge), and Jon Lovitz... wow, that one was interesting. He spent most of his time entertaining girlfriend Janice Dickenson's son with what appeared to be a very interactive baseball lesson. He settled down a bit when Janice reappeared from shopping with her daughter, but that just served to double the daffy quotient at that table. Hmmmmm....

I'm sure a certain number of my cousins still have their New Kids on the Block pillowcases in a drawer somewhere... and I thought of you all when Joey McIntyre came in for lunch on Monday. We had a rousing chorus of the "oh oh oh-oh-oh-'s" from "The Right Stuff" happenin in the back... and then after seeing Frank Stallone at another table, fruitlessly tried to remember his one quasi-hit. Any takers? Anyone?

Tonight I showed up for my shift and ended up not having to work, but still managed to catch Corey Feldman having a nosh. Wow -- my life is complete -- I've seen a Corey in person. *whew*

The coup-de-grace thus far, however, is the odd experience I had last night over dinner. First off, I went to the most amazing place tucked away in Malibu -- if you're ever in the neighborhood, check out Inn of the 7th Ray (www.innofthe7thray.com) -- their philosophy is intriguing: "Your body elemental, that selfless, shy, invisible little fellow who works so hard to keep the oft mistreated human machine going, will jump with joy for your choice of this eating establishment. He prays and hopes you will return soon to make this a pleasant ritual with each return being a new celebration in honor of taking a small step on the path of good dining and good doing" -- our maitre'd seated us and announced "did you know everything on this menu was prepared so that you would feel loved?" Wow. Surrounded by nature, twinkling lights, small,intimate tables, incense, Indonesian buddha statues, serenity and beauty, the total experience of this place is phenomenal -- you actually feel love just sitting there over your meal. Beautiful. But we were talking about celebrities, weren't we? :) Passing tables on the way out, a glorious diner declared, "I just love seeing all the beautiful people..." to which I looked up and smiled (not exactly realizing who he was at that point, just smiling at the sentiment), and he stopped, looking at me - "see, beautiful, happy people." The sentiment was nice, but it was hard not to realize the dude was totally batshit -- off his rocker. His "handlers" moved him along, and the waitress promptly turned to us and announced... "and that would be Rick James." Wow.

I've been working out with a personal trainer at Bally's here -- taking it to the next level, if you will. I'm thinking the 3am doughnuts aren't aiding the process, but what the heck. For every doughnut, I'm also taking in the best L.A. has to offer -- Glaceau's Vitamin Water (those of you in the hinterlands -- check this stuff out - it rocks), freshly pressed and squeezed juices, raw/organic/whole foods, lowfat but tasty choices everywhere -- and instead of having to hunt these down like an elusive prey, they're available at every gas station and convenience store I happen to encounter. I'm truly spoiled. I'll try not to be a pain in the ass when I come home :)

And did I mention I'm eating red meat again? Oh yeah... must have forgotten that one, eh? I was absolutely dreaming about prime rib, and I decided my body was trying to tell me something -- so, after 17 years, I ate a prime rib... and another, and another... and I had a filet last night... I haven't felt this good in a long time - I guess I'm just a damn carnivore now. Do you suppose I should turn in my PETA card?

I'm going to do some serious work on my website here over the next few days - hopefully I'll have the thing up and running here soon. Plus, got a call from Raw Nerve today about 2001 Maniacs reshoots -- that would be cool, but I've already cut my hair off -- crazy world. The movie's still in editing, evidently -- maybe we'll have more news soon.

May you have love, light, peace and a moment of zen... Find some quiet in your life -- it makes the rest so much more exciting :)

Namaste...