Wow. What a week. I squeezed about a month of fun and frolic into a 4 day weekend. Let's start at the starting place.

Thursday, Don and Stephanie arrived from Chicago on Amtrak. Don went to work, Stephanie came home, and I was in Universal City with Pearson. I figured that was good - she could settle in, explore, feel the place out without me hovering about like a suspicious landlord. I came home to meet her, and we hit it off instantly! Don came home later after the live show, and celebration was in order. Yes, he was tired, exhausted really, but there was a welcome home toast to be had, and we just had to.

So we went off to Damon's on Brand - since 1937, bringing you Tiki-flavored goodness. Cocktails were drained, nibbly bits were consumed, and we essentially closed the place down. As it is more restaurant than bar, this meant it was still early enough to hit another bar. Off to the Good Luck Bar in Silverlake. Good bartender, fun, hip environment (though I felt seriously old in there - not a hipster in my 20s, am I?) A cocktail there, yes, thank you, and then off to Canter's Deli in Los Angeles. It seems that Don had promised Stephanie that he would take her to get marzipan fruit on her first night in California (and to look at the beef tongue). We all have our little rituals, don't we? It was a long, fun night. And it wasn't even the weekend yet.

Friday night. How to top last night? Two words: Calpernia Addams. We called up Howie and invited him to join us at HM for Calpernia Addams's Unreal. We had great seats, and what a fun show. Of course, many martinis were downed during the 10 or so numbers. What I love about Unreal is that Calpernia doesn't lip sync; she sings it live and real, baby. Yes, there's magic in the makeup for the drag queens, but there's something energetic and exciting about live singing. But wait, we're not done yet. The show was over before midnight, and we had more drinking to do. Fubar? Barney's Beanery? No... Tiki Ti. Not as crowded as the only other time I'd gone (whew!) so we had a cocktail and a toast to new friends. But darned if that cocktail didn't disappear fast (and at $9 or more per drink, a second round wasn't in the cards). So what to do? Akbar. Walking distance. Let's go. And so we ended the night with thumping house music and a final drink of the night closing out Akbar goodness. What a night. I was going to need a vacation to recover from my real life if I kept this up! But I wouldn't trade it for anything.