Travel Day

This shot of the sunset somewhere in the southwest was the highlight of my travel day yesterday.  And I say day, because it was truly a day of travel.

I left the house in Tampa around noon getting to the airport an hour early and checked in with no trouble.  As I got off the train, I noticed an enormous line at security.  For a non holiday regular old Monday, I was a bit surprised.  I ended up standing in line for 40 mins to go through security which got me to my gate as they were boarding the last passengers.

I grabbed my computer and ipod and threw my bag in the bin and we were ready to take off.  The flight attendant came by to take all the empty glasses and i heard the 75 year old guy sitting next to me say "shouldn't she turn that off," referring to me and my ipod.  My ipod wasn't on, that's why I heard him telling on me, and I looked at the flight attendant and told her it was off.  She smiled at me and we didn't have to say anything but both understood the guy next to me was a pain in the ass.  By the way, he proceeded to slam four water glasses full of white wine in the hour and fifteen minute flight to Charlotte.

There were thunderstorms in Charlotte but we managed to take off on time.  About an hour before we were scheduled to land in LA, the captain said that due to the storm we ran out of fuel and needed to stop in Albuquerque to refuel.  Awesome!

Turns out they were quick with the refueling in Albuquerque, so we were only two hours late landing in LA.  On a regular night it wouldn't have been a big deal, but I had planned to attend a party at STK.  But instead of enjoying some kind of fish and wine at STK, i had an apple cinnamon nutri-grain bar for dinner.

By the time I walked into LG's place at 10:30 i was so tired.  For all the take offs and landings and amount of actual hours on the plane, I felt like I should be enjoying a latte in madrid.

Lost bet...

We decided to drive back to Tampa after James's night match in Delray, so that meant leaving the hotel about 10pm.  We both just wanted to get home.  Right after we stopped for gas about an hour into the three and a half hour road trip, we decided to bet on the exact time we would get home.  James looked at the Navi and made an educated guess of 140am and I said 144am.

As we got into Tampa it looked more and more like I was going to win the bet.  We made a wrong turn which cost us a few minutes, there was a bit of road construction and an absurd amount of traffic on the freeway for that time of night.  To make up for these unforeseen events James drove like he was in the final lap at the Indie 500.  Did I mention James may be the most competitive person I have ever met.  He hates to lose anything, like no other.

As we pulled off the freeway it was looking good for him and we happened to hit green light after green light.  We pulled in the driveway at 139am which of course meant he won.  Which also meant I would be taking the car in to get the oil changed. I never learn.....do NOT bet him, I swear he rarely loses.

Lightning

My love for hockey probably has something to do with growing up in Wisconsin and going to school in Minnesota.  It's definitely one of my favorite sports to watch live.  James mentioned the Lightning were in town this weekend and I was up for going down to check them out.  

James went to college with one of the guys on the team so we had dinner with he and his wife last night and they left us tickets for the game tonight.  So nice to meet more great people here in Tampa.

Game was fun and the Lightning got the win.    

  

Jamba, where did you go?

James and I finished a pretty tough treadmill workout this morning, courtesy of Rory,  and I was craving a Jamba Juice.  So I dropped James off and went to get us Jambas.  In Tampa there are only a few, so it's a bit of a hike to get there.  As I drove up past the light to pull into the drive I couldn't see it.  I looked and looked again and finally drove up right in front of the abandoned and boarded up shop where Jamba Juice used to be.

I can't believe that Jamba Juice isn't a huge hit in HOT HOT HOT Tampa FL.  I mean of all things that wouldn't work here, I would never put Jamba on the list.

Feeling defeated, I headed to the store to pick up the ingredients for James's favorite Jamba, the Orange Dream Machine.  I tried to duplicate it as best I could but let's be honest, you really can't match Jamba.  Guess I'm going to give it a shot!

Delray Beach

James was leaving extra early for his match today so I decided to walk to the courts a couple hours after he left.  I had some work to finish before leaving the hotel and the courts are only a mile away, not to mention it was a beautiful day in Delray.  I walked up Atlantic Ave, the main street with all those great boutiques I was talking about yesterday, when I noticed this promotion.

A tiger?  Really?  Honestly it made me laugh.  Wouldn't it be a cool poster without the cheesy tiger?  Maybe the intended symbolism is lost on me.

Shopping in Delray

Well after traveling for three weeks to all chilly cities, I was over all the clothes in my suitcases and wasn't prepared for the 80 degrees in sunny south Florida.  So I walked around the shops near our hotel to find some summery clothes.  I thought since we were staying three blocks from the beach, I would easily find some cool stuff.  Well I was wrong.

This picture represents the typical boutique in Delray Beach, no it's not Chicos but there was one there.  I understand I don't exactly fit the demographic they are shooting for  (95-151 years old), but there were so few options that weren't ultra preppy, beach trashy or old lady.  In about a mile of shops there weren't any decent stores to shop in.  The two highlights of my shopping trip were the serve yourself frozen yogurt shop and the cool pair of havaianas I picked up at a surf shop.

Apparently you gotta go to Boca to shop!  

Delray Beach

I got to hang out with Arrow and watch James's first round match with him and a few of his buddies.  It was the first time I have ever had a drink during one of James's matches and it doesn't surprise me that Arrow was the one to break me in.  He's never shied away from a cocktail before.

In fact, last night a woman that he teaches tennis lessons to in Jacksonville was in Delray Beach for the tourney and they all hung out.  This 50ish year old woman was bragging that she'd been drinking longer than Arrow was alive and said she could keep up with him no problem.  Oh boy I wish I would have been there to warn her.  James stopped into the bar to say hello and he tried to help the woman out telling her to say she was going to the bathroom and slip out the back door.

Let's just say she didn't listen and things didn't work out so well for her.  She ended up in the hospital the next morning (no joke) spending the day on iv's and was finally released around 6pm.

Ok back to the match.  Arrow is great to watch tennis with since he's been around the sport his entire life and knows a lot of the players as well.  I learned a little more about tennis, and James got the win.  Pretty great start in Delray.

ESPN the Magazine NBA All-Star Party

Similar to the Super Bowl in Dallas, CMPR was running the red carpet for two events on the same night at NBA All-Star weekend in LA.  We split the company in half again and I ran the the red carpet for the ESPN party at My House while Steve ran the red carpet for the MySpace party at Conga Room.  And very much like Super Bowl the weather really made an impact on the event.

This picture was taken at about 11pm, the most hectic time on the carpet, right after a huge gust of wind ripped the tent wall down, leaving the media and celebrities exposed to the elements.  John and Chris jumped onto the red carpet holding up the step and repeat as that was the next thing threatening to collapse. It had been rainy and windy all night but we never anticipated this.

Needless to say we closed the carpet down shortly after the picture.  Can't say I was too disappointed, I couldn't wait to get out of the cold and into the party.

Client Dinner

My job is anything but 9 to 5.  Last night my boss Steve and I had dinner with Ray and his wife Bernadette.  Ray was one of my first clients when I started with the company six years ago and he is still one of my favorite clients!!  He is such a generous person and an absolute pleasure to work with.  

Ray has an incredibly busy Spring and Summer so we met at Bel-Air Bay Club to talk strategy about his schedule and all his upcoming projects.  We had a great dinner, made a solid plan for the Spring and got to catch up.  

Card Sharks

This is the final product from the photo shoot a couple weeks ago and if I'm not mistaken this is the shot right before I was kicked out of the shoot and replaced by the photographers assistant.  But someone over at ESPN the Magazine liked the picture, choosing it to accompany the story out this week in the Magazine.

The picture is deceptive in a lot of ways.  Rory and I actually look like we know what we are doing and maybe even in position to kick James's butt.  In reality, Rory or I wouldn't be able to beat James in poker on our luckiest day.  


Maybe my modeling career is back on..... 

Burn 60

If you live in LA and like to workout chances are you have heard of Burn 60.  It's a fitness studio in Brentwood that has 60 minute classes, broken down as 30 minutes on the treadmill and 30 minutes on the floor, for a total body workout.  It's my favorite place to workout in LA hands down.  The classes are tough and always different and the instructors are knowledgeable.  The Sunday morning class is my favorite because of the combination of michelle teaching and all the great regulars in the class.

Wasn't sure I'd be able to get up for the 930 class this morning but Lg, Emily and I all rallied.  I'm not saying I killed the class today but I was indeed present.  

Surprise!!

My friend Laura said she was planning a girls night but wasn't going to give up any details and asked if I were in; of course I'd be in.  There were seven girls total that went and that seven included Leslie and Laura who did all the planning.  We all got a cryptic email Friday night giving us few details for Saturday but included the following info: be ready at 650pm, don't dress according to the weather and expect a late night.

Surprise number one, when we walked down to leave the apartment, was the party bus which was actually a Mercedes van that we called the party bus.    Laura and I jumped in and picked up the rest of the girls before heading to the first location.  We were all trying to figure out where we were going the entire ride as we sipped on water bottles filled with goose sodas or greyhounds.  We ended up at Rosa Mexicana downtown for a really fun dinner.

After dinner, we were handed tickets to the Far East Movement/ B.O.B. concert at Club Nokia.  We were all really excited and for good reason - it was a great show. I'm not naming any names but someone fell asleep during B.O.B. and may or may not have been named the weakest link of the night.

After the concert Paul, the driver that absolutely hated us, picked us up and took us to the final surprise.  The Hideout.  We only stayed a short time because the crowd was a little weird, not to mention we were all ready to sleep, except Em because she had, in her words, "a little cat nap," at the show.

We all had the best time!  Thanks LG and Les for planning.  And a very special thanks to Mama G for footing the bill.  We wished you didn't have Key Lime Pie responsibilities back in Aspen so you would have been able to join us on Saturday.  Abby described the night best when she said "I feel like it's my birthday," i think we all did!

The Brentwood

I have never been a big fan of the Brentwood but last night was different.  I met my friends Sharyn and Arthur for dinner and we were stumped where to go since LA's restaurant choices are endless.  We wanted to go somewhere mellow, convenient to all three of us with good food, so the Brentwood fit the bill.

We met last minute and didn't have a reservation but they were able to get us in fairly quickly.  I hadn't seen my friends in a long time, it was so good to catch up with them live.  It's nice to be back in LA.

Peapod Foundation

We worked with the Black Eyed Peas over Super Bowl weekend and we must have done an ok job for them as they asked us to run the red carpet for an event back in LA to benefit the Peapod Foundation.  The benefit concert had an unreal line-up including Black Eyed Peas, John Legend, Ciara, Natasha Bedingfield, and Jackson Browne.  After we closed the red carpet around 11pm our staff went inside to enjoy the show.

The Peas and John Legend were easily my favorite.  In fact I was going to head out early but had my arm twisted to stay for John Legend and I'm glad I did.   He performed four songs and a duet with Natasha Bedingfield and it was worth missing out on a good night sleep for that show.

San Jose

I am VERY happy to be back in the California sunshine.  This week I'm in San Jose to watch James play in his first tournament of the year.  San Jose happens to be one of my favorite tourneys of the year for a few reasons.  It was the first tournament I went to after James and I met two years ago and where we had our first official date.  And it's a smaller tournament which generally means it's a little more laid back than some of the bigger tournaments or slams.

James won his first match back today in front of a fairly empty arena - mostly because it's a Monday afternoon and most people are working.  But James's mom Betty, his cousin Mary, two good friends from San Fransisco, Rory and I were there to cheer him on.  A pretty great start to the week.

Sunday Funday

I look forward to the Super Bowl every year.  The past several years I've worked parties leading up to the big game and normally fly home to watch the game in the comfort of a friend's SB party.  After the Packers made it into the SB i debated about staying in Dallas to watch the game live.  After a lot of back and forth, I decided to keep my ticket as is and fly to San Jose Sunday in time to watch the second half of the game from the Hotel.

Well plans often change when flying is involved.  We were delayed due to a mechanical issue, which as we boarded, we saw they literally taped the one of the overhead bins closed.  As you could imagine, there were lots of funny remarks as people took their seats an hour and a half after we were scheduled to take off.

I ended up getting to the hotel in time to see the 4th quarter and most importantly to watch the Packers win the game.  I kind of wish I had stayed to see the game in Dallas with the rest of my friends and co-workers, but it is nice to be back in CA.  Congrats Packers!!!

Red Carpet Shenanigans

Events are always crazy and unpredictable.  Even if you are highly organized and truly anticipate everything there are always small fires to put out.   We take our job very seriously but that doesn't mean we have to be serious all the time.

On the heels of a very successful but stressful Friday night party, we welcomed the Saturday night Diddy party because it was suppose to be a bit more relaxed.  We had plenty of time to set up before the celebs and athletes arrived fashionably late.  So with a little time on our hands and our favorite photographer, Tiffany, working the party, this is what happened.  Tiffany needed to check her lighting and shoot a couple test shots.  And it took a lot of arm twisting to get Shilpa, Chris and I to help out.

More snow in Dallas

I doubt this is what the NFL had in mind when Dallas was selected for this year's SuperBowl.  Freezing temps, snow and ice storms, and school, airport and business closings have been the norm this week as fans descend upon Dallas for the SuperBowl.  Clearly Dallas wasn't prepared for the weather this week.  Our hotel has been overwhelmed trying to keep the lobby and rooms above 65 degrees and salt trucks are non- existent on the snow and ice covered streets and highways.

There were ten of us riding back from the EA Sports party (yes at 3:03am Steve, i swear we were networking), when we came to a complete stop on the freeway.  We had no idea what was happening but guessed due to the snow storm that there was an accident ahead.  What we soon learned was that cars and trucks weren't able to make it up the hill because of the snow and ice and the lack of salt trucks.

We were stuck, getting no traction in the Tahoe.  Our driver didn't have a clue how to drive in the snow, so the guys jumped out and tried to push us, while one of the girls took control of the drivers seat to help free us from the snow and ice. After a solid 10 minutes of trying with no success, a police car came up behind us and gave us a few pushes that helped get us back on our way.  We made it safely back to the hotel, but last nights events didn't give me a lot of confidence in venturing out in snowy Dallas again any time soon.

Ahhhh the glamorous life

Most people think I have one of the best jobs out there.  In their minds, I go to exclusive events for a living, meet interesting people and have a lot of good connections.  Part of this is true, but what a lot of people don't realize is that most days are spent in an office or hotel room in sweats working crazy hours.  In other words people forget about all the behind the scenes work that goes into the final product.

This week team CMPR is in Dallas for the SuperBowl and this is how we spent most of the day Wednesday and Thursday.  Eight of us cooped up in a hotel suite stuffing envelops, fielding calls and emails from media and celeb/athlete managers and publicists, going over staff lists and event day duties.   This type of day is much more common than an event night.  Don't get me wrong, I love my job and know I'm really lucky, but I just wish people understood all the work that goes into making these events appear seamless and glamorous.

Here we go....

Well February is here and that means the beginning of a very long trip which also means packing for one month.  The four week excursion is a combination of work and play - mostly work - which makes packing even tougher because I'm packing for several events and other work functions.  And then add in 4 different cities, of course, all with different weather (although it's cold everywhere these days).  Oh am I complaining....I'll stop and get back to my packing which has taken me the better part of the day!