2009 Year-In-Review

Ahhhhh 2009. A year that started with nowhere to go but up.

Over the years I've devoted quite a bit of time to updating this blog. And this Year-In-Review is no exception. But as someone who is all over the place and constantly taking pictures, I think photo-blogging is the perfect way to journalize and catalog everything so that at any moment I/we can all look back and remember the adventures, experiences, and accomplishments that have taken place.

Keeping a blog is also not as invasive as a Facebook status update or twitter feed where you're forced to see every single thing someone is doing against your will. Here you can elect to check up on me if you care or are or bored enough to, or don't.

I look at blog time as my chance to reflect on the wonderful places I've had the opportunity to see, the epic things I've been able to do, the delicious things I've feasted on, and the incredible people I'm proud to call my friends, family, and loved ones.

....................................................

2009 was the year that started off with me ringing in the new year sitting on my couch reading a book with my bummed ankle.



Shortly thereafter, KG tore his ACL.



And I returned to L.A. confined to a computer chair but greeted by wonderful friendly faces.



In 2009, we inaugurated Barack Obama.



Farshid took me for a ride in his Maserati.




Hot Danny and Kelly Clarkson inspired me to make another music video.



And my foot just would not f*cking HEAL.



2009 was the year of David After the Dentist



I gradually became more and more social and mobile on crutches...




But I realized that using a wheelchair is a way more convenient way to free up my hands for double-fisting. (Also it makes it easier to talk to crotches.)



2009 was the year we often thought about stabbing our giggling roommate PeterPhillip.



In February we tried to go to Vegas but got stopped by snow.




We did finally make it to Vegas... though it was probably the most low-key trip ever...



Sometime in mid-March, though, I was finally able to stand again.



2009 was the year MarkyMark was on Date My Mom...



Imran was on The Price Is Right.



PWu was in a cool music video.



Smileyjohn was on The Daily Show.



And I was on American Idol.



Twice.



OK fine and maybe a third time.



2009 was the year Kris Allen came into our lives.




And it was also the year Evan became our new neighbor and number one FrOG.



In 2009, Jesse became a BFF.



And a chance encounter with Smileyjohn made him a BFF as well!



In 2009, Smershy came back into my life.



And Danny left for South America indefinitely, but then returned.



2009 was the year we were really into Smileywine.








And in 2009, Dan and Emily threw their 2nd Annual Pizza Party.



Imran had a White Party.



We celebrated Jesse's half-birthday.



We had an impromptu night of Preppy fun.



Went to a Models Party.



And 2009 was also the year of the very first India Party.



Which is where Felix and Connie became an item...



They say Rome wasn't built in a day...but Makeout City definitely was...



The day after, we celebrated KG's birthday.



And immediately afterwards he stopped being our friend.

(The ultimate supersadface thing that happened all year.)

................................................

2009 was the year someone I know met Oprah.



2009 was the year I finally got an iPhone.



2009 was the year of High Fashion Disneyland.



And MAO came for a visit.



In 2009 we got another free trip to Vegas.



Had an Easter picnic in Malibu.



I went to my first baby shower.



And Hot Danny became a parts model.




In 2009, I took pics for Kris Allen's adorable wife Katy.



And Alias's Kevin Weisman.



2009 is the year everyone feared pigflu.







In 2009, I celebrated Cinco De Mayo for the first time.



Twice.



2009 is also the year we saw Rach get showered and then married.



A million people got engaged.

Starting with Cousin Jon.



Followed by Megoon.



And then on the eve of Megoon's engagement party, Katie got engaged too.



Farshid got engaged in Pittsburgh.



And so did Steph and Hua.



Dan became a doctor.



As did Farshid.



We went back to Brown for our 5 Year Reunion.






And I was featured in The Tall Book.



.............................

2009 was the year everyone and their moms started leaving LA, starting with Carlos.



Then Demily.



Then Chrispy.



Then Rachael and Rob.



And eventually I jumped on the wagon too.

(I had an epic going-away party.)



I embarked on an epic kross-kountry adventure with Danny.












And upon arriving in NYC, we attended Broadway Bares. Hands-down the single most incredible live production I have ever seen.



I flew to Buffalo for Vitri's weeklong wedding.





Went back to LA.



Attended Brad & Callie's Vampire Wedding.



And enjoyed a wonderful summer in New York City.

Made some fabulous new friends.



Reconnected with old ones...



And realized that the city is filled with Brown people!






Smileyjohn, Lady Di, Dan!ald and KDG all visited NYC over the summer.

We played on Felix's patio.



Played at Mark & Todd's.



Celebrated 4th of July at Connie and Kristen's...



Hung out in Central Park...



And went to a Girltalk Concert.



...........................

2009 was the year I had a life-changing hamburger that I still have wet dreams about.



And in August of 2009 I went to LA yet again.



We went to a party where we met Wolfgang Puck and everyone took off their clothes.




Naia took me to a fabulous fashion show.



And then I went to New Orleans for Southern Decadence.





In September, Tim visited NYC.



And then decided to stay for good and started looking at crazy real estate.



2009 is when TL turned 30 in some serial killer's basement.



Then we celebrated Halloween, epic as usual.



We went to a Brown party at Smileywine Vineyards.



I went to a Fray Concert.



Made several trips to Shanghai Cuisine.



And went to New Orleans yet again.



2009 was the year I had the BEST thanksgiving turkey of my entire life.



But then also spent Thanksgiving in Connecticut with Connie and Kristen's family.



And later had a belated family thanksgiving in Chicago.



In 2009 Tee and I celebrated our birthdays together. Complete with a fake engagement.



And then we celebrated on the West Coast too.



2009 was the year I had my 10-year Barrington High School reunion.



And finally I finished out the year in Hong Kong.



There were several back and forths between NY and LA which I didn't bother to mention because transcontinental travel is such a huge part of my life now.

But I think I'll try to settle down more in 2010. (Not promising anything.)

Yes I started out the new year with another bummed ankle, but I bounced back in a day, and that bodes well for things this new year I think.

Once again, happy new year!

I'm about to jump on my flight back to New York City.

Wishing you wealth and health and beauty and anti-aging and love and success and world domination in the new decade!

2KX!

Wolf Shirts!

It was yet another beautiful morning in Venice.



A beautiful day....to shop for new wolf shirts!

Bobby found one immediately.



I tried this one on and it looked good on the rack but was a little too crazy when worn...



Yay wolf shirts!

Epic Dinner @ Craft - Endless foods heal my foot and my soul

So Kristy did something at work that was really good for someone and like saved his life or something and somehow that someone has a relative who is the executive sous chef or something at Craft, the LA restaurant of Top Chef's Tom Colicchio, and so the person who Kristy helped told her that to thank her he would like to invite her to bring a group of friends to enjoy an epic epic dinner and she said I am a food-lover and will totally take you up on that.

And so we did. Last night.

............................................

Craft is located in Century City, right behind the CAA Death Star.



YUM.

We got there and sat down and stared at the menu.



Stared and stared and stared.

There were so many choices.

We were planning to just order a bunch of stuff and then just share it family-style.

But then Kristy asked the waiter, "What would you recommend?"

And the waiter responded, "Well actually, the chef would like to serve you a multiple-course tasting menu...if that's ok with you."

We looked at each other because that last part of that sentence is the silliest thing we had ever heard.

In. Done. We simultaneously closed our menus.

First course came out.

(Keep in mind that we each got our own individual plate of EACH of these items minus dessert.)

(Also keep in mind that girls have tiny tummies and boys are savages so we ate almost every scrap of food on every single one of these plates.)

So anyway. First course - the amoooooz booooosh.

It was a tiny little tomato thing with the softest mozzarella I have ever tasted. It was like a little mozzarella cloud.




Second course was hamachi (yellowtail) with citrus flavorings.




Third course was foie gras (force-fed goose liver) which we spread on toasted brioches.

(Wasn't a huge fan of this one.)



Fourth course was giant diver scallops in a kombu seaweed sauce and this was DELICIOUS and SO HUGE. It took like 10 bites to finish the scallop.



Then there was a pork slice with this teriyaki-ish onion sauce. Super fatty, super delish.



And then a papardelle with mushrooms and truffles and this was the absolute greatest course (minus dessert).



Then there was Braised Short Ribs and Wagyu Sirloin.



And then the chef (who was really hot) came out to us to greet us and asked if we enjoyed dinner.

We said yes and said we were stuffed and he said do you want dessert and we said of course we want dessert but there was also supposed to be a cheese course before the dessert and we were like ugghghhhhhh can't handle cheese please just bring dessert and he said ok he was planning to drop a dessert "bomb" on us and we were like "uhhhh dohkay...."

So dessert came. And it was a tiny little thing of caramel custard dusted with candied walnut sprinkle.



I think this was the chef's version of a joke.

Because what followed were six or seven waiters each holding a plate of a different dessert.

We were giddy and giggling and ooohing and ahhhing and if you think back to the first Christmas that you can remember where you got everything you ever wanted, or if you remember that scene in Beauty and the Beast where the singing candle man brings the pretty girl a million delicious desserts and fireworks go off all over the place, well, it was kind of like that.

THEY SERVED US EVERY SINGLE DESSERT ON THE MENU.

Beignets - they were light and delicious and so much better than any other beignet I have ever had.



Bread pudding - it was crunchy/gooey and warm and sugarysweet and I die.



OMGOMGOMGOMG



There were six different kinds of ice cream (including caramel and maple-bacon-chocolate) and complemented with bite-size sugar cookies.



There were tarts and there was a chocolate hazelnut crepe.



And there was a traditional English trifle.

(For you Friends fans out there there was no meat in the trifle but instead there were little chocolate crunches and this was my favorite dessert.)



Gahhhhhhh we were so HAPPPPPPY.



Like seriously, I have NEVER seen Kristy make this face.



And then after all the desserts were cleared, they brought out these.



And gave us cranberry scones in little plastic packages for morning snacks.

Thank you Craft for the epic-est meal I've ever had in Los Angeles.

Thank you Kristy for making me obese.

My ankle is better! It's because of the food!

Super-FML

Jesse and I were on our way from Bobby's to the bar last night, happily strutting down the street to the sounds of Lady Gaga on dark little Abbott Kinney Blvd.

We could not have been more happy and joyous and singing when I went and strutted myself right into a random hole in the sidewalk and WIPED THE F*CK OUT.

iPhone went flying. Sprained my good ankle.

Worry not. It's only sprained. I know what a broken ankle feels like.

I can walk. It's just a little sore.

But I'm taking it easy and icing it anyway.



FML

2am @ Pastramiville w/ Jesse & Smileyjohn

-- Post From My iPhone

Beautiful Day in Venice Beach

-- Post From My iPhone

Soooo I started watching Jersey Shore last night.

And if you do too, you might enjoy this:

Laura's Dream

from Laura Meatin [laurameatin@gmail.com]
to DK [dk@gmail.com]
date Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 4:58 PM
subject dreamz

hide details 4:58 PM (14 hours ago)

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Denny!

I'm coming to New York again, from the 11th to the 16th.

You were in my dream last night and, incidentally, had learned to
speak Spanish and were the program director at a women's shelter. I
don't know if you have new life developments to tell me about, so
clearly we'll have to catch up in person.

Hugs!

Laura

Back in LA.

Just landed in LA.

Had a layover in Taiwan.

I have nothing good to say about Taiwan.

At the airport the awful lady at the transit counter looked at me with the ugliest unfeeling Asian eyes when she point blank told me there was nothing she could do about getting me an exit row seat.

Not ten minutes later a somewhat nicer man at another counter begrudgingly reassigned my seat to an exit. (Always ask multiple people.)

A nasty old man coughed pigflu all over me while coming down an escalator as I was going up..

Oh and I witnessed the randomness that is this Taiwanny riding an invisible unicorn:



AND THEN while I was 6 hours into my flight clearly engrossed in a movie (Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs) when this useless tiny Asian woman in a seat three rows behind me poked me to ask me to help her close her overhead bin. I looked her in her stupid round face with what has to be the meanest glare I've ever shot another human being and actually asked out loud, "Are you SERIOUS???" And then had to take off my headphones. STOP my movie. STOW my screen away so that I could put away my tray table. Then UNBUCKLE my seatbelt. Rest my blanket and pillow and magazine and iPod that I had on my lap ON THE FLOOR. Wiggle out of my too-small seat. Then STOMPED up the aisle with my death stare locked on her idiot face. And then, with one arm, slammed her bin shut so hard it woke at least three people up.

Growing up I seen my daddy give some stupid people some crazy intimidating looks. If I was half as scary as I think I was, I'm sure he would be proud.

I hope I scared her. I hope I terrified her. I hope she never has the guts to ask a stranger for a favor again and forever sweats at the sight of tall people.

I felt a little bad after.

But not really.

Now I get to deal with this mayhem.



I'm home!

-- Post From My iPhone