I live in Los Angeles

In case you've just tuned in, I am on PST. I, Jennifer, live in the city of the stars. The land of opportunity. The place where 86% of waiters/waitresses are more attractive than the patrons because they are trying to make it in 'da biz'.

So yesterday, while out-of-town guests rested trying to adjust to PST, Hannah and I took advantage of our freedom and locale. We turned on the Garmin Nuvi 350 and headed for Beverly. Hills, that is. Swimming pools...er, sorry. But we really did. We took Sunset to Cielo, then drove up, up and away. At first we passed the 'no outlet' signs in favor of re-visiting the house from whence came my new wall hangings. Just as I had suspected, celebrity was not far away. Our paintings and charcoal sketches used to hang on walls next door to Carmen Electra (and, presumably, Dave Navarro, until August). No kidding. Infamy. Baywatch. Right next door!

Thus Hannah and I were energized in our quest for fame. We began exploring those steep grades marked with 'no parking' and 'not a through street' signs. We saw countless call boxes at gated driveways. We saw someone's personal exit ramp (the driveway looked like a one-lane exit ramp from below, concrete pillars and all) climbing even farther up the hill - no paparazzi allowed! We saw three luxury SUVs in one driveway. We saw a house with a multiple gates and signs that said 'guest entrance' and 'service entrance'. On Sunset, we saw a house being built that could have passed for a hotel. We decided to check out Chateau Marmont, (see pic at right) the infamous hotel just down the road and the place to be for everyone who's anyone. The Garmin insured we found the drive without incident, however, as Hannah made the hard left turn onto the private road, we were immediately greeted by the scowling face of an armed guard leaning against his vehicle, blocking the way to certain stardom. Since we had both left our platinum SAG cards in our other purses, Hannah didn't miss a beat - we merged back onto Sunset as if we'd only made an erroneous turn in the first place.

Last night, 4 of us took in the Third Street Promenade and a family-style Italian restaurant. I ate the bulk of the cannelloni, and afterwards, the tiramisu. Only there was more amaretto than cake. I almost got drunk off dessert! I brought the leftover home. Melanie's sister Sarah is here. Her dad and step-mom were kind enough to buy us all not only lunch, but dinner as well. Yay for financially established humanitarians! There was traffic on da 405 again today. SUNDAY. I guess I should just get used to it. Did I mention there is valet parking at the Ralph's down the street? How am I to differentiate between the valet parker and some random guy who just wants to drive off in my vehicle while I'm getting 4 gallons of milk for $4? I live in L.A.