NBA Basketball, Candy Cane Lane, Stuffing My Face, and Trumps National Golf, Y’all: Christmas 2012

Once again we find ourselves enmeshed in the Holiday Season, that very special time of year when we join with our loved ones in sharing centuries-old traditions such as trying to find a parking space at the mall. We traditionally do this in my family by driving around the parking lot until we see a shopper emerge from the mall, then we follow her, in very much the same spirit as the Three Wise Men, who 2,000 years ago followed a star, week after week, until it led them to a parking space.

                                                                                                                                     — Dave Berry

This was one of the busiest Decembers I can remember having, excluding activities which involve me hunched over a legal book or my laptop.  And other than the costs of Christmas and NYE, the frenzy makes for a rather good time.

A few weeks ago, my friends from Georgetown and I decided to have a get-together dinner, and I’d suggested that we also throw in a White Elephant gift exchange.  Well, leave it to me to buy my present last minute.  It’s a good thing I showed up at the restaurant earlier than everyone else (which meant that I was right on time while everyone else was late) so I had time to ask the waitress for a paper bag to use to hide my gift.  We ended up going to Cook’s County, a new restaurant in West Hollywood, serving food made from organic ingredients taken from local farms.

The entirety of the restaurant

Eventually, everyone showed up and we got our grub on.

Scallops

Seafood soup

Ice cream sandwiched in donuts

You can read my yelp review for Cook’s County here.  In short, though, I’d say we got 1) great service, 2) good appetizers and entrees, and 3) delicious desserts, but 4) horribly small portions, which go hand in hand with the 5) high prices for what you get.  I’d consider coming back here if it weren’t for the fact that I was still kind of hungry after my meal.

I didn’t even get to eat the homemade cookies that Ji-in passed out to all of us because my friend, Tiffany (Charles please please please please I need to go to a White Elephant!), took mine.

At least I did get a somewhat decent White Elephant present this year.  Not like last year’s sushi erasers.

Karaoke. It’s what happens when people want to go out, but not “out out.”

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I’ve gotten a couple of very nice presents for Christmas so far, but the nicest thing I’ve received so far has been the return of the NBA.  The only thing that could possibly top this would be if I woke up tomorrow morning and somehow got a brand new luxury car with a gigantic red bow tied around it.  From what I see on TV, it seems like I’m the only one who’s not getting those.  Sucks.

On December 21st, I was lucky enough to be able to catch the second Clippers vs. Lakers preseason game, and thanks again to Poca, we received a little bit of VIP-treatment.

That’s  my “family” pass signed by Neil Olshey, new GM of the Clippers and frontrunner for Executive of the Year.

What you see here is the gate blocking the tunneled path leading into the bowels of Staples Center.  It’s where all the team buses and players’ cars go through.

After security checked our names off the list and our car for explosives, the gates to basketball Narnia opened and we headed in.

All the parked cars are either players’ cars or those of team executives.

We were wondering who drives the blue Prius in the picture above and this Lakers-themed Hyundai below.

Melissa:  Charles, do you know a Ronald Tess? I asked the security guy and he said that it’s driven by a Ronald Tess.

Me: Mmm…no, I don’t…hey, excuse me sir, can you tell me whose car this is?

Security Guy #2: It’s Metta’s car.

Me: HAHAHA OMG, You mean RON ARTEST.

After/while valeting our cars, we each went through a metal detector scan.  It really isn’t any different than what you’d go through if you enter through the regular entrance, but it just feels different because there’s no line behind you, and there’s no “walking through.”  Instead, you just get out of the car, and then the security asks to scan you.

The color of the tunnel walls clearly favor one LA team over the other.

As soon as we turned the corner, I recognized the guy in the suit.  The very Neil Olshey (new Clippers GM) whose signature our passes bore.  I wanted to talk to him, but he was in the middle of a one-on-one with a reporter.

The uniform room.

Self-explanatory

This was the friends and family room where there was a full spread, along with refreshments.

As the girls were using the restroom right across the friends and family room, I was watching the Lakers finish up some of their stretching.

And as much as I dislike the Lakers, pregame team huddles are one of my favorite things about sports.

Sadly, I neglected to capture video footage of the players running towards us and out of the tunnel (to the left), but we were given the same tunnel access, too.

Pregame lights

THE Jimmy Goldstein in the leather cowboy getup, aka the multimillionaire, “NBA superfan” who attends 100+ games each season, aka the guy who owns the house in Charlie’s Angels

What I, and most NBA fanatics, love about Jimmy is that no one really knows what he does.  As Myles Brown of Slam Magazine put it, he’s the rare person known for his interests (the NBA) rather than what he does for a living.  He’s at almost every Lakers and Clippers game, courtside, and flies to different cities for basketball on a regular basis. He’s done this for over five decades.  Fascinating man. Look him up, read some articles, and get enlightened.

One of my happiest moments of the night was when Jimmy Goldstein acknowledged my existence.  As we walked by, I immediately recognized the outlandish, flamboyant cowboy outfit and yelled “Hey Jimmy!!” and raised my hand in waive.   He then looked up at me and gave me a silent, upward nod.  I got the biggest kick out of it.

As exciting as the pomp and circumstance was, we had a game to watch, and I was just so happy.

And I was even happier watching Chris Paul break the ankles of everyone on the Lakers.

There’s also this dude named Blake Griffin.

Although it was just a preseason game, the Clippers blowing out the Lakers just topped off a great night.

After the game, we headed over to Silo vodka bar to meet up with others.  I’d heard about this place for a while, but had never managed to make it there.

While cool in concept, I thought the “vodka room” was a bit of a disappointment.

Yes, they pass out those hats for everyone.

Aaron, you look like a 45-year-old man.

I felt bad for the bartender lady who opened up the vodka room for us, when no one wanted to buy vodka tastings.  We just wanted to check it out.  Guilt took over so I got a tasting to share.

It was definitely an interesting experience.  Vodka is supposed to be a tasteless liquor, oftentimes used as the perfect mixer.  But by doing a tasting, you can really taste the subtle differences, even beyond whatever burning sensation your stomach may be experiencing.   I say give it a shot.  It ain’t cheap though – $25.

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On Christmas Eve, my sister whipped up a nice spread and invited several of her friends over.  My friend, Tiffany, the one who was desperate for a White Elephant party, was also desperate for a traditional Christmas dinner.  She wasn’t sure if her family was going to have one, so she begged, pleaded, cajoled, asked me if she could come over.  I’d told her yes, but joked with her that I wouldn’t tell my sister that I’d invited her.  “You’d better tell her! You’d better!” she threatened.  We all had a good laugh . . . but I would laugh last and the loudest.

The menu

See, of course, I’d told my sister.  But I’d also told her to pretend like I’d never told her.  She happily obliged.

So, when Tiffany showed up and called my phone, I purposely ignored it because I wanted to force her to ring the doorbell.  And when she did, my sister answered the door, and put on an Academy Award winning performance, acting confused but polite at the same time.

“Oh, hey…you’re Charles’ friend, right? Tiffany? Hey…yah, come on in.”

“Wait, what?? He didn’t tell you?? Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!”

“It’s ok, just come on in! Don’t worry!”

“Oh my god! I’m gonna kill him! I can’t believe this.”

After a few more seconds, I interrupted the hilarious scene with my cackling laughter.

My sister takes after my mom when it comes to making good food, and I’m always thankful for these meals.

The Master Chef

Tiffany’s interesting choice of wrapping paper.

We ate a lot of food, exchanged a couple of presents, and also played a strange, traditional British game and wore the accompanying crowns.  So, it was pretty much the perfect Christmas (Eve) dinner.  Again, many thanks to my sister for the food, and her husband for much of the preparation.

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CHRISTMAS DAY, and we finally have NBA BASKETBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL!!!!!

Thanks again to Jen – and her parents for cancelling last minute on her – a lucky few of her friends were able to catch the first Lakers game of the season on the first day of the season.  The whole LA Live area across from Staples Center was buzzing in anticipation.  Nike even had a full street court set up in the middle of, well, the street.  As much as I wanted to jump in and play, I had a game to catch.

We got there right in time for the opening pyrotechnics and tip-off.

Bulls vs. Lakers!

The arena had a bit of a strange vibe – I think it’s the first time in a long time that the audience wasn’t really expecting the Lakers to come out as winners.  In fact, for some reason, everyone was expecting them to get blown out.  Yup, the Lakers have the best fans in the league (SARCASM).  Interestingly enough, the Lakers had a comfortable lead for the most of the second half, and as the game progressed, I could sense the people around me getting giddier and giddier, thinking “hey, we might just be alright, even without Lamar Odom!”  Which made Derrick Rose’s soul-crushing game winner at the end of the game so hilariously funny, you could hear my laughter among the sudden silence in the arena.

Diehard Lakers fans (the few hundred that exist) probably chalked up the loss as a fluke and the casual Lakers fans (most people in LA) were just happy to have something else to do.  Regardless of the outcome, I think most people were just happy to have NBA basketball back in their lives.  I know I was.

Team store

Ice skating at LA live after the game

After the game, my friends all headed home for dinner with their families.  After all, it was Christmas day.  Unfortunately, my family had our dinner on Christmas Eve, and “home” for me was in Orange County one hour away.  I also had plans later on that night, so I had a couple of hours to kill, which was fine with me because there were still two more basketball games on TV.  Yardhouse and the ESPN Zone were packed, so I went over to my go-to LA Live spot, the Mixing Room in the lobby of the JW Marriott.

Unfortunately, I’d left my wallet, including my ID and credit cards at home – something I’ve only done once previously in my entire life.  Fortunately, I had some cash in my pockets.  That just meant that I couldn’t drink alcohol for the duration of my wait while watching the game.  My waitress even felt bad for me, “you don’t even have a credit card? Or anything else?”

Christmas day dinner – buffalo wings and a diet coke

After a couple hours, my ride came by to pick me up, and we were off to CANDY CANE LAAAAAANE!

I’d gotten curious about these types of neighborhoods because of the recent Christmas episode of New Girl.  So, I googled “Candy Cane Lane Los Angeles” and the most prominent, decorated neighborhood appeared to be within the Woodland Hills area, about 25 miles north of downtown.  According to a few articles I pulled up, it’s been in existence since 1952.  During peak hours (8pm-10pm) in the month of December, almost the entire neighborhood will be lit, and nearby residents and outside visitors will stream through at a snail’s pace to enjoy the spectacle.

I should have crossed the street and re-taken this picture because the gigantic tree in front of you is actually cut in the shape of the decrepit Charlie Brown Christmas tree with the singular ornament hanging on the right branch.  It must have been at least 30 feet tall.

These enterprising high school kids had set up a hot chocolate and freshly-baked cookie stand.  I enjoyed that very much – the fact that they did this and that they didn’t gouge people ($1/hot chocolate).

And from Yelp, they also have a funnel cake truck that goes around the neighborhood, but I guess we missed it.

I think what I’d have liked to have seen the most was the fake snowball fight that one house held in front of their lawn last year.

Andrew and Asako standing by their dream car.

I don’t know who the home owners are, but they have wicked good tastes in television.

As you can see, this homeowner really likes penguins.

REALLY likes penguins – those are reindeer penguins!

It’s a Small World-themed house

I loved the fact that Santa outweighs three reindeer.

There are a bunch of other pictures I didn’t put up.  If you didn’t know about this place, you should definitely stop by next year.  Maybe you’ll be underwhelmed, maybe you’ll enjoy the hell out of it.  I just know that it made me feel a lot more Christmasy than I had been feeling, so, mission accomplished.

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The day after Christmas, eight of us played in two foursomes at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes.  Thanks to Jen and her workplace’s loose relationship with the golf club, we were all able to play a ~ $300 round of golf for free.

We got off to a late 1 pm start, the only tee time which would accommodate our two foursomes back to back on a last minute change.

Sister and her husband at the front entrance to the lobby

Lobby of Trumps – looks more like a hotel than a clubhouse

Practice putting greens with the ocean view in the backdrop

Me and Ed, ready to get our Tiger Woods (pre-breakup) on.

Andrew and Asako showed up an hour-and-a-half before tee time to practice on the range.

Ready to roll

First hole? Second hole?

Asako, perfect form.

Jen played the round of her life – she was -1 through the first four holes.  It’d be the equivalent of me playing against the Lakers and dropping 15 points in the first quarter.

On second thought, it’d be quite possible with Derek Fisher guarding me. Real talk.

Brewskies, of course.

There was a lot of natural wildlife.

This picture seems overly dramatic, like he’s ready to tee off on the 18th hole for the Masters.

I am not so good at golf.  That’s what happens when you play on average once every 2.5 years.  Also, I consider myself fairly good at most sports, but golf is not a sport.

This pictures are all postcard shots, if I do say so myself.

The good thing about starting as late as we did is that we were able to see the sun set to dusk.

The bad thing is that we only got through 14 holes.  I think I was on pace for a 130.

The course was as hard as hell and most everyone played poorly, but I think everyone had a blast.   Even though I lost about 35 golf balls – no exaggeration – I enjoyed myself.  The setting against the ocean is just really tranquil, and you really must have anger management issues if you can’t find some peace of mind out there on the course.  Thanks again, Jen.  It was really the perfect way to top off a Christmas weekend.

To everyone reading this, I hope you had as merry a Christmas as I did.  I can’t remember one I enjoyed as much as this one in my adult life.