VOLUNTEERING WITH THE DODGERS

This past week , I had the opportunity to volunteer with hundreds of other Dodger fans during their 2 day caravan.  The first day of the caravan took us to the banks of the L.A. River, assisting in the cleanup of the river.  As many of you probably know, there are stretches within the River that are accessable for jogging, your daily walk, and biking, and hopefully the entire river will be accessible. 

http://www.lariverrmp.org/

Several Dodgers, past and present, of course we're on hand to participate in the cleanup .  We would be broken up into several groups with various players.  Our assistant was a bit late largely because he was arriving from Phoenix, but we didnt seem to disappointed, I know I wasnt.

Kickin' it with Dre

Dont trash L.A.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dodgerdrei/sets/72157625927871973/show/

Day 2 would take us to Santa Monica and we would work with Heal the Bay.  Upon arrival some of us had quipped that the beach looked so clean, joking that the rain that morning cleaned up all of Santa Monica Bay.  But on a more serious note, a lot of the trash along the beach we we're looking for small stuff like cigarette butts, fruit peels.  We would be digging through sand to find the trash.  We would get a pre-speil before teaming up with the our Dodger players on why even the smallest of the trash that lays on the beach could harm the wildlife for that it could confuse it for food and that their stomachs would give the habitats a false sense of being full.  ( Yes, I actually learned something about the importance of keeping our city and environment clean )  .  As stated earlier, I was on Team 5, Gabe Kaplers and Sweet Lou Johnson's team, THE WINNING TEAM, for we collected the most trash.  Wanna volunteer for future cleanups with Heal the Bay ?  http://www.healthebay.org/volunteer  Ok, now for some more pics with the Blue....

Our crew with Sweet Lou Johnson

We're going 30/30 this year Matt !!!

  http://www.flickr.com/photos/healthebay/sets/72157626061182970/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dodgerdrei/sets/72157626064653738/

 

This Day in History, 2/9/1964...Ed Sullivan Introduces America to Beatlemania

" YEAH, YEAH, YEAH !!! "

'SUP EVERYONE

Hey everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend, great Super Bowl game yesterday huh ?  Just when you thought it was going to be a blowout the Steelers make a game of it just to fall short 31-25.  Early turnovers would be their enemy, but give credit where it's do, Aaron Rodgers came through big time in his first Super Bowl appearance, and Lombardy is heading home. 

I feel sorry for those 400 some folks who had tickets to the Super Bowl but we're left out in the cold.  Yeah, the NFL is taking care of them, but to many of those who we're snubbed, their still pretty miffed.  I can't say I blame them.

http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/news/story?id=6096112

My weekend went well.  I got to hang out where I was once a frequent visitor to back in my high school days, The Hat.  The Hat is a popular pastrami dip sandwich with a few locations, the original one being in Alhambra on the corner of Valley and Garfield .  It's not hard to miss, it's one of the few non-Asian locations in the area.  And for many Asians like this one, it's a welcomed change of pace from the many HK-style eateries in the area, something I will cover later.  And for $6.99 and how big the sandwiches are, you really get a bargain.  Just one tip, if you're gonna order wet fries with your sandwich, it's best if someone's with you.  Unless you're in some MAN vs FOOD war and it's your goal to down both your sandwich and the wet fries.  Oh yeah, did I mention the sandwiches we're huge. 

One thing you may want to do when devouring your sandwich is let the excess meat fall into your gravy fries.  Don't worry, you can always walk it off later....

Allright, for those of you who use public transit out in the San Fernando Valley, here is a pic of the construction of the Orange Line to Chattsworth

Nice view huh.

MOBILE PICS, VALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, CSUN

Here's some pics from the recently opened Valley Performing Arts Center, including one I took inside.  If all goes well I may see Shawn Colvin here tomorrow night.

From the orchestra section.  I was lucky to be able to catch a glimpse inside

HEY EVERYONE

Welcome to my first blog post.  As I attempt to venture into the blogosphere it is my hope that I, as well as those whom I've invited, will be able to maintain your interest as far as things go in MY TOWN, L.A.  .  As I write this blog on a Thursday evening, 2/3, many of you are probably still in shock over Antonio McDyess' putback for San Antonio, giving them a last-second victory over our 2 time champs at the Staples Center.  And many of you are probably whining right now that this team is in turmoil.  But let's not kid ourselves folks, yeah, we'd like for the purple and gold to dominate night in and night out, but let's face a little dose of reality....It's difficult enough to win a championship , it's even more difficult to win it back to back, and when your team has played deep into June the last 3 years, fatigue has a way of setting in.  Let's also not forget that this team is not getting any younger either, just take a look at our backcourt, the average age between Kobe and Fish is 34 years.  Time to panic yet Laker fans ?  Ugh, when they stop playing games into June, than maybe, but 'till then, that view at the top is still looking good, albeit possibly slowly diminishing.

OK, as for this blog, I will, and hopefully others as well, will be blogging about happenings here in our town be it the local teams, local eatries in your neighborhood, travel ideas, or anything we find of interest that will capture your interest as well.  Oh yeah, in case I haven't said so already, did I mention that L.A. is MY TOWN.  And one final note, my Super Bowl Pick.....Packers 24 Steelers 20 .  Have a Great Weekend everyone !!!

THIS IS MY TOWN !!!