High Five

Hey Friends,

It's been awhile since I've written a High Five post so let's bring it back. I took the last five days to get away from work completely and just enjoy some time off back in LA. Here are my five favorite things from the past five days.

#1 Zumba at home. I usually go to Zumba class twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays but since I was out of town I had to find a different way to get my Zumba fix. I love how accessible workout videos are nowadays! I found this one on Youtube and really liked it for its simplicity and workout length. The moves seem very basic but trust me, you will break a sweat.

#2 Seeing the Levitated Mass and Urban Light installations. I've been dying to see the Levitated Mass and Urban Lights at the Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Arts (LACMA) for awhile now. The Levitated Mass is a 340-ton boulder of granite that sits atop two slabs of concrete running parallel to each other. I thought it was a very simple piece, but was pleasantly surprised with how moved I was by it. I always say a piece of art has done its job if it inspires you in some way. Seeing it from different angles, walking under it a few times, and even posing for silly photos made it a really fun and interesting experience.

The Urban Lights were wonderful. Seeing them in the day was a completely different experience than seeing them all lit up at night. I loved the varying textures that the different designs and heights of the lamp posts created and was obsessed with the pastel-gray-with-a-tinge-of-teal color of the lamp posts. Such a cool spot!

#3 Going to a musical. I got two free tickets to see Divorce Party the Musical, complements of Yelp, at El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. I actually went to the same venue a few years ago to see funny man Adam Carolla perform, which was a riot. The raunchy* musical however, was far from it. Even though I didn't particularly enjoy the production myself, I was happy to hear the three cackling middle-aged women one row directly behind me having so much fun. Knowing that the mediocre musical brought out such joy from other people in the audience made it a bit more tolerable.

*I was in no way prepared for the adult content that was presented throughout the play (to keep this post semi-kosher let's just say there was an extended scene regarding adult toys and a surprise ending with a Chip 'n Dale, and I'm not referring to the chipmunks). At the end of it all, I was glad my +1 made it because I had actually contemplated taking my mom, ha!

#4 Giving blood. I got a call from the American Red Cross a few weeks ago asking for a blood donation since I have donated in the past. I guess due to all of the recent natural disasters, their blood bank was running low. Of course I told them to sign me up. Some people think giving blood is an act of kindness, but I find it to be more of a mutualistic gesture. Your blood goes to those in need and helps to save lives and in tandem, you stand to benefit from a whole new, fresh pint of blood in your system. I always joke that my blood type is indicative of the kind of student I was in school: A+.

#5 Eating soondae (korean blood sausauge) for dinner. Every time I'm in LA for any extended period of time, I never leave without getting a bowl of soondae soup from Seoul Soondae, my favorite soondae restaurant. Soondae is a Korean delicacy, and one of my personal favorite dishes on this planet, no in the galaxy! It is made by stuffing pig intestine with blood from the animal and a mixture of vegetables, noodles, and spices. Before you look at me like I'm crazy, most regions and ethnic groups actually have some kind of blood sausage dish. For example, when I was in London I was pleased to find black pudding, their version of blood sausage, on a breakfast menu. Here in America, I would venture to say our version of blood sausage is the hot dog so before all you less-adventurous food-eating folk get all high and mighty on me, give it a try! :)

With that, I'm off to San Diego where the first thing I'm going to do is give my boyfriend a gigantic hug. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and I look forward to delving into some lesson planning next week. As always, thanks so much for reading!