I won the freaking contest!!! I am going to Hollywood to enjoy the new restaurant by Gordon Ramsay! (His new season of Hell's Kitchen premieres tonight on Fox - no, I wasn't required to say that but it only seems fair). I don't know any of the details yet, but we get airfare, hotel stay and a $250 tab at Ramsay's restaurant. Yayayayayayayayayayayayay. And whoo-hoo.
Don't ask, I'm taking Ben.
I will send postcards, if you send me your address!
(I wonder if any shops on Rodeo sell items Made in the USA?...)
20 comments:
Jess,
That is TOTALLY awesome! Gratz!
Don't forget to blog your trip if you can.
Not that you won't have better things to do...
Wow! congratulations...or are you foolin'?
The menus there looks amazing...and no Cal Cuisine in sight. Have fun!
Things to know about the culture there:
Hollywood is home to The "PAC Base" of Scientology (Pacific Area Command Base)
Some of the houses there are 20 yrs old!
(LA story with Steve Martin. It is a must see along with Lynch's Mulholland Drive)
The "California Handshake" is a hug not a handshake
They have Freeways there. Not highways
They use a definite article when referring to freeways, as in The 405 or The I 5
The sub-dialects are Hollywierd, Surfer, Dude (Stoner), Valspeak and Gang.
Play it safe and stick to your Spanish
They like say way like a lot you know like way a lot
And in Hollywood, the important thing to remember is, watch out for drunk movie stars driving expensive foreign sedans recklessly through restaurant parking lots and adjacent areas.
I used to take Kinbaku lessons in the Otani Hotel in Little Tokyo, Japantown. It is in the Old Downtown LA, where Sgt. Friday worked. Nice place, great culture. It is adjacent to one of the original and largest Skid Rows.
Nicely done. It makes the burnt-off eyebrows worth it.
Awesome! Congratulations.
Congratulations! I love me some California, particularly LA and Orange County. Have a wonderful time!
I just went back and read your winning entry and good Lord, you didn't WIN this trip, you EARNED it. Have fun!
dean Thanks! I would blog my trip except that my computer is the old-fashioned deskbound kind. Ben has a laptop and a blackberry, so maybe I can figure out how to do some dispatches without his corporate overlords finding out.
m.yu thank you for the primer. I have never been to Los Angeles before, so I am very excited to go. (I've visited N. Cali.) What's the expected way to get from the airport to the hotel?
I love Steve Martin's L.A. story (especially how he drives to his neighbors house). I've never seen Mulholland Drive, but will look for it.
Oh, and I had to google kinbuku. You and your blog are most definately expanding my horizons!
splotchy at the time it happened (1987) I considered suing the landlord, but I did not. Karma has rolled around even if it took 21 years to do it.
sorghum thank you!
cdp you know, I've never had a burning desire to go to L.A., but now that I am - on someone else's dime - I am so excited I can barely stand it. Thanks for saying I earned it. I should have mentioned that the other entries were pretty dang good and been a gracious winner and all that, but sometimes I forget my manners and it's all about me me me.
You rock! Have a blast! At least the weather will be warmer.
Congratulations, Jess! Be sure to get a doggy bag with dessert for me. Or, better, leave Ben at home and take me!
Awesome! My current neck of the woods. Have fun!
Ha! Congratulations! You might get to meet some big Hollywood stars - like Jethro Bodine!
I thought I left a comment yesterday, but blogger tossed it into the big cooking pot no doubt.
This is quite an outstanding piece of news!
Will you bring your Hello Kitty toaster on the road with you?
This will be HBM, or Highly Bloggable Material Jess.
We will ALL be wondering about your adventures.
I hope you know proper etiquette.
I hear he goes apeshit on customers who use the wrong fork.
Yay you! Of course I want a postcard! Do you still have my address? Send me an email if you don't and I'll send you my address. Congrats!
Wow! Congratulations and have a blast!
Huzzuh!!
Wow. Just...wow. Have a good time, eat well and enjoy yourself!
wow
congrats -- i am glad someone as deserving as you guys won!
Having read the submission you posted, I agree you deserve the prize. Congratulations and enjoy!
Iz simply fabolous!
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