SuperG Gallery - Heather's Exhibit

Last night I ventured deep into the netherworld that is L.A.
This was an adventure insofar as life behind the Orange Curtain is...well...different. Sort of like Oz. It is a very protected suburban society, and we view the rest of the urban world from the safety of our homes, via the television, or, better yet, the Internet.

While it was a little unsettling at first to see the continuous lineup of buildings adorned with iron-barred windows, graffiti, undefinable stains, and iron fencing with razor sharp points, suitable for impaling intruders --




-- we then began to emerge into a much cooler area with all sorts of urban chic shops, retro diners, and upscale restaurants that I was absolutely sure hosted at least one or more movie stars. AND Paramount Studios!




Lucky for me (like never before), I was not driving.



We were on this outing to attend Heather's exhibition at the SuperG Gallery in L.A. Heather is our friend and fellow First Impressions group member. She is also a very talented photographer, so while we would have solely gone to see her exhibit to support her as part of our group, we were really looking forward to seeing her work, which is never a letdown.

So, back to the adventure...

After the loooong drive made longer by rad traffic, and then the bumper-to-bumper road-rage-fest that is normal city surface street driving conditions, we were faced with yet another obstacle. No parking.

Bob circled around and around, hunting for the ideal place to park. We found a parking garage, but it had a little murder-mystery vibe to it, so we turned around and left. Looped around, up and down, and then found a normalish looking street right by the gallery, and turned down it. No parking, no parking, no parking -- "WAIT! There's one!" (That's me talking) We were past it, though, so another U-turn or two and we were coming back to it. We saw several cars coming up the street and we were cringing at the thought of losing our great spot, but we were very relieved to see that the five or so cars that drove past it didn't want to park there. Wow! Lucky us!

Not. But that comes later...

It was a short walk to the SuperG, with a Johnny Rockets diner across the street. So, Bob, Rita and I went in and had a sandwich. Like all true camera nerds, we sat there and ate and photographed everything we could inside the restaurant.






Great food, by the way, and the service by the one waitress on duty was probably the best service I've had in years! I mean, this girl was on it!

We leave and go across the street and people are outside mulling around, and we were happy to see it's a pretty good-sized crowd. We go in and spot Heather right away, and she spots us.





They had a pretty wide range of art at the show, including a drawing by Heather's boyfriend (seen above Heather's "Mirror, Mirror" piece), but I have to say that Heather's was the best in the room.





They had a DJ and percussionist, and the music was loud, heavy and tribal. I loved it!





Some other people came to see Heather, so after checking out all the other art, and, of course, taking pictures (I'm obsessed), we said goodbye and walked back to the car.




(Heather and her boyfriend)


It was at this point that the "why" of our earlier good fortune was revealed. The car was safe and sound, and sporting a brand new $45.00 parking ticket.

"Crap!" (That's Bob talking)

Rita and I pitched in our $15.00 share, which took the sting out of it for Bob. And I must say, that parking spot was totally worth $15.00!

The ride home was good - for me, anyway. I had a Mountain Dew on the way up and I get totally wired on those. I talked the whole way up, and the whole way back. I thoroughly enjoyed (listening to) myself.


:-D