December 11: Orthopedic Hospital Research Center at UCLA

December 12: I love going for dim sum at Empress Pavilion in Chinatown. The food is always delicious. Afterward, I like to check out the shops. They take me back to the days when I coveted anything and everything Sanrio. These flowers are part of an origami display at a store called Happy Place.

December 13: I went out dancing Friday night with a longtime blog friend. We met up at the Royale on Wilshire for Turn off the Radio 6. The party was fun, at least after people decided to start dancing. Oh yeah, what’s up with a club just north of MacArthur Park calling itself “the crown jewel of the Eastside”? That’s just wrong.

Later that evening, I had lots of soy tacos at the Asi Soy taco party. I had to dance up a storm to keep warm.

December 14: Lately, flying makes me feel really queasy. At least I don’t have to travel much these days.

December 15: After my morning meeting in Oakland, I took BART in to the city. I met up with Rio in the mission. We had lunch, beer, and tried to avoid rain and hail while going on an impromptu Lotería scavenger hunt. I can’t wait to finish up the project.

December 16: My apartment stays cool year round. It’s nice in the summer because I don’t even need a fan. However, in the winter it gets too cold (yes, by LA standards) to go without my small heat dish. I sleep much more comfortably when I’m not shivering.

December 17: I avoided the rain most of Wednesday, but went out at night for The Virgins show at the Troubador in West Hollywood. My friend David introduced me to the band and suggested we go to the show. It was fun, but the sound mixing was off. I was blocked by tall guys, so I couldn’t get any pictures of the band. That’s okay, the red and black drum kit was the hottest thing on stage anyway.

December 18: I caught up with some of my fellow advisees and advisor over a potluck dinner. I brought dessert.

December 19: Wendy invited me to an ugly Christmas sweater party. DB and I went to 7 different stores and couldn’t find the required ugly Christmas sweaters. I improvised with my outfit (green $4 Christmas t-shirt, red sweater vest) and added small Christmas tree ornaments to DB’s sweater. It was a hit.

December 20: I found some ugly Christmas sweaters at the Puro Pedo Magazine Christmas party. Jake and Esbeydy bought the sweaters over the summer. I made my sister put one on, she’s a good sport.