Something in the air

Okay, lots to talk about this weekend, but it's so hot in my apartment right now I can't promise a cohesive post.

I've written about this before, but I've never bothered to buy an air conditioner. Seeing as I have a freakishly low natural body temperature (I'm always cold), and because LA doesn't really get that hot, and because my apartment gets a great cross-breeze, a fan or two in my windows - especially at night - typically suffice. But the temperatures have been well into the 90's here for the last few days and the thermostat on my wall reads nearly the same, so even I'm ready for some relief. In the time it's taken me to write this, I've sat in a cold bath, dropped ice cubes down my bra, and have compulsively contemplated picking up some beer. Though I should probably wait til my shirt dries, first.

Compounding the heat as well as blowing in the wind and into my open windows is the huge wildfire you may have heard we're having. Here are some photos I took from my office on Friday:

And from Century City, yesterday:

Today, I can still see plumes of smoke from my apartment, which, trust me, is miles and miles away from this thing. On Friday, it reminded me a little bit of September 11th, when, even on 86th street, we could see - and smell - the smoke rising up from downtown. Now, though, this fire has become it's own memory - something entirely unique to LA. File this under one more reason I would prefer to live by the beach. And God bless the firefighters working in this heat while I'm schvitzing just sitting here.

Yesterday, when it was 101 degrees, I had a family picnic/reunion in the middle of a sunny park in Beverly Hills. To call it a reunion would imply that I'd met these people before; the truth is, I'd only previously met two out of the twenty. Most were, at minimum, cousins three times removed (my grandmother's cousins, basically) but it was really nice to meet them and make the connections.

You may have noticed that, over there on the left, I finally have some advertising! Please click on it and help me make a million dollars! Just kidding. I don't really expect it to make me much, if any money. But, I figure, every little bit will help. Maybe I should start an air conditioning fund. Or at least put it towards a beach house.

Last week, I mentioned that we ran into Kevin Connolly up in Santa Ynez. Well, a couple nights ago, I had a dream (cue MLK) in which he was my boyfriend. When I remembered it the next day, I was hit with a strange sense of deja vu - an odd feeling that that was somehow familiar. Then I remembered: shortly before I moved to LA (right around the time that Entourage started), I had a dream back then that he was my boyfriend. He was dating Nicky Hilton, then, though, and in the dream, I was afraid of moving to LA because Nicky was going to be out to get me. I mean, that would NOT be starting out on the right foot! I have to admit, this isn't exactly what I meant when I wished for a "dream boyfriend" but I guess I'll take what I can get.

In other celebrity news, I was so crushed to hear about DJ AM's death. I saw him spin at an event a few years ago, and he was amazing. I say that not as a music aficionado, but as someone who doesn't know the first thing about music yet knew immediately, inherently, that that kid was talented. This summer has been ridiculous with celebrity deaths, and I can't help but wonder if more people are dying or if I'm just at an age where I know all of them.

UPDATED 8/31 - Our Pasadena office is closed today because of the fire. While normally I would be thrilled to work from home, I was really looking forward to the air conditioning.