03.07.12 Pac 12 @ Staples Center - Los Angeles, CA

View from my room @ the Ritz

Today was a great day. I got to spend some time with my girls (and boys) @ Staples Center. We were out there as visitors of the Pac 12 on a site visit. The MGM was in the running for the 2013-15 bid. We were supposed to be flying under the radar but given my friendships with the gang there, there was no use hiding it. 

Credential check in

Immediately when I hit the credential check in, all the memories came floating back. I spent many a day & night up there doing boxing credentials. I felt a sense of longing - for my old job, my old lifestyle, traveling, meeting people, airports, hotels, different cities, different countries. Now I spend all my time in the same building doing basically the same thing over and over. I'm the equivalent of an insurance agent in a cubicle. I just have better entertainment. 

We take a tour of the arena and backstage with the Pac 12 ops team. I loved that I knew the building as well if not better than they did. I didn't mention it until we bumped into one of my pals, Armen. Then it was hard to hide. He saw me walking with them and was like, "What the… hi! What are you doing here?"

Grabbing a bite in catering

After our once-around with the Pac 12 I broke off from our group and went to hang with my girls Kat and Jen. We went up to the patio and sat in the sunlight. We dished the dirt about our jobs, love lives, the Pac 12, our industries. We talked about how they staffed their building versus how we staffed ours. God, I was embarrassed to tell them how few people we had. Good stuff. Later we headed down to catering and they insisted I have a bite to eat with them. It's funny. No matter what venue you're in, we all kind of act the same. We all head to catering together in packs. 

Staples is a great venue

After a taco salad the girls left and Tim took me around for the inside scoop. Ops are ops no matter if it's basketball or a Gaga concert. The dish you want is about the people. Are they cool, assholes, fun, high maintenance? Who do you need on your side? Who should you watch your back around? Who's clueless? That kind of stuff. This is why I love my relationship with them. They give me the truth and I give it right back at them. I've always said, if I stay in the venue business there are only 3 other places I'd go: Staples, MSG or O2. Staples is at the top of that list. 

USC hits the floor

I didn't want to take up too much of their time so I left shortly after hanging with Tim. We were flying out in a couple hours and I didn't want to overstay my welcome. I left my 2nd favorite building, headed across the street to Wolfgang Puck to meet up with my gang. 

Today was a great day. 

Best For Last

Arrived at LAX this afternoon after a bumpy start out of LAS. The wind was causing serious delays. We were stuck in line for takeoff for about an hour but at least we got off the ground. Flew Delta so I got the upgrade on the tiny plane. I booked all 4 of our tickets so I felt a little guilty for leaving the other 3 behind. Oh who am I kidding. I had no remorse for getting bumped to the forward cabin. I got them exit row seats. If they want to travel the country following a world renown trumpet player racking up frequent flyer miles they're more than welcome to. 

We arrived around 4ish @ the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Los Angeles. Tiny front desk. Actually reminded me of The Martin lobby (pre-reno) here in Vegas where Tequila-guy has a home. The representative tells me don't have a king room available. Instead stuck with 2 queens. I'll live. DQ and Nathalie got kings though. Grrrr. I guess that's my karma trade off for 1st class.

View from Room 2268 @ the Ritz

My view was great. Overlooked the Staples Center, Nokia Theatre and LA Live. The Ritz is contained on floors 22, 23 & 24. I am not certain but I believe the lower floors are the JW Marriott and the upper floors are The Ritz-Carlton Residences at LA Live. Kind of like how in Vegas the Four Seasons is atop Mandalay Bay and how Mandarin Oriental has residences within their hotel - but this is all combined in 1 complex. I liked the small boutique-feel within this massive complex. 

Decor of the room is great. Warm yet modern. Crisp clean lines with a tad bit of hip decor. Fresh tulip & lily trumpet buds. Huge HDTV with the standard irritating remote that you have to push buttons more than twice to get the channels to change after navigating thru the menu. The remote wasn't dirty but I didn't get the sense that anyone had cleaned it in a while either. 

Bath/Shower combo

Loved the decor of the bathroom. Again, totally reminded me of The Martin only with the dominant colors reversed - but similar color scheme. Since I had 2 queen beds in my room my bath/shower combo was a little different than the king rooms. In the king rooms the tub is separate from the shower but BOTH are within the glass. So you walk thru the shower to get to the tub. Kinda cool. 

So the Ritz was by far one of the best hotels I've ever stayed in - but here's the deal. Do the people who pick the fixtures and design the space actually think about functionality? Again, one of the BEST rooms I've ever stayed in and it was beautiful but take a look at the shower. Look at where the bath faucet is. It's hard to tell from the pic and to tell how big the lip of the tub is but you have to literally get INTO it to turn it on. I don't know about you but I like to turn on the shower and get it warm before I hop in. And even if you just run the tub faucet to get the temp right you still have to be IN the tub to reach the  faucet - that is unless you've got the wingspan of Kris Humphries. And the glass partition is permanent. Even being careful I still got water all over the floor because 3/5ths of the shower is open. That's peeve #1. 

Looks lovely

Peeve #2. The double sink. It was so sleek & contemporary. At first glance I loved it. In fact I thought, "That's something I'd put in my bathroom."  Then I went to wash my face. *Bamb* Smacked my forehead on the spout. That prompted a very loud, "FUCK." Ok, you could claim user error on this one but again, unless you're 6'6" you'd prob hit your head too. So you have to lean to the side or to the front which leads to water getting everywhere. And the spout is so high that even when you wash your hands, water splashes all over. Gorgeous, not practical. I guess who cares if you're in a hotel, right? I care. Get it right. I bet housekeeping cares too. They're the ones who have to clean all the water spots from the sink, mirror and floor. 

Robe wrapped so nicely

Peeve #3. The placement of the robe(s). The pic you see is a reflection in the mirror. That room with the frosted glass houses the toilet. It's on the other side of the double sink - across from where the bath/shower is. I get why they put it there but doesn't it make more sense to put it near the bath? I don't know about you but when I get out of the shower it would be nice to have the robe handy and not have to walk across the bathroom to get it. The other robe was in the closet, which I understand because it's the backup, but come on. By the loo? There was space to put it near the tub. Details.

Peeve #4. Same pic. The tv in the mirror. It's the new thing. Great except that the only channels you get are the 'Los Angeles Infomercials' about what to do in town. At least give me the local stations so I can get the weather & traffic reports or see who won Ohio.

Ok. I realize these are fatuous nitpicks. Even to me. It's just something to write about. These are the things that go thru my mind. If I ever get a chance to design my own space - I mean REALLY design it - these are the kinds of details I think about. 

Now the Best For Last - the beds. The bedding was delish. So soft but somehow crisp. The down pillows were steal-worthy. I could have laid in bed all day. Sadly, while I was trying to fall asleep all I could think about was the last time I was in sheets like that was the last time I was with Counselor. (I need to stop interjecting him into every Goddamn post.)

In the morning I ordered Eggs Benedict. I'd been jonesing for them for months. Bene in a lux bed did not disappoint. Thank you Ritz. Thank you.

10.01.11 Kings vs. Avalanche @ MGM Grand Garden Arena - Las Vegas, NV

Kings arrive. Boys in suits! 

Just realized it's been a long time since I've posted. Lots of stuff happening in my personal life but no one but me cares so I'll try and back-post the events since Groban.

The past weekend we had the boys of hockey. The LA Kings vs. the CO Avalanche. I actually hate hockey as a sport. Zzzz. And I'm from Minnesota so I realize that's sacrilegious but man, do I LOVE the hockey players. Those boys are beautiful human specimens... and the best part, they arrive and depart in suits. Good suits. And they're so polite.

The guys from the Kings exec office are great to work with too. Every year it's a pleasure. No coincidence their home is Staples Center, my 2nd favorite venue on earth. Of course the MGM Grand Garden Arena is #1. They direct deposit money into my account twice a month. 

The team making ice.

Sprinkler-thingy.

Once of the coolest things is to watch them make ice. We went from on of the biggest nights in music history with iHeart Radio the weekend before to freezing water and driving Zambonis @ the arena. We have a system in the concrete floor that chills it enough to freeze water. We have this sprinkler-type thingy (yep, that's the technical term) with white paint mixed in and they just spray it along the perimeter of the dashers and work inward. Much like the route the Zamboni takes. Couple of layers of that, then they paint on the logos, then more ice. In total it takes about 4 days for us. 

George Bennett on the ice

Look closely. See the cracks?

1 perk of my job is access & having fun when I can so I brought George Bennett in to play on the ice. 1st mistake, I walk out onto the ice with him IN heels. Yeah, I didn't think that one through. I take 2 steps and c-r-a-c-k! My heel dug in and a series of massive spider cracks split the ice just as if I walked out onto Lake Calhoun in spring in Minneapolis. I freaked out. I thought for sure I screwed up the ice and Matthew Ball, our resident ice guru would hate me. But the damage was already done so I tried to get George Bennett to play. He had no interest. The hair on his paws were sticking to the ice. It was funny. Anyhow, turns out the ice cracks all the time. We have to keep it so cold that it is prone to cracking. They fix it before the game. Whew. Crisis averted. But in my apologetic email trail they managed to fuck with me and tell me they'd have to start all over. I love my guys. Wouldn't be any fun if they didn't fuck with me. 

I wanna drive a Zamboni...

So meanwhile, as we're doing hockey in the arena, we're also doing a boxing event in the Marquee Ballroom at the same time. Luckily hockey and boxing are manageable or I'd be out of my mind. There's only 1 of me and it's hard to be in 2 places at once. I'll post Nishioka vs. Marquez separately. 

And on top of it all, my big brother David came into town for a couple hours. He flew in from the Twin Cities for 8 hours, primarily just to accumulate miles but also to have dinner with his favorite (only) sister. So after getting doors open for boxing and then hockey, I meet him at my Happy Place, Seablue and we had a great night of goodies.

We love the hockey fans!

Next up @ the Grand Garden is Journey with Foreigner and Night Ranger but Chris Botti is playing @ Green Valley Ranch the same night so the plan is to get doors open for Journey, head to GVR for Botti and head back to the arena to close the show. That's the plan anyhow. It's the end to the Year of Botti so I hope nothing goes wrong at the arena or I'm hauling my ass to Phoenix to see him @ Danny Zelisko's joint with Mick Treadwell. I'd actually go just to see Mick and skip Botti. Love Mick. To death. 

Not sure what I'm gonna call this blog after the Year of Botti is done but I'll think of something. Or maybe it will just have to remain the Year or Botti. I kinda like the sound of it. And his music really did inspire me to travel, live and forgive. All things worthy of a girl's blog title.