February 23, 2022
I wanted to reminisce about a perfect weekend a few weeks ago. On Friday, February 4, 2022, my friend group had dinner at Yangban Society in the Arts District. The food was mid, but the vibes were on point. I enjoyed their pre-made cocktails. Afterwards, we went to karaoke and I did my usual songs. It inspired me to maybe start writing and singing songs on the guitars since my voice sounded great on the mic. Naturally, this inspiration coincided with my fervent consumption of Adrienne Lenker's Songs album, and the new Big Thief album (especially the songs Flower of Blood and Simulation Swarm). I ended up sleeping over at Plymouth.
On Saturday, Jackson, Steph, Evan, Sangwon, and I took a drive around Baldwin Hills, View Park-Windsor Hills, and Inglewood. We did not miss Jake and Elisa. I would like to live there in the future (if I am in Los Angeles). It was such a picturesque drive, and we saw some amazing houses. Jackson was a great driver. We then saw some of SoFi Stadium pre-Super Bowl, and then had dinner at Jon & Vinny's. What a great meal (especially the Ham & Yeezy pizza and spicy fusilli), sound tracked by fire music. Afterwards, we went back to Plymouth and watched Drive My Car. My initial impressions were that the movie was just “okay” after it ended (four-star review on Letterboxd), but it has stuck with me, especially the 40-minute introduction and the multiplicity of texts (Chekov in multiple languages embedded in the play, embedded in the movie) coursing through the three-hour drama.
The next day, Sunday, Evan, Sangwon, and I met up at Union Los Angeles to pick-up our raffle tickets for the Union Passport Dunks (Evan and I ended up winning). Afterwards, we went for a tough hike in Hollywood Hills. It was a great bonding experience. Sangwon was struggling. We enjoyed nice views at the summit. I saw the Hollywood sign up-close for the first time. After we climbed back down, we had naengmyeon at a hole-in-the-wall. When we went back, Steph was throwing a tantrum in her room because she was not invited to the hike (even though Sangwon had asked if she wanted to come).