we have these things called summer days at work, where in the independence-to-labor day span, we get some bonus vacation days to take if things are slow and we can squeeze in some extra time to enjoy the summer. since i took a long real vacation in july, i’d been saving these extra days, and this weekend i cashed in two of them for a nice four day break. during that time, i squeezed in a lot of fun.

thursday night i made the slightly heinous after-work drive out to rancho cucamonga to record a podcast with spencer, which is up now if you haven’t got it yet. we talked about some cool movies (like in the loop, go see it!), interesting books (i maintain netherland is great, he disagreed, but world war z is outright good, i promise), along with flaming lips, some video game stuff, etc.

friday we hit up a new bar called darkroom on melrose for jen’s birthday, which i really liked. it got pretty crowded as the night went on (we arrived around 9:30), but the crowd was young and hip and the prices were decent and the decor was low key, dark, and leathery. worth a visit.

saturday was just fantastic. after some afternoon battlefield (if you’re still not playing this yet, get on your xbox and get it, it’s the best thing ever), we went to a super-delicious and fairly expensive/fancy dinner at the bazaar on la cienega at the SLS hotel for spencer and john’s birthdays. one of those super-gourmet places that use a bunch of interesting processes and interesting ingredients to make creative dishes. we ate foie gras wrapped in cotton candy. the most tender little lamb cutlets i’ve ever had. a crazy little mini-philly cheesesteak that blew our minds, which i’m not even sure how they pulled off. guacamole dumplings. caprese salad where the mozzarella came in little spheres of liquid that dissolve in your mouth… it was pretty spectacular. if you ever feeling like dropping a sizable chunk on an LA dinner, i’d put this on the short list. delicious fun. i even rallied in time to drive down to playa afterward for mike and haley’s birthdays. man, i’m a party animal.

sunday, afternoon baseball game with justin and a few others, at which i got to rub in jessica’s face a cubs victory, with bonus post-game pizza at masa bakery, another good spot. it’s been a sweet weekend of new LA eat-and-drink-eries, apparently. i love living in a city of endless delights.

then monday… basically nothing. i’d already spent a fortune and eaten a boatload, so i mostly sat around reading other than a much-needed gym trip. man, with all the goodness we crammed in, i am only more convinced that my life would be at least 20% better with permanent four-day work weeks. let’s do it, america!