A Full Day in LA

This morning I decided to take the 20-minute walk to the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Who knew that there was a really steep hill to climb between my hotel and it! As I was about to reach the crest of the hill, a young man with a two-way radio asked if I would mind waiting until they finished filming a commercial. So I stood there chatting with him for a minute or so before he said I could go. As I crested the hill, two handsome, well-dressed men walked down a short flight of granite steps in front of a bank, one said, "Are you in the commercial?" When I answered in the negative, he said, "Well, you are now." I figure that I will end up on the cutting room floor.

If I hadn't known that Frank Gehry designed the Concert Hall, I would have as soon as I saw it since it sports the same curving metal panels as that of the Weatherhead School of Business on the Case Western campus. Apparently it also had weather-related issues. In Cleveland it is sheets of ice sliding off the panels; in LA the panels had to be sanded to a matte finish because they were creating hot spots of over 140 degrees on the sidewalk. Perhaps just a bit too much function following form?

The third floor roof top garden is lovely. There was a children's program going on while I was there. I loved the Instrument Petting Zoo. There were several violins being petted while I was there.

Then it was a brisk walk back to my hotel with no commercials being filmed.

And then for the reason I am here: Michelle Kwan. After a dress rehearsal than ran late, I met up with a group of fans of Michelle and Yu-Na Kim's for a bite to eat. After a mad dash back to my hotel to put warmer clothes on, I walked briskly back to the Staples Center, getting into my front row seat a minute before the show started.

What a show it was! Michelle was as magical as ever. She casts a spell like no other. And she can still jump. And that gorgeous spiral? Oh, yes. She did it the full length of the rink just like the good old days. Not bad for a thirty-year-old.