Glog

Dakah + Date

I went to the new Frank Gehry designed Disney Music Hall on Sunday to see a performance by the Dakah Hip-Hop Orchestra. Dakah is a 45 piece orchestra that includes two turntablists, and a troup of MCs and singers. I had seen this group before at Royce Hall at UCLA about 6 months ago. Well, Dakah brought the house down with numerous standing ovations.

I think the biggest thrill for me was that famed beatbox phenom Rahzel from the Roots crew showed up unexpectedly to perform with them. I even had a date to this one and it went well. Susan was one cool chica - not hostile in the least, totally into the music and easy to talk to. And she told me she "couldn't have asked for better company" - what a compliment!! She's from Moorehead, Minnesota, and had a detectable accent like the one in that movie Fargo. The way she says "minnesuta" is so cute. The concert was her treat. In return, I was going to take her to the Mos Def concert next week. I say "was" since I just found out an hour ago that it's been cancelled. I haven't told Susan yet. I need a plan B, and fast.

I wasn't my best on this date, being dehydrated from playing baseball in the valley all afternoon in 30 degree heat and not having eaten since breakfast. I couldn't go into background mode because she kept asking me questions about myself. So I had to open my mouth and speak, putting myself in grave danger of wrecking everything. The interesting thing about meeting new people is that they don't seem to think you are quite as boring and unremarkable as you see yourself. Being Canadian still had some novel value and she found it interesting. She asked me a lot about taxes and immigration. I thought maybe she was on to my scheme to marry for a greencard. She wanted to know what a semiconductor was and what I did at work, etc.

After the concert, it was 10pm and everything in LA was closed. She knew I was about to faint from hunger so she agreed to join me for a late dinner. The only place we both knew would be open was BCD Tofu House in Korea Town, which is open 24HRs. She thought my country-ass wouldn't know how to get there and said just stay on Wilshire and it's between Vermont and Western. Vermont and Western? For those of you unfamiliar with LA, that's basically ALL of Korea Town, a good 3-4 freeway exit span. I told her, isn't it at Normandie and Wilshire? She said no, Normandie is parallel with Wilshire. I was looking stupid. I better shutup and do what she says. My whole perception of downtown LA had shifted into some nexus where Normandie isn't where I thought it was. She worked downtown, she must know what she's talking about.

We took separate cars and reached at about the same time. And lo, I was infact right. BCD was right at Normandie and Wilshire. They do intersect. She later told me that I'm smarter than I look. I think that was a compliment.

Over dinner (I had bibimbap, she the vegetarian tofu soup, or jige, in Korean), she told me that she was a pescatarian (a vegetarian who eats fish, I reckon, or a member of some crazy christian sect) and does yoga. When all the side dishes came, Susan gave me her fish which still had the head attached. Susan said she couldn't eat it since the eyeballs grossed her out. So then I had two fish, or 4 eyeballs infront of me. But I put them aside and didn't eat them as to not gross her out even more. I think I ate all the kimchi they served.

I was feeling lightheaded and visibly tired but somehow managed to hold Susan's interest throughout the meal. I guess spacing meals 12 hours apart is not a good thing. The bill was only $20 after tip. She put up no resistance when I paid; a good sign, or so I'm told. When we parted, I would have kissed her, but I thought I better not because I had eaten too much kimchi. I was standing there in the parking lot like a dumbass as the conversation dragged along giving me ample time to do something. But she got sick of waiting and pulled me in for a hug.

Posted by G at March 16, 2004 11:03 AM | TrackBack