We figured out that between Friday night and Sunday night, we had spent about 18 hours in the car.



Four of those hours were spent driving south through the barren, deserty part of California to Lost Hills, where we stopped for Friday night. It was hot as hell. When we left Oakland it was about 65 degrees - typical - but in Lost Hills it was about 85 at 11 p.m. When we left at 9 the next morning it was already in the 80s, heading toward 100. Definitely not my scene.



We drove south for about through hours, over the Santa Monica Mountains, where the car almost overheated, and into L.A. We went straight into the valley to Thousand Oaks, where we were staying at the lovely Motel 6. From there it was back into the fog, in Ventura, and south along the coastal highway to Malibu, where it was gorgeous. We chilled at Zuma Beach for about two hours before going back to the valley. But at the beach I just had to call a couple of friends trapped in land-locked states. I’m really sweet like that.



Ben was exhausted, but we got back in the car a short while later to meet up with Charles, who was nice enough to show us around Santa Monica and surrounding areas. We walked along the packed promenade, watching little wonderkids playing guitar and singing. My eyes were focused on potential celebrity spottings, though. Unfortunately, there was none of that. We grabbed dinner at an Italian place and headed a town away to Venice for a party. The party was at a really cute beach house, so I was completely focused on heading over to the water. We were told that Venice isn't the safest beach at night, but it was very cool there.



After some L.A. wandering, we went back to Thousand Oaks and completely crashed - thank God - because the next day was exhausting. We were in the car for 80 percent of it, but it was a killer.



We decided to take 101 and 1 up the coast on our way back to the Bay Area. The fog thing is so weird in CA. I'm not used to anything like that invading the East Coast, but this heavy fog will descend and totally take over for miles and miles. Then, there will be bright blue skies for just as long before the fog returns. Weird.



Well, there was absolutely spectacular weather in Santa Barbara, where we hung around the beach and wharf for a while before lunching on State St. It was just a perfect coastal California city. We also had this kick-ass ice cream at a creamery (Cold Stone?), where the employees mushed the toppings into the icea cream using scoopers instead of blenders. I had my ice cream in a chocolate-covered waffle bowl that was beyond description.



The rest of the drive was insane, we decided to take 1 from San Luis Obispo to Monterrey. Things looked good for a while, we were on a 55-mph road offering gorgeous coastal views, but then we went into some mountains and we ended up spending hours on windy, slow roads. Once we hit Big Sur, things started to speed up and, finally, at Carmel, we were on normal streets. But we just had to stop for a bit in Carmel because the sun was setting. We found this awesome white-sand beach and hung out there for a bit before heading back to 101 to trudge past SIlicon Valley and into East Bay.



Oy. Just writing about it exhausts me.



Anyway, there should be photos soon. Hint hint.

My first trip to L.A.



Well, we're driving about four hours south tonight to East Bumblefuck, CA. Tomorrow morning, early, we'll continue to the luxurious, posh Motel 6 in Thousand Oaks, which is like 30 minutes from L.A., really close to Malibu.



My only demands are that we loiter in Beverly Hills and hang around some warm CA beaches since everything up here in the Bay Area is freezing at all times.

A revelation!



Part of my Britney Spears adoration comes from my absolute love of the Disney Channel's MMC. I would curse my family for not subscribing to the channel and anxiously wait for the free preview weeks. Any kid who loved to sing or dance must have been all over this show (or the comparable Kids Incorporated, featuring a young Jennifer Love Hewitt).



Anyone who used to watch "The All New Mickey Mouse Club" in the early 90s will love this site. It has song clips from every season, including the final two, which featured Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake along with the seasoned vets, J.C. and Keri Russel. I must admit, my favorite on the show wasn't Britney, but Jennifer. When a girl I went to high school with told me that she ran into Jennifer in an elevator at NYU, I was very jealous - the girl can sing. Anyway, there are photos, videos and sound clips for the MMC fans to check out. Where else can you hear Britney and Christina singing together?

Which of the following did TJ see this week?



A. A huge peacock chillin on the side of the road in the foggy, cold Berkeley hills.

B. A man with a particularly active case of Tourette's Syndrome on the subway.

C. Two members of N Sync en route to their tour bus in downtown San Francisco.

D. All of the above.



You guessed it; D. INteresting few days.



Other highlights include an above-average party last night in Duboce Triangle, going to the Ansel Adams Center with Terri and seeing the unfairly reviewed "America's Sweethearts." I thought it was pretty funny, cute, intelligent and both the leading and supporting actors were solid, btw.

Did you ever think I'd be on Badpuppy?

I couldn't care less about cycling, but you better believe I'll be checking Lance Armstrong's progress throughout the week.

Hell yeah.

If you've never been to San Francisco, check out this photo project from ktheory.com. It has some great shots of downtown.

My usual sick cycle lasts five days. On day one, I feel the beginnings of sniffles and start to panic, but still get a decent night's sleep. When I wake up on day two, I'm OK, but by dinner, I'm toast. Day three finds me at my headachy, congested, whiny worst. Day four shows slight improvement and by the end of day five, I'm almost 100 percent better.



Yesterday, though, I woke up and was fine. I even made breakfast in bed (improvising for the lack of syrup by using vanilla syrup, sugar and honey), but by the time we saw Legally Blonde (not as good as it's model, Clueless, but enjoyable), I was not happy. Bewtween dinner and bed I was pouting, storming around and talking about cutting my face off.



But, miraculously, after Ben found an Aleve Cold & Sinus pill, I peacefully fell asleep and have been mostly decongested ever since.



Freakish 12-hour cold or momentary calm before the storm?

I really want to learn to spin just so I can be DJ TJ.

IamhereattheKremlin/QoolpartyandthereisInterneteverywhere

butthisparticularcomputerhasnospacekey.Hahaha.So,hi.

Marion says I should update so...



Yesterday Ben and I drove through the mountains and down the coastal highway to go to Monterey, which I'd heard a lot about. It was only moderately fun, mostly because it was foggy (wtf, there is no fog on New Jersey beaches) and freezing. For some ridiculous reason, Ben didn't want to go to a beach to watch the sunset, so I had to turn my head 90 degrees to see the pinks and oranges through the car window. Good times.



Today, Terri comes up from Palo Alto and we're all gonna get our drink on. You know what I'm sayin'? Wink wink.



Oh, and by the way, If I don't see Legally Blonde before the weekend is over, I'll be in hysterics.

Speaking of babies, my picture was added to the web babies project over at wannabegirl.org.

My dream baby. "Yo ass don't match yo bitch."

Bitch, you are funny! It's like...a little bit das krack haus, a little bit rock and roll.

Mom: What did you do this weekend?



TJ: Uh...a lot of drinking, I guess.



Ben and I went into the Mission with Beth and a couple of her friends on Friday night to bar hop. My night-long quest for a Buttery Nipple finally ended at our final bar, the Lexington, total lesbian bar. It was so insane, to the point where this guy who was macking on Ben while he waited for our drinks actually said, "Are you a guy or a girl?" Because you just could not tell there.



Saturday night was a birthday party at 111 Minna, immediately followed by Looq Hard. More drinking, mostly gross things like foreign beers and ... wine. But I succeeded in getting thoroughly drunk, drunk enough to dance for a good long while with Ben and even, after much begging, to jump up on the stage with him.



Brought it down a couple of levels yesterday, doing the domesticated thing. We bought glasses and a blender before hitting the supermarket (Safeway sucks ass). Then we had a picnic at the beach. Aren't you jealous? Well, don't be. It was really cold, really foggy and we forgot to bring towels. But, still, it could be 30 degrees and snowing and I'd still love being at the beach.



What's up for this week? More of this. Laying around, that is. I hear about one job tomorrow. No biggie either way. Also, Terri is flying in today to spend the summer in Palo Alto. I guess my departure was too much for her to handle... :) So, that's great. I'll have a little partner in crime this week while Ben's slaving away for the man.

I was standing on the corner of Mission and 6th, talking to Lauren on my cell because I was about 15 minutes early for my interview. As I chatted, I noticed a young, dark-haired girl without all her teeth saunter out of a nearby motel in shorts and a halter top. She saw me in my black suit, lingering on a sketchy street corner and assumed I wanted some play. So I had a prostitute circling me for about five minutes while I talked to a friend. I didn't leave right away because I thought it was hysterical, but when she passed by and whispered something inaudibly, it was time to tear ass across the street.

Sometimes you just wanna send a big fuck you out into the cosmos.



So... Fuck you, asshole. Maybe I mean you.

On Saturday, when I left, the temperature was 95. When I landed at Oakland Airport, a billion hours later, it was in the 60s.



Despite leaving an inferno for weather paradise, I was pretty emotional. Seeing, hearing and feeling my mom cry as we said goodbye was tough. I sort of laughed at her as it was happening, as I'm apt to do, but when I was walking down the ranp toward the plane I teared up - just a bit.



But ... I am happy.