The sun is shining, the grass is green
The orange and palm trees sway
There's never been such a day
In Beverly Hills, L.A.
But it's December the twenty-fourth
And I am longing to be up north

The above, as some may know, is the verse to White Christmas. I can't help but think about it today (well, yesterday). As you will note my Twitter states:

The sun is shining, the grass is green,
the orange and palm trees sway.
There's never been such a day, in Los Feliz, LA.
But it's December the 24,
and I am thinking of those up north...

After an eventful evening, harkening back to the Reason for the Season, I bid thee all, a Merry Christ-mass.

Like I was saying...

Life is never boring, but some people choose to be bored.
~ Wayne Dyer

Life

I suppose with a title like that I could quote C.S. Lewis and say something real philosophical but I don't think I have the time to write it. As a dear friend of mine has pointed out: "Real life is never boring!" So, just so nobody starts worrying about me if I don't post for a while I'll give you an idea of what I'll be up to the next few weeks:

1) Thanksgiving - innocent enough one would think, but there's a catch... I'm helping with the meal for the church that day... which of course requires starting tomorrow. Wouldn't you if you had to make sure 50 lb of turkey was ready for the meal the next day?
2) The Saturday after Thanksgiving there is a wedding - guess what? I'm helping decorate the day before and get the food for the reception ready
3) the following Monday I'm helping my mom finish my dad's office because do to an accident we were unable to finish the other week (the said injury that resulted from the accident, is now well on the way to returning to normal... even if it is still incredibly sore)
4) December 1st is a big day - not only is this day of the big Christmas event in my wonderful little neighborhood, it is also the day all the Sunday School kids come to hear stories about St Nicholas and make cookies and of course see good ol' St Nick (not the one you would see in the mall mind you) This means that not only am I helping with kids that day, but also leading up to this date I will be helping to make the famous St Nicholas cookies.
5) December 9th - Not only is this day the annual visit for the Bishop, it is also the day that those from the Confirmation class are confirmed and... it is the day my dad is officially made the rector of SMA (yes I know he's been here nearly 9 months) This requires, you guessed it, more food preparation.
6) The Sunday before Christmas is the Christmas pageant, which I some how ended up having a part in... you'll never guess what part was assigned to me... (if you'd care to guess you can leave a comment) so I will be learning my part, helping with the kids and in general helping out.
7) Christmas Day - Yet another event that sounds innocent, but no, there is food preparation for the Christmas Day meal after twelve o'clock mass. (of course there is the traditional family things as well...)

These events are of course on top of my normal activities... but you know what? I don't mind a bit. Sure my life is topsy-turvy at the moment but whose life doesn't have those times? I am looking forward to finding out how they do Christmas around here. The holiday season will be different from what I'm used to, but I'm finding myself slowly getting into the holiday spirit.

Who says life is boring?

The Answer to Everything...

I've come to realize something in the short time that I've lived in the LA area... The answer to nearly every question can be summed up in two (or three depends on how you count it) words: "It's Hollywood."

For example:
• the prices on the menu at a restaurant are extremely high... It's Hollywood
• it takes an hour or more to get some where that should take a few minutes... It's Hollywood
• there's either a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf or Starbucks on every other corner... It's Hollywood
• the price for just about anything is way more than it should be... It's Hollywood
• when you see spotlights shinning up into the sky you know that either there is movie premiering or a new restaurant opening... It's Hollywood
• you see a movie poster nearly everywhere you look... It's Hollywood
• you see a equipment truck for Buena Vista sitting outside your grocery store... It's Hollywood
• you see a high number of Mickey Mouse and assorted Disney character shirts... It's Hollywood
• in one night you see not one but two red carpets at different theaters... It's Hollywood
• when going to the bookstore at Sunset and Vine you find yourself walking on stars that didn't get a spot on Hollywood Blvd... It's Hollywood
• you wonder why the highway splits are always right together resulting in a strange dance of cars as they try to get on and off the freeway at the same time... It's Hollywood
• when going down the street you pass a billboard that is entirely in Spanish... It's Hollywood
• when going down the street you pass a billboard that is entirely in Thai... It's Hollywood
• when going down the street you pass a billboard that is entirely in Armenian... It's Hollywood
• you get more nervous driving a buggy through Costco than driving on the LA freeway system... It's Hollywood
• you are more afraid of being run over by a buggy than a car... It's Hollywood
• when you can stand in one place and hear at least five different languages being spoken and non of them are English... It's Hollywood
• when you hear sirens nearly all the time... It's Hollywood
• when you hear someone screeching on their brakes you cringe and wait for the BANG... It's Hollywood
• when you know you can find just about anything you want as long as you are willing to drive to get it... It's Hollywood

It's Hollywood... You get the idea ;-)

Adventures with...

Well, this is a little late in coming but better late than never.

I would like to tell you a story...

Last Friday (October 19th), my Mom, little brother and I were headed to LAX to pick up my Dad and Fr Beau in the church van (mini-van) at 5:30 pm PST. As we made our way across town, weaving through the ill-planned freeway system, we were laughing at jokes being made, and talking about the traffic and how it all ways seemed that they put the different freeway junctions in the strangest spots. At approx. 5:15 pm we had gotten through the thickest part of the traffic (we were sailing down the freeway at 15 to 20 mph) and were probably about 15 to 20 minutes from LAX when we heard a roaring sound. My mom said, "Is that one of the other cars?" So we waited and while we were waiting Mom dropped our speed a bit. The roar changed pitch. Once another car passed us, Mom said: "That's us." So she began moving us toward the side of the freeway. As she was changing lanes the roar was joined but a violent shaking of the van. What ended up be the side of the freeway was the V of an on-ramp onto the freeway. So she moved the car over the on-ramp to the wall. As the cars zoomed by us Mom said: "You call, Dad and I'll call AAA." I called Dad and told him of our predicament and told him that we would be late to pick them up. My mom meanwhile was getting AAA and her conversation went something like this:
"This is AAA how can I help you?"
"Hi, I have a flat tire on the I-110."
"ooooo."
"Yeah."
"Can you tell me which tire it is?"
"The front drivers side."
"Can you tell me where you are?"
"We are at Call Box 110 175."
"Great! I know exactly where you are I can see you."
"How long will it take the tow truck?"
"About 25 minutes."
"That's wonderful thank you."
"You're welcome."

So for 25 minutes we sat at the side of I-110 S waiting for the tow truck and watching the cars whip by us. 25 minutes later, the tow truck pulled up in front of us, and we could immediately see that the driver was trying to figure out how he was going to change our tire without getting himself run over. He was a friendly little guy, and we were quickly laughing when he told Mom to move to the back of the car without getting out of the car. As it turned out I moved and let Mom just slide to the passenger seat. Then our friendly tow truck driver tried to release the spare tire. Well, after he said: "No good." three times we all pilled into his tow truck which would seat two safely. Anyway, once we (the three Ks) were in the passenger side we quickly discovered that the truck door wouldn't close because it had wedged itself into the wall. Well the friendly tow truck driver put his back against the side of the truck, planted his feet on the wall and pushed, all the while trying to pull the door closed. When this didn't work, as we left he pulled away from the wall and were able to close the door.

We then made our way off the freeway and to a tire shop which was a good ways from the freeway but much closer to the airport and was in fact on the incoming flight path for the planes. So we could see all the planes lining up and shinning there lights so it looked like little fairies flying through the air. It was after they got the car off the tow truck that we first saw the tire. The tire was a shredded blown-out mass of rubber. We laughed as we watched the tire flop around on the rim as they drove up to one the lifts. It wasn't too long after that we were on our way to the airport again.

Now let me say this: we had a blow-out. Had we not been in rush hour traffic we could have lost control and well... one scenario is that I wouldn't be writing this post right now. Had we left at 4 o'clock like we had originally planned we would have been going a lot faster than we were.

That said, God was watching over us. How many times do you think He change our plans so that something bad doesn't happen?

A New Kelley

Yesterday, the Kelley family welcomed it's newest member of the family: Haven Marie Kelley.

(they say a picture is worth a thousand words)


FYI: this picture was taken when Haven was just a few minutes old. ;-)

The Opening Night

Wednesday night as my family and I were watching the African Queen, the church phone rang, at first I wonder who would be calling us at that time of night, but then I remembered the fact that since my dad is the priest, he can potentially receive calls at all hours, so I just stated talking to Mom and Drew. Then Dad started saying things like: Thursday, seven o'clock, four tickets, directions, etc.

As it turns out, the person on the phone was one of the leaders of the actors group that meets in our Parish Hall on Mondays (the ones who give us fruit). She had four free tickets to the opening night of the LA Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown LA.

We arrived in time to see John Vought going down the blue carpet with his wife. There were of course lots of people, many in suits and dresses. Then there were some in tuxes and such, they tended to be carrying music cases and looked like musicians.

It took a while to find the person with our tickets... or should I say he found us. Curious looking man, let me tell you, but I was so happy when I heard someone in the sea of unfamiliar faces, say: "Father!" Granted that could have been confusing for some, but when your dad is a priest and everyone calls him either "Father" or "Father Kelley" you get used it it.

We get in there and climb a few flights of stairs and then take an elevator we arrived on the fifth floor balcony. There was no one up there. Well, except for the ushers. The seats, while being very high, were excellent. The first instrument I looked for by the way, Mr W, was a bassoon, and as it turned out there were four.

For my musically inclined friends (specifically the W-s) here's what they played:
• "Love Scene" from Romeo and Juliet by Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
• Shéhérazade by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
⁃ Asie
⁃ La flûte enchantée
⁃ L'indifférent
• Ritirata noturna di Madrid by Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) / Luciano Berio (1925-2003)
• The following are by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
⁃ "O mio babbino caro" from Gianni Schicchi
⁃ Vissi d'arte" from Tosca
• "Ball Scene" from Romeo and Juliet

Shéhérazade and the music by Giacomo Puccini the orchestra was accompanied by Renée Fleming who is a soprano. She was excellent, and I should probably mention the song that was not on the list... she did "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady, which she had the audience sing along with her.

At the end of the performance, after we had clapped for several minutes there was suddenly a thunderous BOOM and blue and silver streams shot out the sides of the room and descended upon those below us.

Anyway, that was my adventure at the Walt Disney Concert Hall... and my first premier.