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Trapped in a Room with a ZOMBIE
Explore LA, Life, Los Angeles

Explore LA: Trapped in a Room with a ZOMBIE!!

The greatest piece of wisdom I have ever received at work came from my coworker John Shi.

Trapped in a room with a zombie even in Los Angeles.
What zombie thing you ask? The ‘experience’ is called Trapped in a Room with a Zombie presented by Room Escape Adventures. Yes, there is in fact such a thing as having to problem solve your way out of a room with a zombie in it and for a limited time only you can participate. Don’t ask me details. My zombie team isn’t going until next week. All I know is:

  1. The zombie is on a chain that extends every few minutes
  2. There is a disclaimer about getting eaton by said zombie
  3. You have to find a key to get out
  4. Less than a handful of teams have made it out in the 60 minute time slot
  5. This is every Walking Dead fan’s dream
  6. This sounds way better than seeing another movie with Liam Neeson (referring to Nonstop, don’t see it) or taking a date to ride the same ferris wheel that everyone has already ridden at the Santa Monica pier.

You can over think it and read more about the experience here OR you could just assume that being locked in a room with a zombie and having to use your critical thinking skills with a team of 12 people to survive would be AWESOME and buy a ticket here.

Also, because I sit next to the world’s best search engine, Vince. I have a code you can use to get 50% off. Be one of the first five people to share this post, tag @thecarlybird, and I will send you the coupon. This experience isn’t limited to LA. You can check their locations here to find a zombie room near you.
^ Offer Has Expired

Cheers!

The After Math

Trapped in a Room with a Zombie

This was awesome. I wish I could force you all to do it. There is something hilarious about the chaos that comes from being trapped in a room for 60 minutes with a room full of locks, puzzles, mind games, and codes, while simultaneously trying to tame a zombie into not eating your best friend John Liu. If you have ever wanted to feel beads of sweat dripping down your face as you tried to save the world, you will love this experience. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Note: Some people in this photo look displeased – ahem, Eric – this is because we lost the game with only one more lock to open to get the escape key. This does something to men that I can’t explain. If I had to guess the emotions are comparable to Whitney Houston singing “DIDN’T WE ALMOST HAVE IT ALL?!” at full volume. Not for the faint of heart.

Carly Walker in Venice
Ideas, Los Angeles, Westside Wisdom

Westside Wisdom: Hair Hacks From a Fortune Teller

I decided to start a new series on my blog called West Side Wisdom. Why? Because some of us thought we had street smarts only to move to LA and realize we were useless.

Lucky for me, I live in a city that is a smorgosborg of human beings who have mastered life hacks worth noting. As a result, one of my goals this year is to stop looking at my phone when I go places, and start picking the brains of West LA’s finest.

Round 1: Hair Hacks From a Fortune Teller

I was at a beauty supply store pretending that my hair wasn’t over bleached and suffering from grocery store soap, when I met a fortune teller. I call her a fortune teller because she had a flawless accent and eyes that defaulted to looking directly into my soul. I normally don’t ask questions, but I had hit a breaking point. I held up a bottle and asked her from across the store, “Will this fix my hair?”

She hung up her landline phone while slowly unravelling the chord wrapped around her fingernails, and leaned forward. “Can I touch your hair?”

“Yes.”

She touched my hair, twitched, and let the silence build up before opening her arms to the entire store and saying, “these products will not save you.”

A unique sales approach.

“In Santa Monica the water is terrible,” she continued. “If you don’t drink it. Why would you wash your hair in it?”

And just like that my juvenile mind was mildly blown.

I have been searching for years for the perfect shampoo and the answer was right in front of me. It had nothing to do with the shampoo. It had everything to do with the one other substance that goes through my hair daily, water.

The WHOLE time?

She then explained how this cousin and that cousin and this neighbor and her mother all use shower filters from Home Depot. They are $30.00 or less my friends and anyone can install it.

She drew me in for the next half hour with hair advice that cost less than a bottle of fancy leave in conditioner from Beverly Hills and has single-handedly saved my hair from feeling like straw. So from the fortune teller herself, here is a glimpse into a better future.
Hair_Hacks

1) Get a shower filter. It’s like dancing in a fountain of youth. (And is also better for your skin.)
2) Never brush your hair wet. You are basically ripping it out. Use a wide-tooth comb like this one. Don’t use a brush until it is at least half-dry. I even prefer to comb my hair out in the shower to lose less hair.
3) Trim your hair often (at least every 3 months). Your hair is like a plant. If the tips of a plant are dead, it can’t grow so you have to trim them. Same concept here. Long healthy locks start from the ends of your hair.
4) Wash your hair less. Make a shower cap and dry shampoo your best friend. Try only shampooing it 3-4 times a week.
5) Give It The Magic Treatment. Once a week, put conditioner on the bottom half of your locks while it is dry. Let it sit for five minutes before getting in the shower. While in the shower, shampoo the roots of your hair only, and leave the bottom half of your locks alone. Let the water naturally rinse it out. (I like using Moroccan Oil Hydrating Shampoo, and Moisture Repair Conditioner).

Bonus tip: Use no crease hair ties. These ties are softer on your hair and don’t cause as much breakage.

And there you have it. Two cents that make sense.

One thing I love about where I live is that no one keeps personal boundaries. People aren’t afraid to ask about your life and instantly invite themselves to become a part of it. So warm up a little (it’s 80 degrees here) and start chatting more with strangers. If you listen, more often then not, they have something valuable to say.

And even if it isn’t valuable, you can pretend it is an abstract metaphor for something valuable.

We could go either way on this.

Images: Shower Filter – Amazon, Comb – Sephora, Plant – Sunset Magazine, Dry Shampoo – Klorane, Shower Cap – Pinterest Puppy, Shampoo/Conditioner – Moroccan Oil

Daniel Rossi Beach Interviews
Life, Los Angeles

On The Street Interviews with Daniel Rossi

Hello Venice Beach

I wish I had an explanation for this. I dont. Have you ever met someone for the first time and realized you were meant to do sub-par street interviews together?

At the time this seemed like a good idea. And since this was in fact the first time me and Daniel Rossi ever met in person, it didn’t seem weird at all to also film each other singing Taylor Swift with bongo drummers, street vendors, and some poster children for marijuana (see below). Regardless of how it happened or how awkward you will feel watching both these videos, let’s all be thankful that it did. Bless you Venice beach for putting your hearts into pop country, roller skating, and extensive basketball tutorials.

A special thanks to all the friends we made that day including but not limited to: Nunu, J-Swift (Check out his rap/tutorials on Black History at TupacRadio.com or follow him on Twitter), Jef Holm, Oliver from Austria, and Russ shooting the totes.

Taylor Swift from the Voice of Venice Beach

Life, Los Angeles, Westside Wisdom

10 Things I’ve Learned From Moving to LA

Welcome Home Carly Walker

I grew up in Utah and I went to school at BYU-Idaho. Our idea of a main street closes at 10 and the most dangerous place I have ever set foot in is the Rain Tree Hot Tub. So you can imagine my culture shock when 4 liquor stores and a family reunion of homeless locals were waiting outside my apartment to welcome me to the one and only…Los Angeles, California.

Oh I’ve Been Afraid of Changing

You may be wondering how I got here or why, and to be honest its all a blur. I woke up one day with my bags packed driving off with a pair of knock-off Ray Bans to cover my goodbye tears. It’s like Stevie Nicks said, “I’ve been afraid of changing because I built my life around you, but time makes you bolder, children get older, I’m getting older too.” I have always wanted to move by the beach, but didn’t want to leave the people I loved and had built my life around. Luckily time makes you bolder. Change is a scary thing, but if you stare at a cliff long enough you are bound to jump at some point. This was my ultimate leap of faith. Enough sap…lets get to the good stuff. LA has so many surprises for a young and naive Utah local. Here are my top 10.

1. Winter in California is a Joke

Every morning is the same thing. I peel away my curtains, the Beach Boys start singing, and a pack of California sun beams shower my skin. As my old roommates would say, “It’s a tender mercy” and I swear it’s not real life.

2. Inglewood Is Up To No Good

One of my first nights here, I ran out of gas in the wrong part of town. I soon learned what Dr. Dre meant when he said Inglewood was up to no good. Without thinking I got out of a car in a dim-lit empty gas station. Out of the shadows emerged four gangsters and I was surrounded. Terrified, tears-welled up in my eyes as they made their demands…a bag of potato chips. Someone should tell Ruffles they have a huge fan base in the hood.

3. The Street Doesn’t Sweep Itself

Speaking of hoods, this gem was on my hood the next morning for blocking a street-sweeper.

I learned the hard way that it’s cleaning services are highly valued by the state of California. I wish LA gave you the opportunity to hand sweep the section of curb your car blocked, because for 68 bones I would have made that thing look like gold.

4. If it Once Moved, You Can Eat It

My menu of beef and potatoes is quickly expanding. There are food trucks and restaurants everywhere serving anything from octopus to chicken on waffles. Kissing the chef would be an understatement of my affections.

5. Ikea Furniture is Cheap for a Reason

Imagine playing a game of charades but instead of guessing a word you had to guess how to build a 12-piece set of furniture. Thanks to Ikea’s pictures-only instruction manuals, this nightmare is a reality. The worst part is: You can’t get those five precious hours of your life back. It’s not in their return policy.

6. Blondes Run This Town

Being a small fish and moving into a big city has been overwhelming. One night, I put my head in my hands and sighed,”I’m just this little blonde girl.” A sassy neighbor replied, “Honey, blondes run this town.” Dolly Parton could not have been more inspiring and I have held my head high ever since.

7. The “F” Word is an Adjective

The “F” word is highly valued in Utah. People have been saving up this swear word their entire lives in case they ever need a way to describe a catastrophic event. If they get the urge to use it for anything less than a disaster, they use a swear-replacement such as “F,” “freaking,” “flip,” etc. So the first time I heard someone casually say $%^#, I thought something terrible had happened. I have since learned that this word is used for many different creative purposes and does not require me to rush to the aid of every single person that uses it. I have also learned to cover up my wide-eyed reactions by pretending something is in my eye.

8. Men Here Are Beautiful

I have never seen more good-looking men in my entire life. I knew the first time a guy turned to me at Marshalls and said in a low voice, “Hey, that lamp is fresh,” I was in trouble.

9. Honking Isn’t a Good Thing and There is No Such Thing as a Shortcut

In Provo, the only time you hear cars honking is when a sedan crammed full of freshmen boys see a girl for the first time. California is the opposite. Getting a honk is not a compliment and can mean anything from “You should have ran that light” to “I had a gut feeling you were about to cross the road.” It is similar to a game of Operation where even breathing in the wrong direction results in a chorus of beeps.

Unsolved mysteries should really try to tackle why no matter where you are or how far you are going, it will always take you 30 minutes to get anywhere in LA.

10. LA is Home to the Free Spirited

One thing I love and can’t get over is that everyone that I’ve met here marches to the beat of their own drummer. They aren’t scared to be themselves and it’s a strict “no fear” policy. If you want to stand on a ladder in a public place with a loin cloth on….you do it. In all honesty, It’s an amazing environment to be in. Without fear holding anyone back, people are doing incredible things with their time and the energy is contagious.

“You Are Like an Alien That We Get to Show the World”

I have been so surprised from my move to a city, but I have to say I am in love. As terrifying as the move has been, it’s amazing waking up and knowing that each day is going to be a new adventure. So bring it on LA, bring it on.