As Thanksgiving approaches, and the world seems crazier than ever, it seems only fitting to express how thankful I am for everything. A year ago I started my European adventure, staying in Paris amongst other places.  A carefree time, traveling alone, whimsical, magical…I can’t even imagine how things would have been had I been there this year instead of last!! So in the spirit of being thankful…I continue my Laid-Off Life, just now on a part-time basis..

 

I jumped back into the world of the working in October. I’m consulting, working in the office just 3 days a week, which still gives me a little bit of time off to continue enjoying my days. It’s been great to dive back in, but it’s also been all-encompassing – all work and very little play. But that’s exactly why, on a technical day off last week, in between notes calls, I decided to accept an invitation to LA’s new Broad Museum. The answer to this invite should easily have been no, with just 90 minutes to explore the museum in between scheduled work calls, but I had been craving an activity that reminded me of those good old days from last year, so I said yes and knew I would just figure out a way to juggle the day.

The Broad is by far one of the hippest places to be in Los Angeles right now. Admission is free, but the museum is sold out for the rest of the year, so it’s a hot ticket. Lucky for me, my friend not only had tickets that weren’t going to be used for that day, but she also knew about Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room and the fact that you have to get on a list once inside the museum in order to enter this room (your museum entry ticket isn’t enough!). One-by-one each person gets 45 seconds alone inside of the Infinity Room. I was curious about claustrophobia, and almost a little nervous to go inside, but once in that all fell away. With mirrors and LED lights surrounding you, it’s the perfect spot for a selfie or two, while still saving enough time to really take it all in. I’m already ready for Round 2 – too much of my time inside was spent trying to figure out exactly how this infinity effect was created.

  

The contemporary art collection that you find after taking a ride on a cavernous escalator to the 3rd floor is fun and accessibly on display. Not to sound super annoying, but I had actually seen many of the works at other museums throughout my travels last year…always fun to revisit though.

      

On the ground floor, there was something very new to me, and very cool. Ragnar Kjartansson’s The Visitors is an awesomely immersive experience. 9 screens fill this large room, each playing all at once as a group of musicians, inhabiting a 19th century mansion, play together in different rooms of the estate – the camera panning from room to room in 1 long take, each screen showing one room’s activity. The description doesn’t do it justice, but I highly recommend you check it out!

And finally, after conducting a work call in the lobby of the museum I took some time to enjoy the view outside. The building itself is stunning! It reminds of me of the exterior of the Prada store in Tokyo (which I loved so much when I saw it over the summer), appearing almost nest-like. I walked around the building, taking in every angle, and especially loved looking north to see The Walt Disney Concert Hall next door – two of the best buildings in the city side by side…This certainly wasn’t the worst way to have a hybrid work/play day!