Lackluster Lounge, Back in LA, Absolut in Stockholm, Runyon Canyon

I’m at LAX in the United Airlines Red Carpet Clug lounge soon to board my flight to Sweden, so I’ll keep it short and sweet. Firstly, I hate these fancy names for nothing more than a lounge with stray apples, stale pretzels and tasteless coffee. What happened to the premium first class lounge concept where you don’t have to pay for proper food (Isn’t that included in the exorbitant price of first class ticket anyway?) Ok, this may not be the best attitude to starting off the day especially since I thought my flight departed at 3.30pm instead of 9.30am. I realized the error when I woke up early to finish an article and after re-checking the travel details, I noticed that 9.28 is actually the departure time, not the flight number. Who lists a departure time at 9.28 anyway? In any case, there was some kind of divine intervention at work so I should be grateful.

To catch up on the last few days…it’s been a roller coaster. I slipped out of New York and returned to LA, where frankly I breathe better these days. First order of business was to hit the hiking trails at Runyon Canyon. I don’t miss much when I travel but I was pining for my morning wake-up hikes. I hiked everyday since I arrived on Saturday, yesterday joining Kathy Freston on a brisk stroll on a trail that starts right behind her Beverly Hills home. Loved it! I’ve otherwise stayed in the Hollywood Hills home where I’m bedding down for the next few months to churn out some work. I’ve hinted at a JC Report redesign (it’s in full swing) and a premium Trend Report (in heavy production) among other exciting developments for the coming months. I’ll keep you posted here.

As for Sweden, I’m invited by Absolut to attend the celebration of the 30th anniversary of their art collection. Absolut has been one of our biggest supporters over the years and I’m looking forward to celebrating this milestone with them and interviewing artists such as Sylvie Fleury, David Shrigley Douglas Gordon. Look out for my dispatches and tweets from Stockholm over the next few days. Follow me on twitter at JCREPORTGLOBAL.