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This is Petrea Burchard of Pasadena Daily Photo fame.
Also author.
Also actor.
I believe Virginia at Birmingham Daily Photo nudged us in each other’s direction and Petrea’s blog’s mixture of culture, local politics, ecology, wit and plain good writing somehow struck a chord.
And we like Pasadena anyway.
We tried to arrange to meet up in March together with Ms jb on the way back from NZ, but the only timeslot that WE had didn’t match HERS so….
Fast forward to last Wednesday.
I flew into LAX on the way to New Zealand with 11 hours to kill, so we arranged to meet at Intelligentsia Coffee on W. Colorado.
From her profile photo, I was expecting someone very reserved, every utterance mentally inspected 5 times before it passed her lips, every movement considered at length before a muscle fibre even twitched.
‘Aloof’ is what I thought.
What I didn’t expect was such vibrancy and fun.
Mind you, you never really know where you are with these actor types.
Especially ones with their own Wikipedia entry
The nonchalant slipping in of “And who’s going to hire someone over 50 anyway?” when it’s PATENTLY obvious that she’s barely 40. Despite what Wikipedia says,
Feigning interest in my geriatric ramblings.
She’s a real flatterer, for sure.
There’s probably actually a deduction on IRS form 247a for 2 hours spent humouring strangers.
The only thing she DIDN’T do was to surreptitiously smear some Tiger Balm near a tear duct to induce lachrymation.
But I played along as if I was I was REALLY ENJOYING myself (which I was, actually), knowing full well that her acting coach was at the next table observing the performance and recommending her for a leading role in the next George Lucas film.
And OF COURSE we’re going to meet again when I’m next in Pasadena and I just HAVE to bring along Ms jb.
And the brush of a kiss on the cheek as we part.
I have to give it to her – she’s really good.
Er……..
What’s this?
An email saying that she couldn’t have enjoyed the afternoon more?
And a corroboration from Virginia, too?
Maybe she really DID enjoy meeting half as much as I did.
But you never can tell with these Hollywood types….
PS I liked her untold. Does it show?
PPS Maybe we can do lunch sometime. So Hollywood….!
Mainz Daily Photo 
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>Am loving your reportage on meeting Petrea and Nathalie. One of the many joys of our blogging community.
>Brilliant post and image!
>I love your words about Petrea. I agree with Ben she's one of the best things about Pasadena. Sounds like you're pretty special yourself. Glad you got to enjoy each other's company in one of my favorite Pasadena cafes.
>Now that's a great way to use an 11 hour stopover! How brilliant!Great story jb, and it's wonderful to hear it from both sides, each in your own style.I agree with Petrea: who IS the writer?She is the newest addition to the string of fans you leave in your wake everywhere you go. Welcome to the club Petrea :-)Wonderful portrait you made of her. I'd love to meet her. I hope you arrived safely in the country of the long white cloud.
>Boy, tha face looks familiar … oh, there it is: across the living room from me, in the glow of her laptop.
>Hello, PA!
>Hello Petrea! Hello JB!
>Well, I just need to head out West to meet Petrea and Kathryn and others. JB, I enjoyed the way you told your story here. Keep up the good work.
>It's so fun to meet other bloggers!!! Internationally and locally!!! JB…you described Petrea beautifully!!! She's all that and more!!! If you're ever in the Eastern Sierras…we can meet at the Looney Bean!!!
>Ben! Too sweet! If only I were running for office.Virginia, it would be fun if the jbs visited, coinciding with your visit. Or perhaps we could all converge on Mainz.
>HA, I knew you two would hit it off. If you'd asked, I would have told you that you had nothing to fear! And do you really think I'd hang with a snooty actor type??? I can hardly wait to get back out there, hopefully next month, and hug her neck. Maybe you'll be "laying over" again and I can hug yours too JB! Great post.V
>Petrea has to be one of the nicest things about Pasadena. Glad you two got to connect!
>And you call me a writer.I think I need a new headshot. I enjoyed our coffee and visit! Can't wait to meet Ms. (oops, I called her Mrs.) jb. (Sometimes my husband refers to himself as Mr. pb if he's talking to my friends.)I didn't get the part in the Lucas film.