shes 24

sarah and i go to lunch almost every day. its a chance for us to keep it real.

i first met sarah via email when i was editing LAist and she was a PR babe. she would write me pitches for things that i might be interested in writing about and usually id say no thanks.

one day she wrote me about some crazy booze made from acai berries. as a Gaucho its hard for me to say no to booze. so i didnt. sarah sent me a few bottles of Veev and at our next LAist bbq i shared it with the crew and it was a smashing success.

always recruiting, i asked sarah if she was interested in writing for LAist as long as it wasnt about the things that she was connected to. she was all, omg id love to! so she wrote about music and dating and all sorts of things. she was a natural.

when i moved to the times i ran into some of the ladies who ran Metromix and one day they asked me if i knew of anyone who might fit into the alternative arm of the times. even though sarah and i werent yet close friends, i knew that she and ali miller had the right amount of edge and professionalism for the weekly paper and website and sure enough they were hired and flourished.

metromix turned into brand x, ali moved on to sheparding huge video game companies on the wesside but brand x was so possessive of sarah that they wouldnt let anyone steal her away.

on the side, like after hours, sarah wrote and reported for the homicide report. even though shes very much a prissy girlie girl she was totally attracted to the hard core hard news that was contained in one of our longest-running blogs. shed hoof it down to south central, interviewing the grieving families, and come back with fascinating tales, many of which ended up in the blog and sometimes in the paper.

eventually the paper recognized that sarah wasnt just a smokin hot half iranian half mexican graduate of usc, that she was someone very special. so no she works with the Cool Kids on the data desk and cranks out the badass special projects that people see and say wait thats the LA Times? her most recent contributions have been on the Hollywood Star Walk project, but she still also tends to homicide report, usually uncredited.

because we hang out often some whisper that we must be dating, but ours is a strictly professional and friendly deal. plus i wanna date almost every one of her friends. a goal i tell her nearly every week. and tonight i will get a chance to drink with them and her as we celebrate her birth and her fascinating life.

happy birthday sarah, you have represented LAist beautifully, both by your hard work, independent streak, and dedication to your craft. i hope you get sloshed tonight and slap some b for lookin at your man.