Zen and friends and much more

Just like everybody’s pal Michael Charles Novotny, the character Hal Sparks plays on Showtime’s “Queer as Folk,” this Chicago native hangs out with friends, but that’s just a part of his weekend.

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Decompression

First of all, nothing ever has to be average on the weekends. Friday night, after a hectic workweek, is usually like my decompression time.

I love to eat. I go to Mel’s Diner or the Melrose Baking Company. In Beverly Hills, I’ll go to the Newsroom Cafe for a chicken sandwich. They’ve got great organic food. I like food, but I like to eat healthy. Some of my favorite dishes: the young spinach salad with caramelized walnuts that they serve at Wolfgang Puck’s; I’m a big fan of the sushi rolls at Zen Grill on West 3rd Street. They’ve got a soft-shell crab roll -- with rice, avocado, cucumber and carrots in it. Sometimes I go to VIP Harbor Seafood Restaurant on Wilshire. They have wonderful dim sum.

I’ll go home after having dinner and take a nice, long bath. Or I might just go see a movie on the Santa Monica Promenade, or maybe in Old Town Pasadena. When I really feel energetic, I’ll do stand-up at the Melrose Improv. That’s always a lot of fun.

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Tai chi and tea

Saturday mornings, I have a tai chi class, then go to Zen Zoo tea shop. A lot of times, you’ll find me at Zen Zoo. Their drinks give me energy, and for that I drink a drink they call the Rooster -- without the mint. Besides that, they’ve got a different drink for your birth year. They’re great.

Then, maybe I’ll do a little more exercise. I’ll take a kung fu class in the afternoon, exhaust myself, go home and take a shower. If not, my friends and I might go rock climbing at the wall over at UCLA. Then I’ll go home and take a shower.

Saturday night, I may go to an industry party, especially those parties at someone’s home. I love to see how people affect their living quarters -- “Oh, we had this pool shaped like a ...” “The wood in this banister comes from ... -- you know the type.

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Dim sum break

Sundays, I might go to Chinatown for dim sum at the Imperial Dragon. I usually get a couple of friends together and go. There are a lot of little shops there and a little pastry shop. That night maybe we’ll go out to Old Town Pasadena, or we’ll shoot up to Hollywood or into the Valley. There’s a great sushi place on Ventura in Studio City.

Every once in a while, some friends and I will do a punk Disneyland thing -- we ride all of the kiddie rides like the Teacups and things. Now, that’s fun. Occasionally, I’ll take a trip to Santa Barbara, or in the season, go to Mammoth or Big Bear for skiing.

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Art films

I like to go to the Sunset Strip -- it’s a great people-watching experience, then I’ll go to the Laemmle and watch a good art film and come out all confused about life. I go to art movies on Sundays, so I don’t pollute myself with angst and ruin my Saturday. “About Schmidt” is a Sunday movie -- the kind of movie that you need time, not your leisure time, to reflect on.

Carolyn Patricia Scott