Kajon Cermak

Cermak, 49, is the spunky traffic maven for otherwise strait-laced NPR. Partially inspired by her own traffic woes, she’s beloved for coining phrases like “pack a snack” and “bummer to bummer.” She lives in Thousand Oaks.

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BEST ERRANT SHOT My colleagues and I start celebrating the weekend at Casa Blanca in Venice, which is a secret treasure. They have a wonderful guitar player and hundreds of tequilas with their special presentation of salt, lime, spicy tomato juice. . . . And the food is delicious! Just be careful if the waiter picks the tequila for you -- some run as high as $75! NOW THAT’S A WAKEUP CALL Saturdays I get up at the crack of dawn and go to Perris for sky diving. It’s best to be the first to jump; otherwise, you can wait around all day. I want to get certified so it’s not so expensive, and then I can jump solo. I’ve only done tandem so far. EARLY BIRD REWARD After diving, I go for a burger at The Counter in Santa Monica -- it has the best in L.A. Then I might meet my oldest daughter at Loehmann’s in Pasadena for some shoe shopping. Or if I’m feeling culture-deprived, we’ll hit the Norton Simon museum. Sister Wendy turned me on to loving paintings. A LITTLE ROMANCE Then it’s home to shower, powder and poof for dinner with my husband: Bada Sushi in Thousand Oaks if we’re going local, or Thousand Cranes downtown, in the New Otani Hotel. They have little Japanese tea rooms like you see in movies and serve kaiseki, a traditional gourmet dinner. Each course is one or two bites -- d-e-i-o-lish! Depending on how much sake I’ve had, we might stop by La Ve Lee jazz club in Studio City for a nightcap. Then we go home, and some things are better left unsaid. SUNDAY DRIVERS After coffee and the paper and a workout at Gold’s Gym, we’ll put the top down and take our three girls for a drive. Later, we might see an indie movie at Laemmle’s in Santa Monica, which the girls always resist but end up loving, and then I’ll cook -- though I’ve also been known to pick up dinner at In-N-Out. On those nights, I’ll spend the evening watching all the movies I’ve TiVo’d during the week.

-- Michael Shaw

Theguide.latimes.com