california recap (in brief)

So...California was incredible. It was cold for Southern California standards, but hanging out in the sun, with the mountains in the background and palm trees on the horizon, it was easy to believe it was already spring.

The first day was pretty chill. I hung out at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and read/edited while my friend was at work. The next day I woke up early to meet an old prof at another coffeehouse I did quite a bit of studying at (even though it has a new name...again). It was a little too windy to really be out and enjoy the day, so we saw Jumper and ate some good Mexican food.

Saturday, oh...Saturday...we went to Laguna Beach (sigh). Oh...I love Laguna. We just strolled around and enjoyed the view before stopping at this funky little coffeehouse for lunch and Italian sodas. That night we went out, something I miss. I had so much fun with that girl in college and it was fun to relive the "getting ready to go out" routine.

But Sunday was a lazy day. After a late start we finally ended up heading out to Riverside to see the Mission Inn (where I have decided I'm staying the next time I go there) and grab a coffee at Back to the Grind, another great coffeehouse where I spent hours, upon hours, studying.

So that's my trip in a very brief nutshell. I got to see a few other friends, and meet some new and interesting people as well. And I came away with really missing California, again. I hope it's not another three years before I go back out there. That would be too sad.

Oh, and the sushi. I was reminded of how incredibly delicious and heavenly sushi in California is. My first night we went to a sushi restaurant I used to go to nearly every week in college, and it was...divine. I remember when I first moved out here, I found the sushi was good, but I haven't yet visited a restaurant that I absolutely have to go back to. I have my favorites, but not one of those places that are like paradise.

And I have many more pictures here. If you haven't been to Southern California...go.

two vacations in one

I planned my trip so that I had nearly a four hour layover in Dallas so that I had a chance to leave the airport and have lunch with my Mom while passing through. First off, on the way to California, I had the bizarre experience of passing through D/FW. I love that airport, but it was weird on Thursday to not leave it. I've only ever arrived or departed from there (for obvious reasons). Anyway.

I had a great time with my Mom. We went to this little French bakery in downtown Grapevine and then looked through a couple of little cute stores (most of the wineries were closed since it was Monday). I bought a wine stopper that I've wanted to get since I've had a few corks that don't quite fit back into the bottle, and this one's great: it's the state of Texas (complete with a lone star) and a bunch of grapes. It was either that or an Armadillo. Or maybe a Cowboy hat.

So we got back to the airport about ten minutes before my flight boarded, and when I arrived at my gate I saw that there was quite a long list of standbys. And they had seats open at the next few flights that evening (so no vouchers or anything). And I thought...hmmmm...spending the night in Texas? Count me in!

The agent gave me an odd look when I asked for a flight for the next day(yesterday) instead of later on Monday. I surrendered my ticket, turned around and called my Mom: "Hey, turn around. Come get me."

The really nice thing about it was that she and my sister were going out to dinner that night for her birthday since it didn't quite work out the last week. So I was happy to get to celebrate my Mom's birthday with her since it's been about seven years since I've done so. And I got to see my sister who was unable to take off for a late lunch in Grapevine. And...laugh all you want, but I also got to go home and see my cats.

So it was like having two vacations what with my second little, tiny, mini-vacation. Recaps of California coming soon. In a nutshell: Redlands, Laguna Beach and Riverside with some shopping and good food.

so about those resolutions

Yes, I'm aware I still owe you six more resolutions. But you know what? 25, in one year, is a lot. And quite frankly...I'm a little stuck. So I'm hanging up my hat, or whatever, and saying that I have those 19 resolutions. If I can, I'll round it out to 20.

NPR this morning said the weather felt like five below. Anyone else with me who almost cried at hearing that? Granted, when I did finally venture out to hurry up and get to work, I was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn't that cold. Of course a little while later I wondered if my hand was frozen through and through when I hurried to the post office to mail a package.

But...I have something to look forward to. This time on Thursday I will be in sweet, sweet Southern California.

I think I dreamed of the mountains and palm trees last night.

So I won't be writing this weekend since I most likely won't do anything online (I'm on vacation!), but I probably will have plenty of stories when I get back. I'm staying with my old roommate of two years, and I have had some incredibly fun times with that girl.

the people around you

I'm currently reading Alan Greenspan's autobiography, and in the chapters on his early life a thought struck me, one that I've had many other times when reading about Hemingway or Picasso, etc.

Greenspan wrote about going over to Ayn Rand's apartment for her weekly gatherings, going to school with Henry Kissinger (even if they didn't know each other at the time in school), meeting Paul Volcker through a college friend shortly after graduating, etc.

It makes me wonder about the people around me, the people I know. Will there be anyone from my high school or university who'll become a great writer, a prominent Senator, maybe even President? I think about the people who surrounded Gertrude Stein in Paris with Hemingway and Fitzgerald. There have always been literary circles and philosophers circles, but when you start reading about several people in those circles, it often seems as though several have known each other since school days.

Sure, there are of course big names and you expect big things from those people and that can maybe be seen ahead of time. But what about the people who grew up down the street from you? Or the quiet person in an English or Algebra class? Or maybe the soprano who often had the lead in school plays is going to become a great actress on Broadway.

It's just an interesting thought.

out of the comfort zone

Before I get to the point of this post, I just want to say how incredibly beautiful it was tonight. While out walking home and then out to the metro, it was just..wonderful. There was that cool breeze with the hint of rain coming after it, which meant a fresh scent with the wind. I could have stayed out for hours.

But...back to my point. Tonight at my writer's group we experimented with writing outside of our comfort zones. Interestingly, many of us, including me, wrote horror. Which to me is a little amusing because I haven't even finished reading a horror book.

And I found it fun. I'm not saying my work is going to make me the next Stephen King, but I had a great time time crafting a world outside of the worlds I normally create. Even if I didn't quite create it, I used my University and the stories of the city and orange groves as a backdrop, it was a different atmosphere.

I didn't finish, didn't even really get to the horror part, but I was setting it up. And I think that it's a great exercise. I think it's a great way to work on the techniques of crafting atmosphere and background and even characters. You have to try harder with something you're less familiar with.

I'll play around with my story and see if it goes anywhere, and maybe post it just to show my first, and quite probably my last, attempt at horror. We'll see. But I suggest trying it. It might be surprising to see what comes out.

mardi gras

Happy Fat Tuesday everyone! (I know...it doesn't sound as good in English.)

To celebrate, my building bought doughnuts for us. Ok, Mardi Gras may not be the reason, but it's appropriate. I actually forgot about Mardi Gras and Lent until this morning when the news reminded me that not only was it Super Tuesday, but also Mardi Gras. At which point I thought: "Oops! I haven't even thought of something to give up."

And I think I may have posted on this dilemma last year too. My only real vice is coffee. While I could conceivably go for a day without coffee, maybe two, forty days would be pushing it and quite probably pushing it for everyone around me.

So...I'm thinking of giving up chocolate. I used to not eat a lot of chocolate, and I still don't. I tend to prefer my chocolate in liquid form. And for my birthday I received peppermint hot chocolate from Williams Sonoma and a tin of Trader Joe's sipping chocolate. And both are heaven.

But for Lent it's also acceptable to do something to help make you a better person. You don't necessarily have to give up something. I'm thinking I may try to work out every day. Not anything hardcore every day, because that would be overkill. But include yoga or walking in with the hardcore stuff. I have actually increased my work out times and I do feel better. Much better. And I've noticed that as I've started doing yoga more, those other little vices (like the chocolate and the occasional drink) have declined on their own. They haven't gone away of course.

While working out every day may not be feasible in the long term, because there are days where life just gets in the way, at least forty days should help institutionalize working out and making it more of a habit.

Maybe we'll see how that goes. And by putting this out there publicly, I am to be held accountable for it. I'll keep you posted on how I do. I do have a vacation coming up in a week, but there will be a lot of walking, probably at the beach and then in downtown Los Angeles. I think this could be very possible.

Anyone else giving up something or adding something to their lives?

mi piace...

I've had a realization. I love Italian. And this is after only two classes where my conversational skills still reside with "my name is" and "I'm fine, thank you, how are you?"

I was pretty confident that I'd like Italian when I started the class. But so far the only language I loved was French. Even after studying Japanese for a year, I only really liked it.

Ah...but Italian is up there with French. I still love the...gentleness of the French language, the way many of the letters sound like a whisper and how it's more like a soft song when spoken. Italian is musical but French...I don't know, French is mostly like a lullaby. Right now I'm thinking of the soliloquy that came after Cyrano's "Non merci" tirade: "Avoir l'oeil qui regarde bien, la voix qui vibre..."

I haven't been this excited about a class since I first started taking French in high school. Even reading the dialogue while studying the other day, practicing the musicality of the language, was a thrill. With my French background, the pronounciation has proved tricky in parts. The "Rs" are rolled and now "swallowed," and all the letters are pronounced and pronounced individually. Words with an "oi" have tripped me up, as have the few words we come across that end in "n" or "t." I must remember those are not left off.

And...after declaring my love for another language (don't worry, French, you still have first place in my heart), I'll leave you with an Italian proverb I learned yesterday and have been telling it to nearly everyone:

Tutte le strade portano a Roma

All roads lead to Rome

brace yourself

Six more weeks of winter according to Punxsutawney Phil.

There was a part of me that groaned when I saw that. The part of me that wants to be out in the sun, see my skin darken a little to that healthy "sun-kissed" glow and feel warm sitting outside with a coffee. But not too warm...springtime warmth when it's nice under the sun but there's still that slightly crisp breeze.

But there was another part of me that, surprise surprise, was pleased to hear it. This is the part of me that the other night wished it remained relatively cold for the hot chocolate and reading on my couch covered with a blanket. This is the part of me that would relish reading by the fire, had I said fire. This is the part of me that will be sad to see the coziness of winter melt away.

No, I'm not quite yet a convert. I've had my moments of being absolutely miserable walking to the metro or to work. And I'm still not planning on moving to a city further north of DC...unless it's for the spring to fall period only. But there is a little something to winter. And...it makes spring all the more worthwhile.

But make sure you have a stack of books still left to read or several great movies on your netflix list. Since apparently we've still got time. Because, of course, the groundhog predicition is very reliable.

snow days

Listening to NPR this morning while getting ready, I heard the announcements of the school closings and delays in the area. And you're probably going to laugh at this, but it really made me smile.

In an odd Proustian moment, I was sitting in the den of my old house, waiting practically with breath held while the closed schools and delayed openings scrolled on the screen. And new additions kept being added. Granted, that time would have been spent better getting ready for school, but that was a minor detail.

If the gods smiled on us, then my school's name would show up on the screen. I don't recall ever going back to bed, but when I was younger I'd probably change the channel to watch cartoons or something, and when I was older it was straight to the computer to get online.

And honestly, it didn't take much to shut us down. People from Dallas know that the entire city practically shuts down for a few tiny inches of snow. Not enough to use that snow day to build snowmen or have snowball fights, but who cares? We'd all probably be inside anyway, thoughts a million miles away from algebra and themes of English literature.

Of course there was a downside back then. We used to have two "snow days" set aside around Easter. If the school was never closed for weather issues, we'd have two days off for a nice long weekend. And if we were closed, well, then we were stuck in school in April.

But the unexpected day off had the same kind of excitement as Christmas morning.

Anyway...I miss snow days. One thing I've noticed, living in a place too where it actually snows more consistently, they don't close offices nearly as often as they close schools. And then there's that whole voluntary snow day I've heard about. Considering I don't have much of a commute to my office...chances are I probably couldn't justify a snow day.

But...maybe I ought to take a "snow" day soon? I think that might be a great idea.