Adventures in California

As mentioned in my last post, my life has been full of surprises lately. Good, unexpected ones. The way surprises are supposed to be, I guess.

This past weekend was right in line with that.

Surprise #1: A Fabulous Friday Night In
I spent Friday night catching up on HBO's new series Rome. I was alone, on the couch, in my PJ's. It was the first Friday night in a long time where I have been so low-key and it was perfect. The air was just cold enough to feel like fall. I made yummy soup for dinner, donned my favorite yoga pants and white hoodie "weekend uniform," and spoke to no one. On top of the perfect level of comfort I enjoyed basking in, I also was pleasantly surprised at how good Rome was. The story is not new of course--and I expected to enjoy it for at least that--but I really like the characters and their various entanglements. Good job, HBO.

Surprise #2: Saturday Morning Surfing
Yes, that's right. The Private and I attempted to surf on Saturday off of the mainland. The surf is different, the water is colder, the sand is gross, and there were tons of jellyfish. We were using wet-suits and a real (non foam) long board. All of these conditions, I feel, give ample explanation as to why our surfing was only an attempt. But I am proud of us nonetheless. Aside from the surprising fact that I am attempting to surf and actually liking it, there was one other big early am surprise. As far as the eye could see, all the way north to LBC and south towards Newport, the coast was lined with people (mainly men) in black wet suits sitting on top of colorful fiberglass. I know surfers surf early. And I know there are lots of them in the So Cal region. But I have never seen so many in action ever before at one time. It was astonishing. And part of me couldn't help but think, "hmm....there's got to be some good BF material in here somewhere." I am ever the optimist.

Surprise #3: I cried at a wedding
I never cry at weddings. Mainly because during the ceremony, I usually think selfishly about how I will probably end up living alone with many cats on a barren coast where I drown my sorrows in whisky and have only the wind to keep me company. I digress. On Saturday, I went to a charmingly simple wedding for my best work friend, CS. I have known her from the tumultuous end of her last relationship all the way up through Saturday's yellow-rose, cliff-top, back-yard, Hermosa Beach afternoon wedding. I think the world of CS and I am honestly thrilled for her. Her relationship is one of the few that has actually made me say, "I want a relationship like that." And so, I cried. Not because I am sad about the looming future where I daily rock myself to sleep on a cob-webbed porch, but because I am happy for her.

Surprise #4: I had fun at a BBQ in honor of Ohio State's Football game
Y asked me if I wanted to go to a BBQ in RB after the wedding. I said "sure" because I don't know how to say "no." And because it was with new people...and because it might be fun. The party was hosted by J. Y didn't know J very well and didn't know any of his friends. I didn't know anyone but Y. All we knew was: BBQ for football. The BBQ had about eight people when we arrived. Six were guys--most from the mid-west--and all were under 25. So we walk in--I clad in a strapless dress freshly post wedding, she in crocodile skin pumps holding a bottle of chilled Mondavi Chardonnay. Needless to say, we felt immensely out of place. Funny thing is it ended up being a really fun night. Everyone was so nice! We spent the entire evening with them all and even went to TUG after the game. It was so refreshing to hang out with new people, immediately like them and immediately feel a part of their group. And, I've never given out my phone number so many times in one night. I hope our new best friends keep in touch with us! Y and I have overcome our two years seniority and would love to hang out with them again.

Surprise #5: California Adventures are Fun!
HB and I went to Disney's California Adventure on Sunday afternoon. I have always shown my support for Disneyland by snubbing it's younger, dumber, cool-theme-lacking neighbor. But now that I have my subscription to fun, and it's free to go to CA adventure too, I thought why not. Well...turns out, it's not so bad. In fact, it's really fun. A la Disney, the park is well laid out and pretty. Plus it's got some great things DL doesn't. Namely, better food and alcohol. There's actually a winery too. Odd, but good. Most importantly though, the park was EMPTY. Thankfully, the rest of the world also likes to snub CA adventure. Which meant that I rarely spent more than 5 minutes in a line. Another very good thing about CA Adventure: that Haunted Hollywood Hotel ride. Seriously I cannot get myself to stop laughing once that ride starts. Its inventors perfected the art of isolating and recreating that "whee" feeling in your stomach. Over and over. I'm not sure why it makes me laugh...it's not a particularly "good" feeling...but it is super fun and it makes me gleeful like a 3 year old at Toys R Us.

What a fabulous weekend. I hope the next one is as full of good fun surprises.