Los Angeles is neat.

Today, I felt like I couldn't breathe.

Finding sunshine during the work week has been harder than I expected. I work from home on Wednesdays, so I drove north in pursuit of the shine. I intended to drive to my favorite spot, appreciate some REAL sunshine and head home.

Then Rick showed up.

At first, I felt like he invaded my space. Then he leaned over from his rock and said, "I feel bad. I'm drinking beer right in front of you. Would you like a glass?" He had two coffee mugs and a jug of Hollister Beer (a local Santa Barbara brewery). De-lish.

Rick is a 49-year-old high school science teacher obsessed with catching the best wave. Rick thinks Los Angeles is neat. We watched the sunset and talked about kids these days. We talked about bacteria and Berkeley and passion.

Two beers later, we parted ways. I rolled down all my windows, put this song on repeat and sang at the top of my lungs all the way home basking in my sunshine.