The Cool Kids Are In College

Perhaps this is a broken record, but music fans in LA can be kind of lame at live shows.  I can't tell if it's the over abundance of options that makes people snooty....sort of a taking it for granted attitude...or if just those types of people flock to LA.  Either way, it's no fun.

Tonight I went to see Foster the People at the UC Riverside campus and it was so great to see people at the first note of the first song, already bouncing around a little bit.  And to songs they've probably never heard before.

Yes, college kids are generally a little more free, but come on LA, let's step it up. Music is awesome.  You know it is.  Now let go a little bit.

Splish.

Went to a ridiculous house in Burbank with a pool that melts into infinity off a cliff. It's a friend of my parents and in the email he sent to invite us for dinner it said:  Tell the "kids" to bring their suits, the water is warm and the slide will be on.

For about 2.5 seconds I thought, "Mmph.  I'm not a kid."  But then I thought, "Right, who am I kidding?!"

Then while running up and down the waterfall, over and over...I made a promise with myself to always be a kid.  It's way more fun.  And when I'm 88, I will still not be able to resist playing in a swimming pool.

Presents!

I left the house this morning at 6:30am and returned at 8:00am.

When I left, there were a few things on my floor -- not gonna lie.  But when I came back, this was added into the mix.

So bizarre...I have no idea where it came from.  

But I am taking it as a gift from the City of Santa Monica for paying almost a billion parking tickets this year (so far).  

Thanks, guys!

Question Everything

In college, there was a wall I passed everyday where someone had spray painted: Question Everything.  And directly underneath it, someone else had written: Why?.

I realize a version of that graffiti is probably on every campus wall.  And in someways, it's almost as common as For A Good Time Call [insert your ex-girlfriend's phone number].

But, man, it's so true.

On a two hour flight today, I had a conversation with a complete stranger and it was so refreshing.  Every answer I gave, he had a follow up question.  And then another and another.  Turns out he's a philosophy teacher, so I suppose the questioning is second nature. But my mind is still running in circles and zig zags from our conversation.

Just for fun, I'll give you a question to run with.  The same one he gave me:
Do you think you can CHOOSE to believe in something?

Annnnnd, go.

I like that she apologized first.

I was hanging out in a hotel hot tub today and a guy came over to join us.  He tried to slide in gracefully but ended up knocking over one of our cups and missing a step in the process.  He sort of grinned, apologized and slid across to the other side.


Suddenly, I heard a little voice from behind me, "Um, um I don't want to make you feel bad, but...smoooooth moves, Dad."


I turned to see his 9 year-old daughter with a mouth full of braces smiling at all of us.  So great.

It's the journey, not the destination.

And usually the batter is almost better than the dessert.

I made cookies from scratch tonight.  Which, in itself, is so fun.  Had a craving, was annoyed at the thought of going out to get something and then assessed the ingredients in my house...Viola!  Oatmeal cookies.

The idea that you have enough just "laying" around to make something delicious is so exciting.  I realize that's pretty normal.  MOST households have this.  But sometimes I still feel like a college student and was legitimately surprised tonight when I realized I could pull it all together.  (Had to run over to my neighbor to ask for vanilla, but again, fun.)

The cookies ARE delicious.  But the batter, the realizations, the neighbor visit...even better.

Here's to following through with ideas...

A friend sent this to me because it reminded him of me.  Fun.
It's a great little watch.

Your love glass is half full.

Saw the movie Paper Heart and it was better than I expected.  Charlyne Yi creates these great puppet scenes to tell love stories.  There are some sweet moments; in particular when she interviews a bunch of kids about love.


Worth the watch.

Skee Ball

Played a little skee ball down at the Santa Monica Pier tonight.  Always a good time. The little boy next to me was determined to get 100 points.  However, he was convinced the only way to do so was by throwing the ball overhand as hard as he possibly could.


Mom and dad didn't seem to care that he was throwing wood balls at a metal cage. And I'm pretty sure every other ball ended up in my lane.  One of which scored me 40 points!


Thanks for the help little kid.

Dating is rad.

Had some time to kill before a blind date and was utterly exhausted.  Thought a nice nap in the park would be perfect.  Laid out my yoga mat, curled up and was ready to pass out.

I would have been asleep in moments, but kept getting a whiff of dog poop.  Mmph, it's a park after all, no big deal.  

But it wouldn't go away.  I sort of half sat up and scanned the area around me...shifting back and forth on my mat and sort of turning side to side.  I looked under my mat, around my mat -- it seemed to be clear.  Since I was laying on my side, my feet were sort of stacked and I couldn't see my bottom foot.  But now I could see the smear of dog shit on my yoga mat. 

Yup.  ALL OVER my foot.  Not just my shoe, people.  All my shuffling around had spread the poop onto my skin and IN my shoe.  Completely disgusting.  All the leaves in the park and the box of handy wipes didn't seem to do the trick.  I was convinced I still smelled like poop.

What's a girl to do?!  Basically, it was the perfect excuse for a pair of new shoes.  And if this boy was cool, would also be a great story for tonight.

The new shoes:  Totally cute.

The date:  A no show.

Read it again and again

I can't remember the last time I quoted a bible verse.  Probably in high school when I was still sussing the whole thing out.


But last night I watched (via video feed from FL) a memorial service for a 5-year-old little girl from my church at home.

I can't erase it from my mind.

I connected to it because it was home.  
Because her favorite song was ABC by the Jackson 5
and she loved to dance.  
Because there were familiar faces
and spaces
and a community holding up a family who shouldn't have the strength to stand.


The pastor who gave the sermon is someone my age.  Someone I remember being an awkward high school student with.  And he's actually the uncle of this little girl.  He said the following words with strength and without a tear and it made me want to call everyone I love and tell them so.  Because we never say it enough.


"Blessed are those who mourn. [Matthew 5:4] -- Seems like that is exactly NOT how it is.  But read it again and again and again if you have to.  Those who mourn do so because they feel loss and loss is not felt by those who are not first blessed."

The Moment

There's a moment as you approach your car, after a long night of it being alone, and you see something on the windshield.

A moment where you think..."Is that a note?  Who could have left me a note?"

That moment is short.  VERY short.

And usually followed by, "Duh.  It's a parking ticket."

But that brief, brief moment is so sweet.

Love note?  Friend note?  Secret Admirer note?

People don't leave those enough. You should start today.

Leave more windshield notes.

Could be

A friend showed me this video and I can't seem to get it out of my head.  We had a pretty long conversation about it afterward and it makes me want to know everyone's opinion about this poignant, short film.

This isn't an in-your-face sunshine moment.  In fact, it might make you sad.  But watch it.  Perhaps with a friend so you can discuss.  Try to see the good...

Squeezing in every minute

For whatever reason, there's always pressure to take complete, full advantage of days off.  Perhaps it's just MY pressure, but I always want to use every moment of a day without work.

And today was a success.  Road trip, cannonball contests, WANG, 40oz Bud Ice, Polaroid cameras, roasted corn, playing fetch and an improv show in the Hwood.

Done and done.

Swingtown

I dare you to resist swinging your legs back and forth when your feet are dangling from a high seat.

It's nearly impossible to sit still when tempted by chair elevation.  Especially when you're gossiping with an old friend.

Smiling Faces & Flailing Arms

I was huffing and puffing through swim practice tonight trying to focus on ANYTHING other than my arms.  They seemed to be made of lead this evening.

During each breath, looking at the sideline of the pool, I remembered a trick I've used before to make it through a set.  I imagine people in my life running back and forth on the deck screaming and waving me forward -- just like high school swim meets.  My father, my coach, my brother, my friends.  It's fun to go through the list of people in my life and imagine their smiling faces and their flailing arms.  I even throw in perfect strangers, new crushes and unlikely characters.

Now, you can call me a total cheese-ball,  but I feel like this strategy could work for many difficult situations in life.  Imagining people you care about on the sideline, cheering you on...supporting you.

Right?
Cheese-ball indeed.