Proceed with caution

There was a weird power outage today and a handful of traffic lights were out in downtown Santa Cruz. It made for a long trip across town, but in and amongst a little frustration, I realized we were all working together as a team.

And I liked it.

We all had to make eye contact with the person across the intersection and then check in with our lane partner to sort of proceed as a team. No one honked or raised their fist in the air. We all just calmly, collectively made it work.

I realize its common knowledge that we, as a society, connect less and less. And even though thats a bit depressing, it does make all the little connections that much sweeter.

Normal

Santa Cruz still feels like a ghost town sometimes.  Even over a year into all of this. But tonight, I saw teeny glimpse into a life more normal.

I pulled up to a stoplight and noticed two twenty-something girls standing in front of a restaurant awkwardly trying to take a selfie. They were struggling to get the restaurant sign and both their faces in the photo. I was watching them in a daze, slightly amused, when I realized the guy in front of me was sort of heckling them.  I couldn't hear what he was saying, but all of a sudden he did a quick a U-turn and pulled up to the curb.  He hopped off his bike, grabbed their phone, took a great photo, high-fived them and managed to turn back around before the light turned green.

It filled my heart with so much warmth I almost teared up. I realized it had been entirely too long since I'd seen spontaneous human connection and strangers being kind to one another.

Roll 'em down.

I've mentioned this before and I still feel the same way.  Especially because most people have smart phones now and there's no need to ask for help.

Stuck in traffic on Santa Monica Blvd, ahem, with my windows down -- a business man pulled up next to me and said, "Excuse me? How do I get to the 405?"

I gave him directions, he gave me a quick thank you and I silently thanked Los Angeles for having great weather that allows me to have my windows down.  In January.  And the opportunity for human interaction - even if just for a moment.

Two wheels, please.

Sooo....the couple days of bike/train commuting proved to be pretty great.  I couldn't believe how much better it made me feel.  Not to mention the things you see/hear/smell when you're not stuck in the bubble of your car.

• Glendale smells AMAZING.  Something is blooming there and...whoa...so yummy.
• Hearing the city go by is invigorating.
• A lot of people smoke weed in Los Angeles.  In their cars, on the sidewalk, on their front porch...

And because it was so great, I'm committing to getting from Santa Monica to Santa Clarita using public transport/my bike/my legs once a week for the next two months.

It feels official if I commit to it here.  Feels like I have someone keeping me accountable.

Neighborhood Love

Been meaning to get my bike fixed for the past month and have been waiting to conveniently run into my cute neighbor who works at Helen's.  Figured I'd ask him for a quick favor and offer a six pack of beer in return.

Well after a hellish day in the car today, I decided I wanted to park my car for the rest of the weekend which means I needed my bike fixed ASAP.

Headed down to our little neighborhood bike shop and was in and out in 10 minutes.  At some point it came up that my neighbor worked at Helen's, blah blah blah.  As I was leaving, the owner said, "Alright see ya later, happy biking."

Then he looked me right in the eye and smiled, "And thank you for not going to Helen's."

Girls are many things, but not usually jerks.

We have a pretty obnoxious -- very Santa Monica -- crosswalk about a block from my house.  It is also the crosswalk I use every morning to get my coffee.  It has huge yellow signs on both sides, flashing lights on the ground (when you push the button) and pretty high pedestrian traffic so everyone typically slows down on that section of Ocean Park Blvd.

This particular morning was going very well -- early to rise, morning at the beach, friendly encounters at the coffee shop...

And then...the crosswalk.

As I walked out, coffee in hand and still smiling about my favorite barista, I looked both ways and noticed a car was slowing down for me to cross.  I stepped out slightly, looked him right in the eye and waved to say thanks.  As I made my way across I heard, "PUSH THE BUTTON YOU JERK!"

The seventy-year-old man behind the wheel of his Prius fully stopped his car, leaned out and most definitely called me a jerk.  In ALL CAPS.  I was stunned.

As I made it to the other side, a woman screamed back, "Calm down.  Have a nice day!" And then to me she said, "Oh, the nerve of people.  Pedestrians have the right of way.  Some people just get their feathers ruffled.  I hope YOU still have a nice day."

I guess purple really does equal royalty.

I realize I've mentioned my sweet polarized sun glasses before. And I also realize the 90's might be a more appropriate time to be excited about them.

But this is cool.

I drive. A lot.

And I've learned that polarized glasses are sort of a decoder.

For rich people.

From behind my glasses, all BMWs, Lexuses, Audis and who-knows-what-other fancy cars...have purple-tinted windshields.

It's true. Get a sweet pair of shades for yourself.

You'll see.

It took 7 years.

There seems to always be a car accident somewhere in LA at any given moment. I suppose it's a numbers game...with that many cars, more opportunities for accidents.

Today I was one of them.
On the 405 Freeway, in the fast lane.

I was the last car hit in a 4 car pile-up. And quickly learned that sometimes, being fourth is a good thing.

There are many details about the accident, including the driver at fault who fled from his vehicle.
On foot.
Across FOUR lanes of traffic.

But the moment that made me smile?
Once I realized what had happened, I reached for my phone. It was an automatic reaction and I wasn't sure what number I was dialing. 911? Nope.

My mom.

I was suddenly 12 again and knew I needed to let her know I was OK. And possibly I wanted to hear her say that I was OK.

The 30-year-old me helped lead my fingers toward 9-1-1, but she was most definitely the next person I called.

Thank you very much, sir.

I did the obligatory...drive-around-insistently-for-awhile-until-you-find-a-free-parking-spot...dance tonight. And it was waaay shorter than usual.

I did a half a circle based on where I wanted to be for the evening and as I contemplated actually paying the $10 to park, I made eye contact with the parking attendant.

With his awesome orange flag beckoning me to his lot, he gave me a "come here/wink, wink" look. And I realized there was a free meter spot available right in front of him.

I put my car in reverse and quickly parked my car. As I looked up, he gave me a quick thumbs up and then proceeded to lure the next unassuming driver into his lot.

Free Parking in LA is like 100 million times better than Free Parking in Monopoly. For the record.

Blame It On The Rain

This morning I sat in traffic for 2 hours on the 405 freeway. And when I say sat, I mean that quite literally. We weren't moving.

Once I finally made it to my exit, I was in serious need of a coffee. So I pulled up to my favorite little drive-thru coffee joint. As I waited behind a car, I started playing with my phone and after awhile realized this was taking longer than normal. I was trying to be calm. It had been 5 minutes, not a lifetime.

There was a guy standing next to my car who had ordered as a walk-up customer. I could tell he was watching me out of the corner of his eye so I was trying not to look overly annoyed and impatient.

But apparently, I was. I put my car in reverse and was going to commit to the other side of the kiosk that had no cars. As soon as I pulled up, another car sneaked in right before me. Raar.

And clearly, the car I had originally been behind was now pulling away.
Clearly.
I reminded myself this was all just prolonging me having to sit at my desk, so it wasn't all bad, but I wanted out of my car.

Mr. Walk-up Guy walked past my car and tapped on my window motioning for me to roll it down.

"Don't worry, I told her you had been waiting and she's coming to take your order first."

I smiled and said thank you. And I felt a little bit lame for being huffy and puffy.

Friday afternoon traffic.

A little sunshine in the midst.

(check out that bumper sticker)

Long Weekend

My drive home tonight was so much more pleasant than I expected.

Thought I'd be pulling my hair out because everyone would be trying to skip town. But it was better than it's EVER been on a Friday.

It's the small things.

If I had wings

For some reason the 405 freeway has been really congested lately. I realize that's sort of common knowledge, but my usual commute is typically pretty easy and the past few weeks the ride home has been less than amusing.

However, tonight, the car in front of me had two passengers in the back seat and just as we got over the hill at Sepulveda (where the weather dramatically changes) the two passengers reached out of their window at the same time. My heart skipped a beat because I thought they were going to give their car wings and start flapping them.

I used to do this all the time when I had friends in the car. Its fun for the car involved, but its most fun for all the people sitting in traffic.

They never did flap their wings, but next time you have a friend in the car, try it.

Look at me, no hands!

Driving to San Diego for just the day can be overwhelming, especially when you're being forced to go for work. However, I seemed to have overlooked a saving grace: The Carpool Lane.

Usually, I drive along side it and don't pay much attention...it's pretty much off limits for me. But on this day, with my trusty coworker in the driver's seat, I got to actually use the lane.

I'm betting you have to live or have lived in LA to truly understand the exhilarating feeling of crossing the double white lines into no man's land. And it is nothing short of that...exhilarating. I basically reverted back to about 10-years-old, making hand horns and saying nanny nanny boo boo to all the poor fools driving solo.

It took everything I had to not lift my hands straight over my head and scream outloud...just like a rollercoaster.

Green Light, Yellow Light, Red Light

Oh, the Cloverfield exit. I use it almost everyday and almost everyday, some d-bag (in a hurry to wait in even more traffic), blocks the intersection. Which then leaves the rest of us sitting and staring at a green light.

Today, someone stepped up. A very nice gentlemen in a Honda Accord realized that his impatience might affect everyone else...and he waited...at HIS green light. He realized the 20 ft he might gain in moving into the intersection was less important than the 15 cars waiting to get off the freeway.

Yes, I live in LA. And traffic etiquette make me happy.