First Night Out

Last night was the end of another long day of job hunting and interviews. Feeling discouraged and exhausted I walked out to my car to head home and found a papery little treat under the wiper.  My first parking ticket.  Too drained to cry and too poor to even begin to think about paying it, I stuffed it in my purse and drove home in a daze.

Trying to keep my chin up I decided a little distraction would do me good, so I took my roommate up on the offer to go out with him.  His friend Lily was playing a final show with her band at The Echo, so I tagged along for what turned out to be the perfect medicine.

We started the evening at The Gold Room where I sipped soda water (due to my weak stomach) and surprisingly ran into a couple of friends of mine! Seeing someone from San Francisco right here in my neighborhood bar totally brightened my mood and gave me the sense of being at home.  After the bar we headed to the venue where we saw three bands. Lily, the lead singer of "Lily and the Ladies" was fantastic and "the Ladies" rocked out. I'm not one to critique music, not really my field of expertise but I will say the whole night was loud, fun, visual and highly entertaining.  The crowd was made up of what appeared to be the Hipster scene on steroids, the hottest and coolest looking chicks you've ever seen and the skinniest boys in the tightest pants.  The fashion, for the most part, was similar to the Mission sensibility but amped way up. 

All of my roommate's friends were totally welcoming and fun and they were all interesting and accomplished people who seemed to have a million different jobs and artistic endeavors.  Overall the night gave me a break from stress, it gave me a nice big dose of fun and it gave me the first taste of my local nightlife.  Once again I'm grateful to have landed in the neighborhood I did, I'm so stoked that I hit the jackpot with my roommies and I can't wait to continue to explore all LA has to offer.  So far so good, sippin' on a coconut Italian soda and gearing up for another job interview.  After that, the beach. Good, free fun and a little nap in the sun.  I think I can do this.

The Dog Farm

Everything comes in waves and when the swell is too big you find yourself pummelled. Grasping at the shifting sand, gasping for a breath of air, you try to open your wet, salty eyes to see. If you make it out alive, a bit of rest is in order.

I had to leave for the weekend.

Sitting here in a quiet little house in a beautiful beach town I can't help but feel like I'm someone else. I'm calling it the "dog farm" because three adorable Boston Terriers seem to be running the place at the moment.

As the sun begins to set, Riva and I are moving around the house in our long white nightgowns going about our separate activities. Reading, sewing, sleeping, snacking.

The crumbs from our long gone sandwiches cast little shadows on the lap trays we used in the living room. Our sun-browned skin, a stark contrast to the white, is soft with the layers of Shea butter we diligently melted and applied. The only sounds are those of birds, neighbor children in the distance and the chewing and snorting of the pups.

As I napped with the youngest one pressed against my chest and belly I measured the difference in our breaths and dozed in and out of strange fever dreams. This place is peaceful, this place is not my home and I'm reminded of the imminent and oh-so-familiar in between feeling that I'll soon be living in again.

When I close my eyes I can feel the waves bobbing me up and down.

When I open them I remember,

I am here.

Here is where I am.