Give me a P!

Being in Portland was an awesome experience.

Americorps took care of everything; as I told my mother, I didn't spend a dime in four days! For me, that is a big deal, and one to celebrate. The beds were amazing--if a cloud and a feather were to make love, THIS was the bed in which they would have chosen this bed. The food was delicious, all local, fresh. Some people complained that there was too many veggies. Whaaaat? Not. Possible.

While I was there, I spent some time wandering around by myself, enjoying the atmosphere, checking out local cafes, walking the waterfront, seeing friends old and new, and learning a lot.

While I was there, I had the opportunity to visit my friend, E, who hosted a friend and I last Spring Break, which was an awesome and mind-blowing experience that marked many firsts for me--dumpster diving, minor building projects, sleeping in a tent indoors, and many, many more adventures. Re-visiting was another whirlwind, a different cast of characters but the same old zany fun.

Well, as it turns out, one of the new roommates, J, is from Arizona, and he and I just happened to go to the same middle and high schools and he just happened to date one of my best friends in the whole world, J! Small world.

For me, Portland is just one of those magical places where I am more creative, where I see human interactions that make me think, where I can run into people I knew a DECADE ago. I feel SO old.

Adventures in Tourism

To continue the epic saga of J's stay in California, we spent an afternoon like any other tourist would - down on Hollywood Boulevard, home to many of L.A.'s famous sites.

Of course, we got our fair share ( and somebody else's, let's be real) of pics with the dog. Don't judge.

 

...Because doing LA J-style isn't quite like doing LA any other way. You're doing it balls-to-the-wall wacky, tacky,  and downright weird. These aren't even the best pictures I captured. I'm just too lazy to sort through the mounds of photos left behind in her absence.

 

Yes, that is my dog matching up her paws with Donald Duck's.

Come back, J! My apartment isn't the same without you!!!

Anything's possible with your toes in the sand . . .

I am very lucky to be living in California. I get to complain about 80 degree weather. I look out the window and see the beautiful, lush Hollywood Hills with the occasional mansion peaking out between the foliage. Friends and family come to visit me all the time because I live in a place people would rather be during the summer. And the winter. And I am within *somewhat* reasonable driving distance to the beach. So, on Friday, I went to Santa Monica with the boyf to meet up with an old friend from high school, Ms. J and her boy of the mo'.

We spent the day at the beach, laying out on towels beneath the low cloud cover. Kids danced in the waves and seagulls dive-bombed our food stash. Huge sandwich -- you will be missed.

After much convincing, J and I walked out into the water with our respective boys. At first, it felt freezing cold, but it seemed to warm up. It was so much fun splashing and playing, even if I am still terrified of the ocean.

BOO/BOOYA

Lately, things have been a mashup of good and bad.

BOO: Flaking on work, distributing El Independiente to the downtown area and meeting the Southern Pines Baptist Camp that I was supposed to tour on Friday.

BOOYA: Touring Camp Lawton, the boy scout camp, and finding out how nice (and cheap!) it is.

BOOYA: A came to visit for the weekend and we had such a blast together. We jungle-partied, congressed, beer ponged, danced with a variety of gay men, and one of us threw up "exorcist-style." I won't tell you which of us.

BOO: The bestie is gone and I miss her!!

X2BOOYA: Looks like I FINALLY wrote a grant for CW that was accepted!!

A'S COMING TO TOWN!