day 271: Don’t Stop Believin’

Carla is one of the biggest Dodger fans I’ve met. She comes from a Dodger family who bleeds blue, Dodger blue. For Friday, she had an extra ticket and invited me with the caveat that I had to cheer for the Dodgers. I’m not a baseball fan perse, but I do enjoy watching the playoffs. The first pitch was to be thrown at 1:07pm (I don’t understand the :07), and we arrived at 11:00am to miss the traffic. Yeah, as you can imagine we missed the traffic. We enjoyed our sandwiches and walked around the ballpark waiting for the game to start.

One PM in October may sound like a pleasant day anywhere else and any other year in LA it would be perfect, but this year, “OMG! It was freaking hot!” Mind you two days prior I was running in the rain and turned on my heater, well a heat wave moved into the southland and it was a warm 93 degrees. Sitting in the bleachers it felt like 100 degrees. The game finally turned around in the 8th inning and the Dodgers walked away with a 2-1 victory tying up the series 1-1. Here’s hoping they take it all the way! Don’t Stop Believin’

After fighting the traffic home and washing the ballpark stench off, I enjoyed a wonderful dinner and conversation with Tommy. Presented with a list of restaurants, we decided on the Hungry Cat in Hollywood. The oysters were fresh and tasty. The menu was an eclectic mixture of tastes. The clams with chorizo piqued our curiosity, as did the mahi mahi with coconut rice. It was an exceptional dinner and I know I’m very lucky to have Tommy in my life, just the way he is.

day 256: 3.5 - the breaking point

This was the breaking point. I haven't posted anything since this day, because this day was so exhausting. I needed some time to come to terms with my decision. It was the beginning of October and for the few days before I was thinking of moving to NM. If I made the decision it was gonna be today. I had to give a 30 day notice to my manager. My roommate gave me his notice a few days earlier and said he would be moving to Colorado.
Factors in my decision were:
finances: I'm losing so much money by living in LA, and if I'm still unemployed at the end of my unemployment insurance, I'm not sure what I will do.
looking for another roommate: I figured my luck of finding another cool roommate was running out, between Duane and Lucas, I was very fortunate.
the rising unemployment rate: the national unemployment rate is 9.8%. I always forget that the beginning of the month starts with bad news.
holidays: most companies don't hire through the holidays (even when  the economy is good)
potential jobs: I had three potential jobs and didn't get any of them. This was a definite blow to my confidence.
my car: I've had some recent car problems... I swear, when it rains it pours. 
the moon: maybe a little bit of the full moon came into play. :P 
stress: each day I'm losing a little bit of myself: my confidence, my sanity, and my happiness.

I was so stressed I worked out 3.5 times (0.5 is the brisk walk): I ran 3 miles in the morning, rode my bike down to Redondo beach, came home had lunch and rode to Bel-air and then around midnight I took a brisk walk to Fairfax and back. The picture above is one I took in the morning: before the meltdown, before I made the decision. The photos below are in Manhattan Beach.

A huge "Thank you" goes out to Mark and Tim for making sure I was ok. I know it must have been scary for you, but thank you for talking to me so late at night. Thank you for being my friends.

 

day 146: Tommy

We celebrated Tommy's birthday in Los Angeles. What happens in the PDT stays in the PDT, and I'll leave it at that.

day 081: awesome gift

I've been eye-ing these bad boys for a while, and today, I received them as a gift. (It's a set of four) Just when you think all is lost, there is a little bit of Hannah to cheer you up. Thanks, dork. ;) Hannah Montana: The Movie opens this weekend.

day 077: series of intersecting lives and incidents

I'm reminded by my friend, Amy, that bad things happen in threes. one: lost job, two: identity fraud, three: hit & run. I do hope this is the end of it.

Today feels like that scene from Benjamin Button, when Daisy was hit by the car. Everything had to happen in order for me to be hit by that red car, accident or design, it had to happen. I don't know the particulars about the other people involved: the guy in the car, the guy in the Dooley truck, the 10-year-old girl on the Razor scooter, or the two EMTs. I know that for me, I had to have an extra cup of tea this morning. I usually only have one cup, but opted for two. Firefox crashed and I had to reopen all the windows again. I forgot to put on sunscreen and ran back upstairs to lather it on. I decided to read one more chapter in my book at the park. Waiting in line at the Post Office, the AC forced me to put on my sweat jacket which protected me from more scrapes. The Dooley Truck that took up most of the road made me slow down. The ambulance had to be stuck in traffic just a few cars back from where the collision occurred. I had to notice the girl on the Razor scooter whisking down the sidewalk as I passed her and that red car had to make that left hand turn as I was about to ride straight.

And if only one thing had happened differently: If that Dooley truck was in the other lane or that girl on the Razor left 2 minutes earlier, I could've been under the car, the little girl could've been hit by that car or the red car could've made a left turn without hitting anyone. "But life being what it is - a series of intersecting lives and incidents, out of anyone's control:" I was hit by that car and fell to the ground with the little girl on the Razor scooter coming to my side and asking if I was ok. The EMTs quickly tending to my scrapes and the that guy in the red car rolling down his window to ask if I was ok, only to drive away without an answer.

It's strange what you think of during an accident. The first thought that came to my mind when the EMTs asked to clean the wound was "I should have shaved my legs this morning." For some reason everything else was a blur, but that thought is vivid.

day 069: unexpected obstacles

After Meet the Press this morning, I jumped on my bike and went for a ride. It was a perfect day. Overcasting clouds cooled the streets of Los Angeles. I took a break near this beautiful bush covered with these purple flowers (sorry I don't know what kinda of bush it is) Then I realized it was also covered with bees! :O

I kinda got lost and found myself in a part of Brentwood (I think) that I had never been. It was beautiful.

Cycling and running, for me, are personal time. Even when I'm running with a group or cycling with friends. The group can be there for support, but at some point you realize that you're peddling the bike. You're putting one foot in front of the other. I love it when you no longer realize that you're exercising and you're in the zone. You get into a rhythmic groove and focus on items swirling around your head. Of course there are tough hills, where you remind yourself that you will get to the top, because the journey down will be worth it. Sometimes there are those unexpected obstacles & challenges: wind, flat tires, or making a wrong turn. But at the end of the journey you know that it was all worth it, and that you have discovered something new: either about yourself or the location. :)