etcetera...

So I've been in California for almost three weeks now... man I hate the suburbs! I love being here with mom... I love the weather... I love having a job and actually making money for once! My job is going well... I show up an hour before anyone and listen to loud music and drink good coffee (that a nice lady named Val gets ready for me the night before). I sit all day in front of a computer and format files... merging notes with images and formatting them for archiving. I don't have to invest myself in my work in the least. I just try to stay busy all day. Mom drops me off at 7:30 am on her way to work and picks me back up at 5:00 pm after she gets off. It's nice... I've gotten to spend good time with my mother. I think tonight I'm going to go check out Rodrigo Modeiros Brazilian Jiu Jitsu... see if I can arrange to train a few days a week. That would be great. I'll let you know how that goes.

This past weekend I went with Mom's boss, Karen (a wonderfully spriteful older woman with a taste for both flair and adventure) to an event called "Taste of the Gaslamp District" where we spent 4 hours wandering downtown from restraunt to restraunt sampling some amazing (and some not-so-amazing) food. I was so full by the time I got done. Lots of seafood, sushi, some steak joints, Carribbean, and some other stuff I wouldn't know what to call. After doing that, I spent almost 5 hours getting home (maybe 15 miles). First, I had to wait 2 hours for the Coaster (train) that runs towards mom's suburb. So I wandered around downtown by myself until the train arrived. Then, when I got off at the Coaster stop "near" mom's place (almost 6 miles) I found out there was no bus service on the weekends so I walked over 5 miles uphill in flip flops to get home. It was a beautiful night for a walk, luckily... perfect 60 degree california dusk. I was just impressed that I can still walk 5 miles at the drop of a hat. And I wasn't kidding... it is all uphill... from Serento Valley to Mira Mesa. I didn't think about that before walking it. Sunday I mowed their yard. It was the first time I'd gotten to do that in a few years. You really do miss it a little when you don't get to do it. I got to talk to Jenne on the phone... haven't talked to her in awhile... that was really nice. Then I went to Pacific Beach and laid on a blanket and read book two of Stephen King's Dark Tower. I don't know why Jenne didn't put that book in my hands long ago (she introduced me to it, albeit not aggressively enough) but I am hooked. I'll let everyone know when I'm done but for now I will say that it is quickly climbing towards the top of my recommendation list. If you're looking for something to read this summer, pick up The Dark Tower. It's not horror... it's not in the slightest scary... it's just some really good writing and a beautifully developed story.

So that's me for now... I got my first paycheck last week so I have a little money finally. I'm going to start going to museums and whatnot throughout the weeks. They just opened an Andy Warhol show at the San Diego Art Museum with over 100 pieces! I'm pretty excited about that. I should be going tomorrow... museums are either free or cheap on Tuesdays (so I've heard). I guess I should get back to work... I'll write again soon.

Peace...