Adieu, United States

Today is my last day in the United States. I leave for Barcelona tomorrow afternoon from Chicago O'Hare and I'm driving up from my house with my parents early in the morning to get to Chicago.

It has been a good day. I woke up early and went for a run, something which I hardly ever have the motivation to do early in the morning. I love running but generally it's not the first thing I crave when I awake each morning. But perhaps today someone knew that it was my last day in America for a year and decided to make the weather my favorite kind. The clouds were grey and ominous as they took over the sky, rolling in over the now six-feet-tall corn husks. It was a bit drizzly and only sixty-eight degrees, offering a light breeze solely to those awake early enough to take advantage of it. Running through Lake of the Woods was so peaceful. The only things I could hear were the trees blowing in the wind and my own feet hitting the pavement. I decided to turn off my iPod music. Sometimes I enjoy the silence.

I came back to my house and made my typical oatmeal and fruit breakfast with coffee. My bud Emma then came over and we had one of our glorious conversations over some more coffee. I love talking with her because we comment on all the unsaid aspects of life upon which we totally agree--about weird dreams we have, experiences we want to have, and adventures that we can only hope to have, about how you have to work at being happy, about who we are and who we want to be, about dogs and books, and anything that our stream of consciousness allows. They're not always deep conversations, but they are always interesting.

Anywho, I have some last, last-minute packing to do. Then I am going to spend some time with my kitty and watch The Mentalist with my parents tonight.

My next post will be from Spain. Ciao!

Potlucks and Braids

Last night I went to a potluck at my friend Bethany's house. I know what you're thinking, "Ew, potlucks. That's just everyone's excuse to get rid of the leftovers they've had stored in the fridge for the past week and a half." But actually, it's not. The food was really good and spending time with friends is always worthwhile. I brought pizza. Domino's to be exact. That's my tip for all the potluck-attending newbies out there. Bring a simple cheese pizza from Domino's and check the phone book before you order it to see if the coupons near the back have expired yet.

I'm desparately trying to see most of my friends before I take off for Barcelona on Aug. 21. It's getting to be crunch time and I've started to think about thinking about packing. I hate packing; it's so stressful. And packing for a year to go to a country that you've never been to is, admittedly, a bit daunting. But I'm SO excited!

At the potluck last night my friend Megan french braided my hair. I love having it french braided! I cannot do it very well myself and trying to french braid my own mane is nearly impossible. My arms start to cramp up with pain resembling that of the kind I felt when running the San Diego Marathon. Anywho, Megan did a really good job and had a lot of patience because my hair was so tangly. I kept the braids in to sleep and got in bed with Bukowski.

Today I have a few things I want to do.
1. Run 8 miles. Lift weights/ core. French braids are still in tact, yay!
2. Empty the dishwasher. I love when I open the dishwasher door and the steam floats up in my face; I use it to clean my glasses.
3. Take pants to the tailor. I'm 5'3" and have to cut almost all my jeans.
4. Paint backyard chairs. Friends coming over around 7:45p to help. Note to self: wear jank clothes so as not to ruin good ones.

Venice Beach

I am in Los Angeles, have been here since Sunday. I love creating my own adventures when I'm here. There are so many things to do, most of which cost money. But if you're creative, or if you just enjoy observing as I do, you find entertainment in the people here. Plus, the beach is always a beautiful place to have access to, not to mention a prime spot for people watching.

I love running on the beach in the morning. It's perfect because the sun hasn't quite warmed the place yet and the crisp sea breeze offers me the fresh smell of saltwater. Mmm, it's dreamlike.

After my run, I went to Venice Beach (I ran at Marina Del Ray in the morning) to walk around. I love walking down the sidewalk of Venice and smelling herb, incense, hot dogs, and the ocean all at once. Among today's sightings was a man from the Caribbean islands stepping on shards of glass from alcohol bottles, a group of guys performing drumline style, and ironic homeless men and women openly asking for money to fund their beer addictions. I will say that I appreciated the cleverness that these "bums" used on their cardboard box signs... Perhaps, my favorite sign read, "Parents were eaten by pigeons, need money to buy a BB gun." The bum then turned the sign around to reveal the back; it read, "Why lie? I need beer." It almost made my want to toss a nickel his way. Almost.

Charles Bukowski captures the essence of Venice Beach in one very brief poem entitled "Venice Beach"

the lost and the damned
the wounded and the intellectual
the boozed and the debauched
the negative and the
uninspired
and the police
and the police
and the police.
------

I couldn't have said it better myself.