Start of a Beautful Break

I'm finally back home and on a computer, connected back to the world once again. Or perhaps it's more of being connected back to the ball that is chained to my fingers. My holiday was short, but sweet. I'll write of my week up in northern cali first, then move on to the real relaxing part of my break...hanging out in good company in a deserted desert.

As of right this moment, I'm sitting on my bed in my old room (filled with Christmas decorations lol), listening to my lil brother serenade me on his guitar. I'd love to get him a nice new guitar for Christmas, but sadly I don't have the money. :( He's playing so well these days, and if there's something that I'd want him to get into as he continues through the pressures of high school...it'd be music. Anyways, he's stopped to keep reading his textbook at my desk (he claims it is his now). A biography of Pattie Boyd called Wonderful Tonight lies at my feet and my iPod Nano is charging for my next trip on the road.

I sure do love those road trips. School let out on the 7th of December, but I was still working my ass off after my last final to finish up my senior project. Then I headed up north for a few days to kick it, visit, do some business, study, and have some fun. Relaxing didn't happen as much as I thought it would...that would have been nice if it did. Do I even remember all the things I did?

Tuesday: Drove up in a caravan with Chris. Met up with Russell in Millbrae and had some delicious (and expensive) gelato ice cream at some fancy Italian restaurant that was ironically located right next to a loud train track, intersection, and gas station. Who knew it'd be so classy? Then it was off to drive him back to Mountain View and head over to Atherton for the evening with family.

Wednesday: Woke up, showered, checked email, then drove to REI to pick up a snowboard bag for my trip to Colorado. I ended up getting a rolly one and am sure glad I did. I thought it'd be too big, but hey it holds my board, bindings, boots, and all my other snow gear along with it...barely. Glad I won't have to put all my snow stuff in extra bags! Then I went up to meet Russell in the city for lunch. I should have inquired where exactly he worked beforehand because I was driving around the wrong parts until he asked where I was. So I drove on over and found good parking, but was 20 minutes late to my dismay. Plus as I was getting out of my car, a trolley driver hollered at me and told me to call him. Confused, I looked at him until he said that drivers need some love too...along with how beautiful Asian women and mixes were especially and more along those lines that I didn't really pay attention to as I turned around to lock my car door. How would he know I was a mix anyways? Psh. Men. Particularly San Francisco men. Lunch was good...great really. My time with Russell is always a good dose of good company where I can talk business, fun, life, stories, anything really and he can do the same. And I'm talking to someone on the same level as me. Perhaps I even look up to him. I don't look up to many people my age these days. Not that I look down on them either...it's just that you'd be surprised how many people I have to pick up and put back on their feet. I don't mind that because I like to help when I can, but it's a bit draining sometimes. Anyways, we went to some fast grill and got our food to go so I could put more coins in my meter. We sat and watched people driving by and parking. It's not as fascinating as SLO...people here can actually somewhat drive. They must've started off in LA. ;) After lunch I headed to Panera Break on 4th and King to go and do some work over the internet. It was suggested by Russell (who made the mistake of calling it Pandora so I couldn't find it forever) and when I got there, it was fabulous. It was my place of choice to work for the next few days really.

That evening, I took off for Stanford to go to a presentation and meet up with potential business partners. It was fun and the campus was gorgeous. We had dinner afterwards at P.F. Changs and then I headed on back up to San Francisco to stay with Gloria for the evening. She was still moving so stuff was scattered all over her room. I did some work, answered more emails, chatted with her and went to the store, hung up some curtain rods and curtains, and finally went to sleep at 4am.

Thursday: We woke up at 9am. I was so drowsy as I climbed out of bed and got back on the computer to do yet more work as Gloria got dressed and ready to go. We headed out to get some dim sum, then drove over to the 24 Hour Fitness on 2nd Street to work out and do some pilates. It felt great to work a sweat. I took my shower (with no towel mind you), and we headed over to Panera Bread to study and work. We were there for what felt like forever, but I got a lot done and she...kind of did lol. I think we are too distracting for our own good. Chris came by, then Russell stopped by, and then Kim came by to meet me. Rock climbing had been suggested, but Kim and I ended up driving down to downtown San Jose to watch the Sharks play against Vancouver. I had suggested it before, but didn't really think we'd do it. She said that she wanted to and I said okie dokie. I think we were too exhausted from the day to climb anyways. Sharks won of course with some awesome goals. There was a guy behind us who I could swear only learned three phrases in english: "Mother-Fuckers!"..."Geet it owta there!"...and "Geet it geet it!". The first phrase was repeated regularly. Lol I guess they all were. But aside from that, the experience was thrilling and kept me at the edge of my seat. It was both Kim and my first live hockey game. After it was over, I walked with Kim over to the bathroom and we bumped into none other than Ebrah. I knew he'd be there that night. I knew Russell would be there too. But I sure didn't think I'd run into either of them or anyone else I knew. It was my evening with my cousin and I had her all to myself. :) It was nice running into Ebrah though.

Friday: I woke up, showered, and went over to Panera Bread to eat and once again leach off their internet. I stayed there all day. I kept wanting to get out of there and go do something, but there was never a shortage of things for me to get done, so I just kept cranking things out. That evening I talked to Kim and she invited me out to go on the town with her, her friends, and her friend's coworkers. I was about to accept the invitation, but Ebrah finally called me back and said he'd go dancing with me, so I drove down to Fremont to do that instead. It was a wonderful time. And it's good to have my friend back. He had been gone all quarter and we all missed him dearly. Especially his fantastic dancing. The music and beers were good too.

Saturday: I woke up early to meet Ebrah at the courts in Saratoga. Just as I've been working on (and believe me, it's a hard habit to break), I was on time. On the other hand, he was very late. But considering my history of lateness, there's not really much I can say. It was another grand time. The best morning I'd had all week, although they were all good. It's pretty hard to get me down these days. I daydream about dating him. But that's all it is, a fading dream. And I guess it's alright. Like I said, it's more than wonderful to have my friend. The kid ain't perfect by any means. But he's got one of the biggest hearts I've ever come across. And that is something I can look up to. That's kind of how I am...I get inspired by the people around me. After our session I headed over to the 24 Hour that I was more familiar with off the Cottle Road exit from the 85. I did my run and used their shower (long-term membership these days are paying off lol). Then I headed down to my old place to pick up some mail and packages that had still come to the house even though I had moved out. Brian had gotten a new beautiful dog. Baby was gone and Junior still had reign of the house. He had stopped smoking to get high four months ago. Personally, I never really ever knew he was stoned when I lived there. He was still relatively with it and responsible, clean, respectful. The only times I knew for sure were when he told me so. Or I went with him to the playgrounds. Anyways, his previous habits had jacked up his memory and he thought I'd lived there 2 to 3 years ago...and that there was no way that I was a recent tenant. I had lived there only three months ago and was the most recent tenant to move out. It was an interesting conversation after that. He's a good guy. I've never regretted living there or meeting Brian. Next stop was the San Jose public library downtown. Parking was ridiculous, but well worth it. The place is beautiful. I had to get a library card to use the internet, so now I have a San Jose public library card. When they kicked me out at 6pm, I headed over to see Kimmers at her friend's place somewhere near Saratoga and Payne streets. It was short-lived before I headed back to downtown San Jose to meet up with Nate and his girlfriend Rachel to go out to San Francisco. Burmese dinner was great. I way overpaid since I ordered once dish and some people ordered three plus appetizers which I didn't really touch, and yet the bill was split evenly among all of us. If I'd known, I would've eaten more of their food! Then we went to Ghiradelli Square and ordered fancy ice creams and hot chocolates. Yuma kept leading Brian (different Brian) into wrong places I felt like. I took him to browse around the shop and we both got hot chocolate mixes. There was talk of going out, but I was so tired that I opted to head back home. I was probably out within 10 seconds of hitting the pillow that evening.

Sunday: Waking up is getting tough. Nate and I hung out and chatted in the morning until I had to head out to hit the road. Once I did, I made a detour to get gas, then somehow ended up in a mall, and then as expected, got stuck at the book store. God I love books. Most people don't know that though. If you don't know what to get me, you will always be safe with a gift card to Border or Barnes & Noble. I buy books faster than I can read them. I probably buy like 10-15 books a year...unfortunately I might get through only two that year. My shelves are stacked with good reads. Which reminds me to ask Russell for my book back...he should be finished with it (or given up on it due to lack of time) by now. After buying more books, I headed out, and headed home. SLO here I come! Jenny was home playing with Rocky when I came in the door in SLO. I took a much needed shower, cleaned up some, packed, did laundry, and relaxed for a little while with my roommate. Then I busted out one of my books and began to read. It was so relaxing. I despise the fact that I'm too busy to do something so simple these days. I was also waiting to hear back from someone I was hoping to meet up with that evening. I am wary of meeting new people this way, but he intrigued me...and that's not easy to do these days. I've had the pleasure of getting to know many wonderful, dedicated, motivated and talented people over the past few years. Anyways, I waited for a few hours and didn't hear anything after the time he said he'd be free. So I loaded up my car and headed out once again...this time to Orange County. I was slightly disappointed, but oh well. It's not like I knew him all that well anyways. Guess he missed his chance.

Monday: Well, first I arrive back home in the OC around 3:30am. That's because I took a small nap along the way. I figured I'd just crash into bed as soon as I got home, but all the lights were on when I walked into the door. And there was trash strewn everywhere on the floor and counter tops. Dishes were piled up and the dining table had food crumbs all over it. My brother was fast asleep in his room, Mom was still not home from work, and Papa was sitting on the couch just watching more tv. That bum. So I cleaned everything up and fixed up the house, emptied the fridge of milk and orange juice that had expired back in October, sent my Pa off to bed, and brought my stuff in from the car. Mom came home around 5:30am and I went to bed soon afterwards. I'm glad she didn't have to come home to such as messy house. I know it frustrates her that her husband and son don't attempt to clean the house or keep it tidy.

Anyways, I woke up at 9am, hopped out of bed and got dressed, kissed my sleepy mom goodbye in bed, and headed out to Fallbrook. It took just a little over an hour to get there. When I got to Tyler's house, I hung out playing with Cammie and his new chiweiner Oz until he got back from errands with Taylor. Then we packed up the mobile and headed out to the desert. It was great out there and I loved every minute of it. The boys said that on weekends and holidays the place is packed full with up to ten different parties per campsite. We pretty much had dozens of campsites all to ourselves. Tyler took Taylor and I for rides in the dune buggy which was exhilarating. I've never been in a real one before and the speed was so much fun! Plus it was not on a track which made it that much more thrilling. Taylor let me use his goggles, thank goodness for that. During the times that Tyler and Taylor were out for a run, I sat down and opened up my book. It was so relaxing being out there...desert as far as you can see. Just me and my book. We took out the guitar to play later and while Tyler was making us dinner, Taylor taught me how to drive the buggy. It wasn't hard, but I kept stalling because the loud engine would scare me and I kept thinking I did something wrong. Then it would stall. The boys kept telling me not to be scared of the noise. On the last attempt I was given, I finally got it to go and drove it in circles around our camp. I wish I could be a race car driver. Control behind the wheel is so much fun. We ate spaghetti and then went for a few more night runs. On Tyler and my run, the buggy ran out of juice and died on the road up to the dune. We walked back a little less than a mile and placed bets on how freaked out Taylor might be. I know I'd be way freaked out if I were left at camp and didn't know what happened to my friends. However, Tyler and I followed a light in the distance that did bring us back to camp. The partial moonlight helped us from tripping over rocks and weeds on our trek. We went to pick up the buggy, hung out by the campfire, then headed in to go to sleep.

Tuesday: Well, we woke up to pretty much do it all over again. Except we only got one or two runs out of the thing. There was something wrong with the electrical side, so we had to borrow jump cables the first time to get it up and running. But once it died, it died. We probably could have jumped it again, but we'd already given back the cables. The people we borrowed from were really nice. The man looked big and stern, but he looked so sweet trying to take pictures of his son who kept hiding his face from the camera. "Jordan, just one picture. I've got to have at least one since we came all the way out here." and "Okay Jordan, I've put it away I've put the camera away." as he looks through the lens in front of his face. The boy, Jordan Walker (or Rose) was the cutest thing. He was young, maybe in junior high? But he was a cutie pie and had an attitude like my brother, and kind of an east coast accent...though I don't know where it came from since they don't live too far away. The dad had taken his son out so his son could go riding. From the looks of it, the kid was really good. He did motorcross and rode his dirt bike back and forth across the desert in his nice racer clothes and fancy fixed up bike. When he gets famous someday, I'll say that I met him in the desert once. And I went with Tyler to get him a map of the area. :) The rest of the day with Tyler and Taylor was wonderful. They are quite funny together, and not purposefully so. On the way home we stopped by a little Mexican restaurant and passed a lot of areas where the recent Southern California wildfires reigned out of control. It was sad, but at the same time fascinating. I had been in Malibu a week before the fires there started and spread. And I hadn't come home until Thanksgiving, well after they were over. The devastation here seemed surreal to me. We dropped Taylor off and I got to meet his dog Chevy, then Tyler and I headed back to Fallbrook to pack out and clean up. Well, he did most of the cleaning up lol. I got to play with his dogs and hang out with his parents. I feel bad I should have helped out more. Then it was time to go home. I spent some time with my step-dad for a little bit, took a shower, did some work with my brother after he got home from practice, which bring me updated to right now...writing my story. It doesn't end though. Come Friday I'll be embarking on another journey once again to SLO, back home, and then to Colorado. I can't wait!