a new day is dawning

I arrived last night around 8pm. Dinner, unloading the truck, humpa humpa, then bed.

I am a bit out of sorts today. Distracted, unfocused, tired, chilled. But there's a happiness below the surface. I just have to settle a bit before it will peek out its nose.

My second extended stay has been with my aunt, uncle and younger cousin in Topanga Canyon, CA. Topanga is a hippie town filled with old rusting VWs, film industry folks, horses, chaparral, and coyotes. It sits nestled in the hills between the San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica. My cousins' place has been a refuge to me for all my years in California - I spent Thanksgiving here during college, and my aunt was always a receptive caring ear when I had drama with relationships, school, whatever. It's great being back to see them again.

In my time here I've managed to be quite social. On Monday night I joined asmodean451 for dinner, laptop music raiding and lots of talking. He's in a serious relationship with his girlfriend of almost 1 year - she's moving to LA soon. Very exciting! It's great to see him doing so well. Also, he just finished (mostly) his MS in Computer Science - congrats, Naru!

Tuesday daytime I hung out with Surya and Aleta, old skool raver friends of mine. Surya was a dear and accompanied me dress shopping in Santa Monica. Now *that* is dedication. He's also doing quite well - just landed a position editing film, which is the direction he wants his career to take.

Last night, Wednesday, I saw the delectable isis_page and the charming soymlk. We dined at Abuelitas in the canyon, after a long, long wait. Fajitas, yum! They're both doing quite well, and they agreed to permit me to camp with them at Rum & Cock in Fandango this year. I'm super excited about that - a nice mix of organization but no drama. After dinner we shared a long conversation about family, houses, Heather's schooling, Fucky's work in Englewood, and all manner of tidbits. They're stand up people, and I wish they would move to Pittsburgh. They'd be proud compatriots in the battle for Freakbase Pittsburgh. Alas, it is not to be, but they've promised to visit. You heard it here first!

And today, after a leisurely breakfast and some last puttering on the internet, I am off to the long drive to Phoenix, Arizona to see my Grandmother. Tomorrow night she's taking me out to see a performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. We have front row seats.

Off to pack my cooler full of goodies, then onto the 101 south to the 134 east to the 210 east to the 57 east to the 10 east. More from Phoenix, assuming I can fix my Grandmother's internet issues on her new Mac computer. If you're bored today, call me: 510 387 9369. I'll just be sitting there driving all day, I could use the entertainment!