Pre-Memorial Day beach attempt

Remember my beach excitement yesterday?

Note to self: check the weather before assuming it's a beach day. Even in southern California, not every day is a beach day.

I drove all the way to Zuma Beach in Malibu and, after over a half hour, was greeted by this:

Not pictured: super crazy winds

Considering no one was there and I was wearing a sundress (no pants, no hoodie, nothing to survive the 60°ish temperature), I sadly turned around upon arrival.  It was still before 10:30am and I wasn't ready to give up on my Sunday plans yet, so Santa Monica beach was next.

I don't know why I expected the weather to be substantially different just down the coast, but I did.  And it was...just a little.  Maybe we added 5° and lost half the windspeed, but it still wasn't "beach weather" at all.  However, the pier was packed, and there was a good amount of people in the sand anyway.

Also in the sand—a Memorial Day display.

10 Things in L.A. - kickoff!

I'm planning to go to the beach today.  Well, I planned to go yesterday after work, but I thought I'd get out more like 1:30...not 4:00pm.  So today it is!  I don't really want to go to Santa Monica and the pier today, because it's so close to work and I don't want to go there on my day off.  I really liked Manhattan Beach, but I don't know if I want to drive all the way down there...but maybe.  I looked at a map of the area and realized I've never gone to a beach in Malibu.  Zuma it is, I guess!

So I googled the beaches in the area and got my driving directions.  Also on the first page of results was this article: Los Angeles: 10 Things to Do in 24 Hours.

This is perfect.

I'll try to complete one item from the list every week.  It reminds me of my second semester of college, when my then-roommate and I decided to go do something fun in the city (Chicago) every weekend.  We walked on the beaches of Lake Michigan in winter (pretty funny wearing boots and heavy coats), explored Chinatown, and found interesting little shops.  This will be my personal L.A. version.

I want to do cool things

Seriously. I need to do cool things. That's the whole reason why I started this blog: to hold myself accountable and make me do things.

I have LivingSocial/Groupon certificates for The Bar Method, a tamale cooking class, and today I bought one for an hour-long surf lesson. I've currently got another browser tab open to search Meetup groups. Friends have thrown a few ideas around for upcoming outings.

The other day, a coworker was talking about something from when he lived in Japan. Then he mentioned the time he went skydiving over Vegas and lots of desert. Oh yeah, he also won half a million dollars on a game show. None of this was done in a bragging manner—he's a super nice guy—but it just got me thinking that I need to do cool things too.

I'm working on it.

I need to write something

"I'm having a crisis and I need you. NO ONE WILL WANT TO READ ABOUT MY LIFE. I have no reason to ever write a memoir. I AM AVERAGE." —Me to Alexa earlier today

I had been documenting my life since my thirteenth birthday. I have kept handwritten diaries, private blogs, and text-based computer files about my life for over ten years.  Even when the daily chronicles slowed down, I kept something.  I've saved ticket stubs and programs and photos and various mementos.  I need to have a record of my life.

I want to write a memoir.  I'm kinda average, but maybe that's the appeal.  I could be relatable.  Maybe I can be entertaining or inspiring.  At the very least, I want to be remembered.

Since I'm not comfortable making certain areas of my life totally public yet (um, my parents would read it...as would certain subjects who need to be featured due to their prominent roles in my life), maybe this calls for another project.

Alexa and I are going to work on something, and if it goes according to plan, we'll at least self-publish so we can have a tangible thing to show off.  We are twenty-somethings figuring out life.  That's definitely relatable.

Hollywood explorations

I basically decided to move to Los Angeles when I was about twelve years old.  I knew I'd go away to college, and if school wasn't in L.A., then I'd move here after graduation.  So I did.  I graduated from a college in Chicago in spring 2008, then packed up and took a one-way flight to Los Angeles three months later.  Despite knowing this was my plan (rather than an unthoughtout move), sometimes I don't fully realize how close I am to all things Hollywood and iconic and awesome.

Some of it probably has to do with the fact that my first two years here were sans car.  I was limited to the (limited) public transportation, and the system is enough to make Chicago's CTA look glorious.  Going anywhere was a chore, especially with some bus lines only running once an hour...and stopping service sometimes before 10:00pm.  But now I have a car!  And I can go places more easily!  And I can go on my own schedule!

Last weekend, dad was back in town again for the last few days of a work project, so we went "hiking" on Sunday.  I add the quotation marks because it wasn't a major hike through the wilderness—more like a long walk up an incline, and about half of it was a paved road.  So why was it great? We went to the Hollywood sign.

That's right.  The Hollywood sign.  There's a chain link fence and signs warning of arrest and a small fine if you attempt to cross and move closer, but you can follow the utility road all the way up there and look out from behind it.

A few days later, I went to Hollywood/Highland to do a little shopping on my day off.  You exit the parking structure via elevators that drop you right by the staircase to the Kodak Theatre, where they host the Academy Awards.  Oh, no big deal, just walking by the columns of Best Picture winners!  Out front: Walk of Fame stars.  Next door: Grauman's Chinese Theatre.  This is what tourists come to see...and I live about ten minutes from it all.

I never know how to end posts well.

So that's my story.  Bye!