(no subject)
Work went by fast today. Did some boring training stuff, got free lunch at a meeting and got to leave an hour early because of it. So, I got paid a lot to sit and listen to people talk about safety in the work place for ninety-minutes. Then my friend Claire came to my desk and I took her to the secret tunnels and we explored, and then went to the sports complex and looked at everything; I got paid for another hour to walk around underground and outside. She told me about how she was hung over because of this drinking game she played that left her throwing up off the third story roof of her apt. last night. I wish I could have seen that or done that, but am glad I didn’t cause feeling like crap feels like crap, but throwing up off of something so high seems like such an accomplishment. At work I spent the rest of my time trying to drink as much as water as possible. I drank 56 fl. oz. before lunch, then stepped it up to four 20 fl. oz. water-bottles after lunch, for a total of 136 ounces in 8 hours!
Came home from work at 4, went to Trader Joe’s because my bread got moldy in less than week. Rested for a few, and got on my bike. I wanted to ride to Santa Monica to go to Patagonia to look at their new wetsuits; I need a new one in the fall, and theirs seem pretty rad, plus have a good guarantee/warrantee. Hit the bike path, left Hermosa with its dense population and volleyball courts, and headed into Manhattan Beach, with its upscale houses, reminiscent of maybe Corona Del Mar, with its to-LA-for-work commuters and Loyola Marymount students. I could tell I was in El Segundo when the LAX-departing planes started flying overhead and the population started consisting more of LA’s poorer, and more eastern-residing, residents. I had to keep my head down and away from the 747’s and try to time my path through the 12-kids-in-a-family families who would sprint from the car to the beach, brain’s skipping over any thoughts of right away. It’s weird that the parents would waste their time yelling at me as I dodge their 8 year old; it could much more effectively be used on their own children. Fat black African American teenagers who may or may not be in gangs, almost stopped, walking slower than zombies across the boardwalk; I probably shouldn’t make eye contact, but instead give them worse looks than their rival gang members, forgetting that there is probably enough room in their huge Dickies to hold a gun or knife, but instead thinking about how they can’t catch up. Hopefully they don’t see me again, and learn how to cross the bike path and not sit in it. Cross the Harbor mouth, into Marina Del Rey, which is very similar to the coastal area of Long Beach. Modern high rise apartments and lots of sail boats. I imagine a lot of rich people who graduated in the last five years from UCLA live there. Turn left and then right onto the Venice Boardwalk. Pure Trash. But, I like it; I guess it’s iconic. The boardwalk is sandy, so I have to slow for turns, as well as homeless people, people twirling about on rollerblades, and people with coolers in tow on a body boards, stuck on the path. Cool area where people do graffiti in the day time, but probably just people who are too scared to do it at night, and a skate park. Reminded me of Tony Hawk Pro Skater, as well as Thrashin’. I wonder where Pacific Ocean Park, of Dogtown and Z-boys fame was? I get to Santa Monica and head towards the Patagonia store, which I had to ask for a little help to find. I get there, and they close in 10 minutes, and the guy at the door has a shirt with a track bike on it and starts asking me about my bike which is a pretty cool way to be introduced to the store. I ask him about the wetsuits but figure I can’t try one on because I’m pretty sweaty. The short leg long arms are three millimeter which is too thick for a summer suit, but the water is warm enough down here to not need a suit at all, so I will wait and buy a full suit. He says the three millimeter is too warm for SLO, that a customer just used one in San Simeon in March and was too warm! He said wait until the fall to buy it as there might be more options and suits available, and the quality might improve. I asked him about some quality issues that I had read about online and he said don’t worry if I’m not happy they will replace it. I try on the 2mm and it is the most comfortable suit I have ever tried on, it’s like a silk glove (I don’t think I have ever tried on a silk glove, but the rubber was soft, and the wool lining felt nice; the neck closed well and was very flexible). I wanted to look around more but will save it for another time as they were closing. I rode south on Main, opting out of the boardwalk chaos, got to Venice again and headed down Abbot-Kinney. I stopped at Abbot Pizza Co., and got a slice of pizza and some orange soda. I have heard many times that this is the best pizza in LA. I had tried it once before and it was real good this time as well. Fourteen or so more miles to go before getting back, and the sun is just on the horizon, and I still have a lot of energy, as well as a slight tailwind. As I head through Manhattan, I see that El Porto is much better than anywhere else that I have passed…maybe I will surf there tomorrow, I think this is the only decent wave in the area, but too crowded. I get back to my house, right as my legs are getting tired, put on my swimming trunks, run to the beach, and jump in the water, as I’m still hot and sweating, just as the sun is setting behind the Santa Monica mountains. I mess around in the warm water until it is just getting dark.
I feel like I had a full day after a full day of work. LA is such a big city; I haven’t explored anywhere, except the beaches, which I haven’t even done in depth. The congestion is my only complaint. Because of the breeze, it’s not even smoggy here on the coast. This is only the second big city I’ve lived in, and just like the first, I don’t think I could ever get bored.