Transitions

Today officially marked the end of the frisbee season for me. After frustrating pool play in the wind all day yesterday, my club team fought hard today and ended up taking division 4. It was a great time. At the second half of the championship game, the fatigue really set in. However, as I struggled to play defense, sucking air and pushing hard to bridge the gap between what I want to do and what my tired body can do, I had this amazing feeling. It was probably all the adrenaline talking, but in the midst of all the frantic movements, I realized that "This is awesome. and THIS is why I play." It was one of those random thoughts that just make you smile out of nowhere. I really wish I was more eloquent... maybe I can then do a better job with trying to capture that moment.

That being said, I am sad that I won't be able to play with TBD in the fall. I'll be starting part-time graduate school in a couple of weeks. The plan is to take two evening classes in the fall semester and try to finish the program in two years. Sounds like some rough time is ahead....but for the time being, I will try to exploit the rest of the summer as much as I can. Now that frisbee is done, I can finally focus on training for the half-marathon that Jen has talked me into doing.

to be continued....

Ties

Last night I went to my cousin Dennis' wedding. Congrats to Dennis & Geneva!

As much as I cringe when I hear about classmates and peers getting engaged or married, this wedding left me feeling warm and fuzzy. I still wonder about the concept of two people becoming joined as one... do couples naturally gravitate towards that goal? Or is some of it the outcome of a push and a nudge here and there by the rest of the world? I guess I'll figure that one out when the time comes.

Weddings are one of the few events (in adult life) that brings everyone together. It was so good to see my cousins whom I haven't talked to in years and catch up. I was both surprised and delighted to see Mr. P, a family friend who brought Sean, Cathy and me to start at our respective schools when we first moved to the States eleven years ago. We've all come pretty far since that day, and even though we only spoke briefly, I know Mr. P is happy that the three of us turned out "alright".

Ah, must comment on the dancing. Jennifer dragged me onto the dance floor. Not gonna lie, I felt quite self-conscious dancing in front of my grandma, father, aunts, uncles, and everybody else. Much of the anxiety over dancing in public, which first manifested itself before high school prom, has subsided over the years (thanks to various things and people), but it's still there. Afterwards my brother, who refused to join us, called my moves "awkward". Whatever. I don't dance to entertain others.

Los Angeles, CA

To celebrate my birthday I decided to take a couple of days off from work and visit Cheng and Maggie in LA. Wendy also made it down from Saratoga to join us for the weekend. Getting there was a bit of a pain (UA moved my flight which resulted in a 4 hour layover), and my hopes of escaping the New England winter for a few days was thwarted by record-low temperatures in LA, but I had a great time nonetheless.

As I grow up, it becomes increasingly more difficult to make very good friends. This is partly due to the fact that I've become more private after college, and don't spend enough time with the new people I meet to really develop strong bonds. I'll admit that my being opinionated is also to blame - I am more critical nowadays. That said, I'm happy with the way things are. My handful of close friends are spread all over. We may not hear from each other often, but when we do, we never have difficulty getting worked up in our long, animated discussions on random things. Maybe I enjoy aged friendships so much that I feel the need to brew new ones.

It was comforting to see that my friends here are all doing well and nearing the turning point in their lives. Mid-twenties (shudder) is such a happening time! Ending one thing and starting another is never easy, but I guess youth is a powerful enabler... and so we dive in fearlessly. What a luxury. I wonder when I will start experiencing the reservation that comes with age? Hopefully, never.

I didn't intend to ramble like this... it's a travel journal, after all.

I find California quite exotic. The idea seems almost irrational to me, however. On the flight from San Francisco to Burbank, the woman sitting behind my row was going to the Xena convention. I was like whoa. I used to (like, 10 years ago) want to go so badly!

In lieu of a birthday cake, we had Beard Papa's cream puffs (ha! take that, phantom gourmet). Calamari sandwich on the wharf at Santa Barbara was great too, as was the chicken meatloaf at Doughboys. The trip ended with a ritual trip to IN-N-OUT, complete with animal fries and lots of reminiscing about the "good ol' days" (when exactly that refers to... changes every time though).