My only excuse is that I was tired! I spent my weekend in Santa Barbara maintaining a consistent level of inebriation. That kind of hobby can take a girl out! When Monday rolled around I had enough energy for work and then bed.
Okay, I lied - there was some smokey-smokey-artichokey in-between work and bed. And some TV-watching! Oh my goodness! I know!
Everyone was fleeing for Valentine's Day weekend, so I decided to flee too. I decided to hop on the 212 to the Hollywood and Highland Metro station, which I took to Union Station and then transferred myself onto the Surfliner north.
I ate a sunshine cookie and while everyone was grumbling darkly at the limited seating (The last train out of Los Angeles to Santa Barbara on a Friday night was, understandably, packed, and it was standing room only) I was grooving to my headphones.
Let me rewind a second: I was coming up on twenty-four waking hours, with only a brief nap to run on. I'd hung out downtown Thursday night until 4:00am, so by the time I got home, it was time to go to work. I thought I was going to nap on the train. Yeah right.
Fortunately, an older couple sitting at a table in the dining car saw me, and gestured for me to come grab the seat that had just opened up at their booth. Their jovial invitation to join them made me initially wary, especially when the gentleman told me that he was "a salesman of sorts" in a gentle voice - I thought I was going to spend the next three hours defending my atheism. They actually turned out to be genuinely kind people, with the woman demurely holding her partner's arm in a movement lifted straight out of an early sixties movie. He had "kidnapped" her for a surprise Valentine's vacation, whisking her away to a yet unknown location in Santa Barbara (He whispered to me that he was taking her to a luxury resort, the name of which escapes me).
As I became heavier with the metabolization of my green-flecked treat, the rails beneath my feet, the train ride seemed to lift me up into cozy arms. The Salesman spoke with an attention deficient Army Boy with cropped hair about the rewards of reading (He gestured to me as I bowed my head into a book), and then the Salesman spoke to a boy with a Razor-Marked Eyebrow who repeated the days he had been away from home (Ninety-six days) and the girlfriend who faithfully attended her college classes online ("Good deal!") and "didn't have a single other guy's number in her phone." Another young man bobbed to the iPod Shuffle he could afford only because he "had won it in a contest" and when interviewed by the Salesman, spoke like a martyr about how he had another hour on a bus once he got into Santa Barbara.
Meanwhile, a party apparently raged upstairs, and older women staggered to the dining car to retrieve more beer and more wine. One woman in a green sweater and teased hair winked at one of the Army Boys, and he followed her upstairs like a puppy.
I was on my own journey to reunite with a treasured friend from high school, and while the train car swirled around me, I remained pleasantly distant, content to observe. I was tired, after all.
But sleep is for the weak! I'll do it when I'm finally dead! A quick stop to the grocery store refueled me with an energy drink, and I was spun off again into another adventure, striding downtown Santa Barbara toward another bar and another drink.
By the time Saturday afternoon and its accompanying pitcher of margarita rolled around, we were sleepy and hungover by 8:00pm. Early to bed meant early to rise, which was perfect because I wanted to go to the zoo. So we did.
The Santa Barbara Zoo is not very big at all, but it is one of the loveliest zoos I have ever been to. I don't know if you remember this, but Samuel and I had an affinity for fauna and the places that harbor it.
My friend and I strolled the pathways, observed the animals, and I was amused by juvenile things such as a urinating giraffe. In some respects, I shall never grow up.
The trip to the zoo was followed by more drinking. We hit up a nice spot by the train station where I experienced a "Peppertini" - that would be Absolut Pepper and pepperoncini juice, garnished with a pepper. Yes, you read correctly. The fellas at the table next to us commented on my drink choice with some bewilderment. If you like your martinis dirty (And I do) and flavor your food with an extra kick (All the time), then I recommend this one.
Belly full, I boarded my train home. It was then that the ghosts of a prior trip to Santa Barbara with the one I once loved so much in the haze of my youth caught up with me, and I could not help crying in my seat as the train pulled away. It was a very romantic moment in my life.
Got into Union Station, hopped on the Metro, and then decided to walk from the station home. Climbing to the entrance of my apartment, I felt pleasantly exhausted and thoroughly accomplished. It had been a very beautiful weekend alongside a very good friend, who generously housed, fed, and entertained me. I am so lucky to have such an enduring friendship with her! It is sad when friends move away, but it makes our time together far more rewarding. I will have to go again soon.
Earlier last week I went to Mr. T's Bowl to see the Vital Transformation. I first saw the Vital Transformation with Not The Government at Tribal Cafe, and upon meeting their drummer at a party, was invited to come take photos. And since not only is the Vital Transformation worthy of a dank bowl and a groovy listen but they were playing at one of my favorite dive spots in Los Angeles, I just had to attend. Met up with a friend who answered my secret prayers for a certain cube of sunshine and ran into Josue of Naima Earth. The band blew everyone away, drawing everyone to the floor, and eliciting words of praise from the audience. The Vital Transformation is definitely one of my favorite Echo Park bands, and David is such a sweetheart!
I got a haircut and I love it, but you will have to wait to see it.
Things are good, this is a week of rest for me. I wish that certain avenues of my affection felt more secure (Or that I was less insecure), but I also understand that its appeal is its transience. It's okay if you don't know what I am talking about. It is ultimately unimportant.
It certainly is good to see your face again, however.
Look, I even got you a present - it is especially good for when you are at work.
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