Far away, this ship is taking me far away/ far away from the memories, of the people who care if I live or die..

HOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLD you here in my arms..

I just wanted to HOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLD you here in myyyyyy arms..


The janitor at work has squeaky sneakers. Made me think of Grandma today :)

Yesterday's LOST paled in comparison to last week's episode. And I have a feeling it wont have been better than next week's either, because next week we get the inside scoop on Richard!! We've all waited years for this.

When I lived on the East Coast, Springtime daylight savings held significance for me because there was more light in the sky when I got up every morning. Here, it means that it's a lot warmer when I get out of work! I love this. I wouldnt have made the connection myself- but I saw a friend's post on facebook regarding this fact the day after we set our clocks forward. Sure enough, I had experienced a blissful rush of joy that evening when I exited the office building out into the fading day only to find that it was very much warmer outside than it had been inside. That kind of warmth where the air is still and soft and somehow billowy. I love driving home from work between the mountains. Everyone drives so fast here... but my car doesnt easily agree with speeds over 75mph, so  I dont worry about it. I enjoy the ride, leaving my sunroof open whenever possible and cranking the tunes.

I'm lovin Hysteria by Muse right now. Especially the instrumental bridge bit.

This morning I went to John O'Groats for breakfast with Joanna and Andrew. I enjoyed applesauce pancakes (wow, huge pancakes... I could only deal with 1 1/2 of them) and some chicken apple sausage minus all the oil that usually comes with breakfast sausages (which meant that I actually rather enjoyed it). We  chatted like we'd known each other for any amount of time which gives me great faith that they'll be good friends of mine in the months and years to come. Andrew works at MPower Pictures, and Joanna used to as well but now works at a clinic that provides options alternatives to abortions to pregnant women. Joanna is going to give me a makeup consultation (happy, mom?)... which i'm thrilled about, honestly. Anyway, they were encouraging and I came away with a renewed sense of purpose in my being here in LA. Cant wait to find my way into foley.

This time last year I was working in Boston listening to spring training games with Bill every day. The announcers were pretty bad. We listened to Sox games but if they didnt happen to be on, it didnt matter who was playing... as long as it was baseball. I miss that. I need to start working from home soon so that I can listen in.

I went to Reality LA this Sunday and was blown away. I absolutely loved it. The worship was especially impressive... 30 min of worship, and hour long sermon, and 30 more min of worship. House and stage lights are down during worship which is something I had appreciated about Catacombs worship at my college, but which I'd never seen at a church before. In a place where everyone looked like they had been up for 3 hours getting ready (everyone looked perfect and beautiful.. that part was a little unnerving for me) the lights being down did a great job of reminding that the time wasnt about seeing who was wearing or doing what. The message was one of the most powerful messages I've heard in my life. The pastor was actually the pastor of a different Reality church- Reality LA was a one that he had planted. Good solid mix of scripture and life application.. not too heavy on one side or the other. I'm excited to hear from Reality LA's pastor, who I hear is a pretty intellectual speaker (though he looks like a 30-something hipster! these LA people...)

Grandma- after you're done reading this, go on facebook and ACCEPT MY FRIEND REQUEST! If you see red flags/boxes toward the top left of your facebook page, click them!

Shower time in California. The big LA Marathon is this Sunday... i run a 5K at Dodger Stadium this Saturday. Also draft my first fantasy team of the season on Saturday, cant wait to see who I wind up with!
I've been sick for a few days, with symptoms ranging from long-lasting headaches to sore throats to sneezing and a few coughs here and there. I guess nausea must be next.

Good weekend

Jam-packed past couple of days.

On Saturday I got to spend the entire day with Adam and his friends Julie and Josh. It felt effortless to be around Adam. Like I didnt have to try so hard. I didnt have to start from the beginning, to explain myself, like I must do with everyone I meet here. That's fine, telling my story over and over again, but it was like resting for once. Julie and Josh took us up the Pacific Coast Highway, which was beautiful of course. We got out at a few lesser-known beach spots and enjoyed the day as it moved from overcast to sunny. There was a seal sleeping on one of the beaches, and I saw some whales out in the water! I'm psyched to spend more time along the shore.
I tried fish tacos for the first time and was PLEASANTLY surprised. Well, to be fair, they came with avocado slices and cilantro... so how could they have been bad? Anyway, I liked them. We also went to Malibu Creek State Park for a few hours. The three of them are rock climbers so Julie and Josh lead us around to some good climbing spots. We hiked along some trails and scrambled over some boulders. It was an adventure. I loved it. It reminded me of how life was when I was young and running wild through the Maine woods.

Sunday was church at Pacific Crossroads Church. I enjoyed it, but I dont know if it is ultimately where I will wind up. The pastor was great though. He gave a thought-provoking message about David and Goliath. The people where were very friendly though. I met 6 people that day and I didnt have to even try.. I greeted a woman (about my age) during the "turn to someone you dont know and say hi" bit, and she asked if i had been coming to the church for a while. I told her that I had just moved into town... then we had to sit back down. She waited for me after the service, introduced some of her friends, invited me to a couple different small groups... another woman put me in her prayer journal on the spot. And I wrote on my welcome card that I could use prayer and thus was contacted by a couple people from the church today- welcoming me, telling me about a ministry that I checked a box for, telling me that the church is praying for me.. just awesome.
Nadine took Kate, Kate's sister, Kate's friend Allison, and me to her country club for brunch, which was yum. Apparently Dr Phil goes there too (we didnt see him yesterday though). Nadine is watching Dr Phil as I type, actually. Then, I went to check out the neighborhood around UCLA and to get some groceries at Trader Joe's. Wow, if Kearah and Adam do decide on UCLA, they are all of 2 miles away. Or at least the school is. No more on that though. Anyhow, that area is pretty lively. Trader Joe's was buzzing, but it was nothing like Market Basket on a Sunday afternoon! Then home again... to watch the Academy Awards with Nadine. We ordered out to Maria's.. I had this wonderful minestrone soup with chickpeas. I was extremely inspired watching the Oscars. There were so many "normal" non-star people who were nominated and even who won. You could tell by listening to them that they were truly humbled. And I knew that from that moment, the moment they actually won, onward... life would never be the same for them. It made me want to do something great. I feel like i can do amazing things. Not sure what, yet, but I wont give up. Those people, even the stars, had to try and try and try. Had to work themselves up to where they are now. I know that God will reward my heart's desire. I know that I didnt come up with these dreams that I have. I guess that's why I just havent been afraid. Weary, yeah, a bit... it's a lot of work to move so far away. But all things considered, I've had a supernatural amount of strength, patience, fearlessness, and motivation throughout the past few weeks.

I thought about minor league baseball today for 8 hours (at work). Yesterday I heard "Your Love" playing in Trader Joe's and it made me think of LaLacheur Park in Lowell. One of the guys on the 2009 Spinners had that song play everytime he went up to bat.

Today I missed McCoy Stadium very badly. And I missed Victor, and Jason. In particular.

what's new?

I havent written since Friday? Well. Saturday was a blast, riding around town with Tony. If we spent a whole day touring Boston, we'd have at least driven by everything. Not so here. We touched some of the west side of the city. Look at a map and you'll see that this is a very small portion of Los Angeles. The area I'll be living in is beautiful, especially compared to my general expectations of LA. Tony treated me VERY well. I met some of his friends, we ate at Islands and at a sushi place in the Valley. ...i almost tried sushi. Instead, I stuck with avocado rolls. I dont think that it'll be the raw fish thing that keeps me from liking sushi- it'll be the seaweed. Anyway, Saturday fueled my excitement at moving into the city.

Sunday was church (where Rob is the pastor; also met a guy who drives the bus for the Angels' local farm team), brunch (first omelet ever- mushrooms and spinach with salsa and avocado!!), and some car searching (fruitless but informative). Interestingly enough, Rob spoke about Zacchaeus as the first in a series similar to White Pine's "They Met Jesus" (parents' church in Maine). This series is called "Unstuck" and focuses on how Jesus "unstuck" these various people from different stumbling points in their lives. I liked the clear focus on Zacchaeus' repentance. Also pretty cool to imagine this small man who cant see over the crowd, who's widely despised by the people, and yet Jesus sees and addresses him specifically, and goes home for dinner with him.

Monday, Rob and Kathleen left for Phoenix for the week (through Saturday night). I'm the house manager right now :) I've been looking for cars, and have a good lead actually:

I've seen it a couple times, and now am waiting to hear a few maintenance details. Who knows. could be the one. Has a few small paint chips here and there but i'm not real concerned with that stuff. The car is generally pretty beautiful.. blue :)

I'm rewatching LOST right now (writing during commercials). Who's 108??? Kate, Aaron, Lapidus, Desmond? Oh and is it me or does the jungle look different to any one else? Not necessarily on purpose. Maybe just a continuity flaw. Like they're filming in a different location.
I will say that I'm done with these episodes that leave out half of the entire active cast. I cant take only seeing Ben and Richard every other week! That's asking a bit too much. But Hurley's sudden promotion to, like, main protagonist.. it's pretty cool.

Today... maybe i'll get myself a car! I've got another lead, similar to the pics above though a newer model and a brighter blue. It's warm out already. Time to giddy up. Opening day is getting closer!