Last day in Avalon

We rented bikes. The full-day deal seemed like a bargain at the time. A full day is a LONG time to pedal up and down hills. Well not so much down.

A bit farther in-land.

Leaving the Island

Back to Long Beach

Avalon, Catalina Island

Is a piece of easy-going, unspoiled heaven in Southern California, completely un-effected by the warzone in LA, just 30 miles across the water.

Met this couple whole were born and raised on Catalina. Went to high school together. Worked at  a bank and a quarry on the island all their lives and now were cruising around in a golf cart in their retired days here.

 

Three Day Weekend

Has gone to waste so far. Flights out of Michigan have been canceled on the account of the snow, so the vacation plans are disrupted. I am spending these long work-free nights pondering life's mysteries.

The big mystery that I am grappling with tonight is who shot the deputy? We know Eric Clapton shot the sheriff. He admits as much. Hell, he's singing about it. So who shot the deputy? My theory is that the sheriff, who had it out for Clapton, shot the deputy to pin it on Clapton. He went to arrest him and Clapton shot him in self defense. He swears that it was self defense, doesn't he? How else would both the sheriff and the deputy get shot at the same time? If Clapton had shot the deputy, he'd sing about that too. I mean the man is admitting to shooting the sheriff already, shooting the deputy has got to be a lesser crime; why would he not admit that?

Unless of course, "I shot the deputy too" wouldn't rhyme and sing as well.

In conclusion, Clapton probably shot the deputy too, but didn't want to ruin a good song. Mystery solved. Damn artists!

Oh, I went shopping today, on a very empty stomach. The results mayhem. Three trips to the car to unload the Costco damage.

By the way, Carrot-Orange Juice is a bad idea. Tastes like liquid hard lemon candy. Why would they continue making and selling it is a mystery to be solved another night.

If you’re stuck at an airport

for eight hours, the best place to be is Seoul!

Harbin Photo Diary

How Cold Is It in Harbin?

It’s so cold that the taxi windows are frozen from the inside.

It’s so cold that the great wall of China has frozen solid. Actually this is the ice fest sculptures build all over the city. This one right at the airport.

It’s so cold that the crime has completely stopped frozen and the cops don’t out of their cars to check out suspicious foreign photographers.

 

Digging a hole through the ice on the inside glass to see outside the minivan on the way back from the plant.

Thermal Cycle

The rains have finally subsided, the skies are blue and the fabled SoCal sun and warmth has returned. It feels like spring fever is in the air. Snapped an iPhone picture on Santa Monica Blvd.

It has been months seen I had a chance to go to the ocean. I took half an hour and drove down to the beach and stared at the blue for a while before heading back to the office. Yes the world outside is still teeming with life. It’s good to know that life is lived, though elsewhere.

Stopped in Michigan on my way to Melbourne, Florida. Santa Monica was gorgeous. Sunny and 73. MI is cold and snowy. FLA will be mild. Nice to roam around through the thermal cycles of life.

Three-Minute Story

A few days ago I was listening to this piece on NPR about a 3-minute story contest. The story has to be so many words or less, I recall 300-400 words, but I am not sure. The rules are that someone in the story must tell a joke and someone must cry. That’s it.

I thought about the possibilities. It’s hard to write a thing like that. I went to bed a couple of nights ago and woke up to the annoying sound of my iPhone’s alarm, with this story almost fully formed in my waking moment’s dream. I repeated it to myself in the shower so not to forget. It took a few days, but on a chilly flight from LA to Detroit I had a few minutes to write it down. So here it is: The great American NoVelLA, which can be read in less than three minutes and is only 228 words long.

Three Suitcases

She sat on the edge of the bench. Three large, ragged suitcases lay by her side on the floor. She looked around nervously. From time to time she careened her neck and looked down the aisle. The wait seemed like hours to her. She grabbed her and hugged herself, bent down and rocked back and forth; rubbing her arms as though she were cold.

He was standing there, when she heard his voice and looked up. “What’s the matter, got gas or tummy ache?” He grinned. “No.” She replied shyly. He looked over at her suitcases in bewilderment. “Is that all yours?” He asked in a puzzled tone. “Yeah.” She replied; her voice breaking and sounding tearful. “For just one night?” He sounded befuddled. She looked down at her feet and fidgeted silently.

His eyes fluttered back and forth between her and the suitcases. She could hear him thinking, rummaging through the folds of his mind, trying to understand, deciding what to say and do. At last he said “well then, let me go get the car” as he turned around and walked away, “be back in a minute.” She did not raise her head to look up. Her eyes saw the back of his blue jeaned legs as he walked away. She leaned forward, hugging herself, rubbing her arms and rocked back and forth more vigorously.

In-Ground and Roof-top Pools

Catching a flight out of California before it washes away into the Pacific ocean.

California Snow Day, My Ass!

Well, it was pretty cool and everything the first day and a half. But there was no crisp and clear morning after. It’s been one full week of torrential rains, with no end in sight.

These guys here aren’t set up for so much rain. Roofs are leaking, streets are flooded, traffic is more out of control than ever, even the billboards are washed away and blinking randomly.

I wanted to catch a wave or two before going home, but who surfs in the wet rain?! I am looking forward to catching some sun in MI soon.

I made a road trip to Las Vegas on the weekend. I think I liked the drive better than the city.

Vegas puts the K-I-T-S-C and H in Kitsch.

And other letters in words and such…

California Snow Day

It's raining in LA tonight. It's the kind of rain you get in coastal towns. It's like a mist sprayed and suspended. A haze. A wet vaporized halo.

Tomorrow, the mountain will be bright and close, and the sky will be blue, the air: a crisp 65 degrees of bliss.

The surfing, sailing, running, skateboarding, biking, not to work going kind of day that is all wasted on me by the chains that bind us.