Moving On

I finally feel settled in our new place. Well, I feel settled in my room. I lit a few candles and bought a few tuberose stems. The room feels like my own. My walls are still empty, but that will take some time. The move went pretty well. Johny came like a knight in shining armor in his brand new black truck. I realized that I’m weaker than I thought. This was a sad realization. I need to lift weights or something.

I like our new place. I think it was a good move and I feel that it marks some sort of transition for me. Maybe I’m being silly and unnecessarily giving the move meaning and significance, but I feel that it somehow makes a difference for my mental and emotional well-being. I do know that we had a lot of tough times at the old place, so maybe that’s what I’m happy to leave behind.

Andrea and I went to the Farmer’s Market yesterday. I absolutely enjoyed it. I will definitely be going every Sunday. The produce was a bit expensive, but so delicious. Everyone gave free samples; Andrea and I almost got full just eating the samples. I ate so much jam. They market was mostly food, crafts and art. It reminded me of my farmer’s market Saturdays in London.

We then went to the beach. It was delightful because it wasn’t too hot and the water wasn’t too cold. We played in the water for a little bit, then slept and read on the beach. A couple of Andrea’s other friends came along as well. It was nice because we didn’t really talk too much. We all read our own books. We must have looked quite boring, but I felt so comfortable and happy.

A group of young people (possibly college students) who came from church (they mentioned this) sat near us and talked about calories, how to diet and other meaningless things. It made me think that sometimes it may be best not to talk at all if the conversation is so empty. I had one of those, “Wow, that’s what I must sound like” moments. I can recall empty conversations I’ve participated in and it’s so pointless. I guess they’re fun, but in the end, it’s just so empty. I’m going to try to steer away from now on. I guess I can’t really help it if those around me participate, but I don’t want to contribute. I got a glimpse into what that looks like from the outside. On the way home, one of Andrea’s friends said “Yeah, and they were Christian kids.” It was embarrassing. It reminded me that I should be careful with my words.

After the beach, we went to a friend’s housewarming party. Maren was an AmeriCorps volunteer, but was hired as a Communications Director at Survivors of Torture International. She’s so kind. Her house was amazing and the company was great. We discussed what kind of environmentally-friendly lawn mowers we should all use. Andrea and I boasted about our new eco-friendly mop and cleaning supplies. Maren’s housemates grilled a tofu hot dog and it exploded into this strange thing. It’s hard to describe, but I definitely won’t be eating tofu dogs for a while.

Coming-of-Age Writing

I watched 'A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints' today. I like the way Dito Montiel wrote and directed it. I mostly like the way he wrote the screenplay and the transitions between the past and present. So, I was talking to Ames about how I lked the movie and she directly asked me, "Did the main character guy go home?" I was so dumbfounded by the answer: "yes". I can't help it. I'm a complete sucker for coming-of-age movies, especially the ones where the troubled, young man goes home, reconnects with old friends, falls in love with a quirky girl (who redeems his tormented soul) and he becomes a whole person. Well, Dito Montiel's movie is definitely not that. Well I suppose certain parts... I suppose 'Garden State' is the perfect example. I even watched 'Elizabethtown', which was horrible, simply because of the plot. I know. I'm gross. I had some hope though because it was Cameron Crowe. But, I couldn't get myself to watch the Adam Brody version because that one looked worse than 'Elizabethtown'.

As I thought about other coming-of-age stories that I enjoyed, I couldn't help but notice that all of them were male-dominated : 'The Catcher in the Rye', 'Stand by Me', 'The Sandlot', 'Igby Goes Down', etc. Wait, there is 'The Bell Jar' by Sylvia Plath, which is definitely in my top 3 favorite books list. If I ever do actually write, like really write, not just on napkins and scratch pieces of paper, I would like to devote at least one story to a coming-of-age story with a female protagonist. I'm sure they exist, but I'm just unaware. The thing is, I think there's more of an appeal for the broken guy with issues story than the messed up girl with issues. Guys feel that they can relate to the guy with issues and they think it's cool to be this dark intense character; girls want to fall in love with the broken guy because they think he's emotionally intense and deep and feel that they can be the one to understand him. How often do you hear of guys who want to date an emotionally messed up girl and desire to be that 'one' who reaches out to her? Plus, if there's a female protagonist, it's most likely perceived as chick-lit or a chick flick. I would hope that guys would read my stuff too. Hmmm, I'm going to have to think on this some more and work on a solution. Why can't they both have issues and be equally complex? Why do they always have to end up together even? Okay, that's a separate venting post for another day.

Going back to 'A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints'... I thought it was so brave of Dito Montiel to write the memoir and direct the film because it's about his life, family and friends. He reveals them exactly as how he perceived them. There's a sense of vulnerability there. He's allowing everyone to experience everything through his perspective. His family and friends will see how he viewed them. I think it's so honest and brave. I wonder if I could ever do that. When I think of characters in my head, they're combinations of the people in my life. I've never thought of actually trying to capture the entire person into a character. I steal little aspects. So why not actually write about the people in my life? It would solve the whole name issue. I find it hard to think of names for characters. Embarrassingly, this is often the cause for writer's block for me. I digress. My first reason for not doing this would be that I'm not an interesting enough person to be the main character. I'm really not a complicated person. Secondly, I'm not sure that the people in my life would appreciate being written about. But, I do believe that the people around me are interesting enough to be captivating characters. Maybe I should ask them.

Quenched African Soul

Thanks to Markus, I had a couple of tickets to Femi Kuti's show at the House of Blues last night. Femi Kuti is a Nigerian political/social activist singer-songwriter. His album, Fight to Win is awesome. I highly recommend it. A couple of featured guests are Mos Def and Common. I gave the extra ticket to Jonathan. JJ and Michelle (from work) decided to come to the concert as well. JJ actually knew of him and repeatedly said that he was an intense performer and that there would be spirits. Jonathan and I teased him about that throughout the day.

The music was amazing. African beats are quite tricky and it’s difficult to dance to at times, but it’s such an amazing experience to look around and see everyone moving. There’s really no wrong way to dance. I was reminded of the African dancing at South Africa and how I felt so free to move however I wanted. At the concert, I felt that my entire being was filled with music. I almost thought I was seeing and feeling those spirits JJ kept mentioning, but I think I was actually feeling the second drink. The band was fantastic because they continuously danced as they sang and played the trombone or trumpet.

After the concert, they opened the lounge section which turned into a club scene. JJ says, “Whatever happens when we go out, we gotta keep to ourselves. That’s the rule.” But, I think this portion of our night is best summarized by Jonathan: “That was like a history lesson. I’ve never seen moves like that.”

was the day when

Saturday was the day when...

• my tutor kids proofread their papers without me having to ask them: Usually, the kids just hand over their papers to me as soon as they dot the last period. They throw it at me like the paper has some sort of highly contagious disease. I usually have to say, "You wanna read over it before you give it to me?" For the first time on Saturday, they stopped themselves before handing their papers over to me and read over their paragraphs. I couldn't help but smile so big as I watched them correct their spelling and grammatical errors.
• Quanch Squad reassembled: They were uber rad, of course. If only... maybe one day...

Sunday was the day when...

• I attended a meeting to discuss translating and editing dictionaries to send to North Korea. It looks like it's going to be a big project.
• Johny, Dan and I ate dinner and dessert together. Great company, nostalgia, fun conversations... I like.
• I drove back to San Diego with Andrea. Towards the end of the car ride, we were both so delirious. I don't remember driving from Encinitas to San Diego and Andrea was talking about nonsense.

Monday was the day when...

• I interviewed with Big Brothers Big Sisters - the Amachi Program (mentoring program for children of the incarcerated). The interview was an hour long! I guess it makes sense. They want to make sure I don't mess up some kid's life.
• I went to lunch with the bosses. I learned that when you go to lunch with the bosses, everyone ends up paying too much and somehow the person calculating the check ends up with a profit. The Communications Team's lunches were all paid for and we ended up with $20.

Today, Andrea and I are going to enjoy the nighttime zoo festivities. I'm a bit tired, but I think I'll be uber jazzed once I get to the zoo.

I've been thinking a bit about my future these days. I have a three-year plan in mind for staying here in San Diego, then going back to school. But, I wonder if I can last that long in one place. On the other hand, I fear that won't be enough time to take care of my family and take care of my student loans. Hmmm... Plus, what should I study? Law School? International Relations? Photography? Creative Writing? Film School? Really? Eeek! I get excited and scared thinking about it all. I suppose I at least have one more year to not seriously think about it.

This Week

was quite full.

Highlights:

• Nighttime zoo! They have new shows. I especially enjoy the one where the trainers demonstrate how they teach the animals different fun behaviors. The zoo is a little scary when it's dark - too many mysterious sounds, but I still enjoyed it.
• Justice at the Hall of Justice: Drew and Justice came to SD. Mark came over and we all went to Mexico for yummy tacos. Although the Rite Aid ice-cream afterwards was delicious, I still wish we could have eaten churros. The next day, I gave Drew and Justice a tour of the office. They even got the "kid tour" from Steve, the DA's administrative assistant.
• Harry Potter: I enjoy the movies. Andrea and I watched the Order of the Phoenix last night. I think I might try to read one of the books. I remember Heidi tried to get me to read the first one when it came out like 10 years ago, but I couldn't get into it. I think I should start from the sixth book because the fifth movie piqued my curiosity.

I played every night this week. I feel tired in a nice way. I can't wait to take my 6-hour afternoon nap after tutoring tomorrow morning.

On repeat: The Ma Fleur album by The Cinematic Orchestra. Just can't get enough.

Watched Transformers

• Why/how is Optimus Prime so cool?
• The special effects were uber neato. I could have just watched the transformation for two hours. Uber rad.
• How come Bumblebee wasn't a VW bug? I guess that wouldn't have worked out since GM sponsored the movie and all, but still...
• That Even Stevens boy is so handsome.

Watched/Listened to The Decemberists w/ the LA Philharmonic

• 'Twas amazing. The LA Philharmonic was splendid.
• Fun company+ good music = pleasant night.
• Wake up at 7 a.m. to tutor + concert ends at 11:00 p.m. = sleeping Grace at Johnny Rocket's.