I just ordered Thai food. Steamed spring rolls and tom yum soup for me, orange chicken for Mike. It should be hear in about 35 min. Not that we don't have food, I'm just to tired to cook.

We just got back from Santa Monica (Chuck, Michelle, Mike and I; Billy "doesn't go to the beach"). That's the best thing about my job; most of the time I get out so early I have the whole day to do whatever I want. This morning when I got home Mike was still in bed so I actually got to crawl back in with him to cuddle (my head on his chest, my leg over his leg, listening to his heartbeat while his chest hair tickles my nose; that's my meditation). I have to get up at 5 am every morning, but that's ok. I still stay up late, and I usually don't nap, so by the 3rd or 4th day in a row I'm pretty tired. This week I'm working 7 days in a row. Bummer.

I'm listening to a CD that I made from Mike's computer in the living room so that I could have some good music to listen to in the bedroom. The song playing now is a song by Mike's brother, Nick. It's just an instrumental guitar song that he wrote. I love it. It's so beautiful and relaxing. You're the coolest, Nick. It still blows me away that girls aren't chasing him down in the hallways of his school. I don't understand it.

Another really cool thing about working where I work is that every morning I drive strait toward a horizon of mountains. Breathtaking. The past 2 days I've left just at sunrise. Gorgeous pink and blue sky turning the horizon into a mountainous silhouette.

Our landlord hasn't said anything else to Mike about the number of people staying here but we have been trying to stay on the down low until Chuck is officially on the lease (Mike is planning to make a call to the landlord on Monday about that). I haven't had any problems lately, like Chuck, but it does suck not being able to come and go, to your own home, as you please. I can't bring in my own groceries or take my laundry to the washer when I want, can't check the mail- hell, I can't even get my mail here anymore (I had to get a P.O. box), and worst of all, I can't eat breakfast on the balcony any more. Yeah... it sucks.

Last Saturday Tricia and I went to see Gannon's new house in Silver Lake. It's a really cool old house from the 30s. I like it a lot. We had to go up some crazy tall hills to get to it. Good thing we were in Thurmon's Lexus 'cause my little escort never would've made it. I mean it, it's hard to explain but it felt like we were going strait up and when we would get to the top (the top of every hill was also an intersection) we literally had to lift up out of our seats to look over the hood of the car to even see if there was a road in front of us or if it just dropped right off. It was very scary, to say the least.

After checking out Gannon's place we went out to lunch at a cool little restaurant in her neighborhood. They got huge borritos and I got a great homemade veggie burger. We had a really good talk, that I'd desperately been needing to have (nothing specific, just intelligent girl conversation). Then we walked down the street to check out some antique stores and a really cool (well hidden) ceramic tile store. It was a good day.

I love L.A. Everyday is a new experience. I feel like I could live here for 20 years and still not see all that L.A. has to offer. Pasadena is awesome too. Things here are very new and different. That was my reason for coming in the first place; I just didn't want to spend my whole life in the same place. I want to see the world. I only have one life, I want to make it count.



Above is a great collage Chuck made for me as a "thank you" card after his birthday the first year we met. It's very important to me. "Begin within" came from a sticker I bought for Chuck from a book store in Santa Monica the 2nd week Mike and I were here, still waiting for Chuck and Billy to arrive in CA. I liked the way it sounded, It made me think of Chuck, and his constant search.