Tales of Misadventure

So...apparently I spoke too soon last weekend about how good it was going to be. I had worse luck all weekend than I've had in a long time. Let me regale you with our tales of misadventure.

As soon as I shut my computer after posting last weeks blog, I got up to leave the Coffee Bean and realized my keys were locked in the ignition. Nothing like knowing your spare is 2000 miles away. So I called the police department (not 911) and they gave me the number for the locksmith. Thankfully he said he would come in about 10 minutes, but I knew I would need more cash, so I ran to the ATM in the grocery store next door. Unfortunately, I cannot remember my pin number and my dearest mother couldn't find the slip in my desk drawer. So I was basically screwed. I met the locksmith in the parking lot (a very nice man by the way), and realized that I should just keep blood pressure cuffs and a hanger in my backpack, because that's basically what he used to open the door. When I asked him if he could accept checks, he said "Not if it isn't local." Ugh. Thankfully he had the resources to take down my credit card info. Problem solved.

Friday night Melodie and I ate wonderful food and watched "Enchanted April"...apparently her day had been a nightmare too. And I got to sleep in a gigantically wonderful bed.

Saturday, we woke up late, ate waffles and went to Griffith Park and Hollywood, since I had never been there. We stopped at the Grove and met her sister Natalie for lunch. Great right? It was, but we ended up being 1 1/2 hours late for MSA's 2 hour fundraiser. The restaurant took forever, we ran into traffic, and then we got pulled over for speeding. (Thankfully it wasn't me driving.) Then I had to drive back up to Hollywood to pick up my car to head over to Riverside, where we stayed at Mary's house.

Sunday, we slept in again, streamed church online, and then left for Cabrillo to catch the 2 p.m. boat back to camp. No problem...except for stupid LA traffic again. Where were all those people headed on a freaking Sunday?? We had planned on being there by 1, but it ended up being 1:30, and I still had to park my car and get picked up. So I dropped off Mary, Ryan and Julia, told them to hold the boat for me, and parked in my spot by 1:45...and then waited for Melodie. Around 2, Annie called and said they could only hold the boat for 15 minutes. Melodie came around 2:10, and we sped back across the 2 bridges to Long Beach (thankfully no speeding ticket this time...although we were going much, much faster than the speed limit) and parked at the Pike. We immediately began running to catch the boat, and Annie called again, saying we had a minute to get to the boat. "We're sprinting!" I replied and hung up the phone. Now, picture Melodie and I sprinting as though there are a pack of crazed wolves behind us down 4 flights of stairs in the parking garage and down the street. Just to give you a better image, I am in flip flops and have a very heavy backpack strapped to my back. Not exactly Olympic-approved gear for the 100 meter (more like mile) dash. We had to stop to cross a huge intersection, and as we panted for breath I gasped out "We aren't going to make it. Annie told us we have a minute." Melodie took off as soon as cars stopped, I worked as hard as I could to keep up. We did make the boat, but it took a good 20 minutes into the ride for me to stop wheezing, and the rest of the day to stop coughing every now and then. The worst part is, when we got to camp, the Boy Scouts said we were early. EARLY.

The rest of the week was alright - nothing major happened, but it was long since I didn't have much of a relaxing weekend. I'm working to change that now. I did nothing all day but grade a few journals, lay out on the beach in my bikini and have a spa night with the girls. We've been wanting to paint our toenails for awhile, so Julia went crazy with it and gave us each a foot/calf massage. We ate dark chocolate and watched a bootlegged copy of Wicked. Amazing. And totally what I needed. I'm praying that tomorrow is more of the same.

Love you all!

Coffee...and snow.

Ugh. I cannot escape from the stupid snow. I was summoned to the mountains for the second half of this week, and I barely made it out today because it was snowing so ridiculously. It was heavy, it was wet, and it looked like Dip 'n Dots. Literally. It was coming down in little balls. Thankfully, I was done with work for the day and as soon as I was down the hill just a little ways it was fine.

So here I sit at the Coffee Bean. I was planning on heading back to San Pedro tonight and seeing Jane Eyre with Mary, but she stayed on the island an extra night, so I'm headed to Melodie's tonight instead. We are planning on watching movies and eating chocolate and ice cream. :)

So this week's recap: I was in the office a little, wandering Emerald for awhile, and then headed up to the mountain to work with Annie and to lead worship for the new staff. There are 4 1/2 newbies...I say 1/2 because Jeremy (our new Waterfront Director) came out to the island for a week before heading to the mountains. So, while he is still new-ish, he isn't completely an unfamiliar face. They seem nice enough, but it's definitely going to be weird when they come to the island.

Besides heading to Melodie's tonight, we are heading back to San Pedro tomorrow because there is a fundraising luncheon thing tomorrow and if we go we get free Armenian food and 1/2 comp day. Sounds good, right? I think Mary and I will head back to Riverside after that, and we'll go see Jane Eyre with Sarah. We don't have to be back until Monday morning, so who knows what the rest of the weekend looks like.

Alright, I'm headed up to the San Fernando Valley, so I'm off. Have a great weekend!! And enjoy the pics - the first three I took on a walk at sunrise on the island, and the last I took leaving Forest Home today. :)