Ok, so I officially missed a blog update. I WILL do 2 this week because of that.
On the second morning I was in Long Beach I got much better sleep. Unfortunately there was some kind of thing going on in the apartment complex which meant that we could not use any water at all from like 10 in the morning till 6 in the evening. I of course, got up in the middle of that time period. Lucky for me and my friend, his girlfriend’s apartment isn’t where he is officially living.
So, we gathered up a few things and headed on over to the apartment he pays for. This place seemed more like the apartment complexes I’m used to. Perhaps one would call them college complexes or something. Judging from the fact that there were numerous girls who appeared to be around our ages sun bathing around the public pool. None of his roommates were there. Once we finished taking our showers we walked down to the shopping center a block or two away.
A large ‘VONS’ store was where I decided to eat. This was the market chain that seemed to be all over southern California. It is Safeway, no question, I even saw a shipping rack that said Safeway on it. This large place was even set up in the exact same way as my local safeway. This was the first time I had ever bought a sandwich from a Safeway, and it actually wasn’t that bad. After grabbing our grub we walked back to the apartment to eat.
We watched the first episode of this “Burn Notice” show, which wasn’t bad, and his roommates returned home with much surprise to see my friend there. It seems he really wasn’t exaggerating when he told me how rarely he goes there. Now, I had been debating heading out to Santa Cruz this day instead of staying in Long Beach one more day because I simply did not want to do that I-5 drive again. So that is what I ended up doing.
We went back to where all my stuff I would need was. I gathered it all up, gave my friend a hearty goodbye, and got a confirmation that if I got lost I could call him up for some directions. Then I set out for a scenic drive.
I started out by getting onto highway-1 north following the coast. Now, my timing for when I left was quite terrible, and I knew it. I was starting out in rush hour. But it was ok, cruising around the coast was just so nice compared to anything else I could have done. I actually like driving, I just don’t like driving roads like I-5; straight and flat, that literally it.
After driving up through Malibu and all those other smaller towns along the coast, the final one being Oxnard, highway-1 merged with 101. Eventually 101 left the coast, which was a little sad because it was a really nice drive with cliffs on one side and ocean off the other. The drive wasn’t very climactic or anything though. I stopped twice before reaching my goal, Salinas, once at a gas station for a piss and a drink, and once for food.
The food was a little comical, as you know I had a sandwich for breakfast. Well that breakfast sandwich was roast beef on a french bread roll with lettuce, onions, cheddar cheese, and a little honey mustard sauce. My dinner was an In-and-Out burger, ground beef on a bun with lettuce, onions, and cheddar. Ah the excitement of food when traveling.
Anyway, so I reached Salinas and was going to stay at a motel. However, I started seeing a bunch of signs for Santa Cruz in Salinas, and I wasn’t really tired. So, I went for it, took the 183 back over to highway-1 right into Santa Cruz. I got a motel room at about 12:30 in the morning. I watched some terrible TV before heading to bed, but that was it for day 3.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Vacation - Day 2
So this apartment got all kinds of stuffy. Not exactly sure why though, it never really felt all that hot in Long Beach. Anyway, because of this the windows and all that tended to stay open to keep the place aired out.
This morning, some time near 9am, there appeared to be someone with a leaf blower outside. What was funny about this is when I actually woke up a few hours later and asked about it, this was the first time that my friends had ever had this happen.
After my shower and breakfast and such, my buddy and I took a walk to the beach. We talked a lot about various things as we walked down it. Mostly just catching up and such. Then we headed back towards the town to 2nd street.
2nd street was the kinda main drag, for this area. Tons of restaurants and stores. We got some Jamba Juice and commented about various qualities of these establishments. One of which being a new Thai place that he hadn’t been to yet.
When we got back to the apartment I had decided that I was going to go get a nice massage. It was something I had been thinking about doing before getting there, but it wasn’t till then that I was sure it would happen. We asked his girlfriend if she knew where to go for a good one. Her friend said that the Korean one was really good.
Imperial Health Center, was what it was called. That is where I went as well. It was about a 15-20 minute drive, and it was in the Korean District. I was a bit surprised because the exit sign to get there actually did call it the Korean District, I didn’t really expect it to be so... official.
This place was really nice though. There was a big shower room with 4 steam rooms attached to it, 2 hot tubs, and tons of both sitting and standing showers. This was by far the best shower I had on my vacation. They even had little shampoo and conditioner dispensers at each showering station. The only thing that was arguably uncomfortable was the fact that I was literally the only person there who was under the age of maybe 35, and not Korean. I didn’t really care though, it was just funny because I could tell I was far from the average customer.
Of course, I still had a massage to get as well. It took me a little while to find the room for it, but that was ok. An older Korean lady greeted me and bid me lay down on my stomach to begin the massage. I had never really had a really deep full body massage it was quite an experience. She even massaged my scalp and face. She also did that walking massage stuff, which was odd. When I entered the room I didn’t really look around so when she was walking on me and doing all these crazy things with her feet I had to wonder what she was using for leverage. Once she had me turn over I saw the bars stretched over the table for her to hold on to.
After the hour long massage I walked around the establishment a little to see what other things they had. It wasn’t a whole lot, there was an outside patio type area, an exercise room, and a room with a big TV and comfy chairs. I didn’t linger long though because I was beginning to get hungry.
When I got back to the apartment I found out that my buddy’s girlfriend went to a friend’s house to do some studying. Once we decided to eat at that new Thai place we of course invited her though. She met us there. It was a pretty tasty place, I got a peanut curry with chicken. The portions were also huge, I only got about half my curry down before filling up.
The rest of the night was a bit of a disappointment unfortunately. We hung around the apartment for a while and then went out to try and find something to do. Tuesdays are the day that nothing is open in Long Beach it seems. After driving around for a while and finding many places closed we just went to the market and bought some beer and food, then watched some DVDs while we ate and drank a little.
I’m sorry this took so long to get posted, had a pretty busy week with school starting up and everything. In current news I seem to have gotten a bit sick. Day 3 coming soon.
This morning, some time near 9am, there appeared to be someone with a leaf blower outside. What was funny about this is when I actually woke up a few hours later and asked about it, this was the first time that my friends had ever had this happen.
After my shower and breakfast and such, my buddy and I took a walk to the beach. We talked a lot about various things as we walked down it. Mostly just catching up and such. Then we headed back towards the town to 2nd street.
2nd street was the kinda main drag, for this area. Tons of restaurants and stores. We got some Jamba Juice and commented about various qualities of these establishments. One of which being a new Thai place that he hadn’t been to yet.
When we got back to the apartment I had decided that I was going to go get a nice massage. It was something I had been thinking about doing before getting there, but it wasn’t till then that I was sure it would happen. We asked his girlfriend if she knew where to go for a good one. Her friend said that the Korean one was really good.
Imperial Health Center, was what it was called. That is where I went as well. It was about a 15-20 minute drive, and it was in the Korean District. I was a bit surprised because the exit sign to get there actually did call it the Korean District, I didn’t really expect it to be so... official.
This place was really nice though. There was a big shower room with 4 steam rooms attached to it, 2 hot tubs, and tons of both sitting and standing showers. This was by far the best shower I had on my vacation. They even had little shampoo and conditioner dispensers at each showering station. The only thing that was arguably uncomfortable was the fact that I was literally the only person there who was under the age of maybe 35, and not Korean. I didn’t really care though, it was just funny because I could tell I was far from the average customer.
Of course, I still had a massage to get as well. It took me a little while to find the room for it, but that was ok. An older Korean lady greeted me and bid me lay down on my stomach to begin the massage. I had never really had a really deep full body massage it was quite an experience. She even massaged my scalp and face. She also did that walking massage stuff, which was odd. When I entered the room I didn’t really look around so when she was walking on me and doing all these crazy things with her feet I had to wonder what she was using for leverage. Once she had me turn over I saw the bars stretched over the table for her to hold on to.
After the hour long massage I walked around the establishment a little to see what other things they had. It wasn’t a whole lot, there was an outside patio type area, an exercise room, and a room with a big TV and comfy chairs. I didn’t linger long though because I was beginning to get hungry.
When I got back to the apartment I found out that my buddy’s girlfriend went to a friend’s house to do some studying. Once we decided to eat at that new Thai place we of course invited her though. She met us there. It was a pretty tasty place, I got a peanut curry with chicken. The portions were also huge, I only got about half my curry down before filling up.
The rest of the night was a bit of a disappointment unfortunately. We hung around the apartment for a while and then went out to try and find something to do. Tuesdays are the day that nothing is open in Long Beach it seems. After driving around for a while and finding many places closed we just went to the market and bought some beer and food, then watched some DVDs while we ate and drank a little.
I’m sorry this took so long to get posted, had a pretty busy week with school starting up and everything. In current news I seem to have gotten a bit sick. Day 3 coming soon.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Vacation - Day 1
I took my vacation this week. I am also going to be totally lame and split the story of the four days into more then 1 post. However, this is partly in an attempt to get back to posting before Saturday.
Day 1: So, I had planned to leave around 1:00pm. That didn’t quite happen. Just as usual I managed not only to just leave at like 1:45, but I managed to forget something. Of course, I was fortunate enough to realize I forgot it before getting out of town. Funny thing about this though, it wasn’t what one might have thought. I didn’t forget my wallet, or some socks. I packed everything I thought I might need. What I managed to walk out of the house without was my belt. An item I use ever single day. I still don’t understand how I did that.
So after returning home I started my trip once more. It was now about 2:15 because I was doing my little bit of snack shopping for my drive when I noticed the missing belt. I decided to drop by my girlfriend’s work place to hug her goodbye before leaving town, but that was a very short stop.
I was underway, leaving town, by about 2:30. It was a long drive, the bulk of which was on I-5. Dear god I-5 is painful. I was on that road for a good four and a half to five hours. Two lanes of fast traffic cutting straight through a lot of yellow plains. There is literally nothing but tiny towns with fast food and more pavement. I spent much time scanning the radio stations hoping to find the new frequency for NPR. More often then not I just found religious stations. If any of you really want to get into radio go for a Christian station, the sheer number of them should make the work hunt easier.
As I finally reached Grapevine and began traveling over the hills to LA the sun had started setting. It was very red compared to what I am used to. After getting to LA I thought that I must be very close to Long Beach. I wasn’t quite right however, it was still I good 45-50 minutes before I reached my destination.
I only stopped twice on the trip there, and the first thing I did was goto the bathroom. Then my friend cooked me up a burger. It was quite good, but it would also be a fairly standard set of ingredients for my meals to come. Beef, lettuce, onion, and bread. It was a nice apartment though, very close to the beach, but small. One bedroom, where my friend and his girlfriend slept, a bathroom, a small kitchen, and a living room.
They were half way through Death Race, so I watched the last half with them. Me and my friend stayed up a bit later after the movie catching up a little. I think I went to bed around 1:30am, though I know I didn’t fall asleep till quite a bit later. I slept on the couch.
Day 2: coming soon.
Day 1: So, I had planned to leave around 1:00pm. That didn’t quite happen. Just as usual I managed not only to just leave at like 1:45, but I managed to forget something. Of course, I was fortunate enough to realize I forgot it before getting out of town. Funny thing about this though, it wasn’t what one might have thought. I didn’t forget my wallet, or some socks. I packed everything I thought I might need. What I managed to walk out of the house without was my belt. An item I use ever single day. I still don’t understand how I did that.
So after returning home I started my trip once more. It was now about 2:15 because I was doing my little bit of snack shopping for my drive when I noticed the missing belt. I decided to drop by my girlfriend’s work place to hug her goodbye before leaving town, but that was a very short stop.
I was underway, leaving town, by about 2:30. It was a long drive, the bulk of which was on I-5. Dear god I-5 is painful. I was on that road for a good four and a half to five hours. Two lanes of fast traffic cutting straight through a lot of yellow plains. There is literally nothing but tiny towns with fast food and more pavement. I spent much time scanning the radio stations hoping to find the new frequency for NPR. More often then not I just found religious stations. If any of you really want to get into radio go for a Christian station, the sheer number of them should make the work hunt easier.
As I finally reached Grapevine and began traveling over the hills to LA the sun had started setting. It was very red compared to what I am used to. After getting to LA I thought that I must be very close to Long Beach. I wasn’t quite right however, it was still I good 45-50 minutes before I reached my destination.
I only stopped twice on the trip there, and the first thing I did was goto the bathroom. Then my friend cooked me up a burger. It was quite good, but it would also be a fairly standard set of ingredients for my meals to come. Beef, lettuce, onion, and bread. It was a nice apartment though, very close to the beach, but small. One bedroom, where my friend and his girlfriend slept, a bathroom, a small kitchen, and a living room.
They were half way through Death Race, so I watched the last half with them. Me and my friend stayed up a bit later after the movie catching up a little. I think I went to bed around 1:30am, though I know I didn’t fall asleep till quite a bit later. I slept on the couch.
Day 2: coming soon.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Saturdays
So I’m sure people have noticed how I seem to be updating on Saturdays now. Well yes it is because I am struggling to keep up with the one post a week thing. I keep telling myself that I’m going to do it a day or 2 early and get back onto Sunday posts, but that just hasn’t been happening.
I guess maybe I just have a little too much on my plate these days. That vacation I have mentioned appears to be happening though. That should be nice. I should be leaving in two days for that.
It is a bit odd though. Even though I feel overburdened I can’t really think of anything that seems extra stressful or anything. I don’t even feel like there is much to write about because everything appears so average when I think about it. Hopefully this break from everything gives me some time to level out again.
I guess maybe I just have a little too much on my plate these days. That vacation I have mentioned appears to be happening though. That should be nice. I should be leaving in two days for that.
It is a bit odd though. Even though I feel overburdened I can’t really think of anything that seems extra stressful or anything. I don’t even feel like there is much to write about because everything appears so average when I think about it. Hopefully this break from everything gives me some time to level out again.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Summer Ending
It seems like every day I am getting a little more off the schedule I want to be on. In relation to sleeping and such that is. I’ve slept till about 3pm more then once in the last week or two. And had to deal with all the, “oh my god, how can you sleep that late?!?!” stuff.
It isn’t that weird if you think about it for a few damn seconds. Lets say you are a normal person going to sleep about midnight and waking up at about 9am. That is about 9 hours of sleep. Well if I’m falling asleep around 6am and waking up at 3pm that is also 9 hours of sleep.
Now sure, yes I know the whole world isn’t on that crazy schedule, and like I said before I don’t really want to be on that schedule either. But it is just so annoying to hear people going off like this is some amazing or ridiculous thing that is happening. I’m not sleeping 15 hours a night, I’m sleeping the same amount as anyone else just at a different time.
Who knows though, maybe my schedule is getting so skewed because of some underlying problem. Maybe I really do just need some time somewhere else. Somewhere to get away from all the shit around here. Somewhere that I literally have to deal with nothing involving my normal day to day life.
I still have 2 weeks to get that done. And yes I do realize I’ve slipped into updating on Saturdays putting me dangerously close to missing a week.
It isn’t that weird if you think about it for a few damn seconds. Lets say you are a normal person going to sleep about midnight and waking up at about 9am. That is about 9 hours of sleep. Well if I’m falling asleep around 6am and waking up at 3pm that is also 9 hours of sleep.
Now sure, yes I know the whole world isn’t on that crazy schedule, and like I said before I don’t really want to be on that schedule either. But it is just so annoying to hear people going off like this is some amazing or ridiculous thing that is happening. I’m not sleeping 15 hours a night, I’m sleeping the same amount as anyone else just at a different time.
Who knows though, maybe my schedule is getting so skewed because of some underlying problem. Maybe I really do just need some time somewhere else. Somewhere to get away from all the shit around here. Somewhere that I literally have to deal with nothing involving my normal day to day life.
I still have 2 weeks to get that done. And yes I do realize I’ve slipped into updating on Saturdays putting me dangerously close to missing a week.
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