Venice
What row are you looking for?
They told me row 10. I rented a compact.
hmm … Looks like I’m pretty much out of compacts … How many are with you?
Just me.
Ah. In that case, I’ll let you take either an SUV or one of the convertibles.
…
I looked to my left at a row of silver and blue Jeeps, then to my right at four Mustang convertibles.
Uhh. … I’ll take a convertible.
Welcome to Los Angeles.
Last week I traveled to LA to finally meet face-to-face with a client I’ve been working for remotely. The puddle jump down from the Bay Area also gave me the chance to reconnect with some friends from Northwestern and SLC.
Luke, Cerre, Matt, Aleeza and Rosen gave me a great taste of what LA living is all about: A dawn patrol(ish) surf. An indoor/outdoor restaurant with an over-talkative waiter. Airplants. A brisk November-morning swim. Cheap Mexican food and sunshine.
Teti.
After two great nights around Venice, I took the jaunt down to San Diego to visit Neil and Stephanie—an old friend and his partner who had visited Kelli and me in Vermont. I arrived around three and as the afternoon stumbled on, Neil and I sat across from one another at his dining room table discussing the finer points of inventing nifty gadgets. Apparently, a 3D printer comes in handy.
Neil abruptly looks at me and says, “Man … my lips are numb.”
Pardon?
It’s either: A) the pain medication he is weaning himself off of (Neil is three weeks out from shoulder surgery), or B) the spicy Jamaican food he had for lunch.
His first instinct is to call his doctor … but it’s 4:45 on a Friday and no one is going to be around.
He calls the doctor’s office anyway and someone picks up. After a brief back and forth, the nurse or receptionist or whoever is on the other end responds with: “go to the emergency room or an urgent care.”
Click. Try again, please. “It’s not like your throat is closing up or anything.”
Neil then calls the restaurant where he had lunch. Again he explains his predicament.
“Mm hmm” … “Same thing I had yesterday” … “Habanero” … “Oh yeah?”
And he does what any sensible person would do: he eats a bowl of ice cream.
Uh, that’s coconut ice cream to you, mister.