At the beginning of this summer, I saw stretched before me three months accentuated by friends, family, travel, and an internship. I'm heading into the last leg of my summer - two weeks in San Francisco to wrap up my internship at WellCall. In memoriam to my summer, I submit random moments that come to mind from my time in Irvine, CA, a rather corporate hometown.
Mommy gleefully brought out organic strawberry milk shakes made from berries she'd bought from the local fields during peak season and frozen just so we'd never be without fresh strawberry milkshakes over the summer.
Daddy demonstrated the proper use of a cucumber slicing contraption that everyone had been using to slice then eat cucumbers. The thin slices are supposed to be applied to the skin. We covered our faces in thin strips of cukes until we looked more ready for war than a spa.
Carefree and in a summertime mood, Fred and I ran off to play tennis without wearing shoes. We both burned our feet in several places, and excused ourselves the trek up to LA to see a friend's band that night by virtue of our effete feet.
I surprised Fred with a day-trip to Catalina Island. The first thing we did was walk (with sensitive tootsies) over to Lover’s Cove to swim with a school of bright orange Garibaldi. We walked over to the Casino Ballroom, took a nap on the grassy area behind Descanso Beach, and sipped fruity drinks while a cover band rocked out to Led Zeppelin and the like. We golf-carted up and down the winding mountain roads; we even came face to face with a doe, until it ran into the bushes (towards, but, we hope, not down the mountain side!). We found a pirate cave and relevant piracy ensued. Huge margaritas were in our future as we sat in a window-side booth on the second floor of Mi Casita Mexican restaurant. We spent our last hours watching the tide come in, with the moon overhead, as we held each other tight and I ate salt water taffy.
Bonfires and CDM (Corona Del Mar) are just about synonymous. Aside from snuggling in the gloaming, Fred and I made ace smores out of the finest ingredients. Meanwhile a full moon seared a drunken path along the Pacific.
I reconnected with high school friends Eleeza and Shari, both of whom were as free as I was in good old Irvine. Eleeza threw a pool party, I organized an outing to the Laguna Beach Arts Festival, and Shari kept inviting us to drag shows.
Gurie made good use of the piano. I picked up my trumpet for an hour one day. I spent equal to about half that time at the piano. Moonlight Sonata and Traumerei remain decidedly uncommitted to memory. Same goes for my revisit to Georgia on My Mind.
I read about the adventures of Dean Moriarty, Sal Paradise and others each night until I fell asleep. Unimpressed and less than captivated by Kerouac's literary skills, I left the story mid-rant in search of more cohesive and intrepid language.
Kahmy and I played a lot of scrabble, watched a lot of movies, and indulged in too much junk food. We're both suckers for the 50 point bonus, he learned to pay for popcorn, and is probably at this moment growing tired of chewing on tootsie rolls.
Aside from the secret stash of sweets, I ate what we affectionately called “Mommy salad” just about every other day. It’s delicious and can be made in any of a number (239) of variations on a theme. Buckwheat cold noodles, gourmet salad greens, another green I don’t know the English word for, apples, tomatoes, beef, etc., tossed in a homemade soy-ginger-vinaigrette.
After months of refusing to drive myself anywhere, I drove 90 minutes round-trip to spend my last night in the OC with friends Gretchen and Ben aboard the Queen Mary. It was a cheesy night of tourist-trap sleaziness, but we made the best of it: walking around the deck of the grand ship; making up ghost stories, and holding Ben back while we was ‘king of the world.’
I aged prematurely when we celebrated my birthday on my last night at home (nearly a full month early). Judging from the cake, it looked like I was turning 7 years old. 2 big candles, 5 little ones. I guess that's 27. I blew the loosely dusted cocoa powder from the top of my fancy cake all over the white table cloth. It was art. Also, I discovered Lactaid, so I even had ice cream!
En masse, my time at home consisted of: fresh fruits and vegetables, swimming, the beach, hiking, tennis, bike rides, snorkeling, tap class, sisters, brother, fred, parents, home cooking, reading, eating, and last but not least, shopping: the municipal pastime.
Not a bad life, but wow do I miss NYC. Or any city for that matter. But especially New York. Be back soon, I promise!
