Sixth sense

I can find British people anywhere. I'm like a moth to a flame.

Sharks just want to be friends?

Shark Week is over right?

Somebody should tell the sharks.

The ferocious and finned have made several headlines lately. Sharks have been spotted up and down the California coast this week. But there's one headline in particular that has caught my attention:

"Kayaker knocked off boat, comes face to face with great white".

Fisherman Adam Coca was going for a casual paddle in Pigeon Point when a great white decided his kayak would be a tasty snack. Coca escaped unharmed, but my advice? He's gonna need a bigger boat.

What would I do in this situation? If I was paddling along and Jaws knocked me in the water and proceeded to dismantle my boat, something tells me I would panic. Then I would probably play possum and wait to be eaten. I am not going to kid myself, I couldn't outswim a shark. Heck, I couldn't outswim a goldfish.

But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the shark doesn't want to eat me, sweet as I am. If I have learned anything thing from watching Shark Week all these years, it's that sharks aren't maneaters. So why was it attacking a kayak? Trying to get the yacht out of its teeth? Sounds a little fishy to me.

I think I will just avoid sharks until we can get this situation sorted out.

Travel buddies

In just a few short days I'll be boarding a plane off to see an old friend and make a new one.

By friend, I mean England (old friend) and Italy (new friend).

Two years ago when I came home from a year spent living in the U.K., I told myself I'd return in 2009, but I wasn't sure how to make that happen. But as fate would have it, it's happened and the plane is booked and plans are made.

But then as the thoughts of England were twirling in my head, Italy whispered in my ear. It took no convincing to get my friend Clara to agree to holiday in the boot-shaped country.

So things came together better than I thought they would and I put it out of my mind so I wouldn't explode with excitement.

But then June came, then July and now it is only a few days away. I think about other things, but then it pops back into my head and I get as giddy as a school girl.

Yipeeee!!

I'm really going to make an effort to update my blog and post my pictures while traveling, but if not, I hope to have some great stories to share upon my return.

Ciao!

Spider-man

Have you ever taken the time to think of all the people you've ever known in the course of your life?

(If you haven't I encourage you to do so.)

It's incredible how many people come into our lives. Some you may forget, even though you promised to be friends forever. And with others, forever may have ended, but you'll always wonder about them.

One such person who was in my young life is a man I only know as "Spider."

Spider became a friend of our family after meeting my mom at the restaurant where she worked. He was a regular and soon he was a regular in our lives.

When asked, he told my sister and I he was called Spider because he wasn't afraid of anything. And after the time he put our goldfish on his tongue, we believed him.

I remember he liked to eat the french toast sticks from Carl's Jr. And I remember one visit he brought me a watermelon pencil case. We have an old picture of him on a boat, so I guess he liked sailing too.

I'm not sure when we lost touch with Spider. Maybe when we moved.

But years and years later, I saw him again.

It was Christmas Eve and I was going to college in Los Angeles. My roommates had chipped in and bought me a plane ticket so I could fly home for the holiday.

On the way home from the airport with my dad and grandpa, we decided to stop for some fast food.

I recognized him right away. He was sitting at a table. He was dirty and didn't look very healthy. But I knew it was Spider.

It was confirmed when my dad said, "Hello, Don."

He hugged us and we began to catch up on all the missing years. I could tell he was happy to see us.

Then he showed us how he had made the camper on the back of his truck into a nice home. He was very proud of his work.

Soon it was time to go and so we hugged him again and my dad gave him some money. Spider wanted to give us something too and so he gave us a big bag of shredded cheese. He also gave us his mailing address.

I wish I hadn't lost it, or at least used it before it disappeared.

Once we got into the car, I called my mom and the tears started flowing.

She tried to console me, explaining that that was the life he wanted to lead.

And maybe he always had and I was just to young to comprehend it.

I still think about him often and that fateful Christmas Eve. I wonder how he's doing, if he's healthy, or even still alive.

I wonder if I ever went back to that fast food restaurant just off the highway, if he'd be there.

Eating french toast sticks.

Asparagus!

I love asparagus. The green spears have recently become my favorite vegetable. And apparently, I'm not alone.

The lovely city of Stockton has an annual Asparagus Festival. And when my friend Jenny invited me to meet her there, I jumped right on board.

I drove to Stockton on Sunday, not really sure what to expect. Something like a farmers market, maybe. But what was there was much bigger than what I expected.

Jenny and I got in line to pay our admission. Then we waited in line to buy tickets so that we could use those tickets to purchase fried asparagus and an aspara-margarita. Then we waited in line so we could show our IDs so that they would give us said aspara-margarita. There was a lot of planning involved in getting things done at the Asparagus Festival.

It wasn't only an asparagus fest, but also a mini-reunion of my dormmates from my Sac State days. It was good to see some familiar faces and reminisce about times that were waaay too long ago.

One of the highlights was seeing what asparagus looks like if it is allowed to grow. (This is how I know I'm getting old.) It's actually a pretty plant. And I admit I was tempted to take a bite out of the tree-like plant to see what it tasted like.

The other highlight of the day was Jenny and my's paddle boat adventure. We paid our five dollars and waited in line to paddle around in brown water. Jenny made some new friends while we were in line and while I pretended she wasn't one of mine.

We had our fried asparagus, which we wisely decided to share and couldn't even finish it. I guess there actually is too much of a good thing.

By the end of the day, I had seen my lifetime's worth of asparagus and had gotten a little fried myself (by the sun).

As far as friends and asparagus goes, I'd say it was a pretty good day.