Southern California @ MindSay

Lord God, please bring rain to Georgia and to southern California.

 

Father, forgive us for turning away from You.  We have pursued almost everything else imaginable but You.  Please have mercy on us and bring the rain.

Before I get on the subject of today, let's cover yesterday.

Besides my sister and I staying up past midnight playing dress up, earlier in the day, we went out again together.

While we were pulling out of the parking lot of our apartments, a Ford Explorer drives by and I see this little boy, maybe 10 years old, swat at his mom who is driving. His mom swats back at him and he leans out of her reach, swatting at her again, and she looks away. I looked at the mom... just looked at her alone, then saw what was going on in the car, and the car it was going on it.... and I knew they had to be from California. I knew it. Sure enough, we pull behind them and not only does her license plates say California, but Temecula, California, where I used to live! I don't know of any other place where homes are run by the children and the parents are all their kid's bitch. If they were from somewhere else, I might have been surprised to see that, but I wasn't. That's the norm in the suburbs of Southern California.

So anyway, my sister and I went to the bookstore and then walked over to Whole Foods.
I've said it before, but I'll say it again... my sister and I get on together very well. We truly do enjoy each other's company and have this understanding that I've never experienced with anyone ever before. It's not just being sisters, but our personalities are similar in a way that meshes very well and compliment each other. The things that I think are most strange about me, I can tell her and she totally understands. Even the few times she doesn't fully understand, she at least understands from this other place... where I don't have to explain myself. It just is whatever it is, and she accepts that without judgement.

While we were at Whole Foods and I was serving myself some soup, she suddenly said, "We should live together!"
"You think so?" I said.
"Yeah, that would be so cool!"
I excitedly said, "Yeah!"

Both my sister and I don't plan to get married or have kids, we want to live somewhere where it snows, we want to live alone... but I think she realises just like I realise that maybe being totally alone would be lonely after a while. Empty. Having someone like a sister around who there is such an understanding of personality and interest with wouldn't be so bad.

I was kind of amazed at something that happened while we were at the bookstore.
I was standing and looking at some books, and she started talking to me. She stopped all the sudden and said, "Oh! I'm sorry!"
I said, "Huh? Why?"
"I interrupted your thoughts..."
I couldn't believe she would even consider that, that it would even cross her mind. People acknowledging and considering the fact that others around them have their own thoughts and things going on inside of them that we interfere with? *gasp*
I had no problem with her interrupting me, because she doesn't often say things that are just stupid and I don't want to hear. Even though... I never experienced that before.
Things like that - that is why I could live with her.
Also because she's the only person that I can ask with my mouth full of food, "whajhablawafrafrafra?" and she kindly brings me a bottle of water from the cupboard. :)

Anyway, it's a sweet idea....

On to today.
Besides Ani's album I got yesterday, we passed a Tower Records that was having a close out sale. CDs from 30-80% off! Some of them were $3! So I got 3 more albums.

• Sonic Youth - "Hurt"
• Ani DiFranco - "Up up up up up up"
• Amelie soundtrack.

I thought I had more to say, but I guess that's it.

Hope everyone is having a nice day.
-Liv-

I clicked on the link below because it was about a shooting at Denny's in Southern California:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060317/ap_on_re_us/restaurant_shooting

Since I always pass by a certain Denny's on my way home from work, I wondered, "Could it be that one?"

No, it wasn't. About a month ago, my friend Velma was in the process of moving to another state, so we had one final dinner at Denny's... the one in Anaheim... on a Friday, very late.  I can't help thinking what if she had moved a few weeks later (they were always pushing the date back anyway).  What if the gunman had been there when we had been there?  That's really freaky.

Anyway, the really disturbing thing is at the bottom of the article, it said that it was the third shooting at that particular chain in So. Cal. this week.  Granted, the only two locations were far away from each other and most likely not related.

This article will remind me that if I'm hungry... it won't be for Denny's!

Carless in LA.

 

Sound like an oxymoron?

 

I’m going on a week now of having no car. Don’t think I’m a third-class Angelino who has to ride the bus or take the MetroLink. I miss my baby!!! I’ll get it back tomorrow, fixed and shiny like (almost) new. I’d be lying though if I said though that in some way, in some weird way, I haven’t missed my car at all. I can say that because it’s only been 6 or 7 days. If it were more permanent I would feel differently. In the time it’s been away however I’ve walked a whole lot more around my house and around my neighborhood (a very good thing), to the store, to work, to the bank, to the post office, to Wahoo’s and to Blockbuster. I’m pretty good about consistently exercising so I don’t need to get out and exercise more, but the extra miles on my Reefs can’t be a bad thing. Fresh air feels good. the sounds of other cars, trucks, ambulances, bicycles, rollerblades (streetsounds) that you can only hear when you’re out of the driver seat and paying attention to what goes on around you rather than yacking on your mobile phone.

 

Honestly? It felt liberating. It shouldn’t take having to be away from my car, or the phone, or computer to rediscover life in its more natural, organic state. We attach so many gadgets and modern technologies to make our lives more convenient, more productive, more efficient and no doubt they are, but I’ve found it refreshing the past few days to be without.

 

Try going without your cel phone for a day. Don’t turn on your computer and log onto the internet. Just for one day. Only when we can do without for short periods of time, do we appreciate what we have when we do. We become owners again of our tools and our toys, of our lives and not slaves to them. Next time you have a quick errand to run nearby your house or work, leave your car parked in the garage. Walk, rollerblade, ride your bicycle. You won ‘t regret it.

No surprise here.  Reggie Bush announced today that he is skipping his senior season at the University of Southern California to enter the NFL draft.