The LA Retreat: ...Monday Reflections

Monday, July 26th, 2010:

I worked from home in LA. Specifically from my bed. I was still sore from running the 1st Half of the San Francisco Marathon the day prior. Damn those hilly hills... and lactic acid. Maybe I'll try what this guy did next time I do a half marathon. Okay, maybe not.

My Dad has Monday's off so we'd chit chat throughout the day when he wasn't running errands himself. In the early evening, my Dad BBQ'ed dinner for my Mom and had dinner ready for her around 5:30pm. I didn't eat with them (I was going to eat dinner later in the evening). I did sit with them, though. They like to eat dinner on the couch while watching a TV show. Not very often do they eat at the dinner table. So I watched TV with them while they were eating dinner. Even chit chatting and simply being in their presence was comforting and something I hadn't done in a while.

After that, I took a nap to help makeup for a lack of sleep the few days prior. That was really helpful.

Around 8pm I woke up, freshened up at drove myself to the Northridge Fashion Center (pretty much the cornerstone to my youth) to have dinner with my high school buddy, Laurence at 8:30pm. We ate at one of my favorite places in the Valley, Wood Ranch. It's a small American Barbecue chain that started out in Moorpark. They have delicious meats and sides... their Tri-Tip is especially bomb.

Laurence is an amazing guy. We hung out a lot in High School and occasionally in college since we went to universities that were relatively close to one another. He went to Cal Poly Pomona while I was at UC Riverside. When we were young(er), we'd get a group of guys together and shoot some hoops or play poker. I know, hard to believe. Being butch at its finest.

I've made several trips down to LA over the past few years but the two of us could never quite connect to see each other. We've been talking about working out together at 24 Hr. Fitness at the Sherman Oaks Galleria (like, you know, the center of the SFV) and grabbing a drink or meal together to catch up. I figured since I gave him a week notice and had a whole week down in LA, we're finally gonna make it happen!

... and we did. The last time we physically saw each other had to be around 2005/2006. It was one of those things where simply the act of hugging and shaking a hand meant the world to me. We've kept up with each other via social networking, the occasional phone call or email. But meeting in person, there's nothing like it. We discussed the current happenings in our lives... jobs, work, love life, family life, etc. We also took a trip down memory lane as well as filled in the gaps for the past 5 years.

We both ordered the Tri-Tip, got some drinks (he beer, me Mighty Leaf Tea) and we'd chit chat away. My phone was turned off and he had my complete attention. I'd listen and have a conversation just like I once had, pre-Facebook, Twitter, etc.

He's in bit of a rut when it comes to work, but he's accepted where he's at and has a future plan that involves Grad School. Most importantly he's learned to be happy with his current situation. He's also got some financial goals with paying down debt and has made some sacrifices in the meantime. He's also in HR for a Whole Foods store in the Valley. You know what's funny is that Laurence is sort of like the straight version of myself. He's a hopeless romantic, dreamer, very analytical (esp. when it comes to himself) etc. I always found that I could relate to him. Maybe that's why he's so easy to talk to.

When we got down to love life, the whole conversation of "leagues" came up. You know as in "She's out of my league." He randomly said, "Will, you're an 8.5. That means, you can pretty much get whatever you want." His reasoning is most people have the ability to get within 2. So an 8 could get a  6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 and not have it be super awkward.

He also always told me that he somewhat envies me and my situation. He thinks that I've always "hit it out of the park" when it comes to work, school, social life, etc.  I guess from an outside perspective I can see how he can think that but I'd tend to be more critical. However, that's usually the case. I think that conversation stemmed a whole discuss on risk-taking and why it usually pays off in the end even if you don't succeed.

Even though it had been 4 or 5 years since we'd last seen each other, it felt like yesterday. That's what good friendship is all about. I admire him for having his priorities straight and setting goals that he's out to accomplish.

We finished dinner around 10:30pm and we were kinda getting the boot from the wait staff. We wanted to then move to a local Starbucks but they were closed. Welcome to Suburbia on a Monday night. We decided to call it a night and workout on Thursday together.

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