Craigslist: My New Best Friend

Ahhh, nothing soothes me more than waking up each morning, stepping outside and letting the warm Cali sun wake me with its intense raise and warmth to start a new day. With each day that I am here comes more comfort, familiarity and groundedness. I am a firm believer and life-liver by the quotes, "everything happens for a reason," and "if something is meant to be it will be." I am now living those quotes firsthand; minute by minute and day by day. To begin, I'm living the exact life I had hoped for out here. Getting the time to work on, and pursue, my journalism while spending ample time at the beach. I'm still exercising plenty and even continue to take bike rides from out my door like I do in Colorado. As much as exercise and activity are a part of who I am, this is also part of my continued recovery. Because I have committed to making my health my number one priority, each day I set aside time for 'recovery hour' to tend to my various ailing parts. I strongly believe that this TLC is what has enabled me to make such a miraculous recovery.

Thanks to Craigslist, I have been able to dial my life in with almost ease. To date, Craigslist has scored me my room, my bed, my car and a printer! Last weekend I not only snagged an all-in-one brand new Cannon photo printer, but also a computer desk! For the first time since landing here I finally feel like a true journalist again! The printer was still in the box. I paid $50 for a $90 printer. I stumbled upon the computer desk while walking home from the beach one day. It just so happened that my buddy Randy was with me at the time. I'm pretty sure I spied the desk on the side of the road the second it came into view. Knowing me and my energy, I assume I jumped up a and down like a little girl, hooting and hollering about my free.99 find just a couple of houses up the road from my own. "Let's take it, Randy, let's take it!" By the beginning of the week I had two months of printing completed and a desk to begin my prose for a few stories I have had in the pipeline but have been procrastinating on like a true journalist. The best part of the desk is that it has shelves. The shelf side of the desk butts right up next to my bed and has conveniently become my bedside table. Gotta love the smallest of pleasures in life!

Lately I've been blessed enough to make it to a few amazing reggae shows. The first was Warrior King. There is a funky little venue in North Park, San Diego called the WorldBeat Cultural Center. They put on everything from dance lessons, cultural classes and incredible music shows. Warrior King took a lackluster crowd, wooed them, and turned the show into an intimate experience with amazing energy. I was lucky enough to get an autograph and a picture with him. Such a little white-girl reggae geek I am! Luckily I am the first to admit this about myself. I attended the show with a newly required friend whom I met at my first show here at the Belly Up venue in Solana Beach. Tricia is my age and lives and goes to grad school in Orange County. Not only is she as much of a reggae connoisseur as I am, we also share the same pig obsession. For all of you who know how extensive my affinity for pigs in my life is, this person is of incredible significance for me! We carpooled down to the show, and upon picking me up, I noticed the common fetish immediately. Her car was decked out in pigs. Figurines, head rests, and trinkets filled her dash. Could I have found a similar sister-from-another-mother? I think not! We had a great time together and have already made plans for our next show.

On Friday night I attended a evening of more beautiful energy and vibes at Belly Up. Groundation is a reggae/jam band from NorCal with an original sound that can't be mistaken. The lead singer is a white, jewish man with a high-toned voice that pierces your brain cells like nothing else. The house was packed and everyone was grooving down.

Thursday night marked another first for me post-injuries. I have recently joined a co-ed soccer league and partook in my first game! Sure my ball skills and field placement were rusty, but my legs still carried me and my mouth still worked like I've never left the field. I haven't played since my days at Whiteman, but it nearly felt like getting back on a bike. Words aren't enough to describe my thankfulness for having the ability to get back to physical sports! Thanks to my beach runs, my wheels rolled in fine tune. Friday and Saturday only greeted me with sore hamstrings, groin and hip flexors. To be expected for a region that had incredible devastation nine months ago! I'm not sure if my new teammates understand what planet I came from, but they were stoked to acquire a female player who gives 100 percent on the field.

Not having a camera continues to irk me. From not being able to document my surroundings for all of you, to not getting shots of reggae, I'm frustrated, but learning how to deal. I know that as soon as I have a new-to-me camera back in mt grubby hands, I'll be snapping shots and uploading them faster than you'll be able to view them all. Look forward to that!

Alright, off to the Broncos game. Perhaps we can pull off a win today... Go Donkeys!

Much love and light,

Brett

Trisha and I with Warrior King

'Cherry' the Subaru Impreza

The CO hippie chick finally broke down and scored some wheels. As much as I have thoroughly enjoyed NOT having a car out here, it hasn't been honestly realistic. Sure, it's great to commute everywhere on bike, but there are times where it's more of a hassle than necessary. Plus, I now have the capability to jet up to Orange County to see friends from last summer, as well as down to San Diego to check out music, see friends, etc. I found a gem of a deal: a 1993 Subaru Impreza with 165k miles for $1,300. I know if I take good care of her she'll take me the distance and be every bit worth the price. Thanks to the parents for forwarding me the cash...

I had the most mellow Halloween I have probably ever had. I didn't have the chance to get creative and make my costume, so I had to throw something together last minute. I was also working, so that put a damper on the holiday as well. I still pulled off and good 'n sexy Daisy Duke. It wasn't quite as enjoyable as Britney last year, but that one will be hard to beat!

Bike rides and beach runs continue to be my exercises of choice. I can't explain how refreshing it is to run along the beach jamming to tunes while watching kids roll naked in the sand, build sand castles and romp toys through the water. I admire teens being teens, hippies hoola hooping and flame-throw practicing, surfers chasing the perfect wave, and older folks living it up happily retired. And then there's me: A mountain girl on winter hiatus mingling with the SoCal peeps and appreciating every last second of it!

Recently, the plantain tree in the backyard produced an entire bunch of ripe fruit. Being the baker extraordinaire that I am, I wasted no time to find a ride to the store to stalk up on my baking necessities. I have now made six loaves of bread and they have been getting inhaled faster than I imagined. On top of my weekly cookies, making plantain bread has been a blast. I'm thinking of continuing to make it and sell it to some of the cafes around town. There are a few places that don't make their own pastries, so I figure that local Leucadian Plantain Bread would be a hot ticket! To the knowledge of my roommates, this is the first time that someone has cooked with the fruit. I set aside a loaf for the longtime landlord, so I trust he will appreciate the gesture as much as all my new buddies!

My jewelry making has taken a back-burner position until I start selling it. I decided the other day that I need to start wearing my necklaces in attempt to begin the selling process. Sure enough, I sold my first necklace off of me at work the other night! As I approached a table of two younger guys, one of them immediately commented on the blue pendant necklace I was donning. "Thanks," I said. "I made it, and it's for sale." He replied flatly. "How much, I'll buy it." It was that easy! I was so stoked and he was just as happy to support a local jeweler. There are a couple of places that I'm going to look into seeing if I can't score a corner to set my jewels out around town. Once I sell I can get back to making which is the best part! There are a couple of great bead stores in town, and I really look forward to tapping into what they have to offer for materials for me.

As I write I am experiencing the first hearty downpour of rain since I moved here two months ago. It's refreshing, but when you're used to Pleasantville, it's bittersweet. It's great to see SoCal get the moisture, but I want my sun! I'm so glad I get it every other day of the year damn near!

Bless up, big love and much respect,

Brett

Daisy Duke

Cherry