Zen and the Art of Surfing

I've been watching surfers from my balcony at the beach for the last few days and I've decided that surfers fit into several categories.

There are the surfers who seem to sit out there the whole time just waiting for the perfect wave.  Wave after wave passes them by.  Unless it's the perfect wave, these surfers are not even going to try to catch it. So, they sit and wait while the hours go by and then they come out of the water and go home, hoping that tomorrow will bring the ultimate wave.


Then there are the surfers who appear to be trying to catch a wave but never do.  They've got the wet suit and the board but they never really surf. They paddle furiously and appear to just miss catching a ride. If a wave begins to catch the board, they pull back and let it pass or lose their balance and fall off.


And there are the surfers who grab every, single wave without thinking whether it's a good wave or not. They have some good rides and they also wipe out a lot. They are having fun and every wave is a welcome friend.


Some surfers just seem to sense when the wave is right.  They let the weak waves pass and wait for the right moment.  These surfers start paddling as soon as they sense their wave swelling.  They know they might never find the perfect wave but they make the best of what the ocean brings them.  They seem to catch every wave they target.  Some rides are short and some are long and they enjoy them all.

And then there are the non surfers who sit up on the balcony, drinking wine and philosophizing about the surfers.

In Which Sue and Debra Have a Grand Adventure

We're having so much fun, it's hard to find time to post. 

Monday was the Dave Matthews concert at the Hollywood Bowl.  We drove up early and met BFD at the parking lot near the bowl and had a pic-a-nic under a tree nearby. We had wine, sushi, crackers with brie and humus, and orzo salad  We chatted with Debbie until the gates were open.  The parking people even gave BFD a refund when she left - thanks parking guy.

The concert was awesome in our center box seats.  We bought some wine and enjoyed the late afternoon in the shade of the hills while we waited for Dave.  Did you know there isn't a moat at the Bowl anymore?  In 1964,  I saw girls try to get through that moat to the stage to touch The Beatles.  In 1967, I saw Jimi Hendrix jump into that moat and sing.  Now there are chairs where the moat should be.  Bye moat.

Before we saw Dave we saw Raphael Saadiq, very old school, James Brown style of music. That got everyone rev'd up for Dave and then we pretty much rocked the rest of the night. The weather was great, the music was even greater and, of course the company was fantastic. You can see the set list and you can pretend you were there with us. Thanks Dave.

Thank goodness our car was parked at the top of the stack in the stacked parking so we could just hop in and drive.  Good thing too since L.A. decided to shut down the I-5 about an hour out of town and so we had to detour and got a tiny bit confused.  Debra's phone with the nice lady who gives directions had run out of power so that was not an option. Luckily my Blackberry has Google maps and so we were able to get back on track.  Thanks Google.  No thanks to L.A. road planners.  Next time use those road signs, please.

Yesterday we were pretty darn lazy.  We sat around drinking coffee and watching the ocean until we left to scavenge for food.  We went to Whole Foods and a great Japanese store, Mitsuwa, for staples and for yummy lunches.  When we got home we (by we, I mean Debra) made delicious sushi rolls.  Crab and tobiko and salmon and tobiko, both dressed up with radish sprouts, cucumber and avocado.  Then some tobiko and quail egg for dessert.  We have plenty left over for more today.  Thanks Deb.  Thanks Mitsuwa.

Last night we had dinner at Old Town and the Old Town Mexican Cafe.  Little did we know it was Taco Tuesday.  $2 Marguaritas and tacos. For appetizer we had Queso with onions and peppers and the great hand made corn tortillas the place is famous for.  I ordered 2 fish tacos and Deb had 1 fish and 1 carnitas.  It was way too much food so we packed it up to go.  It will be lunch or snacks another day.  We stopped at the Old Town ice cream store on the way home to pick up salt water taffy.  Yum.  Thanks Old Town.

We will continue our adventure today.  I'm predicting a lot of beach time.

Customer Service Matters

Debra and I headed out the door to breakfast early this morning, thinking we'd eat here .  We arrived right at opening time and the only person present was wiping down tables and arranging chairs.  Deb asked if the restaurant was open and was told it would open in about 5 minutes.  We continued walking and went down to the promenade.  I remembered the little corner place by the pier, Kono's Cafe, that I'd eaten at before, so we continued down in that direction..  They were open and there was a quick moving line. We ordered two breakfast burritos and coffee. My burrito had eggs, cheese, bacon and potatoes.  Deb's was the same with green chiles.  The burritos were huge!  And delicious too.  We sat out on the deck watching the waves, drinking our coffee and trying to make a dent in the burritos.  We each only able to eat half of the yummy goodness and so we wrapped the rest up to take home.


As Deb pointed out, the guy at the first place should have said "I'm just setting up but come on in and I'll get you some coffee."  Then we would have eaten at his place instead of Kono's.  Now, as it is, we're planning another visit to the corner cafe again soon because the home fried potatoes with onions and cheese looked fabulous and we want to try them.

My Girl

Twenty-nine years ago today, August 19, 1981, I was twenty-nine years old and, at 1:21am, I met an amazing person. She gazed at me with her big, blue eyes and I said, "Hi, Debra, I'm your mommy." Since that moment, she has brought me joy, laughter, happiness and love. She is smart and funny, kind and generous. She was a peaceful baby, a curious toddler, a bright young girl and a talented teen. She’s finished college, worked in the ‘real’ world and is now about to be “Dr. Deb”, the second in our family to earn a PhD.

Don't get me wrong, we've had our moments; times when I've yelled at her, times when she's yelled at me and times when we've just yelled at each other. We've pouted and nagged and picked at one another. But, even at our worst moments, neither of us has doubted that we're family and we love each other. And, most of our moments have been good moments. We've shared a lifetime of happy experiences and created precious memories with each other, family, friends and pets.

Of course, I love her deeply and always will. But, better still, I really, really like her. If she weren't my daughter, I'd still want her as my friend. She is a good person. She's grown up to be independent, self-sufficient, intelligent, honest, kind, thoughtful, talented, creative, and generous. I could go on but you get the picture. She's the best thing in my life and I love being her mom.

Happy Birthday, my little B. These 29 years have flown by and I know the next 29 will be filled with even more love and joy.  Love, Mom.

Well, Hello, Bloggie

I know I said I quit this blog but I was channeling Brett Favre and didn't really mean it.  So I gave my template a face lift, changed out my photo, deleted some bad links (and some hobo bloggers) and relaunched I'm Just Saying.  I like the new blogger tools and templates a lot so you may see some other changes around here. And I'm done with my Favre impersonation so I don't plan to quit after a few lame appearances.

I also registered my blog with NetworkedBlogs on Facebook so go over to the bottom right and follow me so I'm not hanging out alone down there.

I have to go work now but I'll be back tomorrow.  I promise.

Prop Ate

Last week, Federal Judge George Hamm struck down California's voter-approved Prop Ate ban on pork products, handing a temporary victory to pork rights advocates in a legal battle that will surely end up at the Supreme Court.

Hamm gave opponents of pork until the end of the business day on Aug. 18 to get a ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on whether stores should start selling pork. Anti pork lawyers filed a request asking the 9th Circuit to intervene and block the sale of pork on an emergency basis late Thursday.