back from hiatus

i don't know what the motor vehicle equivalent of "jet lag" is called, but whatever it is, i'm well over it and set on pacific coast time. more specifically, manhattan beach, los angeles, time. that is my new place of residence as of last thursday afternoon, may 20th, 2010. the first day of the rest of my life...if you're in a "real life story made into a motion picture" state of mind...

...los angeles. land of palm trees and over-sized sunglasses. it is also the land of ridiculously small yet ridiculously expensive homes. no matter what we happen to live in at a given period in our lives (house, apartment, condo, closet), don't we all just try to make that place our "home"? for the four of us, a stocked kitchen did the trick. and even though our living room/dining room/study/guest room is furnished with folding beach chairs courtesy of our next door neighbors, having a room that is oriented towards a great big television really makes a place feel like home. even if that home doesn't have cable yet. even if our wireless provider is the coffee shop located a few blocks away.

since college, i've always taken two things with me when i moved somewhere for an extensive period of time: white christmas lights and kerri walsh. the calming, romantic, and festive feeling that a string of glistening white lights gives me puts me at ease. and the framed newspaper cut-out of kerri walsh digging a ball in the 2004 olympics keeps me motivated and focused on my goals (kerri is one of the best beach volleyball players in the world by the way). those two items help me get through the tough transitional periods between places of residence. and let me tell you, this may very well be the most drastic transitional period of them all. the difference between my physical environment a week ago and today is like black and white. i traded in my parents and my brother for three of my best friends...the luxurious new home in a gated community for a two-bedroom, one bath apartment...a college town for the pacific ocean. i have left behind the struggles that come with living with your parents but have gained an entirely new set (remembering to not buy food that requires a microwave for one thing).

but as we all sat down the other night in our beach chairs, sipping our bud lights, we couldn't be happier. and i wanted to cry when i walked in and saw this sitting on our "dining room table":

hand-picked by one of the boys.

i have no words.

it's good to be back on the blog :)