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I don’t mean to sound so sickeningly positive all the time… but wow, it’s only 8:30 am and I’ve already had quite a few GREAT things happen so far! The power of “positive mindset” is HUGE.
I was having a miserable morning… slept in my car last night, and could only sleep for 3 hours, despite the fact that I was exhausted from the past few weekends. I was cranky because of that, and also because I had to drop Jason James off to the airport the night before. We were having so much fun and I didn’t want to go back to being by myself!
I went to go find the gym around here (I ADORE LA FITNESS! Because I’m a member, I get to go to any LA Fitness in the country), and ended up inside a parking lot, which I couldn’t back out of. I was cranky because I didn’t want to pay for a parking lot for my gym in the first place, and also because I didn’t think the gym was even open. I was going to work on my laptop until the gym opened, but I didn’t get any signal from my Verizon wireless (even though I do in other parking lots). Anyway… you know how they say that once your day starts going bad, your mindset changes and everything goes bad? That was definitely what was happening…. I tried to leave the parking lot and ended up slamming my car against a wall… asked for help and met rude people… couldn’t figure out how to get out of the parking lot… ended up staying there anyway while people looked at me like I was crazy…. waited till gym time… had to go up an elevator and across a bridge to get into the gym, had to find the locker rooms which ended up being in a building outside of the gym (so weird)…realized I forgot my sneakers, had to do it all over again… etc. etc. etc. Anyway, I was getting crankier by the minute.
On the way back to the gym again, I reminded myself that my day would continue getting worse if I didn’t change my mindset. When I got on the treadmill, I forced myself to work really hard. I ended up having a GREAT workout… much needed after spending so much time in my car!
After I showered, while I was straightening my hair, I asked a woman if there was a Barnes & Noble nearby. She told me where that was and then we ended up talking for a while. To put it shortly, she’s going to introduce me to her friend in San Francisco. He’s apparently a really cool guy with a “sense of adventure”, and we’re going to hang out. I’m excited, she said he’ll show me around the city!
She also told me about this great Farmer’s Market that I could head to before B&N opened… I’m actually sitting inside of it right now. It’s such a nice area, I really love it.
After I left the gym, I asked someone about how to pay for my parking ticket. While he was telling me to go visit some clerk, the lady that I had originally talked to heard the conversation and told me to go back to the gym, because they validate the tickets. Parking ended up being free, after all.
Anyway… maybe not huge significant things, but going from my absolutely abysmal morning to sitting in a beautiful Farmer’s Market with happy people all around me is big enough for me!
In other news, like I said, I had a ton of fun with Jason (and Brian McElroy when I got to see him :)).
On Thursday, we walked through Beverly Hills. We got to see Rodeo Drive and other assorted neat things. At night, Brian, Jason, and I went to Pink’s – an apparently infamous hot dog stand in L.A. that everyone raves about. On Saturday, Jason and I went through Hollywood Boulevard. We went to a wax museum (pictures to follow), saw the stars on the “Walk The Stars” sidewalk, went to the Chinese theatre and saw the handprints and footprints, got some fun pictures with Borat, and drove on the hills to get closer to the “Hollywood” sign. After that, we went to a cool seminar where people were teaching guys how to pick up women. I’m so fascinated by psychology, it was an awesome time.
After the seminar, Brian, Jason, and I went to grab something to eat and then to a bar. We ended up not getting in anywhere (long story)… buuut, I did get to try my very first “In N Out” (Jason kept raving about it).
Since Brian went home early on Sunday (:(), it was back to Jason and I on Sunday. We went to the Santa Monica Pier, which was BEAUTIFUL. There were all sorts of neat street vendors and performers… an amusement park… and just an overall great time. There were some vendors doing handwriting analyses, or people who would carve your face out of clay (Jason got that done to him)…. and lots more, but I don’t want to say in case the person that I bought a gift for reads this. :)
After that, we drove to Palos Verdes (gooooorgeous beach). We went on a top-secret stalking mission after that, and ended up successful. I can’t say much more on my blog, but I will say that we’re super sleuths!
Anyway… Barnes and Noble is about to open and I have a lot of work to get done, so without further ado, here are some of the pictures that we took (the ones of Jason are on his camera):
He’s in love with me, he just doesn’t know…
This man’s sign was funny. I gave him $1 and he asked if I wanted a picture with him. I found that somewhat demeaning… but asked if I could take a picture of his sign, and this is what happened:
He had his own star!
He was AWESOME:
We kept sneaking behind the cautioned off areas and taking pictures with the wax people…
I got to meet him after all!
This should teach you not to mess with me (ignore the fact that my hands were completely not in the right position :)).
And for the Philly folks… :)
Okay, off to B&N!
BTW, I have a ticket to go Deal Or No Deal tomorrow, and Price Is Right on the 28th!! I have a Jeopardy one, too. I don’t know if I’ll end up going to all of those, but yay anyway. ;)
