apples and corn
Thursday 3-30: Went to my new Bible study. Met some cool people, played this silly board game Apples to Apples. Reminds me of this Chuck Klosterman essay about comparing apples and oranges... I guess you had to be there. It was a little weird, but hopefully it will get better.
Afterwards we all went bowling at the Gable House. Apparently Gable House is the happening place to be at 11pm on a Thursday night in Torrance because it was packed full of people. Not even just for some post-Bible study wholesome fun. There were all different breeds of hipsters. The guys in the lane next to us looked around 27 and they were British. One of them was named Rocko! No joke. Also, Gable House offers a two for one deal if you bring in an AMC ticket stub, and they give you free socks, so it's really THE place to go if you're young and you wanna pick up girls and splits but you don't have a whole lot of cash.
Friday 3-31: I decided to try going solo on a Friday night, so I went up to Chinatown and attended the closing party for the Not a Cornfield art exhibit. It was a little tough to wander the crowd all alone. But it was nice to be only responsible to myself, to go where I wanted and take my time. The cornfield itself has already been harvested and now the only remains are some corn monuments, which the website jokingly calls "Cornhenge." There were some nice bonfires and a rainy view of downtown which I tried to capture on film. And in the Not a Cornfield offices, there was food, a cash bar, live music and "seed therapy" corn massages. I debated climbing into one of the corn vats and letting someone rub dried corn all over me, just for the hell of it, but the line was really really long. The band, the Lisa Marr Experiement was really lovely, and sounded even better performed outdoors under the end of the freeway overpass. Everyone made a point of telling "corny" jokes, which was cute.
It was surprising that I had such a wonderful time, all by myself. I guess I tend to believe that an experience is enhanced by having someone to share it with. And in many ways this is true, because someone to talk to and laugh with will make anything more fun. But in the end, even if you share an event, your experience of that event is completely your own and separate. For instance, although Ryan and I shared a relationship, my understanding of that relationship was separate from his, and even after the reality of the betrayal, my memory of loving him honestly and faithfully cannot be touched or tarnished. My experience of our love was pure, regardless of his experience.
The realization of this at first made me feel lonely. No matter how much I think I am close to someone else, I can never truly understand their perception of reality. And no matter how much I feel connected to someone else, they can never really fully share my vision of the world. But in some ways, it's also freeing.
After the cornfield, I headed over to 3rd Street and made a point of having dinner alone. I picked a place that I had always wanted to try but never been able to get Ryan to visit: Cafe Crepe. I had a swiss cheese and jambon crepe and a coffee, and sat there and journaled and enjoyed the bustling restaurant and watched the cute couples cuddling in the next booth. It was lovely and not at all sad or scary. Must do it more often.
After my solo dinner, I met up with Courtney and Jean at Jean's friend John's house, so we could discuss the details of the LA Treaure Hunt. The meeting was kind of pointless and reminded me of Circle K board meetings. Afterward, the boys suggested we try the James Beach bar scene, and so we all walked over in the rain. I had been to James Beach for dinner and it was great, but James Beach for drinking is a much more intimidating thing. It's completely a meat market, and everyone is slightly older, slightly more focused. People who go there are clearly intending.... something. Within minutes of arrival we were approached and chatted up, and repeatedly told we seemed very young. One gentleman also went so far as to imply that we were in over our heads and perhaps we should try a different bar. Thanks for the tip, buddy.
But we took the tip. We went across the street to the Canal Club, which is kind of a strange place, not involving any actual canals, and not really much of a club either. There was a DJ, and there were about 5 people dancing. We stuck around for a little bit and then headed back in the rain. Walking through Venice at that time of night was kind of scary, but I felt safer because we were in a group, and also because I had that soaring night sky/freezing night air induced exhilaration that reminds me a lot of college weekends spent visiting Berkeley and wandering the streets in a pack. Kind of a weird night overall, but at least now I know what bar to hit when I turn 40 and I need to quickly locate a single guy with a stable boring job and a complete lack of sophistication or social grace.
Saturday 4-1: Got up around noon, went bike tuning with Jeanie. We also tried out the California Fish Grill in the Curry House strip mall on Artesia, and found it to be fabulous and healthy. We followed up our grilled seafood tacos with some delicious strawberry-coconut ice cream shaved ice from Teri Hawaii.
For dinner I met up with Lisa and Diego and a few of Lisa's pals, as a belated birthday adventure. I was a little anxious about what I would say or how to act in regard to the whole breakup thing, but I should have known that of course Lisa's a smart and understanding girl and there's nothing to worry about. It was quite fun to hang out with Lisa's talented friends, and we went to 501 for karaoke where they all put me to shame with their brilliant voices.
It's weird, things like going to 501 that I think will upset me actually have very few painful memories associated, but things like hearing about opening day that I don't anticipate being a big deal end up to really really hurt. I think the deciding factor is that if it's something I love on my own separately, I can still do/see/visit it without being sad, but if it was something that I only participated in because of Ryan, remembering it will bug me.
Afterwards we all went bowling at the Gable House. Apparently Gable House is the happening place to be at 11pm on a Thursday night in Torrance because it was packed full of people. Not even just for some post-Bible study wholesome fun. There were all different breeds of hipsters. The guys in the lane next to us looked around 27 and they were British. One of them was named Rocko! No joke. Also, Gable House offers a two for one deal if you bring in an AMC ticket stub, and they give you free socks, so it's really THE place to go if you're young and you wanna pick up girls and splits but you don't have a whole lot of cash.
Friday 3-31: I decided to try going solo on a Friday night, so I went up to Chinatown and attended the closing party for the Not a Cornfield art exhibit. It was a little tough to wander the crowd all alone. But it was nice to be only responsible to myself, to go where I wanted and take my time. The cornfield itself has already been harvested and now the only remains are some corn monuments, which the website jokingly calls "Cornhenge." There were some nice bonfires and a rainy view of downtown which I tried to capture on film. And in the Not a Cornfield offices, there was food, a cash bar, live music and "seed therapy" corn massages. I debated climbing into one of the corn vats and letting someone rub dried corn all over me, just for the hell of it, but the line was really really long. The band, the Lisa Marr Experiement was really lovely, and sounded even better performed outdoors under the end of the freeway overpass. Everyone made a point of telling "corny" jokes, which was cute.
Bonfire and downtown
Cornhenge
"Seed therapy"
Actual corn!
Cool lamp and overpass
Bonfire on a city street
Live music by the LA river
It was surprising that I had such a wonderful time, all by myself. I guess I tend to believe that an experience is enhanced by having someone to share it with. And in many ways this is true, because someone to talk to and laugh with will make anything more fun. But in the end, even if you share an event, your experience of that event is completely your own and separate. For instance, although Ryan and I shared a relationship, my understanding of that relationship was separate from his, and even after the reality of the betrayal, my memory of loving him honestly and faithfully cannot be touched or tarnished. My experience of our love was pure, regardless of his experience.
The realization of this at first made me feel lonely. No matter how much I think I am close to someone else, I can never truly understand their perception of reality. And no matter how much I feel connected to someone else, they can never really fully share my vision of the world. But in some ways, it's also freeing.
After the cornfield, I headed over to 3rd Street and made a point of having dinner alone. I picked a place that I had always wanted to try but never been able to get Ryan to visit: Cafe Crepe. I had a swiss cheese and jambon crepe and a coffee, and sat there and journaled and enjoyed the bustling restaurant and watched the cute couples cuddling in the next booth. It was lovely and not at all sad or scary. Must do it more often.
After my solo dinner, I met up with Courtney and Jean at Jean's friend John's house, so we could discuss the details of the LA Treaure Hunt. The meeting was kind of pointless and reminded me of Circle K board meetings. Afterward, the boys suggested we try the James Beach bar scene, and so we all walked over in the rain. I had been to James Beach for dinner and it was great, but James Beach for drinking is a much more intimidating thing. It's completely a meat market, and everyone is slightly older, slightly more focused. People who go there are clearly intending.... something. Within minutes of arrival we were approached and chatted up, and repeatedly told we seemed very young. One gentleman also went so far as to imply that we were in over our heads and perhaps we should try a different bar. Thanks for the tip, buddy.
But we took the tip. We went across the street to the Canal Club, which is kind of a strange place, not involving any actual canals, and not really much of a club either. There was a DJ, and there were about 5 people dancing. We stuck around for a little bit and then headed back in the rain. Walking through Venice at that time of night was kind of scary, but I felt safer because we were in a group, and also because I had that soaring night sky/freezing night air induced exhilaration that reminds me a lot of college weekends spent visiting Berkeley and wandering the streets in a pack. Kind of a weird night overall, but at least now I know what bar to hit when I turn 40 and I need to quickly locate a single guy with a stable boring job and a complete lack of sophistication or social grace.
Saturday 4-1: Got up around noon, went bike tuning with Jeanie. We also tried out the California Fish Grill in the Curry House strip mall on Artesia, and found it to be fabulous and healthy. We followed up our grilled seafood tacos with some delicious strawberry-coconut ice cream shaved ice from Teri Hawaii.
Cajun grilled fish taco
For dinner I met up with Lisa and Diego and a few of Lisa's pals, as a belated birthday adventure. I was a little anxious about what I would say or how to act in regard to the whole breakup thing, but I should have known that of course Lisa's a smart and understanding girl and there's nothing to worry about. It was quite fun to hang out with Lisa's talented friends, and we went to 501 for karaoke where they all put me to shame with their brilliant voices.
It's weird, things like going to 501 that I think will upset me actually have very few painful memories associated, but things like hearing about opening day that I don't anticipate being a big deal end up to really really hurt. I think the deciding factor is that if it's something I love on my own separately, I can still do/see/visit it without being sad, but if it was something that I only participated in because of Ryan, remembering it will bug me.
posted by Beth at 6:30:00 PM
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