in other news, last week, i started meeting people. it's been a slow warm up, as i've been getting the lay of the land, checking out different wards, and visiting the mid-singles (27-40) institute (non-mormon translation: scripture study). the institute class has been extremely rewarding. the teacher is excellent, and because the class is older than is standard, the discussion is engaging and enlightening.
not only that, but it's also been the easiest forum for meeting new people. just a couple thus far, but they are very nice. in general, the people here are nice, and i realize that once i start coming out of my shell a bit, there will be plenty of opportunities for new friends...which sounds easy, doesn't it? well, it's not. anyone who has ever relocated knows how difficult it can be to motivate yourself to attend activities and functions solo...even for someone who considers themselves a social person.
so i forced myself to go to a halloween dance on saturday. it was a large mid-singles activity, and more than anything, i wanted to get an idea of what a 'large mid-singles activity' looks like. oddly enough, it actually was large. but it was also a dance. a mormon dance. and true to form it was not only difficult to meet new people, but it had all the usual markings of the rhythmless. in the 'unexpected' category..the fact that there were so many inappropriate costumes for the setting. but i guess people will continue to surprise and disappoint you.
nonetheless, i was glad i went, if for no other reason than to prove to myself that i could.
on sunday, i went back to one of the large mid-singles wards here. in actuality, it's a mixed ward, half the congregation being families, the other half being mid-singles. after checking out a couple other wards, and having a little bit of flexibility where my records end up, i decided it was as good a place as any.
as the bishop was going through the opening announcements and callings, a familiar name was read. i recognized it from virginia, a friend of a friend of a friend type thing. i haven't seen her in awhile, and though i knew she was coming out to the area, i didn't realize she would be in the ward. she arrived a little bit later, and sat next to me. after sacrament meeting, we caught up before heading our different ways. it's interesting to see a face from home. no doubt there is some relief in that, yet at the same time, we weren't friends there (despite the opportunity to be so), so i don't expect that will change now. and truth be told, the challenge of finding my own way through the social albatross of the single set is more appealing than glomming on to someone for the sake of being needy.
monday night, i couldn't quite muster the courage to attend the ward's fhe, so i used the excuse of staying home and watching the kids carve pumpkins. i love holidays with children around!
the kids get down to business
rachel shows off her first pumpkin facewhile the kids were carving, jenny told me a story i had never heard, and that she had just remembered earlier in the day. apparently, when my cousin mick was 19, he had been preparing to go on a mission, but hadn't been able to get the required amount of money together to go. he pondered postponing for a year and working, but his parents insisted that it would all somehow work itself out. they were able to put more together, but it looked like they would be $100 short every month. my aunt told mick that he should go and have faith. fast forward to his departure...many family members, including my parents, were in attendance at the mtc to say their farewells. at some point that day, without knowing the background, my folks handed my aunt a check for $100 and said 'there will be another one of these every month for the duration of his mission.'
my parents never had any thought of being repaid, nor can they have possibly suspected that some 16ish years later, that debt would repaid to their daughter in the form of an unusually generous amount of hospitality.
when jenny told the story, the kids commented that i didn't 'owe them' anything, and jenny tried to make it clear that that was irrelevant, because it's what family does for family. how rare it is, and how grateful i am for family (both immediate and extended) that not only professes such a creedo, but lives it.
it has continued to be a busy week, and tuesday was a definite highlight. i headed up to the santa barbara area early in the afternoon. unfortunately, there was a HUGE accident on the 405 (finally, some infamous california traffic!), and the two hour drive became 3. i had given myself plenty of time though, so after a quick stop at stearns wharf in sb to pick up a replacement for the bracelet charm i lost after my march trip, jesse called to let me know that he was done at work, and i made the 15 minute drive to his place.
he caught me up to date on the changes/additions to the apartment since my last visit, and then we headed out for dinner. he took me to this great little place on the water, where we enjoyed our meal outside at a picnic tables, while taking in the vibrant colors of the sun falling below the horizon. gorgeous, i tell ya! and the food and company happened to be pretty good too:)
from there, it was on to my very special treat. i refer to it as mine, because when jesse asked what i wanted to do, there was only one answer. it was the night before halloween afterall, and that calls for a haunted house!
i absolutely LOVE haunted houses...there isn't much that scares me, but people jumping out from dark corners gets me every time. and there's just something cathartic about a few good screams. we had independently found a place about 20 minutes from his apartment, and he pre-purchased vip tickets for us. the tickets would mean we wouldn't have to wait (theoretically) and had a few more 'scenes' then the regular priced peons.
not scared...yetas it turned out, we did have to wait as a result of them opening late. but we were the second group to go in, so it was still worth it (easy for me to say, since it wasn't my dime). our group consisted of j and i, and two teenage girls. oh yeah.
i liked that they weren't pushing us through in groups of 10 or 20, but i didn't like the fact that i was elected to go first. at least jesse had the decency to hang on to me through out the course, and i'm sure that that was solely for my benefit;)
as it turned out, i had it the easiest, since creepy scary guys were usually coming from behind. i got my fair share of screams in though, and there were a couple of times where i literally tried to bury myself in jesse to avoid said creepy scary guys. yeah, i'm a wimp when it comes to these things!
though it was shorter than i would have liked, it was thoroughly satisfying.
after we finished up (and by finished up, i mean after i was sent sprinting out the exit being chased by chainsaw guy), we headed back to his place and hung out for awhile before i made the drive back (which was far less eventful than the drive up).
and that brings us to tonight! happy halloween! tonight i got to go trick-or-treating with the kids. since kendyl is 3, i haven't had the opportunity to do that in some time, and it is just so amusing! watching the kids plot which houses to hit, and seeing who in the neighborhood likes to put on a show and who wants nothing to do with the spooky holiday. in fact, there was one house that actually strung a 'keep out' sign across their stairs--which i thought was overdramatically bah-humbug. the kids had a great time though, and it was fun for me to be able to participate.
watch out world, er, neighborhoodthe rest of the week promises to continue being busy (thank heavens). back to institute tomorrow night, then on friday, i'll be attending the 'savior of the world' production mick and jenny's stake is putting on. jenny is producing, and the stake has pulled out all the stops. since we are where we are, the talent pool is immense, and most of the significant players both onstage and off are professionals. i missed the opportunity to see this when my virginia stake put it on, so i'm excited to get a second chance!
on saturday, i've got what i expect to be another highlight. i have several friends out here in the la area from high school. in this case, they are people i genuninely enjoyed, and since we were all drama buddies, it makes a certain sort of sense that they all migrated here.
brandon and michelle were high school sweethearts and married shortly thereafter. they are still happily married with two little boys. andy and kevin have always been the comic relief, and bronwyn was my english drop out buddy... we were both in the honors english program, but during the summer of our junior year were assigned a bunch of reading we didn't want to do. so we both dropped out. since the honors program basically just puts you a year ahead, the only thing they could do, was stick us in a senior english class. so together we sat that year..keeping our heads down and entertaining ourselves surrounded by 'scary' seniors. ;)
got a call from brandon on monday that saturday is andy's birthday party. he and michelle know i'm coming, but the rest will be completely surprised, and i can't wait!!
the santa ana's are predicted to make a reappearance this weekend, so things are lible to get interesting again. stay tuned for more california adventures...
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