The Word B

los angeles is burning up! it feels like hades. so if the movie industry of hollywood is going to hell, this past few weeks has been good practice for all the residents. did i mention that i am loving the weather? bring it on, turn it up, let's bake. who needs air-conditioning?
we are now under 48 hours, until the mass exodus of ourselves and all the new things we have acquired here in america, where everything is bigger and better. most of our bags are filled with baby clothes etc. although, both ms. j and myself have bought a few things too. however, the bags are packed and the food is chilling in the fridge in preparation for the barbeque this evening. we are going out in style, pool party and everything.
the plan for the rest of the day is to relax, catch up with friends and family, and drink cold beer between the multitude of swims. i count myself lucky to have grown up in southern california with a swimming pool in the back yard. if you have ever flown in a plane over LA and looked down, you would be aware that nearly 3 in 4 back yards have a swimming pool. still, i am lucky.
i don't truly want to leave, as i have been having so much fun. but until then... party on.

two days to go. what happened to it all? last minute catching up with friends and family don't seem to quite do any of it justice. however, it is better than nothing.
looking back, the whole holiday has passed by too quickly, but every moment has been dripping with quality fun and good times. in a lot of ways i am ready to go "home," to sleep in my own bed, eat the organic fruits and vegies that have become a habit in our lives, and to just chill out. yet, in many ways i am anxious to stay and rekindle my california lifestyle and culture. los angeles and california in general are both very much a part of who i am and what i am about. so, yes, it does feel odd to rip myself away from my roots and travel 13000 miles across the ocean to live, down under.
i have done or accomplished pretty much everything i set out to do at the beginning of the trip. i have visited and squeezed most people i intended to see, with the exception of a few who have slipped through the cracks due to unforseen circumstances. however, you can't attribute for everyone and everything when you make such grand plans.
overall, i have truly had the best time. thanks to everyone who went out of there way and participated in our little north american adventure. and if you do happen to be reading this, then you should know that we are serious when we say- "we expect to see you in australia." our door is open, and your bed is waiting.

exercising my rights to free speech and assembly as an american citizen. i always wanted to protest outside the white house. i had my chance, and i took it. i did not want to leave the capitol with any feelings of regret. so i went to the drup store and bought my poster board for 89 cents. wrote some words on it, and headed down to 1600 pennsylvania avenue.
this was a bit of a two for one moment. as i am no fan of either bush jr. or little johnny, i figured why not hit them both.

from canada we flew onto washington dc to spend a weekend with my sister. it was another hell day of travel, as we were up at 4am in vancouver to catch a cab to the airport and then fight our way through customs and the bitch metal scanner women. in the end i won.
so it was onto the flight vancouver to dallas. then a few hours of lay-over in dallas. we spent the time eating at a tex-mex restaurant in the airport, not bad food, but too pricey for mexican. then it was onto the dallas to d.c. flight, where i think i caught a bug and have been fighting a cold since.
in washington we did the sight seeing thing of the monuments and the capitol and white house. unfortunately, we had to skip the museums as there was no time for that. the next trip we will definitely do some of the museums. however, between boat trips, beers, and monuments, we managed to catch a baseball game at rfk stadium, home to the washington nationals. they played the cubs in an sweltering afternoon game and ended up with a cruching victory 7-1. the atmosphere was fantastic. that was our last day in the nations capitol. we ended up the night with dinner on the rooftop apartment and lots of laughs.
once again, we were up and out at an early pre-dawn hour. we were on the road, this time in a rental car, at 5:30am. we made dulles airport with plenty of time to chill out before the flight to los angeles, once again via the dallas airport.
we are now back to the apocolyptic heat of los angeles, were the days have been averaging 115F. it is nice to have access to a backyard swimming pool. there are only days left in this trip.

need a good laugh? check this site out.

(this is the second time i write this posting due to some computer fuck up- i am not pleased). well the canada adventure comes to an end. loads of great times and plenty of relaxation, when my attention wasn't demanded and dominated by the hoards of little kids. the rugrats? some were great, others total brats, and a few in between. can't believe we are about to have one of our own. we are counting down the weeks, soon to be days, until the moment of truth arrives. the big question on everyone's mind, is frijole a frijolito or frijolita?? the mystery remains. personally i am getting anxious.
we have done loads of baby shopping. i think i have seen nearly every baby shop in lower british columbia, and made a purchase from them all. by the size of our bags, filled with baby paraphenalia, going back to australia, you'd think we were having triplets.
the whole holiday in maple leaf central in a nutshell- i loved the time spent in vernon b.c. so mellow, and full of good times, good food, good laughs, good people, and the good life. lake swims were a major highlight for me on this whole journey. i am doing some major distance... finally. it feels good. i could definitely live here for a period of time in the future. if i need the city lifestyle, vancouver would do, easily.
tomorrow, we are up before dawn to catch a taxi to the airport for a 7am flight to washington dc via dallas. what is up with that? this trip is over in 10 days time. "boo-hoo. i don't want to go home." i have been learning to throw a tantrum from some of the best.

so the last few weeks have been a blur. america. what can i say? been having way too much fun to be bothered to sit down to write. although it has crossed my mind to do so from time to time. the distractions of family, friends, and the need for some sleep have kept me from the task of journaling all our events in some detail. now we have left the united states, but shall return.
yes, we arrived in canada with some drama, but we made it in the end. we have done this trip on frequent flyer miles and thus the directions we must travel to get from point A to point B take us through nearly the whole alphabet. we left LA very early morning on the tuesday. the flight to dallas was fine, but then our flight to vancouver was cancelled and we were put on a later flight. when we finally did arrive in vancouver, we were very late for the connector which was leaving in like 20 minutes. we were provided with a cart and driver and taken clear across the airport. our driver was driving fast! it was crazy and totally surreal. i think we nearly ran over six people along the way. maybe we did, we just didn't stop to check. there was no time. in the end, we made the plane and finally arrive in kelowna at 10:45pm it was a long day.
i have finally kicked the cold, but cherry is definitely fighting it and doing it rough. she has over exhausted herself with fun, i think. she is just too excited to be in canada with her relatives etc. i know the feeling as, i am the same way when i am in LA.
and so we now have another 9 days in this country as 2 have already passed us by. so far so great. just loving the fact that i am on vacation. i am still a little tender in the belly, but healing nicely. sneezing still provides me with considerable discomfort along with bouncing over speed bumps and pot holes in the car. i am swimming as much as i can, when i can. it seems to be the best from of exercise, as there is the least about of bounce. i am nearly capable of fully stretching out in the pool.

so here's the deal. i have been in america for two weeks now, and am just now sitting down to write. the reason? well, i have been busy. there are so many people to catch up with, friends, family, all loved ones, that i simply just have not had the time. nor the desire, because i have been busy living life. (on that note, i am healing just wonderfully.)
the top three first impressions on being back in los angeles and california in general. number 1- there are a lot of cars. number 2- most people are pissed off, disgusted, and totally embarrased by the president, bush jr. number 3- so much mexican food, i don't have enough time to enjoy it all.
i am loving the fact that i am home. it just feels so good to see all these people that are so important to me. even more exciting is that my sister is flying in from washington dc tonight. i can hardly wait.
there is certainly more to tell, but i am holding my breath for the tales at a later date.