As last weekend happened because of John Mayer's concert, I'll use his lyrics to organize this post. Title is from "Love on the Weekend" although this is more to commemorate Joy and I's excitement of seeing Abby's face Friday when we flew in.
It might be a quarter life crisis or just a stirring in my soul
Why Georgia
I have been in Texas for less than two months and I've already taken my first vacation out of the state. I can't help it, I'm a wanderlust kind of human.
A girls trip was in order with my college best friend Abby and Joy (roommate, I think we should all know her by first name now). Last December a text was sent by Abby amongst the three of us, at this point Joy and I knew each other very little and Austin wasn't yet on the table. The text was asking if we'd like to see John Mayer in LA for his final stop of his tour (yes, he added more stops after this moment and it wasn't his final stop, but at that point... it was).
We got the tickets and then we played the waiting game... for nine months and a move across the country.
I don't care if we don't sleep at all tonight
Heartbreak Warfare
Night one: A bar that made me feel old, a group of friends that made me feel young, a bit of tequila taste testing, and a night swim in the ocean.
This was a great night, with amazing friends, who all decided that we were becoming older. Abby and I met on the very first day of freshman orientation, so we survived the crazy college days together and the first years of figuring our shit out post-college. Now we have both moved out of Minnesota, her to Portland, me to Austin and we have grown more into ourselves -- we aren't done growing but the chaotic growth spurts of personality and experiences that surround the college years seems to have simmered down a bit.
We sat for dinner at a restaurant right across from Venice Beach and discussed future travel plans, healthcare [I'm dead serious, this was a conversation topic], moving to new cities, meditation, future kids [or no kids], and we laughed at how our conversations had evolved from just a couple years ago.
Were we really turning into our parents? Yes, the rumors are true.
After our "adult" conversation we decided to check out the Circle Bar... people this is where youth slapped us in the face. Now, I'm young. I reflected above on how we have all aged, but I'm classified as a young person and plan to be classified that way for several more years. But this bar... was YOUNG. It was clear we were some of the only Millenials in the bar. I also found myself way too concerned with the dancing on tables safety vs. drunkenness of the women doing the dancing and was worried for their imminent falls. We didn't last long.
We left the Circle Bar on a mission for bar that didn't seem to be made up of 50% fake ID holders. Luckily, we found a bar where you can hear your own thoughts. We ordered tequila drinks and were complimented on our tequila choice, which turned into a taste testing of different tequilas with the bartender. I would like to state now that I'm not a fan of George Clooney's tequila, I would like him to stick to acting.
Once leaving the bartender to his job of bartending, we found a seat and sang along to Lizzo's "Truth Hurts" -- specifically the Minnesota Vikings line. This is how we met some friendly people from the Midwest. One shouted over to us, "Are you Minnesotans?" and we yelled back "Yes!" This shocked and surprised them and it turned out they were a group from Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. This group was a more mature group and helped remind us that we were still young humans while also affirming that we'd be doing friend trips for many years to come.
We ended the night with walking back to our Airbnb via the beach and taking a quick pit stop for a night swim.
Then you come crashing in, like the realest thing.
Half Of My Heart
We experienced the beach of Venice, where I said goodbye to my sunglasses. I'm not sure how onlookers perceive the three of us attempting to "casually" float in the ocean. But from the quizzical look we received from a clear local, I'm pretty sure we were doing it wrong.
What I learned was not to enter an ocean in a two piece swimsuit, a new necklace, sunglasses, and a water bottle, unless you are prepared to walk away with one of those items missing.
Let's back up here.
The thought was let's stand in the ocean, sip our drinks and enjoy the sun (hence the need for sunglasses). Well, plans don't always work out that way. The current was pulling us in. So when we saw a few guys out further who didn't seem to be getting aggressively hit by waves crashing into their stomachs, we thought we'd swim out past the waves a bit to a level where you touch in the lull of the wave and then do a bit of kicking at the top... still a manageable level with a drink in hand.
Well, this worked for a few minutes.
Then a different breed of waves started towards shore and the first wave came in hard on Joy. Abby and I watched her body get swept up and dragged nearly all the way back to shore. Joy stood for the briefest of moments sporting The Ring (horror film) girl's hair style only to be knocked back off of her feet and drug back out into the blue. The wave made her its bitch, I have no other way of describing this situation.
While Abby and I watched Joy, we made the unfortunate decision of not watching for wave number two. And that wave toppled all three of us. As I spiraled underwater I knew I had a decision to make. I had two hands and five important pieces I'd like to leave the ocean with.
I went for a dual grab of swimsuit top and necklace with one hand and clutched the water bottle with my other, while also trying to use that hand to paddle myself towards air. I took a true gamble with my bottoms, although they have been with me for many Minnesota lake days and I felt confident they'd stay with me through this LA ocean experience. That meant I left the sunglasses as my sacrifice for the ocean.
We all survived, and came up choking only on own laughter -- not water.
Everyone wants to be baywatch by the ocean, but some of us are just the ones that need saving.
Baby, you're the only light I ever saw
Slow Dancing In A Burning Room
Night two: The freakin' concert.
Well readers, whatever your feelings are about John Mayer's music, that man can play a guitar. His live show was phenomenal. I already liked him, but this made me really respect his musical talent.
Highlights:
He played the entire Continuum album... in his second "act."
Playing Gravity and having the entire stadium singing along.
The three songs in the first act that he played with just him and his guitar.
The song "I Don't Trust Myself" -- wasn't a favorite of his prior to this concert, now I have it on heavy repeat.
Dancing our asses off through the ENTIRE thing.
I'm not sure how to articulate the concert to its deserved justice, and would say just take any opportunity you get to see him live.
Today I finally overcame trying to fit
the world inside a picture frame
Song 3x5
These are the winning lyrics for the weekend. We took one good photo and two mediocre photos of the three of us the entire weekend. And it wasn't because of the lack of effort.
At the beach -- tried it.
At the bar -- tried it.
At the concert -- tried it.
Selfie at the concert - tried it.
At a different bar -- you guess it, we tried, it failed.
I appreciated the five minutes we spent in the airport together as we all waited for our flights sending one another photos and laughing at how each photo seemed to
be worse than the next. Weird angles, eyes
closed, mid-fixing hair, odd faces, missing faces, we really hit a low.
So our vacation didn't fit into a picture frame, but it came with so many great memories and those are just for the three of us!
I'll end with one more quote "Love is a verb. It ain't a thing. It's not something you own. It's not something you scream." -- I have so much love for my power-women friends, thanks for an amazing LA trip.
Advice: Go see John Mayer.
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