Sweet Memories, Passing Very Quickly By

Entry 1: 7:09 a.m.

Ella and me, Mission Inn 4.12.22
Riverside has been a boon for me. I have seen more friends in the last two days than I expected, people reaching out to say hello. It reminds me of why I loved this place so very much. I saw my friend Cara on Monday night. She is thriving and it was so enjoyable to catch up. She is the only RN I know who is a germaphobe. I spent more time with her at work than I spent with anyone else. We just clicked, and it was fun to be dual misanthropes at the same time. I missed her and her always hilarious stories.

Last night, I spent in the Presidential Lounge here at The Mission Inn, with the person who helped me through my loneliest and most desperate days in California. Ella talked me through the hard nights without Jenny and the kids, talked me through Jenny's affair with Jason, and we just became the best of friends. An RN who worked in the ICU when I was in Riverside, she is fiercely protective of her patients, a truly dedicated caregiver. We talked about our kids, our lives, the past, present, and our futures. Seeing a friend like that after losing contact for so long was thrilling. We may be orange rest neighbors again someday, if I am lucky.

While we were chatting in the bar, in walks the former director of PT/OT from Riverside, Joellyn, her adult children in tow. We had become friends at the hospital, such that our family went to watch her daughter's ice-skating performance. That kid is now a junior in college, and is as tall and thin as a Sequoia. I mostly talked to her, the daughter, who is looking to pursue an MBA, and is considering Stern. She had lots of questions, and I had some (if not many) answers. It was a nice surprise to see them all again.

Yesterday, Violeta, who I met when she was the union rep for the nurse's union, reached out and asked if we could meet. We had been in touch when Jenny first fell ill. Violeta, now with an MPH, runs a large marijuana concern. She put us in touch with a Ph.D who gave me the names of books to read and suggestions on the types and fos of dope to get Jenny. It's where I first heard bud referred to as flower. Gotta change with the time, I suppose. I am having coffee with Violeta this morning, at a shop across from the hotel.

Then, Abby would like to go to San Diego. What Abby wants in this trip, Abby gets. I am writing in the shower, I do love a 40 minute hotel 🚿. I will write about Abby's school tours soon.  Tonight, I think we will be staying in the Gaslamp District.  I haven't made reservations yet, but will.

Entry 2     7:52 p.m.

Abby and I went into the Gaslamp District this afternoon upon arriving in San Diego. We wandered through what is nothing but a collection of drinking

establishments, a few random shops and a couple of tourist stores. We did buy some merch, and retreated back to our hotel. We recharged, as did our phones, and we again left the hotel and forayed into Little Italy. Meh.  We had a passable meal with terrible service--labor shortage and all. Olive Garden would be embarrassed to serve such fare. Dessert, however, was quite good. I had the affogato. It is hard to screw that up, but I will give them credit.  It was tasty.

School Visits 

Occidental and Scripps we're two very different experiences. It started with the kind of people in the tour group. Occidental felt like we were surrounded by kids and parents who could be extras on a Gilmore Girls episode where Rory is looking at schools. The uniformity of the group, minus Abby and me, was stark and clear. The tour was wonderful, the tour guide a college sophomore who dressed very much like Abby was attired, but her speech, speech pattern and body language was pure Leiney. It was uncanny, and adorable.  The campus, 8 miles from downtown Los Angeles is ridiculously beautiful. Abby was hooked as soon as she learned about the music production program and the new studio used recently by Phoebe Bridgers and Macklemore, and rates by Billboard as being in the top 20 programs in the nation. She is hooked.  Will she get in? She has the grades, the test scores and the extracurriculars. We will see.

Scripps
Scripps was interesting, and the school I liked best, not for the programs per se, but for the women-centered campus. Its environs are also stunning. It also had the feel of privilege that causes me concern. Abby likes it, but how are you going to keep her down on the farm now that she has seen Paris? Occidental is firmly in her brain.


I had coffee this morning with a colleague I worked with back in the day. She reached out to me yesterday, seeing if we could meet. We spent more than an hour talking, sharing stories and catching up. She is incredibly successful in her work, and wise beyond her years. It was another confirmation that the connections I made down here during my stint as LR Director are the deepest I have made in my career. 






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