Manic Monday...Old & New Places, People, and Things.

It's another Manic Monday, and the beginning of a new week. Not to mention the end of another month-October! This is exciting for at least one good reason; it's Halloween on Saturday!! I suppose I'll have to dust off one of my costumes and figure out where I should end up at this year. That being said, the weekend is still going for me at the present moment. I have the day off again this week leaving me all kinds of time to run, sweat, and cook less food for the day!

The weather the last few days has been more like "Indian Summer" if I can still use that and still be politically correct. The nights are cool, the mornings have much more moisture, and the days eventually warm up into the middle 80s with occasional clouds and an over-cast skies! I'm really enjoying it. I just checked my weather tracker, cause I keep tabs of the weather in the Homeland, and it says that it's a cool 49 degrees! Yikes. I'd have to break out my Northface gear for that, which, as most people do from the Home land, I really love doing! LOL.

Saturday night ended with a wet pair of shorts, and my hair looking a mess after an unplanned pool party invitation happened. My housemate had a friend that was hosting at their place. I thought about not going cause it was gonna be late, but I figured that I wouldn't have anything else to do besides think or worse wonder around town looking for a counter to lean on while I people watche. So, the pool party. It was fun, but ultimately the guy to available girl ratio was not in my favor. LOL.

Yesterday was exercise catch up day. This is the day I go to the gym to do all the random unrelated exercises that I missed during the week for one reason or another. It's not a long gym visit, but it can be intense at times. It was also Sunday, and since I got my running shoes in the mail, I've been wanting to get to a long running path and see what I can still do. This lead me to the PCH, and the few hills that exist there. The traffic was a bit more fierce than I was comfortable with considering the number pedestrian fatalities lately. This lead me to Zuma beach. The waves were high and loud, and the parking was actually pretty good cause it's the "off" season. Hahaha. The sound of the waves was entertaining for a few minutes, and than I ran. I worked my way down the 1.5 miles of parking along the way and then back for a total of 4 miles--cause I ran past my Jeep to the other side of the beach front sand and back. I stopped a few times to catch my breath and stretch a bit, but it was good, and the sun was hot.

When it was time..I managed the drive up to Ollie's to have a burger. As has been my custom as of late, I check the lot for Kull's blue machine. Not seeing it, I walked in. I guess I would've walked in anyway cause I could stand some conversation with her. Hahahaha. As is the case every time I walk into the place, the bartender, Nicole, smiled and told me "It's a been a little bit." We yapped about the game and Tom moving up to Tahoe, and eventually I ordered the usual burger I get and got two beer choices from Nicole to pick from. In the end, I laughed, along with everyone one else at the counter, that one guy across the bar was so loud in his conversation that we wanted to offer opinion on his dilemma. We caught up on Nicole's life, and she eventually got to asking me about the major events or happenings in mine. The chair next to me stood empty. I wrote in my red journal about the significance of the week, and chatted a little more with her. Putting my arm on the chair next to me, I mentioned I had a book that was in the production process, and it mentioned the place.

"I mention this place as most of my life out here in California involved it and my munchkin," Tapping the chair next to me. "I mention you and Tom, but it's in passing." As I said it, her eyes opened up followed by her wanting a signed copy of it. We laughed a little, but then I grew silent. I didn't know it at first, but I drifted into my thoughts for a bit. She gave me her number to make sure she could actually find me at one of the places I provide chiropractic at, and then like most days at Ollie's, I walked around the plaza a bit before I set my WAZ App to "HOME" to check the drive time.

A couple of hours later, I was at a Sunday dinner party eating vegetables. I grew more anxious as the time ticked forward realizing it was Sunday, and I karaoke on Sundays. But, last night, I had no desire to drive to Santa Monica. I was tired from the running, the pool party the night before, and an ever-growing awareness of a void in my life. I couldn't find the peace in the moment and decided I was gonna sing somewhere local. I ended up at some place that was literally the equivalent to the Otter Bar in NodEast Minneapolis or the Vegas Lounge.

The place was half full of younger, blue-collar types that were out on their routine Sunday night outings. I dressed the part to not stand out too much, but then again, I stick out a little bit from my work-out routine. Eventually, one of my friend's brothers showed up to hear my name being called..."Fil Thunder." Something about having your named called in the middle of a place you don't know anyone at or have never been to before is comforting. There were a few really good singers, but it was my turn to find out if they thought I qualified as one or not. I started out with John Cougar Mellencamp's 'Hurt's So Good," for my warm-up. It was a bit of a different pace than what other people were singing, but it was not too old that people didn't know it. Eventually, I ended up singing a Bon Jovi song I hadn't signed up for, but it was still Bon Jovi, and I rocked it anyway . It was only after this song that one of the locals that sang there (She informed me after.) came up to my table after a few 'up and down' looks at me and said I had a good voice. I thought maybe they had just had one too many, but then a gal came up to me and said the same, and than another person...I managed to make a dent into the regular singing crowd. The place was a bit more smokey than I preferred, but people were easy to talk to, and that took the edge off of the day.

Being up in the spot light is like being a million miles away, and every once of energy, I try to give away as the words roll off my tongue with the music that they play. And like days past, I eventually end up lying awake in bed with the echo of the speakers still ringing in my head. I never smoke cigarettes, but I always remember what she said....what she said. There it is.