Sleep Less, but Life is Richer

Early afternoon and my eyes feel heavy.  Went to bed late and woke up early. Had early morning workout and it’s hard to lift my arms.  Blood sugar was high because I ate late. Yesterday was nice. Spent in LA with cousin Mike. His daughter had a birthday party at Skyzone. Think gymnastics with lots and lots of trampolines. Never really hung out with him before. We worked in the same industry and were almost co-workers.

He was tired yesterday. So tired that he fell asleep texting. Eyes were closed. Head was down. But his hands were tapping away on the IPhone. Snoring away and his hands were still texting. It was  something to Youtube. I passed though. So you will just have to imagine. A Good Guy Mike is. Spent the evening before sleeping in an uncomfortable hospital chair as his wife hooked to an IV getting antibiotics. Ten minutes of sleep for anyone is rough for anyone. Mike is a trooper, though. 

It was nice at Skyzone. So nice I felt jealous. I wanted to jump in the foam  blocks. I wanted to jump in the trampoline and do a jack knife. To do an inverse. To do an aerial. I know it would not be wise, but not sure my body would acquiesce. Mind is willing, but body. . .not so much.

Was asked to bring a walker to my Uncle. He is feeling the effects of years of smoking. False bravado as reality sets in. Can’t breathe. Can’t walk up the stairs. Several hospital visits in the last few months. Jaundiced eyes.  His reality is coming quick to bare.

His sons, my cousins, are going through life. One is son is a new father and I am Godfather. His other son moved to the PI with his family.

Seeing all this Fatherdom it makes me sad. I failed miserably. Won’t go into detail, but I am not proud.

When I look at my brother and his wonderful kids. I look at Dorian, Precie, and Lynn. He is a good man.

As I go to these kiddie birthday parties, when I attend gymnastic and judo competition, when I see the look at their eyes as they hold their Lala and Papas, it brings joy and sadness. Looking at my Uncle as his body struggles, I see that ravages are eased when he walks hold his grandchildren. There are disappointments and angry moments at times with own kids, but he is, they are much the richer. 

Life Is Better With. . .

(This is the second article I published in the local magazine. So if you read this before, thank you again)

“Short on time. Short on money. Short on sleep. Long on memory”—This was how to best describe the short, unplanned trip to the City by the Bay. Jason and I were due for an adventure. He was finishing a semester of Respiratory School and I just finished Pharmacy Tech school. We were both mentally fried and in much need to getaway.

Plus, I suspect Cousin Jason was feeling the same way I was. You see most of our cousins were married with families of their own. As the last two unwed cousins, we instinctively knew that we won’t have too many chances like this again. So in the middle of the night, we headed out for this trip up “North.” North was still a distant mystery in the night.

With a fistful of cash, a tank full of gas, and no reservations anywhere, we stormed off to what may be the last of the “Cousins” road trip together. Armed with a San Francisco guidebook, we had a tentative plan. Go to the places with the coolest pictures. Didn’t say it was great plan, but it was what we had.

On the way, we agreed on a few immutable rules. First, wherever we were, we would sit down and watch the NBA Championship games. Boston Celtics were beating our hometown LA Lakers 3 to 2. We weren’t going to miss the latest chapter of the basketball rivalry. As die-hard fans, the next game could be the last one. Second rule was not to think too much and just let Flow. Third rule, visit as many landmarks and tourists sites we can fit in this long weekend.

Pumped up on adrenalin, we made it to San Francisco hours earlier than planned. Having never visited the city before, we drove around and explored much of the early morning.  We drove the Golden Gate Bridge, hurried through Fisherman’s Wharf, and found where Ghirardelli’s was located. All before 6 a.m., way ahead of the early morning commuters.

Feeling car weary, we stopped by City Hall to stretch our legs and capture some photos of the city’s interesting statues. Than out of the blue, a 40 something peppered-haired man started walking toward us. Thinking we were going to be warmly greeted by a local. Coffee in hand, this once smiling middle-aged man started shouting obscenities for now obvious reason. After he gave us the angry person salute—I  think he thought we were taking his pictures without his permission—Jason and I looked at each other and got in the car. No use arguing with an obviously, unstable person with too much caffeine.

After this warm greeting, I couldn’t really remember what we did these next four days. We said sped through the days in a blur, avoiding every 40 year old man with a coffee in their hand. In three days, we were in Palmdale, San Francisco, Chinatown, Big Sur, Carmel, San Simeon, San Luis Obispo, Solvang, and Santa Clarita.

We walked the Golden Gate Bridge. Almost got run over by a cyclist, too. Got lost in the alleys of Chinatown after dark looking for authentic hand-made fortune cookies. We drove up and down Lombard Street, around  five or six times. Rode our first taxi. Ate chocolates at Ghirardelli. Had fish and chips at the Wharf. Got lost on the way to Carmel and had to get directions at cemetery by a real life grave digger. We were stuck in traffic jam in the quiet town of Carmel because of the US Open at Pebble Beach. Drove PCH and got mesmerized by the scenic coastlines. Chased a blue jay, which led us to unused lawn chairs in the middle of river at Big Sur (We used them).

Saw sea lions sunning. Watched a brown cow chase after a herd of  zebras. Touched an ostrich. Toured Hearst Castle. Videotaped people parachute surfing.  Ate my first Danish Meatloaf in Solvang. Went wine tasting. Met and took pictures with the famous UFC referee “Big John” McCarthy.  And top it off, we watched our hometown LA Lakers comeback from a 3-2 game deficit to beat the Boston Celtics to win the NBA Championship in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter.

Can’t tell you what the best part of the unplanned because it flew by so fast.  I can tell you two hings from I learned from this adventure:  First, sleep is way over-rated. Second, rechargeable batteries are a must. 

When I write about the road trip and looking back at the many, many pictures, I can’t help think of this end of the 2009 year movie “Up In the Air“ with George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, and Anna Kendrick . It was one line in the movie that hit home for me.

Actually, when I come to think about it, the best part of this road trip was not the may sights we seen. Nor was it delicious food we ate. It wasn’t the interesting people we met. Nor was it the songs we were screeching (Can’t honestly call it singing we were doing). The best part of trip was can be summed up this way.

In the movie, Up In the Air, Ryan (Clooney character) says to his soon- to-be-brother-in-law: “If you think about it, your favorite memories, the most important moments in your life... were you alone? No, Life is better with company” This statement could not be more true. Even with the angry, disturbed coffee man.