Next up: home. So I went home. For like the longest amount of time since I probably lived there. My vacation started and ended with a wedding, one in LA and one in London. So originally the plan was to be on leave for like 3 weeks and split the time between home and somewhere in Europe. But then my friend Mathias ended up decided to come to California from Sweden. He's never been to California before and so I ended up planning this whole big trip for us and extending my time in the US. Which still wasn't long enough because he was staying in the US until the day of the wedding in London, so I had to leave him alone at the end.
The first week of the trip was easy enough. I got in and the next day went to pick up Mathias. First stop from the airport was, of course, In N Out. Because I'm a good friend. And because I also wanted it and hadn't had it yet. We had actual plans on the following day, specifically the wedding I came home for. It was for a youth group friend from high school, and so it was also something of a reunion. But it was a weird reunion, because he's kept in touch with a strange mix of people since graduating. At least I think it's strange. Luckily my friend Niki, who I'm still very close with, was also there and also single, so we were each others dates. And there were a couple other people who I was happy to see. Then the rest was just a bit awkward, but totally fine I guess. The weirdest was my high school ex-girlfriend. We actually didn't speak to each other at all. This wasn't on purpose on my side. At first just no good chance to say hi, and then at one point I actually did seek her out in the wedding but couldn't find her. Last time we saw each other, years ago and years after we broke up, there was no problem, so I guess no problem this time? I don't know, but it was kind of weird. Anyway, I got super wasted (as I was told I had to) and had a great time. And then came back to the room and was too drunk to find the remote or figure out how to turn off the TV, but the last episode of Game of Thrones was coming on for the 2nd time and I couldn't be that wasted watching it, so I unplugged the TV. And passed out.
Then for the next few days we were just up and down between Orange County and LA being tourists. Very touristy, in fact. Normally when I have visitors we just kind of drive around, but I did a lot more with Mathias than I usually do. We walked around Hollywood, saw the space shuttle Endeavor, went to the Getty Center and the Griffith Observatory - all kinds of typical LA stuff. And it was great. Even OC was pretty great, because I did activities I don't normally do, even when I have visitors (which is not often these days, usually I'm the visitor and focus on seeing people). The main focus, as usual, was seeing people, so there was also a lot of time spent eating and drinking and hanging out with family and friends, which hopefully wasn't too boring for Mathias. But I have good friends, so I doubt it was boring.
So yeah, pretty chill week and then we started the road trip. We took a big road trip, most of which I'll talk about next time. This time I'll just talk about our first stop: Vegas. This wasn't high on Mathias's list of places to go when he decided to come, but my cousin goes for his birthday every year so we joined in. Mathias was still excited because he's only been once before he turned 21. So it was pretty different this time. It was fun, of course, but just the usual Vegas trip. We saw a show (Zumanity by Cirque du Soleil. Really great show. I love those guys.); we went to a strip club (Hustler club where they have a 2 storey pole and also take an hour to not bring you the dinner you order and make you really hangry), and lots of drinking (which led to Mathias disappearing and me searching for him for half an hour only to find him passed out in the room). Also some gambling and a visit to the pool, and one nice dinner in honor of my cousin's birthday. So yeah, pretty typical, but good times. And then we were off on the rest of the road trip, which I'll tell you about next time.
While at home there is one radio station I listen to. In fact, I get a lot of music from their blog and playlists even when I'm not home. And the standout track I heard from them when I was home is Familiar, the new single from Agnes Obel. I heard about her when she put out her last album and a friend was obsessed, but I didn't get that into her. But this new song is pretty fantastic.
And to just give you one more song and catch up a bit on the music, we'll also hear one from Blood Orange. He put out his new album, Freetown Sound, about a month ago. I think it's his third album. I really liked his last one, but I'm not crazy about this one. There is one song on it that I love, though: Best to You. And it features Empress of on vocals.
The first week of the trip was easy enough. I got in and the next day went to pick up Mathias. First stop from the airport was, of course, In N Out. Because I'm a good friend. And because I also wanted it and hadn't had it yet. We had actual plans on the following day, specifically the wedding I came home for. It was for a youth group friend from high school, and so it was also something of a reunion. But it was a weird reunion, because he's kept in touch with a strange mix of people since graduating. At least I think it's strange. Luckily my friend Niki, who I'm still very close with, was also there and also single, so we were each others dates. And there were a couple other people who I was happy to see. Then the rest was just a bit awkward, but totally fine I guess. The weirdest was my high school ex-girlfriend. We actually didn't speak to each other at all. This wasn't on purpose on my side. At first just no good chance to say hi, and then at one point I actually did seek her out in the wedding but couldn't find her. Last time we saw each other, years ago and years after we broke up, there was no problem, so I guess no problem this time? I don't know, but it was kind of weird. Anyway, I got super wasted (as I was told I had to) and had a great time. And then came back to the room and was too drunk to find the remote or figure out how to turn off the TV, but the last episode of Game of Thrones was coming on for the 2nd time and I couldn't be that wasted watching it, so I unplugged the TV. And passed out.
Then for the next few days we were just up and down between Orange County and LA being tourists. Very touristy, in fact. Normally when I have visitors we just kind of drive around, but I did a lot more with Mathias than I usually do. We walked around Hollywood, saw the space shuttle Endeavor, went to the Getty Center and the Griffith Observatory - all kinds of typical LA stuff. And it was great. Even OC was pretty great, because I did activities I don't normally do, even when I have visitors (which is not often these days, usually I'm the visitor and focus on seeing people). The main focus, as usual, was seeing people, so there was also a lot of time spent eating and drinking and hanging out with family and friends, which hopefully wasn't too boring for Mathias. But I have good friends, so I doubt it was boring.
So yeah, pretty chill week and then we started the road trip. We took a big road trip, most of which I'll talk about next time. This time I'll just talk about our first stop: Vegas. This wasn't high on Mathias's list of places to go when he decided to come, but my cousin goes for his birthday every year so we joined in. Mathias was still excited because he's only been once before he turned 21. So it was pretty different this time. It was fun, of course, but just the usual Vegas trip. We saw a show (Zumanity by Cirque du Soleil. Really great show. I love those guys.); we went to a strip club (Hustler club where they have a 2 storey pole and also take an hour to not bring you the dinner you order and make you really hangry), and lots of drinking (which led to Mathias disappearing and me searching for him for half an hour only to find him passed out in the room). Also some gambling and a visit to the pool, and one nice dinner in honor of my cousin's birthday. So yeah, pretty typical, but good times. And then we were off on the rest of the road trip, which I'll tell you about next time.
While at home there is one radio station I listen to. In fact, I get a lot of music from their blog and playlists even when I'm not home. And the standout track I heard from them when I was home is Familiar, the new single from Agnes Obel. I heard about her when she put out her last album and a friend was obsessed, but I didn't get that into her. But this new song is pretty fantastic.
And to just give you one more song and catch up a bit on the music, we'll also hear one from Blood Orange. He put out his new album, Freetown Sound, about a month ago. I think it's his third album. I really liked his last one, but I'm not crazy about this one. There is one song on it that I love, though: Best to You. And it features Empress of on vocals.
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