Valentine's Day

Helping her zip up the dress she was wearing for tonight's dinner, he thought the dinner reservations at a French inspired restaurant sounded perfect. They hadn't yet been to such a restaurant, and they both agreed that it was a great way to spend their first Valentine's Day together. And the Vespertine Circus in Santa Rose was a great way to end the night too. After collecting the gifts they were going to exchange, they piled into his little red truck and headed towards the next town, directions dutifully present on his iPhone.

The restaurant wasn't hard to find, and they were seated in the farthest room back. While she knew very little about wines, she nevertheless ordered for them: a prosseco from Italy for him (he liked it's sweetness) and a Rose' for her (she liked it's mix of white and red taste). The crab cakes were a delicious starter and their main courses were well-presented and full of flavor. Fish and chips for him (complete with what he noted as "great fries") and a salad for her with her favorite additions (cheese, pears, candied walnuts).

When they exchanged gifts, she wanted him to unwrap her's first. Intimidated by his practically perfect gifts for every occasion, she knew his gift to her would be thoughtful and creative. She, of course, had long discovered that her gift ideas tended to either be photos, hand-made creations or something practical. This time, she went for the photos/hand-made route. A picture frame of herself and a mixed CD of songs that reminded her of her relationship with him). He opened the gifts and was genuinely touched, which put a smile on her face. When it was her turn, she began with the small box, tied up with ribbon and purple wrapping. Her initial idea was that it was a pair of earrings or perhaps a ring of some kind, but instead she discovered it was a small box of carmel chocolates from a farmer's market. She thought the gift was sweet (literally) and thoughtful. But he then urged her to open the envelope that she assumed was a letter for Valentine's Day. Inside, however, she pulled out a brochure for a bed and breakfast in Napa. Within the inside flap of the envelope was the words "For Alexis too." His idea behind the, she assumed, expensive gift, was that she had previously mentioned her frustration at not having enough quality time with her Dear friend, Alexis. his gift was too promote a unique and wonderful opportunity for her to invite a friend for a weekend mini-vacation, for his deeper motivation was always to make his girlfriend happy. His gift worked--it was a gift that was purely unselfish and thoughtful, something that she had never anticipated and yet desperately needed. A way for her and a friend to share a fun and unique adventure together. Once again, he had given her the perfect gift, to which she would be forever grateful.

They parked on Sixth Street, but unaware that the circus act would be held within an old flour mill/ liberal arts college. Wrapping his arms around her red pea-coat, they finally found the joint and were among the first guests for the evening. They chose seats with a good view--but not great, they later discovered--and prepared for the show to start. It consisted of a circus of misfits and oddities, controlled by a vivacious and lively ringleader, interspersed with small, musical acts which mainly featured the accordion. She liked watching the performers twist and climb long curtains and ropes suspended in the air, and he cringed when one of them did a back flip on a hard, unprotected ground. They both gasped as the ringleader hammered a nail into his nose. While she found the man who could wrap himself into the curtains to be the most talented, he also added that the man who could toss blocks and do contact juggling to also be intriguing.

They left the old flour mill that night after dancing to a gypsy-swing song. The night was full of good food, thoughtful gifts, fun entertainment and a comfy bed in the end. After a good game of Fairy Tale, they were ready for the newest episode of Community and fell asleep that night wrapped in each others arms: another memory for them to keep.

Love is Christmas tree decorating with old family ornaments and light bulbs.
Love is How the Grinch Stole Christmas on Christmas Eve.
Love is Christmas morning with his family.
Love is sushi and spontaneous snow with him and my favorite aunt.
Love is rushing rivers and beautiful panoramic views.
Love is a roasted chicken candlelit dinner with Champagne for two.
Love is New Year's with him and you're best friends.
Love is sitting by the sea side in Capitola watching the sunset.
Love is a picnic and playing a new card game on the beach at Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz.
Love is sharing a good book together on a bench downtown.
Love is famous clam chowder on the pier in Santa Cruz.
Love is working out at the 24 Hour Fitness.

Love is the patience to wait until you can see him again.

LuLu's Coffee in Santa Cruz

Sipping on a menthe coffee mocha, overflowing with homemade whipped cream, I notice, thankfully, that I fit in with the Santa Cruz crowd. Is it because I'm wearing thrift store clothing and jewelry that was made from recycled newspapers? No, (although the jewelry does sound fun), I fit in only because I'm using a Macbook laptop. Yes that's right. Thank goodness Damon lets me bring his Apple computer into town while he's teaching karate at work. Otherwise, I may have had to make the unwritten, social faux pas of bringing in any other laptop into a Santa Cruz local coffee shop. Unlike my adventure into town yesterday, today every coffee-drinker at LuLu's is busy on their Mac laptops. It's less crowded and noisy today as well, which allows me better to hear the indie music they play over the speakers. 

LuLu Carpenters is the second (or third?) location for their coffee shops, the first being the cafe' they opened in an octagonal-shaped building on Front Street. I have been know to frequent the Octagon (as it is usually referred), but per Damon's suggestion, I have been to LuLu Carpenter's now two days in a row. The difference is they have music and food, and the building is made of bricks. Downsides: inconvenient walk. 

Today, my last full-day in Santa Cruz during Winter/semester break from SSU, I ventured into many new stores that have intrigued me for too long. The Paper Palace contains some of the most beautiful greeting cards and post cards (all of which I was tempted to buy, with or without good reason), the Sterling Silver store contains rings of my size with my favorite gemstone, Mystic Fire Topaz (even if the prices are somewhat absurd) and the Artist's Gallery shop contains some of the most beautiful independently handmade jewelry I've ever seen. All on one street, in one fantastic city. 

Yes, I'll miss the nonchalance I've felt during my stay in Santa Cruz over the break. This next semester I will only experience such enjoyment in short, two-day long weekends. I'm going to miss the independent walks along Pacific I've had and the interesting people I've encountered. And while perhaps my strolls along Pacific are not over, I will have to wait a long time to enjoy it with such a relaxed and carefree nature. 

 

What Love is To Me

Love is remembering to ask about the leftover scrambled eggs.
Love is bagel bites at 3am and impromptu sleeping on the pull-out bed.
Love is talking until 4am and then having breakfast before falling asleep.
Love is taking a nap in the car at night while the rain hits the roof.
Love is hot cocoa and Sword in the Stone on a rainy Sunday.

Love is family game nights and birthday parties.
Love is Beauty and the Beast sing-a-longs. 
Love is kissing outside the Cheesecake Factory above Union Square.
Love is wrestling over a nerf football.
Love is learning to play poker.
Love is surprise Halloween parties. 
Love is Christmas bears, dinosaurs and German lions. Oh my =)
Love is Costco grocery shopping in the rain.
Love is breakfast on Pacific.
Love is San Fransisco after a rainy day. 


Love is a cup of noodles shared at a rainy Arco on Sunday night. 
Love is playing a card game that lets you exercise your creativity. 

Breakfast Eggs

Time passed quicker than I thought, and I've enjoyed every moment of it. I feel like I'm living life so fully that I haven't had enough time to relax. And when I do relax, I feel guilty about it and start washing a dish or cleaning the living room. But, while I should be sleeping in a bed under the burgundy red blanket he bought us as a welcome home gift, I felt the need to update. One moment may last all of a second but the memory remains forever. The moment I'm particularly thinking about is about breakfast eggs. He scrambled six last Sunday. We ate banana Cheerios and Morning Farm bacon (even though its fake, its actually pretty decent). We had leftovers of eggs and, just like him, he insisted I save the remaining dollop (what word does one use for the measurement of scrambled eggs?). I told him it could never be enough worthy to keep, but he was adamant that I eat them the next morning for breakfast. I think the last thing he told me before driving back to Santa Cruz was, "If I come back next week and you haven't eaten them, I'll throw away all of your food."

And that's how I know. Because true love is remembering to ask about the leftover eggs. I promise I'll eat them tomorrow. =)

Prague

Chelsea and I at the gardens in Prague

We learned a thing or two on our trip to Prague with Hannes and Sib. 

• When one of your traveling members says she feels ill, it's a good idea to bring a plastic bag...just in case.
• Driving to Prague is efficient. Unless there is trafic on a Friday afternoon, then you won't make it there until 1am.
• If you meet a hostel owner named Roman, he'll be a pretty awesome guy. 
• Peter from New York is also cool. He'll lend you milk for your coffee and tell you how splendid life is. He's a kindergarten teacher, but don't let that fool you. He's a bad ass. 
• People in Prague speak German. 
• When they translate menus from Czech to English, they will most likely say weird things like "roasted fatback" and "Yeast fruit dumplings with cottage cheese."
• There are more KFCs in Prague than McDonalds.
• Don't touch the shiny dog plaque at the base of the statue on Charles Bridge. It's bad luck.
• The word for "muffin" in Czech is "muffinky."

See You in June

June was the month of people coming to visit. =) After Jeff's adventure in Germany, I got to finally see the closet "family" I have in Folsom. After almost 10 months of little communication, the Lichtman's came to visit. Missing a flight to Barcelona (my fault), we finally welcomed them to Tubingen for a short few days before they flew back to America. We spent our time walking around the Altstadt, riding on a stockerkahn (and subsequently getting raining on by a freak thunder storm on a stockerkahn) and relaxing at various bakeries, biergartens and restaurants we love around town. They left only a short two days after arriving, leaving me little time to prepare for our theater show, which was performing the very next week.

Monday arrived and my stomach couldn't help but to somersaults as I prayed I wouldn't forget any of my lines. Even though I knew it forwards and backwards, I couldn't help worry that if I forgot a line, I couldn't even improvise for my other actors onstage. But Monday came and went, and with each day we received more audience members, more compliments and more praise for the show. =) Each night, we'd enjoy a beer and dinner with our theater friends, and I would quietly count down until my last visitor would come.

That Friday, the last day of my show, Damon was scheduled to arrive just in time to see me perform. He finally arrived, welcomed by Alexis, who would escort him to the theater. I remember waiting under the bleachers when I enter from and being even more nervous than I had been on Monday. Even though Damon wouldn't be able to tell if I messed up, it was still nerve-wracking to know he was not only in the same room with me, but the same continent.

The next week, Damon's visit was better than I had expected. ^__^ We made dinners together, met with friends at various bars and apartments, visited the capital of the state, attended a flea market and festival on the river, had a picnic in the park, paddled on a boat on the river, shared ice cream, stayed awake at night, went shopping for family and enjoyed some much-deserved quality time. It was so nice to finally be with him. Skype may have been the best option up until this point, but it's nothing like seeing him in 3D =) It was all such a pleasant surprise, and I can't wait for all the fun memories to come when I get back to the States.

Life has a funny way of working out for the best. And the wait was worth it. ^__^