Bramble Tamble

Things I have learned the last couple of days during my sojourn to crispy SoCal, and other random thoughts:

1. A bunch of Marines got laid last night in my hotel. Good for them!

Actually, it was the annual Marines' birthday ball. I had the opportunity to talk to a few of them last night; we had some common interests, since I work for a defense contractor. One of them actually thanked me for my work.

I laughed. Heartily.

"No, no, you don't understand," I replied. "Thank *you* for your service to this country. I go to work in a small, rural setting every day and don't have to worry about snipers, IEDs or sand in my ass. Thank *you*."

On my flight from Denver to San Diego, I sat next to a kid from Missouri who was coming out to California to go to basic training. I was a bit uncomfortable in my seat, getting a cramp in my leg, my back a little sore from not finding the right position to sit in, my foot occasionally falling asleep. I figured I'd keep my complaints to myself, in light of the company I was in.

Anyway, back to last night: It was a Marine birthday ball, and while my buddies and I were closing down the hotel bar, I saw a bunch of Marines going back up to their rooms with their gussied-up companions. God bless America.

2. California is different. It's not weird, though I had envisioned San Diego being a lot more relaxed than what it is.

But one of my colleagues last night said something about how something in particular "reminded him of home." I said, "This is nothing like home. This is actually the precise opposite of home. It's bizarro home."

Just as a point of reference, I haven't had a beer that was less expensive than $4.50, gas is $3.40 a gallon along the freeway, and people drive 90 miles an hour here all the time, even in the drive-thru. We have had several near-accidents as "taking our lives in our own hands" takes on a whole new meaning. I wonder what the rush is, or where the fire is (hee).

3. The gougery is ongoing at our hotel. High-speed internet is $10 a day, the 1-liter bottles of Evian that they put in your room are $4.50 apiece, and if you smoke in your room or the balcony, they will supposedly charge you a $250 "room recovery fee". As I smoked on my balcony before noticing this vital piece of information yesterday morning, I put my hand on the exterior of the building, pulled it back and had a fine dusting of ash covering my fingers. Regular building dust or wildfire remnants? I vote for the latter.

Everything here is stucco, by the way.

4. On our way from the airport to the hotel, we tried desperately to find an English-speaking radio station. We thought we had finally found one when we scanned to a Neil Young song. But then the DJ came on speaking Spanish. "(spanish spanish spanish spanish) Neil Young y 'Cortez de Keeler.'"

5. I am ready to come home.