I'm the April Fool

I'm back in CA again. (After SF, I spent a week in San Diego, a week in Atlanta, 2 weeks in NYC, before returning to San Diego again for a week, and I am in LA to spend a couple days with a high school buddy, Ana-Maria, and her family). Anyway, having made it through a conference with much successful schmoozing, networking, and having my ego-boosted by being frequently cited in other people's talks, I was going to reward myself with an extra day of frolicking outdoors on the coast. After putting a weak sunscreen on my face, I went out for a half hour run on the beach. Eventually the run turned into a scramble and a walk as I wondered what lay beyond the next outcropping on the beach and as I realized that I might actually be able to walk to the kayak beach town rather than take a bus. It took nearly 2 hours but I made it. According to google maps, the distance was something like 6-7 miles. I rented a kayak and paddled for nearly 2 hours. I didn't see anything I hadn't seen on my previous 4 kayaking excursions in the area (which included seals, dolphins, Garabaldi, & leopard sharks), but I enjoyed myself. I returned the kayak and bought a pair of medium length sweatpants to wear on my return walk (my running shorts were unpleasantly wet from getting into the kayak and through the waves).

I set off back along the beach to my hotel. The way back was somewhat more interesting. I discovered a cool tidal pool in a rock, that contained sea urchins and cute little crabs. I resisted the urge to bring the two types of creatures into closer contact. People were paragliding above the beach and fishing along it. Since it was a Sunday, the beach was quite crowded compared to other days. When I passed through the nudist beach, a nude guy decided to talk to me. His introductory lines were lame (something about wondering if I was from the islands), but I was impressed that a naked man would approach a clothed woman at all. That did stop me from keeping the conversation short and continuing on my merry way, of course. In retrospect, if he really wanted to impress me he could have offered me some sunscreen although it would already have been too late to help much. The ratio of clothed to nude on the nudist beach was about 2:1. However, the ratio of nude to clothed volleyball games was 1:1 (not counting kneepads which are [1] unnecessary on a sandy beach and [2] ridiculous looking on a naked woman). Among the nude, the ratio of men to women was about 15:1.

About a mile or 2 from my destination, I was heartily tired of walking along the beach. Yes, it was beautiful. Yay. I just wanted to shower and change. Too much of a good thing is still too much. I guess I'm no Mae West.

Anyway, the next day I rode the train up to LA. It was a short, pleasant, and cheap journey - i.e., nothing like what one would expect riding a train in the US. I was lucky enough to enjoy an excellent Passover dinner (with a highly condensed ceremony) with my friends and their co-workers, during which I got to hear enough film industry talk to last me several years and remind me why one should avoid talking shop in mixed company.

Anyway, I head off to Illinois tomorrow to give a talk at my alma mater before heading back to NYC for a few days before my next short trips to give talks in Pennsylvania and upstate NY. The plan though is to spend most of April and May in NYC where I have sublet a gorgeous studio in the west Village. (BTW I got to see and photograph Central Park in the snow afterall. The photos are posted on my hammergirlz flickr account.)