You Say Its Your Birthday!!

This weekend my gorgeous sister Bekah came to visit from Salt Lake City. We had a fun weekend. She came in on Thursday eve and although I had to work on Friday, she made herself at home by going down to the Beach. We went on Friday to Indian food at Bombay in Ontario, and then went to Smogdance, the poor man's Sundance ,in Pomona. There was a film Andrea, my roommate, and I were interested in seeing. The short was called the "Constant Process" It is documentary by an LDS man Douglas Hunter, about Susan Russell, a lesbian Episcopalean priest. I felt myself nodding and my heart beating faster in recognition of the truth of Christ's teachings to love one another, which is really the message I took from the documentary. I wished that more of Douglas Hunter's perspective was in the documentary, this was not included at all. As an LDS person still struggling with how I feel on the whole Prop 8 thing, I am interested in hearing perspectives from other LDS people, and I think his perspective would have been a peculiar one, seeing as he has been able to spark up a friendship with this priest. Maybe we'll hear more from him. The next day, we got to go see our brother Josh and his wife Kelly. They happened to be in Simi Valley this weekend,so we opted to drive to see them. It was awesome to see them. That night my roommates took me out, not sure of where we were going, as it was a surprise for my birthday. We drove down to...L.A...and went to a place that I've wanted to go, the Bonaventure Hotel...up at the top...went there to watch the sunset and have some appetizers and drinks. It was amazing. It is a revolving restaurant, so in an hours time you are able to see all of the L.A. valley. I loved it. It was really surreal to be surrounded by these awesome friends and my sister. It's been 3 years since i moved here to California, and seriously my life has opened up. I have had so many experiences that I had asked for and prayed for. I am loving living here. And love the fact that I can be in L.A. for my birthday. We then went to a little dive restaurant called the Redwood Bar and Grill, which had a pirate theme. Very cool. I loved every minute of it. Happy Birthday to Me!! This next year is going to be great.

Are we there yet?

Lots has been happening. I finally finished my Psychology bachelor's of science. the girls and I took a short weekend to Vegas. Had sushi at Nobu at the Hard Rock Hotel, did some shopping and went to our favorite piano bar at the Paris hotel. It was a great weekend. I was with the perfect girlfriends, Andrea and Elizabeth. Vegas always does something to me. It is so extreme in so many ways, it always takes me a few days or months to get back in the groove. Its almost as if it confuses me, that kind of mesmerizing confusion. Its fun while your in the middle of it, but I am happy to be back in Laid Back California. As I walked out of my last algebra class knowing that it was the completion of my degree I felt such a strong urge to scream out loud...Free at Last, Free at Last...and so happy and thankful that I had the will and determination to finish. It was definitely not easy. but it was definitely worth it. I will be walking all pomp and circumstancial in June and I can't wait. Josh and Kelly got me the perfect gift for graduation...Killers Tickets to see them in Sacramento and the plane ticket to get there. Thank you to them. I cannot wait until September. I have been thinking a lot lately about the age old question..which part is mine? and which part is God's? I am still asking this, sometimes pretty frequently. Why do i have the need to control? I have started meditating in the morning, it is supposed to help with the overthinking and the need to understand and identify every detail of every emotion and thought. Am I fighting a losing battle? No, I don't think so..i do think that I have a long way to go. I do know that i have excellent friends and family support. And I have U.2. In the last few years U2's music has been a bit of a spiritual strength to me. I went for a drive today and while I was driving and singing had a bit of a cathartic moment with Bono from Joshua Tree.... Red Hill Mining Town. "I'm hanging on..You're all thats left to hold on to. I'm still waiting, I'm hangin on, You're all thats left to hold onto" God knows what I mean. I know that for sure at least.