the 'alissa america' tour is now over...to the atlantic ocean, north almost to canada, south almost to mexico...it has been wonderful. i am not sure if i am ready for this return to routine. the wedding in san diego? fabulous. so wonderful to see old college friends, all together. doesn't happen much anymore. all of us talking about wanting to move to the pacific northwest, yet only one of us has made it there so far. jason and ali were married on coranado island, home of the famous hotel del coranado. very so cal. the reception site was right on the ocean, and we watched the sun sink on the horizon as we celebrated their marriage. drinking and dancing to a great irish band. good friends, good music, good food, good drink...does it get any better?

driving through LA today - no wait. la today. it certainly is not deserving of my little-used capital letters. :P - and saw a humorous sight...in a jeep wrangler, with the top and door removed sat a tan, buff guy with his shirt off. and a ski cap on. and a cell phone pressed to his ear, with his hand over the other ear, presumably to drown out excess noise. all of this while travelling at 80mph on interstate 5. no, i am not sure how he was steering. only in la.

the sunset today? wow. amazing. just enough clouds to create that look where each cloud looks as if it glowing from the edges with a pinkish gold light. tinges of blue at the edge of sky. mmmm....

when i studied architecture, i was geeked on frank gehery. i remember quoting him in a paper i wrote - 'i seek the work of artists and use art as an inspiration'. read this today. and enjoyed seeing the seattle music experience building, and the differences between the inside spaces and outside appearance.

read this, too. (you see, when i read the newspaper, i have a tendancy to read interesting [well, i find them interesting] things out loud to whomever seems to be sitting nearby. so y'all are sitting nearby now). why oh why did it take such a tragedy for us to realize how important our families and friends are? to stop promoting violent movies and toys? though the article points out some interesting (if pointless) tidbits - women are buying sensible underwear - no lacy thongs and garter belts, and crock pot sales are up. i think i have my mom's avacado green crock pot somewhere. anyone hungry for some pot roast? odd to see the these changes in people. sensible underwear is boring. if you're spending more time at home, that lacy stuff could be useful...ahem. anyways...

i realized something about myself this weekend. there are times when i forget about what happened. so involved in the moment at hand - whether chatting with friends, discovering a book, dancing my heart out - that all thoughts of danger, fear, worry escape my brain. and those times seem to be happening more and more...realizing that life is still happening as is used to in many ways. it is comforting to me to feel this. then i remember the bombs we are dropping right alongside 'care' packages of food labeled 'this is a gift from america'. do the bombs have that imprinted on them, too?

wishing you a blissful "lil pink sock" day. :)