last weekend i spent some time in monterey. dan and his friends were taking a scuba class, so i had two days to myself. no adgenda, no plans, just open hours and an expanse of becah. friday i walked to lover's point (though alone) and explored the houses of pacific grove on the way back. sat on the beach and read, the gorgeous view coaxing my eyes from the words on the pages.

the sounds, the sights, the taste of the salty air - i spent many days at the beach growing up, as a teenager, in college - and waves of memories overtook my mind. i was suddenly a little girl dribbling wet sand through her fingers to create other worldly castles. a sixteen year old with long blond hair, the sun brozing my shoulders as i rollerbladed down the boardwalk. sitting in the sand with a thick botany book, roomates, and a giant bottle of water, justifying my loafing by claiming to be studying.

it was something i don't think i have thought of before, how your encuonters with certain places over your life each hold their own memory, yet can knit themselves together into a seamless movie in my head. i miss the beach. i associate so many happy memories with the the feel of the ocean. when i moved to sacramento, everyone asked 'won't you miss the beach?'...nah, i have the mountains now. but i do miss it...it's not easy to explain, and it didn't occur to me until last weekend...i understood how profoundly our surrondings affect us.

enlighenment of the day: when hooked to an ekg machine, jello generates brain waves virtually identical to the brain waves of a healthy adult. green jello salad, anyone?