When friends come to visit, they always want to see “your life.” Ah, yes, friends, I always cruise around Newport Beach on my bike without a care in the world, hit up the arcade in the Fun Zone, chase dolphins down the boardwalk, drink coffee at Al Capp’s and eat fish tacos from Bear Flag and only turn my phone on to take photos of said dolphins or friends playing Pac-Man.
Nope, that’s a lie. That is fun stuff to do, and perfect to do with friends. But that is not my life.
When I am biking, it is to get somewhere. Even if that somewhere is a bar.
When I am drinking coffee, it is in front of my computer as I tackle a to-do list weeks old.
When I am taking pictures, it is the 1,845,673rd of Nali.
Because really, would you like to see me make giant salads for the week on Sunday nights and save them in giant bowls for which I only have one lid, so a plate must act as a lid until the eaten salad returns home from work? Or see how I wear the same hoodie every night to walk Nali while talking on the phone, drink wine from the bottle, and start working on side projects so long I forget to eat and am “forced” to consume chocolate chips for dinner? My “life” is like a rom-com, but pre-falling-in-love.
Nevertheless, there are things in my life that I show friends that I actually do: bike with Nali to the jetty so she can run free and play with the dogs, attempt not to wear shoes all weekend, and eat fish tacos (on Tuesdays, of course).
I’m really, really lucky to live by the beach, and so close that I can stroll out for just five or ten minutes. I’m always grateful for the reminder, when I show off “my life” to my friends, of how awesome my life really is, and how important it is to make the most of my beach days and nights. Soak it up.