I began my day by picking up my friend Laura’s bike.
It sat locked on the street overnight. In front of Bloomingdales.
Laura is a former co-worker/current friend. She lives in Santa Monica. And let me borrow her bike.
I rode the bike to Huckleberry a delicious cafe and bakery.
I locked up the bike on the street corner.
I sat outside and ate poached eggs with market vegetables.
I did not eat the tomatoes because tomatoes are gross.
After breakfast, I walked back to the bike.
That’s when I noticed
something was wrong.
The bike’s basket handle was broken.
I felt confused.
Was the basket’s handle supposed to look like that?
Was it like this yesterday and I didn’t notice?
Should I cut the basket handle off and hope that Laura won’t know the difference?
I pushed the handle down to make it look better.
I rode my bike to Equinox gym where Laura was working out.
I was meeting her to get her apartment key.
I was going to make a copy of the key while she was in exercise class.
Because I am going to stay at her apartment.
Laura walked up to the bike.
She looked at the basket’s handle.
“A giant bird,” I shouted, trying to distract her, “Wearing a Laker’s uniform! It must be ten feet tall!”
She didn’t fall for the distraction.
“Someone must have damaged the bike in the nighttime,” I explained to her.
“Don’t worry Becky. It’s all good,” Laura said to me and gave me a thumbs up.
My worries were relieved.
“Now where’s that giant bird?” she asked.
I left laura and headed to the Locksmiths. I looked up a locksmith using Google Maps.
I rode my bike for one mile.
I arrived to the locksmith’s address but it was an apartment. Not a store.
I called the locksmith number.
“Locksmith,” a man answered.
“Hi, are you open?” I asked.
“Well, we are a locksmith who goes to your house if you get locked out. We don’t have a store,” he said.
“Oh. So you don’t make key copies?” I asked.
“No. You can go to a hardware store,” he said.
“Ok, thanks. Bye,” I said.
I biked to Fisher hardware store a mile away.
A nice man copied the key.
It took him less than one minute to do.
“That will be $1.89,” he told me.
“That’s so cheap,” I thought.
“Can I get another key made?” I asked.
“Sure!” he said.
I got two extra keys made. Figured Laura could use an extra one.
I wanted to get twenty more keys made. Because they were cheap. But that would have been unnecessary.
I gave Laura her keys.
We said goodbye.
I drove in my rental car,
listening to Third Eye Blind’s song “Semi-Charmed Life” 6 times in a row,
to Runyon Canyon Park.
I was excited to do my first California hike.
The hike started off great.
The trail was populated.
There were two paths.
I picked the one to the left. I had no idea where it led and no idea what the hike was like.
I was excited to see beautiful views.
The trail got steep.
Then steeper.
Each time I got to the top of the inclines, my heart pounded quickly.
I paused in the middle of hills to take breaks.
It was difficult for me. I was not familiar with the path.
It felt great to exercise.
I got to the top and saw the HOLLYWOOD sign.
The descent began.
I walked down carefully.
I (purposely) slid on my booty a few times too.
I felt relieved it was downhill the rest of the way.
Until I saw stairs going up.
I got to a flat part.
I saw a cute puppy looking at me.
As a man and a woman exchanged a black cap.
I felt exhausted.
And hot.
Temperature-hot.
Good looking-hot too.
I took some photos of myself jumping in the air.
Here is a photo of me right before I jump.
I think it’s a funny photo because of my “pointer toes” body position and my face.
It felt great to walk downhill.
I was now on the other side of the mountain from where I started.
I saw the path I hiked. (outlined in green)
Without knowing, I took the steeper path.
A metaphor for life.
I walked down sandy stairs.
My sneakers slipped on a banana peel.
I caught myself before falling.
I got to the bottom of the mountain.
And fell asleep.
A great experience.
The End.
