amber waves of salt

I got up this morning at 5:30! That's right, 5:30! You're probably wondering what on earth is wrong with me. I'm wondering the same thing. It could only be one thing: the waves. Five of us hit the beach so early this morning, the moon was the only thing casting light onto the water. I'll admit, I was more scared to surf today than any other day. The waves were chest to shoulder high at times (non-surfer translation: freaking HIGH!). And they were frequent. I mean, one after another. I actually got in a few waves. Let's not get carried away, I didn't stand up or anything, but I was in good position to ride the heck out of them. Soon, I hope.

Good news: I went to McDonald's tonight to get an ice cream cone: they are only $0.59 here. A miracle! I sat my wallet down on the counter, and the manager helping me noticed the batman on my wallet. There was the usual small talk about my random collection of things, and he asked me if I had the set of batman toys they are giving away in their happy meals. I don't get happy meals, but noticed that there was one figurine that would be the one I would go for if I knew when it was available. I told the man that I was holding out for that one. He hands me my cone and says, "hang on a second." Mind you, there are 3 people behind me in line waiting to order. He dove headfirst into the bucket of toys and dug his way around until he came back with the figurine I mentioned. He said, "there you go, now you don't have to wait for it!" I've heard of Minnesota Nice, but California Nice is slowly taking over! What an awesome surprise!

Bad news: there are fleas in CA. They don't die off in the winter like they do in MN, so guess who is getting her feet and ankles attacked? ME!! Goodness, I feel like 100 mosquitoes have attacked me. They itch, and get all red and puffy. I can't figure out if they are from the cat, the fleas in the sand, in the office, or in the grass. I can't give up surfing and slack-lining, so I need to come up with some kind of remedy. I just took the vaccum cleaner to my entire room and am going to wash my bedding in gasoline tomorrow! ;) Any other tips?

My office is all finished. Here are a few photos so you can see the place I call home during the day.