I'm writing this on Aaron's powerbook.
Waiting, waiting, waiting for him to get off work at 2!

Last night, Aaron dropped me off at the hostel (which has no air conditioning! and plastic mattress protectors that stick to my sweaty legs while I sleep) so I could take a shower before leaving again to watch a movie. We walked through the collection of people playing guitar, smoking, talking and generally being very hostel-like, and I leave Aaron sitting in the lobby while I go up to the room.
When I got into the room, I saw that no one was there, so I set my purse on my bed and went into the adjoining bathroom to take the shower. Halfway through, after conditioning and before soapage, the lights go out, along with the fan, and I'm left in the shower, with the water running, in total darkness. If anyone remembers the preview for The Grudge with Sarah Michelle Gellar, I was imagining that ghouly hand reaching through my hair immediately, thinking that this would be the exact time that I would fall prey to exactly such an entity. (I think about that hand even when showering at my own apartment, with all the lights on...so it was a thousand times worse in this strange hostel bathroom.)
And then I worried that it might be a fire. Or an elaborate ploy by a rapist to set me off guard in the darkness. But I continued with the shower (thinking that if it was a fire, Aaron would definitely come and get me). The sound of running water is really freaky in the dark. And I almost pee'ed myself when a car pulled into the parking lot across the street and the glow of its headlights moved eerily through the bathroom.
In any case, I finished the shower, blindly grabbed my towel, and ventured into the room again, which was also pitch black, and felt my way to my purse, where I found my cell phone and turned on the flashlight feature on the phone. Then, I looked out into the hallway and saw that that too, was dark. Then got dressed hurriedly, hair still dripping, and went back downstairs to meet Aaron. Who has his own part of the story, coming up.

Let's see, what else have I done in LA?
-Venice Beach on Saturday, where I longed for a boogie board, but was too cheap to shell out $11 for one, and too lazy to have to lug that thing all the way back to TX as well. We parked a long ways away, and it felt like an authentic hike, because we'd both brought our backpacks and a bunch of stuff...video camera, cameras, extra clothes, etc. It all became quite a burden once we got to the beach and realized we didn't trust leaving it on a towel while we went into the water. But we did eventually get in the water...
We saw a topless girl too.
And found that Venice Beach is called Venice Beach because in the neighborhoods around it, there are actually water ways between the houses, and all the houses have canoes and kayaks.
-Then Sunday, we went to Disneyland, and it rained like the dickens (like charles dickens?) for the first hour or so, and then brightened up.
In line for the Indiana Jones ride, a tour group cut in front of us in line, and just kept going! I was feeling a little pathetic for not saying much about it, but then later saw that they had cut in front of a lot of people, including a group of three large guys. So then I didn't mind as much.
other rides we rode: The Matterhorn, Splash Mountain, Star Tours, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Alice's Teacup ride, It's a Small World, and Space Mountain (which was the best).

On another note...has anyone else noticed that growing up involves writing more and more painfully tactful emails, letters, and general communication? It's giving me a headache, all this tactfulness.