The Unexpected

The phone rings this morning. 4:44am to be exact. "You do realize it is 4am my time, right?" I politely answer the phone. "Yes! Have you seen the news? Turn on your TV! Southern California is being hit by a tsunami! You need to get Peanut and drive inland! A huge earthquake hit Japan! Turn on your TV! Turn it on!" screams the other voice on the phone. 

It is, of course, my ever-trusty (and overly precautious) Boss Lady, Linda. 

I turn on the TV, and what is this? The speed limits of the interstates are scrolling. OMG! People ARE evacuating! What in the world do I do right now!???...a million thoughts go through my head...UNTIL I realize that this is actually an update on the interstates related to fog, NOT an update on the evacuation routes from town. False alarm! They do mention the tsunami eventually, but thank goodness, San Diego/La Jolla was not going to be seeing much of an impact. Shortly thereafter, my friend Nate comes over with coffee, and we walk down to the cove to see the effects, which were actually completely unnoticeable.

What a morning...and what a wake up call, literally. I can't help but think that this was probably a much larger "wake up call" (in the general sense) to many other people. Life is precious and unpredictable. You hear it time after time, but then you forget again (or at least I do). My heart goes out to those who were impacted by this natural disaster, and from witnessing it in my own town, I have seen first-hand how terrible these unexpected events can be. While I find this whole event to be tragic, I can't help but be reminded about how little we know about our futures, and how truly unexpected life is -- both in good ways and in bad.

Rather than harping on negatives (as we have all faced unwelcomed surprises), I'd rather just highlight some of the happy "unexpecteds" that I've experienced, both lately and in life. I'm in hopes that this may spread the idea that not knowing what's coming next is just a fact of life, and should we view it right and embrace it, this can be extremely invigorating. I don't know about you, but many of my favorite things in life are not things I could have planned, nor would they have been as fun if I did. For all of these things and times, I am extremely grateful...and I think not knowing to expect them may have even been the best part.

A few of my recent favorites:

• I met my most sincere friend in San Diego and and amazing person -- at a club in Las Vegas at Nicole's Bachelorette party
• I received a life-size picture of one of my friends in the mail (seriously, it's 6ft tall...Jess)
• Peanut received a greeting card
• I have been to fantastic meals with pretty much strangers who both opened their worlds to me and were extremely welcoming
• My sweet neighbor left magazines on my porch to help me "get to know" the city
• The "snootiest" restaurant in town was amazingly nice and receptive to our award/program
• Which people have been constantly reminding me that they care
• Deep fried lobster head AND octupus are both good!
• I love pure barre! (who'da thought?)
• Finding an amazing place in La Jolla

And a few solid life surprises:

• Spain, enough said
• Meeting some of my best friends on an accidental cruise my senior year of college
• The lady sunbathing at the neighborhood pool turning out to be my 2nd mother, and her family becoming my own
• Dropping out of school being the best thing I could've ever done
• Grace
• Meeting Kelly (aka a blind date with Daniel's girlfriend)
• Driving anywhere with Lynza
• Finding my job and passion -- through Bill
• Living in California (like, for real)

The picture below I took on my hike today. As corny as it may be, I view life as being like this picture. This is typically a gorgeous view overlooking the city, but today, it is covered by fog. To me, this is kind of like life...God chooses what he wants to show to you and when. Sometimes it's hazy, and you can't really see what he's trying to show you...but when you finally do, it's beautiful.

Today's View.

Not the same exact spot, but another opening on the same road -- this is what the fog was covering.

I can't wait for tomorrow to see what unfolds in the weeks/months/years to come, and I am definitely excited for all the unmade memories that lie ahead of me...

Now, speaking of things I can't wait for -- I must add (and in completely opposite news) that Erin gets here tonight to visit until Tuesday -- which I've been looking forward to all week.

I must admit, while I love the unexpecteds...I love the things and people you can count on too ;)