Walk It Out

Last last weekend, I turned twenty five. I celebrated by being athletic. Athleticism is something that's as elusive to me as underwear is to Britney Spears, as evidenced by my lack of breath and leg cramps each time I stomp up the two floors to my apartment. But, I wanted to do something different, and it turned out to be really fun!

On Saturday, we went hiking in Malibu, to see one of the hidden waterfalls within in the city. I actually woke up at 9:30am and dragged my groggy ass over to Isaac's. The meeting time was 11am, and although I am notorious for running late, it was nothing compared to Dre, Tim, and Jason, who arrived there at around 12:30pm. But Dre brought yummy sandwiches, and I wasn't expecting Jason since he'd been MIA for the past week, so I forgave him for being the one who pushed everything off schedule. I just felt bad for the others, since they had actually arrived promptly and were left defenseless against an old Jewish man who told them his entire life story.

The weather was perfect for a sweaty hike (cloudy and chilly), and the trail wasn't too arduous or lengthy. We started off walking by some jaw-droppingly opulent homes, and saw a hawk swoop down and catch prey. Then we ventured into nature, nimbly maneuvering over several streams. During the hike, Isaac managed to find a several edible mushrooms, tree mold, a little froggy, and a dead mole. We kept running into the cutest dogs, and it made me so bummed out that I didn't bring Pumpkin along (I thought she wouldn't be able to handle it, but I was wrong.) Considering it had rained the week prior, the waterfall was pretty loud and lush. However, it seriously smelled like shit around the base. What was up with that?!

We sat around and ate, despite the stench, and then posed for pictures. When Dre whipped out her digital SLR, everyone stepped back in awe. The quality of the pics from that thing are amazing, especially when you compare it side by side with the pics from Trang and Sekina's point-and-shoot cameras. But then again, Dre has this crazy talent for photography, so that helps. Just a bit. Then we headed back, and I'm pretty sure we were all feeling flushed and accomplished.

Oh yeah, and the old Jewish man who stopped to talk to us while we waited for everyone to show up? His stories were pretty fascinating. He was held in the concentration camps in Indonesia for several years. He claimed to have worked for the CIA. After he found out Isaac was Jewish too, he gave me a few pointers. "Just learn a few Hebrew phrases, and read a little bit of the Bible, and they'll accept you." And if that doesn't work? "Slip a rabbi $500, and he'll dip you right away in water and make you a Jew!" Good to know there's a shortcut to Gan Eden!

Anyway, this particular hike wasn't all that strenuous, but that was just part one of my birthday weekend. I'll discuss Sunday's activities in another post. I just wanted to say that a birthday without alcohol and forced singing is pretty damn awesome. And now Dre and I (and even Trang!) are all motivated to go on more hikes, especially since we discovered so many others as we were researching for this one. I hope really do try a few more, because this was a really enjoyable excursion. I'm serious, Dre! Let's DO this!