sunday in hb, ca

i was thinking about the year so far, and how it's already may. i was remembering all the rain we had in austin last year, specifically a night when i was going to go to a marc broussard concert at antone's down town but it was raining so hard that night that instead i met starla and courtney at polvo's on south congress. we sat inside, but we were still close enough to the front patio to watch the rain come down in the parking lot, and listen to the commotion coming from the people running in from the rain, and those about to make a run out to their cars. the sun had already gone down at this point, and i remember us sitting in there getting ready to order intending to stay for a while. i think we figured that by the time we were ready to get going, the rain would have let up a little bit. and i think it had. we were there several hours, and i was buzzed.

we had a good week here in hb, ca. i'm getting more used to the routine of the weather in this area. the mornings always start out pretty overcast and chilly. then around 10am, the clouds start to part, and you can feel the heat from the sun stronger. the wind also picks up and gets stronger as the afternoon arrives. around 3pm, the wind is perfect for all those kite surfers wanting to leave work early to head to long beach, which is where xavi is right now.

xavi and i tried out a new church called calvary chapel of hb, and it's at 7800 Edinger ave, hb, ca 92647. i think we'll go again next week - it may be a good fit for us. my mom told me about one called saddleback, i think its rick warren's church. i thought it might be cool to check that one out too, but it's more than 3o minutes drive away and a typical service has around 22,000 people! hello.

just about every sunday xavi and i go to this farmer's market in seal beach. it's in the parking lot of the alamitos bay marina and it's a great market too. we go with our straw baskets and do like claude (xavi's father) : we walk the whole market and then after we've seen everything, we start our shopping. there's a french man who sells granola, which xavi says is strange because granola isn't very popular in france. maybe that's why he's in california. he makes delicious home made granola and when we pass him we say, 'bonjour - ca va?' and he says, 'ca va, et vous?' and we say 'ca va'. there's a woman who sells expensive naval oranges, but we keep buying them because they're so delicious and fresh tasting. we might question the price next time, her cost varies too much. there's always a great selection of seasonal veggies and fruits. we go to the same people for our apples, and go to the stand that has ugly tomatoes that are actually tastier than the flawless tomatoes.

sometimes we sit at the marina and have a snack. but lately, we've started going to the coffee bean on our way back to hb. the same girl is working each time we've gone. today i goofed and asked for a venti americano. she said, you mean large? and i felt terrible using starbucks terminology in the coffee bean. i asked if that happens often, and she said surprisingly it does. her and another girl said it was strange to hear people using tall, grande and venti for their cup sizes. and i said, 'well it's almost impossible to find an alternative coffee shop these days. you have to hunt for a unique coffee experience, or out of laziness settle for the convenience of starbucks being on every corner.' i added that they're so prevalent that we're starting to be conditioned to their cup size language, and have to think outside the starbucks language when we're away. i still felt guilty for using the competitors language in their shop. oh well.

each sunday, xavi and i go to coffee bean and get a large americano that i doctor up with half and half and 2 raw sugar packets. we sit outside where these beautiful trees line the street, and other people sit with their dogs and newspapers. across the street is this old theater that only shows 2 films at a time, and only one showing a day per film. tonight we're going to see the french film "The Class" at 8:15 at this particular theater. cool!

i think i like this routine we've started. i like that we visit the farmer's market each sunday, that we see the expensive naval orange vendor, and french man selling granola. that we see the same girl at the coffee bean and that we sit across the street from this old theater, and are spoiled by the beauty of these trees. maybe it adds to this feeling that we belong to this little southern californian community.. i dunno..

- kiki