Jen

Well, the rain is back yet again. At about 3 am this morning, I was awoken to the sound of hail pounding against our front door and windows. Tiger was totally freaked out, probably because like most Californians, is not used to the crazy weather that is going on here. Apparently, thunder and lightning - simple things that we Midwesterners are so used to - like hail, is also a rarity out here. And of course through this massive hail and downpour, like usual, Matt falls asleep like a little baby, and I lie there, staring at the ceiling, miraculously hearing a drip, drip, drip in the house, even though I can't place where it is coming from.

The week, for the most part has been pretty usual. I am going through what is now a rare instance of homesickness. I tend to miss my friends the most, especially when I find myself with nothing to do. But there are little things that I missed about home that are fading with time. This week, I am missing group gatherings at a bar to hang out and chat. And man, what I would do for some Chicago style pizza and some real beer, not like the crap I find out here. Okay, okay, there are some good beers, but they aren't easy to find. I swear, it's all Pacifico, Pacifico, with the occasional popular English beer. Where is my Bells Oberon or a nice Two Brothers? Hell, I'd even take Schlitz. It is the beer that made Milwaukee famous.

in an attempt to arrange a "group gathering at a bar," new Californian friends, Eric, Kelly and Greg with Matt and I attempted to go bowling on Wednesday night, only to get to our location to find already full lanes. We then hung out at the bar at the bowling alley, because it served Bud in those cool bowling pin shaped bottles. Sometimes, a cool bottle just makes the beer better, you know? Anyway, this seemed to ease some of my homesickness.

Matt and I also played Scrabble with the peeps upstairs. I was shocked when I pulled almost all the letters to spell “beguile” in one reach in the letter bag. I was also shocked when that fantastic word, only gave me a lousy 10 points when laid out on the board. It was much better than half the crap we had come up with before, like “zit” and “do”, which I think scored better due to their location on the board.

Ok, I am boring even myself now. What is everyone else up to?