Current location:	casa de java
Current mood:	mellow
Current music:	Don't Let it Bring You Down - Annie Lennox
Entry tags:	shangri-la

Saying Farewell to Shanrgi-La
Well, much to my disappointment, I am home. It was a wonderful weekend filled with a lot of laughs and a lot of great conversation. I really had missed being up there these last several months. Last night, the forecast was calling for snow down at the 2,000 foot level and Shangri-La sits at about 2,400 feet, so I was entirely hopeful. Spending a few more days snowed in at one of my favorite places on the planet sounded good to me. And if it hadn't been so bloody cold, I may have run outside and performed a naked snow dance to enhance our chances for some of the white stuff. But yeah... that probably wouldn't have been good for anybody and so I refrained. We got some rain, a ton of high winds, temperatures that would freeze your nipples off, but alas, no snow. Apparently though, the gods decided to mock my desire to remain at Shangri-La for at least another day. There is another set of little mountains across the valley from Shangri-La, no more than 5 miles or so. Yeah, they got snow. And it stuck too. The tops of the mountains were dusted with the snow all friggin' day long. Dammit.

Last night was spent playing board games with the offspring of my friend. Board and card games are one of the main activities up at Shangri-La... loafing comprises a majority of the rest. We played until roughly 430 or so this morning. It was a lot of fun, but getting to bed around 5ish and then waking up a little after 10 was a wee bit rough. But hey, it's fun. I just wish I'd had another day to play!

This trip up was a little bittersweet, I have to say. My friend is going to be moving up to the Bay Area within the next month or two. So this was probably my last weekend up at that particular branch of Shangri-La. I am really going to miss it. Part of the appeal is that I love the drive up there and the drive back. I love heading up there and coming out of Oxnard on the 101 and making that run along the coast. It's always gorgeous, looking out and seeing the vast expanse of ocean and the Channel Islands out in the distance. Coming back, I love coming around this one particular turn on the 154 and seeing the city of Santa Barbara and the ocean beyond it well below me. It's just an amazingly beautiful sight. I love being able to crank up the music and just sit inside of my head for a couple of hours, away from everything and everybody. Just sort of letting all of my cares, my stress and my worries get lost for a while. And of course I love Shangri-La itself. It's nestled up in those mountains and while there are people around, they aren't right on top of you. I can step out of the back door and go walking through the woods, feeling like I'm completely alone.

But of course, the biggest appeal of Shangri-La is the people that inhabit it. My friend is one of my oldest and one of my dearest friends. I've basically watched her kids grow up. I met my friend when her youngest daughter was about 11 and she's now set to turn 19. Her son I've known since he was 14 and he's about to be 22 and the oldest daughter is going to be 25 later this year. It's totally cliche, but this all seems to have happened in the blink of an eye. And I can honestly say that my friend is truly one of the most amazing people I've ever met in my life. She's been my single greatest teacher and I really don't believe that my life would be the same without her. It's because of her friendship, mentorship and guidance that I've charted the course in my life that I have. She is always willing to give me the straight scoop, always willing to help me up when I'm down and always willing to kick me in the ass when I'm being a tool. She basically doesn't sugarcoat anything whether I'm right or wrong. Some people probably believe that she's got some undue influence over me, but that's not the case at all. She challenges me to excel, to push myself, to always do better, to believe in myself and above all, think for myself. She's a genuinely rare person and I'm incredibly thankful that she's a part of my life.

So yeah, I'm a little sad that the location of Shangri-La is moving northward by a considerable distance. For years now, I've really enjoyed that little spot of seclusion, away from the world. But Shangri-La is a special place to me because of the people. And though the location may change, they won't. It will take a little doing to get up to see them and it's certainly not going to be a spontaneous, drop everything and head north kind of trip anymore, but I will get up there. And hey, while I may not have a nice drive up the coast or a beautiful mountain range to see first thing after waking up, I'm sure that the new location of Shangri-La will have it's own set of unique features and attractions and its own unique appeal. And hey, being that she'll be living in Berkeley, she'll be within spitting distance of Oakland... that will be awesome come football season! Score!!!

It was a good weekend overall. I'm getting my head back to where it needs to be. I'm doing my best to let everything go and simply focus on what I need to do. No more anger, no more resentment, no more drama... I'm simply going to concentrate on letting myself just... be. And in doing so, it should be a bit easier to put my head down and get to work doing what I need to do.

I hope that everybody has had a wonderful weekend. Happy Monday to ya'll...