May 2003
Health & Fitness Lots and lots and lots of hiking this month. George & I climbed Battle Mountain on my birthday. It was a short (but very steep) hike with about 500 feet elevation gain. Much to our surprise, there was a deck at the top. We sat there for a couple of hours talking, taking in the view, and really, really wishing we had some shade and some lemonade! We also climbed Bernardo Mountain -- which was a long and steep hike -- about 7 miles round-trip with upwards of 1,500 feet of elevation gain. Much to my surprise, the hike was not that difficult. The trail consisted of many switchbacks, so that most of it was not particularly steep, even though we were gaining a lot of altitude. The views from the top were astonishing. Here's a picture from the top looking off towards the east. Battle Mountain is seen just above the center of the photo (the other side of the freeway). Dave and I climbed the Boulder Loop trail at Daley Ranch. This is one of my favorite hikes there (despite the fact that it's up, up, up to get there! And yes -- really -- pictures will eventually show up on my hiking page.
Entertainment For George's birthday, I gave him a day at Magic Mountain. We couldn't have picked a better day to go. For whatever reason, there were no crowds. We just went from one ride to the next with no lines. George was thrilled... I was nauseous... but it all worked out. Our only mistake was going on one of the water rides a little too late in the day. We never did dry out. That made for a long drive home! On the way home, we stopped near Venice beach (I think!) at a Thai restaurant and had some really awesome Thai food. Then we skedaddled out of there before they realized we'd left puddles on their upholstery!
Career Finished both my Real Estate Economics class and my Real Estate Principles course (this is the license course). Woo hoo! As soon as I finished, I sent in my application to take the state license exam. Now I'm just impatiently waiting for them to tell me when I am scheduled for the test. Unfortunately, because I procrastinated for so long, I have picked a very popular time of year to get into this business. It looks like it will be 6-10 weeks before I can take the license test... and then of course, it will still be months before I am making any money. Drat!
Dave's Family One of Dave's brothers passed away early this month. It made for a very sad family gathering and an especially difficult Mother's Day for Dave's mom. I did get to meet his 6 other siblings and his mom (all from back east) as well as his nephew (who lives locally)... but under less than ideal circumstances. Dave and I are hoping to attend his niece's wedding in August (in Ohio). I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone under happier circumstances.