I met up with Victor Camacho and James Moore (both fellow CMS XC Mudders '07 and now living together and studying math-biology at the University of Utah) at LAX, rented a car, and headed to Claremont. Our first few hours spent on the 5Cs were quite nice: first we talked to a couple of math professors (Jacobsen and Castro), then headed down to Ducey, where we chatted with Coach Goldhammer for about an hour and a half and with Coach Beck for about 5 minutes. Talking with Goldhammer was, as always, extremely entertaining, but it's even better as alumni, because he's genuinely friendly (in manner, not words). We just basically joked around and made fun of current people on the team, and us, that entire time. It was hilarious: Victor is the most politically incorrect person I know, James the most dryly sarcastic, and Goldhammer is probably one of the greatest insult comics in the world. In fact, that conversation was probably the highlight of the trip.
Anyway, we attended the team meeting, then ate at Collins with the team--very nostalgic activities. Eating at the dining halls felt soooo familiar...and in a very good way. Mmm, I love having so many options and so much food at my disposal! We stayed the night in the Sontag suite where Jeff Jones, Asaf Bernstein, and Andrew La Motte-Mitchell live, which was quite comfy and very convenient.
The next morning was the meet! We (Victor, James, Asaf, Victor's girlfriend Liz, and me) drove down to La Mirada, arriving an hour early. I ran the women's course beforehand with Coach Beck, Reed Lyon (the other alum '07 who came down for the meet), James, …well, I was with them for a bit, but then dropped off and kinda got into a base run pace. At least I made it through the entire course, and my time actually beat all but 6 of the girls in the race later.
The men's team did well, but unfortunately Occidental did really well and beat them by going 1-2-3. I think that the top 14 runners included one non-Oxy/CMS runner. I am really impressed by our team this year, and their talent/dedication. The women got 2nd, too.
That evening I got some "freebies"… that is, events that I hadn't realized were going on that weekend: the famous party Trick or Drink at West Dorm, and an orchestra concert! The latter was an extra-special treat--it was the first time I'd ever seen a Claremont Orchestra concert from the audience. The first piece, a sort of difficult trumpet concerto, was a little shaky, but the other pieces sounded pretty good. Afterwords I quickly sought out the Lamkins and a few other acquaintances to say hello, then headed back to Mudd. Trick or Drink was interesting…lots of pretty drunk people…but also some quite creative costumes (I was lame and didn't wear a costume.) For instance, the guys from the suite I was staying in had a "pedophile theme" with one guy as the rapper R Kelly, one as a catholic priest, one as an mustachioed, slicked-back-hair sleaze known as "Tony", and the other guy as their boyish victim complete with colorful hat and lollipop. Yeah, it's pretty bad, but trust me, there are even less politically correct costumes. We only stayed at ToD for about 20 minutes, then headed to a CMS XC party at the apartments, which was very enjoyable.
On Sunday we didn't have much time after sleeping in, and many of our friends were busy doing homework, so we had a more relaxed day. I wanted some more adventure and nostalgia, though, so I decided to take a drive up Mt Baldy Road on my own. I drove up to my usual favorite spot at Cow Canyon Saddle (where the Glendora Ridge running trail and Glendora Mountain Ridge biking road begin, and where Heather and I came to watch the sunrise on Valentine's Day earlier this year). I took lots of pictures and ran up the Glendora Ridge trail for about a half-hour. Ah, it was great to be in the San Gabriel mountains again!
After that, it was time to head back. I dropped Victor and James off at LAX, then headed over to Manhattan Beach to grab a bite to eat because I had an extra couple of hours before my flight. It was nice to see the Pacific again, too, and see the lights extending south off to the mound of the Palos Verdes peninsula, north all the way to the dim outlines of the Santa Monica mountains, while hearing the waves lap against the pier. When my flight took off (it was after dark), we flew out to sea for a bit before turning around and giving me an AMAZING view of the valley, inexorably panning across my view, with stunning clarity… what an awesome sight!
There's something fascinating about a huge, sprawling metropolis, centered around freeways rather than skyscrapers, greedily draining water from hundreds of miles away to satiate its immense thirst, spewing out tons of pollution in the blink of an eye… a place that is hyped the world over for its glamor, palm trees, rich lifestyle, warm weather, sunsets. In short, L.A. is a guilty pleasure… a desert, artificially (and unconvincingly) transformed into a balmy paradise. Simply the immensity of the population and number of automobiles is enough to inspire downright disgust. But, I have to admit that I have fallen victim to the fascination that I believe takes hold on many people who have spent time in the region. When I fly in on a plane, over across the dry, towering mountains, and into the haze of the valley, the disgust I feel as the smog envelops the outer view is outweighed by a sense of excitement, of enchantment. I attribute much of that feeling to the exciting (and enchanting) times I've had, and people I've met, while in that valley, but I also feel that L.A. is unique in its extreme ability to captivate people. I could go on about this for a while (and still not exactly pinpoint what I'm trying to say) but suffice to say that, while I don't have an overwhelming desire to live much of my life in Southern California (to the contrary, I really want to "try out" living in any of a number of other places), I get very nostalgic, "fascinated" feelings when I visit.
OK, OK. A few photos. I didn't realize until after the weekend was over that my camera lens was all smudged up, so not too many pictures came out that well. Also, there were only a few situations where I was in the state of mind of taking pictures, so most of these are from my trip up into the San Gabriels.
Getting ready to cheer for the men's race
The Wacky 2007 CMS XC team
Overlooking Cow Canyon
Glendora Mountain Road… (memories of a wonderful bike ride on the day before graduation)
GMR, Cow Canyon, San Gabriels on a beautiful day (hot in the valley, but warm up here!)
Soaking up the view
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