As I’ve been trying to (or lack thereof), I’ve also realized my social calendar will need a shift in strategy. What do you do when you pay to live in an area right by the beach, but the weather isn’t warm enough to go out and get a tan? What do you do when your perfect little Westside beach town is mildly inconvenienced with a 10-degree drop in temperature? How can I sound any more spoiled than I do as I’m writing this?
As spoiled and as “first-world-problems” as this sounds, it is a change for us Santa Monicans, at least the beachgoers like myself. I’ve formed a pretty tight-nit crew here over the past few years. I went to UC Irvine, and after a brief stint back at my parents' house, I headed out to the Westside to begin my comedy career. Luckily, three or four college buddies made the same move for various reasons, and we’ve become sort of the team captains of a Santa Monica Sunday Fun Day crew.
Members slowly get added to the crew, as the captains get new jobs and meet cool co-workers, we date new people and meet their friends, etc. We’re pretty consistent now and try to take turns at each other’s houses every week or two. We each bring some BBQ, other food and drink, and watch whatever sporting event is taking place that night.
Adding into the mix a couple of girlfriends who couldn’t physically care less about sports has changed the style of some of our gatherings. For example, we’re hosting Sunday Fun Day this week, and it couldn’t be farther from this last one, where we watched the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals in Game 4 of the World Series. This time we will be pumpkin-carving.
. I feel like she's been coming home every day this week with new Halloween-themed gear for the party. First it was Halloween paper plates for the dinner we haven’t decided on yet. Then it was black-and-orange cups for the drinks we haven’t bought. Then we spent almost an entire evening creating a Facebook event for the party, where she kept interrupting me—while I was working on a script—to ask if I could help her come up with witty lines for the event description. Because, after all, “I’m the writer.”
Gone are the Sunday Fun Days where we go to the beach, play volleyball and toss the Frisbee around before hitting the grocery store to pick up some meat to throw on the grill. Now it has become all about Vampire wine and a trip to the pumpkin patch. Do I fight it, or do I roll with it?
Maybe this is the adult in me talking, but I’m going to roll with it. Not every Sunday Fun Day has to be about beer and football, and take place in a man cave. We’re gonna decorate our place with Halloween gear, and come Christmas, we're going to have our own little tree. I’ve never had a tree that wasn’t at my parents' house, and I think that’s kind of cool. A notch on the growing-up belt, if you will.
Now all I have to do it buy a pumpkin, figure out what I want to carve it into, learn how to carve and figure out what costume to wear for Halloween. I had no idea that holidays could equal so much homework.
Since Halloween falls on a Monday this year, I’m most likely celebrating before the actual day, and then maybe going out to watch a scary movie on Monday.
Anyone have any fun plans for Monday? I’m open to suggestions. Share them in the comments box below.
