The Great Change: Turning Cathy into a Lawyer

People who know me well know that if I decide to do something and actually execute on it within two weeks, for me that's being spontaneous. As I've noted before, I'm not really a "go-with-the-flow" kind of person - I much prefer to call my shot and then make it happen. But it's good to stretch from time to time and see what life is like without so much micromanaging. Surely being open and flexible has its rewards.

This weekend's trip to Los Angeles was already fairly spontaneous, at least by my usual standards. Needing 600 more frequent flier miles to renew my United Premier status I decided it would make sense to accrue them by going somewhere close and cheap. Los Angeles seemed to fit the bill, especially with the Cal football game scheduled to be played down there against UCLA.

The airfare wasn't too oppressive, although it wasn't a total bargain either. There was a flight that would have been about $60 cheaper, but after several days of hemming and hawing, at the last moment I decided to book the later and more expensive one home so I'd have time to do something down there in the evening. I only planned on this being a day trip, but it seemed like it should at least be a full day trip.

Apart from the plane ticket, however, nearly all the logistical details were left to chance. Including the rental car, which turned out to be something of a problem as rates varied widely and it ended up costing me an extra $15-$20 more by having dragged my feet. That was with Dollar. I can't remember if I've had issues with Dollar before, but I know I've had some concerns with the generally cheaper rental car companies (except Enterprise, which has often been quite good). So I decided to try Avis instead, where for about the same money I thought I could deal with a better company. Given that I was unable to phone Dollar to cancel the reservation (their website wouldn't load on my mobile browser such that I could look up a number for them, and the number listed on the airport courtesy phones was disconnected) this was probably a good call.

Except that Avis wasn't quite as perfect as I'd hoped. Their rental contract is really confusing, where it looks like you are agreeing to a much higher price than quoted with the reservation. They also did something that drives me crazy: "upgrading" the tiny economy car I booked to something bigger. As a small person, I like driving smaller cars as I find them more easily maneuverable. And why would I want to pay to fuel more car than I need? In this case though Avis made it worth my while in coming up with an upgrade I could live with: a Nissan Altima hybrid. As an owner of a Sentra I'm already inclined to like Nissans, but it was the hybrid aspect that really excited me as I've never driven one before. And thus had to be shown how to turn it on... (You don't turn a key, you press a button.)

Unfortunately I wasn't all that impressed with the car. For one thing, the design of the rear window created an enormous blind spot. For another, the brakes were so sensitive that I basically lurched around LA the whole rest of the day. On the other hand, it was nice to be in electrical mode and know I wasn't polluting LA any more than it already was. On the other, other hand, though, I didn't think the mileage economy turned out to be all that great. Unless the math is wrong somewhere, I drove 70 miles and put in at least two gallons of gas to refill the tank. I already get that kind of mileage with my Sentra. So while 35 mpg isn't terrible, it's not the 45-50 I was expecting.

Interestingly, however, cars' ability to generate electricity did turn out to be a running theme to the day. A Cal fan friend of mine was planning to drive down for the game too, but his arrival was severely delayed by his alternator failing somewhere near Bakersfield. Which sucked for him, but put into motion a series of events that made the game much more fun for both of us.

For various silly reasons I decided I wanted to see what the Beverly Hills/Hollywood area looked like while I was down there. Perhaps I've been there before, but I had no specific recollection. So I decided to detour through it on my way to Pasadena. In Beverly Hills there was some sort of art fair there in a park, so on a whim I stopped off to check it out. Some of the art there was very interesting, but the major feature of the occasion for me was the crepe-sucre I bought for breakfast from a stand staffed by actual French people. French restaurants in the US aren't always all that French, so I appreciated that this one was.

From there I walked a few blocks into downtown Beverly Hills to do what all the beautiful people do in Beverly Hills: go shopping. Yes, even I do that on occasion, and on this occasion I was on a quest to find sunglasses, since the ones I'd picked up a few months earlier in Florida had been sat on a few too many times to still be useful. Plus I figured that any sunglasses I bought in Beverly Hills would be inherently trendy. True, I did buy them at a Rite Aid, but it was a Rite Aid in Beverly Hills, ok?

By now I was running late for the game. And my friend was still working his way south. Coincidentally, though, we both managed to converge on the stadium at about the same time, yet at opposite ends of it. We both also still needed tickets (since this was one of the other logistics I hadn't worked out in advance of the trip), and set about, each of us in our own inimitable way, to acquire the single that we needed. We figured we'd then coordinate a meet-up sometime later.

I've experienced travel kismet a few times before, most recently on my CLE trip back East where, through totally random circumstances and lots of luck, I ended up seated next to a friend of mine on the return flight. It was particularly coincidental seeing how we'd made our plane reservations separately; I hadn't even known he was going to be in the area until almost that week (it's not like he often is); and the return flight we'd both booked - for the same date and time - was an odd, non-direct routing through Dulles that no one who travels from San Francisco to New York is ever likely to take. Moreover, it required some creative problem-solving by a gate agent to manage to maneuver the seating assignments of a completely packed plane so we could then sit next to each other. But I knew it would all work out. See, a few days before, when I'd learned we'd be on the same flight, I decided it would be fun to bring along a deck of cards to amuse ourselves on the long trip. Only I didn't have a deck of cards, forgot to ask to borrow one, and never had time to run to the store. It looked like it would be a cardless flight, at least up until the final Friday afternoon when, as I raced through Newark Penn Station to take my final post-CLE class commute, a representative of New Jersey Transit thrust some promotional schwag into my hand. And what was this schwag? Why, a NJ Transit deck of cards, of course! At that point I knew it was certain my friend and I would end up sitting together.

Anyway, back in Pasadena I'd bought my ticket (at a negotiated discount, since the game was already underway), entered the stadium, and started to buy some refreshments. First I bought some popcorn, and then I got on a different line to buy a soda. As I awaited my turn I happened to turn my head - and there saw my friend entering the stadium. It was very random, particularly when you consider how large the stadium was. He could have entered any gate at any time. I could have bought soda from any concession stand at any time. I also could easily have been looking elsewhere, even right where I was. But, no, the fates conspired to ensure we could enjoy the rest of the game in each other's company, which really was the only enjoyable thing about the game, since, sadly, the final score didn't itself qualify.

But apart from that outcome I was having a nice day so far, playing everything by ear. Except the next part wasn't played by ear, it had been planned. Back to Beverly Hills I fjorded the freeways, where I met a former law student and East Coast transplant friend at Nate N'Al's, a Jewish(-style?) deli. It's hard to find decent deli in California, but this place seems ok.

It was a nice chat, comparing career frustrations. Well, the frustrations aren't so pleasant, but it's always nice to talk to people who can understand and empathize. Soon, though, it was time to get back in the hybrid and head back to the airport. Although I had issues with the car, I was glad I had it with me in Beverly Hills. I blended in. It was shiny and black and, as a hybrid, inherently cool. And therefore so was I. (Right?)

But the coolness was only temporary, and I dropped off the car and checked in for my flight. Which, thanks to an equipment switch was now overbooked. I volunteered my seat, got a night in the airport Mariott (nice, squishy beds - too bad I didn't get enough time to enjoy sleeping in them), and caught a flight up this morning. Plus $350 in vouchers to spend on a future (spontaneous?) adventure.

Note: Last night it was really windy - the hotel pool had pretty sizeable waves - and on the radio yesterday they broke in with an emergency broadcast announcement with a high surf advisory. (It interrupted a Neil Diamond song; at first I thought the emergency broadcast buzzer was a joke.) But I had no idea about what was going on in Malibu until I got home later today.

Edit 10/23: It is really weird to have spent such a nice day somewhere and then have had all hell break loose immediately upon departure.