Hanging with my boy

I just read a bit from Sourena Vasseghi's book "Love your Life and it will Love you back"

I'm thinking how grateful I am for the life I live. It's a good time to be 37 in Los Angeles. If I could be anywhere right now, I'd be here. If I could do anything, this would be it. There's so much to look forward to, but that's in the future, and right now I'm really excited about where I am and who I am. I am the sum of my friends. 

Spent a couple hours today with my friend Daniel. He introduced me to Sushi Eyaki on Wilshire, a couple blocks over from his office at Nowcom. Not so big on sushi myself, but it's growing on me. I'm finding it's an inescapable requirement of the Angeleno lifestyle. When I came here I didn't even like fish, cooked. Now we're talking about eating it raw? I had the Salmon Yaki (cooked, thank you very much!) and caught up with Daniel about what's going on in our lives. Thanks for lunch, brother. 

This man truly is a brother to me. Level 4 is the highest for non-biologicals, but seriously, this cat is level 4 and a half. Like, he's halfway up the stairwell between 4 and 5. 

Fierce competitor. Built for Battle. Fun to be around. When I come over to watch the game, he and his wife treat me like a relative (that's a good thing at their house) and I find that to be priceless in a town so full of lonely, disconnected people. 

I appreciate the lunch, thank you for the brotherhood.

A single phrase to describe my friend Daniel Salazar:

Laughing Sportsman Warrior

Musician In The Park

Melinda is one of the most gentle spirits I know. Have you ever talked to someone who made you feel like you were being listened to? That's what it's like talking to this friend of mine. She listens as if  you have something to say that should certainly be heard, and treasured, and thought about, maybe even repeated. 

You know, I've lived here in Hollywood for 8 months this time around, with Griffith Park just a mile away, and I haven't taken the time to get over there and explore. Today I got to do just that.  Melinda and I stopped at the park cafe so we could take a couple lemonades for a walk. 

My friend here is a phenomenal classical violinist who spends her days working with the Harmony Project, teaching music to underprivileged children who might not otherwise have access to such education. I've seen her with them. There's a glow that comes over her face as she watches them play. 

How honored am I to know someone who celebrates her birthday by going to Mississippi to help build homes for people affected by Katrina? How honored am I that she lets her violin attend my concerts, and she even accompanies it onstage with me? How amazing is it that someone with so much to say to the world, takes the time to listen, and invites me to walk in the park on a day I might otherwise work through lunch and forget to breathe? 

A single phrase to describe my friend Melinda Rice:

Musically Exquisite Compassionate True Heart