Ryan's Journal

"My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?" — David Mitchell

Relaxination

Posted from Culver City, California at 9:47 pm, July 21st, 2010

When the Backcountry job started in January it was initially scheduled to last until May 1. That date later became June 1 before mysteriously morphing into October 1. Because of the short initial project duration I didn’t schedule any vacation, and through the first half of the year had managed only two days off – Memorial Day and one day of hiking and heat stroke with Aaron. With burnout building the little men in the brain were screaming for a long weekend, so the July Fourth holiday became a five day affair, with two days of lounging at home, a night at the new LA Ritz Carlton, and then a visit on the Fourth from my enigmatic brother.

While I’m still a fan of sleeping in the Subaru and living the grungy backpacker lifestyle, the passage of time has made a few additional options possible, and a night at the Ritz clearly has its appeal. Audrey and I had a ridiculous dinner of crab and dim sum on the 24th floor overlooking downtown, and the following day I enjoyed my second-ever massage from a masseuse who looked like Britney Spears (circa 2001) and would have made a lesser man cry as she attacked any trace of non-relaxation in my back and shoulders. After the short drive home we hosted my brother, who arrived late in the evening, and the next day turned into a Fourth of July grill-fest and wine-drinking event highlighted by New Zealand’s finest $10 wine and a cornucopia of seared veggies.

While these events may not end up as epic memories in the way that a trip to Antarctica or the Galapagos might, they’re nevertheless one more page in the future autobiography (“Ryan Holliday: A Cautionary Tale”) to be released at some point 40-70 years hence.

Aaron Holliday, pepper grilling mastermind

Aaron Holliday, pepper grilling mastermind.

Audrey and Ryan

Audrey demonstrates where the steak is about to go.

Los Angeles Anime Expo

Our trip to the Ritz coincided with the Los Angeles Anime Expo. Needless to say, we spent a LOT of time people watching. This guy is apparently anime Paul Bunyan.

Los Angeles Anime Expo

I’m guessing these two were probably together.

3 responses to “Relaxination”

  1. That is a massive axe. Also, I think the girl in green behind the massive axe is kind of hot in an enigmatic way (huh huh). The pepper was an accident.

  2. Yup, that’s pretty much a typical day in certain areas of Tokyo. Except in Tokyo no one even gives people dressed up as anime characters a second look (except for other anime people that want to rate themselves against each other).

    Does anyone else want to smash that giant paper-mache axe and watch that guy cry like a baby as the pieces of paper he spent so many hours forming into an axe, swirl up into the winds of southern California?

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