Day 61 (Fri., Nov. 11)

I was headed to work and I saw smoke. So, I got off the highway and went to check it out. Of course, getting off the Florida's Turnpike and trying to go 100 yards into a side street off Pines Boulevard was a mission. I was stuck in traffic for almost 10 minutes making a left turn off the highway. By the time I got a place were I can park and go take photos, the fire was out. The officer told me "you should have been here 10 minutes ago, it was good." Funny thing is that I was less than a football field away and I couldn't go anywhere. Traffic has gone crazy in the last couple of weeks. At first I thought it was the hurricane, but I think this is what people meant about the winter increase in South Florida. According to a few people, things get crazy around here because you have all the people from the snow states come down to Fla. I guess it's time.

After taking a few photos of the extinguished fire, I headed on to my assignment. I was taken back half decade when I walked into Soop It Up, a store that has all kinds of cool add-ons for automobiles. Being there reminded me of A&A Autobody in Van Nuys. I used to go there almost every weekend to buy a new addition for my Acura Integra. Fiver years ago I dropped more than $5,000 onto my Integra. Then, one morning I woke up and the car was gone from the driveway. My investment disappeared just like that. That's when I fell out of love w/ import cars and "sooping up" my ride. Being in the store today made me think of the good old days. The days I would pick up Ana at work and my sound system would rattle the windows of the place she worked in. It reminded me of all the times I was put side-by-side some clown on an intersection. I would "smoke" him/her and that was that. Man, I used to be young, dumb and foolish. But I sure remember how cool my ride look. Especially the night of Ana's prom at Universal Studios, Hollywood. It was cool. The lowered car, the system blasting some RoughRiders, the black light adding a cool glow to my white tuxedo shirt and the disco ball spinning from the rearview mirror. I miss my Integra, I miss all the cool add ons. I miss picking up Ana at her mom's house. I would gently tap the pedal a few times and rev up the engine. No need for honking the horn or ringing the doorbell, Ana knew I was there. I miss being a careless person w/ an attractive girlfriend and only worrying about going to the beach. Ah, the good old days.

After daydreaming about my Integra, I headed back to the office and I relaxed for a little bit. Then, I headed out to the Ft. Lauderdale Aquatic Complex where the regional high school swim meet was in effect. The top swimmers in the area matched up and it was fun. I had a chance to use that cool 400mm lens that I only touch on special occasions.

After work, I headed home and got cleaned up and changed into dry clothing (covering swimming is fun until you realize you are completely soaked). After prepping myself, I headed out and met Chris (UCLA/Berkley), Yolanda (UCLA) and Susana (East LA College) at the Hard Rock Casino. We had dinner and then walked around the bar/club area outside of the casino. We got our grove on and I actually danced the whole night for the first time since hanging out w/ my coworkers in San Angelo during the last week in West Texas. Man, it was so much fun. I had not had that much fun dancing in a long time. After the dancing we headed into the casino, but I was disappointed because they didn't have roulette tables. Boooooo!!! Well, I guess that was good, cause I didn't have to blow the paycheck. After that we headed to Hollywood beach and danced some more at a Spanish music club. Good times. It was good to hang out w/ the other Westcoasters.

A perfect way to cap such a long week that almost made me have an experience in road rage.

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