Welcome to the Hotel California

In March I had multiple visitors and enjoyed being able to spend time with all of them.  It was interesting to see how community and visitors had an impact on each other and the meaning of living in community come to light.

First, BFF Laura came and spent four days with me.  The highlight of her visit was going to Disneyland and taking in all the princess and magic.  I love that no matter where we are or how long it's been since I've seen her, I can always count on her to do Jamberrys, eat California Pizza Kitchen, and have incredible music for our road trip.

Second, my parents came on St. Patrick's Day.  This also happens to be my Dad and Ryan's birthday.  We packed a lot in during the 5 day visit, so here are a few highlights.  The first event my parents attended was the HELP of Ojai St. Patrick's Day dinner.  I loved that in their usual fashion, they jumped right in to the serving line and made friends with the people around them.  On Saturday we drove to Los Angeles and had breakfast at Homegirl Cafe, one of the industries operated by Fr. Greg Boyle and Homeboy Industries.  If you have a chance to read his book, Tattoos on the Heart, I highly recommend it for a look at gang life and what people can do with a chance.  The food was delicious and we were greeted by one of the friendliest hosts I've ever met.  We spent time talking to the people running the merchandise shop and they told us a lot of what Fr. Greg and the industries do.  These two were also just promoted, so it was a big congratulations to them!  We followed that with a trip to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.  It's a beautiful place and I love the tapestries interwoven with saints and people leading up to the alter.  We stopped and did an olive oil tasting on our road trip to the north on the Pacific Coast Highway.  It's interesting to actually be able to taste the difference in the oils and the guy doing the tasting was great.  I enjoyed introducing my family to the people who have impacted me and giving them a chance to see all I get to do with my time out here.  I also loved being able to catch up on the gossip from back home and have the serious conversations of life over breakfast.

While my parents were here, an old coworker also stopped in on a road trip with his two roommates.  It was great to see Joey, although only briefly, to chat about old times and catch up on how each other and mutual friends are doing.  The three of them were kind enough to treat us to Pete's for breakfast.  It was the first time that we had tried Pete's and I definitely recommend it to others in the Ventura area.  Joey and I forgot to take a picture to send back home, so I got creative and photoshopped a picture of the two of us.

During all of these visitors, it was very interesting to see how community life is different from normal roommates and living with family.  The time I spend away from community was time I noticed.  I felt like I needed to be present in both places.  I also felt a difference in the house and feeling out of sort and disconnected.  I've never been this busy out here on my own, it has always been with others.  Trying to explain to my visitors that I don't have to check in, but I should.  I also don't have to include them in anything, but as a community I felt myself finding ways to incorporate them into the visit.  I was also aware about the money I was spending out of pocket.  I stuck to the budget I set for myself, but have become very aware of costs and necessity.