California Dreamin'

I am in sunny southern California. Shuggie Otis is playing in the background as I sit with my father, who is reading the paper at Starbucks.
I am here as a surprise gift for my mother, whose birthday is today. I am only here for a few more hours, my trip being a quick day and half stint. The trip was a complete shock to everyone and the only people who knew I was coming here was my sister Angie, and Uncles David and Chuck, who purchased the ticket for me.

I wrote about playing badminton with my brother recently and what is funny about this is that I played yesterday. It was great and intense, so intense that I broke three rackets. So far it is tied 1 game to 1. We were playing like we hadn't had a break in all those years...we were slamming the birdie with full force and sliding all over the court for each point as if it were the last. The final match is today and I can't wait.