Good morning!

I’m up early to start and finish packing since I’ll be heading back up north today! My mom will be joining me on the drive and she’ll fly back Sunday morning when Jen and I fly out to Hawaii.

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Yesterday evening, I had plans to meet Liang for tennis and dinner in Santa Monica. I think the last time I played tennis was actually with him, over a year ago, before I moved to northern California.

I made the really smart decision to leave Orange County around 4PM and sat through that wonderful 405 traffic I’ve missed so much.

Liang had a bit of work to finish up, which was completely fine because I stumbled upon a hidden gem on Santa Monica Blvd.

I can’t believe this place has been open for 3 years and I had no idea it existed.

In the back of the expo, they have a wine bar, and on Thursdays, they do 20 tastings for $20.

20 tastings. For $20. That is UNHEARD of.

Also, how are people even able to stand after 20 tastings? Each “tasting” was basically like a 4 oz. pour.

This is the first, and only, time I have ever used that bucket to toss out wine. I know. Forgive me.

Around 7:30, I met up with Liang.

We only played for about an hour, but it was a huge reminder of how much I love the sport. I come from a super crazy tennis family who drives out to Indian Wells, flys out to Wimbledon, and eats, breathes, and lives tennis. I started playing at the age of 5, played competitively throughout high school, and joined the IM team in college for the first year. After a while, though, it was more sporadic. Sometimes I couldn’t find people to play with; other times, I just found myself more involved in other things that took up my time.

But every single time I’m on the court again, I get this incredible rush that doesn’t happen with other things. Each time, I’m reminded that I’ve got tennis running through my blood. I’m reminded that there are actually ways to be active in a more social, enjoyable setting. Who am I kidding? I’m competitive as shit.

I need to figure out a way to make sure I continue this when I start working again. Last year, I joined a Meetup group that meets 2-3 times a week to play tennis but I was too intimidated to go.  There was actually a day last year that I showed up to a court in Sunnyvale, sat in my car and watched the people show up, and then drove off because I was scared. Maybe I just need to suck it up, be a big kid, and show up.

After tennis, we drove over to milo&olive on Wilshire. Liang suggested it and I always trust his judgement because he’s a big foodie –although he lost his Yelp Elite status because he got burnt out on writing reviews.

The food was phenomenal. We started off with a chopped salad – everything tasted so fresh.

We followed it up with a mixed mushroom pizza.

But the highlight of the meal was the garlic knot.

I was hesitant about the garlic knot because, if you’ve been to C&O’s, their garlic balls are to die for. I didn’t think this one would match up. Boy, was I wrong. They had cloves of garlic INSIDE the bread – it was SO DELICIOUS.

We followed it up with a Strawberry Crostini. If you know me at all, you know that dessert is not dessert without chocolate. This crostini was phenomenal.

Everything was so good. Thank you for dinner, Liang. I completely understand why that’s one of your favorite restaurants!

Last night really made me miss LA a lot. I know I was dying to get out last year and leave the traffic and congestion behind. I was so eager to move up north and, while I love northern California for so many other reasons, I do find myself missing LA a lot. Who knows what’ll happen in the next few years? In the mean time, I have a great place to visit with some of the best friends I could ever ask for! <3

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YOUR TURN:

• Have you ever used the MeetUp groups/website? 

• What was your sport growing up?

• Dessert – do you prefer something WITH chocolate or without?