God is in the Blender Biz-nass!

Let me start with a few nights ago. I have this friend named Brady who I hang out with pretty regularly. We are the kinds of friends who can hang out without ever really doing anything and we still wind up having fun. He's my friend who I call when I don't really want to go out and do anything stimulating; I just want to take it easy, watch some TV, eat some junk food. You know what I mean. My friend Mules was the one that I got to do that with in Memphis, but sadly, he's a billion miles away, so I've had to start networking for newbies out here. I miss Mules a lot. Today when I was at the gym I was thinking about him and how he's been my friend through thick and thin. Not many people are like that. Normally there's this whole awkward period of someone liking someone and all of that crap- but we've never truly encountered those kinds of problems. He's been my post-breakup comfort, my Ben & Jerry's accomplice, my get-me-through-the-b.s. support system. You name it, he's been there. But anyway, let me get back to my point. What was it again? Oh yeah.

So I go to Brady's house (his house was the Full House type house I wrote about earlier) and meet his older brother and fiancee (is it one or two e's?). His brother, who is an EMT, is three sheets to the wind. The guy is completely wasted. The fiancee, a nurse, is not wasted. Neither was Brady. But big brother is smashed. So, big brother is talking about having to go to work in the morning and dreading the thought of having a hangover, so he proceeds to say to his fiancee,

"Honey, go get the IV."

She leaves for a minute, comes back downstairs, and has a big plastic bag and set of needles in hand. She then proceeds to tie a tourniquet around his arm, prime his skin, and plug a huge-ass needle into his vein. I am not kidding. Then, big brother hangs the IV bag up on "the nail in the cabinet where the Christmas calendar hangs every year" and starts squeezing it to make sure that he attains maximum hydration.

"Dude, you know you could just eat a sandwich and drink some water... Go to Waffle House to sober up. You realize that normal people don't sit around the kitchen table giving each other IVs, right?" I asked.

The medical professional couple looked at me like I was a retard. Of course this is what they do. Is there any other way to avoid a hangover? EVERYONE hangs IVs on Christmas calendar nails and jabs themselves in their veins to wake up refreshed after a night of drinking. Duh.

I think that Brady is used to his family being like this, so it wasn't unusual for him, but he did sort of give me a "I-know-they-are-bonkers-so-please-don't-judge-me" look. It was funny.

Last night I went to my friend Josh's condo. Crazy enough, he was friends with my little sister in Memphis back in the day. We went to the same church growing up and he used to come to swimming parties at my house. I just found out that he lives in my neighborhood! How cool is that? So he cooks this gorgeous, elaborate meal- chicken Alfredo and a beautiful salad and green beans... And I eat dinner with him, his roommate, and one of their friends. The roommate and friend were Asian guys, which I loved, not because they were Asian but because L.A. is so full of diversity and people aren't categorized by WHITE or BLACK like they are in Memphis (I hated that back "home."). So, this is when God sent me a blender.

I don't want to sound like Benny Hinn, but I'm telling you, I feel like God opened every door, met every need, and guided me right to L.A. after years of wanting this. I was telling my new friends last night that the only thing that I do not have is a blender. Also, a side note, I love the color red. It's scandalous and so am I. So, Josh's roommate says to me, "Really? I have two extras. Why don't you take one of mine?" And he presents me with a beautiful red blender. I felt like God sent me wonderful neighbors and a red blender just for me. As hokey as it sounds, I really felt blessed and I wanted to cry because these people were so nice and welcoming.

I have a quiz tomorrow night so say a little prayer for me. I have to get back to reading my note cards on Adjustment Disorder. I love this stuff. Who would have thought that I'd be at a private Catholic school in L.A. studying DSM-IV mental disorders and eating dinner with neighbors I grew up with in Memphis? Life is crazy. I freaking love it.