Westsiiiiide!

L.A. was a blast! I made it to services an hour ahead of time - which is VERY unlike me. I met a lot of wonderful people yesterday. I also found out that Glendale, a SUBURB, is twice as populous as the largest cities in my home state. There was a young girl sitting next to me yesterday who was soooo precious, and her entire face would light up when she smiled. We spent the last few minutes of the sermon playing peek-a-boo. She allowed me to take a picture of her along with her big brother - I hope it turns out well, because she was so excited about having her picture taken. Seeing her smile made my day. I had some very thought provoking discussions later that evening as I hung out with some of the singles and newly married folk. I got a little paranoid on my way home as I missed the exit to the freeway - lost in greater LA is not the place for a country boy like myself. Especially after 11 pm... I'm definitely looking forward to returning in July.

I wonder if I'll be flying home in the same sardine can I flew out here in. Luckily on the 2nd leg of my flight the plane was only half full, so I was able to have a row to myself. Why aren't planes designed for people over 6' tall? I need to remember to go by Barnes & Noble tomorrow and some literature for the flight - something deep and meaningful along the lines of The Sporting News. Yeah...

The young people I was with last night were really inspiring. Actually, most of the young people I meet in the church are inspiring. There are some, of course, who only attend because of their parents and don't attempt to hide it, but the overwhelming majority seem to desire to do the right thing. I look at my actions when I was their age and hope that my kids DO NOT emulate dear old dad. I'm proud of the LCG kids/young adults.

I suppose I should practice song-leading the next couple of days, since I'm leading songs for the first time this coming Sabbath. I'm quite nervous about screwing up - then again, how many people actually watch the songleader for their cues? That reminds me, La Cresenta actually had violins and a clarinet in addition to piano accompanying the hymns... That was a nice touch.

Now, I'm off to catch some Sportscenter.