Prince is creepy, a Grateful dead concert, and I'm going bald.

So I woke up this morning and couldn't talk. I had the transient husky voice of an alcoholic smoker. Not feeling too bad but certainly rolling out of bed for an AM ride in the fog was out of the question. I'm a women with limited resources these days. If I Halloween party until the wee hours the night before, I'm toast the next morning. Well actually, french toast this AM compliments of Cafe Milan and Playa Ridazz. It was FREE breakfast this morning so I made the huge journey: out of my bed, down my stairs, down my hill, crossed the street, and FINALLY... made it to Cafe Milan.

The oh so chillaxed cafe a block from the beach in da' hood. All the locals attend for weekend brunch and the Playa Ridazz were providing free breakfast post-ride. They're my local group of kick ass cool people that do triathlon and ride Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

There is something about riding as the sun's coming up with this group. You've just finished riding so hard, you thought you might puke. But you wanted to push it to see who could sprint "the stretch" and keep going strong through the Manhattan Beach rollers. The gang is now cruising the beach path back to Playa. Golden sky, yummy saltwater smell, looking out for sand patches on the path, surfers finding the break, planning whether or not you all have time for morning brew before heading to work. This is your life and you live at the beach....

The stamina of my friends is shocking. Marvin and Les actually rode this morning after a night of Halloweenous debauchery. I'm sniffle-cough sick after last night's party but rolled out of bed for the FREE french toast. Playa Ridazz won the team time trial triathlon division at our local Playa del Rey triathlon last weekend. The prize money funded our morning yumminess.

When your sitting with friends, after the mad consumption that only triathletes can do, various topics come up. They're usually stories that at the time, weren't so funny, but go-over fabulous many years later while sipping coffee with friends. They ranged from:

~how he met his Hawaiian college roommate who stole from the model-room their dorm room refrigerator (and beat it up with a baseball bat and put stickers on it so no one would guess it was him)

~the walk of shame that involved having to pull over on a 6-lane highway to puke while driving home that morning

~how he thought the UCLA female-version of the Bruin mascot was gay

~the time in college when a friend went 4-wheeling in the rain, the brakes stuck, and that person launched off the property, Dukes of Hazzard style, and drove through the boathouse sinking the car, 2 boats, and 2 jet-skis.

~when the next Guitar Hero party is happening and how to put in a floating river lazy pool in their backyard

~meeting up with a friend on the swim team and ending up in NoCal at a Grateful Dead concert.

~thinking you were going to a Guns N' Roses concert but ended up at a US Women's volleyball game verses China and getting kicked out after they jeered when one of the players got face planted. "YEAHHHHH!!!"

~shark stories and how research labs use surfboards to lure great whites

~his friends dropped his passed out, drunk-ass off home and laid him out naked on his front lawn. to make matters worse, they had picked up construction materials on the way home and paint a yellow line down him and surrounded him with flashing saw horses

~how he drove a VW convertible Rabbit until he realized it was a "chick car" and then over compensated and got a Ford Bronco

~how last night at the Halloween party, my Elecktra booty was winning the bootylicious content until Mr. Hottie spanked his own @ss.

Like a blue-haired old lady, the conversation switched to my health and I updated them on my latest health sitch. This week, it's an arthritic left hand and my hair falling out... in clumps. It's seriously so gross and I'm having bald nightmares. Some people fear losing all their teeth, I have night terrors about losing all my hair. It's "my thing man". I don't know who I'd be without my goldielocks. The doc is now adding estrogen and progesterone to my t-rone mix. This week, it's the estrogen deficiency that's wrecking havoc on my body. Then the boys lectured me on getting healthy only to start training for Ironman again. I cried so they stopped. Works like a charm when you tearfully say, " I JUST may BE that BALD girl gimping at IRONMAN CDA this year!!"

And then, the topic of Prince came up. Here's where the conversation got heated. I say Prince is CREEPY they say, "Purpleeeee Rainnnnn. OMG! He's soooo amazingggg." They continued killing me with Prince songs until I faked dry heaving. I think then, they got the point. Here's a picture of Professor Creepy. He's trying to show his tender heart but all I see is a melancholy freak with a soon-to-be mullet. Any guy that changes his name to a symbol and sings like a shy 13-year old girl is NOT talented. It's just plain strange.

It's at this moment, I catch up with myself and re-realize, I LOVE MY LIFE! I love my friends, I love their sick sense of humor, I love that telling dirty jokes is a part of our routine. I love that we sit in the sun, drink coffee and laugh until I completely lose my voice. I love that we're all triathletes. I love the we speak the same language. I love that I'm not training right now and after brunch, would go home to snuggle in bed with Roxy and read blogs. I love that the ocean breeze blows through my apartment and I can hear the waves crash. I love that I don't have a boyfriend and in no way have to compromise my life. I love that I'm at no risk for getting my heart broken. I love that last night I dressed up in my 3rd costume of the Halloween season and I'm saving best for last. I love that my friends throw pool parties and jump in the pool in full costume. I love.... my life!