Saturday the beach saved my life. I was going crazy. Job loss. Car loss. Tooth filling loss. It was racking up.

But I got away on Saturday with the help of my lovely Ford Edge rental SUV and Don, who graciously gave up his entire Saturday just to keep me company.

I've put just a few pictures to give you a taste of what I shot while I was out at Venice, but I'll summarize the story of the day here. Don and I went to brunch. I started kvetching about how miserable this, and how horrible that, and Don put things in perspective - it could be worse. So to make it better, I wanted to go to someplace fun and carefree, and to me, that means Disneyland or the beach. This day, I opted for Venice.

So we drove out, walked around for hours and hours just people watching, enjoying the sunshine and wind, the sounds of Venice musicians, the drum circles, the incense, everything. Bohemia. Freedom. Peace. It was what my soul needed.

I think we stayed until after 7pm. We snacked on hot dogs, ice blended coffee, and karma. It tasted of chicken.

Yes, I disappointed my "family" by not going to little Mathew's first communion. I just needed to do something for me, I feel so much pressure that doing something I didn't want to do for someone else just... didn't... measure up. It hurts though, because I love the boy, and I can't expect him to understand, but damn it I'm getting tired of doing the "right" thing and coming up poorer in the bargain. Fortunately, Teresa hasn't given me much shit about it - she knows how I can be. But how can I explain it to a 7 year old boy who wonders where Uncle Mathew is? It hurts. But right now I have to be there for me first. Me first. And then, when I'm charged up, I can share my good with others. Especially little Mathew.

To see a larger gallery of my pictures from Venice, to to My Gallery.