Life College Aquatic

It's can't be all smart and witty banter all the time I suppose.

Saturday was the first time I had been on the road working for a bit. I missed the stories. I missed the stories which aren't always fun as well. This is unfortunately one of those stories.

Yesterday was day two of being back. It brought me over to UCLA to pick up a group of three women and one man in college. I will refrain from using their names.

College fares have been mixed. I have some great college stories to tell you... but then I have a few like this one.

I picked up passenger D yesterday and his three female friends to bring him to the Aquatic Center in Marina del Rey. They had a low passenger rating and I was a bit nervous. At the end of the ride I could see why. It was a bit meh of an experience.

Things started off alright. The guy asked me what music I was playing. It quickly changed into them talking about their trip to the center.

"You have to fall if you haven't been there before. There's a mat. It's gross but maybe we can get out of it."

"The row team may be there. They were there earlier. Maybe we'll run into them."

It was pretty basic stuff. I was just zoning out and watching the road and listening to music. But then the conversation in the back started getting a bit interesting.

"Yeah there was a Stanford party recently."

"Oh? How was it?"

"Well there were a lot of smart guys there."

"Ewww."

"Yeah it was a bunch of smart guys and they were all out and like... there were a few people who had just graduated high school and then these smart Stanford guys and like they were all hitting on them and stuff. It was like all of these awkward smart guys trying to get it on with girls. It was..."

I shut up. I was really biting my tongue. I just shut up.

The girls continued to talk poorly about smart guys. About how boring they were. About how unappealing smart men were.

I wanted to throw up in my mouth a little. I just smiled and kept driving.

I was so happy pulling into the marina dropping them off. So thankful that the twenty minute car ride was done and that hopefully I could return to the world where it happily invited my smart friends.

As I left I was relieved and then also feeling the start of a crushing weight of anxiety due to something going on with the person in Once Loved. I thought about how I had also just spoke to someone about attending classes and networking over at Stanford for several reasons. They offer many classes to take for free as well as a tuition program that offers discounted education for families under a certain income level. It was a mix of nerves. I took a deep breath and just drove. Sometimes you just have to push through it. It's a coping tool I've been working with for some time despite everything. 

(There's more about that stuff over on other areas though if you want to read that kind of thing. It's a bit of the Invisible Me.)

And then there was another ping from a guy named Dave aka "Foots" who works as a producer for a VR company called 8i and his eclectic and silly set of friends. Apparently smart is not deemed boring or talked poorly by all. In fact, some might even think it's a bit rad. 

Dave and his friends saved the day and totally wiped out the bummer of those... a bit less open to the beauty of intellectualism. It was a breath of fresh air in that little blue car floating along the blue void of world outside. He and his friends may have no idea just how much. 

Not everything over in the aquatic is devoid of that sense of smart or anxiety inducing feeling. But maybe both ways aren't completely bad either. That's part of the magic and beauty of this town. It's a big pond with lots of fish and stories. What school are you going to hang with? The choice is yours. Enjoy it and live well.

This is your driving captain signing off. Happy Monday everyone.

I'll be your Zissou LA riders