I went on a hike on Monday because it was so amazingly beautiful outside I couldn't stand it. I could actually see one of the Channel Islands (I don't know which one). How could anyone not love LA?

While I was hiking I saw a family walk by with a boy who was collecting rocks. When I was a kid, my father used to take me on grueling backpack trips which I blame for my ten-year hiatus from nature (I refused to do anything associated with trees, mountains, or grass, and I even had problems with some plants). Anyway, on these grueling backpack trips, I, too, used to collect rocks (perhaps, in my burgeoning masochism, I was finding a way to make the hike more grueling). By the end of the weekend, my backpack would weigh double whatever it did on the way there. As I learned while hiking, collecting rocks wasn't an obsession that was unique to me.

After I passed by the kid with rocks I started thinking about my other childhood compulsion, giving my money away. My mom says that when she took me to Mexico on vacation I always wanted to give my spending money away all my money to all the impoverished families on the streets. In my innocense I didn't understand why everyone didn't feel the same.

And with these two compulsions, giving away money and collecting rocks, I entered adulthood. I'm still working on hanging onto my money, and not picking up anymore rocks (although, these are emotional ones).

Just for today, I can go hiking.