the last official week of summer

This last week of summer has gone by fast. I spent five days in Del Mar at a residential seminar that was the official kick off for my MBA program. It was a week well-spent. We had a taste of some of the upcoming topics and met some of the professors who will attempt to enlighten us over the next 21 months. The week ended with dinner at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, which was a really fun way to wrap up the seminar. However, I do have two papers due, and although one is practically done, I'm having a little trouble deciding on a final topic for the second.

Del Mar, though, is a great place for people watching. There seems to be an unending supply of rail thin bimbos of all ages tottering down the boulevard in too-tall heels. By the looks of their designer costumes, they all seem to think that "Sex in the City" was based on real life. Some of them seem to have figured out the fiction, you can recognize them by the look of vapid disappointment on their faces. Or perhaps they've realized what the Eagles had to say in "Lyin' Eyes" is painfully close to the truth.

If you can peel your gaze away from the bimbo parade, you'll see an assortment of characters that you can find in almost any town. There is the young panhandler who tells a good story about missing a bus and needing money to fix a flat bike tire to everyone he meets. Then there are the artistic types who believe that they have painted a truly original ocean scape, only it's just like the hundreds hanging in beach town galleries all over the world. Don't miss the older health nut in her yoga pants who ties her poor dog to a bench in the sun while she goes into Starbuck's by the side door. Give the pooch some water for grief's sake! And lastly, there is the young mother who leaves her toddler lunching on a bagel with her Hispanic nanny so that she can pop into all of the chic boutiques without the distraction of a busy little child.

Thankfully, DH and DD came and spent the last couple of days at the hotel with me. Perhaps we became fodder for someone else's blogged musings?

Well, I'm off to finalize a topic for paper #2.