Leaving Los Angeles. Me and the monks.

I told my friend a few weeks ago, 'So, I'm going to a Buddhist monastery next month for a week.'

Maybe I wasn't expecting a reaction quite of shock. Or exactly resembling excited, impressed wonderment. But something along the lines of 'Oh my goodness! How unlike you! Isn't this totally unexpected and unanticipated?!' Okay. So perhaps I was expecting shock and wonderment after all.

I certainly wasn't expecting my friend to say 'Oh......I'm not surprised.'

Well, despite my friend's opinion that it is exactly like me to get up and do something ridiculous, it was a bit of a surprise to me when I decided to register for 5 nights at the Deer Park Monastery, a Buddhist monastery in Escondido.

And today, I am departing. Without access to email or phones for nearly a week. No blogging, no Twitter, no Facebook updates. Radio silence from the 400 acre sanctuary just a couple of hours south of Los Angeles.

I'll end this last post before my journey with the same message I sent to my friends and family last night...

In olden days, a trip to the monastery would mean I was pregnant out of wedlock. Today, it just means I'm a privileged yuppy from the city who needs 'a break.'

I will have no access to email, phones or other electronic devices during this time. Smoke signals, maybe. But I haven't checked the fog levels out there yet. So, please refrain from emailing, calling or texting me as your expressions of love and/or tomfoolery will fall on deaf ears (no jokes about my poor hearing, please).

In the case of emergency, you may try to reach me via the Deer Park Monastery. I actually have no idea if anyone will answer the phone.

In case you are unclear about what constitutes an emergency, please use the following quick guide.

This is an Emergency...

* My apartment's on fire.
* You're dead.

This is NOT an Emergency...

* You stubbed your toe.
* Your boyfriend was rude to you.
* You're experiencing digestion issues.

I look forward to talking to you all when I return next week. Until then, have a great week and a very happy Thanksgiving!