impromptu [im-promp-too]
made or done without previous preparation; suddenly or hastily prepared, made, etc.
Synonyms include: ad-lib, extemporaneous, spontaneous, improvised, unrehearsed

Update on one of my New Year’s resolutions: Be more spontaneous - I really have been trying this new thing since the year began and I haven't regretted anything I've done since then. I began this quest in January when I decided to go to Mammoth. Everyone talked about it for months and I decided to go 3 days before we had to leave for the weekend. Even though I didn't get to snowboard (which would've been a great thing to do up there), I was just as happy hanging out. There was snow all over the place! I'm a Southern Cali girl - this is a highlight for me. Anyhow, people these days don't know the meaning of spontaneous or impromptu anymore. I know because I, too, am still learning.

I'm learning that not everything has to be planned out so meticulously by mass emails, mass text messages and phone trees. Say for example, a John Mayer concert. A month ago, I told Riann that if she didn't have anyone to go to the John Mayer-Sheryl Crow concert with, I would gladly go with her. I completely forgot about it until she called me the very morning of the concert and asked if I was still up for it because she saw tickets for sale on Craig's List. Sure, I said. Why did she wait until the last minute, you ask? Because, as Riann will tell you, she's very picky about the audience that she shares John Mayer with. With a joint concert alongside Sheryl Crow, I don't think she knew what to expect.

We really didn't know what to expect, so I'll just tell you what we encountered. It was a mixed crowd for the most part - a mix of beer-toting-mary-jane-smoking old and young. The lady who sold the tickets to Riann was Asian, and we (Riann, Spastic-ass TJ and I) pictured some 20-something chick to be sitting next to us. No, Chong was in her 40's, kickin' it with her other 40+ homegirls, rockin' to Sheryl Crow and John Mayer. HI-larious! And then there was this girl sitting 2 rows in front of us and she stood up almost the entire time, dancing around with a cigarette in her hand, the ashes a split second away from falling on someone, a beer in her other hand and everyone around yelling for her to, "SIT THE HELL DOWN!" Oh man, thanks Babygirl. That was a fun concert!

That impromptu concert night was followed on Saturday by an impromptu karaoke night at Orchid. People have been bugging Riann about celebrating her birthday for weeks, but because her work schedule's been so crazy, she didn't have any time to plan. So at 3:30-ish on Saturday afternoon she decides, "I wanna go karaoke tonight." A few text messages and phone calls later, and so the spontaneity ensued.
I always forget how much fun karaoke is. I haven't gone since Jhoette visited us back in the spring. We sang for almost 3 hours!!! The highlight of my evening? Not James singing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," or Joe blowing our eardrums out with "Battery," not Seong making Riann scream at the first few bars of All-4-One's "I Swear." Grammy Kay wins my vote that night. She shook her ass to Abba's "Dancing Queen" and "Fernando" (WTF!). Oh man, Grams. YOU WERE FREAKIN' HILARIOUS!
I love random calls and text messages for a Coffee Bean run, or a quick trip to the mall, an afternoon mass, a pre-sunset walk around the neighborhood, a dinner to catch up or a John Mayer-Sheryl Crow concert (what the hell). We've all got our lives planned out so carefully and, though I'd like to think otherwise, it really is necessary if we want to get more than one thing done. But the impromptu invitations are kind of like life's little reminders that it's okay to do something that isn't part of the day's or week's agenda. Pulling ourselves away from false idols in the form of datebooks, palm pilots and Outlook calendars is sometimes exactly what we need to remember we actually have choices in this life that don't require penciling in of any kind.

Here's to many more spontaneous opportunities!