What Would You Say

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2011-07-06T18:00:00.001-07:00

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Ketchup

2006-09-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

Time to play catch up on all that is going on.

Little Holly is here!!!! Holly Maria Devine was born on Tuesday, September 12 at 4:50am. She made her entrance weighing 6 pounds, 14 ounces, looking exactly like her daddy! I couldn't be more excited even if I tried. I got to meet her on Saturday and she is the sweetest little girl. Pictures coming soon...

This weekend also provided the opportunity to hang out with The Thumb and it was absolutely wonderful. I did my best to hang on to the title of "Funnest Auntie" by bringing gifts that he had a great time with. Took tons of pics and videos, which I'm sure will also be posted soon. Such a smart little man who knows so much at 21 months. Amazing. He must get it from ME!

I think I'm officially finished changing my name. One more credit card and various mailing lists I think is all that's left. But at least DMV and Social Security know who I am now!!!!

Brian got to go see Dave at The Gorge and I didn't. Whatever, Brian.

Jon and I celebrated our one-year anniversary of meeting each other/being a couple with an "Anniversary Extravaganza Weekend". It was over the Labor Day weekend and Friday night we treated ourselves (with the help of a gift certificate) to dinner at Mix at the top of THE hotel at Mandalay Bay. Fancy shmancy and very yummy. Then we went to Jon's night of the weekend to go see Ron White. Hilarious, even if it was his second show of the night and he was already pretty wasted. Saturday night was my night, and we went and saw "Love" by Cirque du Soleil which was absolutely amazing and so much fun. I think my favorite was "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". It's a don't-miss.

Jon's back in school, getting further on his Criminal Justice major. Yay! Some fun things in the not-too-distant future for him that we're really excited about. I'll keep you posted!

We're having a great time. Yes, marriage has its ups and downs, even after only 1 month-and-a-half of being hitched.... But it's a wonderful ride and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Even if he does like me better blonde.

These Boots Were Made for Walkin'

2006-08-25T15:51:00.000-07:00

I splurged on a pair of $50 sandals on Sunday at the Rack. I would normally NEVER do this, but they were super comfortable and I could get by with wearing them at work, even though they were technically flip flops. And I always need comfy black sandals, so I justified it by saying they were a "good investment".

Everything was fine... until we went to Target (my favorite store ever) and I found a pair of equally as comfy black sandals for $4.50. I kid you not. 4 dollars and 50 cents for an even BETTER pair of shoes - no flip flop resemblance.

Needless to say, I'm taking the $50 pair back.

Oh yeah, and I went back to Target and bought 2 more pair. Can't beat clearance, baby!!!

Let's all go to the movies

2006-08-25T15:39:00.000-07:00

We watched a few movies this past weekend. It started out bad with "War of the Worlds" on Friday night. Not sure how this movie ever got made (again) or how Steven Spielberg directed it, but this movie made no sense and was pretty worthless. Even the special effects couldn't save it for me. And Tom Cruise definitely didn't help matters.

Next was "Little Miss Sunshine" on Saturday afternoon. Knew I was going to love it, and I did. Absolutely fantastic, super funny, and so heartwarming without being overboard. At all. It was so so so so so so so great. Still laughing about it.

And lastly was "Always" on Sunday afternoon. I have LOVED this movie since it first came out and was so excited when Jon said he would watch it with me. Turns out he loved it too. Hard to go wrong with Holly Hunter, Richard Dreyfuss, and John Goodman. "Girl clothes!!!" Love it...

He's also managed to rope me into Miami Ink and I've done the same with him and Project Runway. We're hooked on both. Too bad we usually prefer to go to bed before they actually come on. We're such old people already.

Married and all that stuff...

2006-08-18T10:42:00.000-07:00

I've decided I need to start blogging again. Writing is a great help to me and it's something I enjoy, and I miss recognizing the little odd things that happen to me and around me. PLUS, I can access blogger from work, which is a miracle considering they've taken everything else away. Something about a security risk... whatever. It's just people's credit cards, credit reports, bank accounts, and all-around financial well-being. Get over it, people!

So we've gone ahead and taken the big plunge, stuck the rings on each other's fingers, promised eternity, and said "I Do". The day was absolutely wonderful and truly a celebration of us and our relationship and future lives together. With only close friends and family there to join us, it was very low-stress/no drama and just fun. We even had two of my nephews in the pool while we got married. Sitting quietly on the step of course, but you get the idea. Some of Jon's family from Texas were there, and some of my friends and family from California, Arizona, Colorado and Nebraska were able to make it. So fun.

If you'd like to see the online photo album, just send me a note and I'll be happy to shoot it over.

Married life has been fantastic for the most part. I mean, we love each other endlessly and love that we are still kind of getting to know each other since we waited to have sex and waited to move in together until we were actually married. It was something that we were adamant about saving for our wedding night, and we are so glad we did. But we were getting shooe'd out of our own reception!! (I needed another glass of wine!)

We are reminded everyday that those two little words are not magic and life is not a fairy tale once you get married, no matter how much you try to keep it in God's plan ahead of time. Life has a funny way of throwing you curve balls and you've gotta adjust as they come flying at you. We're doing the best we can, though we know we can improve so we try to remind ourselves everyday of that.

I know--it's only been 3 weeks and I'm already talking about how hard it is. But it's reality and we're human. I once heard marriage described as taking two completely different people, raised with different families, probably in very different environments with different backgrounds and stories, and throwing them together and telling them to live happily ever after. It just doesn't happen in an instant. But we trust that with some work and lots of prayer, we're gonna get there. I'm learning how to be a wife and he's learning how to be a husband and a spiritual leader. Things we've never done before.

It's interesting, because we got married in the midst of two marriages falling apart around us. Two marriages that I was present for the exchanging of vows, the promises to love and to cherish, through sickness and in health, for better or for worse.... And in each of those it was one person who chose to opt out. Basically out of nowhere. Slap in the face. "I'm done". Two marriages that I never thought would last - one because they were so different, and the other because we thought she was "too good for him" (and he's my brother!). Both lasted at least 5 years, and through good and bad times. It was almost enough to make me feel guilty--with one of the couples, the wife is a dear friend of mine who came to my bridal shower right after her world came crashing down, and the other is my brother who is dealing with loving a woman who has decided she doesn't love him anymore. Having these two important people present and celebrating something so wonderful in my life meant so much, but it also was a big flashing neon sign informing me that things can go wrong. The other person can decide that life being married to you isn't fulfilling and they need to go find happiness elsewhere.

Of course, I don't think this is ever in the cards for Jon and I. Don't mistake me for being such a cynic that I'm bringing this up 3 weeks after my own wedding. Jon is who I'm meant to be with forever and we're in it for the long haul. Through it all. No going back. And my heart breaks for those close to me who are wondering where theirs went off track.

OKAY, well--WELCOME BACK TO HOLLY!!! haha... The purpose of this blog has not changed. I will still post the strange and unusual, however I am in a different place in my life now, so there will also be a few more gushy and gooey posts as well. Enjoy... Stop by often.

V is for VICTORY, V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!!!

2005-12-04T18:27:00.000-08:00

Yes, as has long been predicted, USC and Texas will faceoff in the Rose Bowl.

Jon scheduled his flight around it because we saw this coming looooooong ago. Two rivals facing off. Both on the TV and in the living room. This could get ugly, folks.

Mary, Did You Know?

2005-12-04T18:25:00.000-08:00

Yahoo! Calendar has to be the greatest invention EVER.

I just spent an hour inputting everyone's birthdays, editing my preferences and even updating my view to include local (or worldwide) weather!!!

This is fun.

Everything's Not Lost

2005-11-11T09:13:00.000-08:00

A brief rundown on me the past few weeks:

I spent two weeks taking care of the zoo that is my parent's house with 4 dogs (plus mine) and two cats. It's amazing how high maintenance those little creatures are. I now have a new appreciation for my mom and her patience to spend all day with them. It was two weeks of living in two places, back and forth, checking mail, dropping things off there, picking things up here... But it was worth it. My parents had a great time.

In the midst of the 2 weeks, Jon made his second trip up to Las Vegas. This time he stayed for one week, but when he left, I was wishing he hadn't stayed so long. I got too used to having him around. Maybe it would be more accurate to say I wished he didn't have to leave. I will see him again at Thanksgiving, and the time can't come soon enough.

While he was here, we visited the Hoover Dam. It was the first time for both of us. I would recommend for anyone visiting the Hoover Dam for the first time to not go at night. Kind of hard to appreciate the whole thing. And beware of the big statue. It gave me the creeps.

Jon and I saw Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds do an acoustic show. I never thought I'd get the opportunity to see them after I missed them about 5 years ago when they played in Montclair, about 20 mins from where I lived. It was a great show and Dave was in usual form of silliness and random accents, topics, and observations. Everytime I see The Thunder From Down Under, I shall now think of Dave. Not rushing back to the Aladdin to see a show, however. Not after the experience of having to stand up ten thousand times while the people next to us came and went aaaaalllll night. More leg room, people. And SIT DOWN and STAY THERE!!

I got rear ended the other day while driving home. It scared me pretty good, but once I was finally able to pull over and assess the damage, I found there was nothing more than a few indentations on Leah's bumper, so I did my good deed for the day and let the kid go. He seemed relieved.

That same night, I experienced one of the scariest events of my life when I got home and found a lost 2 year old girl wandering my complex's parking lot. She became scared at one point and ran out of the gate and halfway into the first lane of a busy (and dark) highway. She was able to be coaxed back and her mom was found shortly thereafter, but it freaked me out pretty good.

Last night I spent 2 1/2 hours listening to music and giving my opinion on hundreds of songs. A unique experience and one that brought back a lot of memories as I listened to various hooks of songs that are old and new. However, I couldn't wait to get back into my car and listen to an entire song play. Someone with ADD would have loved the experience.

I watched She's Having a Baby on Saturday and laughed and cried like always. I love that movie.

One Love Might Make a Difference

2005-11-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

The reasons why I love him today:

He lies and tells me he's not sleeping just so he can hear me say good morning.

He's not a very good liar.

He hates drama just as much as I do.

He loves my dog.

He gives amazing massages.

He loves chocolate as much as I do.

He changed my condo's air filter "because it was dirty and needed it", vacuumed my house when it didn't need it, and washed my car because he's nice like that.

He got through meeting most of my friends and overprotective former co-workers like a champ when I was a nervous wreck.

Because he shows me he loves me every single day.

....to Your Pedicured Toes

2005-10-24T17:56:00.000-07:00

I got a pedicure. Even better, I got to rock those thin little flip flops they give you if you walk in wearing shoes that may mess up your polish.

Do You Like Dreaming of Things so Impossible?

2005-10-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

Sooo much to say and so far behind!!

I never commented on the USC victory over Notre Dame. Old news now, but not easily forgotten. Bye bye Notre Dame. Even the green jerseys couldn't save you from Leinhart and Co... Maybe next year. ehhh... prolly not.

I turned 27. Nothing very exciting to report there.

Heather has had a VERY exciting weekend, and I can't wait to hear all about it.

I went to a wedding at the Paris hotel this weekend. Was reminded that I definitely do not want to get married in Las Vegas. It was lovely--just not me.

Got to spend lots of time with my sister, her husband and their Camden. There's not many more satisfying things in life than to rock my nephew while he falls asleep playing with my hair. It's enough to melt my heart and give him anything he wants forEVER.

Wednesday my poolboy Jon comes into town for a week. There's not too many other things I could wish for right now. We're looking forward to Jeremy Camp, Dave Matthews and hanging out with my siblings. And doing nothing at all as much as possible.

Keep staying tuned...

As I recall I think we both kinda liked it

2005-10-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

At last, a few words about someone special.

This poster kinda sums things up. He says he'll let me be Holly Golightly as long as he can be the pool boy. Don't tell him this, but I'd forfeit the life of being a lawyer's wife for some underwear any day.

We didn't have breakfast at Tiffany's, but we walked by Tiffany's right after dessert. Oh wait, no that was dessert AFTER dessert. Right. Maybe next time we'll go inside.

All of this is making no sense I realize. That's what happens when you meet someone who takes your hand and wants to walk with you for a while. I'm blaming the blond hair for my recent dizziness and ditzy behavior, but I think it might just be that I'm deliriously crazy for someone.

He washed my coffee pot before he left.

He remembered to lock my manual door locks everytime he closed the door.

He walked my dog.

He never complained when I was cold, my feet hurt, I had to pee, or when he had to meet my family.

He didn't eat all of the dark chocolate because he knows it's my favorite, too.

These are things I got to love him for this week, which is only added on top of the other things I already loved about him. Stay tuned. I think this is gonna be good...

One Man Betrayed With a Kiss

2005-09-29T18:45:00.000-07:00

There are a few things on my mind right now. I haven't posted in a while, but was inspired by Kevin. Thanks, Kevin.

I have cheese slices in my refrigerator that are really hard. I thought cheese slices had like, a million preservatives in them so they weren't supposed to go bad. Last week I had veggie dogs that had white stuff all over them. I'm not doing so well in keeping up with the expiration dates on my food. I do pay attention to the cottage cheese. That stuff is dangerous one hour past its due date.

The fall tv season has started and against all of my demands not to get sucked in--I'm officially sucked. Television is evil.

I have lately been disturbed by half-naked men in videos. I am forced to change the channel whenever Marques Houston comes on and starts singing "Naked" while actually naked, and I'm pretty sure it's illegal to see Bow Wow in a towel by anyone over the age of 18 who aren't his parents. Sure, he dropped the "Lil" from his name, but I'm pretty sure he's still not all grown up/legal yet, either. The only time this is acceptable is in D'Angelo's "Brown Sugar" video, and that's mostly because the whole time you're hoping the camera is going to pan down just a liiiiittle more. Otherwise, please put your clothes on.

He doesn't want me to talk about him, but I have to say that I've met someone pretty incredible.

Why is it that I choke on nothing at all?

Why is it that I have to trip in my new shoes and cover it up to make it look like I meant to do it?

Why does my dog choose to chew the sequins off of one of my favorite shirts?

Why does my clear nail polish turn a light grayish/lavender color after a few days?

Living in the Wild, Wild West

2005-09-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

My life is not boring. But I think I've been in a haze of some sort the past couple week (wonder why??) and have been neglecting to notice the small things that bring me amusement.

So here's a big thing. Last weekend I went to Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Tour when they were in town at the Golden Nugget. A great show, it was. What was even better was my mom drinking "buckets" of wine, then getting appropriately out of hand. Needless to say, lots of entertainment was provided all around me. The comedians were great and had us laughing our heads off. It was their smallest venue of the tour and they used it to the fullest.

The best part of the night was when Vince brought out his good buddy Peter Billingsly. Most of you will know Peter as Ralphie from A Christmas Story who only wanted an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle! Well, Ralphie's all grow'd up now and has apparently been Vince's best friend since their days where they both starred in an afterschool special about the dangers of steroid use. They were gracious enough to re-enact a scene from the special, then play the real thing for us all. Good times. A bit of trivia for the class: Peter has been a successful producer for many years, including many of Vince's films.

Peter was definitely the highlight of the night for my dad because A Christmas Story is in his top 3 movies of all time right behind Raising Arizona and Young Einstein. See? A little something for everyone..

Miss Amanda Jones

2005-09-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

I love my sister. I really, really love my sister. It seems I haven't been posting any pictures of her lately, but instead have been cutting her out of photos I post. So here's my way of making up for that. I love my sister.

Happy is a Yuppy Word

2005-09-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've been busy. I've been distracted. I've been a lot of things, but one thing I haven't been is updating this blog. Here's my best shot at an update on the recent happenings with me.

My nephew is adorable. Okay, so that's not exactly an update, because he's always been that way. I just wanted to start off with him.

My brother and his wife just celebrated 6 years of wedded bliss. Don't know how she's made it this long. Gives us a reason to be happy on September 11th each year. It was also a good chance to spend some time with them--I don't see them often enough and miss their faces.

My dad turned 65. So weird.

I bought the new Switchfoot album and am listening to it now. I have to show love and keep it real and all that stuff... If you know me, you know why. It's pretty good. Even though I missed them on Conan on Tuesday night. Whoops.

I love the new Coldplay song and still love the Pussycat Dolls' "Don'tcha" and listen to "Helena" by My Chemical Romance and "Sugar, We're Going Down" by Fall Out Boy as often as possible. So stupid that I can't get enough of it. I'm sure I'll be sick of it all soon.

I bought new boots for the season and am wearing them today. My feet are hot.

And lastly, I have discovered that Texas is a fascinating place. This would be the reason I've been too busy to blog. I will try to be better in the future, but I make no promises.

I've missed my blogging buddies: Brian, JAG, and Goldie. Heck, I haven't even had time to read about Things I Hate. Leave a comment and let me know if you're still around.

Hold me closer Tiny Dancer

2005-08-29T10:41:00.000-07:00

Things observed at this weekend's Dave Matthews concert:

If you wave at a truck load of guys and you're on the street driving towards the venue, there's a good chance the guys are going to be there too.

If a frisbee lands near your feet while you're sitting in the parking lot, then there's a good chance the frisbee came from one of the guys in the truck you waved at 20 mins earlier.

Holly: "We need some cups. We can't drink those from the bottle here"
Heather: "Let me look in my trunk"
Holly: "What? Why?"
Heather: "I might have some cups back there"
Holly: "Why would you have cups in your trunk"
Heather: "You never know"

(45 seconds later Heather pulls out at least 5 different cups. Real cups. Not plastic or styrofoam ones.)

Holly: "Why in the world do you have CUPS in your TRUNK??"
Heather: "One never knows.... ew, that one had something funky in it. Definitely not that one....."

It's really unfair how guys get to pee in any convenient container at basically anytime they need to go, while a girl can't just squat in a crowded parking lot without attracting a lot of attention to herself. I was really envious of this fact until I spotted the "pee jug" and decided I would never want to pee into a jug that my 3 best buddies had gone in before me. That's just gross.

The field at the Home Depot Center is currently covered in sand and this really pissed me off. For some reason I felt the need to express my anger to the pretzel guy, although surprisingly enough, he didn't care too much about the sand, nor do I think he even knew what I was saying. I was still pissed, though. They still had the plastic floor down so it wasn't like I was walking in sand all night. It was still annoying everytime I reached the end and had to walk in sand to get to the stairs.

I didn't fall this year on the plastic floor. Maybe that says something about the state I was in as compared to last year, or maybe I've gained more coordination and grace. ehhh... probably not.

Jason Mraz opened up and only did one song that most people know. My thinking is: if you've got 3 songs where there's a good chance most of the people know them, wouldn't you sing those 3 songs?? He didn't even do his most recent single, but instead sang his FIRST single. Strange. Heather still loves his voice, though.

If you've got a polo shirt on with the collar pulled up, black plastic sunglasses with bright purple sides circa 1989 when neon was hip, and yellow flip flops that say "corona" all over them, there's a good chance you're drunk. If this is the case, do us all a favor and provide us with continued entertainment through all the boring parts before the show starts so that we have something to do. Because it really was entertaining, and your dancing isn't so awful that it's annoying.

If you in the purple sunglasses and yellow flip flops decide later in the show to go get beers for you and your buddies, make sure you try to remember where you're sitting so that you're not walking up the aisle screaming "SHAWWWWNN! SHAAAWWWWNN!" while the headliner is playing. That's annoying.

Apparently Sublime is some good music for Holly to get up and groove to while waiting for the opener to come on. Without any shame at all, I was shakin' it. Heather loved it. She did.

When the couple next to you leave their seats for whatever reason during the show, this is the perfect time to let it all out and dance up a storm. Which I did. Also shamelessly. The song was "Dancing Nancies" after all, and for those 6 minutes my name was Nancy and I was dancin'.

When the same couple comes back to their seat, it's a good idea to remember the invisible boundaries that are around you when you're dancing so that you're not getting dirty looks. Hey, if you leave during the set, then decide to come back, you gotta give me a few minutes to readjust to my limited space. Leave me alone.

If, upon leaving the venue, you're in need of a Del Taco, my advice is to not ask the traffic control guy. If you do, he's probably going to say something like "I don't know where Del Taco is but I know where 7-eleven is. You could go there and ask them." ummm... that's okay. Thanks. Weirdo.

Del Taco tastes really good after a Dave show.

Thank You for the Music

2005-08-19T10:13:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the blog entry dedicated to the love of my life: music.

Why is it that I'd never listed to the lyrics of The Pina Colada Song before this week? I thought the version I was listening to was a spoof or something because the lyrics were so ridiculous. I always knew the basic premise of the song and the line "If you like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain..." but never listened to "If you're not into yoga. If you have half a brain. If you'd like making love at midnight in the dunes on the Cape. Then I'm the love that you've looked for. Write to me and escape." So lame!! Read more about how this song came about here if you're interested.

A few months ago one of my favorite disco songs came on my iPod as I was riding in the car with my mom. Who doesn't know "It's Raining Men" by the Weather Girls?? Everyone, right? Well my mom looks at me and says "What's this song? Is it from a movie?"

WHAT?!?!?! She'd never heard the song!!!! My mom--the cool mom who saw Elvis in Vegas and went to the Troubadour in its' early days, had never heard "It's Raining Men". She'd obviously not been to any sort of club lately on 70's night. The Funkee Hippeez could learn her a thing or two. I was floored and think of her everytime I hear it.

Last night I missed Jonny Lang at The House of Blues. I'm hoping I don't regret that decision forever. It makes me very sad.

But I figure I'm saving up for next weekend and The Dave Matthews Band. It's on. Me, Heather, and 30,000 of our closest overgrown frat boy friends. Awww yeah. Throw in the Funkee Hippeez and our weekend would be complete.

I See it Shining Right Through the Rain

2005-08-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

I think my blog has been missing more of the humor that I started it with. I believe I'm nearing my one year anniversary of blogging, so I'm going to try harder to stay closer to what it was intended for: the funny observations and random things that happen in my life. This is my pledge.

This morning I noticed that Babyface has a new album out. I like Babyface. I like his songs. I don't, however, like the title of his new album, Grown & Sexy. I find it frightening, actually. He should have consulted me instead of taking the advice of R. Kelly or KC & JoJo or something.

Men's shoes that are louder than women's bother me. It doesn't seem right that a man should be "click click clicking" behind me. Get shoes with heels that don't make you sound like you're wearing stillettos.

In Nevada, like every state, there are different license places to choose from. The standard style, however, has 3 numbers, then 3 letters. It's disturbing that the state actually printed a huge number of license plates that start with "666". It's more disturbing that people would actually accept this as proper identification for their car. Even if you don't believe in God, unless you're an actual devil worshipper, do you really want to take the risk of riding around with the Ruler of Hell's number on your CAR??? The roads are crazy enough these days. Don't invite more trouble. Just say no, Nevada.

I'm not sure about the etiquette at crosswalks, and they are a point of humor for me every time I find myself at one. First of all, the people who insist on pressing the button over and over again until it gives them permission to walk really make me crazy. As if your need to cross the street is going to make the light say "oh! I'm sorry! Let me stop all of these cars and throw off the rest of the flow of traffic so that YOUR pretty little head can cross the street".

But when you are waiting to cross, and have already pressed the button, doesn't it bother you that someone else walks up on the opposite side of the street and ALSO presses the button? As if you're standing there waiting to cross, and somehow forgot to press the button. "Oh!! That's right! I knew there was something I forgot to do!" However, on the flip side, when you're the second person to walk up to the button, do you ever get the uncontrollable urge to press the button just in case that first person didn't really do it??

I do. And I'm not proud of it.

You're Just Like the Girl in Your Picture

2005-08-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

Is it a good sign or a bad sign that whenever someone sees your drivers license they say "wow, that's a great picture."

I guess it's a good thing when you're giving it to the bartender, or to the guy checking IDs who gives out paychecks every Friday. The time it's bad is when the person looks at your picture, looks at you, looks at your picture again, looks at you again... and says "wow, that's a really good picture", which is exactly what happened at the store. I'm guessing what she really meant to say was, "dude, you look like crap right now" or "that must have been a REALLY good day when you went to the DMV".

Oh well.

And I Thought That I Don't Belong

2005-08-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

Two things to report on this today.

Making Sunday "Documentary Sunday" for the second week in a row, I went and saw "Murderball". This is an incredible movie about the quadrapalegic Wheelchair Rugby Team, and their effort to win gold at the Paralympics. If you haven't heard anything about it, then right now you're thinking I'm crazy. Kinda like the penguin movie. Just trust me. Go see it.

This week I purchased Hootie and the Blowfish's new record. I'm not ashamed to admit that I've been a Hootie fan from the beginning. But not brave enough to actually wear the concert t-shirt anywhere but in the privacy of my own home. This record is classic Hootie, and I love it. But I'm really not surprised I love it--I've loved all of their records. So there. The band plays here locally every few months or so at The Silverton. I haven't been to a Hootie show since 1998, but I'm hoping to see them very soon. I'm overdue.

If Tomorow Never Comes

2005-08-11T11:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the 3rd week in a row I've taken a nap in my car on my lunch break. Turn on the a/c, put the seat back, set the alarm on my phone and I'm good to go. It's always on a Wednesday--I guess I find myself in need of a midweek recharge.

Today I am breaking tradition and taking a nap again. GOOD GOLLY I went to bed late last night and am in need of a little catnap to perk up. Is it going to be another late night? GOOD GOLLY I have no idea but I do know that I'm not as tired as someone else who probably had to wake up earlier than I did and who probably doesn't get to take a midday nap. This could possibly be the same person who also probably doesn't cry in movies and who probably is still waiting to eat an egg sandwich.

Yesterday I absolutely crashed during my lunchtime quickie. Today I'm hoping it's more of the same. I'm just hoping the crease on my face is less noticable today. Those take a while to fade, ya know?

Isn't my life exciting?? Don't be jealous.

I'd Like a Million of You All to Myself

2005-08-10T19:40:00.000-07:00

Here are a few stupid things I did today.

I took my dog for a walk, and like always, took a bag with me in case I needed to clean up after him. I was walking him over to pick up the mail, so I stuck the bag in my back pocket -- then forgot about it. I went and ran errands, went to the store, etc... and had this plastic bag sticking out my back pocket the entire time.

It doesn't sound so strange, but seriously. If you saw someone walking around with a plastic bag sticking out of their back pocket, wouldn't you think it was a little odd??

Second stupid thing, as I came back I was really thirsty. I usually have a multitude of bottles of water around the house because I tend to be thirsty a lot. I grabbed one that was closest, which was still kind of off to the side. After I downed what remained in the bottle and put the cap back on, I realized I had set it off to the side near the trash can to remind myself to throw it away. It was the same bottle I had taken to the dog park and let the dogs all drink out of. Yummy.

There's still a few hours in the day left. There's time for more.

Thumbtastic

2005-08-10T09:08:00.000-07:00

We're due for another Thumb checkup. And this one's a biggie.

He just turned 8 months old on Monday.
He's got 9 teeth with another one sure to follow close behind. The average kid has 8 teeth by the time they're 1.
He says "Mama" and "Dada". Albeit, with no actual reference to anyone, but hey, we'll take it.
Last night he took his first steps. 4 in total. And without any encouragement. He was standing leaning on the ottoman, when he looked over at my sister... and just walked to her.

By the way, he still hasn't crawled.

I figure I'm set for life cuz this kid's a genius, is going to make billions of dollars, and always make sure his favorite Auntie/Godmother is well taken care of.

Crazy For You

2005-08-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, I'm lagging but I absolutely have to catch up on my weekend with a few words.

First of all--Paul and Andrea if you EVER read this EVER in your lifetime, please know that I love you very much and I hope you get married and name your firstborn after me. Seriously. Actually, just name them all after me. I deserve it.

So I had friends visit me this weekend from home. (Weird how I still call it home sometimes...). Good time. They were my first official houseguests, and I was excited to have them come.

Short version is that I experienced probably the ultimate single person's nightmare as I helped facilitate a romantic evening between two people who were celebrating a ridiculous (in my opinion) anniversary. It started out innocently enough, but turned into something much bigger when I realized that the guy really needed help. It amazes me why every guy doesn't have a close girl friend to advise on situations. You need them. Trust me.

The whole evening involved me breaking into his car to put roses on her seat, make dinner reservations, buy gondola ride tickets, then stay to take pictures of the happy couple. I'm not too disappointed that not one single picture turned out--but I'm not bitter.

Again--love you guys.

You Will Taste the Meaning of This Life

2005-08-05T11:56:00.000-07:00

Here are a few things of note that I have not mentioned in my blog for some unexplainable reason. Please forgive the delay in reckognizing #3.

1. What the hell is happening on Six Feet Under?!? I mean, I know what's going on -- because I watch it. BUT WHAT THE HECK!?!?!?! If anyone else reading this watches it, please let me know if you are distressed as I am. I shouldn't be shocked because the whole show is about this family working in a funeral home--but NO! They're toying with my emotions and killing people I really like. Three more episodes... I'm going to try to hang in there, but if everyone dies in the finale I might have to hate the show forever.

2. There is finally a music festival coming to Las Vegas. Maybe I should rephrase that because I haven't lived here long enough to say "there is FINALLY a music festival coming to Las Vegas". I lived in So Cal for all my life and have attended maybe 5 "festivals" ever. What I should really say is FINALLY DAVE MATTHEWS IS COMING TO VEGAS!!!! Albeit, it will be Dave Matthews "and friends" but whatever. This is something I have been waiting for. Vegoose is being put on by the same people who are responsible for Bonnaroo. This is a good thing. And I'm very excited.

3. Lance freakin Armstrong won the Tour de France for the 7th time. I've followed the Tour pretty closely for the last 4 years and am in awe of this man. I had the opportunity to see him in person last year when he was riding cross country in support of his Livestrong Foundation. Read more about it here.

Never You Mind

2005-08-01T21:13:00.000-07:00

I have been ultra clutzy lately. Or maybe I had a streak of grace and am now getting back to my usual clumsy self. I tripped leaving the theater on Sunday. I almost died this morning as I tripped over a hanger. I almost twisted my ankle today as I left my mom's house. It's getting ugly.

Yesterday I took three of the dogs to the dog park and witnessed an older gentleman with plastic bags tied around his shoes scream at his toy poodle for stepping in crap, then proceed to wash the dog in the drinking fountain all the while still screaming about the poop. Weirdo.

This weekend I watched Cold Mountain for the first time since seeing it in the theatre. I was reminded about one of my favorite lines in a movie: "They call this war a cloud over the land. But they made the weather and then they stand in the rain and say, shit it's raining." Love it.

I agreed to go see March of the Penguins with my mom. Never heard of it? Go see it. It's a National Geographic movie about Antarctic penguins. Sounds boring, I know. It's truly amazing, and touching, and I will never look at Chilly Willy the same again.

I went to a Dierks Bentley concert Friday night. Actually I was there to see the opening band, Hank Floyd, who are friends of mine. The best part? Having a view of the House of Blues audience from backstage towards the end of the show after copious amounts of alcohol had been consumed and old ladies shook their groove thangs to the tunes of Dierks. Worst part? Remembering I used to love the same music that now drives me crazy. That, and the fact that I was at a sold-out concert by a guy named Dierks.

He Could Make a Living Selling Cars, Maybe She Could Work There

2005-07-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

A few bits of randomness from the past two days:

Yesterday I took a phone call from Donald Trump's assistant. Apparently the Trumpmeister was waiting to speak to my boss, only when the assistant called, I answered the phone like I normally would and said my name. When she replied, she repeated my name and said what seemed to be a million miles a minute "Mr. Trump is holding for...." But what caught me is that she said my name back to me in a very friendly tone, so my mind got stuck on trying to figure out who this was, and I didn't pay attention to who she said was holding. When I asked her to repeat the name, she paused a moment and said "... Donald... Trump..." Good thing I can laugh at myself. And I did.

Last night I was trying to decide what to make for dinner and decided Rice a Roni Spanish Rice sounded perfect. Got out the pan, put the butter in, poured out the rice, stirred it a second.... and there were worms. Worms in my rice. At least three of them. Needless to say, I didn't have rice last night.

This morning I looked out my back window and noticed a HUGE spray of water shooting up into the air. Upon further inspection, I realized that it was a sprinkler that had gone awry and was shooting water at least 20 feet into the air. I never knew sprinklers could do that.

Today I took a call from the Governor of Kansas, again for my boss. I was expecting the Governor to call, and knew the Governor's name and what time they were scheduled to call at. Why is it that I assumed the Governor would be male? When she stated her name, I asked her to repeat it just to be sure who she was. At that moment I felt as if I wasn't doing my part to support women's rights. Shame on me.

Now, I do realize that 2 out of 4 of these instances involve me and misunderstanding the person on the phone. In my defense, her voice was very quiet, and she does have a complicated last name. Trump and the Governor aside, I am actually very good on the phones, and am a stellar assistant. Ask anyone. I dare you.

Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

2005-07-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

I'm a day late on my review, but better late than never:

I loved it.

That's really all that has to be said, isn't it? I had been so excited to see this movie and was not disappointed at all. I could go on and on about the pairing of Jonny Depp and Tim Burton and the promise that it will definitely be at least an interesting film. And how I read all about the movie beforehand and was not expecting it to be anything like the original, except for the major stuff. I could say all this stuff. But I won't.

I will however mention a few things that bugged me. Charlie's family and the Factory were located in England. I don't believe this was ever stated, however because of the accents of the family and the people in the town, I understood it to be true. Also, when Charlie found the money on the ground he used to buy his last chocolate bar, it wasn't American money. However when Charlie found the Golden Ticket, two people, a man and a woman each offered him to buy it off of him--in dollars. Now, coincidentally, neither of these people had English accents. What the heck is he going to use dollars for???? He could go trade them in for Euros or whatever he felt like... but why would they offer him dollars?? This irritated me.

Also, little Veruca Salt had an english accent like in the original. However, when she said the word "squirrel", it didn't sound English, American, Danish, German, or Swahilan... no idea what it sounded like but it also irritated me.

Ending on a good note, my favorite line from the movie had to be "Well, I couldn't very well watch the show from up there, little girl." Cracked me up.

Maybe You're Just Too Demanding

2005-07-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

Let's try this again.

I've been seriously neglecting my blogging duties. Mostly because sleep has taken priority over typing these days. Also because I don't think I have many (if any) people reading this, so sometimes it seems like a lot of work for just me to enjoy.

As usual, a brief rundown on my life:

I've made a decision to put more effort into my work lately. This is also an explanation of why the blogging has been less than stellar. The time I would usually spend writing away has now become full with actual work to do. It's a combination of them giving me more to do and me considering actually staying put for a while. More to report on that soon, hopefully.

My nephew now has 8 teeth. He's 7 1/2 months old, people. The Institution of Amazing Children is using him as part of their next study. Part of the phenomenon is due to the fact that he has an Auntie who loves him so much--he seems to get two more teeth after every visit with me.

Saturday I made a turnaround trip to California to attend the wedding of a dear friend. I do not miss Southern California traffic, most specifically the 91 and 5 freeways. They were the cause of me spending much more time in my car than was necessary. The wedding was unusual mostly because the reception was first. It was a neat idea... except that it didn't allow those who would normally skip those types of functions to leave EARLY. It went on... and on... and on.... Until 3 1/2 hours later we were finally getting the ceremony underway. I wouldn't have normally skipped out directly behind the bride and groom as they walked back up the aisle, but I had places to go and a bed to sleep in. There was no time to waste.

Monday night was spent with a group of friends who were in town for a few hours while their driver slept. We went to Little Buddha at The Palms which was incredibly good, despite having only one vegetarian dish. Being a sushi joint, apparently us non-raw fish eaters aren't high on the priority list. I found out later that at the same time we were there, John Stamos was in da house, as was Kid Rock, as was the entire Eminem and 50 cent entourage. Somehow managed to not see a thing when I was there. It's a skill not many can master. Earlier in the day I walked right past Lisa Rinna and didn't even notice her.

Yesterday my eye twitched all day and it continued on til this morning. So far since I've been at work I've been twitch-free. I need more sleep.

Tonight is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Expect a full report tomorrow.

happiness and misery

2005-07-26T21:59:00.000-07:00

I've just written an entire blog and it magically disappeared.

I'm now going to sleep having lost all hope in everything.

blah.

Remember to Breathe

2005-07-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

Here's my excuse: I've been busy. Here's a quick recap on my life for the past two weeks:

Working full-time at a hotel on the strip.
Working part-time after work (and during work) emailing and coordinating part of a huge event for my former employer.
Spent last Friday through Monday working on-site at that event, running around like a crazy person all day and night, escorting VIPs, coordinating interviews and being happy and smiley the entire time as I caught up with former co-workers and old friends.
Flew in Monday afternoon and went straight to work; tried not to fall asleep. (emphasis on the "tried"--pretty sure I dozed off once).
Tuesday after work picked up my sister and The Thumb from the airport.
Have spent every waking second with my family to squeeze in as much quality time with my nephew as possible.

I'm tired, and that's an understatement.

Other than not having any time to blog, nothing too random has happened in my life that's worth writing about. Except for the grown woman who was eating baby food on the plane as I made my way home. Pretty sure she was anorexic or something. Strange.

Slight of Hand and Twist of Fate

2005-07-11T20:29:00.000-07:00

My nephew just turned 7 months old and just got his 6th tooth.
I wore a skirt to work for the second time in one week.
I found a magazine in my vegetable drawer.

My nephew is a freak of nature and has now earned the nickname "chompers". We're waiting for #'s 7 and 8. Any day now... .
I've moved to Vegas and turned over a new leaf in the fashion department. This is huge.
Apparently I felt the vegetable drawer was a good place for the magazine. I didn't find it until a week later. I guess I haven't been eating my veggies like I should be.

And just because, I'm posting a picture of me and one of my nieces that was taken during their visit last week. Always Baby Jade to me. (She looks a bit odd in this pic, but I look hot so whatever.)

P.S. The hot part--that's for Brian

This Good Day

2005-07-09T22:34:00.000-07:00

I'm liking this living alone and being independent thing.

Today I bought sod. Yes... sod. I planted the sod into a container on my back porch. I also bought and installed a doggy door myself. The idea is that Wylee will use the doggy door to get to the sod, in which he will do his business on, rather than me having to constantly take him outside and follow him around saying "go potty! go potty!", and he just sitting there staring at me. He's got the doggy door concept down, except the most he's used it for is sunbathing on the porch and barking at passer-bys. This is gonna take some time.

I watched most of the Live 8 concert today on MTV, only I watched the very end on VH1 before the entire broadcast was shown on MTV. I found myself getting weepy already at just seeing everyone come out on stage to sing "Hey Jude" so you can imagine what the rest of the concert did to me. Somehow I missed The Dave Matthew's Band performance, but I did manage to catch Destiny's Child and Beyonce's underwear.

I did yoga tonight for the first time in a very long time. Afterwards, I treated myself to a long, hot bath. It's the first time I've used my tub in my new place, and let me tell you, it was OUTSTANDING. The thing is so big, it took forever just to fill. No music, no TV, no magazine. Just me, a few candles, and some bubbles. The smell from my candles alone was heaven.

Now it's time for me to sleep on my big bed in my clean sheets. Nothing better.

Say My Name Say My Name

2005-07-09T22:08:00.000-07:00

At work, although being brand new to the industry, I've become quite the rooming list input queen. I type in the names of various people who are a part of different groups visiting our hotel--which is great because names have always kind of been a fascination of mine.

But yesterday I came across a name that I could add to my list of possible people to marry. Sound crazy? I'm sure it does, but let me explain.

When I was in 7th grade, I had a small crush on my math teacher, Mr. Wood. He looked exactly like Woody Harrelson, and I was just a young, impressionable child. During one of my early daydream sessions during math, I realized that if I were to marry him, my name would then be Holly Wood. How great would that be?!? My crush quickly faded after Mr. Wood showed his temper and I realized that he sweat a little too much for my test. But it started a dream that has continued to this day.

In 10th grade I worked with a guy named James Jolly. James was a grade younger than I, but I still developed a small crush on him as well--especially after I realized I could be Holly Jolly if WE were to maybe perhaps one day get married. I told him everyday at work that I was going to marry him, and soon all of my coworkers fell in love with the idea and joined in--unfortunately James did not fall in love with it.

I became good friends with a guy named Joel Berry. I did not develop a crush on him, however since he was already married. Unfortunately so was his brother, but I soon asked if I could be introduced to any cousins, uncles or legal nephews so that one day I could possibly be Holly Berry. Alas, there were none.

While entering in names for a very large group (Air Force) that will be staying at our hotel for a few weeks later in the month, I came across another possibility. The last name was Dawley, which of course would make me Holly Dawley. I'm going to be keeping my eye out for that name tag around the hotel. There are also commercials for our police force in Las Vegas where the chief's last name is Golightly. This is possibly my favorite one ever, just because it's SO unlikely to happen. I would LOVE to be Holly Golightly.

Other possible combinations I have come up with are Doll, or Dahl, and Bush. A girl can dream, can't she?

As a side note, the title of this post brought back memories of The NeverEnding Story where the childlike princess demands Bastian to "CALL. MY. NAME!" or Fantasia will be no more. I decided to search the movie because my brother, sister and I have never been able to figure out what name he hells out the window in the rain and storm. It's supposed to be his mother's name because that's what he says he will name her. Turns out he yells "Moonchild" which wasn't even his mother's name but the name he thought of her when he saw her... Confused? Yeah, me too. Whatever. I guess I need to read the book.

Anyone have a racing snail?

Out of My Hands

2005-07-07T16:22:00.000-07:00

We're right on track... I ain't looking back

2005-07-06T23:30:00.000-07:00

My nephew said his first word today. He's 7 months old and today he said "Mama". I was so freakin' excited it might as well have been "Auntie". He's a genius. And he laughs when I talk to him on the phone. I love that kid.

My entire weekend was spent in my place getting stuff put away and in order. I also had to deal with hell from Cox Communications trying to get my internet and cable hooked up. I need to figure out how they can give me something for free after putting me through what they did. So far I've hosted one overnight guest in my guest room, and one night of dinner with the fam at my new place. I think we'll get along just fine.

I did manage to get out of the house to spend the 4th at my parent's house swimming and hanging out with family friends and BBQ'ing. But I didn't stay for fireworks, even though Brian said I am a disappointment for not celebrating our nation's birthday and deciding instead to hang pictures. At least I wasn't getting my house burned down by the deaf kid.

I tried to voiceblog today but it said my number was no longer in service. Whatever. I'll try again tomorrow.

It's Your Party

2005-07-01T22:49:00.000-07:00

I didn't want to let this day go by without acknowledging that I'm the only member of my family who is still in their 20's.

Happy Birthday Chris.

Something Evil's Lurking in the Dark

2005-07-01T13:43:00.000-07:00

Today I've been thinking of fear.

Right after the munchkin left my office, the only person I could call to tell is probably the last person that cared. Heather is scared of midgets, little people, dwarfs--all of them. Literally scared. She gets the heebie jeebies when she sees one in person, on tv or even in a picture. She's also scared of Rod Stewart. Well, maybe not scared so much as she has absolutely no tolerance for him. His voice is like nails on a chalkboard to her.

I had a friend who was scared of Bette Midler that way. One of my coworkers is scared of clowns and another coworker is scared of beans, as I posted before. The only thing I can think of for myself is styrofoam. I'm not talking about cups or plates or anything (though used incorrectly, those can be bad too).

You know when you get something new in a box, like a stereo, and it's packed in that hard molded styrofoam? The sound of it sends me shrieking away, hiding my ears, humming to myself to try and drown out any sound. I can't stand it. But that's a sound, not a "thing". It's strange, but I could argue it's not as strange as beans or midgets.

I can't think of anything typical that I'm scared of like spiders or snakes. Rats.... wild rats. Those are gross. OH! And pigeons!! I'm terrified of pigeons, but that stems from the time I got attacked by them in Venice after a "friend" thought it would be funny to buy a bag of seed, then proceed to dump handfulls of behind me where I couldn't see him. The feeling of being surrounded by those ugly parasite-infested birds with no way out was one I never want to relive. I later strangled him in his sleep.

I'm going to continue to think about it, but the question of the day is:
What strange thing are you scared of?

We Wish to Welcome You to Munchkin Land

2005-07-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

So I was sitting at my desk today and next thing I know a munchkin walked by and shook my hand...

No, seriously. I met a munchkin.

An actual munchkin from the Wizard of Oz.

Jerry Maren played the guy in green in the Lollipop Guild. He's in town for a signing event down the street, and is staying at the hotel where I work. He came up to personally thank one of the guys I work with for the accomodations. He was kindly introduced to me and I shook his little 86 year old hand. Strange.

Further proof my life is so random.

Enjoy the Silence

2005-06-30T12:36:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Brian, I've now added links to my blog. There will be more added soon, but that's all my brain could think of at the moment. This is also my first attempt at blogging to my email address instead of having to open up blogger everytime and I signed up for audioblogger. I'm feeling VERY technical right now.

Question of the Day:
If a guy says "look at your pretty pink shoes!" Does that automatically mean he's gay?

Hurts so good

2005-06-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry if you've already read this in a mass email I wrote today, but this is the best description of how I feel this morning-- like I ran 300 miles while doing arm presses with 100 pound weights the entire way yesterday. I think it was 294 degrees at my condo yesterday afternoon.

I'm beat. My legs are killing me and I'm in desperate need of a massage--I'll even let you touch my feet, I so don't care right now.

And while you're at it, can you go ahead and put everything that is piled in my living room and closet in its rightful place? That would be great, thanks.

But ohhhhh, all the pain was worth it just to sleep in my new bed last night. The. Best. Thing. Ever.

I believe in miracles

2005-06-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

Just got word that I can pick up my keys today. I am slightly excited.

Only slightly.

Now we're getting all the people in place to help us out and I'm realizing that I have tons of crap to throw into trash bags to haul the whole mile over to my new place--it's gonna be a long night.

I'm gonna pee my pants I'm so excited.

Waiting for summer, his pastures to change

2005-06-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

I just looked and realized they've posted my seat location for Dave's show in August. They're the best seats I've had in a while, so that's something to look forward to. Hopefully this time I won't fall and hopefully this time there won't be a strange drunk girl who throws up next to Heather while she holds her hair. I'm bringing Heather as a belated birthday gift, so hopefully the night will be AMAZING.

Speaking of concerts, Jonny Lang is coming to town August 18th. I'd better have a friend or two by then that I can drag with me. Otherwise there will be a desperate plea on my blog for anyone to come with me. Actually, I'm buying general admission tickets, so that won't be as bad as a seated situation... but what the heck. I'll throw it out there anyway.

If anyone is going to be in Las Vegas on August 18th and wants to come with me to the House of Blues to see a great show, leave me a comment and we'll work it out. I genuinely appreciate a good show, and his is. Read about my last experience seeing Jonny here and the one before that here.

We'll turn this better thing to the best

2005-06-25T20:25:00.000-07:00

I'm in a different kind of mood right now. I had two margaritas at dinner--but that was like, 3 hours ago so I'm not feeling tipsy. I'm tired but wanting to go out. I'm comfortable but not settled. I'm reflective but looking forward to whatever's next...

The family is watching one of the Blue Comedy Tour's shows on TV. I'm sitting here with my iPod firmly planted in my ears enjoying my favorite playlist: "Lyrics I should have written". Right now it's "Say Goodbye" by Dave Matthews Band. If you're familiar with the lyrics, then you should probably know this is an appropriate song for me.

Moving Day is being planned for Tuesday. I'm okay with that, except that since the guest room is reserved for visiting fam, I'm living out of a duffel bag for a few days. I'm anxious to get in there. Actually, that's an understatement, but we'll leave it at that.

Tonight we were entertained at my nephew Chris's death scenes into the pool. He's 4 but looks like he's at least 7 -- I need to post a new pic of him, but there are some in one of my Christmas blogs. He enjoys being the center of attention, just like any normal 4 year old. Tonight he was sitting on my step-sister Diane's lap in the jacuzzi and matter of factly said "I just peed in the cajuzzi" (yes, that's how he says it). Needless to say, she was thrilled with that bit of information as we all had a good laugh--mostly because none of the rest of us were in the cajuzzi with them at the time.

Tonight we all stuffed our faces at Famous Dave's BBQ Pit. Diane and I are both vegetarians, although she eats fish and I eat bacon, so we managed to make it through the meal without any mocking from the staff there--even though I only had a baked potato and salad. The towlette I got on my plate said "We like vegetarians. They make us laugh". Pretty much sums that up, I guess. Diane gave me hers which said "Get sauced".

Apparently she doesn't know that two margaritas is me just getting started.

Lovely Day

2005-06-24T13:49:00.000-07:00

Life is interesting.

Right now I'm babysitting someone's desk while they're at lunch. This person is the secretary for someone very important where I work. The owner, to be exact. But babysitting the desk requires sitting here staring at a computer, and answering the phone that just might ring once if I'm lucky. Today is my first day babysitting, and I realized this gives me an hour each day to catch up on my blogging. Lucky you!!

It's Day 3 of my new job and I've only just met my boss today. He shook my hand and said "who are you?" Always the welcoming I hope for. I think we'll get along just fine.

I'm waiting for my cell phone to ring to tell me I can move in tonight. If not, I'll be crashing at dear Timi's house while visiting family takes over the guest room (otherwise known as my room for the past month).

I work with a guy who is scared of beans. At lunch today he actually asked the waitress to take his plate back so she scrape off the beans. She brought him an extra plate so he could do it himself, which he did, then covered them with his napkin. Too many "beans, beans good for the heart" jokes as a kid?

This morning on the radio they were discussing words which are hard for people to pronounce. Words like linoleum, aluminum, worchteshire--those I can understand. But then there were words like enemy, oil and tool that some people just could not pronounce. I also work with a girl who pronounces "miscellaneous" as "misckelaneous". It drives me crazy to no end, and I think "has she never heard it said the correct way with a silent "c"?" But after I heard the people this morning, I realized maybe she is a member of a much larger group out there that I've never been a part of. People who can't pronounce common words.

I've recently gotten two shout-outs on Brian's blog so I feel the need to return the favor. His blog is a lot like mine--just the daily things that happen which are amusing/entertaining/boring/random... Take your pick. Disclaimer: I've never met Brian. I don't know who he is. I don't even know where he lives. Therefore I take no responsibility for the content of his blog. Not that anyone who reads my blog actually needs a disclaimer, but I've recently had several people "stumble" upon my blog lately, so I'm putting it out there. Brian, for instance, "stumbled" upon it. How does one do that? I'd be interested to know.

Put my thing down flip it and reverse it

2005-06-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

I start my new job tomorrow. I'm still not exactly sure what I'll be doing or even what my title is. Oh well. I haven't stressed about any factor in this moving thing, so why start now?

I do find it interesting that I've had 3 more places call me to come fill out an application and/or test for a position. I still feel good about my decision... Not fantastic, but good. Not too excited about the low pay, but I figure I know no one here anyway, so a second part-time job wouldn't be a big issue.

I did get hit on during my orientation today. He'll be working in the deli. Pretty sure he's like, 18, but maybe he likes older women. He showed me a tatoo of a pit bull on his arm. This pit bull apparently saved his life during a drive by when he knocked him down and took the bullet. I'll say it again--people in Vegas are strange.

Or maybe the deli just found it's newest customer...

Skyrockets in flight

2005-06-20T20:37:00.000-07:00

It's a known fact that I'm a reality show lover. Not all... but most, I'm ashamed to admit.

But it still worries me that I am excited that there's only 20 minutes left until the new season of Airline starts. One of the greatest reality shows EVER.

Ohhhhh, life is good.

I'm not the only one

2005-06-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

I've just been sitting here reflecting on the past week and it's been a bit of a rollercoaster.

In a nutshell: We found out the family has another baby on the way, but as I type this, we're not sure if she's carrying or not. We'll know for sure on Tuesday--just praying until then.

Got to meet David Sedaris and hear him read a few stories. Fantastic. He shared a story with my mom and I about a guy he had just met who was a maintenance worker at a casino who told him that people will be so desperate not to leave their slot machines that they will actually crap themselves. Random? Yes. Thank you, David Sedaris for that fascinating bit of information.

Quick trip to California to visit the fam was great. Great timing or horrible timing depending on how you look at it. The Thumb was teething, and his final tooth (for now) broke through the day after we left. He was a crabby boy who couldn't be soothed for most of our time with him, but he's a baby so we forgave him. It was perfect timing to just "be there". Nice how that happens.

Decisions about jobs that are not fun to make. I'm just hoping I make the right one.

Huge disappointment with escrow. Had to reschedule the crew and gear myself up for a few more days of waiting... and waiting...

Hardly any calls from friends this week. That makes me sad.

People who need people

2005-06-17T20:25:00.000-07:00

Las Vegas is a strange town with strange people.

Today I was having my car serviced when one of the mechanics burst through the door saying "there's a baby in that car!". The service manager asked the couple whose car it was if they had left a baby in the back, in a rather urgent tone. The gentleman said "Yes! Is he awake?!?" As if it was perfectly okay to let a sleeping baby stay in the back of a car while it's being serviced in the garage. Of course it is...

Today I was outside the Human Resources office at a local hotel when I met a very nice woman who attempted to compliment me when told me she thought I looked like I had just graduated high school, but who I think was insulted by it instead when she found out I was 26. One would assume she was applying for a job since she was sitting outside of the HR office, but based on the way she was dressed, you would understand that I had to actually ASK if that's what she was doing. I swear, I think I've been given interviews here simply because I wasn't wearing clothing that revealed any part of any type of undergarments I might be wearing. The woman today told me she was 43 years old and couldn't believe how competitive the job market was in Las Vegas. Assuming she had recently moved to town like I had, I asked her how long she had lived here. She informed me she was born and raised here-- which made me wonder why the job search was such a shock to her, especially at 43 years of age. She was applying for a hostess position in order to get her "foot in the door". I hope she got it.

One trend I've noticed here amongst 99% of the population is how alarmingly self-involved everyone is. It's widely known that Las Vegasians are horrible drivers, and I now realize it's because they just don't care about anyone else but themselves. There have been numerous times I have been walking through the grocery store where someone has left their cart in the middle of the aisle, while they look at canned peaches, without a care that they might be blocking it for the person behind them. Or someone slowly wanders around or just stops while gazing up--without even thinking that they might want to be considerate and move slightly over to make room for someone else... It's driving me crazy!! And my observations are not limited to only those who eat--but those who shop at Target, WalMart, Petsmart, or who simply have two feet and walk anywhere in public...

I know this probably sounds a little nit-picky and irrational. It doesn't make me question my decision to move here, or make me like the city any less... But Vegas is weird. And the people are weirder.

Which one will make the cut?

2005-06-14T08:52:00.000-07:00

A qualifier about the following post: I used to have a life. Really, I did.

Sunday morning I woke up after the concert feeling not so great. I took a shower and had every intention of going to church, but instead I caught up with my mom on the news about Rachael and the baby on the way. Time got away from me, so I decided to flip on the TV to see what Sunday mornings has to offer.

This past Sunday morning offered something very very special. I spent my ENTIRE Sunday watching every single episode of America's Next Top Model, Season One. Every. Single. Episode.

And you know what? I can't even begin to remember the last day I sat on my butt and did absolutely nothing, and it felt fabulous. And not only did I get to zone out the entire day, but I got to think about nothing else other than Adrianne, Shannon, Robin, Elyse, and the rest of the girls and see them go through the ups and downs of the cutthroat modeling world. Okay, so it's more drama amongst the girls than in the actual competition, but whatever. The show fascinates me, and having never seen Season One, I was more than happy to endulge myself.

In case anyone's interested, they're casting for Season 5 right now.... But what I want to see is a "Where Are They Now?" special... Did any of the other girls break into modeling? Did Elyse finish medical school? Did Shannon ever see her dream guy again?? Ahhhhh, the agony and the suspense!!!

Ehhhh... I'm over it.

Work it all out this lifetime

2005-06-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

My escrow is supposed to close this week. But yeah, I've been told that before. I've had the walk-through and apparently we're just waiting for one more piece of paperwork to come through until we sign our lives away on the condo. This Saturday should be move-in day. Let's hope!

I made 3 trips to the RC Willey outlet store in about 18 hours this weekend to buy furniture. The first trip was Friday night but my mom and I were unaware they had decided to close early in order to prepare for the Saturday and Sunday's huge sale -- we thought it started on Friday. Whoops. So early we went on Saturday morning, got there at 7:45 and stood in line with everyone else. We thought it was a pretty good crowd until one of the workers told me it was nothing compared to their April sale. Dang... missed that one. Third trip was back with Fred in order to pick up the furniture that wouldn't fit in the Magnum--and it barely fit in his truck. We had to pull over twice on I-15 as we drove home because the mattresses kept sliding off. Ahhhh, fun times. But I wound up getting some amazing deals on some really great furniture, so it was all worth it. Now if I could just MOVE IN, then my furniture could stop being piled up in the guest room at my parent's house--also known as my room.

I've had 4 interviews since Friday, each one for a completely different job, and none for a job that is quite what I was looking for. I really liked both that I interviewed today for, so we'll see.

Tomorrow night David Sedaris is going to be in town at Borders signing copies of his book and leading a "discussion". Not exactly sure what that means, but I'm hoping he'll read a story or two. No one can read a story like the author can, and the one I saw him read on Letterman last year has been implanted forever in my brain. He is one of my favorites and my mom and I have enjoyed sharing his books back and forth, cracking up over his tales and adventures. I'm looking forward to it, although I'm not big on autographs, and I don't really have anything to ask him. But should be fun in any event.

Wednesday morning mom and I take off for California for a night to visit the Thumb, and the Pinky... My sister-in-law just found out she's pregnant, so Pinky is what we've tentatively called the little one. My brother is completely over the moon about the pregnancy, and Rachael, though she is excited in her own little way, she's more concerned over the actual "being pregnant" part. We all know she'll be an amazing mom, but being a pregnant woman is going to be an interesting hurdle for her to get over. It still seems so surreal, I can't believe it yet.

Babies, books, interviews, and patience.... The stuff life is made of.

Arena Rocks

2005-06-13T19:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I've officially lived the "single life". Or maybe I'm just not used to being the New Girl in Town. I consider myself a very independent person. I am comfortable doing most things by myself: eating at a restaurant, going to the movies, I'm usually alone when I drive, and I'm usually alone at home. But I did something Saturday night that I'm just not comfortable with: I went to a concert by myself.

Totally. Alone.

It sucked.

I was 100% sure ahead of time that it would suck being alone. But there was a little tiny sliver of hope in me that something would happen to totally change my mind--it's the optimist in me. Maybe I was hoping to magically get a front row seat. I could just picture the ticket guy saying "oh, just one? Well, we have a seat front and center for the first person to come to my window by themselves!! And on top of that, here's a backstage pass, a dozen roses and your personal butler, masseuse, and maid for you to use all day tomorrow in your High Roller Suite here at the MGM!!!" and he leans closer to whisper "I hear Gavin requested to give that person a private concert so we've taken the liberty of tuning the baby grand in the room. Just a heads-up!"

I would graciously accept all of the gifts and take my escort by the arm down to the front where my seat was perfectly placed next to an amazingly gorgeous guy whose girlfriend happened to have gotten drunk the night before and married his best friend at The Little White Chapel. But it being his birthday (hence the reason for Vegas in the first place) and he being a huge Gavin fan didn't want to miss the show and he figured it would be a good distraction for his woes. "Besides", he figured, "it's Gavin DeGraw, John Legend and Maroon 5 ... There's got to be some girl with blond hair and green eyes wearing a super-cute outfit that loves Gavin just as much as I do that would be willing to hang out with me!"

If only...

Just about the only part of that story that actually happened was a girl with blond hair and green eyes wearing a super-cute outfit who loves Gavin... That girl whose only company for the night was Miller Light and her cell phone on which she called people between every set and sent pics of herself to friends letting them know how bored she was. Unfortunately that girl was me and the concert was less than spectacular so it didn't even make up for the fact that she was by herself.

I've thought about it, and I don't think I'm being biased when I say that Gavin put on the best performance of the night. He's engaging, he's funny, he interacts with the crowd, and he sounds amazing. And he was the only performer to even mention the other acts--a definite sign of respect. John Legend sounds great, but not being familiar with any of his songs except for "Ordinary People", it was a little disconnected for me, and he came across super cocky and made me feel like I was priveleged to be allowed to see him perform, going through various snippets of songs he had participated in saying "yeah, that was me" as if I was supposed to be impressed. Whatever. Maroon 5 was a little disappointing, mostly because they didn't really DO anything. And as much as I thought I loved Adam Levine, I thought he sounded like a whining muppet all night--and again, that I should be so thankful to be in his presence. Whatever. At least I knew their music and could enjoy that part of it. The concert was entirely too long (4 1/2 hours) and I didn't mention the opening band, Low Millions. Mainly because I'm pretty sure they're a flash in the pan kind of band and although they have one song I'd heard before, I doubt I'll be hearing about them again. Who knows? Maybe they'll turn out to sell millions of records and I'll say "oh yeah! I saw them at the MGM when no one knew who they were!"

But I'd rather take the front row seat, the roses, the massage, the suite, and the guy... Call me crazy.

Me, after the concert--unwashed hair and all....

When the coyote comes

2005-06-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

There is a new addition to my ever-growing family. Wylee joined us the same day I moved to Las Vegas. He came to us from a family that didn't want him anymore, so my mom said we would take him - more precisely that I would take him once I moved in to my new place.

He's a great little guy, so loving and loyal already - he never leaves my side if he can help it. He barks at strangers and sometimes at people he knows. He's a bit antisocial at first, so I think we'll get along just fine. ;) He hasn't had a problem blending in with the 4 other dogs--he makes 5 right now.

Not to get too ooey-gooey, but I think it's kind of symbolic how we both made a new start on the same day. He's amazing and great comic relief, and I am so thankful to have him around.

He's trading in his Chevy for a Cadillacacacacac...

2005-06-05T18:49:00.000-07:00

...Movin' Out

I've officially relocated to Las Vegas. I've quit my job, loaded all my crap into a trailer, said goodbye to my friends and family, and moved to a city where I don't really know anyone other than my parents, don't have a job, and still haven't moved into my own place yet.

Do I sound crazy?

On paper I think I do. But to me, it just seems normal and like the next logical thing I needed to do.

Saying goodbye at work was easier than I thought. There were two potlucks in my honor, which is a weird thing for me: to be the "guest of honor". I don't like people singing Happy Birthday to me, to be acknowledged for anything in any group of people... heck, I don't even want to get married in the traditional way for fear of standing in front of all those people. But the potlucks were a great opportunity to socialize and eat - two of my favorite things. So I didn't complain too much. My last day in the office was surprisingly easy and I wasn't sad at all. That evening was spent at my boss' house saying goodbye to people I had spent so much time at church with. Sunday night was a tough night saying my final final goodbyes to the crew I worked so closely with putting on events every week. We were a good team and I will definitely miss that group of people.

I have some really great friends who showed up on Saturday morning to help me load up all my crap. Seven in all - everyone who said they were going to be there actually showed up. Might be the first time in history that's happened for someone who's moving. It's a very vulnerable thing to have all of your possessions carted off by people and set out on the sidewalk to be loaded onto the trailer or truck. But it went super smoothly and we were done in an hour, with a 15-minute break while we waited for my parents to arrive with the trailer.

The day before The Salvation Army showed up to cart away my table and chairs and one of my couches. I still don't understand why they couldn't take both, as it seems they would want the opportunity to sell both at the same time if they could since they were in great shape and a matching set. But whatever - they told me I could drop it off the next day if I wanted. I asked Randy to do it, but he had a better idea to just leave it on the sidewalk at the end of my street assuming someone would pick it up. It remained there in the same spot for the rest of the day to my embarrassment, but like he said, "no one will know it's yours" and by the time I woke up in the morning, it was gone. *Phew!*

It was a relatively easy process all-in-all. My sister came over with The Thumb on Friday to spend the morning with me as I packed up, had my satellite taken down, and to await the Salvation Army. That provided me with the opportunity to get some pretty cute pics of The Thumb , as well as record his adorable laugh on my phone so I can hear it whenever I want. I miss that kid.

I won't miss Riverside, but I already miss the people. I've been here 2 weeks now and it feels like I've just been on an extended vacation. I still check my work email a few times a day, and am in steady communication with my boss, checking in on how things are going. They've finally hired a replacement for me, and she'll start next week, and they've asked me to help her out via phone and email as much as possible, which I'm happy to do.

As I sit here and type this, my belongings are all still in the trailer waiting to be unloaded to their new home. I hope and pray everyday that the heat has not completely melted my candles and my hard drive. But like my mom says, "if it has, it's not the end of the world." I've been pretty mellow during this time, not stressing out about too much, so that's an easy thing to accept. It's not the end of the world. I haven't gotten a job yet, but it's not the end of the world. My escrow hasn't closed yet, but it's not the end of the world.

But if we have another freakin' heat wave, or if escrow doesn't close this week, or if I don't have a job for another month... the world may end.

Cleaning Out My Closet

2005-05-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

The Vegas move is progressing along very nicely, thankyouverymuch. I went out to visit the parents this weekend for Mother's Day and got the surprise of my life when my mom informed me that my dream place was mine. They had already begun the process on an investment property, and I was going to be able to live there. So amazing. I'm still blown away. Now I keep decorating in my head, and I can't wait to get in there and get started.
Really fantastic weekend with the family. We attended my dad's company picnic on Saturday where 700 of his closest co-workers attended. We all met up on the boss's property which is like, 15 acres in the middle of Vegas and features a full heard of cattle and about 25 horses. They had a full kid's village set up, a live band, and catered BBQ for everyone to eat. The weather was amazing, and I found I had to keep reminding myself I was on a RANCH in VEGAS. So weird.
Lots of laughs, lots of relaxing. Good times.

Back at home now, I am continuing to pack and throw stuff away... and away and away. I feel like I'm purging half of my life away and it feels FANTASTIC. I'm a terrible sentimental freak and hold on to things way too long. I know I'm making a huge change in my life, and it's good to let a lot of things go so I can kind of start over in many ways.

The Thumb got two teeth while I was gone!! I can't wait to see him and check out the new pearly whites. Growing up so fast, I can't believe it.

Here We Go Again

2005-05-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

I know I'm a sensitive person. But the fact that I've become a sobbing fool lately has me thrown all off-guard. For some reason, even the slightest little heartwarming story I read, see or hear about has me weeping like a baby. A few examples:

The Today Show has begun a new series titled "Live For Today" in which they fulfill the dreams of average people. Each morning I attempt to watch as a daughter goes skydiving with her veteran paratrooper dad on his 75th birthday, as a music teacher has a surprise and fulfills a lifelong dream, or as a wife who takes care of her husband gets to finally attend the Kentucky Derby. But I have to change the channel, or risk reapplying all my makeup that I've just put on, because I begin to tear up and cry it all off!! So pathetic.

Because of work, I am unable to watch Extreme Home Makeover. However, I do watch on Monday nights when they air "How'd They Do That?" and bawl my eyes out when they do the reveal of the family's new home. I can't imagine what I'd be like during the actual show.

And finally, today I read a news article on CNN.com that made me weepy while at work. Read it here. If your heart isn't warmed by this story, then you are just wrong, man. Just wrong.

City Love

2005-04-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the pleasure of fulfilling my civic duty and obeying the call for Jury Duty in Riverside County. Oh, what a joy. I actually don't dislike jury duty, except for the pain of interrupting work and other things that need to be done that can't because you're sitting in a dismal jury waiting room with your closest 400 friends.

I have always found the process very interesting and it's kind of "fun" (if I dare use that word) to see what other people are all about if you actually get picked on a panel and questioned by both sides. I've gone through this process twice, but have never been questioned myself. I've also never been picked to be on a jury, so my opinion might change if that ever happened.

A few highlights from the day:

Downtown Riverside is actually very beautiful and I enjoy walking around down there. Jury duty allows me this opportunity because I park in one of their assigned lots and opt to walk the 7 blocks or so rather than ride the shuttle over.

Being familiar with the Riverside jury duty process, rather than waiting in the main jury room where you're crammed in like riding coach on an airplane, I made a direct beeline to the jury waiting room where there are vending machines, puzzles, tables, magazines and old outdated books. However, I made an error in my choice of seats. Picking the furthest corner from the door where I could watch all of the random people while I pretended to read the book I brought with me, I also sat underneath the TV. This worked against me when they showed the video about how wonderful of a process our Judicial System is and how fulfilling it is to serve on a jury. I know this because they had actual testimonials from actual people who had served on a jury and felt good about their experience and wanted us to feel good, too. The volume had to be cranked up loud enough for it to reach the opposite corner of the room, so therefore I went partially deaf as I attempted to turn up my iPod's volume louder than the din of the TV. This did not work, and I still have ringing in my ears from it.

From my seat in the jury waiting room, I was approximately 6 seats away from a Mr. Robert Crank. I know this is his name because he was called to serve on a panel (as was I) and he responed "here" when that name was called. Mr. Crank had turrets. Not the kind where one cuss inappropriately or twitch - but the kind where one might grunt inexplicably. Mr. Crank was chatting with a woman he apparently knew from somewhere, and they were having a grand old time. It was hard to miss him due to the loud laughing and carrying on, but even harder to miss him because of the grunting. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against anyone with turrets. Just found it obvious that the one person in the group of us that has it would be 6 seats away from me - seems to always happen that way.

All-in-all not a bad day. I didn't get have to report to a courtroom after all, and I got to spend a two hour lunch with my sister and The Thumb AND eat at one of my favorite places, Simple Simon's.

I'm good for another 12 months. Oh wait... I won't be here anyway.

Ain't that the way love's supposed to be

2005-04-26T19:11:00.000-07:00

I know I tend to be a purist. I usually like the book better than the movie version, I prefer vanilla ice cream over anything with nuts or too many frills, I tend to wear solid colors rather than designs, I like when bands do stuff "unplugged" and simple, etc....

However, I'm not opposed to doing a remake of a good song. As long as your remake is a good attempt at trying something new with it, hopefully improving. Lately 80's remakes have been quite popular. A few examples of how this can be a good thing are The Atari's version of "Boys of Summer" and Alien Ant Farm's version of "Smooth Criminal". They both punked it up a bit, didn't take themselves too seriously and brought back an old classic to a new generation.

One excellent example of an 80's remake gone horribly wrong came on my television screen yesterday morning. One of my favorite songs that finds its way to my iPod more than just occasionally is Rick Springfield's Jessie's Girl. Great hook, easy to sing along with, makes every girl wish they were Jessie's girl, and the object of someone else's affection and lets guys know they're not the only one who's been in love with their best friend's girl. Love it.

Imagine my excitement when I heard those first few chords on the guitar, and thought "Yes! Finally someone has chosen one of my favorites to redo, add some pizazz, and their own touch of individuality". That was until I looked up and watched in horror the madness that was happening before me. A band that has named themselves Frickin' A (I COULD just stop right there, couldn't I? That sort of says it all) has chosen "Jessie's Girl" to be their breakout song to get them on the map... and it is such a very painful thing for me to accept.

Not only do they LOOK completely ridiculous - late 30-year olds dressing like they're 17, complete with stupidly dyed hair, one token long-haired guitar player, one with a mohawk, and one with and way too much strategically shaved facial hair to be taken seriously. BUT they didn't even reDO anything about the song!!!! It sounds EXACTLY the same!!! And yet STILL worse than that - Rick Springfield is IN the video!!! As if he supports all of this mad ridiculousness!!!! %#&#$*!!!!!!!

It's almost too much for me to take. It's as if the cosmos are out of whack which has allowed this band to come along, try to make a funny video a la Bowling for Soup's 1985, but all they end up with is a really stupid video that diminishes the value of a really great song. Granted, I'm sure Rick Springfield doesn't have a whole lot going on right now, so he's got the time to appear in videos, do guitar solos, and heck, even rack up a few more album sales from nostalgic people. But RICK, c'mon!!! Only put your seal of approval on something that's actually GOOD. Not this wannabe crap from a band that no one will remember once the song has been played 14,456,583 times on Top 40 radio.

Curses on you, Frickin' A. Curses on you, Rick Springfield. And curses on you, American public for buying into this lame remake thinking it's as good as or better than the real thing. I hate you.

There's a meaning to the world

2005-04-24T22:55:00.000-07:00

Today marks 6 years that Kyle passed away. So strange.

I still think of him often - every day in fact. It used to freak me out how often I thought of him. Like maybe I had something unresolved with him and it was now "haunting" me in a way. But now I realize that I think of him because I was so fond of him and our relationship. He was such a special person in my life and so many good memories involve him in some way: bus rides home, first crushes, party-crashing, basketball games, Lakers, valedictorian speeches, bean bags, ski passes, best friends...

I remember being in every class with him since 5th grade until he went to Track C and I was on Track A in 8th grade and how bummed I was. Being the only three kids our age who lived in our neighborhood, for a long time, it was me, him and Eliah - his best friend who I had a crush on. When I finally realized Eliah had long had his eye on another girl, Kyle made it known he had liked me all along. I agreed to go out with him, but being in 7th grade, it was mostly because I was interested in nursing my broken heart. Proof that I was already a direct girl even back then, I refused to accept his invitation to be his girlfriend via his friends - I made him ask me himself. Such torture for a 12 year old boy. I broke up with him shortly after because I realized I just couldn't get over Eliah. He hated me for a while after that, and of course, wanting what I couldn't have, I then had it bad for Kyle. Ahhh, middle school life.

High school we had different interests, but we always rode the bus together. And he was faithful to give me a ride to school after he got his license. I returned the favor after I finally got mine and his car was in the shop. We still talked all the time and would hang out occasionally here and there. We kept in touch after high school a bit, and the last time I saw him was at the funeral of another guy we went to school with.

I remember talking to Kyle, catching up with what was going on with his life. I remember telling him how I couldn't believe the circumstances that had allowed us to see each other again, but that I was so happy to be able to see him. I spoke to his mom and dad and emailed him a few times after that. When I got the call, I couldn't believe it - and still can't. It didn't make sense and I was angry at him for so long for making a few bad decisions here and there. But I shouldn't have blamed him - who could've known?

I remember being fairly numb at his memorial and really wanting to say something but not being able to stand up. And fearing I might throw up if I tried to speak. I've seen his mom a few times since, and have never quite been able to get the right words to tell her how much her son meant to me. I've always wanted to write her a letter, but I never knew if that was improper etiquette, or if it was too painful or just not a good idea.

I miss that guy so much still. He shows up in my dreams occasionally, and I often mistake other people who look like him. I can't believe that "It's Kyle!" runs through my head when this happens, but I guess I still can't believe he's gone.

I know Kyle made some poor choices, but I am so confident that I'm going to see Kyle again some day. Can't wait.

I might as well enjoy my life and watch the stars play

2005-04-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

Ohhhh, so much to write about. Quick rundown of the weekend is a good place to start.

Friday night drove to Heather's and hung out, watched movies and had a really mellow night. Good times. We always have a sort of unspoken language where we can just give a look and know exactly what we're referring to and crack ourselves up. And she likes it when I do her dishes.

Saturday morning woke up, dyed her hair, started watching another movie, then got ready and headed to LA. My step brother, along with being a great actor and writer, has also gotten back into art as of late, and now has many works he is selling. He took the opportunity on Saturday to show his art and invite people out to meet him and talk. Pretty amazing works, and bigger than I thought. Check out fearnoartist.com to see his stuff. It was great to see him and I was the family representative, being the only one who could make it out. Well, the only one on my side of the family. I was so glad Heather was with me, if only to witness the weirdness of the other side of the family who was out in full-force. (WOW is all I can use to describe it).

After the show, we took advantage of the rest of the day to look around some sites of LA. Well, sit in the car and drive around all day is more like it. Heather had never really been to anywhere in LA to actually SEE the city, so I was more than happy to show her around. Turns out Saturday afternoon is not the best time to choose to do so. In the huge length of time it took us to even drive to Hollywood, we had to pee and eat so we went to the Beverly Center, which I had never been to. Turns out it was probably the best place we could have ever gone to see the freaks disguised as normal people in LA. Lots of laughs had at the expense of others: like the guy lying on the lounge, talking on his cell, pulling out his wadded bills and papers out of his pocket and laying them on his stomach. Or the guys walking together who I insist were twins, but who Heather insists were boyfriend/boyfriend. Yeah. Weirdness.

Afterwards, we drove to Hollywood Blvd, but turns out everyone and their mother had also decided that this would be a good time to see the Walk of Fame so they joined us. We decided against parking and walking around (mostly because that would have required us to turn around and sit in stopped traffic on Hollywood Blvd. to get to the parking garage), so we just drove through quickly and headed to Beverly Hills.

I had been looking forward to walking around Beverly Hills because I've never done so. I've only driven through a million times showing people around, then continued driving to Santa Monica to walk around 3rd Street. After stalling Heather's car in the middle of the absolute scariest intersection in the world as the light turned red, we drove around in awe and jealousy at the beauty of most of the houses there. Really amazing. We made our way to Rodeo Drive and I was intent on finding a place to park to allow us to walk. Well, turns out that everyone from Hollywood followed us to Beverly Hills and stole all the parking spots. I drove into what looked like a regular underground parking garage, but turned out to be only valet - which required me to drive up a VERY steep hill to get out. Because I don't drive a stick shift all the time, hills and I are not friends when I do. The stench of Heather's clutch was a good indication of that as I made my way out without rolling backwards into the car behind me OR stalling. Finally parked in a normal spot and walked around long enough for me to pee, Heather to get a tea, and me to ask for directions to the quickest way back to the freeway, which turned out to be excellent.

Dropped Heather off, then made my way home. Fun times.

Today was church, then home, then work. Crazy night tonight - makes me both ecstatic and totally sad at the same time that I will no longer be working there. I love it and I dislike it so much both at the same time. I guess that means there are definitely some things I will not miss at all, but there is also TONS that I'm going to be very sad to be away from. Sunday night has become such a family that invites in new members every week - that I get to become friends with. Feeds my social needs, but they don't stick around longer than a night so it's very compatible for a commitment-phobe like myself.

The rest of the weekend was spent dealing with ebay. Turns out this weekend alone I sold more than 60 items, and am now having to ship it all out - what a concept!! I'm a really organized person anyway, so that part is simple. It's the actual pain of going to the post office I hate. Glad to be getting rid of all the CDs and books I've been selling, even if I'm barely earning any money off it. Feel like I'm purging a part of myself I've been hanging on to for way too long. And am glad other people want to take that part away from me for a small fee.

Next weekend is full of bridal showers (yippee!) and dancing with Heather so that H & H can visit Hermosa and the Lighthouse again before I leave. Although it won't be the last, it feels like it's a sort of send-off for me before I move 4 hours away. Watch out, here we come.

Lay your hands on me

2005-04-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

Has anyone ever experienced the randomness that is wheresgeorge.com??

What is wheresgeorge.com you ask? Well, I, of course, am now a member of this strange world of tracking money.

Where's George is a website that tracks paper money and allows people to see where their money has traveled. I became a part of this world after I received a dollar bill that had red stamps that read "See where I have been. See where I go next. www.wheresgeorge.com"

You go to the site, register with your name and email address, enter the serial number and series (mine's from 2003) and bam! Up comes testimonies from people who have once handled the money that is now in your hands. Very interesting, but also freaky if you're a sanitary-type person who doesn't like to think where your money has once been.

My dollar was given to me as change at a Taco Bell in Vegas last weekend. Before me, the person who registered on Where's George with my dollar bill was a cocktail waitress at Ceasar's Palace who got it as a tip.

Where's George will now email me every time an update has been added and someone new registers with my bill. That is, if I can bear to let the little fella go.. I shall miss little George. But who knows, maybe one day we will be reunited...

Come What May

2005-04-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

After several months of thinking, considering and praying, I have finally decided to move to Vegas. It has been on my mind for a very long time now, but I loved my job too much to leave it, and if I couldn't even consider being 3 1/2 hours away from my nephew without crying. But there's never going to be a perfect time for it, and now is as good as it's gonna get. I'm single, I have a very low paying job, I have no huge commitments here, I'll have more opportunity out there in the field I want to head towards, and my parents are there. Most of my friends are now married and either have or are close to having kids, and as much as I love them - we're just not as close as we once were. For good reason, don't get me wrong. But I just think it's a good decision for me, and I am completely excited about what's ahead.

It wasn't a decision I exactly asked for a lot of opinion on, other than my family. They are completely supportive and I wouldn't even consider relocating if any of them had doubts about it. My sister has promised to come visit me often, and I will do the same. She's also promised to send me pictures ALL THE TIME (right, Wen?) of The Thumb so that I don't feel so far.

Work was shocked. My boss, though not totally shocked because we had discussed the opportunity my job provided for me to grow in a few months ago, and the conclusion we came to was none, was still visibly upset which honestly kind of made me feel good. All of my coworkers are still finding out, but the reaction has been more of the same.

Friends are mixed. Some saw it coming, but are still surprised that I've finally done it. Others feel like it came out of left field.

EVERYONE wants to know what I'll do for work and where I'll live. Answers? No idea and I'll crash in my parent's extra bedroom for a few weeks until I find employment and an apartment. I've already got my name in at a few places to live, and I hope to start interviewing before I move if possible in order to start working right away. I gave work a month's notice, but expecting it to be 5 weeks. So we're looking at the end of May.

Watch out Vegas, here I come.

And then you're in the man from Mars

2005-04-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I finally took the plunge and went blonde. My dear sister very patiently highlighted all of my hair that had been very very dark brown for a very very long time. I totally love the results and think I will enjoy being blonde for a while, even though it means having to suffer through the various comments people will make that are complete and utter torture for me: "Oh, it looks amazing!" "You look older!" "You look younger!" "It's so great with your skin!" "Your eyes just light up!" blah blah blah... I know people mean well, and we all do the same thing when people make a change like this, myself included. I just can't wait for it to be over and for the attention to be focused on something else.

Before and after pics below. Just don't let me know what you think. Unless you hate it - a negative reaction would be welcomed at this point.

Not that innocent

2005-04-12T22:23:00.000-07:00

Things I learned today:

People actually will talk about you and say you said things that you would NEVER EVER say. And chances are that you will actually see these things for yourself. This happened to me today in which I saw the proof via an email. Shocking.

Freakin' Constantine makes me like him more and more each week and I hate this. And Anwar needs to shave the mustache PRONTO. Gross.

Britney's pregnant. Surprise, surprise. Well, to give her credit, she did stop smoking due to the pregnancy. Which is actually what tipped most people off about it several weeks ago. Because really... why ELSE would Britney stop smoking? Considering she only started smoking because she felt it made her voice sound raspier and have more depth. Britney, sweetie... it would take much more than smoking to improve on your voice. It would make sense that such a stupid reason to start could lead to an equally idiotic reason to quit. Turns out she actually made a smart choice with this one. Let's hope she continues on this path, and that her baby's daddy (aka: Pimp Daddy) does the same.

I read the news online all day, and come across some really strange stories. I'll try my best to find strange stories from random sources, rather than ones that make the national news, but once in a while I will have to include stories like the following that are just too good not to talk about.

Lover who lived in closet charged with killing husband
Man spent a month among mothballs before fatal encounter, police say
MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 6:39 p.m. ET April 12, 2005
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - "A man who secretly lived in a closet at the home of his married girlfriend for a month was charged Tuesday with beating her husband to death after the man discovered him sleeping in the storage area.
Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron said Rafael DeJesus Rocha-Perez of Murfreesboro, Tenn., was charged with criminal homicide in the beating death of Jeffrey A. Freeman, 44, and ordered held on $500,000 bail.
"From time to time, you come across a case with very unique - even bizarre - circumstances," Aaron said. "This one probably rates right up there with them."
Detectives said Martha Freeman allowed Rocha-Perez to live in a closet of her four-bedroom home for about a month without her husband's knowledge.
Jeffrey Freeman discovered Rocha-Perez late Sunday night when he came home and heard him snoring, police said.
Freeman told his wife he was taking a walk and instructed her to get rid of Rocha-Perez before he returned, the Nashville Tennessean reported. Instead, when he returned Rocha-Perez ordered him into a bathroom at gunpoint and beat him about the head, the newspaper said."

Now, there are so many random things about this story that confuse me. Like, how could you LIVE in a CLOSET for a month? And who is this woman that thought this would be okay and that her husband would never find out? Aren't there certain issues like using the restroom and.. I dunno.. EATING.. that might come to interfere with this type of living situation? But whatever. He lasted a month, so kudos to him, I guess. And to get caught because you were snoring. That's gotta sting. Maybe in the future when he decides to live in his married girlfriend's closet he'll invest in some Breathe Right strips or something. But there probably won't be a next time considering he'll be snoring alongside his new boyfriend Damon in the state penitentiary for the next 50 years or so. Way to go.

She always prayed to headlights

2005-04-06T22:39:00.000-07:00

Ohhhhh, the silly randomness of life.

After just complaining about the 91 freeway never not having traffic anymore, I drove home at 6:30pm on Monday night and had an almost completely traffic-free drive. I don't get it, but I like it.

I pulled on to my street on this same drive home and saw a new character. Now, in addition to the man with a huge gray afro that drives the little yellow car living around the corner, and the scary red-haired guy whose head never turns side-to-side across the street, there was a person on the corner who was there merely for my entertainment, I'm convinced. I enjoy walking on my street while making calls, so this was a good excuse to get a closer look after a long drive home. This person wore a maroon sweat suit with a yellow and green basketball jersey poking out from underneath, with green high top converse and a big beach hat, which was replaced by a day-glo orange beanie when the air turned a little more brisk. This person was standing on my corner apparently singing, but you had to strain to hear as you walked by. I know this because I passed closely by-- twice. Only a faint "baybaaayy" or "ohhh yeeeahhh" could be heard and at one point two kids walked by but a quick "theatrical" movement of this person's hand scared the bejeezus out of one of the kids who flinched and broke into a dead sprint. I keep referring to this character as a person because frankly, I'm still not sure if it was a man or woman. I took a picture with my new camera phone and as soon as I learn how to get it from my phone to computer, it shall be seen below.

*home of future picture*

Alias tonight featured a man who melted in the opening scene. I did not need to see that. Pretty sure it will haunt my dreams for at least a few nights. It also again featured Sydney in a life-or-death situation. Why do they continue to try to make us think she might actually DIE???? She's the freakin' star of the show. And she's got a contract at least until the year 2034, so just stop it. Pretty sure she'll be around for a while. It's getting old.

Someone who won't be around for a while is Nikko. He finally got the boot and I couldn't be happier. Well, I could be happier if it was stinkin' Anthony Federov. I'll admit, he had my sympathy vote in the beginning with the whole "kid from Romania who needed a tracheotomy who was never supposed to be able to talk again but is now singing in a huge American singing competition thing. Now, in comparison, you stink so just go away. I don't want to see you shake your Clay Aiken-wannabe booty anymore.

I'm also totally into America's Next Top Model and am not ashamed to admit it. Next week Tyra actually yells at someone during elimination and I can't wait. Plus, the show is on UPN, which is also home to Britney Spears and Kevin Federline's new "reality show". How much better does it get than that??

For more opinions way more cleverly spoken than mine, check out televisionwithoutpity.com. You won't regret it.

City of Sorrows

2005-04-06T22:16:00.000-07:00

So, a few weeks ago I had a really fantastic incredibly good day. Unfortunately TODAY was pretty much no where near good and incredibly fantastically bad. And even more unfortunately is that it (almost) all had to do with things at work. This is unfortunate mostly because I truly LOVE my job. But today was proof that no job is perfect, and no really great job is great all the time.

It woke up this morning completely puffy and bloated - the 2nd of 3 days a month this happens. Yay for being a girl. This means the outfit I had planned to wear would not be satisfactory and somehow the only thing I could even conceive of wearing was the EXACT SAME THING I wore on Monday (FYI:today is Wednesday). I'm not kidding - I wore the same outfit: black pinstripe pants, t-shirt, black cardigan and little black heels. I did change the t-shirt, so maybe no one noticed. I don't really care if they did. It was an emergency and I had an early staff meeting to go to.

After the staff meeting (which was really really great, but they always are. See? I even love my staff meetings, that's how much I love my job), my day went from hopeful to CRAP in 0.6 seconds. My phone literally never stopped ringing, and every time I answered it, it was some new issue someone had that had to be dealt with yesterday. blah. Go away. There is also new protocol just instituted for some reason that makes me go through about 10 more steps than I was before which is completely annoying. Our network kept shutting down all day which automatically puts me on edge and no internet makes me cranky. And I had to work on something completely last minute all day that was completely annoying for so many reasons.

It was this last instance that made me realize that I was literally being attacked by evil forces. I'm not a whiner, and nor do I usually voice my frustrations about work AT work. But at about 4:15 I realized that something was at work against me... and it was winning. So I shut my mouth and apologized to my co-workers at the end of the day for having to listen to me complain.

Mr. Miagi: "Ahhh, Holly-son. So many things to learn. Have patience. I will teach you."

Yeah, somehow today I forgot the whole wax-on/wax-off stuff and went right to complaining about how painting the fence just left my arms sore. Look closer. You're being stretched, taught, and tested. And you're cracking under the pressure. Get over your hurts and use what you're learning to your advantage. It sucks when you're in the middle of it, because you can't see the big picture yet.

The process is necessary. Don't let the process beat you.

I don't care what you say anymore, this is my life

2005-04-02T21:00:00.000-08:00

My problem is this: I don't carry around a pad of paper and a writing utensil to write down all of the random things that happen to me - thus, I go 2 weeks without blogging like now. I DID just get myself a brand new $20 purse from Ross that is ginormous, so is therefore plenty roomy enough for me to carry around said pad of paper and writing utensil. Maybe I will start a new habit.

So, to make up for lost time, I'm going to simply list random things and my thoughts on them. AND, while I'm at it, I will also list the random things that have happened to me in the last 2 weeks as they come to mind.

Pope John Paul, II has died. He became Pope the same year I was born, thus making him the only Pope I have ever been alive for. I am not Catholic, but can appreciate all of the wonderful things he has accomplished on behalf of preserving Catholic faith and tradition, and also for humankind as a whole. The thing I don't get is this: If this man is the holiest of holy men, and was kind of the Spokesman for God for the last 26 years - then he's assuredly going to heaven, right? So why is everyone so stinkin' sad?!?!? All the Catholics of the world should be rejoicing and having a big 'ole party for his entrance into the pearly gates!!! So stop weeping and turn that frown upside down - he sure isn't crying, is he???
(For the record, I am not saying the Pope is or isn't in heaven - but the Catholics probably do, so this was just a little encouragement for them... okay? Done now.)

How come people with long nose hair don't trim it? Do they not see it when they look in the mirror? I once saw a guy with the absolute LONGEST nose hair anyone has ever had - I spotted it while traveling in the lane next to him on the FREEWAY - at least 8 feet away. It was like two shrubs were growing upside down out of his brain. Insanity.

Last night at the gym, there was a girl who stood in front of the mirror fixing her hair next to the track while I made at least three laps around. Then she proceded to "jog". At least in her own way - she was wearing what I can only describe as ballet slippers, and it was not so much a jog, as a type of hopping someone would do while avoiding puddles, or small animals. Very strange.

I have the cutest nephew in the WORLD. And yes, I will take anyone on who tries to disagree. My (older) sister is afraid to have another, for fear that they will be nowhere near as cute as he is. I assured her that cute kids run in our family, and that as studies will show, the kids in our family only get cuter with each new one. (Note: I am the youngest of 3 and I am definitely the cutest). So she should put all her fears aside and get working on #2.

I went to Newport Beach yesterday. This made me very happy. The traffic on my way home, however, did not. Why is there now traffic on the 91 Freeway 24/7?!?!?

I have edited my Cabo post to tell a very funny story about Heather. Please read it.

I purchased Finding Neverland today. If you read my Oscar post, you'll know why this makes my day very special.

I realize that admitting you are wrong or when you've done something stupid is a very hard thing to do. VERY hard. There have been many times I've had to put my pride away and face the harsh reality that I was an idiot for doing (or not doing) something. WHY IS THIS SO HARD FOR PEOPLE TO DO!?!?!? I had an experience this week at work that was so utterly ridiculous (and so obviously not MY FAULT as time revealed) and so obviously the result of one person's stupidity, but this person absolutely refused to admit it or accept responsibility. Instead, this person expected me to clean up their mess when it was so out of the realm of possibility for me to do anything about it. I really wish I could tell the story, but I know better than to burn any bridges - which is also the reason I could not tell this person how completely RETARDED they were. Good lesson in biting my tongue this week.

Ordinary People

2005-03-18T23:21:00.000-08:00

Why is it that gyms have so many mirrors everywhere? And don't people who continually stare at themselves in said mirrors realize there are other people around who can see them stare at themselves?

Case in point: Last night I watched a gentleman come back to a mirror 4 separate times to flex and look at himself from every possible angle. Mind you, he wasn't lifting weights at the time (which wouldn't be an excuse anyway), but he was simply walking back and forth between the pool, jacuzzi and sauna. At his last turn, he rinsed off, then proceeded to sit on the bench next to the shower while leaving the water on. He dried off, leaned in close to the mirror to inspect a few imperfections on his face, then put on a pair of shorts over his wet trunks. He put on a t-shirt, then his shoes... all of this WHILE WATCHING HIMSELF in the mirror. He even put his watch on and kept glancing up to look at himself.

And he never did turn off the shower water.

As a side note: why do people feel the need to talk on their cell phones while at the gym? Is your conversation that important that you can't wait the 20, 30, 40 minutes to call the person when you're done? And does the person really want to hear you panting while you're on the crosstrainer?

Last night there was a girl who was sitting IN the spa, typing away on her Sidekick? Now, I don't have one, but I'm guessing those things cost a little more than chump change. And again, just a guess, but I'm thinking that Sidekick+ water does NOT equal functioning Sidekick once you fished it out. Let's say you never did drop it in the water, and you were even lucky enough not to have any splashed on it at any point... But the spa?? Isn't the steam reason enough to leave it in your locker? Or better yet, your car?

Whatever...

It sounds so sweet with the sun sinkin' low

2005-03-17T17:34:00.000-08:00

Ohhhh, Mexico.

Rather than run down my entire trip to Cabo, I'm just going to give the finer (random) highlights. Please note: this is not to diminish the AMAZING time we had on the catamaran, snorkeling with ginormous schools of fish, horseback riding on the beach, going ATV riding for the first time and having a blast, and the amazing views we had from our room and our breakfast area PLUS being forced to wake up each morning to the sound of crashing waves... Those were all very important and essential to the trip. Got it? Now let's move on:

In Cabo, they have only one main highway. When Cass suddenly called out "Cocos Frios!!!" from the van we were riding in on our way to go horseback riding, the driver asked in broken English if she wanted to go back. On the side of the road there was a man who would open a coconut, stick a straw in it, and sell it to you for $2.50 and Cass couldn't have been more excited. So the driver exited the main road and went back the other way. The funny part was that it was such a random "offramp" and "onramp" that I doubt I would have ever figured out that's exactly what they were among all of the random hills and piles of dirt. It struck us as very humorous, but I guess you had to be there.

One night we at at this restaurant in downtown Cabo called "The Office". It's entirely outdoors on the beach with rows of tables and chairs. Being that it's on the beach, and it was dinner, you can probably imagine it gets quite chilly. But I guess in wanting to keep the atmosphere as purely Mexican as possible, they don't bring out portable heating lamps. Instead, they have guys whose jobs it is to bring you a huge Mexican-woven blanket to put around you. Nice touch.

At the airport heading home, I smelled a very potent gentleman behind me. Definitely someone trying to mask the smell of a hangover - or a morning session at the bar - or both - with some very Stetson-esque cologne/aftershave combo. This gentleman leaving Mexico is described as follows: mid-40's, greasy hair slicked back, sunglasses, button-up plaid shirt with a too-tight brownish leather jacket, tight jeans, a huge belt buckle and cowboy boots. I breathed a sigh of relief (and clean air) when we walked outside to board our plane, and then another when he sat nowhere near me. I was just about to move away from the two strangers next to me and into one of the two empty seats next to Heather when the smelly gentleman was being ushered to his correct seat. Apparently he picked the first seat that looked good, thus ignoring his actual seat assignment. He was seated in between his two "buddies", neither of which wanted to sit by him for obvious reasons. His friend then suggested he just sit in the empty seat infront of their row - in the exact seat I was just about to move to. Because he had caused a bit of a scene in switching seats, I was nervous for Heather being seated next to him - and for the rest of us around him. Oxygen is already limited on an airplane and now it would be tainted the whole way home.

Well, seems I had nothing to worry about for Heather. Within the first 15 seconds of him sitting down he had begun making small talk, and she said these exact words, "it would be really great if you didn't talk for the rest of the trip. Thanks." I think my jaw literally hit the ground, as did his two buddies' behind her. Classic, classic, classic. The four or five rows ahead and behind ours laughed so hard that it pretty much shut him up and he didn't say anything more. Pretty sure this was in part due to the fact that he was passed out. But whatever works.

I have just a few more words that will forever remind me of our time spent in Cabo:
Shake Boy
"lobster juice"
"wine opener"

It's a Beautiful Day

2005-03-16T23:45:00.000-08:00

I have been in an extraordinarily good mood the past two days. There are several factors involved with this. Allow me to run through the various reasons. It's really great because my day ended horribly on Sunday. I'm either being blessed in overabundance for that experience, or I'm recognizing the small everyday things with my eyes open wider. Either way, hopefully I'll be able to continue to add to it as I think of more.

1. My brother got good results back from his MRI on his back on Monday. No surgery.
2. I got my tax return.
3. I heard House of Pain's "Jump Around" on the way to work today and had my own Dance Party, USA in my car. (Thanks, Hedder)
4. I finally hashed out a few things with a friend of mine and walked away feeling really good about it.
5. I got my computer back. Twice.
6. My computer is finally working just fine. (Thanks William)
7. I ordered a new phone and got a huge discount on it (Thanks Z!).

Nice to Meet You Anyway

2005-03-16T23:43:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am STILL listening to Gavin DeGraw.

Trader Joe's

2005-03-15T23:52:00.000-08:00

Tonight was my monthly trip to Trader Joe's to stock up on all things vegetarian. Surprise, surprise more randomness was dropped in my lap. Here are three examples.

As I entered the store, I was having a conversation with Heather on my cell phone. She said something that made me laugh... A good laugh. While I was laughing, I was able to steer my handicapped cart with only one hand. I ran into the fruit stand that was being stocked by two guys. One of the guys just stopped and stared at me smiling for a long time while I was distracted trying to steer the cart away from any and all objects. I finally realized what he was doing and immediately wondered what was going through his mind. Probably "get off the phone you crazy lady and steer your stupid cart away from my stand". Well, actually all the people that work at TJ's are super nice, and we crossed paths a few minutes later and he made sure to make a big production of steering WAAAAY around me with his load. We both had a good laugh.
In case you're wondering why this is random, it's not often that I realize that I can sometimes be the object of randomness for other people. This was quite possibly one of those times.

The second thing was as I was standing near the veggie meat and cheese section, I was standing behind a woman. The only reason I noticed her was that as she stood there, she all of a sudden started to do a sort of dance, hopping up and down, moving one leg up at a time. It was kind of like a more hyper "pee pee dance". All of a sudden she dashed away quickly, leaving her cart. She apparently felt the need to browse the sauces at that moment, then returned for her cart, pushing it to her next destination, still sort of hopping... SO WEIRD. Serious Twilight Zone experience.

The third and last random thing was that as I was grabbing my bags to leave after paying, I looked up and noticed a guy who was just entering. I knew IMMEDIATELY that I reckognized him from somewhere but I couldn't put my finger on it. This happens to me all the time and it makes me CRAZY!! Did I know him through a friend? Was he the husband of a girl I knew? Did I have a class with him at one time? Did he work somewhere I frequented often? It's still obviously driving me crazy and I know that if I hadn't been leaving at that moment, I would have probably followed him around a little just to get a better look to try to jog my memory.

Oh, such a sad existence. Maybe not sad exactly, but human, I guess.

Confucious says

2005-03-15T20:35:00.000-08:00

There are a few things in life that really confuse me. Here are two:

Spinners on cars that don't deserve them. I'm not exactly a fan of spinners, but I do understand their purpose, which is to draw attention to your car. A NICE car. Now, maybe it's because I live in Riverside, the armpit of Southern California where meth labs and mullets are in abundance. But I can honestly say I've seen spinners on everything. But the funniest thing is that spinners on most of these cars are the ONLY thing they've improved on their car. Maybe they're hoping for people to understand the irony of seeing spinners on a 1994 Chevy Lumina with a fading paint job, or on a beat up Honda Civic hatchback. But stop it. It's not ironic. It's annoying.

Another thing that confuses me is in this day and age where I can post my random thoughts on a website with relatively no effort at all, where students can download their homework from a website their teacher has set up, where we have sattelites that can track storms down to the street we live on, and where we can launch a big piece of metal into space and back.... Where we have all this amazing technology, yet somehow we can't get a news reporter in New York to interview someone in California via satellite without a FREAKING 4 SECOND DELAY on their response!?!?!?!? Figure it out!!!! And stop driving me crazy with it.

Ground control to Major Tom

2005-03-04T23:58:00.000-08:00

It's midnight. I am leaving on a plane headed for Cabo San Lucas, Mexico tomorrow... er, today. I'm all packed and ready to go. Although I started packing on Monday, so I'm not exactly sure what is in there. Just hoping it's clothes.

I'm sure I will have plenty to report on when I return.

It's H & H, so it's gonna be good.

Hasta la vista.

You sing your song while sittin' at a red light

2005-03-04T23:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I had one of the best surprises. I was invited to go see Jonny Lang at The Troubadour do an acoustic show. Seems my friend's friend couldn't go and gave her all 4 tickets. So not only did I get to see Jonny, but I got to see him do an acoustic show, AND I got to see him for free. These are all good things. VERY good things.

If you're not familiar with The Troubadour, it is a very famous club in Hollywood. Let me be more specific - it is a VERY TINY very famous club in Hollywood. EVERYONE has played there. Yes, literally everyone. It's also where I "ran into" Philip Seymore Hoffman *sigh, my love* a few years ago, but that's a story for another time. Any spot you stand is a good spot, no matter what. The fact that it was at the Troubadour meant that it was gonna be a good show, no matter what the music was like. Turned out the music was good, too.

Keri Noble opened up the night. Good singer. So-so material. Really, she was just filler and she admitted it. Not a bad way to pass the time.

If you read my post on the last time I saw Jonny, then you would recall a certain rather crazy girl in the crowd. Well, our friend was in Hollywood last night, and in rare form. Thankfully she was far enough away from us where we could laugh at her without her having any idea.

Jonny's set was absolutely amazing. The band sat in a semi-circle most of the night, except when the drummer was a little off to the side at his mini kit. Great vibe, as you could watch them all play off each other, instead of the typical set up with the lead singer up front, and everyone else... everywhere else. We were about 4 people deep a little off to the side. I got to see all of Jonny's creepy faces he makes up close and personal. At one point, he came over to the keyboard which was on the side I was standing. He was shaking people's hands between songs, having dialogue with the crowd. It was awesome. Such a great club.

He's got an entirely new band with the exception of his bass player. Not sure what sparked this huge change, but it was great. I'm a huge fan of bands changing things up a little and doing acoustic sets and this band was absolutely amazing. Everyone looked to be about 12 years old, but played like they were old pros. It would be interesting to see what they were like plugged in.

Jonny has made a few life changes recently, most notably of which is that he became a Christian a few years ago. It's been reported he was sick of the booze, the drugs, the empty life he felt he was leading. He made his first record when he was 15 and started touring immediately after with the biggest names in blues and got caught up in that life like most do. So he has now chosen to follow Christ, and it's showing in his music and his demeanor. I've been a fan of his since way before we began to believe the same things, so it only makes me like him more now that he's been bold about his faith and is now starting to sing about it. His new material is really incredible and positive (I guess he's not technically a "blues guy" anymore then, huh?). He did all the old favorites and also did a few covers: James Taylor and Stevie Wonder. Also did an old gospel song that had everyone clapping along and singing about God.

The Troubadour doesn't have any rules against photography last night, so I happily snapped away. Here are some pics from the evening. Good times.

I just liked this pic

A view of the set up for the night, minus the keyboard player who is not in the shot on the left. Look closely and you'll see the beginnings of a scary face.

Keyboard player who is actually the electric guitar player who is doing double duty on keys and lap steel. Pretty sure he's 12, and he has probably the best posture of anyone I've ever seen.

Jonny on keys, singin' his little heart out.

Well done, boys. Take a bow.

Magically Delicious

2005-03-01T19:42:00.000-08:00

I have recently re-discovered the joy of Lucky Charms. Ever since I saw them at Heather's house but she didn't have any milk - I have been dying for some ever since.

I remember when the purple horseshoes were new, and what a huge deal we thought that was. "Chris!! There's a new shape in the Lucky Charms!!!" We HAD to have the Lucky Charms right away to check out the new purple horseshoes for ourselves. Turned out they tasted... well, exactly the same as everything else.

Because I do random things very often in my life, I typed "Lucky Charms" in to google, just to see what I would come up with. The first article that popped up detailed the harm in Lucky Charms, since they're full of additives and sugar, which is why it tastes so stinkin' good...

Of course the General Mills website states that Lucky Charms are full of calcium with 12 vitamins and minerals. Unfortunately, General Mills, I'm not sure that moons, hearts, and rainbows actually qualify as vitamins and minerals.

But while I was searching Google, I also came up with a little quiz based on your preference for marshmallow shape. Not sure how accurate or even how worth your time this is, but if you're interested, click here. I also came upon the tragic story of how the creator of Lucky Charms died while driving to visit his comatose daughter. Not quite so lucky, it seems.

Oh well. The love affair was fun while it lasted. But next thing you'll tell me is that Corn Pops aren't actually made of corn, and are therefore not a vegetable.

Tough Ain't Enough

2005-03-01T19:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I did okay on my Oscar picks. Not too disappointed in any of the winners, except for Sideways for Best Adapted Screenplay. And I still wish Finding Neverland would have come away with something. But who needs a freakin' Oscar to tell you you're good? Right Mr. Scorsese??

And the award goes to...

2005-02-26T23:04:00.000-08:00

Okay, so the Oscars are usually a pretty big deal with me. When the show used to be on Monday nights (anyone remember this?), my mom would get home as soon as possible after work and we would plant ourselves in front of the tube to catch all of the pre-show coverage, discuss who was wearing what, laugh at the host's jokes (Billy, where are you??), and be completely sick of sitting on our butts by the end of the night after our marathon.

Well, now I'm older and wiser and the pre-shows generally just drive me absolutely crazy. I don't want to sit and listen to all of the second-rate "news" reporters interview celebrities whose films they know nothing about, and what designers made their dresses.... no one really cares.

However, I still love to see what the hosts are going to do, and there are a few years where I am interested in what films actually win awards. I did boycott a few times - I remember years ago when The English Patient was nominated for everything, so I refused to see it. Too much hype. I couldn't overcome the hype for Titanic, but now I look back and realize there really was no acting in that movie, except for the star - the boat. And it got boring when it kept winning, and winning... and winning. B-O-R-I-N-G.

So, here are my pics for winners this year. I didn't see EVERY SINGLE movie nominated for something, so some of my picks will be based on no reason at all. I've also included my favorite quote from each of the movies... also for no reason at all except that I just like quotes.

"There it is, now we both know the sordid truth: I sweat, and you're deaf. Aren't we a fine pair of misfits?"
For Best Picture, I am leaning toward The Aviator, with Million Dollar Baby a close second. The Aviator is a true epic, and a great epic, at that. I didn't want to see it. I am not a big Leonardo fan, and during the first 20 seconds of the film, I was dreading it because I realized "oh, crap, I forgot it's Leo". But after that - I totally forgot it was him and got sucked into the story he was telling as Howard Hughes. This man was a true freak and I was fascinated by the quirks and problems this guy had, along with all that he had accomplished. The movie was beautiful and huge.

"My darling, my blood"
Million Dollar Baby was also a beautiful story, and I almost wish I didn't know the end of the movie before I saw it. I won't ruin it, but it's a tear-jerker and makes you think. And it got me so involved I didn't even leave to pee - which, for me is quite a feat.

"When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about. And that was the beginning of fairies".
Finding Neverland is a movie I wish would win all kinds of awards, but it's going to be a tough year with tough competition for it to win any at all. I LOVED this movie so much I saw it twice. An absolutely BEAUTIFUL story that caught me completely off-guard several times, and one that I bawled my eyes out several times - both times I saw it. As I mentioned before, Peter Pan is a story that is meaningful to my family, which may influence how I feel about it. But nonetheless, I really wish this movie had gotten more press and that more people I know had seen it.

"Never let nobody or nothing turn you into no cripple".
Ray was simply amazing. Another movie where I completely forgot that this was an actor playing the part. I was impressed by the way the movie wove so many different aspects into the film with flashbacks and tying everything together so seamlessly and believably. It was a bit long for me, and I could not get the fact that the Atlantic Records guy, Ahmet, was being portrayed by the guy who played Booger in Revenge of the Nerds. Anyone else???

"You don't understand my plight".
Sideways was a good story, but I did not care for the movie. Mostly because the characters received none of my sympathy throughout the film, and by the end came, I didn't care less what happened to any of them. I didn't believe any of the acting, and just felt sorry for all of them - including the press who have so lavishly praised this movie. I don't get it, but maybe that's why I don't get paid to be a critic. I didn't hate it, but I would be fine if it didn't win any awards and if I didn't have to see it ever again.

For the rest, here are my picks:
Best Actor: Gotta go with Jamie Foxx, although I already mentioned Leonardo's ability to make me forget it was him and though Clint was great - he was Clint. Funny, but a tough guy.

Best Supporting Actor: Love love love Morgan Freeman in almost anything he does. My mom reminded me today that I used to watch him when I was little on some kid's show. Maybe this is why. He was great in this film.

Best Actress: Kate Winslet was amazing in Eternal Sunshine, but I think I might be leaning more towards Hilary Swank for Oscar #2.

Best Director: Martin Scorsese, hands down.

Best Adapted Screenplay: I gotta give Finding Neverland some sort of pick, so this is it.

Best Original Screenplay: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind because I love Charlie Kaufman.

Best Cinematography: Because it was robbed of nominations this year, I'm going to go with The Passion of the Christ.

Best Animated Feature: I absolutely cannot pick one because I loved all of them - The Incredibles, Shark Tale, and Shrek 2. But I'll pick Shark Tale because it's the last one I saw. See? I told you it would be scientific!!

Pull out the ballot

2005-02-26T22:56:00.000-08:00

I accomplished my goal today of seeing all five movies nominated for Best Picture. This is very exciting for me.

Thursday night after work Blockbuster had one copy of Ray available just for me. Yay for me!

Today I had a small window of opportunity to see the final movie on my list, so I went and saw Million Dollar Baby. Yay for me!

Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona

2005-02-26T22:37:00.000-08:00

Such a fine sight to see, indeed. Well, except I was in Phoenix, not Winslow. Still need to get that keychain as a keepsake. Someday, someday...

Last weekend was spent visiting the fam I miss so dearly in Phoenix. Hadn't yet visited since they moved in September, so I was long overdue. I miss those darn kids. And their parents are okay, too. My step-brother and his wife are two of my favorite people, and so glad I can call them family. It rained the entire time, so the elaborate plans the kids had to take me to the local zoo, "Coasters and Castles", and everything else involving the outdoors, was a no-go. We spent a lot of time just hangin' out doing nothing in particular, which was fine by me. Although Jackson and I did learn a few funky dance moves from the special features at the end of Shark Tales. Good times with a 6-year old.

I forgot to take pictures the entire weekend, so the only evidence I have to share with the class are the pictures I took on the plane ride home. Heather joined me on the trip, although it wasn't exactly an H & H adventure as we went our separate ways at the airport where her cousin picked her up for some quality family time as well. Here's what I have for show and tell:

Okay, so I did take one pic while still on the ground in Phoenix. This is my niece playing her Lizzie Maguire game on the way to the airport.

Self portrait with the cursed left eyebrow that won't stay down!

Heather's tray. Gatorade and two packets of peanuts. Breakfast of Champions.

My tray.

Our fancy shoes. Note to self: Moccasins and rain are not a good combo.

My Valentine's gift from Heather made a tasty treat on the 45-minute plane ride. And in case you were wondering - she's got the magic touch.

The Southwest Airlines logo, a.k.a. Heather's future tattoo.

The view of the energy windmills near Palm Springs from the plane. For some reason I was intrigued.

Baby, I'm a cop, stop, put up your hands and surrender to me

2005-02-12T23:01:00.000-08:00

Last night went and saw Gavin DeGraw for the very first time. I broke one of my cardinal rules by attending this show - those who know me, know my rule; those who don't wouldn't understand anyway...

Strange venue - Claremont College Auditorium. Lots of kids. LOTS. Much different atmosphere than I'm used to. And it had odd gay constellations etched in the ceiling. Whatever. Our seats were further back than I would have liked. I'm used to standing in a small venue like that, but with seats, you're stuck. And without screens to give you a better view of what's going on onstage, it pretty much sucks. Plus we were just under the balcony, so the sound was a little bouncy. Rather annoying.

Michael Tolcher opened the night. Yeah- that's what I said: "Who??" Pretty good set, but the highlight was his band. Three brothas who can jam it - The drummer Lefty was amazing, the bass player Big Tiny was groovin, and the guitar player... well, he needed a new wardrobe. I don't mean to sound shallow, but I absolutely could not get past his appearance. Super skinny kid with way too tight jeans on. Not a good combo, especially when paired with a semi-baggy "vintage" t-shirt that had the sleeves rolled up. Top that off with his big afro, and I was utterly confused. Michael himself was a white boy who had all the right moves. And he showed us them - all of them. That was probably the best part of his set, when he put the guitar down and just danced back and forth across the stage. Good at least for pointing and laughing.

No, but seriously, he was a good performer with an really great voice. I may consider buying a CD in the near future. Emphasis on MAY....

THEN comes Gavin. My suspicions that I love him for his music alone and not for his looks were confirmed right away. As stated before, I really am not shallow (I swear), but his appearance was a mystery to me alllllll night. To his credit, I *was* seated further away from the stage than I'm used to, but my perfect eyesight usually does not lie. I can appreciate that Gavin does practice what he preaches: "I don't wanna be anything other than what I've been tryin' to be lately" but he might want to try to figure out what he's trying to be right now. His hair can best be described as a current Roger Daltry fro circa 1979. It's styled without trying too hard to be. Thankfully he put on a Kangol hat right before the second song, so the mane was covered the rest of the night. But the hat was also annoying - he kept adjusting it between each song, placing his palms on either side of it, lifting it up off his head about 2 inches, then smashing it back on. It was like he was getting ready to do a hat trick, but changed his mind at the last minute... over and over and over. And a Kangol??? At least it wasn't the beanie I see him photographed in every time.

Then there's the chain... Ohhh, the chain. More like BLING. He had a button down shirt over a tee for most of his set, and I kept seeing something sparkling just under his collar. I kept trying to figure out what it was, because it was much too glaring to be what it appeared at first to be - a giant silver chain. But it was. He finally took off his button down and I actually got caught off guard and verbalized my shock with an "OH!" Yes, it was a huge silver chain that shimmered and shined under all those lights for the rest of the night. Beyond distracting, I had a really puzzled look for the rest of the night, as I squinted trying to shield my eyes from the glare.

I promise I'm not shallow.

Which again proves how much I love this guy's music. Nothing could take away from this guy's stuff. Before I dig into his set, I do have to mention that I was a bit disappointed with his band. At best they were boring. A bunch of white dudes just standing there seeming uninterested. Whole bunch of blah. Anyway, I digress....

As I've mentioned before, I have not been able to stay away from his CDs for more than a day or so. Something about it strikes a chord with me, and I was not disappointed with his live set. He sings with everything he's got and it's amazing he still has a voice after each show. He's got soul and he lets you know. Besides the fact that I'm a sucker for a guy who can play the piano, he also surprised me by picking up the guitar on more than a few songs. Not sure how well he can actually play the 6-string, but he gets an A for effort.

He played every song off "Chariot" except one, plus a brand new one and a few old ones. Throw in 2 or 3 covers of classics, and you have yourself a good mix of material. I would say the majority of the people in that crowd didn't have the album and only really knew "I Don't Wanna Be". Good number of people were like me and knew every song off the album - and then you always gotta have your true fanatics who knew every word to EVERY song. How they do that, I'll never know. He could have written a song at 2pm and played it for the first time that night and somehow they would know it.

Sang a very funny song called "Few Drinks to Fall in Love" which I found extremely entertaining. And another one called "Cop Stop" which I swear I've heard somewhere before but still took me til the end of the song to figure out exactly what he was singing. Super cheesy, but the entire content of the song is sweet.

He's got a great sense of humor and kept the crowd into it all night. I was not disappointed in the least bit by the show, and was super excited to have finally seen him. Just today I've discovered the joy of downloading live shows online, and have been sitting here listening to a few shows people have recorded while I type this. Disappointed that I missed him at a couple awesome venues last year - but I can't regret the past. Instead, I'll look forward to the next time I get to see him.

Citrus, passion fruit, just the faintest soupçon of asparagus, and, like, a nutty Edam cheese.

2005-02-12T22:37:00.000-08:00

Today I got another step closer to my Oscar movie goal. I saw Sideways. Again, I am holding all opinions on all best picture nominees until I have seen all of them. Still have Ray and Million Dollar Baby left... But I will say this: I am still certain that I will never be any sort of wine afficianado. Just pour it and I'll drink it. That's that.

Chemical Party

2005-02-10T23:23:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow night I will be seeing Gavin DeGraw live. This makes me very excited, it's hard to put it into words. So I won't.

Details to come...

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

2005-01-29T23:13:00.000-08:00

Another baby has entered my life. And she has probably the longest full name of anyone I know. She's the child of two of my dear friends and I am just giddy over her. Little V is going to be a very special child... This I know.

I got a new cup today. I tend to use one cup so that I don't have to keep washing new ones all the time. I just use the same one, then rinse it out or wash it off as it needs it. At least I know no one else uses it, which is all I really care about. I picked out a Princess cup, which is rather ironic. It's currently holding my drink of choice lately - Orange Juice, hold the pulp. Can't get enough of the stuff.

I've been eating way too much chocolate lately. We leave for Mexico 5 weeks from today. FIVE WEEKS!! crap. I'm in trouble.

I rented The Village and Troy yesterday.

The Village almost redeemed itself at the end, but mostly it just made me mad. I was highly disappointed after Signs, and I couldn't believe M. Night Shyamalan was doing the same thing. Both left me angry. He's got some 'splainin to do. I watched Troy today, but after The Aviator yesterday, I was bored of long movies. I like epics and all, but I just wasn't in the mood today. Brad doesn't do a whole lot for me, so I'm indifferent about that one.

I turned those in and was hoping to get Friday Night Lights, but that was still out so I got Hero instead. Great movie. Amazing. Lots to look at, incredible colors, and great action. And best of all, it was short. Good stuff.

I need sleep. Yummy sleep.

I Won't Grow Up

2005-01-29T22:55:00.000-08:00

It might be the announcement of Oscar nominees that was given this week, but I've been in a movie kinda mood lately. I realized how many movies I haven't seen, and now I feel completely left out. I'm usually up on all the movies that are being touted as "genius", "this year's must-see", and "a shoe-in for Oscar". But this year I just feel clueless.

Each year I have a goal to see at least all the nominees for Best Picture. I've only accomplished this only once - in 1997. I managed to see all the nominees before Oscar Day: As Good as it Gets, Good Will Hunting, The Full Monty, and Titanic. And on that Sunday, my mom and I found the closest theatre still playing L.A. Confidential - 25 miles away. But we accomplished it. I haven't done it since... but this is my year, I can feel it.

As of yesterday I had only seen one nominated movie: Finding Neverland. Twice. I never go see the same movie twice in the theatre, but I loved this one so much, I am glad it was recognized.

Yesterday I saw The Aviator. Finally.

Ray comes out on video Tuesday, so I plan to pick that one up next week. That leaves Sideways and Million Dollar Baby. I've got 4 weeks still - piece of cake. I will hold my opinions on the films until I've seen them all, but I have to say I might be pulling for the waaaaay underdog in this one: Finding Neverland. It hits close to home and I can't resist Jonny Depp. "Clap your hands if you believe!!!" Gets me every time...

Viva Las Vegas

2005-01-29T22:30:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was yet another 3 days in Sin City. Good times were had by all. Celebrated my dear, beautiful sister-in-law's 30th birthday, and she wanted to do it up right. 8 of us shared two adjoining suites at the Venetian. The place was absolutely beautiful - and we had only two complaints. One of the pool areas was being remodeled so only one was open - the shaded one in the center courtyard. I'm sure it's a great idea in the summer. But being it was mid-January, it didn't work out so well for us. We managed to get good and relaxed in the hot tubs anyway. Second complaint: the hotel is absolutely GINORMOUS, which was the cause of some interesting times getting BACK to the room after a few late nights. (B - we were in room "1"-408, not "I"-408).

As usual, can't report back on too many details. I've even cropped each and every one of the following photos for fear of sharing too much info - and too much of other things. Yes, the girls were out and having a great time. But that's only for Vegas eyes to see.

One detail I can share is that I want you to make your reservation at "N9NE Steakhouse" (Nine, for you unclassy folk) at the Palms ASAP. It's a bit trendy, and I can say with all honesty that I was NOT looking forward to it. But I am so glad I went, and I look forward to when I can go back. It's a big pricey, but well worth the quality of food and service. Really incredible. Dark lighting, great decor, loud music, and truly invisible staff. The only creepy thing we saw there was an older, gentleman being "escorted" by two fine young ladies. Ew.

After Nine, it was off to dance the night away at Rain. Something you kinda have to experience, but I can easily say I will not be going back anytime soon. People go there just to be seen - and just to say they've been. Not my style, but hey... at least I can say I've been! The fire was pretty cool. And how 'bout that lapdance???

I found these matches in the bathroom stall at Nine. For some reason, I was very excited about having them.

A small idea of what our group consisted of on Saturday night, ie: the Skirt Parade.

Me enjoying my french onion soup at Nine. (That's cheese, people)

An idea of how cool Nine is, they brought the Birthday Girl s'mores to cook at our table. And they didn't even sing!! They left that to us.

Another cropped pic taken at Rain. But my hidden dimple managed to make it into this shot. I must've been having a good time.

What a man what a man what a mighty good man

2005-01-17T23:22:00.000-08:00

Something I realized today is that I want a man who can swim.

Random? Yes. Odd? I say no.

I realized this while I was at the gym tonight. The majority of the cardio machines overlook the pool (one reason why I no longer go in the pool - I realized how much I stare at the people down below, and it gave me a weird creepy feeling that others are doing the same amount of staring while I'm in there...), so I have seen many different levels of swimmers. First of all, let me say that I never see the people who are in the pool OUT of the pool getting any other type of exercise. This bothers me for some reason.

The waders/walkers are usually the people with a friend who prefer to socialize while they wade through the pool. These people are standing still more often than not, which makes me wonder how much they actually get accomplished.

There are the noodlers/water aerobic people. These people do manage to usually work up a sweat as they push their way through the water, aerobicizing as much as possible, or by using their noodle (long, skinny floatation device) to help them stay afloat. This type has obviously experienced a water aerobics class or two, and tends to be very respectful by staying on their assigned side of the pool.

There are the dog paddlers. This type tries their very best attempt at what they might consider "swimming", but to anyone else, it looks like they're merely trying their best to avoid drowning. They tend to try various strokes of swimming, but end up staying too long underwater on, say, the breastroke, that I am usually about 2 seconds away from jumping off my machine to run down and save them when they come up for air. Because they think they can swim, they might venture over into the lap pool side, getting in the way of others.

There are the don't-I-look-good swimmers. These people appear to the un-informed person to be a great swimmer. But they themselves are un-informed and things just aren't quite right. It's usually their timing of the butterfly stroke that is the tell-tale sign, when they pump their arms and their feet at the same time, making it an awkward breath to catch. They usually tire quickly, but manage to get in a pretty good workout while doing a very strange impression of the breast stroke.

Then there are the SWIMMERS. These are few and far between, so it's a treat when they come around. These guys and gals can swim what seems like forever without stopping. Great form, and consistent strokes. They make me proud.

Now, you may ask what makes me such an expert. Swimming is something I love to do and something I've been doing since before I could walk. I grew up on the swim team, and 7 months of my family's life every year was spent at the pool - whether it be for practice or meets. My brother and sister both were excellent swimmers, and I always wanted to be as good as they were. Some of my best and most vivid memories of my childhood are of competing at meets. I loved to go to practice, even in the summer when it was early in the morning. Although my brother and sister would be the first to point out that times for practice went from oldest to youngest, making theirs much earlier than mine. I'd be leaving on my bike heading out to the club just as they'd be getting home. I was forced to give up swimming when we moved to a very small town in the mountains that had only ONE POOL and no competitive team.

All this to say that tonight someone in the pool tonight caught my eye when he started on the butterfly with perfect form. His next lap was the backstroke - also perfect. Next lap was breastroke... could it be this guy was doing the IM - my FAVORITE event? I knew it was true when he finished with freestyle, and I fell in love for a quick second. I had never realized how important this trait might be for my future husband, but tonight I realized it could definitely be a deal breaker.

Gotta love a guy who can wear a speedo and knows how to use it.

Boot Scootin' Boogie

2005-01-08T21:30:00.000-08:00

I was beginning to think I would have nothing to write about today. Yes, H & H were going out dancing. Yes, something random ALWAYS happens, and occasionally that's all the night ever is - random.

But it was already about 12:30, on a Friday night and nothing unusual really stood out. I was starting to think maybe we were losing our touch, or maybe it was just meant to be that kind of night for us.

But then again, we really aren't capable of that, are we?

Visited the Crazy Horse in Irvine, which is always an interesting place. An odd mix of middle-aged singles looking to find that special someone to two step with, and the player regulars who are looking for that special anyone to grind with. But when it's 70's disco night, it also brings out people like us, who are just there to have a good time and laugh at everyone else.

So at about 1:30, I'm hanging outside, making sure one of our friends was okay who was talking with a group of guys. I'm in the smoking section, which has given me the hugest headache as I've been standing there talking with all the people who feel it necessary to blow every puff of smoke in my face. My feet are killing me because it had been raining all day and I had worn my boots - and besides, it was the freakin' Crazy Horse, right? *THE* wannabe country western bar in the heart of wannabe Orange County. The band was done for the night, so the disco music, and the DJ's hip hop music had given way to standard house/rave music in hopes that the crowd would thin out - which left only the die hards dancing the night away on the dance floor. If I had been high on X and had a glow stick, I might have joined in.

So I'm standing there, minding my own business making small talk with one of the guys, when a guy named Nick approached me. He was obviously intoxicated, but wasn't being rude or obnoxious, so I turned my attention toward him and tried to have whatever conversation was possible. It was pleasant, but mostly consisted of me telling him all the reasons why I DIDN'T want to dance (refer above: my feet hurt, crappy music, etc...), and he persistently asking me. Now, I'm not too clueless to understand he was most definitely feeling the pressure of last call and not having anyone to go home with - but I humored him. A friend of his happened to walk by, so I brought him over, and included Heather as well. It was announced to be the second to last song, and Nick's buddy really wanted to dance, so he persuaded Heather to go - but only if I would go. With only two songs left in the night, I gave in and we made our way to the floor.

Our uneventful night just got eventful.

About 30 seconds after getting to the floor, Nick tried to kiss me. I politely turned my head and kept as much distance as possible, while he did his best attempts at spinning me around, then pulling me in closer. After a few attempts of trying to kiss me, he apparently realized that wasn't the way to start out .... so he proceeded to LICK me. Yes, I said LICK. He licked my neck first, then licked my chin, my cheek, my chest. I thought he had to be joking, but he was dead serious and must have thought he was completely seducing me. I was completely grossed out, but they announced last song and it was back to hip hop, so I thought "how bad could it get?" and I stayed. Now I realize that was my downfall. Somehow amidst all my head turning, and doing anything I could to stay away from his tongue, my head turned the wrong way, and he kissed me. Well, to put it more accurately, he attempted to feel the back of my throat with his tongue.

I now understand the feeling of having your face molested. I didn't completely freak out, realizing he was drunk and relatively harmless. But it was baffling to me after I pushed him off that he continued to lick every part of my face he could. Apparently Heather didn't catch any of my "SAVE ME!" expressions, and thought it would be okay for her friend to continue to be licked clean by this total stranger. Can't blame her, but I left that place feeling dirtier than I EVER have and I couldn't get home fast enough to wash myself off.

I was totally baffled that someone could actually think that was okay to do to someone, and wondered if it had ever actually WORKED on anyone. Some girl out there gets to dance with Nick next time, and maybe she'll be the one who says "oh my gosh, I have always WANTED to be slobbered all over by someone I barely know, and have his tongue jammed down my throat ALLLL NIGHT!" I hope so. That way, there's one less Nick out there for the rest of us to have to deal with.

Just the recollection of the night has brought about that dirty feeling again. Excuse me while I go scrub my skin off.

Goodbye 2004!!

2005-01-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

Well, I feel as though I must briefly pay tribute to the day that was New Year's Eve 2004. It is a day that will live in my memory forever, and that is an unfortunate thing for the most part.

We (H&H - for those not paying attention) decided just to play it low-key and cause as much trouble as possible from her second story apartment. With the two of us, the possibilities are literally limitless, and we even manage to surprise ourselves still.

The finer highlights: We were joined at the last minute by some dear friends who helped make the evening more memorable. Heather got to know her super friendly neighbors she had never met before, and one of our friends even got a full tour of one of their homes - COMPLETELY random. I apparently chipped the tooth of the same friend, although there was little to no evidence of this the next morning, despite his claims. Heather and I took a tumble to the ground shortly before midnight, although our recollections of how this happened seem to differ: I remember walking together or even just standing hugging, and we lost our balance and fell, while Heather and the rest of the crowd remember that it was only ME who fell, and I grabbed on to Heather and brought her down with me. Details - whatever.

And finally, I learned the consequences of consuming a bit of champagne after consuming a bit of beer as I spent the early hours of 2005 hugging Heather's toilet. Not a pretty sight, nor an event I'd like to relive at any point in my life... EVER.

Good times. Good friends.

I am looking forward to 2005. There's not really anything you can do about time passing, right? Might as well look forward to what lies ahead.

Holiday cheer and other mushy stuff

2005-01-03T20:18:00.000-08:00

Survived another Christmas. As expected, this year was very different than years past, especially not waking up with my parents on Christmas morning. But we made the most of it and had a great time. Woke up on Christmas morning in my old home town, which was comforting and nice - although it didn't snow (thank goodness - I didn't want to have to drive in the freakin' crap), it was verrrry cold in the morning, which made it seem more like Christmas. Hung out all day with the new little tyke and the rest of the fam.

Me and the kid

Drove home exhausted and rented a few movies since I had no plans for the rest of the day, and was midway through the first one when my sister called asking if she could tag along with me when I drove to visit the parents.

Turned out to be the best thing we could have ever imagined doing.
Completely surprised the whole family when we showed up, especially my mom, who was thrilled to be able to finally hold her first grandchild - she was there when he was born, but was much too sick to go anywhere near he or my sister. It was absolutely fantastic to see everyone, including getting reintroduced to my step-sister's kids who I hadn't seen in about 7 years and who my sister had never met. Very cool kids - too bad they live in Alaska. And absolutely always my favorite to see my step brother and his fabulous wife and two kids. They moved to Arizona in September and I've missed them so much it makes me sick. Really really great.

"Mimi" and her first shot at holding the kid

Something I've learned to appreciate so much about my stepdad is the family he's brought to us. I have no extended family to speak of. My real father was an only child, who I think only ever had one aunt. My mom had a brother who never had any kids of his own, and who died in 95. At one point, he married a woman who had 4 kids which I thought was the greatest thing when I was little because I had COUSINS!! But they got divorced, so my excitement didn't last much longer. I've got no other aunts, uncles or grandparents still alive. It's basically me, my sister, brother and mom.

And then there's my step dad. He had 3 kids by the time he was 20, and added another one to the bunch a few years later. Although he himself is an only child, he recently discovered a whole bunch of cousins a few years who had never searched for him because they thought he was dead. Nice, huh? He also raised three other step kids, then us. All-in-all he's got 10 kids and now 11 grandkids. His family is quite unique, but they have brought so much fulfillment to my life, and have given us that extended family we never had. I've now known his family more than half my life, and feel so thankful.

There has been some limited contact with my real dad's wife these past few weeks. The most there's been in 6 years which is the last time I saw either one of them. It's been a strange time, but a time where I've really come to appreciate the family that I do keep in contact with and who have shown me so much love.

Families are not the easiest people in the world to always get along with. But in the end, they're the ones who know you the best. And usually the ones who HAVE to love you, no matter what. They're the ones who will bail you out of whatever stupid predicament you've gotten yourself into, and the first ones who will rush to share in the excitement of something really great happening in your life, and be genuinely thrilled for you. My family has grown to become the people who I can share all the stupid things I do with, and they will laugh right along with me - agreeing with me that I'm stupid, but never being the first to say it.

I'm glad to know my family circle has gotten bigger with many brothers and sisters, and now expanding ever more with in-laws and nieces and nephews. All the more to love to grow.

The Alaska and Arizona families

Me and Jax

Me and Jade

The grass does not grow on the places where we stop and stand

2004-12-24T13:35:00.000-08:00

Today is Christmas Eve which means I'll be traveling somewhere. This year is a bit different, as it is my first year not celebrating with my parents. Usually we're spending the night at their place, then waking up early, and opening presents in our pj's, just like every other family out there.
My mom always gets tons of store-bought cinnamon roles, donuts and breakfast pastries for breakfast. My mom and food - you'll never starve with her around. Gotta love her. There is usually tons of bowls of candy, a pot of coffee always ready, a ham ready to go in the fridge with the bread and mayonnaise right next to it for the perfect Christmas Day lunch.
Growing up, we did develop a few weird traditions. Or, anti-traditions as sometimes the case was. We were never allowed to watch It’s a Wonderful Life because my mom hated how bad things got in the movie, and how completely sappy it is at the end. I did manage to still watch it just about every year, but never when she was around. I’ll never forget Christmas Day 3 years ago when we (my sister and I) persuaded it to be played in the house while my mom was home. My sister-in-law had never seen it (we’ll forgive her – she’s Australian) and in our effort to continue to force our American customs on her, we sat her down and put it in. At first, my mom was putzing around the kitchen, doing whatever she could to avoid watching it. But her wanting to spend time with the family forced her to sit down eventually. Heck, even my dad, Mr. Un-sappy himself was watching it and enjoying it.
Well, you know how this story turns out: EVERYONE cried at the end and my mom had a new appreciation for the movie, declaring that we would have to watch it every year from now on.
Feeling like we still needed to force strange family weirdness on my brother’s poor wife, two years ago we were opening presents on Christmas Eve and my mom chose the one for my brother to open. Now, my family has a few ULTIMATE Winslow inside things that make us special. One of them is knowing all the lines from Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas. My mom may as well have given us EACH the best present EVER, even though it was wrapped and had only my brother’s name on it. We of course popped it right in and began another new tradition.
My mom still can’t stand it (she hates how poor they are), but will tolerate to watch it. My sister-in-law on the other hand thinks we’re COMPLETELY nuts but is kind enough to humor us while we sing along. We all have our favorite scenes, and my brother does the best at singing all the songs. I personally love the flying squirrels and the ice sliding.

This year I am personally hoping a few games of Trivial Pursuit are planned, but we’ll have to keep the Battle of the Sexes game hidden from my brother or he’s liable to scream and run out of the house.

We did the gift exchange thing this year for the 3rd year. Without my parents, it was a little more difficult to pull names with only 5 of us, and two married couples – hence canceling them out for each other. But we managed, and I’m really excited with the things I bought. We also buy everyone stocking stuffers, which my mom started the tradition of those being completely random. Last year I can recall getting a cell phone stand in the shape of a pink stiletto that lights up when your phone rings, and silver glitter sunglasses in the shape of two hearts.

Good times.
Those are traditions we’ll be upholding this year, and passing them down to a new generation for the first time. However we won’t have mom’s breakfast fit for an army, or be opening presents Christmas morning at her house in our pj’s. But it’s what happens to every family: new families enter in, and we make adjustments. I’m looking forward to what new things we come up with. One thing that’s never gonna change is that my family is never dull.

Go Tell it on the Mountain

2004-12-24T11:12:00.000-08:00

I've officially been slacking on this blogger. It's not that I've been "too busy" or "haven't had the time". I HAVE been busy, but not that busy and I just haven't felt like it.
But let's put all that aside and get to it.
I am officially an Auntie to officially the most perfect boy in the world. He arrived 10 days late, but according to him he must have been right on time. CJ is now two weeks old and I don't think I could love him more.

Finished my Christmas shopping early this year and have been spending time at various Christmas parties, and gathering with friends to exchange gifts. I always love Christmas shopping because I tend to buy people really meaningful things that I put thought into. I usually have a lot of fun, and this year was no different. I was most excited about Heather's. She's easy cuz I know her so well, and I actually had to put stuff back that would have been really perfect. Her birthday's only 6 months away. But I couldn't put back the Orange County Choppers slippers with pink fur that I found. Those were too good to resist.
This weekend will mean more traveling than ever for me,but I'm looking forward to seeing SO MUCH of the family. Especially celebrating CJ's first Christmas.
Someone from Canada told me this week that they were in a funk because it doesn't seem like Christmas here because it was sunny and there was no snow. Welcome to Southern California. Now go back to Canada where you belong. It did get colder later this week, which does help. At least we can wear scarves and a sweater and pretend it's actually cold enough to do so.
That's a quick rundown on me the past few weeks. Always having the various adventures a day manages to bring about that I will be writing about some day: random people at the gym, the guy with the gray afro in the little yellow car that I saw THREE days in a row last week, Santa in a pink T-Bird for no apparent reason, and the guy on the bike.
I really should write a book.

Captain Jack will get you by tonight

2004-12-06T23:12:00.000-08:00

Today marks Day 8 of my sister being past her due date. Poor girl has caught a cold making these last few days even more miserable.

She is scheduled to be induced tomorrow. Strange that my sister will officially be "Mommy". And even stranger still that the thing that's in her body today will be in my arms tomorrow. Pregnancy is truly an amazing thing, but birth is something that I don't think I'll ever be able to wrap my brain around. How is it that in a matter of seconds she will bring a new human into this world, and he'll have a face and a name and a family that loves him... But it's still inside her belly at this moment???

Baffling. But I can't wait to be an Auntie. Hopefully he'll look just like me.

Jesus loves you more than you will know

2004-12-06T21:35:00.000-08:00

Time for another weekend recap. Yet again, my weekend involved another H&H adventure. Man, are we good or what?

Friday afternoon got "the call". I was to pack my things and immediately get myself to Anaheim for Heather's company Christmas party at California Adventure. Good thing I have no life and was able to follow instructions quickly. In my defense, I have been keeping my calendar pretty open on purpose since we're still waiting for my sister to go into labor - no one more than my sister, I might add. But yeah, I have no life so I was ready for an adventure.

We spent the evening at CA with all of Heather's coworkers who are an interesting mix of people, but who are all very friendly and funny. Much to her dismay, I've been Heather's date at more than one company function, so I've met most of these people before, making it easier to kick back and have a good time. We, of course, proceded to make best friends with Jeffrey, our very gay waiter, who was very good at making sure we had everything we needed allllll night. We fell in love with him, and probably would've hung out after he got off work if he hadn't done such a damn good job at keeping us so well supplied that we (I) passed out at 10:45. We also made very good friends with the head chef Chad, (who eerily reminded me of what my dad probably looked like at 30), the head bartender Javier, and the straight waiter Jeffrey was in love with whose last name had the word "cock" in it which Jeffrey was very excited about. Basically all the important people... We had our caricatures drawn by Andy who made Heather a hot chick in a bikini with ripped abs (cellulite) and me a hula girl. Heather and I dont really look anything alike except that we share a common bond of being blessed with big lips. Yet from Andy's perspective, the only differences we have were my sleepy eyes and Heather's thicker eyebrows. Everything else was pretty much the same - strange.

For the umpteenth time Heather and I ended up in bed together naked. Well, actually it was only me that was naked this time. Woke up with a raging headache, and the realization that I had made a few phone calls before the night had officially ended. Mind you, not because I actually remembered making the calls, but because I checked my call log and saw the names of a few friends who I knew I'd be getting crap from later. I'm sure they're all very honored to be on my drunk dial list. We made it to breakfast where I was officially not human until I was able to sit down and put something into my stomach. It was not a pretty sight. I'm never drinking scotch again - no matter how many chefs tell me I must try it, it's good.

Quick rundown of the rest of the weekend: spent a few hours at California Adventure for my first visit there. I had to leave early to get home and take care of a few things, then go to a Christmas party with some people from work. Being vegetarian, potlucks are never usually a good thing, and this party was more of the same. But the evening was redeemed when the karaoke machine came out and I found myself shouting at people to "work it! work it!" as they sang all the Christmas standards in the goofiest ways possible. I resisted all encouragement to get up and do a song, not willing to humiliate myself in a room of people who all sing exceptionally well, no matter how many times they chanted my name. Sunday sold my car (woohoo!), which was an interesting learning experience and maybe someday I will share with the class. In any event, I'm so glad that's done and that my baby has found a good home. Was in a fantastic mood, which led to an exceptionally good night at work. Amazing how that happens. At work I was informed that someone I work with thinks I'm "so beautiful". Which I thought was the absolute cutest thing because the guy is 20 and it was his mom who told me. Can I reclaim my Mrs. Robinson title back? Maybe I never lost it...

I think I'll leave that one alone.

I wander this world

2004-11-23T23:40:00.000-08:00

It's almost midnight and I am wide awake. I have packed for my weekend away-- too many clothes as always. Looking forward to having a weekend of total relaxation and getting away from the recent stresses of life for a while. Strange that I actually go to Vegas to relax and rest.
Still no nephew. He's taking full advantage of the womb before he decides it's time to brave this weird world. I can't say I blame him. But fully expecting to have to cut my weekend short, and am prepared to drive back at a moment's notice if need be.
This past weekend endured the wedding of a dear friend. Quite a surreal situation, but it all turned out fine. H & H hit up Hermosa again, and felt like we were in an episode of the Twilight Zone. Running into RANDOM people who should have never been down there, seeing the Trenchcoat Mafia guys again, having the bartender remember us... ugh.. We're taking a much needed break for a while.
Did drive home in the craziest rain storm we've been in in a while. Well, I slept most of the way home - with a half-eaten burrito still in my hand, actually. Good times.
I must go attempt sleep so that I can stay awake for the drive tomorrow night. Hoping I won't encounter too much traffic. Who goes to Vegas for Thanksgiving? I'm hoping just me. And, as always, looking forward to seeing the fam including this guy. (The flash kept making him blink.)

I cross my heart

2004-11-10T22:28:00.000-08:00

I've got the need to share a few things with the class. Because I don't think anyone is actually reading any of this, I feel fairly safe divulging a few of my guilty pleasures. In case anyone IS actually reading this, can you please post a comment so that I can quickly delete the embarrassing parts (all) of this post? You can do that at least, can't you?

Here's me and my random brain with three things that completely blow the cover off of any sort of "cool" status I may have possessed at any one time. Not that I consider myself cool in any way EVER, but this will seal the deal and convince anyone who thought I may have had any potential. Boy, were you wrong.

Exhibit A: I get way too excited about a new toothbrush than any human being should. I actually thought about it last night as I was falling asleep (I'm gonna use my new toothbrush tomorrow morning. That'll be fun!). For those taking notes, I use the Crest Spinbrush and it's changed my life. Never before have I owned an electric toothbrush, but I made the big purchase about a year ago and it's been rocking my world ever since. They were on sale recently, so I decided it was time for a new color. You know, to spice things up a bit. I think I bought a dud, tho because I've put 3 sets of batteries in this morning, and it still doesn't work all that great. (For those who are taking notes, 3 sets because one set was already in the toothbrush when I bought it, one set was floating around my junk drawer, so I didn't know if they had been used previously or not, and the 3rd set was new from the package). In any event, my new toothbrush makes me very happy. And it's such a "happy" color: dark pink.

Exhibit B: I've rediscovered a long-lost childhood friend. Smucker's Hard Shell chocolate syrup. It absolutely FASCINATES me, and I find myself wanting to search for things to pour it on, just to eat it off of. For those who don't know the magic that is Smucker's Hard Shell, it is chocolate syrup that looks just like any other in appearance... AT FIRST! But once it is poured on something cold (ie: a big bowl of ice cream or cool whip as I prefer it), it turns into a hard form of chocolate in a matter of mere seconds. So now do you not only have the added FLAVOR of chocolate, but you also have the added CONSISTENCY of chips. Pure perfection. I remember it as always being such a special treat when mom would have a coupon for this magic in a bottle, and now that I have control over what I choose to purchase while shopping, Smucker's Hard Shell always finds its way into my basket.

Exhibit C: And by far the most damaging piece of evidence that I've got no cool in me. I really really REALLY love the movie Pure Country. I KNOW, I KNOW what you're thinking. "huh? Wasn't that that really cheesy movie made with that one guy who sings but can't act?" No, not "Moonlight and Valentino" with my boy Jon Bon Jovi. Pure Country was a gem of a film made way back in 1992 and starred none other than the very talented George Strait as Dusty, the country singer who was tired of the lights, the touring, and the lifestyle that is required of a very popular artist. He decides to leave it all and go back to his roots where he finds himself again and also finds love. He shaves his George Michael-inspired stubble, and cuts his hair, which apparently he learned from Clark Kent, because now no one in his new life reckognizes him as Superman (or Dusty). He enjoys being a normal guy, drinking beer, line dancing, and learning how to rope a horse - all without any responsibilities. Of course his leaving his career behind so suddenly has left his "people" scrambling to keep the fans happy, which is where chaos ensues. Now, if you haven't seen the movie, I don't want to spoil it for you. But it's a great movie about finding out what truly makes you happy, not everyone else.

"You'll always be the miracle that makes my life complete. And as long as there's a breath in me I'll make yours just as sweet"

That's pure lyrical genius, kids. Check it out next time you're browsing your local video store and are looking for a good, clean movie for the family to watch. Or turn on CMT and wait. It'll show up eventually.

I don't mean to be so strange but my life just took a change

2004-11-06T08:18:00.000-08:00

Listening to Gavin DeGraw's album right now. I love this stuff.

You know how there's always a disclaimer on concert tickets at the very bottom "Lineup subject to change"? That should be a footnote on my life. No matter how you plan things or anticipate how a certain thing is going to go, it's always subject to change - and probably will. I used to be someone who would plan things out and make sure everything was going to go according to my plans, and get a little more than ruffled when the schedule wasn't on time, or when there was a kink along the way to throw a wrench into things. I would have this grand idea in my head of how something should look or go, and how perfect it would all be at the outcome.

The one factor I was always forgetting about was other people. MY plans would be perfect if they were all up to ME. But they're not. And thankfully I finally started learning my lesson a while back and have become much more understanding of the "life is subject to change" philosophy. I'm not in control of everything, and shouldn't try to be.

People will disappoint, cancel plans, or change their minds. I understand they are most likely not intentionally trying to hurt me. It's just that life has changed for them, and following the ripple effect, it now means things have changed for me as well. This I can deal with. It's just that sometimes I would rather feel like I was floating on a still body of water, having to adjust to a minor ripple every now and then. As opposed to what usually happens, which is me going along with the flow, then getting overturned because a bunch of little ripples have all come at once causing a huge wave, catching me off guard.

But this is life and it's subject to change. I don't fight it anymore. I never know what could be waiting on the surface once I get my balance back.

Day ain't over yet...

2004-10-29T01:19:00.000-07:00

I've had another "one of those days". I don't usually take time each evening to sit back and reflect on the day I've just had. I'm used to my life being random and unconventional, so remembering it all would probably make me realize how insane I actually am. But tonight I couldn't help it, and now I'm sitting here spilling it for whoever wants to read it.

For the first time in a week, I slept 5 hours in one stretch. I'd like to thank Vegas, Jill, Mike, and Sean for that. Thanks everyone. I owe you. This is disregarding the 12:30 am phone call from Heather that I let ring to my voicemail. I should never ignore her calls, especially late at night, but I was so excited about sleeping, I couldn't do it. She'd call me again if it was really urgent, right?? Good thing I didn't answer. I checked my voice mail this morning and it was her rambling on and on about a persian person or "pershian pershun" she had met. She must have repeated this phrase about 20 times, and actually pronounced it correctly only once. Good times. Love ya, Heather. This is also disregarding the 5:30 alarm I had set to get my butt up to go to the gym. Yeah... bye bye. Off it went so I could sleep for another couple hours.

As I was getting ready for work, the call from my sister came in. Read the post below to find out how that went. Got to work at about noon after dropping my sister off at work, then left again at 3:30 to go pick her up to get her car. Once we got there, she realized she had left her keys in her other bag, which her husband had taken home. The girl had had a rough day, so I went easy on her, but kicked her out of the car since I still had a ton of work to do. Thursday is always my busy day because I have Fridays off. (She was parked by a Quizno's and was starving anyway, so she went to grab a bite while she waiting for her husband to drive down with the keys... I didn't just leave her stranded).

Got back to work and proceeded to work until 7:30. In that time, checked my bank balance and realized I'm not gonna have any money for two more weeks after rent and bills... Fantastic. Came home, set the vcr to record Mr. Probst and his Survivor gang and headed to the gym. I hadn't gone to the gym at night for a long time, and had forgotten about one character that I used to always see: an elderly gentleman with white hair from head to toe (even his leg hair is white). The hair on his head is in an Elvis-style bouffant, and he's grown it out into a ponytail in the back. He wears super short running shorts and two shirts layered, and his outfits are usually something of the neon variety. He wears sunglasses and a bandana around his neck, which I think officially qualifies as a "kerchief". I have no idea how old he is, but he looks older than dirt. People are funny.

It'd been an interesting day, so I was looking most forward to hitting the steam room after a good workout. Kicked my own butt on the stair climber, elliptical and other things, then eagerly went to change out of my sweaty duds and into my bathing suit. Charged into the shower room, heading for the steam room... And it was closed. "Out of order." What!?!? Hopes dashed, I thought there might be a small chance I could be happy with sitting in the hot spa. Took a peak, and it was like My Big Fat Greek Wedding in there, there were so many people. Frankly, sitting in a hot tub with a bunch of total strangers really grosses me out. Dejected, I childishly grabbed my things out of my locker, threw my sweaty shirt and pants back on, and dragged myself out of there to my car.

Got home and decided to dye my hair. Nothing spectacular, just the usual refreshing of dark dark brown I do to cover the red that manages to come blazing through every 6-8 weeks. Now, I'm not known as being the tidyest hair dye-er in the world. I tend to dye hair, as well as necks, ears, and foreheads. There is a trick I learned where you can rub chapstick all over the hairline of the person whose hair you're dyeing in order that it will wash off without hassle. They don't make enough chapstick for me. With the very first squeeze of the bottle, I had managed to drip directly down the front of my forehead, next to my eyebrow, and down the left side of my nose. I only felt the drip on my forehead, and by the time I looked at my face and seen what I'd done, it was too late. I had a stain that made me look like my left eyebrow was much too overgrown, and that my nose had a weird inkblot birthmark. "Get that girl a pair of tweezers and some laser surgery!" I'm hoping it will rub off in the night. And should there be any remnants, I will just use some extra concealer in the morning.

Good news is my hair is back to being dark. And I'm much happier because of it. Okay, so technically the day is over since it's past midnight... but I'm still up and anything is still bound to happen.

Place in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for about oh... 9 months

2004-10-28T23:32:00.000-07:00

I thought the nephew was going to make an early appearance this morning when my sister called and told me her water had broken. She sounded more than a little panicked, so I put on my usual outfit of "brave and calm" and tried to calm her down. Her husband had left for work, and it would be at least 2 hours before he would be able to meet her at the hospital. I offered to drive the 45 mins to pick her up so she wouldn't have to drive alone, but somehow the 45 minute drive would've been much longer and more treacherous due to the recent 2 feet of snow that had just fallen. She drove down by herself and met up with friends who drove her the rest of the way to the hospital where I had been waiting.

All she kept babbling about was how it was too early. But not necessarily too early for the baby-- but too early for HER. She had work to do and was completely unprepared for his arrival. She had housework to do, baby necessities to buy, hospital bags to pack.... Poor thing was so frazzled when she left that she grabbed 3 outfits for the baby: a onesie that was fine, a pajama outfit that was sized 3-6 months, and a fuzzy blue number that was for a 0-3 month, but had random spaceships and aliens sewn all over it. Not exactly the pictures I'd be proud to show my child and tell him about the first day we'd brought him home from the hospital... but maybe that's just me.

The nurse hooked her up to all the equipment, asked all the normal questions, and left to find the doctor. The Red Sox victory must've meant the cosmos were all out of whack, because it seemed that every woman due within 2 months was there giving birth. Packed waiting room, full board of patient's names and their room numbers... Craziness. Eventually the doctor arrived and did the usual tests to determine if her water had, in fact, broken. The conclusion? No. Now, I don't want to allow my mind to dwell too much on what could've possibly made my sister think her water had broken, when it hadn't--that's probably something I never want to know, even when the time comes for me to be pregnant.

My job in the family is always to be supportive and stable, but I breathed a huge sigh of relief when we found out he still had some baking to do. I would love nothing more than to share my birthday month with my nephew. But I'd much rather have him hurry up and grow and come at the right time... Whenever that may be. Afterwards, the doctor was gracious enough to do an extra-long sonogram so that us family could stand there and ooh and ahh at the kid. "He's so cute!" "Look at his eyes!" "He's sucking his thumb!"

So strange to think I'll be holding this little alien in a few weeks' time.

Isn't he so photogenic?? The kid in July...