| How? |
[04 Dec 2009|03:36pm] |
How can I be so gullible yet so untrusting?
I have noticed this about myself, but it seems like a strange combination. Wouldn't one have to trust others in order to be gullible? Or maybe I am just gullible about little things like someone telling me, "Hey I used to be married to such-and-such famous person!" I'm like "REALLY?!" Oh wait, no. But when it comes to actually trusting people's intentions and motivations towards me, I kind of fail.
Kind of Fail.
Ha. Another funny concept.
In other stuff. It's kind of weird to know one of my boss' mainly through the filter of what other people think of him. I've only met him a few times, and have rarely interacted with him.
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| World Series and Knitting |
[03 Nov 2009|09:29am] |
I stand corrected! In more ways than one. Phillies won last night, so they are now moving to play in NY. It's a 3-2 series. We shall see! I'd really like to see A-Rod get his well-paid ass beat.
Yesterday I tried to make coffee at the office, since I have no idea how to make it at the place I'm staying. It was gnarly. Today I decided to indulge in the 'Bucks, and was rewarded with a delicious latte in a holiday cup. Already! I guess they typically do come out in November... it just took me by surprise. I like the design this year. I wonder if they'll ever do green cups, or if they'll always be red.
I started reading a book called The Knitting Circle, by Ann Hood. I really like it so far- and I guess at this point I can just plain say I like it- since I'm much more than halfway through it.
"Lulu paused. 'You know rosary beads?' she said. 'Knitting is like that. One stitch is like a prayer, just like each bead is a prayer. It's perfect for contemplation.' 'Or escape,' Mary said. Lulu smiled sadly. 'We can't escape, can we? But we can knit.'"
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| Wherein I realize I am not the dog person I thought I was. |
[02 Nov 2009|02:52pm] |
I wasn't really looking forward this past weekend. I felt kind of lame that I didn't have Halloween plans, other than the fact that I'd agreed to house/dog/grandma sit for friends that went to Hawaii for a week (meaning I could not leave town). I had a rough week anyway, and celebratory revelings weren't really congruous with how I was feeling.
At any rate.
Friday night was my first night house sitting, and I wasn't particularly looking forward to a (nearly) empty house. So I invited Mal over to have dinner. I even bought a bottle of 2 buck chuck in celebration. Which I still haven't managed to open. But! Succeeded in making enough pasta and sauce to feed a small army, managed to toast yummy bread in the oven and not burn the place down, and also bought delicious cookie ice cream sandwiches from Trader Joe's. They had mini chips set in the ice cream! Mal brought her latest salad creation, which included cranberries and spinach. Then we watched The Proposal and I continued knitting my latest project.
On Saturday, my friend Lisa drove up to go hiking with me! It was pretty much a perfect day for hiking- crisp, warm, but not too much so. She joked about the amount of water she was toting. I had my nalgene, and figured we wouldn't go more than 5-6 miles. However, the trails in that area aren't very well-marked, so we semi-relied on her pedometer and the shoddy signage to mark our mileage. Our best estimate is that we went about 10 miles! We saw some pretty vistas, which at times included the ocean and some distant islands, and I was again reminded that there is beauty in this place, even though I am often slow to recognize it. I got a few blisters, but nothing too bad. Somehow my triceps are sore though. I am wondering whether to blame that on the hiking, or the massive amounts of knitting I've been doing.
Sunday morning I woke up to feed the doggie, and yes, I remembered to change my clocks and "fall back," so Jake had to wait a bit for his bathroom break and breakfast. Then I went to the 'Bucks to get a caffeine fix. It was already warm, and it wasn't even 10 a.m! I forgot that it stays hot here all year. Lame. So I got an iced chai and headed off to pick up Mal to check out a church slightly north. Lately I have mostly not enjoyed church-related endeavors for various reasons, but I was curious about this one. It was good. Not like amazing, and there were things that bothered me. But that is probably a longer story for another time. We drove back home and got delicious bacon burgers, and I ate all of my onion rings. I offered Mal some, but she's not a fan (more for ME!).
I went to my parents' house and used their laundry facilities while I knitted up a veritable storm and watched an E! special on the artist, Pink. Dad BBQ'ed filet minon (fancy, fancy), which we finished and then headed into the living room to watch the Yankees beat the Phillies (damn Yankees). That makes the series 3-1 and they are going to be playing in NY tonight. I want to believe that the Phillies can come back, but my faith is flagging.
I think I have worked out a general strategy for keeping Jake out of the room while I get ready in the morning. I do this because I don't want him to eat my socks or hide my shoes, and mostly because I don't like being watched while I get ready. Even if it is a dog! So I get his food ready in the kitchen, put it down, then go to the garage and let him out to do his duty, then let him in the house. When he runs in to scarf down his food (I mean this quite literally, there is nothing slow about his eating habits), I sneak up stairs and close the doors. I felt bad, but I locked them today too, otherwise he can actually nose his way in! He is sneaky and good at opening doors. He can let himself in the sliding glass door when just the screen is closed! He opened the bedroom doors yesterday and came in to watch me do my duty, which was the last straw ;) This morning he was sitting outside the doors waiting patiently for me to come out, so I don't think there were too many hard feelings.
Maybe this is a lab thing- by "this," I mean the needing to be near people all the time. Or maybe it's a general dog thing. Do they all like to stare at you while you do whatever it is you're doing? Maybe I am more of a cat person, after all.
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| Ain't gonna take it |
[28 Oct 2009|04:36pm] |
You’ve worn the soles of both your shoes
walkin’ on me like ya do.
This ain’t what forever’s for,
and I ain’t gonna take it,
I ain’t gonna take it anymore.
I’ve cried and begged and cursed and prayed
but nothing’s worked, nothing’s changed.
No way I win when you keep score,
and I ain’t gonna take it,
I ain’t gunna take it anymore.
Chorus:
I’m gunna crawl out from this stone
that I’ve been under
to see the light and breathe the air
and you’ll have a million reasons why
I shouldn’t leave you.
but for the first time in a long time,
I don’t care.
I guess on one hand you should laugh
’cause I’ve said the same things in the past
but this time one hand’s on the door
and I ain’t gunna take it,
I ain’t gunna take it anymore.
Chorus:
I’m gunna crawl out from this stone
that I’ve been under
to see the light and breathe the air
and you’ll have a million reasons why
I shouldn’t leave you.
but for the first time in a long time,
I don’t care.
Now I can’t help but think of you
lookin’ back in my rear view
but I’ve been down that road before
and I ain’t gonna take it,
I ain’t gonna take it anymore.
I ain’t gonna take it,
I ain’t gonna take it anymore.
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| And she forgets why she came here. |
[02 Oct 2009|02:45pm] |
As you probably guessed, I am still un-tattooed. I will save it for another time, but it's still on my mind.
I freaking can't believe that it is October! Wow. As much as some days seem to go slower, others speed up. Until entire months are over. I'm finding myself realizing that whole weeks will fly by without me really realizing it, and it's sort of scary. Like maybe I am missing something in the rush to get through the week? I don't know. Maybe that's just how certain seasons of life are, and there's nothing wrong with it.
I feel like I am in one of those "life defining" periods again. Like my job may not be around past a year from now, and I should probably figure out if I want to (or need to, depending) go back to school for what I want to do in the future. Instead of a raise at work, I've been given at least 2-3 (paid) days off a month, for which I can use however I please. My boss has strongly urged me to use those days to brush up my resume, look around for positions, and basically get myself out there. My goal (besides resume updating) is to call some schools and see if I can sit in on some classroom times- for elementary and high school ages. Maybe I should check out jr. high too, for the hell of it. I don't think that's my age range, but I might be pleasantly surprised! Who knows, and stranger things have happened.
So yes, I am considering teaching, which would mean back to school for moi.
Also, have had hankerings for becoming a physical or occupational therapist. However that would mean MUCH more schooling than teaching. But if it's what I end up wanting to do, I'll grin and bear it! Science has never been a strong suit of mine, and just the course titles scare me, but I don't think it's beyond doing. So we shall see!
My office location is probably moving to another state, and there's the possibility that a job would be available to me at that point. However, I have a few thoughts and hesitations regarding this. If you don't know what they are, and would like to, just email or facebook (yes, it's a verb- haha) me :)
I am excited for this month, though. It holds a Jason Mraz concert, as well as a trip back east to participate in a dear friend's wedding.
Adventure and decision-making are looming. The former I love; the latter, I pretty much detest. There, I said it.
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| Tattoo |
[05 Aug 2009|11:20am] |
I have seriously been considering getting a tattoo for awhile- for at least the last almost 2 years. The things people tell me have discouraged me though: "sure your body looks good now, but think about how it'll look in 60 years". Then I think, "But it's for ME, not for anyone else, so who cares how it's gonna look to other people?" I go back and forth.
It would say "grace in the dark night" in a type of script (or another equally cool font). I've also thought about getting it in Spanish, because it's a language that I love and have studied. And I'm thinking it would be in the region of my ribs or my side/back area. Maybe wrapping around in some way.
People have suggested that I come up with some picture instead of the text. But I'm not really an artist, and have been blanking on how I could convey this phrase in another way than a candle. Which seems kinda cliche to me. And I'm not really into stars; unless they're kick-ass.
Ideas?
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| No more dusting. |
[16 Jul 2009|11:08am] |
The family vacation is coming up. We leave in 2 days! Do you know how much I need to get done before then? Gahhhhh! And instead of being productive with all of that, I am chained to my desk at work (not literally... come on, you know what I mean).
However, I have checked a few things off my mental list. I am hopeful that I will get the rest done before we leave. But 7AM flights are not my friend in that regard.
Yesterday I was dusting at work. I don't usually do this, and now I know why. Apparently I pushed some combination of buttons on my work phone that made it start singing. It was the hold music. No matter what I did, it would not stop. I even unplugged it, yet still it sang praise music back at me. hahaha Well, a friend of mine sent me the website for the phone manual, and I tried some different number combinations, one of which finally worked! No more music! I am a happy camper to not come in today to more serenading. And no more dusting for me; I have learned (learnt?) my lesson.
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| Can't love, can't hurt |
[08 Jul 2009|09:41am] |
Sometimes things that probably shouldn't bother me, do.
I guess that line could sum up a lot from the last month or so. But don't get me wrong, overall the last month has been pretty awesome! Work has been busy for the most part. Everyone (but me) is leaving next week for a conference in a state that I would love to visit someday, but I opted for the family vacation instead, so I'm not going. I thought I might be able to do both, but I ended up having to choose. I think next summer is another conference in Euro (like I went to last July), so depending on how things pan out, I might hit that up.
Let us recap some of the top hits:
1) Had a blast at one of the best weddings I've ever attended of 2 of my closest friends (who married each other :)). It was an enormous party celebration!
2) Went wine tasting with MZ and 'Drea up north- awesome! Had a great weekend with them, which also included making Greek food (mmmm!), drinking alcohol out of shot glasses made of ice, watching a random made-for-TV movie, walking to the store super late at night, dancing, getting burned almost beyond recognition at a beach near SF, unexpectedly driving over the Golden Gate with an impromptu drive-through of SF, and sleeping in one of the comfiest beds known to man. Yay for weekends that feel like they should never end!
3) Got asked to be a bridesmaid in another great friend's wedding in a few months! I will finally make it to the south!
4) Had a quick visit from the Lisa, and we went hiking near my house (which I never get to do, since I don't generally have a buddy).
5) One of the best 4th of July's I've had in years- lots of pooling, BBQ meat-eating, beer drinking, chillin', chattin', and huggin'. Oh and fireworks- lots of it! Last year I got pretty aced out in the fireworks department, as it was illegal in the SC to have an organized show.
6) Re-discovering reading. I've been working my way through some books I partially (or didn't read at all) in college. I recently read the entirety of the Twilight series, but have since felt the need to stretch my brain, and learn more about what I majored in, so teeny bopper books are out for now.
7) I was introduced to an amazing sushi restaurant nearby! Well, my favorites are still in Oaktown and the OC, but this is the closest thing I can find within a 10-mile radius. And thus have been eating there on a semi-regular basis.
8) Having lots of time to watch movies! I find myself saying more and more "Yeah, I've seen that." It's weird. And there are still a lot more I want to see, at some point. Oh yeah, and watching The Hangover with a bunch of guys... still laughing about that one.
9) Tried a new Mexican food place near work, which is pretty damn good.
10) Found out I may be making a trip to Singapore next April for an amazing chica's wedding! Yay Mich!
Hmmm. Much goodness. Maybe I should make lists more often!
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| A new addiction |
[03 Jun 2009|09:33am] |
I watched the entire first season of How I Met Your Mother in the last few days, and let me just say that Neil Patrick Harris (Barney) is frickin' hilarious. I mean, really, really. His shenenigans are out of this world, and I find myself laughing at his antics, and at the same time being really, really disgusted at the thought that anyone remotely like him might actually exist.
Now that I've watched the pilot episode, it actually makes sense. I previously had caught snippets of what I believe was the 3rd season, and it made pretty much zero sense.
Now I'm hooked. Hooked to the goodness that is Marshall and Lily; Ted and his scheming and girl-like thoughts; Robin. Oh god. Love it.
Trying to not go crazy at work. It ebbs and flows. Some days I am insanely busy; others not so much. But I won't go back to retail, oh no. It's funny that I thought I would rather die (or make someone else's latte) than sit at a desk. But I actually found a job that gives me some freedom to do the things I want, wear what I want, and I get actual, mandatory, vacation time (PAID)! In some ways, I am seriously spoiled.
One of my best friends got engaged over the weekend- if you are reading this CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN, CHICA! Love you.
Another good friend is getting married in a week and a half. We're having a girls' shower the morning before the wedding, and damn it, we are having MIMOSAS, because it will help me through it all as a bridesmaid. It's going to be a jam-packed weekend of details! Followed by a big dance after the ceremony! Bring it. I'm working on my mad dancing moves.
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| "And like Icarus, I collide/With a world I try so hard to leave behind" |
[19 May 2009|03:08pm] |
Failing and Flying
by Jack Gilbert
Everyone forgets that Icarus also flew.
It's the same when love comes to an end,
or the marriage fails and people say
they knew it was a mistake, that everybody
said it would never work. That she was
old enough to know better. But anything
worth doing is worth doing badly.
Like being there by that summer ocean
on the other side of the island while
love was fading out of her, the stars
burning so extravagantly those nights that
anyone could tell you they would never last.
Every morning she was asleep in my bed
like a visitation, the gentleness in her
like antelope standing in the dawn mist.
Each afternoon I watched her coming back
through the hot stony field after swimming,
the sea light behind her and the huge sky
on the other side of that. Listened to her
while we ate lunch. How can they say
the marriage failed? Like the people who
came back from Provence (when it was Provence)
and said it was pretty but the food was greasy.
I believe Icarus was not failing as he fell,
but just coming to the end of his triumph.
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| Do it with heart. |
[16 Feb 2009|06:04pm] |
I have noticed that sometimes I get really excited and ahead of myself... then I usually end up disappointed.
In other news, I am dog sitting this week for a labradoodle- he's more doodle than lab, however. I'm afraid I'm not the most exciting person he's ever met. Though I did take him on quite a walk this afternoon, between rain storms. It's just that I've never owned a dog before, so I'm not really sure what else to do the rest of the time. Although I suppose my quandary is just for today, as I go back to work tomorrow, and I won't be around all day, like I was today.
Now, to wait and see if dinner comes through, or just make something for myself.
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| Ooooooooooooh! |
[13 Feb 2009|09:55am] |
Chris Brown, you are in sooooo much trouble.
I am knitting up a storm. It's my first blanket, for the soon-to-be-born little boy of a best friend of mine! It's so cute, and warm, and all that.
I also stood in a line at the cutting table of a corporate crafting giant yesterday to get 1.5 yards of yellow flannel for to use in the sewing of a blanket for my soon-to-be-born niece!
It brought back so many memories of the 2 years I spent at Bev's. Good lord. I don't think I will rant now.
This weekend I have been challenged to come up with good photos from my friend Crystal. I feel the pressure! Haha. But I think it'll be fun. A friend is coming down to visit from SLO, so hopefully there will be a game night and dinners and laughter. Saturday afternoon, I am going to try on lots of froofy bridesmaid dresses. I am off work Monday. I think it'll be great whatever happens!
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| Makes me want to cry: |
[12 Feb 2009|09:37am] |
|
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/29117722/?GT1=43001
I've copied & pasted the text of the article here:
After bitter 4-year fight, he finally sees his son again
Dad has ‘beautiful’ reunion with boy whose mother abducted him to Brazil
By Mike Celizic
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 7:41 a.m. PT, Tues., Feb. 10, 2009
Choking back tears that had been building up for more than four and a half years, a New Jersey father tried to describe the emotions he felt at finally being able to hold and hug his son and tell the boy how much he loved him.
“It was the most beautiful thing I’ve seen since his birth. It was incredible. Amazing. I got to see my son,” David Goldman told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira Tuesday by phone from Brazil.
The previous day, accompanied by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, Goldman had finally reached the end of a nightmare that began in June 2004 when his wife, Bruna, left with their son, Sean, for a two-week trip to visit family in her native Brazil. She never came back.
In all the years since, Goldman had traveled to Brazil numerous times hoping to see his son, but all the contact he was allowed to have consisted of a few brief phone calls.
International dispute
A New Jersey court ruled that Bruna had to return Sean to New Jersey for a custody hearing. But despite international law and treaties between the United States and Brazil that upheld the court ruling, Bruna refused to either return or to give up custody of the boy. Instead, she divorced Goldman in a legal proceeding that violated international law, and married an influential Brazilian attorney.
Then, last August, Bruna died while giving birth to a child by her new husband. After her death, that husband petitioned a Brazilian court to take Goldman’s name off his own son’s birth certificate.
Although the system seemed stacked against him, Goldman never gave up. Finally, with the help of Smith, the New Jersey congressman who accompanied Goldman to Brazil, father and son were reunited for a visit on Monday.
“After all this time I got to see him, walk over to him and hug him and tell him how much I love him and how much I miss him and how joyful it was to be with him,” Goldman said.
‘It was beautiful’
He had no idea if Sean would really remember him and how he would greet him, Goldman said.
“I was expecting the worst. And when our arms locked, it wasn’t that way at all. It was beautiful,” he told Vieira, fighting back tears the entire time he spoke.
Sean asked his dad why it took so long to visit him. “That was very painful,” Goldman said. “I saw the anguish on his face.”
What to tell the boy? Goldman was understandably reluctant to tell Sean how his mother first left him and then refused to let him see Sean.
“I didn’t want to hurt him by telling him the absolute truth, so I just said that the courts were making things very difficult,” Goldman said. “I said, ‘Sean, I’ve been here many, many times to try to be with you. The last time I was here I stayed for 10 days and I couldn’t be with you.’ ”
Smith told The Associated Press that Goldman shot baskets and went swimming with Sean during Monday’s visit. Goldman was scheduled to see his son again on Tuesday.
Vieira asked what plans he had for today’s visit.
“I’ll do whatever I can with him. It depends on what kind of restrictions there are,” Goldman replied.
‘It’s going to happen’
In a later interview with TODAY correspondent Amy Robach, NBC senior legal analyst Susan Filan said that Goldman should eventually regain custody of his son, whose room in Goldman’s Tinton Falls, N.J., home remains as it was the day he left for Brazil with his mother more than four years ago. Filan said that international law and treaties between the United States and Brazil are unequivocal in affirming Goldman’s parental rights.
“You can’t take a kid from one country and hide him another country and say it’s OK,” Filan said. “There’s no question this case should have been decided in a New Jersey court.”
Filan said she’s looked at the facts from every angle and can conceive of no legal justification or explanation for how the Brazilian courts have acted. According to every law, she said, the man who married Goldman’s wife “has no legal rights to this child whatsoever.”
She added that the change of administrations in Washington and the personal involvement of Rep. Smith have clearly helped Goldman press his case. Public attention given the case should embarrass the Brazilian government into bowing to the dictates of the law, she said.
“Once one government accuses another government of being in violation of a treaty, it’s embarrassing,” she said.
Filan cautioned that it may still take time for Sean to finally come home to live with his father.
“I don’t think it’s going to be as quick as everybody wants, but I think ultimately it’s going to happen,” she said.
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| Wherein I reveal more than I might normally |
[06 Feb 2009|03:18pm] |
|
I read a funny article yesterday about Facebook etiquette (I think it was from MSN). One of the points was "Know the difference between a message and the Wall". I love this one, because knowing the difference can really save a lot of social blunders. I saw an egregious blunder of this point today, wherein a mother wrote on a friend's wall that, among other things, her son had broken up with his girlfriend, but was "taking it so well".
OK, I am sure that is something that would fall under the "message" portion of things. I mean, it's out there for the entire world to see! His ex-girlfriend! Everyone!
But it made me laugh a lot. Sometimes I wonder if people realize that others snoop around and catch these kinds of things.
It also caused me to think about the way the WWW has the worldwide community seem more like a neighborhood, where there's sort of a neighborhood watch program. I watch you, you watch me, I watch you through your friend's pages, and through whoever's page I can access... hehe
Anyways.
I've also been wanting to write about the concept of a "gym bubble" for a really long time. I don't think I have done this yet.
So at the beginning of the year, everyone and their mom signed up for a gym membership. I tried to prepare myself, much the same as I did last year for the onslaught. But I wasn't accustomed to the ways they clog the parking lot. They also walk erratically through said parking lot- weaving and chatting and just plain walking in the middle of the road- without a concept that they're making life a lot harder for those trying to locate a spot after work. They take my spot in spinning. They hog the elliptical equipment for much longer than the allotted 30 minutes at peak times. They crowd in the stretching/core room.
This last one bothers me the most (just slightly more than the cardio equipment hoggers), because often they are the ones who most egregiously encroach on my gym bubble. This bubble is the space I feel comfortable in with just myself. No one else is really welcome within this sphere without a spoken agreement- or a nod, a smile, or some sort of acknowledgment.
The other day, I had enough space between me and another person stretching and doing core exercises. Then this other girl comes in between us (where there is CLEARLY not enough room for her), and just starts doing crunches on a balance ball. Which forces me to move over several inches to accommodate her. Now I wouldn't mind if she asked before she squeezed in- at least it would've made it world's less awkward. Instead I am left wondering if she even knows the concept of the bubble.
Now, in other countries, I am much more aware that people don't have these bubbles around them in daily life. I can be flexible. In the U.S. however, I've come to grow fond of my bubble. If you lean in too close, and I don't know you, that's gonna be awkward. If you walk too close behind me, you are going to get an eye from me. If you stand a few inches too closely in line behind me, like at the airport, that's not cool. If you drive too close to my rear bumper, you will also receive the (not as apparent due to distance) stink eye. If you encroach on me at the soda machine, and reach around me in a display that I am apparently taking too long for your liking, I will at that moment, pretty much stare at you like you're the rudest person on earth for the foreseeable future.
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| It's been a month... |
[03 Feb 2009|02:35pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 contemplative |
] |
So I thought I would post something meaningful. If only to mark the passage of time.
|
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| end o' the year meme |
[03 Jan 2009|11:41am] |
I think I remember how this thing works... Also, before the fun, at some point I want to write a post about the gym bubble. Remind me.
January 9th (2 entries):
- Where did I go?
- When I read what others have written, so eloquent and beautiful...
February 1st:
- My wonderful daddio taped the Democratic debate yesterday, so we watched it later on, after I got home.
March 4th:
- This is mostly going to be complaining, just so you know.
April 1st:
- My run yesterday was awesome- 6 miles and I hardly noticed any aches at all!
May 1st (2 entries):
- You know it's true friendship when a person texts you asking if you've seen the results before giving it away.
- Here are the rules:
June 4th:
- Went to visit Gramma this past Saturday and Sunday.
July 9th:
- I spent a lovely vacation with many lovely people.
August 5th:
- I am home.
September 3rd:
- J. Mayer looks like a freak when he performs, but can the man sing or what?
October 1st:
- I am irrevocably addicted to the happiness that exudes from Jason Mraz song, I'm Yours.
November 3rd (2 entries):
- I am stealing this from someone else's blog that I came across, who I don't even know! Yay!
- Sometimes I feel very content to be single. I enjoy the freedom, to be honest.
December 10th:
- I don't even know why I'm going to attempt to write a post right now.
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|
[30 Dec 2008|09:15am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 pensive |
] |
I've been kind of checked out of most things computer-related the last week or so. I actually had somewhat of a Christmas vacation- 5 days- from work.
I was going to write something about extended-family drama on my dad's side, but it's still stingy, so I'm not really sure I want to. But I have realized my claws (so to speak- so far I haven't tested the whole "her bark is worse than her bite" thing- ha!) come out if I think someone's hurting someone I love. Even if it's supposedly family that's doing the hurting. I really am just astounded at the lengths people go sometimes.
I had a really great Christmas though. I got to hang out with my mom's side of the family, which included some surprise cameo appearances by some family I hadn't seen in many years. I took a bunch of pictures, which I have yet to upload anywhere but my hard drive. Someday. Along with my Mexico vacation pics... from, almost a month ago. Geez.
Work is OK. Kinda stressful, but I guess it's not as bad as it could be. I am trying to look at the bright side :)
My sis is prego, so I am going to be an auntie in '09. Crazy! Exciting. Weird. haha. I didn't know if they'd ever decide to have kids, so this is new territory for me.
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| Randomness Galore! |
[19 Dec 2008|11:40am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 chipper |
] |
There are a lot of things I would like to be doing right now. Uploading pics for one. Another is install a washer/dryer unit in the office, so I can do laundry while at work. THAT would be amazing.
Today there will be free tacos in the parking lot at noon. Holiday building party! We'll see what that's all about.
I think I am going ice skating on Monday. My last skating experience involved falling headlong into the wall of the rink. Sooo yeah... it'll be an experience. LOL
Our house is decorated for the holidays. We have our tree (got it last Thursday), and it's decorated now (last night).
I finally got to see Get Smart with Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway (that was weeks ago, but momentous enough to comment on after the fact).
Pandora is set to play holiday music. A lot of it is instrumental, which I am digging.
I am excited about the holidays! I am not a huge shopper, not gonna lie. I like giving people presents, but I kinda suck at shopping. Going to Mexico was awesome for me, because I got a chance to buy stuff. And I may actually make it through without going to the mall ONCE! That would be miraculous. And wonderful.
Last weekend I was in the Bay, celebrating MZ's b-day. It was awesome! We went to a really cute restaurant on Friday night in the city that had great ambiance. It was really funny though to see all the hipsters. And remember the term "bridge and tunnel people". haha! Saturday we went to Target and Christmas tree shopping for MZ's apartment. The guy strapped it to the top of her coche and off we went! Getting it upstairs would've been harder if not for that elevator!
Saturday 'Drea and I went shopping for the goods for Sunday's brunch. That evening we went to sushi, and then out dancing. 'Drea couldn't go because she just had surgery, thus is on crutches. The place we went to played really fun mash-ups, but I can't remember most of the songs. I had a bit too much drink. And thus didn't actually make it to the brunch, because of my recovery time. It rained my whole drive back, so I couldn't go much over 50-60 mph. I still made pretty good time though!
This weekend there are holiday parties and breakfasts and gifts to be purchased. And perhaps Twilight to be seen. Yay!
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| On that note. |
[10 Dec 2008|09:39pm] |
I don't even know why I'm going to attempt to write a post right now. I need to be sleeping. But things have been really great, ie: super busy. I just got back last Saturday from a pretty amazing week in Pto Vallarta, Mex. I ate a ton of food, went ziplining in the jungle (I think the guides had us yell a dirty word in Spanish... lol), swam with a dolphin, and went snorkeling off a catamaran (that's the LIFE right there, let me tell ya. And an open bar. Doesn't get much better than that!). I got to see the most amazing beach I've ever seen in my life. Did some tequila tastings, and tried the local margaritas. Lazed around by the pool, got a better tan than I think I've pretty much ever had. Met some really fun people. Won a dancing competition. Heard lots of mariachi music, saw folklorico dancers. Found a taco (ironically enough, not an easy thing where we were!).
Other than (and previous to) that, Thanksgiving was awesome with family. Hung out the day after, and helped Gramma get her Christmas decorations set up, inside and out.
Work has continued to be hellishly busy. End of the year is always that way, and moreso with taking a week's vacation. But it was definitely worth it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I still love the people I work with, and I enjoy having a job (in and of itself), but in addition to that, feeling like what I'm doing makes a difference. That doesn't mean there aren't the day to day petty things I tend to get worked up about, but it means that in the grand scheme of things, I am happy.
Yes, thus far 26 and 2008 have proven to be great numbers for me. I am grateful for the family and friends I have in my life, and I think (and have heard from others) that I've grown a lot. I think I feel that. Some days more than others, but I can honestly say that I am happy with how the year has gone, and it's pretty huge that I am excited and anticipating what's to come!
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| http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/11/obama-and-mccai.html |
[04 Nov 2008|11:45am] |
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Turnout expected to break all records -- some say as many as 80 percent of registered voters will cast a ballot today -- and voters are going to great lengths to make their voices heard. But the most extreme example has to be the couple living in India who didn't receive their absentee ballots, so they spent 22 hours flying to New York to cast their votes. "We decided it was important to stand up and be counted," Susan Scott-Ker told the New York Times.
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