This whole thing with the tsunami makes me so, so sad. Over 160,000 dead. Go here to donate to the relief fund. And then refresh the page a few times. It's heartening.
One of my coworkers is in Bangladesh. She went home for three weeks. I don't believe she was planning to be in a coastal area of the country, but you never know. There's no way to get in contact with her, as her whole family is there with her and I don't believe telephone communication is plausible at the moment. I'm worried sick.
***
It's funny how a song can bring back such vivid memories, so much so that you can just about capture the feeling of being back wherever it was you attach that song to. "Hero" by Enrique Iglasias is on the radio. That song came out during the 2001/2002 school year, which happened to be the Year of Watching MTV. I was immediately transported back to 711 Elm and reminded of afternoons doing homework in my bedroom or cold, dark mornings working out downstairs in front of the TV with Aarti and Shelley. There are a handful of songs that take me to that one year, but "Hero" is one I'd just about forgotten about until just now, with that raspy whispered, "won't you be my hero?"
***
In other news, the job situation SUCKS with big, huge capital letters. Too much drama, and NOT what I needed right now.
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Christmas is over, back to LA
Christmas and my trip home were, as expected, over much too quickly. Also as expected, I didn't get to see nearly everyone I would have liked to have seen, and I didn't get to do nearly everything I would have liked to have done. This leaves me a little bit sad. But the trip, as it was, was wonderful.
I took the red-eye in Thursday night. When I got to the airport, they didn't assign me a seat. This had me worried. They didn't, however, make me wait in the huge-ass security line (at ALL), despite being two hours early for my flight. When I got to my gate, the flight had been overbooked and they were asking people to take a bump. With no seat, I was afraid I wasn't going to make the flight at all! Somehow, in all of that, the seat the ended up assigning me was in first class!! Not that I really got to enjoy it, as I was asleep before they came around to offer drinks, but at least it was a comfortable sleep.
On Christmas Eve, I got up and wrapped presents like a maniac. Cooked like a maniac, too. The grandparents (both sets), uncle & girlfriend, and aunt, uncle & two cousins came for dinner. Very nice meal, despite ruining the table cloth with candle wax. Oops. After dinner we sang carols, played Pass the Bag to The Night Before Christmas, and basically had a grand old time. Then we went to church, which was pretty (being the candlelight service and all).
My mom's parents stayed the night, as is their tradition, and Christmas morning was like it always is. Sticky buns and hot chocolate and everyone in their pajamas opening presents while Dad alternately videotapes the whole ordeal and plays with whatever new electronic toy someone received. I had done a drawing for my grandparents, which went over quite well. There were tears.
We went to the aunt's house for dinner around noon, where I learned a game called speed stacking. Quite addictive. And then it was back to my mom's parents' house for supper.
All in all, a very enjoyable Christmas.
Sunday was my day designated for seeing friends. I spent a lot of it in the car, as everyone is scattered in opposite directions. I first drove down to about 30 miles south of Joliet to meet Sarah in a tiny little podunk town with three restaurants (only one of which seemed open). It was really good to see her! It was worth the looooong drive. Hee.
Then, it was up to Gurnee to see Em and Frank (also worth the not-as-long drive). Went up with Meghan and Elenid. Greg's back from Afghanistan and was in town, so he came with his girlfriend, and John was in town from Colorado, and he met us there. We had a very nice meal, and then most of us went to Denny's for some storytelling and reminiscing and all-around laughter. Ha ha. That was good fun. And really nice to see everyone!
Monday was devoted to my mom and sister, as the holiday preparation had left little time to actually visit with them. We went to Starbucks, then see Spanglish (very good), and then to lunch/dinner at Chevy's. After that, it was off to the airport for me. *sniff*
The flight back here was less enjoyable than the one to Chicago. Everything was good and on time until we were ON the plane, when it took them an additional hour+ to get the luggage loaded. We left about 9:15 instead of 8:00. I tried desperately to get some sleep, but it was futile. So uncomfortable in the little seat. The guy next to me was about eight feet tall and did NOT fit with the legroom provided, for which I felt much sympathy, but that also meant my room was cut down as he tried to maneuver his legs so that they didn't jam into the seat in front of him. We arrived in LA around 11:45 (instead of 10:30), and the luggage carousel was FULL of another flight's baggage. Which the kind airport staff did not remove. Which proceeded to cause the carousel to jam about 5637354687354 times.
I'm thankful I did finally get my suitcase. Whew! I met up with Ryan without too much incident, and we waited another 547325746573574 hours for the shuttle to take us to the parking garage where Sean had parked the car.
Rolled in around 2:30, and now I'm a bit late for work for having written this post. Oops.
Hope everyone has a good day! And, for the record, I miss my family. :(
I took the red-eye in Thursday night. When I got to the airport, they didn't assign me a seat. This had me worried. They didn't, however, make me wait in the huge-ass security line (at ALL), despite being two hours early for my flight. When I got to my gate, the flight had been overbooked and they were asking people to take a bump. With no seat, I was afraid I wasn't going to make the flight at all! Somehow, in all of that, the seat the ended up assigning me was in first class!! Not that I really got to enjoy it, as I was asleep before they came around to offer drinks, but at least it was a comfortable sleep.
On Christmas Eve, I got up and wrapped presents like a maniac. Cooked like a maniac, too. The grandparents (both sets), uncle & girlfriend, and aunt, uncle & two cousins came for dinner. Very nice meal, despite ruining the table cloth with candle wax. Oops. After dinner we sang carols, played Pass the Bag to The Night Before Christmas, and basically had a grand old time. Then we went to church, which was pretty (being the candlelight service and all).
My mom's parents stayed the night, as is their tradition, and Christmas morning was like it always is. Sticky buns and hot chocolate and everyone in their pajamas opening presents while Dad alternately videotapes the whole ordeal and plays with whatever new electronic toy someone received. I had done a drawing for my grandparents, which went over quite well. There were tears.
We went to the aunt's house for dinner around noon, where I learned a game called speed stacking. Quite addictive. And then it was back to my mom's parents' house for supper.
All in all, a very enjoyable Christmas.
Sunday was my day designated for seeing friends. I spent a lot of it in the car, as everyone is scattered in opposite directions. I first drove down to about 30 miles south of Joliet to meet Sarah in a tiny little podunk town with three restaurants (only one of which seemed open). It was really good to see her! It was worth the looooong drive. Hee.
Then, it was up to Gurnee to see Em and Frank (also worth the not-as-long drive). Went up with Meghan and Elenid. Greg's back from Afghanistan and was in town, so he came with his girlfriend, and John was in town from Colorado, and he met us there. We had a very nice meal, and then most of us went to Denny's for some storytelling and reminiscing and all-around laughter. Ha ha. That was good fun. And really nice to see everyone!
Monday was devoted to my mom and sister, as the holiday preparation had left little time to actually visit with them. We went to Starbucks, then see Spanglish (very good), and then to lunch/dinner at Chevy's. After that, it was off to the airport for me. *sniff*
The flight back here was less enjoyable than the one to Chicago. Everything was good and on time until we were ON the plane, when it took them an additional hour+ to get the luggage loaded. We left about 9:15 instead of 8:00. I tried desperately to get some sleep, but it was futile. So uncomfortable in the little seat. The guy next to me was about eight feet tall and did NOT fit with the legroom provided, for which I felt much sympathy, but that also meant my room was cut down as he tried to maneuver his legs so that they didn't jam into the seat in front of him. We arrived in LA around 11:45 (instead of 10:30), and the luggage carousel was FULL of another flight's baggage. Which the kind airport staff did not remove. Which proceeded to cause the carousel to jam about 5637354687354 times.
I'm thankful I did finally get my suitcase. Whew! I met up with Ryan without too much incident, and we waited another 547325746573574 hours for the shuttle to take us to the parking garage where Sean had parked the car.
Rolled in around 2:30, and now I'm a bit late for work for having written this post. Oops.
Hope everyone has a good day! And, for the record, I miss my family. :(
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Wednesday's Hump Day
I still have not bought all my Christmas gifts. *checks calendar* Yep, it'd be December 22 today.
Tomorrow, I head for home. Not to arrive until Christmas Eve, as I'm taking the red-eye. My only concern is that I'm going to get really sleepy waiting for the time to board the plane, and that'd be torture. No one to talk to on the phone to keep me awake at 11 pm Pacific time!
Just like last night. I went out to dinner after work. We left the restaurant about 10:30, and I asked what the quickest way home might be (the restaurant was in a part of the Valley I'd never been). He says "Oh, the freeway's right there, that'll be your best bet."
Um. So, less than a mile after getting on the freeway, we stop. Like, STOP. Dead stopped with no one even inching forward. I knew it was a bad sign when moments later a firetruck and more than a half-dozen police cars wound their way through the gridlock. When emergency vehicles get on after you do, you know you're there at exactly therightwrong time. Yee-haw. We were stuck for the better part of 45 minutes. Turn-off-your-car-and-wait stopped. People were getting out, stretching, walking around, trying to see if there was any hope of getting out of there by morning.
Oh, how I wished someone in the world had been awake to jabber at me. Heh.
Once they finally managed to open the farthest right lane of traffic and we bottlenecked and then finally made it through, everything was smooth sailing. Until I got to my exit, which was inexplicably closed (roadwork?). I had to go halfway to Hollywood before I found an exit that was open (that wasn't an exit leading to yet another freeway), and had to make my way back towards home. Needless to say, I rolled in just after midnight, an hour and a half after leaving the restaurant, for what should have been no more than a 15 minute trip at that time of night. *collapses*
Anyway, good morning all! Forecast for the day: Busy with a touch of annoying. Also, sunny and 70, with a bit of wind off the ocean.
Why why why did I check the outlook for Chicago? *shivers* I'ma need my winter coat to meet me at the airport, that's for damn sure.
Tomorrow, I head for home. Not to arrive until Christmas Eve, as I'm taking the red-eye. My only concern is that I'm going to get really sleepy waiting for the time to board the plane, and that'd be torture. No one to talk to on the phone to keep me awake at 11 pm Pacific time!
Just like last night. I went out to dinner after work. We left the restaurant about 10:30, and I asked what the quickest way home might be (the restaurant was in a part of the Valley I'd never been). He says "Oh, the freeway's right there, that'll be your best bet."
Um. So, less than a mile after getting on the freeway, we stop. Like, STOP. Dead stopped with no one even inching forward. I knew it was a bad sign when moments later a firetruck and more than a half-dozen police cars wound their way through the gridlock. When emergency vehicles get on after you do, you know you're there at exactly the
Oh, how I wished someone in the world had been awake to jabber at me. Heh.
Once they finally managed to open the farthest right lane of traffic and we bottlenecked and then finally made it through, everything was smooth sailing. Until I got to my exit, which was inexplicably closed (roadwork?). I had to go halfway to Hollywood before I found an exit that was open (that wasn't an exit leading to yet another freeway), and had to make my way back towards home. Needless to say, I rolled in just after midnight, an hour and a half after leaving the restaurant, for what should have been no more than a 15 minute trip at that time of night. *collapses*
Anyway, good morning all! Forecast for the day: Busy with a touch of annoying. Also, sunny and 70, with a bit of wind off the ocean.
Why why why did I check the outlook for Chicago? *shivers* I'ma need my winter coat to meet me at the airport, that's for damn sure.
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Christmas is coming!
Woke up with a headache, OMG. Ow. And I didn't even drink last night, so it's not like I'm paying for the fun I had.
Last night was the company Christmas party at House of Blues. The first hour and some was torture, as I was looking for familiar faces and waiting for my coworkers to arrive (they were WAY later than we'd planned on arriving!). But once I found people I knew, the night was a lot of fun. Free food and drink (although, I was driving home so all I had was Diet Pepsi) and dancing. There were tons of people there! I think I managed to see everyone I knew, though (which isn't a ton, but ended up being more than I thought). Good times.
What was not good times was the shirt I ordered specifically to wear to the party was all messed up. I ordered from Victoria's Secret, and paid $6 extra shipping to have it by Friday. I wanted a large, but they were out. She said a medium would be fine with my bra size, so a medium I took. When I finally (after a huge runaround from UPS) had it in my hot little hands? It was an extra-small. An extra small! Yeah, so not happening, folks. Even if I could get into it (and the corset part of it was stretchy, so I could get it closed... ha!), my boobs were spilling out over the top in the most indecent of manners. Was that too much information? Hee.
So anyway, yesterday yielded an emergency trip to the mall, where I finally, after much searching, found two shirts I liked. One I liked a lot, and one I liked alright, but after the 30% off and the 40% off THAT because I was there before noon, it was $10 and I couldn't pass it up. The one I liked a lot, however, was not on sale at all, and was $59. Figures. I hemmed and hawed and figured I'd buy them both, take pictures of them for my family to help with, and if they said go with the black one (the cheaper one), I'd take the purple (expensive) back. The general opinion, however, was that the purple one was WAY cute, and while the black was fine, the purple was better. So. Tis the season to spend money, right?
Other than that, not much happening 'round here. I'm doing laundry, and there is some wrapping that needs to be done, and a few more gifts to pick up. Just a few. I'm going to try to get everything done today. Yay!
Last night was the company Christmas party at House of Blues. The first hour and some was torture, as I was looking for familiar faces and waiting for my coworkers to arrive (they were WAY later than we'd planned on arriving!). But once I found people I knew, the night was a lot of fun. Free food and drink (although, I was driving home so all I had was Diet Pepsi) and dancing. There were tons of people there! I think I managed to see everyone I knew, though (which isn't a ton, but ended up being more than I thought). Good times.
What was not good times was the shirt I ordered specifically to wear to the party was all messed up. I ordered from Victoria's Secret, and paid $6 extra shipping to have it by Friday. I wanted a large, but they were out. She said a medium would be fine with my bra size, so a medium I took. When I finally (after a huge runaround from UPS) had it in my hot little hands? It was an extra-small. An extra small! Yeah, so not happening, folks. Even if I could get into it (and the corset part of it was stretchy, so I could get it closed... ha!), my boobs were spilling out over the top in the most indecent of manners. Was that too much information? Hee.
So anyway, yesterday yielded an emergency trip to the mall, where I finally, after much searching, found two shirts I liked. One I liked a lot, and one I liked alright, but after the 30% off and the 40% off THAT because I was there before noon, it was $10 and I couldn't pass it up. The one I liked a lot, however, was not on sale at all, and was $59. Figures. I hemmed and hawed and figured I'd buy them both, take pictures of them for my family to help with, and if they said go with the black one (the cheaper one), I'd take the purple (expensive) back. The general opinion, however, was that the purple one was WAY cute, and while the black was fine, the purple was better. So. Tis the season to spend money, right?
Other than that, not much happening 'round here. I'm doing laundry, and there is some wrapping that needs to be done, and a few more gifts to pick up. Just a few. I'm going to try to get everything done today. Yay!
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Rumors hurt people!
I heard a rumor somewhere (vicious lies, I'm sure) that Christmas is next weekend.
Now, I've been raised well. Don't believe everything you hear, don't take stock in rumors, don't get involved in gossip. Check, check, double check.
La la la. I have plenty of time to finish my Christmas shopping, yes. La la la, I don't hear you. It's a rumor, just a rumor!
Now, I've been raised well. Don't believe everything you hear, don't take stock in rumors, don't get involved in gossip. Check, check, double check.
La la la. I have plenty of time to finish my Christmas shopping, yes. La la la, I don't hear you. It's a rumor, just a rumor!
Monday, December 13, 2004
Sunlight in the Bathroom
The sunlight comes into my bathroom in the most blinding fashion in the mornings. The room is not large -- there is a small notch carved out of the door so that it will pass by the toilet upon opening and closing -- and the sunlight just comes in and fills up the entire room and bounces off the mirrors and is blinding, I say, blinding. I cannot apply make-up in the bathroom in the mornings because I can't see properly in all that light. I have to go into my significantly dimmer bedroom and use the full-length mirror. And the overhead light in the bathroom is completely useless. If anything, having it on makes less light in there.
So anyway. Caitlin left this morning for a two week trip home, so it's just me and the boyz. I can't believe Christmas is less than two weeks away! This also means that 2005 is less than three weeks away. This, my friends, is insanity. Where did 2004 go? How did it whip by so very quickly?
This time last year, I was in Florence, Alabama visiting my dear friend Heather.
I was contemplating the appropriate time to start inquiring at work about transferring out to California.
Is time moving faster now? I think it might be.
So anyway. Caitlin left this morning for a two week trip home, so it's just me and the boyz. I can't believe Christmas is less than two weeks away! This also means that 2005 is less than three weeks away. This, my friends, is insanity. Where did 2004 go? How did it whip by so very quickly?
This time last year, I was in Florence, Alabama visiting my dear friend Heather.
I was contemplating the appropriate time to start inquiring at work about transferring out to California.
Is time moving faster now? I think it might be.
Saturday, December 11, 2004
On a Saturday in December
The Problem: No real food in the house for lunch.
The Solution: Peanut butter and Nutella sandwich. With a side of Cheese Nips. Mmmm, calories.
To be fair, the Cheese Nips are reduced fat and it's wheat bread, does that count?
Yeah, we should probably go grocery shopping. It's so hard, though, with everyone leaving so soon. Caitlin heads home on Tuesday. Tuesday! Which means Christmas is, like, super duper close. Two weeks away!
Christmas in two weeks I'm contemplating turning on my air conditioning. How weird is that? It's December 11th and 84 degrees outside. I'm not used to it, although I'm not complaining. The weather is one of the bigger reasons I moved out here. With the last couple weeks getting down into the low 30s at night, I was thinking that maybe California isn't as warm as I thought it would be. But, ahhhhh, here we are. 84 and sunny, with blue skies and green palm trees (and a few red-leafed regular trees holding onto autumn) andmountains hills rising up in the distance. Lovely.
The Solution: Peanut butter and Nutella sandwich. With a side of Cheese Nips. Mmmm, calories.
To be fair, the Cheese Nips are reduced fat and it's wheat bread, does that count?
Yeah, we should probably go grocery shopping. It's so hard, though, with everyone leaving so soon. Caitlin heads home on Tuesday. Tuesday! Which means Christmas is, like, super duper close. Two weeks away!
Christmas in two weeks I'm contemplating turning on my air conditioning. How weird is that? It's December 11th and 84 degrees outside. I'm not used to it, although I'm not complaining. The weather is one of the bigger reasons I moved out here. With the last couple weeks getting down into the low 30s at night, I was thinking that maybe California isn't as warm as I thought it would be. But, ahhhhh, here we are. 84 and sunny, with blue skies and green palm trees (and a few red-leafed regular trees holding onto autumn) and
Friday, December 10, 2004
Pictures!
I unloaded all the pictures off my digital camera. There were tons and tons! I uploaded "a few" of my favorites. Some are from my trip home over Thanksgiving, others are from here, just before I went home.
A sample:
My house during the blizzard
We stopped at the beach along the Pacific Coast Highway, right after turning off of Topanga Canyon.
(Jamie, this is what the beach looks like during the day)
The rest can be found below.
Chicago
My house while it was snowing...
...and once it was done (Thanksgiving day).
My street. Notice how well you can read the street signs. *g*
My backyard, all snowcovered and wintery.
Christmas decorations outside Marshall Field's, and the famous clock.
Part of the Chicago skyline.
This bean-shaped dome is in Millennium Park, and reflects the skyline.
My family in front of the Dome, minus my grandparents who stayed home.
The inside of the Dome (I just thought it looked cool).
All the cousins, and part of my grandpa. Boy, do we all look tired or what?
Birthday shots!
The cat. *pets*
California
Same beach as above, different angle.
Um, same beach again...
...and again.
A view into the Valley from Mullholland Drive.
And last but not least, my little Christmas tree (with the camera held a little crooked).
Whew! That was a lot of pictures. And probably only a third of what I unloaded off the camera.
A sample:
My house during the blizzard
We stopped at the beach along the Pacific Coast Highway, right after turning off of Topanga Canyon.
(Jamie, this is what the beach looks like during the day)
The rest can be found below.
My house while it was snowing...
...and once it was done (Thanksgiving day).
My street. Notice how well you can read the street signs. *g*
My backyard, all snowcovered and wintery.
Christmas decorations outside Marshall Field's, and the famous clock.
Part of the Chicago skyline.
This bean-shaped dome is in Millennium Park, and reflects the skyline.
My family in front of the Dome, minus my grandparents who stayed home.
The inside of the Dome (I just thought it looked cool).
All the cousins, and part of my grandpa. Boy, do we all look tired or what?
Birthday shots!
The cat. *pets*
California
Same beach as above, different angle.
Um, same beach again...
...and again.
A view into the Valley from Mullholland Drive.
And last but not least, my little Christmas tree (with the camera held a little crooked).
Whew! That was a lot of pictures. And probably only a third of what I unloaded off the camera.
Wednesday, December 1, 2004
Back to LA
I think I left off on Thanksgiving in my last entry. I was home until Sunday, so there are a few more days of Chicago-y activities to cover here.
Friday: Black Friday Shopping? No.
On Friday, we all went downtown to go to Marshall Field's. It was insane, being Black Friday and all. But fun! Since all the "kids" had stayed at our house and the "adults" at Grandma's, we took separate trains in and met downtown. We briefly lost my dad at the Christkringlemarket (oops), but caught up at Fields. We ate not at the Walnut Room under the tree (4 hour wait for a table... yikes!), but in a little cafe place, Seventh on State. There's an opening in the middle of the store that goes from the top floor to the basement and every floor can overlook it, and it snowed! Inside! Every hour on the hour, snow set to music. That was fun.
After lunch, we went out to look at the windows. They were really good this year. The theme was Snow White, but they were Snow White with a kick. Very funny. For example, Snow White had a Louis Vuitton purse, and the road signs pointed to other fairy tales, etc. Cute. There was also a pair of Salvation Army guys by one of the doors who were singing a verse of The Twelve Days of Christmas, complete with a synchronized dance routine, every time someone donated money to their bucket. Totally made the holiday spirit!
We took a walk to the Civic Center to see the architecture, and then crossed the street to see Millennium Park. It's very modern-looking, but neat. I like it. Afterwards, it was back to Grandma's where some of us stopped for a Christmas parade in downtown Wheaton and we celebrated birthdays.
Saturday: Just One Year From Halfway to Fifty.
Saturday morning, which was also my birthday, the "kids" went to see The Incredibles, which was much better than I was expecting! It was quite cute and funny, and I enjoyed it muchly. Then it was back to Grandma's to celebrate the rest of the birthdays, say our goodbyes, and home to pack.
Sunday: Dad's Day
Breakfast Sunday morning for Dad's birthday, and then off to the airport nice and early. My security line in LA had been over an hour, and this day being the busiest travel day of the year, I was sure it would be a mess. Not the case -- I was at my gate within fifteen minutes of stepping foot inside the airport. Yeesh! I mean, better early than late, but I then had two hours to kill. Heh.
Got back to LA. Caitlin and Sean picked me up like the dears they are. Then the three of us and Ryan went for all-you-can-eat sushi (they treated), and we came home for Ebony and Ivory birthday cake, complete with candles and singing! So sweet!
Monday: Back to the Grind
Back to work on Monday. Nothing terribly exciting, I don't think. La la la.
Tuesday: More of the Same
Yep, nothing exciting on Tuesday, either. My life is thrilling, I swear. Work, home, work, home... like a monkey.
Wednesday: Hump Day
Yesterday was a busy day at work that had me in a constant state of frustration from catching every. single. stoplight on the way to work, all the way through to stop-and-go traffic just because people wanted to see what a fire truck was up to parked on the side of the road on the way home.
But after work, Caitlin and I met the boys in Burbank for a movie. The three of them went to see The Incredibles, which I would have seen again, but somehow wasn't in the mood last night. So I did something I've only done once before (and that was on a Tuesday afternoon for Lost in Translation) and went to a movie by myself. I saw Kinsey, which was very, very good. So many people were in it! Chris O'Donnell, Tim Curry, Oliver Platt, Laura Linney, the friend from Garden State, etc. I had known it was a movie about a sex study, but I never connected that knowledge to the Kinsey Scale, which we all learn about in Psych 101. Ha. Silly me. But yes, quite good. Go see.
Thursday: Day of Rest?
And that brings us to today. Day off, yay! This means I work Saturday, but that's okay. I have lots and lots to do today, so it won't be that restful. At least I won't be at work. ;)
Friday: Black Friday Shopping? No.
On Friday, we all went downtown to go to Marshall Field's. It was insane, being Black Friday and all. But fun! Since all the "kids" had stayed at our house and the "adults" at Grandma's, we took separate trains in and met downtown. We briefly lost my dad at the Christkringlemarket (oops), but caught up at Fields. We ate not at the Walnut Room under the tree (4 hour wait for a table... yikes!), but in a little cafe place, Seventh on State. There's an opening in the middle of the store that goes from the top floor to the basement and every floor can overlook it, and it snowed! Inside! Every hour on the hour, snow set to music. That was fun.
After lunch, we went out to look at the windows. They were really good this year. The theme was Snow White, but they were Snow White with a kick. Very funny. For example, Snow White had a Louis Vuitton purse, and the road signs pointed to other fairy tales, etc. Cute. There was also a pair of Salvation Army guys by one of the doors who were singing a verse of The Twelve Days of Christmas, complete with a synchronized dance routine, every time someone donated money to their bucket. Totally made the holiday spirit!
We took a walk to the Civic Center to see the architecture, and then crossed the street to see Millennium Park. It's very modern-looking, but neat. I like it. Afterwards, it was back to Grandma's where some of us stopped for a Christmas parade in downtown Wheaton and we celebrated birthdays.
Saturday: Just One Year From Halfway to Fifty.
Saturday morning, which was also my birthday, the "kids" went to see The Incredibles, which was much better than I was expecting! It was quite cute and funny, and I enjoyed it muchly. Then it was back to Grandma's to celebrate the rest of the birthdays, say our goodbyes, and home to pack.
Sunday: Dad's Day
Breakfast Sunday morning for Dad's birthday, and then off to the airport nice and early. My security line in LA had been over an hour, and this day being the busiest travel day of the year, I was sure it would be a mess. Not the case -- I was at my gate within fifteen minutes of stepping foot inside the airport. Yeesh! I mean, better early than late, but I then had two hours to kill. Heh.
Got back to LA. Caitlin and Sean picked me up like the dears they are. Then the three of us and Ryan went for all-you-can-eat sushi (they treated), and we came home for Ebony and Ivory birthday cake, complete with candles and singing! So sweet!
Monday: Back to the Grind
Back to work on Monday. Nothing terribly exciting, I don't think. La la la.
Tuesday: More of the Same
Yep, nothing exciting on Tuesday, either. My life is thrilling, I swear. Work, home, work, home... like a monkey.
Wednesday: Hump Day
Yesterday was a busy day at work that had me in a constant state of frustration from catching every. single. stoplight on the way to work, all the way through to stop-and-go traffic just because people wanted to see what a fire truck was up to parked on the side of the road on the way home.
But after work, Caitlin and I met the boys in Burbank for a movie. The three of them went to see The Incredibles, which I would have seen again, but somehow wasn't in the mood last night. So I did something I've only done once before (and that was on a Tuesday afternoon for Lost in Translation) and went to a movie by myself. I saw Kinsey, which was very, very good. So many people were in it! Chris O'Donnell, Tim Curry, Oliver Platt, Laura Linney, the friend from Garden State, etc. I had known it was a movie about a sex study, but I never connected that knowledge to the Kinsey Scale, which we all learn about in Psych 101. Ha. Silly me. But yes, quite good. Go see.
Thursday: Day of Rest?
And that brings us to today. Day off, yay! This means I work Saturday, but that's okay. I have lots and lots to do today, so it won't be that restful. At least I won't be at work. ;)
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Week at Home - Update!
I'm home! I've actually been here the better part of a week, but as busy doesn't begin to describe it, I haven't had the chance to post.
My flight arrived Saturday afternoon without incident, which is exactly how I like things. The hour in the security line at LAX was not unexpected, and therefore not altogether infuriating or anything. I met some nice folks on the flight who gave me their number "just in case," since my family is not in California with me. We also watched The Notebook, which I enjoyed as much as the first time I saw it. I cried. Again.
Saturday night was the annual collective birthday party, this time at Meg's. I felt bad in not really helping with much of the planning (basically just showed up...), but Em and Meg did a wonderful job and it was much fun. We went dancing at the Living Room, which was almost a wedding-reception-like atmosphere (old people gettin' down!). Good times were had in boogying to the oldies. Then some of us went to Fox and Hound for drinks, where we avoided being picked up by a group of young punks. Silly boys.
Sunday was filled with doing things around the house, and then Finding Neverland with Tammy. Great movie. I laughed, I cried, and I was amazed once again by the depth of Johnny Depp's acting abilities. Love.
Sunday night, I finally gave in to the exhaustion caused by four hours of sleep, followed by a late night partying, followed closely by housework and movies and I fell asleep about 8pm, to awake at 10 am the next morning. Fourteen hours, baby!
On Monday, Mom and I went to meet my godmother at Oakbrook for lunch and a bit 'o shopping. How cruel is it to take someone acclimated to a southern California climate and drop them into an outdoor mall in Chicago during winter? Brrrr. Got home from shopping (and arguing my Sprint bill... finally, finally got that taken care of!) and headed back out to the mall, this time with Dad. He needed some guidance on an appropriate gift for Mom.
Tuesday was a bright and early morning, during which I went to Naperville to visit the old coworkers at the bank. I had business to do, too, in changing my address and closing my old checking account. I visited with people for about an hour and a half, and then pointed my (borrowed) car toward Addison and Theresa's. We went for lunch at the Indian place (I loved it; she did not), and then back to her house for a bit. Went back home for about an hour before Meghan picked me up and we made our way to Milwaukee to see Em.
The three of us, Meg, Em and I, had dinner at a yummy Italian place called Louise's. We then went back to Em's apartment (way cute!), where we met up with Frank and headed out to a bar for some drinks. We went to an Irish pub that had live music played by a lovely Irishman. I was hoping I could find him online to see if he had some sort of CD (he mostly covered familiar songs, but there was one Irish song he snuck into his second set that gave me hope of an outside recording), but I was unsuccessful. Boo. After the bar, Meg and I headed back home to good old Illinois.
Wednesday was really the day of housework! I got up early and went to not one, but two grocery stores. I came home and cooked, cleaned, and watched the rain turn to snow before my very eyes. I thought for sure it wouldn't stick, but as the afternoon wore on, I began to realize that the world was turning white. Poor Jessica's usually-three-hour drive home from school was stretched to more than six hours. Mom and I decided to meet her in the Woodfield area for dinner, as it would cut at least 20 minutes from her trip. It took us an hour to get there. An hour to Woodfield! It's usually no more than 15 minutes. Crazy! We ate, and then Jessica and I went into the mall to purchase birthday gifts for Dad. Made it in under the wire this time.
Today, Thanksgiving, was quite nice. One family of relatives didn't make it out of Kansas City (they were to be driving, but the weather got in the way... boo!), and another family was delayed many hours. Instead of a 9:30 arrival last night, they finally rolled in about 2am this morning. Yikes.
Aside from the family stuck in Missouri, all of my "immediate" relatives were here. We had people in from Wisconsin, Texas, New York, Kansas, and, of course, Illinois. And me, from California. That's weird to think about. The day was nice, dinner was delicious, and the company was grand.
Tomorrow, we're braving the madness and heading downtown to eat under the Christmas tree at Marshall Field's. I hope it's not too too crazy. Meep. Saturday is decorating Grandma's for Christmas, and the big family birthday celebration (covering the five birthdays that occur in a week's time), and Sunday I'll go home.
The week is going by so fast. I haven't been able to slow down or relax, and there are SO many people I wanted to see that I won't be able to. It makes me sad. :( The next trip I make (not counting Christmas, as that will be measured in the number of hours I spend in Illinois) will be more comprehensive, friend-wise.
But my kitty, my sweet, sweet cat, is doing well with his three legs. I miss him so much when I'm not here. I didn't realize how much I love just watching TV with him curled up next to me, and how much I miss it. *sniff*
And now that my nails are dry from my little manicure, I can go to bed.
My flight arrived Saturday afternoon without incident, which is exactly how I like things. The hour in the security line at LAX was not unexpected, and therefore not altogether infuriating or anything. I met some nice folks on the flight who gave me their number "just in case," since my family is not in California with me. We also watched The Notebook, which I enjoyed as much as the first time I saw it. I cried. Again.
Saturday night was the annual collective birthday party, this time at Meg's. I felt bad in not really helping with much of the planning (basically just showed up...), but Em and Meg did a wonderful job and it was much fun. We went dancing at the Living Room, which was almost a wedding-reception-like atmosphere (old people gettin' down!). Good times were had in boogying to the oldies. Then some of us went to Fox and Hound for drinks, where we avoided being picked up by a group of young punks. Silly boys.
Sunday was filled with doing things around the house, and then Finding Neverland with Tammy. Great movie. I laughed, I cried, and I was amazed once again by the depth of Johnny Depp's acting abilities. Love.
Sunday night, I finally gave in to the exhaustion caused by four hours of sleep, followed by a late night partying, followed closely by housework and movies and I fell asleep about 8pm, to awake at 10 am the next morning. Fourteen hours, baby!
On Monday, Mom and I went to meet my godmother at Oakbrook for lunch and a bit 'o shopping. How cruel is it to take someone acclimated to a southern California climate and drop them into an outdoor mall in Chicago during winter? Brrrr. Got home from shopping (and arguing my Sprint bill... finally, finally got that taken care of!) and headed back out to the mall, this time with Dad. He needed some guidance on an appropriate gift for Mom.
Tuesday was a bright and early morning, during which I went to Naperville to visit the old coworkers at the bank. I had business to do, too, in changing my address and closing my old checking account. I visited with people for about an hour and a half, and then pointed my (borrowed) car toward Addison and Theresa's. We went for lunch at the Indian place (I loved it; she did not), and then back to her house for a bit. Went back home for about an hour before Meghan picked me up and we made our way to Milwaukee to see Em.
The three of us, Meg, Em and I, had dinner at a yummy Italian place called Louise's. We then went back to Em's apartment (way cute!), where we met up with Frank and headed out to a bar for some drinks. We went to an Irish pub that had live music played by a lovely Irishman. I was hoping I could find him online to see if he had some sort of CD (he mostly covered familiar songs, but there was one Irish song he snuck into his second set that gave me hope of an outside recording), but I was unsuccessful. Boo. After the bar, Meg and I headed back home to good old Illinois.
Wednesday was really the day of housework! I got up early and went to not one, but two grocery stores. I came home and cooked, cleaned, and watched the rain turn to snow before my very eyes. I thought for sure it wouldn't stick, but as the afternoon wore on, I began to realize that the world was turning white. Poor Jessica's usually-three-hour drive home from school was stretched to more than six hours. Mom and I decided to meet her in the Woodfield area for dinner, as it would cut at least 20 minutes from her trip. It took us an hour to get there. An hour to Woodfield! It's usually no more than 15 minutes. Crazy! We ate, and then Jessica and I went into the mall to purchase birthday gifts for Dad. Made it in under the wire this time.
Today, Thanksgiving, was quite nice. One family of relatives didn't make it out of Kansas City (they were to be driving, but the weather got in the way... boo!), and another family was delayed many hours. Instead of a 9:30 arrival last night, they finally rolled in about 2am this morning. Yikes.
Aside from the family stuck in Missouri, all of my "immediate" relatives were here. We had people in from Wisconsin, Texas, New York, Kansas, and, of course, Illinois. And me, from California. That's weird to think about. The day was nice, dinner was delicious, and the company was grand.
Tomorrow, we're braving the madness and heading downtown to eat under the Christmas tree at Marshall Field's. I hope it's not too too crazy. Meep. Saturday is decorating Grandma's for Christmas, and the big family birthday celebration (covering the five birthdays that occur in a week's time), and Sunday I'll go home.
The week is going by so fast. I haven't been able to slow down or relax, and there are SO many people I wanted to see that I won't be able to. It makes me sad. :( The next trip I make (not counting Christmas, as that will be measured in the number of hours I spend in Illinois) will be more comprehensive, friend-wise.
But my kitty, my sweet, sweet cat, is doing well with his three legs. I miss him so much when I'm not here. I didn't realize how much I love just watching TV with him curled up next to me, and how much I miss it. *sniff*
And now that my nails are dry from my little manicure, I can go to bed.
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Charles in charge of our days and our nights...
Had my first celebrity-I-recognized encounter on Monday. I feel a little weird writing this on the internet! I'm not sure why. Let's just say he was very nice, and still looked quite good, and he has to come back again in the next week or so to take care of one more thing, so hopefully I'll get to help him again. Who was it? Here, this'll help:
New boy in the neighborhood
Lives downstairs and it's understood.
He's there just to take good care of me,
Like he's one of the family.
Charles in Charge of our days and our nights,
Charles in Charge of our wrongs and our rights!
And I sing, I want, I want Charles in Charge of me.
Charles in Charge of our days and our nights,
Charles in Charge of our wrongs and our rights!
And I sing, I want, I want Charles in Charge of me.
In other news, I'll be home in Chicago on Saturday. Whee! Busy, busy week, of course. What else would I expect? Ha. I feel like every minute is accounted for, so it won't be very relaxing. The entire (and I mean entire) family will be in for Thanksgiving, so I should get to see all my aunts, uncles and cousins (well, one family is unconfirmed as of yet, but I HOPE they come!). Shall be a good time.
New boy in the neighborhood
Lives downstairs and it's understood.
He's there just to take good care of me,
Like he's one of the family.
Charles in Charge of our days and our nights,
Charles in Charge of our wrongs and our rights!
And I sing, I want, I want Charles in Charge of me.
Charles in Charge of our days and our nights,
Charles in Charge of our wrongs and our rights!
And I sing, I want, I want Charles in Charge of me.
In other news, I'll be home in Chicago on Saturday. Whee! Busy, busy week, of course. What else would I expect? Ha. I feel like every minute is accounted for, so it won't be very relaxing. The entire (and I mean entire) family will be in for Thanksgiving, so I should get to see all my aunts, uncles and cousins (well, one family is unconfirmed as of yet, but I HOPE they come!). Shall be a good time.
Tuesday, November 9, 2004
Sunday, November 7, 2004
Visitors!
This weekend, Jamie and Craig came to visit. I had such a good time, and I'm so glad I got to see them. :) Unfortunately, I had to work late both Friday and Saturday, which stunk big time, but the time I did have was great.
Theme of the weekend: DRIVING
I got down to downtown LA (traffic on Friday nights = not good) after work on Friday to pick up Jamie and Craig, and we headed over to Venice to pick up Caitlin. Then we drove up to Santa Monica so that Jamie and Craig could see the ocean. The American Film Market is going on this week, so the place was hoppin'. We walked along the beach for a bit, but the wind off the ocean can be a tad chilly! We headed inland a few blocks to the Third Street Promenade, where we strolled along, saw a couple street performers, raised our eyebrows at the Christmas snow/ice/stone "sculptures" mixed in with the dinosaur topiaries, and found the Gaucho Grill for dinner. After we ate, it was back to downtown, and back up to the Valley for me (which took about 1/4 as long as it had taken me to get down there earlier). Of course, not before being harassed by a couple homeless men on the corner. Yipes. Some of the richest people in the world live in LA, and so do some of the poorest.
Saturday I had to work (due to a messed up vacation schedule and an untimely interbranch transfer of a coworker). I would have gotten off right quick, but a woman was trying to rob us, I swear. I haven't been more sure of a thing in all my life. She was wasting time, making excuses to stay in the branch until all other customers had left (which, by this time was a good 15 minutes after the doors had been locked for closing), and her attempts at her account were fishy (guessing at her mother's maiden name, having to sign her name three different ways to try to match the signature... needless to say, the teller did not complete the transaction). And I was almost positive she had a gun in her purse. If our security guard (god bless 'im, we hired him temporarily after the last robbery) hadn't stuck to her like glue, I'm sure she would have tried something!
Anway, left work late due to that little fiasco. So by the time I got down to Hollywood to meet Jamie and Craig, it was getting on a little past lunchtime. Plus, the roads in Hollywood (at least Hollywood and Sunset Blvds) were closed due an anti-war/anti-Bush rally. We had to take a detour before we made it to Mel's on Sunset for lunch. After stuffing ourselves, Jamie and Craig wanted to see the big houses, the view from the hills, and the ocean in the daylight. It was almost 4pm. So I took them a bit through Beverly Hills for the nice level-ground estates, and then up into the Hollywood Hills for the views and hillside homes. We drove along Mulholland and pulled off to the side for some pictures. Mulholland dumps you out into the Valley, so I made a valient effort to drive up Ventura Blvd and through Topanga Canyon to get us to the beach before sunset. I was, sadly, unsuccessful. Sun sets too early these days! And it's really a breathtaking view, Topanga Canyon. It's very steep and windy, and you go around one final curve and all of a sudden the Pacific Ocean is straight ahead. The road lets you off onto the Pacific Coast Highway. I wish it would have still been daylight. We stopped for pictures, anyway, before taking the PCH back through Santa Monica and towards home.
We stumbled in around what, 7:30? After a good 3 1/2 or 4 hours of driving. Heh. I gave them the Grand Tour, we looked up some real estate (hee) and then we were off to Blockbuster to rent a movie. Blockbuster was crazy croweded, for no good reason. We came home with movies and beer (for Craig and Caitlin) and settled in. Then I drove Jamie and Craig back to their hotel, and they were off.
The weekend was FAR too short! I'm so glad they came, though. There's so much more to do next time, and of course there's the trying-to-talk-them-into-joining-me-and-moving-here thing. *wink* My roommates also really liked Jamie and Craig. Good times!
Anyway, the couches in the living room and the bed in the kitchen are always available for anyone who wants to visit. *wink wink, nudge nudge*
Today, Caitlin and I ran some errands, ate at Olive Garden, and saw Shall We Dance. Good way to spend a Sunday.
Theme of the weekend: DRIVING
I got down to downtown LA (traffic on Friday nights = not good) after work on Friday to pick up Jamie and Craig, and we headed over to Venice to pick up Caitlin. Then we drove up to Santa Monica so that Jamie and Craig could see the ocean. The American Film Market is going on this week, so the place was hoppin'. We walked along the beach for a bit, but the wind off the ocean can be a tad chilly! We headed inland a few blocks to the Third Street Promenade, where we strolled along, saw a couple street performers, raised our eyebrows at the Christmas snow/ice/stone "sculptures" mixed in with the dinosaur topiaries, and found the Gaucho Grill for dinner. After we ate, it was back to downtown, and back up to the Valley for me (which took about 1/4 as long as it had taken me to get down there earlier). Of course, not before being harassed by a couple homeless men on the corner. Yipes. Some of the richest people in the world live in LA, and so do some of the poorest.
Saturday I had to work (due to a messed up vacation schedule and an untimely interbranch transfer of a coworker). I would have gotten off right quick, but a woman was trying to rob us, I swear. I haven't been more sure of a thing in all my life. She was wasting time, making excuses to stay in the branch until all other customers had left (which, by this time was a good 15 minutes after the doors had been locked for closing), and her attempts at her account were fishy (guessing at her mother's maiden name, having to sign her name three different ways to try to match the signature... needless to say, the teller did not complete the transaction). And I was almost positive she had a gun in her purse. If our security guard (god bless 'im, we hired him temporarily after the last robbery) hadn't stuck to her like glue, I'm sure she would have tried something!
Anway, left work late due to that little fiasco. So by the time I got down to Hollywood to meet Jamie and Craig, it was getting on a little past lunchtime. Plus, the roads in Hollywood (at least Hollywood and Sunset Blvds) were closed due an anti-war/anti-Bush rally. We had to take a detour before we made it to Mel's on Sunset for lunch. After stuffing ourselves, Jamie and Craig wanted to see the big houses, the view from the hills, and the ocean in the daylight. It was almost 4pm. So I took them a bit through Beverly Hills for the nice level-ground estates, and then up into the Hollywood Hills for the views and hillside homes. We drove along Mulholland and pulled off to the side for some pictures. Mulholland dumps you out into the Valley, so I made a valient effort to drive up Ventura Blvd and through Topanga Canyon to get us to the beach before sunset. I was, sadly, unsuccessful. Sun sets too early these days! And it's really a breathtaking view, Topanga Canyon. It's very steep and windy, and you go around one final curve and all of a sudden the Pacific Ocean is straight ahead. The road lets you off onto the Pacific Coast Highway. I wish it would have still been daylight. We stopped for pictures, anyway, before taking the PCH back through Santa Monica and towards home.
We stumbled in around what, 7:30? After a good 3 1/2 or 4 hours of driving. Heh. I gave them the Grand Tour, we looked up some real estate (hee) and then we were off to Blockbuster to rent a movie. Blockbuster was crazy croweded, for no good reason. We came home with movies and beer (for Craig and Caitlin) and settled in. Then I drove Jamie and Craig back to their hotel, and they were off.
The weekend was FAR too short! I'm so glad they came, though. There's so much more to do next time, and of course there's the trying-to-talk-them-into-joining-me-and-moving-here thing. *wink* My roommates also really liked Jamie and Craig. Good times!
Anyway, the couches in the living room and the bed in the kitchen are always available for anyone who wants to visit. *wink wink, nudge nudge*
Today, Caitlin and I ran some errands, ate at Olive Garden, and saw Shall We Dance. Good way to spend a Sunday.
Wednesday, November 3, 2004
Friday, October 29, 2004
Election Day is coming... go vote!
So I'm all registered in this great state, and I've been getting my mailings and watching the news and listening to NPR. I watched two out of three of the debates (the first one I missed due to incorrectly assuming it would not be live on the West Coast). I think I'm actually almost an informed voter! Go me! I just need to figure out all these Propositions, and which ones I should vote Yes on and which ones deserve an emphatic NO! And our dear old governor, who claims to be a Republican but whose policies seem entirely Democratic, is actually jiving mostly with my viewpoints, which is good. Also, I'd like to look into the judicial elections, because there's nothing in the world worse than having bad people in your judicial system. In my opinion, anyway. That's not one you get lots of propaganda thrown at you about, either. Will require a bit more research.
And, after all that political babble, a joke found on a blog:
A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below.
She shoulted to him, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."
The man consulted his portable GPS and replied,"You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.
She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be a Democrat."
"I am," said the man. "How did you know?"
"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."
The man smiled and responded, "You must be a Republican".
"I am," replied the baloonist, "How did you know?"
"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you're going. You've risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it's my fault."
Ahahahahaha! Funny, right? *laugh*
And, after all that political babble, a joke found on a blog:
A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below.
She shoulted to him, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."
The man consulted his portable GPS and replied,"You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.
She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be a Democrat."
"I am," said the man. "How did you know?"
"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."
The man smiled and responded, "You must be a Republican".
"I am," replied the baloonist, "How did you know?"
"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you're going. You've risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it's my fault."
Ahahahahaha! Funny, right? *laugh*
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Sox, drugs and the FBI
Well, the Red Sox won the World Series. I'm not much of a baseball fan myself, but S and C both have ties to Boston so we went to an Irish pub down in Santa Monica to watch the game. Being on the Left Coast, however, by the time we all got home from work and actually made it down to the pub, the game was at the top of the 7th. Still, we saw the exciting part (the end) in a pub full of Sox fans, which was fun.
I've been getting tons and tons of comments posted on my blog about prescription drugs and porn and "check out this link" and such. They're filling up my inbox (at times it was hundreds a day), so I've been banning IP addresses from commenting. I've banned 34 addresses so far (usually multiple emails come from the same address) and I'm still getting them. It's really frustrating. So if I accidentally ban any of y'all from posting comments, let me know.
Also, PSA here. Found this link on another blog. What you post on the web could have serious consequences in real life. This girl posted her opinion of Gee Dubya Bush, and she now has an FBI file that will follow her around for life. Scary!! Go read about it. It's important.
I've been getting tons and tons of comments posted on my blog about prescription drugs and porn and "check out this link" and such. They're filling up my inbox (at times it was hundreds a day), so I've been banning IP addresses from commenting. I've banned 34 addresses so far (usually multiple emails come from the same address) and I'm still getting them. It's really frustrating. So if I accidentally ban any of y'all from posting comments, let me know.
Also, PSA here. Found this link on another blog. What you post on the web could have serious consequences in real life. This girl posted her opinion of Gee Dubya Bush, and she now has an FBI file that will follow her around for life. Scary!! Go read about it. It's important.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Uh oh, accident
Well, today I was in my first car accident in 23 years. I'd rather not do it again, thanks.
I suppose they tell you to stay off the roads when it's raining for a reason. Yeah, people in LA don't know how to drive in the rain!!. I was driving down Melrose, having just left the Paramount lot. Red light, so I stop. Guy behind me? Doesn't so much. I was talking to Caitlin on the phone, and all I could think was Shit, he's going to hit me. And he did.
And you know the most fabulous thing ever? He doesn't have insurance. Fan-frickin'-tastic.
My head hurts, and I can still (seven hours later) feel where I hit the headrest. He couldn't have been going that fast, because he didn't shove me into the car in front of me (thank the lord... that would have been an entirely different can of worms). And my bumper didn't crack, my tail lights didn't break.
So I spent the afternoon of my day off driving all over the Valley getting estimates. I got two. Both were around the $2,000 - $2,500 range. Fab-u-lous. They both say the frame has been damaged, possibly shifted to one side, and it's going to take a disassembly to fix it. Lovely. The guy said he'd pay, as he doesn't have insurance and, obviously, that driving-without-insurance ticket would cost him more. But he was thinking it wouldn't be more than $1,000. Wait until I tell him what the estimates came out, and that he's going to need to pay for my rental car for the "five to eight business days" it's going to take.
But see, I was told that if I get a ticket, my premiums double. What happens to my premiums if I get hit by an uninsured motorist? It's not in any way my fault, but it'll still utilize my insurance. So I'm tempted to not bring them into it if I don't have to, but he's going to have to pay for it. All of it. Including the rental car.
Ugh. This sucks. This sucks a lot. I didn't need this. *pulls hair out* If he's not willing to pay the total amount, I'm filing a police report tomorrow.
I want my mom and dad.
I suppose they tell you to stay off the roads when it's raining for a reason. Yeah, people in LA don't know how to drive in the rain!!. I was driving down Melrose, having just left the Paramount lot. Red light, so I stop. Guy behind me? Doesn't so much. I was talking to Caitlin on the phone, and all I could think was Shit, he's going to hit me. And he did.
And you know the most fabulous thing ever? He doesn't have insurance. Fan-frickin'-tastic.
My head hurts, and I can still (seven hours later) feel where I hit the headrest. He couldn't have been going that fast, because he didn't shove me into the car in front of me (thank the lord... that would have been an entirely different can of worms). And my bumper didn't crack, my tail lights didn't break.
So I spent the afternoon of my day off driving all over the Valley getting estimates. I got two. Both were around the $2,000 - $2,500 range. Fab-u-lous. They both say the frame has been damaged, possibly shifted to one side, and it's going to take a disassembly to fix it. Lovely. The guy said he'd pay, as he doesn't have insurance and, obviously, that driving-without-insurance ticket would cost him more. But he was thinking it wouldn't be more than $1,000. Wait until I tell him what the estimates came out, and that he's going to need to pay for my rental car for the "five to eight business days" it's going to take.
But see, I was told that if I get a ticket, my premiums double. What happens to my premiums if I get hit by an uninsured motorist? It's not in any way my fault, but it'll still utilize my insurance. So I'm tempted to not bring them into it if I don't have to, but he's going to have to pay for it. All of it. Including the rental car.
Ugh. This sucks. This sucks a lot. I didn't need this. *pulls hair out* If he's not willing to pay the total amount, I'm filing a police report tomorrow.
I want my mom and dad.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
CSI! At the Bank!
Today, we were robbed.
No one was hurt, so it was actually a really exciting experience. The bank went under lockdown, the LAPD came in, and the FBI. The FBI! The FBI dusted for fingerprints! That was very cool to watch. But some of the LAPD had Very Large Guns (frighteningly so), and one was quite the Officer Hottie. They were there a few hours. Everyone was questioned separately, pictures were taken, and the bank was closed for a good three hours.
Most excitement I've had at work in a long time. More exciting than the day the power was out and we were trying to fully operate in the dark, without computers. More exciting than the tornado alarms going off and having to usher all the customers downstairs into the safety deposit vault. More exciting, even, than closing Epcot due to a fire, and having to go in on my day off to help some of the 40,000 displaced guests.
Because dude, the FBI dusted for fingerprints! Totally like being in an episode of CSI, without the murder. Super-cool, so long as no one was hurt. *g*
No one was hurt, so it was actually a really exciting experience. The bank went under lockdown, the LAPD came in, and the FBI. The FBI! The FBI dusted for fingerprints! That was very cool to watch. But some of the LAPD had Very Large Guns (frighteningly so), and one was quite the Officer Hottie. They were there a few hours. Everyone was questioned separately, pictures were taken, and the bank was closed for a good three hours.
Most excitement I've had at work in a long time. More exciting than the day the power was out and we were trying to fully operate in the dark, without computers. More exciting than the tornado alarms going off and having to usher all the customers downstairs into the safety deposit vault. More exciting, even, than closing Epcot due to a fire, and having to go in on my day off to help some of the 40,000 displaced guests.
Because dude, the FBI dusted for fingerprints! Totally like being in an episode of CSI, without the murder. Super-cool, so long as no one was hurt. *g*
Monday, October 11, 2004
Blank again
Uh oh, my blog is, once again, blank. Has it been that way for long? Meep! I have been quite busy lately, but with nothing of real importance, it seems. I have no reports of live-altering events or even anything a little bit cool. Hmm.
Spent almost the entire weekend moving Caitlin into my kitchen. *laugh* She found someone to sublet her place Friday, so we packed her up Saturday afternoon, moved some things, and did the rest yesterday morning. We spent the remainder of yesterday setting her up here. In my kitchen. It's quite the arrangement!
She'll share my bathroom and closet, her dresser is in the living room, along with her TV (so now we have two TVs, side-by-side), and her bed and nightstand are in the kitchen, where the never-used table previously was. It's like a little tour bus, or RV.
It's fun having another girl in the house. As much as I love the boys, they're boys. So it's good. Like yesterday, we watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and did French manicures. Caitlin and I, not the boys. Although Sean did watch the movie with us.
Hmm, what else? I've been working a lot. Taking exams. I've taken my L&D (which I passed) and my notary exam (which I'll find out about in a few weeks, but can't imagine I didn't pass). I'm starting to study for the Series 6 and 63, which I have four months to pass. So that's what's been occupying me on the job front. We have a rally on Thursday after work, which is supposed to be fun, but doesn't sound like it to me. Blah blah blah.
Tonight, Caitlin and I are going to a show. One of her company's clients is a hip hop artist, so we're going to see him. He's a really nice guy, but I think he has a little crush on C. Heehee. That shall be interesting, at least.
And that, I think, is that.
Spent almost the entire weekend moving Caitlin into my kitchen. *laugh* She found someone to sublet her place Friday, so we packed her up Saturday afternoon, moved some things, and did the rest yesterday morning. We spent the remainder of yesterday setting her up here. In my kitchen. It's quite the arrangement!
She'll share my bathroom and closet, her dresser is in the living room, along with her TV (so now we have two TVs, side-by-side), and her bed and nightstand are in the kitchen, where the never-used table previously was. It's like a little tour bus, or RV.
It's fun having another girl in the house. As much as I love the boys, they're boys. So it's good. Like yesterday, we watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and did French manicures. Caitlin and I, not the boys. Although Sean did watch the movie with us.
Hmm, what else? I've been working a lot. Taking exams. I've taken my L&D (which I passed) and my notary exam (which I'll find out about in a few weeks, but can't imagine I didn't pass). I'm starting to study for the Series 6 and 63, which I have four months to pass. So that's what's been occupying me on the job front. We have a rally on Thursday after work, which is supposed to be fun, but doesn't sound like it to me. Blah blah blah.
Tonight, Caitlin and I are going to a show. One of her company's clients is a hip hop artist, so we're going to see him. He's a really nice guy, but I think he has a little crush on C. Heehee. That shall be interesting, at least.
And that, I think, is that.
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Update, update, update!
I'm eating a Salisbury Steak Lean Budget Gourmet for breakfast. Yum.
Actually, it's almost 10:00, so it's really kind of brunch.
No work today, because I have my exam for my L&D license at 1:00 in LA. I should probably be a little nervous for it. Eh. I will be when I get there, I'm sure.
Last night, R and I went downtown to see a collection of scenes his friends were putting on. We met C down there. It was nice to go do something different.
So I haven't really gone to work in the last two weeks. Last week, I had training Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. I was at work on Wednesday, but the other days, I was off-site. This Monday I had an exm prep class. Tuesday I was off, Wednesday I went to work, but was there a total of about two and a half hours. I went to the exam prep place again to study. I hope I don't get in trouble for not going back to work... the exam prep closed at 3:30, and I just kinda went home. My brain was fried, I hadn't eaten lunch, and I did come back and study some more. So I was productive. Today is the exam, so I'll be downtown. Tomorrow and Saturday I'll work. It's been a nice "vacation" though!
My cat will come home either today or tomorrow, three-legged. Gosh, I hope he does alright.
Oo, have any of you watched "Lost"? Great show. I am loving it. Doesn't hurt that there's a character named Kate (even though she's irritates me and is probably one of my least favorite characters right now). It's the new X-Files. *laugh* Watch it! Wednesday nights on ABC at 8 Eastern/7 Central. <./shameless plug>
We apparently had an earthquake the other day. 6.0, but it was north of us, about halfway between LA and San Fran. It was supposedly felt all the way to south of LA, but not by me. I missed my first feel-able California earthquake! Not that I want a massive one with damage, but I was looking forward to feeling a little one. Bummer. I think I was driving in the car when it happened. Oh well.
Actually, it's almost 10:00, so it's really kind of brunch.
No work today, because I have my exam for my L&D license at 1:00 in LA. I should probably be a little nervous for it. Eh. I will be when I get there, I'm sure.
Last night, R and I went downtown to see a collection of scenes his friends were putting on. We met C down there. It was nice to go do something different.
So I haven't really gone to work in the last two weeks. Last week, I had training Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. I was at work on Wednesday, but the other days, I was off-site. This Monday I had an exm prep class. Tuesday I was off, Wednesday I went to work, but was there a total of about two and a half hours. I went to the exam prep place again to study. I hope I don't get in trouble for not going back to work... the exam prep closed at 3:30, and I just kinda went home. My brain was fried, I hadn't eaten lunch, and I did come back and study some more. So I was productive. Today is the exam, so I'll be downtown. Tomorrow and Saturday I'll work. It's been a nice "vacation" though!
My cat will come home either today or tomorrow, three-legged. Gosh, I hope he does alright.
Oo, have any of you watched "Lost"? Great show. I am loving it. Doesn't hurt that there's a character named Kate (even though she's irritates me and is probably one of my least favorite characters right now). It's the new X-Files. *laugh* Watch it! Wednesday nights on ABC at 8 Eastern/7 Central. <./shameless plug>
We apparently had an earthquake the other day. 6.0, but it was north of us, about halfway between LA and San Fran. It was supposedly felt all the way to south of LA, but not by me. I missed my first feel-able California earthquake! Not that I want a massive one with damage, but I was looking forward to feeling a little one. Bummer. I think I was driving in the car when it happened. Oh well.
Sunday, September 26, 2004
My little tripod
News on the cat front: we've decided to go with the amputation. I hope the decision is the right one. His surgery is Wednesday, and he will come home three-legged. I wish I could be there with him.
There were a number of things that tipped us toward the surgery. The vet said his leg breaking would happen before the cancer killed him, and if the bone breaks, it's lost enough bone mass that it will never heal and we'll have to put him down. Right now, he's healthy other than the leg. He's got a great attitude and appetite, and he's learned to compensate for not being able to bend his leg (it's in a cast from hip to toe). When he first got the cast put on, he wouldn't sit, he wouldn't get up onto things, he wouldn't go up stairs. He'd only stand and lay down, and laying down took a lot of effort and reorganization. Now, he's going along as if nothing was ever different. He gets up onto the couch, he sits with the leg sticking straight out, and he even goes up stairs. The vet thinks there's no reason to believe he won't adapt just as well to not having the leg there at all.
The other thing that pushed me towards the surgery was stories of other cats just as old as Specks is that survived cancer/surgery/whatever and went on to live a good handful of years, finally dying of old age. He's just too spirited and full of life to put him down now. That's so final.
So when I go home at Thanksgiving, my kitty's going to be a tripod.
There were a number of things that tipped us toward the surgery. The vet said his leg breaking would happen before the cancer killed him, and if the bone breaks, it's lost enough bone mass that it will never heal and we'll have to put him down. Right now, he's healthy other than the leg. He's got a great attitude and appetite, and he's learned to compensate for not being able to bend his leg (it's in a cast from hip to toe). When he first got the cast put on, he wouldn't sit, he wouldn't get up onto things, he wouldn't go up stairs. He'd only stand and lay down, and laying down took a lot of effort and reorganization. Now, he's going along as if nothing was ever different. He gets up onto the couch, he sits with the leg sticking straight out, and he even goes up stairs. The vet thinks there's no reason to believe he won't adapt just as well to not having the leg there at all.
The other thing that pushed me towards the surgery was stories of other cats just as old as Specks is that survived cancer/surgery/whatever and went on to live a good handful of years, finally dying of old age. He's just too spirited and full of life to put him down now. That's so final.
So when I go home at Thanksgiving, my kitty's going to be a tripod.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
My sweet, sweet kitty
I just found out my cat has cancer. He had tests done a little over a month ago, and they came back negative. He's been limping the entire time, so my parents took him to a specialist to have more precise tests, and those came back positive for osteosarcoma in his leg.
He doesn't even live with me anymore, but he's my baby. I was the one who begged and begged for a cat from the time I was four or five until I was seven, and my parents finally gave in. I was the one who picked him out at the shelter, I was the one who named him, I was the one who refused to take him back when the vet said he had a heart defect and wouldn't live longer than a year or two. He slept at the foot of my bed for most of his 16 years, even when I was away at school. He was my cat, even when I wasn't there.
My dad just called to tell me the news, and to tell me to think about what to do. The vet recommends amputation, says Specks is otherwise very strong and thinks he'd do just fine with three legs. It's his back leg, though. I keep thinking of all the things he needs that leg for, like scratching his ear, or jumping up onto the couch, or whatever. I'm trying to decide what his quality of life will be without that leg. Is that the better option? Or would he have a lot of good years left without that leg that we'd be taking away by putting him to sleep?
Right now, the vet thinks he's in pain. I don't want my baby to be hurting, so we have to do something. It just breaks my heart! People will say he's "just a cat," but he's a member of my family, and he's been there for over 2/3 of my life. God. I wish I could be there.
He doesn't even live with me anymore, but he's my baby. I was the one who begged and begged for a cat from the time I was four or five until I was seven, and my parents finally gave in. I was the one who picked him out at the shelter, I was the one who named him, I was the one who refused to take him back when the vet said he had a heart defect and wouldn't live longer than a year or two. He slept at the foot of my bed for most of his 16 years, even when I was away at school. He was my cat, even when I wasn't there.
My dad just called to tell me the news, and to tell me to think about what to do. The vet recommends amputation, says Specks is otherwise very strong and thinks he'd do just fine with three legs. It's his back leg, though. I keep thinking of all the things he needs that leg for, like scratching his ear, or jumping up onto the couch, or whatever. I'm trying to decide what his quality of life will be without that leg. Is that the better option? Or would he have a lot of good years left without that leg that we'd be taking away by putting him to sleep?
Right now, the vet thinks he's in pain. I don't want my baby to be hurting, so we have to do something. It just breaks my heart! People will say he's "just a cat," but he's a member of my family, and he's been there for over 2/3 of my life. God. I wish I could be there.
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Apartment Pics
Today is a gorgeous day to be in LA. It felt like a touch of fall, cool and breezy, but sunny and bright. It kind of took me back to those first few weeks of the semester each fall at college. I expected to be walking to the Psych Building, or something. Lovely.
Anyway, in honor of having gotten my bed, I took a couple pictures of my room. Once we finish decorating the living room, I'll do some in there, too. So far, though, there's nothing on the walls downstairs at all.
This is my lime green desk. Isn't it fun? *laugh* Kind of my crazy purchase, but what the heck. And you see the cooler I use as a desk chair. I need to get myself an actual desk chair one of these days...
My brand spankin' new, super-comfortable bed that I am so excited about. Bed! And the sheets were the inspiration for the sort-of color scheme of the room. Stripes! I was looking for the larger version of that Kandinsky poster, but I never found it, so that one'll do.
Here's my shelving unit, my closet, and a peek into the bathroom there. I love my walk-through closet. It holds all my clothes! It's about twice as big as my closet at home. Definitely one of the things that sold me on this apartment.
And the bathroom. Nothing super-duper exciting to point out in this shot, except for the Finding Nemo pictures above the mirror. Aren't they cute? *g* Then, to match my green desk and the Nemo/water creature-ish theme, I went with the green frogs to tie it all together. Or something.
And that's that. The room I spend a lot of my time in, when I'm at home. I think we're going for all-you-can-eat sushi tonight. My stomach's rumbly. I think it's ready.
Anyway, in honor of having gotten my bed, I took a couple pictures of my room. Once we finish decorating the living room, I'll do some in there, too. So far, though, there's nothing on the walls downstairs at all.
This is my lime green desk. Isn't it fun? *laugh* Kind of my crazy purchase, but what the heck. And you see the cooler I use as a desk chair. I need to get myself an actual desk chair one of these days...
My brand spankin' new, super-comfortable bed that I am so excited about. Bed! And the sheets were the inspiration for the sort-of color scheme of the room. Stripes! I was looking for the larger version of that Kandinsky poster, but I never found it, so that one'll do.
Here's my shelving unit, my closet, and a peek into the bathroom there. I love my walk-through closet. It holds all my clothes! It's about twice as big as my closet at home. Definitely one of the things that sold me on this apartment.
And the bathroom. Nothing super-duper exciting to point out in this shot, except for the Finding Nemo pictures above the mirror. Aren't they cute? *g* Then, to match my green desk and the Nemo/water creature-ish theme, I went with the green frogs to tie it all together. Or something.
And that's that. The room I spend a lot of my time in, when I'm at home. I think we're going for all-you-can-eat sushi tonight. My stomach's rumbly. I think it's ready.
Sunday, September 12, 2004
Movies and mattresses
I saw Garden State tonight. I finally found enough people who saw it and liked it (and no one who saw it and didn't) to convince the friends to go with me. So glad I did. Loved it! Loved. It. If you haven't seen it, do.
I also bought a bed. Or, a mattress and box spring, specifically. I'm sitting here trying to think if it's the biggest purchase of my life, and I think it might be. The security deposit/first month's rent was the biggest check I ever wrote, but that doesn't really count as a purchase. So the bed might very well be it.
I was having some buyer's remorse today, what with having gone with the expensive bed and all. The salesman was kind of looney. We were there, no joke, almost three hours. He told some great stories of his limo driving past, with some really fabulous rock-legend passangers. He offered us weed, he told us of his dysfunctional marriage, informed us he didn't want to have S-E-X with us (yes, he spelled it), and got out at the intersection to rock out to some apparently awesome song on the radio (we were there after hours and ended up leaving at the same time he did). Yeah. *ahem* It was, er, interesting. Did I mention he was, like, sixty?
So anyway, he talked us into the expensive beds. Totally nice, amazingly comfortable, but more money than I'd planned on spending. I guess that's his job. He threw in a free bedframe, cut the delivery fee in half, took off about $100 from the regular price, AND called us back to give us free memory-foam pillows ($69 retail value, yee haw!). I was hemming and hawing this morning, though. Thinking maybe I should go back and get the $400 mattress instead.
And then we did a little research, went to another mattress chain (that promises to "never be undersold or your mattress is free"), and found out that we really did get a kickass deal for the beds we bought. The guy at Store #2 about lost his gum when he found out what we'd paid. Guess he was glad he didn't have to beat that price!
Anyway. It gets delivered next Sunday. I can't wait.
I also bought a bed. Or, a mattress and box spring, specifically. I'm sitting here trying to think if it's the biggest purchase of my life, and I think it might be. The security deposit/first month's rent was the biggest check I ever wrote, but that doesn't really count as a purchase. So the bed might very well be it.
I was having some buyer's remorse today, what with having gone with the expensive bed and all. The salesman was kind of looney. We were there, no joke, almost three hours. He told some great stories of his limo driving past, with some really fabulous rock-legend passangers. He offered us weed, he told us of his dysfunctional marriage, informed us he didn't want to have S-E-X with us (yes, he spelled it), and got out at the intersection to rock out to some apparently awesome song on the radio (we were there after hours and ended up leaving at the same time he did). Yeah. *ahem* It was, er, interesting. Did I mention he was, like, sixty?
So anyway, he talked us into the expensive beds. Totally nice, amazingly comfortable, but more money than I'd planned on spending. I guess that's his job. He threw in a free bedframe, cut the delivery fee in half, took off about $100 from the regular price, AND called us back to give us free memory-foam pillows ($69 retail value, yee haw!). I was hemming and hawing this morning, though. Thinking maybe I should go back and get the $400 mattress instead.
And then we did a little research, went to another mattress chain (that promises to "never be undersold or your mattress is free"), and found out that we really did get a kickass deal for the beds we bought. The guy at Store #2 about lost his gum when he found out what we'd paid. Guess he was glad he didn't have to beat that price!
Anyway. It gets delivered next Sunday. I can't wait.
Monday, September 6, 2004
"Why I Adore My State," or "My Trip to San Francisco."
So Friday, right after work, C., S. and I hopped on the 101 and headed northward. We arrived in Santa Cruz about 2:00 in the morning and promptly crashed at M's house.
On Saturday, however, we got to see a bit more of this fine state of ours. Especially because it was light out at the time. We first drove to Big Basin to see the redwoods. So. Freaking. Cool. I've never seen redwoods, and I'm positive these weren't the largest in California, but they were big to me! We took pictures, climbed, and hiked, and then headed to the beach. Beautiful! I haven't found a beach in LA that hasn't been packed with people (of course, I haven't had time to really look too far), so it was a nice change, if not a little chilly. We spent the evening wandering in downtown Santa Cruz, window shopping and eating gelato. Yum!
We got up bright and early on Sunday and headed up the Pacific Coast Highway to San Francisco. Can I just say that San Francisco must be one of the coolest cities ever? We only spent the day, but I fell in love. It's SO much prettier than here. LA's like a big, sprawling, cement suburb. Which has its charm, to be sure. But San Fran was just so neat! We took a cruise on the bay, went under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz. Then we headed to Chinatown for lunch and bartering (if the woman would have come down three dollars on the price of the purse I wanted (she came down from $70 to $48, but I only had $45), I'd have bought it), and then over to Golden Gate Park to walk through the gardens.
Afterwards, we drove over the Bridge, and then down Lombard Street, which is the zig-zaggiest road in the world, or something. It's literally a zig-zag. So much fun. And then home, back down Highway 1, which was right in time to pull off to some rocks overlooking the ocean for the sunset over the Pacific. There were surfers and a wedding going on, and it was the most gorgeous sunset I think I've seen.
The trip was not even ruined by the hour wait for food at Denny's, which we never got before giving up and going to Taco Bell.
Then today, we set off back down the PCH at about 9:30 in the morning, which is, again, the most beautiful road I have ever been on. The views were breathtaking. I made S. drive for a while, since I'm always behind the wheel when there's cool stuff to see. Plus, I think he was frustrated with the slowness at which I was taking the curves. Heh. We landed in Santa Barbara to visit with a friend of mine for ice cream, and then made it back to LA about 7:30.
It's been a long day, and a long weekend, but for sure the most fun I've had in a very long time.
And then tonight, C and I went out, but that's a story for tomorrow, as I'm about to crash. *yawn*
On Saturday, however, we got to see a bit more of this fine state of ours. Especially because it was light out at the time. We first drove to Big Basin to see the redwoods. So. Freaking. Cool. I've never seen redwoods, and I'm positive these weren't the largest in California, but they were big to me! We took pictures, climbed, and hiked, and then headed to the beach. Beautiful! I haven't found a beach in LA that hasn't been packed with people (of course, I haven't had time to really look too far), so it was a nice change, if not a little chilly. We spent the evening wandering in downtown Santa Cruz, window shopping and eating gelato. Yum!
We got up bright and early on Sunday and headed up the Pacific Coast Highway to San Francisco. Can I just say that San Francisco must be one of the coolest cities ever? We only spent the day, but I fell in love. It's SO much prettier than here. LA's like a big, sprawling, cement suburb. Which has its charm, to be sure. But San Fran was just so neat! We took a cruise on the bay, went under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz. Then we headed to Chinatown for lunch and bartering (if the woman would have come down three dollars on the price of the purse I wanted (she came down from $70 to $48, but I only had $45), I'd have bought it), and then over to Golden Gate Park to walk through the gardens.
Afterwards, we drove over the Bridge, and then down Lombard Street, which is the zig-zaggiest road in the world, or something. It's literally a zig-zag. So much fun. And then home, back down Highway 1, which was right in time to pull off to some rocks overlooking the ocean for the sunset over the Pacific. There were surfers and a wedding going on, and it was the most gorgeous sunset I think I've seen.
The trip was not even ruined by the hour wait for food at Denny's, which we never got before giving up and going to Taco Bell.
Then today, we set off back down the PCH at about 9:30 in the morning, which is, again, the most beautiful road I have ever been on. The views were breathtaking. I made S. drive for a while, since I'm always behind the wheel when there's cool stuff to see. Plus, I think he was frustrated with the slowness at which I was taking the curves. Heh. We landed in Santa Barbara to visit with a friend of mine for ice cream, and then made it back to LA about 7:30.
It's been a long day, and a long weekend, but for sure the most fun I've had in a very long time.
And then tonight, C and I went out, but that's a story for tomorrow, as I'm about to crash. *yawn*
Friday, September 3, 2004
Be safe!
To all my Florida friends: Carolyn, Karen, Amy, Gina, and everyone else... I don't know if y'all have to evacuate for this second hurricane, but either way, be safe. I'm thinking about you!
***
C, S and I (ahahaha... CSI... love that show) are going up to San Francisco tonight for the long weekend. We don't have much of a plan, and are staying (hopefully) in Santa Cruz with C's friend. We're planning on leaving right after work, which I know won't happen until 7:30 at the earliest. And it's a six-hour drive. Man, that's gonna be rough. I just hope they stay awake to keep me company while I drive. *laugh*
But I now have auto insurance. AND renter's insurance. I am officially an adult. Would you believe, though, that my auto insurance premiums are almost triple what they were in Illinois? I mean, given, I was an added driver on my dad's policy, and the primary driver of the '92 Dodge Caravan, but still. Gah. And, if I get a ticket, my premiums double. Can you believe it? Double! Who can afford to spend almost $2000 every six months on car insurance? Not me! Now I know why people don't bother. Yeesh. Let's just keep my driving record clear, shall we?
Also, renter's insurance does not cover earthquakes. I guess that's the same as homeowner's insurance not covering floods, but that's a sucky deal, yo. And you have to have renter's insurance before you can get earthquake insurance. I suppose I should look into that, too. Suckage. The money, it's a-goin' fast.
But I have my California plates on my car, and I got my California driver's license yesterday, so I'm practically a Californian now. Heh.
***
C, S and I (ahahaha... CSI... love that show) are going up to San Francisco tonight for the long weekend. We don't have much of a plan, and are staying (hopefully) in Santa Cruz with C's friend. We're planning on leaving right after work, which I know won't happen until 7:30 at the earliest. And it's a six-hour drive. Man, that's gonna be rough. I just hope they stay awake to keep me company while I drive. *laugh*
But I now have auto insurance. AND renter's insurance. I am officially an adult. Would you believe, though, that my auto insurance premiums are almost triple what they were in Illinois? I mean, given, I was an added driver on my dad's policy, and the primary driver of the '92 Dodge Caravan, but still. Gah. And, if I get a ticket, my premiums double. Can you believe it? Double! Who can afford to spend almost $2000 every six months on car insurance? Not me! Now I know why people don't bother. Yeesh. Let's just keep my driving record clear, shall we?
Also, renter's insurance does not cover earthquakes. I guess that's the same as homeowner's insurance not covering floods, but that's a sucky deal, yo. And you have to have renter's insurance before you can get earthquake insurance. I suppose I should look into that, too. Suckage. The money, it's a-goin' fast.
But I have my California plates on my car, and I got my California driver's license yesterday, so I'm practically a Californian now. Heh.
Wednesday, September 1, 2004
Update in Cali
I don't feel like I've got anything groundbreaking to report around here. Heh. My days usually consist of work, and then some kind of shopping (Wal*Mart, grocery store, IKEA, Home Depot, etc). Someday, I will have a finished apartment. Today is not that day.
I do, however, have a refrigerator! It was delivered on Sunday. It's SO nice to not have to use the cooler anymore. I had three weeks with that cooler, and it was good to me, but boy is it nice to have a real refrigerator. And a freezer.
I also have a computer desk. It's super-cute, even though we put it together backwards. *laugh* Oh well, it's fine. Heh. The instructions were the WORST instructions I've ever read in my life. Bah.
My also major time-taker has been shopping for auto insurance. What a headache! I hate, hate, hate it. I've gotten quotes that sound astronomically high, and then one that seems reasonable, but I don't know if the "reasonable" one is that way because they're very selective in who they insure, or if the company's crap. Ugh. I don't know how to find out, either. Suck, suck, suck. Can I be a kid again?
I do, however, have a refrigerator! It was delivered on Sunday. It's SO nice to not have to use the cooler anymore. I had three weeks with that cooler, and it was good to me, but boy is it nice to have a real refrigerator. And a freezer.
I also have a computer desk. It's super-cute, even though we put it together backwards. *laugh* Oh well, it's fine. Heh. The instructions were the WORST instructions I've ever read in my life. Bah.
My also major time-taker has been shopping for auto insurance. What a headache! I hate, hate, hate it. I've gotten quotes that sound astronomically high, and then one that seems reasonable, but I don't know if the "reasonable" one is that way because they're very selective in who they insure, or if the company's crap. Ugh. I don't know how to find out, either. Suck, suck, suck. Can I be a kid again?
Friday, August 20, 2004
Screening and such
On Saturday, Karen's good friend Caitlin and her mom arrived. We spent a busy-busy couple of days shopping for apartmenty things for both of us and GETTING an apartment (across the street from mine <.g>) for Caitlin. They were camped out on my living room floor, which was fun as otherwise I'd be staying alone (the boys haven't moved in yet). I've never lived alone, ever, and it's weird. Heh. So that was good times.
Caitlin met with a producer she'd met previously, who's going to find her work. And he invited her (and, by default, me) to the private screening of his newest movie. Which was last night, at the LA Film School on Sunset.
We parked in the parking garage with a Hollywood legend. He couldn't find the stairs and walked down the ramp, instead. Hee. We watched the film, which was still very much a work in progress. They hadn't chosen the music, so had music that was the type of thing they wanted to use, instead. The color correction hadn't been completed, the sound was sometimes off, and the editing was still a bit choppy. In spite of that all, it was very, very good! The characters were wonderful, the acting was spectacular, and the story was engaging.
Afterwards, we were standing around talking when who walked up to the Producer but LOU EFFING PEARLMAN. Slimey slug of a man. *shudder* I'm not convinced he actually saw the movie. I got a feeling he'd come for the very end, just to show the Producer he'd been there, and to make sure the Producer would be at an event Lou runs every year (which is where Caitlin met the Producer, as he goes as a favor to a friend of his). Yuck, yuck, yuck.
And that was my first Hollywood experience. *laugh* Quite a lot of fun, and much less intimidating than I'd imagined.
Caitlin met with a producer she'd met previously, who's going to find her work. And he invited her (and, by default, me) to the private screening of his newest movie. Which was last night, at the LA Film School on Sunset.
We parked in the parking garage with a Hollywood legend. He couldn't find the stairs and walked down the ramp, instead. Hee. We watched the film, which was still very much a work in progress. They hadn't chosen the music, so had music that was the type of thing they wanted to use, instead. The color correction hadn't been completed, the sound was sometimes off, and the editing was still a bit choppy. In spite of that all, it was very, very good! The characters were wonderful, the acting was spectacular, and the story was engaging.
Afterwards, we were standing around talking when who walked up to the Producer but LOU EFFING PEARLMAN. Slimey slug of a man. *shudder* I'm not convinced he actually saw the movie. I got a feeling he'd come for the very end, just to show the Producer he'd been there, and to make sure the Producer would be at an event Lou runs every year (which is where Caitlin met the Producer, as he goes as a favor to a friend of his). Yuck, yuck, yuck.
And that was my first Hollywood experience. *laugh* Quite a lot of fun, and much less intimidating than I'd imagined.
Friday, August 13, 2004
I have MOST of the essentials, anyway
Still no bed or any kind of furniture, but I have the slightly-snowy Olympics on my antennaed TV; my computer set up on top of one cooler; the other cooler, in place of the refrigerator, is fully iced; I have the remains of an orange-pineapple Slurpee; and I have hot water. Finally. Life, as far as I can see, is good. *g*
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Exhaustion
I am effectively exhausted. It's been quite a couple of days. Here's a rundown:
Sunday
Monday
I was up way too early this morning, I'm still kind of reeling from the last two days, and I'm so tired. So, so tired. I have to work today, and then move the rest of my stuff.
But through this all, the most reassuring thing is that I never thought about giving up and going home. I never once thought "What the hell am I doing here?" It feels right, and I'm excited. I have a job and an apartment, and soon I'll have furniture for the apartment. *laugh*
So I guess it's just onward-ho!
Sunday
- Spent hours looking for a temporary "bed" to sleep on at my completely unfurnished apartment
- Gave up around 3 with plans to go to Beverly Hills to a museum, and then back to Burbank to the IKEA to buy a folding guest cot.
- Just getting into Beverly Hills and the battery charge light goes on. Manual says to pull over ASAP. Make it to gas station that happens to have a service station attached, that happens to be open on Sundays, that happens to be AAA-certified, AND that happens to be about 4 blocks from the museum. They'll charge the battery and see if that helps, which will take an hour.
- Go to museum. Very cool. They were doing an exhibit on set decoration, so we saw sets from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Spider-Man 2, Haunted Mansion, among others.
- Go back to car place. Alternator and battery both need to be replaced. Can be done tomorrow (Monday).
- Leave car, call for cab to go to LAX, because the only car rental places open on Sundays are at the airport. Amuse the girl at AAA when she asks for the zip code I'm in... the only one I knew was from Beverly Hills, 90210, and she just about died laughing when it worked. Hee.
- Pick up rental from airport, head to Burbank IKEA for cot. Cot is SOLD OUT, which it did NOT say (other items did have signs if they were unavailable). I about cried. Nothing to sleep on, we'd searched all day, and my car was stuck in Beverly Hills.
Monday
- First day of work. Not what I would call the best day ever.
- We were completely understaffed. No one had three minutes to show me around, tell me what was expected of me, or even show me where we keep things I would be needing to use. They were busy, CRAZY busy, but that kind of sucked.
- Didn't even have a key to the bathroom.
- My computer wasn't working until 4:30 pm, despite the fact I had to take customers. Without a computer. In a brand new bank, in a brand new state with different laws and rules and ways of doing things.
- Went to get cashiers check for the lease signing that night... wire transfer that was sent Saturday was not in.
- Cue Kate's practical breakdown.
- Turns out the wire HAD been received, but would not post to my account until overnight. Which meant I would not have access to the money until today, about 12 hours too late for the lease signing. At this point, I'm near tears.
- A wonderful, wonderful woman who works there, my angel, wrote me the check out of her personal account. She'd not even known me for eight hours, and she wrote me a check for $2600. I still can't believe it. I don't know what I would have done.
- Left work earlyish to get to lease signing. Signed lease, WHEW! Moved some stuff in.
- Went to dinner with my mom and the roommates.
- Went with Mom to Beverly Hills to get the car. Had to say good-bye in the gas station parking lot. *sniff* Not the best farewell ever. She went to the airport in the rental, I went home in my car. I wish I could have taken her to the airport, but it really didn't make sense for me to drive all the way out there, FOLLOW her out there, JUST to say goodbye and turn around and come back home.
- Came back to the hotel to crash, but was so wired from the emotional rollercoaster of the day that I couldn't fall asleep. Or stay asleep.
I was up way too early this morning, I'm still kind of reeling from the last two days, and I'm so tired. So, so tired. I have to work today, and then move the rest of my stuff.
But through this all, the most reassuring thing is that I never thought about giving up and going home. I never once thought "What the hell am I doing here?" It feels right, and I'm excited. I have a job and an apartment, and soon I'll have furniture for the apartment. *laugh*
So I guess it's just onward-ho!
Saturday, August 7, 2004
Apartment
We got it!
*throws confetti*
We'd be able to move in this weekend, except that we need a cashier's check for twice the first month's rent at lease signing. All my money is in Illinois. I didn't realize I'd need a cashier's check for it, so I didn't think to deposit the money into my account here last week so that it could clear. So. Dad is going to wire some of it to me, but I don't think I'll get it until Monday. Sadly. Which means no spending the weekend moving things. And at least four more days in the hotel, as I won't be able to do it all Monday evening (have to take Mom to the airport), so I'll have to have this place at least through Wednesday morning. Blech. Oh well.
But! We got the apartment! *dances* It's right smack-dab between all of our places of work, and has three parking spaces. Three! Parking spaces! Which means no fighting for street parking like the rest of the Bozos around there. Hee! And it's gated, which makes Mom feel better. *g*
I'll send out an email once I find out my exact address.
But for now, I have my final four hours of the Class 'o Torture.
*throws confetti*
We'd be able to move in this weekend, except that we need a cashier's check for twice the first month's rent at lease signing. All my money is in Illinois. I didn't realize I'd need a cashier's check for it, so I didn't think to deposit the money into my account here last week so that it could clear. So. Dad is going to wire some of it to me, but I don't think I'll get it until Monday. Sadly. Which means no spending the weekend moving things. And at least four more days in the hotel, as I won't be able to do it all Monday evening (have to take Mom to the airport), so I'll have to have this place at least through Wednesday morning. Blech. Oh well.
But! We got the apartment! *dances* It's right smack-dab between all of our places of work, and has three parking spaces. Three! Parking spaces! Which means no fighting for street parking like the rest of the Bozos around there. Hee! And it's gated, which makes Mom feel better. *g*
I'll send out an email once I find out my exact address.
But for now, I have my final four hours of the Class 'o Torture.
Thursday, August 5, 2004
Lucy in the sky with diamonds...
Don't mind the subject line. That song is stuck firmly in my head at the moment. I think it's because my mom was reading about Lucy the hominid in her brand new sixth grade Social Studies book, and she (Lucy, not my mom) was named for that song.
Yeah. Oookay, Kate.
I'm more than halfway done with my class. *jumps for joy* *throws confetti* Only two and a half more days.
Mom and I went to see The Notebook last night. Soooo good! I knew it was sad, but man, I think I cried through 90% of that movie. I think more because I kind of knew what was coming. *sniff* Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling were just so cute together! Completely adorable.
And now I want to read the book. Which I probably shouldn't, because I've heard it's not nearly as good as the movie, and is full to the brim with sappy dialogue. But I still want to. Perhaps I will.
Babble, babble. None of that was really anything worth writing, now, was it? Heh. I should get ready for class... la la la.
Yeah. Oookay, Kate.
I'm more than halfway done with my class. *jumps for joy* *throws confetti* Only two and a half more days.
Mom and I went to see The Notebook last night. Soooo good! I knew it was sad, but man, I think I cried through 90% of that movie. I think more because I kind of knew what was coming. *sniff* Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling were just so cute together! Completely adorable.
And now I want to read the book. Which I probably shouldn't, because I've heard it's not nearly as good as the movie, and is full to the brim with sappy dialogue. But I still want to. Perhaps I will.
Babble, babble. None of that was really anything worth writing, now, was it? Heh. I should get ready for class... la la la.
Wednesday, August 4, 2004
Fifty-two hours of <i>pain</i>
Yeah. So this training? This mandatory 52-hours insurance training? Is about to kill me. I have now completed 19 of the 52 hours.
*stabs self in eye with spork*
So. Boring. This is our day:
8-9: Review yesterday's info.
9-9:15: Highlight sections relating to review questions for first chapter. Match review question numbers to sections highlighted.
9:15-10: Have chapter read to us.
10-10:15: Do review questions.
10:15-10:20: Go over review questions.
10:20-12:00: Lather, rinse, repeat for second chapter.
12-1: Lunch.
1-4:30: Lather, rinse, repeat again, with two more chapters.
4:30-5:30: Go over ALL the review questions from all four chapters, again, and then do test prep questions, which include half the review questions.
5:30: FREEDOM!
We do get little breaks, but we sit in a room, with 23 students (about three of which are under the age of 40, and about four of which are female), on hard-ass plastic chairs, where there is no coffee, no vending machine, no windows (except for the glass door), and no bathroom (have to go upstairs into the office building above, carrying a huge PVC pipe with a key attached to the end of it to use). Keeeeel meeeeee now!
Somewhere in the 3:00 hour my brain just shuts off. I reach my absorbtion capacity, and can take no more.
Aaaaaand... here I go for Round Three!
*stabs self in eye with spork*
So. Boring. This is our day:
8-9: Review yesterday's info.
9-9:15: Highlight sections relating to review questions for first chapter. Match review question numbers to sections highlighted.
9:15-10: Have chapter read to us.
10-10:15: Do review questions.
10:15-10:20: Go over review questions.
10:20-12:00: Lather, rinse, repeat for second chapter.
12-1: Lunch.
1-4:30: Lather, rinse, repeat again, with two more chapters.
4:30-5:30: Go over ALL the review questions from all four chapters, again, and then do test prep questions, which include half the review questions.
5:30: FREEDOM!
We do get little breaks, but we sit in a room, with 23 students (about three of which are under the age of 40, and about four of which are female), on hard-ass plastic chairs, where there is no coffee, no vending machine, no windows (except for the glass door), and no bathroom (have to go upstairs into the office building above, carrying a huge PVC pipe with a key attached to the end of it to use). Keeeeel meeeeee now!
Somewhere in the 3:00 hour my brain just shuts off. I reach my absorbtion capacity, and can take no more.
Aaaaaand... here I go for Round Three!
Sunday, August 1, 2004
Destination: Los Angeles
I'm here! I start work tomorrow. Or, more specifically, I start my 52-hour training class tomorrow. Monday through Saturday. How's that for a first week of work? Ppbbtt. That's what I have to say about that. I just hope I'm getting paid for it. *crosses fingers*
We got off to a bit of a rocky start last Saturday, after noticing Friday night a bit of antifreeze leaking out of my car. So instead of being on the road at 7am, we were at the repair shop. It did, however, give me time to visit a bit with Tammy and Michelle, so that was nice. A couple hundred dollars, and a new water pump later, we were on our way. Only a few hours late, even.
Day 1 of driving was uneventful. We made it through Illinois and Iowa and into Nebraska. We rolled into Omaha about 9 pm, which is probably as far as we would have gotten, anyway, if we'd left on time. We just would have had some evening hours to relax, instead of arriving, eating a quick dinner and going to bed.
Day 2 of driving took us through Nebraska and into Colorado, to Denver. We did arrive a bit earlier this time, which gave me the opportunity to see John. Did some catching up, which was fun. Good times.
During Day 3, Monday, we stopped in Vail and took the gondola up the mountain. Did a little "hiking" on the trails up at the top and had lunch, then headed back down the mountain to continue the drive. We finished off Colorado and made it a good distance into Utah. The mountains were gorgeous to drive through, and we hit a thunderstorm in the desert, which was pretty neat. We stopped in a little place called Cedar City, Utah, which was very, very small. I guess there is a university there, but there were no breakfast restaurants at our exit, so we had to get back on the interstate going back north to the next exit up for a Denny's. Heh.
Day Four was our side trip day. We went the opposite direction, southeast, towards the Grand Canyon. It was 140 miles, each way, out of the way, but so, so worth it. Getting there, we went through Zion National Park, which was totally and completely gorgeous. Breathtakingly gorgeous. We hit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon a little before noon, and did some more wandering out onto trails and rock overhangs. Really, really beautiful, and not very touristy (as I've been told the south rim is). We had lunch at a restaurant with giant picture windows overlooking the Canyon, and then were back on the road again.
Again, the drive consisted of desert, desert, and more desert. This time, however, instead of a rain storm, there was a dust storm. A mighty dust storm. We got out at a rest area and were greeted with signs warning of rattlesnakes. Eeep! The dust storm picked up again, and we stopped at a McDonald's outside of Vegas where they told us this kind of storm was not typical at all. Lucky us!
We landed in Las Vegas, and took a drive up and down the Strip. We stayed in the Monte Carlo, which was by far the nicest hotel we'd been in this trip. We took the tram to Mandalay Bay for a buffet dinner, doing some piddly gambling along the way. I won $25 off of my initial $3, and then promptly lost it. Oops. After dinner, we walked (and walked and walked) to the Bellagio to see the dancing fountain. We watched it dance to Elton John's "Your Song" and then the National anthem. Very, very cool!
We started off Day Five by walking back to the Bellagio to see the inside (very, very cool... very swanky), through Caesar's Palace, and then over to the Venetian, which was also quite neat. They have a little river with gondola rides (and singing drivers), their very own St. Mark's Square with more singing people, and lots of little shops. Then we were on our way through yet more desert, towards Los Angeles!
We rolled in to Pasadena to a Quality Inn that was not so very "quality." My mom even covered the pillow with a t-shirt. =/ We got dinner in a mall with a parking garage that my dad expertly parked the car AND trailer in. Hee! He's got skilz, yo!
Day Six, Thursday, found us leaving Pasadena to find greener pastures. I became a member of the Pasadena Public Library to use their internet to look up some addresses. Really neat old library! Very cool. And then we were off to a Best Western in Sherman Oaks. We checked me in to the Extended Stay America and moved all my things in, then returned the trailer (FREEDOM!!!), and I met my future roommates for dinner at an Indian restaurant in Sherman Oaks.
On Friday, we spent the morning unpacking much of my stuff, setting up the computer, and trying for internet. The phone, however, was not working. After exhausting every possible cause for the non-service, they recommended we change rooms. So we repacked everything, moved it across the hall, and set up the computer again. We went back to the desk to say we'd moved, and to get a new key, and the woman was like "Why is this computer all locked up? Oh well. Let me restart this while I get you your key." We made one final trip into the old room to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything, and what do you know, the phone was working! Due, I suppose, to the locked computer. Which, HELLO! Oh well. This room is a bit nicer, anyway.
After getting settled, I went online and looked up a bunch of apartments that were available, and Mom, Dad and I drove around (and around and around) looking at possible places from the outside and taking notes on the neighborhoods.
Saturday, we took Dad to the airport. *sniff* I won't see him until Thanksgiving! Sadness. And then I met up with the roomies to look at apartments again. We weren't able to get in to see any, but we left lots of messages. Then, Mom and I went in to Burbank for dinner, which was yummy, and I completely crashed as soon as we got back. I think I was asleep by 8:30. It had been an exhausting week, let me tell you!
This morning, Mom and I got up early and headed down to Sunset to have coffee at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf there. We then drove around the hills up (and when I say up, I mean up)Sunset Plaza Blvd. looking at the houses whose front steps probably cost more than I've earned in my entire life. We then drove through Beverly Hills some, and then back up Benedict Canyon Drive into the Valley (where I will be living and working) to meet the roomies to actually SEE an apartment.
Apartment looked super-nice. 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, two stories. Kitchen, dining room, storage, HUGE closets. And three parking spaces. AND it's just about directly between Burbank, where the roomies work, and Encino, where I work. Gosh, I hope we get it. We had to scramble for some info to turn in with the application, which we will put in the mail tomorrow. Cross your fingers for us!
We went for lunch, and then afterwards, Mom and I took a drive up Mulholland Drive. Goodness gracious is that beautiful! The houses are... WOW, and the views are fantastic! Totally, totally awesome. Then we made our way down the other side of the hills and into Santa Monica. We hit the Santa Monica Pier for ice cream, walked down the beach, waded in the Pacific Ocean, and then made our way to the Third Street Promenade to watch some street performers. Way cool.
And here I am. Back in the Extended Stay and ready to start my L&D License training tomorrow. Whew! *wipes brow*
We got off to a bit of a rocky start last Saturday, after noticing Friday night a bit of antifreeze leaking out of my car. So instead of being on the road at 7am, we were at the repair shop. It did, however, give me time to visit a bit with Tammy and Michelle, so that was nice. A couple hundred dollars, and a new water pump later, we were on our way. Only a few hours late, even.
Day 1 of driving was uneventful. We made it through Illinois and Iowa and into Nebraska. We rolled into Omaha about 9 pm, which is probably as far as we would have gotten, anyway, if we'd left on time. We just would have had some evening hours to relax, instead of arriving, eating a quick dinner and going to bed.
Day 2 of driving took us through Nebraska and into Colorado, to Denver. We did arrive a bit earlier this time, which gave me the opportunity to see John. Did some catching up, which was fun. Good times.
During Day 3, Monday, we stopped in Vail and took the gondola up the mountain. Did a little "hiking" on the trails up at the top and had lunch, then headed back down the mountain to continue the drive. We finished off Colorado and made it a good distance into Utah. The mountains were gorgeous to drive through, and we hit a thunderstorm in the desert, which was pretty neat. We stopped in a little place called Cedar City, Utah, which was very, very small. I guess there is a university there, but there were no breakfast restaurants at our exit, so we had to get back on the interstate going back north to the next exit up for a Denny's. Heh.
Day Four was our side trip day. We went the opposite direction, southeast, towards the Grand Canyon. It was 140 miles, each way, out of the way, but so, so worth it. Getting there, we went through Zion National Park, which was totally and completely gorgeous. Breathtakingly gorgeous. We hit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon a little before noon, and did some more wandering out onto trails and rock overhangs. Really, really beautiful, and not very touristy (as I've been told the south rim is). We had lunch at a restaurant with giant picture windows overlooking the Canyon, and then were back on the road again.
Again, the drive consisted of desert, desert, and more desert. This time, however, instead of a rain storm, there was a dust storm. A mighty dust storm. We got out at a rest area and were greeted with signs warning of rattlesnakes. Eeep! The dust storm picked up again, and we stopped at a McDonald's outside of Vegas where they told us this kind of storm was not typical at all. Lucky us!
We landed in Las Vegas, and took a drive up and down the Strip. We stayed in the Monte Carlo, which was by far the nicest hotel we'd been in this trip. We took the tram to Mandalay Bay for a buffet dinner, doing some piddly gambling along the way. I won $25 off of my initial $3, and then promptly lost it. Oops. After dinner, we walked (and walked and walked) to the Bellagio to see the dancing fountain. We watched it dance to Elton John's "Your Song" and then the National anthem. Very, very cool!
We started off Day Five by walking back to the Bellagio to see the inside (very, very cool... very swanky), through Caesar's Palace, and then over to the Venetian, which was also quite neat. They have a little river with gondola rides (and singing drivers), their very own St. Mark's Square with more singing people, and lots of little shops. Then we were on our way through yet more desert, towards Los Angeles!
We rolled in to Pasadena to a Quality Inn that was not so very "quality." My mom even covered the pillow with a t-shirt. =/ We got dinner in a mall with a parking garage that my dad expertly parked the car AND trailer in. Hee! He's got skilz, yo!
Day Six, Thursday, found us leaving Pasadena to find greener pastures. I became a member of the Pasadena Public Library to use their internet to look up some addresses. Really neat old library! Very cool. And then we were off to a Best Western in Sherman Oaks. We checked me in to the Extended Stay America and moved all my things in, then returned the trailer (FREEDOM!!!), and I met my future roommates for dinner at an Indian restaurant in Sherman Oaks.
On Friday, we spent the morning unpacking much of my stuff, setting up the computer, and trying for internet. The phone, however, was not working. After exhausting every possible cause for the non-service, they recommended we change rooms. So we repacked everything, moved it across the hall, and set up the computer again. We went back to the desk to say we'd moved, and to get a new key, and the woman was like "Why is this computer all locked up? Oh well. Let me restart this while I get you your key." We made one final trip into the old room to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything, and what do you know, the phone was working! Due, I suppose, to the locked computer. Which, HELLO! Oh well. This room is a bit nicer, anyway.
After getting settled, I went online and looked up a bunch of apartments that were available, and Mom, Dad and I drove around (and around and around) looking at possible places from the outside and taking notes on the neighborhoods.
Saturday, we took Dad to the airport. *sniff* I won't see him until Thanksgiving! Sadness. And then I met up with the roomies to look at apartments again. We weren't able to get in to see any, but we left lots of messages. Then, Mom and I went in to Burbank for dinner, which was yummy, and I completely crashed as soon as we got back. I think I was asleep by 8:30. It had been an exhausting week, let me tell you!
This morning, Mom and I got up early and headed down to Sunset to have coffee at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf there. We then drove around the hills up (and when I say up, I mean up)Sunset Plaza Blvd. looking at the houses whose front steps probably cost more than I've earned in my entire life. We then drove through Beverly Hills some, and then back up Benedict Canyon Drive into the Valley (where I will be living and working) to meet the roomies to actually SEE an apartment.
Apartment looked super-nice. 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, two stories. Kitchen, dining room, storage, HUGE closets. And three parking spaces. AND it's just about directly between Burbank, where the roomies work, and Encino, where I work. Gosh, I hope we get it. We had to scramble for some info to turn in with the application, which we will put in the mail tomorrow. Cross your fingers for us!
We went for lunch, and then afterwards, Mom and I took a drive up Mulholland Drive. Goodness gracious is that beautiful! The houses are... WOW, and the views are fantastic! Totally, totally awesome. Then we made our way down the other side of the hills and into Santa Monica. We hit the Santa Monica Pier for ice cream, walked down the beach, waded in the Pacific Ocean, and then made our way to the Third Street Promenade to watch some street performers. Way cool.
And here I am. Back in the Extended Stay and ready to start my L&D License training tomorrow. Whew! *wipes brow*
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Second-to-last day in IL
So, the scheduled time of departure is somewhere around the 7am hour on Saturday morning.
I'm almost ready to go. The majority of the stuff I am bringing is currently piled in my sister's room. I forgot she'd be coming home before I leave... she'll have to do some fancy maneuvering to get around it. Ha.
I now have a pod attached to my car. It's not a trailer, it's a pod. Think "Flight of the Navigator." That's what it looks like. Kinda cute, actually. Fits my car's "personality" pretty well. In fact, the hitch people called this morning to tell me the hitch on my "little car" was ready. Hee. My little Malibu. *pets* I hope my little V6 engine holds out! *crosses fingers*
I had an eye doctor appointment today. $239. After insurance. Good god! Those are some expensive contact lenses, let me tell ya. I had a bit of sticker shock. Meep. I checked 1-800-CONTACTS, though, and it turned out to be about the same. Bummer! And keeping with the medical theme here, tomorrow I have a full-out physical. Like, with drawing of blood and everything. EEEP! I do not like people piercing my skin and taking my blood. *chews fingernails*
Tonight, though, I went to Meg's for one last Indian Garden meal. Yummeh! Really good to see people one last time. Jamie, Craig, Em, Frank, Elenid, Meghan, and Anthony. Good, good times. And Sarah came! Yesterday, I randomly called her because I hadn't talked to her in a while, and she was like "Guess where I'm sitting right now? A's apartment in Chicago!" She thought I was in Washington this week, and I, obviously, thought she was down in central IL where she lives, so that was cool. I'm really glad I got to see her before I left, because I think New Years might have been the last time we got together. Goodness!
And that is really all the updating I have in me at the moment. I have to pack up the things that are strewn across my bed, so that I can SLEEP in it. And then I will sleep, because I'm a tad bit tired at the moment. *yawn*
T minus about 33 hours before I ship out.
I'm almost ready to go. The majority of the stuff I am bringing is currently piled in my sister's room. I forgot she'd be coming home before I leave... she'll have to do some fancy maneuvering to get around it. Ha.
I now have a pod attached to my car. It's not a trailer, it's a pod. Think "Flight of the Navigator." That's what it looks like. Kinda cute, actually. Fits my car's "personality" pretty well. In fact, the hitch people called this morning to tell me the hitch on my "little car" was ready. Hee. My little Malibu. *pets* I hope my little V6 engine holds out! *crosses fingers*
I had an eye doctor appointment today. $239. After insurance. Good god! Those are some expensive contact lenses, let me tell ya. I had a bit of sticker shock. Meep. I checked 1-800-CONTACTS, though, and it turned out to be about the same. Bummer! And keeping with the medical theme here, tomorrow I have a full-out physical. Like, with drawing of blood and everything. EEEP! I do not like people piercing my skin and taking my blood. *chews fingernails*
Tonight, though, I went to Meg's for one last Indian Garden meal. Yummeh! Really good to see people one last time. Jamie, Craig, Em, Frank, Elenid, Meghan, and Anthony. Good, good times. And Sarah came! Yesterday, I randomly called her because I hadn't talked to her in a while, and she was like "Guess where I'm sitting right now? A's apartment in Chicago!" She thought I was in Washington this week, and I, obviously, thought she was down in central IL where she lives, so that was cool. I'm really glad I got to see her before I left, because I think New Years might have been the last time we got together. Goodness!
And that is really all the updating I have in me at the moment. I have to pack up the things that are strewn across my bed, so that I can SLEEP in it. And then I will sleep, because I'm a tad bit tired at the moment. *yawn*
T minus about 33 hours before I ship out.
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
The Nation's Capital
The trip to Washington, DC was wonderful. It was a much-needed vacation in the midst of a lot of stress and craziness. The last time I had a true *vacation* was probably when I visited Heather last year.
Jess and I arrived Thursday, on time. We met Greg for dinner, which was fun. Always good to see Greg. We ate at a brewery near the Capitol, then walked down the mall a bit and met my parents at the Capitol Steps for the Navy band. 'Twas fun.
Friday was the sight seeing day. The fam and I went to the Building Museum, where we saw exhibits on concrete, the Disney Concert Hall in LA (can't wait to see that in preson!), and more. The building itself was breathtaking, with columns that were probably 70 or 80 feet high! Beautiful. Afterwards, we headed to the Spy Museum, which itself was very cool. It went through the history of spying, showing techniques, equipment, and famous spies and their stories. Very neat. Definitely to be recommended if anyone is headed out that way. Then we grabbed lunch, took a little rest at the fountain in the Sculpture Garden, saw the World War II Memorial (very cool), and walked. A lot.
Friday night, we grabbed a quick dinner of snacks in the hotel, and then tried to make our way to Georgetown for "drinks after the rehearsal dinner" for the wedding. Man, the traffic is... unlike anything I have seen! We also wanted to drive by the memorials at night, but after crossing the bridge to Arlington Cemetary four times (everything seemed to dump us out on that bridge!), managing to drive past the Jefferson and WWII memorials, and getting stuck in yet more traffic, we gave up and tried to make our way BACK to Georgetown. Gosh. Traffic... it sucks. But! We met up with the wedding crew, which was nice. Had some drinks, chatted a bit, and then headed home about midnight. We missed our road (nothing, nothing is marked), and Dad decided to just try this new way. Well, after crossing the river, the road took a sudden turn back southward, and with NO side streets or places at all to turn around, took us right back to Georgetown! And all the traffic! AHHHHHH!!! We finally did manage to find the hotel.... after hours and hours and HOURS in the car.
Saturday was a slow morning. We got up, had breakfast, and got ready for the wedding. We the schedule said to catch the bus at 1:15; however, our info was wrong, and we were actually supposed to catch it at 2. But... 2:00 came and went... no bus. 2:15, 2:25... there were probably 25 or 30 people waiting for the bus. Phone calls were made. The bus would be there. 2:30. The church is a half hour away, and the wedding starts at 3. 2:40, we gave up and drove. Fast. Everyone was scrambling for rides, but they held the ceremony and we made it! WHEW!
The wedding was beautiful. Gorgeous. Completely wonderful. They wrote their own vows, and that had us all in tears. Everything was perfect. The buses DID show up to take the crew to the country club for the reception... too bad we had our car there at that point! The club, too, was gorgeous. My mom kept telling me to keep notes on how to throw the perfect wedding. Everything was perfectly orchestrated, for the entire weekend! Nearly everyone was from out of town, and it was choreographed perfectly from event to event. They had a mother-daughter dance in addition to the usual ones, and that was really sweet. And afterwards, they put sparklers in the lawn to make a pathway out to the limo, and it was so pretty in the dark with the sparklers! Very cool.
Sunday morning was the brunch, also very nice. After the brunch, Dad and Jess dropped Mom and me off at our next hotel, and headed off to Baltimore to fly home. Mom and I were staying at the Radisson Barcelo in Dupont Circle. Location was fabulous (close to any sort of public transport you could want, right on Embassy Row, near Georgetown AND the center of DC), but the hotel was not. We had an enormous room, which was quite nice, but we didn't want to walk on the carpet without shoes on. We were next door to a smoking room, so could smell smoke. The bathroom was very clean, but the carpet... gross. And the restaurant had the worst, most expensive breakfast buffet known to man. Don't stay there.
Anyway. After we checked in, we took a stroll down Embassy Row and looked at all the embassies(? Is that how you spell that?). We also took a tour of Pres. Wilson's home, which was surprisingly extremely cool! In the evening, we went to the Kennedy Center to see The Producers. Excellent show. It is an equal opportunity offender. No group is sacred. No matter who you are, you WILL be made fun of in some form. But it was very good! It would be neat to see with Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane. Laughed a lot. Yay! Plus, the Kennedy Center is very cool in and of itself. Saw a free concert beforehand, by some summer youth groups, and they were amazing.
Monday was another ay of sight seeing. We started off the day at the Holocaust Museum. That was the single most powerful thing I have seen or done in as long as I can remember. My god. I was so close to tears at least a dozen times. Intense, powerful, moving... it is a MUST SEE if you are going to DC. It was so well done, it was amazing. I can't say enough about it!
After the Holocaust Museum, we went to the National Gallery of Art. I do love art museums! We saw the only Da Vinci in North America. My favorite exhibit, as always, is the Impressionists. Love them. They have such a neat history, too, the Impressionists. They also had some neat sculptures, some Rembrandts... Very cool place. Afterwards, we took another little rest at the Sculpture Garden fountain (best. fountain. ever), and then did some shopping at Union Station while we waited for Greg to get off work.
We tried to go to a Moroccan place for dinner, but they didn't take credit. Who doesn't take credit! Needless to say, we did not have $26 per person in cash. Would have been very cool. We went to an Irish pub instead, which was quite neat. Greg's roommate met up with us, and it was a nice dinner. Good times.
Then, back to the hotel. Tired!
Today, Tuesday, Mom and I went to the National Cathedral. Also breathtaking. We took a behind-the-scenes tour, which was so neat! They took us up into the towers, pointed out some of the intricate windows, showed us the attic space (surprisingly, very cool). We got to go out on the roof for a breathtaking view of Washington, got to see the massive stained glass windows at eye level. So, so cool.
And then we came home. We got in early, and that was that. A wonderful trip. The weather was gorgeous the entire time, which was wonderful! Perfect timing. Perfect. Yay! Great time spent with the Fam (even though two of them had to leave early) before I move.
And now, I pack...
Jess and I arrived Thursday, on time. We met Greg for dinner, which was fun. Always good to see Greg. We ate at a brewery near the Capitol, then walked down the mall a bit and met my parents at the Capitol Steps for the Navy band. 'Twas fun.
Friday was the sight seeing day. The fam and I went to the Building Museum, where we saw exhibits on concrete, the Disney Concert Hall in LA (can't wait to see that in preson!), and more. The building itself was breathtaking, with columns that were probably 70 or 80 feet high! Beautiful. Afterwards, we headed to the Spy Museum, which itself was very cool. It went through the history of spying, showing techniques, equipment, and famous spies and their stories. Very neat. Definitely to be recommended if anyone is headed out that way. Then we grabbed lunch, took a little rest at the fountain in the Sculpture Garden, saw the World War II Memorial (very cool), and walked. A lot.
Friday night, we grabbed a quick dinner of snacks in the hotel, and then tried to make our way to Georgetown for "drinks after the rehearsal dinner" for the wedding. Man, the traffic is... unlike anything I have seen! We also wanted to drive by the memorials at night, but after crossing the bridge to Arlington Cemetary four times (everything seemed to dump us out on that bridge!), managing to drive past the Jefferson and WWII memorials, and getting stuck in yet more traffic, we gave up and tried to make our way BACK to Georgetown. Gosh. Traffic... it sucks. But! We met up with the wedding crew, which was nice. Had some drinks, chatted a bit, and then headed home about midnight. We missed our road (nothing, nothing is marked), and Dad decided to just try this new way. Well, after crossing the river, the road took a sudden turn back southward, and with NO side streets or places at all to turn around, took us right back to Georgetown! And all the traffic! AHHHHHH!!! We finally did manage to find the hotel.... after hours and hours and HOURS in the car.
Saturday was a slow morning. We got up, had breakfast, and got ready for the wedding. We the schedule said to catch the bus at 1:15; however, our info was wrong, and we were actually supposed to catch it at 2. But... 2:00 came and went... no bus. 2:15, 2:25... there were probably 25 or 30 people waiting for the bus. Phone calls were made. The bus would be there. 2:30. The church is a half hour away, and the wedding starts at 3. 2:40, we gave up and drove. Fast. Everyone was scrambling for rides, but they held the ceremony and we made it! WHEW!
The wedding was beautiful. Gorgeous. Completely wonderful. They wrote their own vows, and that had us all in tears. Everything was perfect. The buses DID show up to take the crew to the country club for the reception... too bad we had our car there at that point! The club, too, was gorgeous. My mom kept telling me to keep notes on how to throw the perfect wedding. Everything was perfectly orchestrated, for the entire weekend! Nearly everyone was from out of town, and it was choreographed perfectly from event to event. They had a mother-daughter dance in addition to the usual ones, and that was really sweet. And afterwards, they put sparklers in the lawn to make a pathway out to the limo, and it was so pretty in the dark with the sparklers! Very cool.
Sunday morning was the brunch, also very nice. After the brunch, Dad and Jess dropped Mom and me off at our next hotel, and headed off to Baltimore to fly home. Mom and I were staying at the Radisson Barcelo in Dupont Circle. Location was fabulous (close to any sort of public transport you could want, right on Embassy Row, near Georgetown AND the center of DC), but the hotel was not. We had an enormous room, which was quite nice, but we didn't want to walk on the carpet without shoes on. We were next door to a smoking room, so could smell smoke. The bathroom was very clean, but the carpet... gross. And the restaurant had the worst, most expensive breakfast buffet known to man. Don't stay there.
Anyway. After we checked in, we took a stroll down Embassy Row and looked at all the embassies(? Is that how you spell that?). We also took a tour of Pres. Wilson's home, which was surprisingly extremely cool! In the evening, we went to the Kennedy Center to see The Producers. Excellent show. It is an equal opportunity offender. No group is sacred. No matter who you are, you WILL be made fun of in some form. But it was very good! It would be neat to see with Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane. Laughed a lot. Yay! Plus, the Kennedy Center is very cool in and of itself. Saw a free concert beforehand, by some summer youth groups, and they were amazing.
Monday was another ay of sight seeing. We started off the day at the Holocaust Museum. That was the single most powerful thing I have seen or done in as long as I can remember. My god. I was so close to tears at least a dozen times. Intense, powerful, moving... it is a MUST SEE if you are going to DC. It was so well done, it was amazing. I can't say enough about it!
After the Holocaust Museum, we went to the National Gallery of Art. I do love art museums! We saw the only Da Vinci in North America. My favorite exhibit, as always, is the Impressionists. Love them. They have such a neat history, too, the Impressionists. They also had some neat sculptures, some Rembrandts... Very cool place. Afterwards, we took another little rest at the Sculpture Garden fountain (best. fountain. ever), and then did some shopping at Union Station while we waited for Greg to get off work.
We tried to go to a Moroccan place for dinner, but they didn't take credit. Who doesn't take credit! Needless to say, we did not have $26 per person in cash. Would have been very cool. We went to an Irish pub instead, which was quite neat. Greg's roommate met up with us, and it was a nice dinner. Good times.
Then, back to the hotel. Tired!
Today, Tuesday, Mom and I went to the National Cathedral. Also breathtaking. We took a behind-the-scenes tour, which was so neat! They took us up into the towers, pointed out some of the intricate windows, showed us the attic space (surprisingly, very cool). We got to go out on the roof for a breathtaking view of Washington, got to see the massive stained glass windows at eye level. So, so cool.
And then we came home. We got in early, and that was that. A wonderful trip. The weather was gorgeous the entire time, which was wonderful! Perfect timing. Perfect. Yay! Great time spent with the Fam (even though two of them had to leave early) before I move.
And now, I pack...
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Soon it will be time to say good-bye
I'm starting to get a little melancholy here. Saturday was the most wonderful going-away party ever, at Meg's. Got to see most everyone, and hang out and chat and laugh and have fun. *sniffle* I'm gonna miss doing that!
Tuesday evening was my going-away dinner after work. We went to Tango in N'ville and had tappas and sangria on the rooftop, and basically just talked and had a good time. Wish we'd have done that more often, because I really like a lot of the people I work with. Worked. I don't work there anymore.
And then yesterday was my last day at work. It was crazy and busy, and there was a bit of a mess I was trying to deal with. It didn't feel like my last day. I forgot some things in my desk, and I didn't have time to take files off my computer with me that I wanted to have record of. Boo. I was rushed, and that wasn't good, but at least I wasn't dwelling on the fact it was my last day. Which I would have done if I'd spent the day cleaning out my desk and finishing up loose ends. I hate leaving things for others to finish, and there was a lot of that, but it couldn't be helped. *sigh*
So, I'm heading to Washington, DC today. Going to see Greg! *bounces* That's exciting. I can't remember the last time I saw him, actually. Then tomorrow is sight-seeing, Saturday/Sunday are Lisa's wedding festivities, and then Monday and Tuesday, I'll tool around DC with my mom. Last alone-time with my momma.
Be home Tuesday night, and then I have the wonderful, gloriously fun (NOT!) job of packing up the rest of my life.
I'm excited and terrified in about equal parts.
Tuesday evening was my going-away dinner after work. We went to Tango in N'ville and had tappas and sangria on the rooftop, and basically just talked and had a good time. Wish we'd have done that more often, because I really like a lot of the people I work with. Worked. I don't work there anymore.
And then yesterday was my last day at work. It was crazy and busy, and there was a bit of a mess I was trying to deal with. It didn't feel like my last day. I forgot some things in my desk, and I didn't have time to take files off my computer with me that I wanted to have record of. Boo. I was rushed, and that wasn't good, but at least I wasn't dwelling on the fact it was my last day. Which I would have done if I'd spent the day cleaning out my desk and finishing up loose ends. I hate leaving things for others to finish, and there was a lot of that, but it couldn't be helped. *sigh*
So, I'm heading to Washington, DC today. Going to see Greg! *bounces* That's exciting. I can't remember the last time I saw him, actually. Then tomorrow is sight-seeing, Saturday/Sunday are Lisa's wedding festivities, and then Monday and Tuesday, I'll tool around DC with my mom. Last alone-time with my momma.
Be home Tuesday night, and then I have the wonderful, gloriously fun (NOT!) job of packing up the rest of my life.
I'm excited and terrified in about equal parts.
Friday, July 9, 2004
Out with a bang... or something like it
The Boss called yesterday, on my day off. This happens often, and at first I was all ready to be irritated. Because... my day off! Pffft. But then I listened to the message (which, by the way, could rival one of my grandmother's... it was about five minutes long, and an entire one-sided conversation in and of itself!).
Apparently, I was the top banker in Illinois this quarter, and was thus invited to the Most Valuable Branch luncheon, which is today. I'm not sure why they waited until the afternoon before the luncheon to let me know, but they did. She said to go straight to the luncheon at 11:45, rather than go into work first. Score! I did have to call back and ask about hours, because if I start four hours later today than planned, I won't make my hours this week. And I'd rather go in to work for a few hours and get paid, than have a lazy morning and not. But-- DOUBLE score!-- she said not to worry about it. Whee!
So anyway, I guess this is a nice way to end my time here. Last year started out rocky -- really rocky. There was a point where I was looking elsewhere. I'm glad I stuck it out, though, as the second half of last year turned up. We got more help, I was more comfortable with the job, and I started really getting to know the customers. I started to almost *gasp* enjoy my job. It wasn't without bumps and annoyances, but it was a thousand times better than it started. I'm just glad I was able to leave on a high note like this. Kind of puts a nice cap on things.
***
Last night, I organized my CDs. Really, really organized them. I threw away ALL the jewel cases that take up a ton of room, and put everything into a massive CD binder. I actually got them all into one binder, and realized it was too small, had to take everything out, and exchange it for the larger one. But now they're there, organized by single artist (and then loosely by musical type, but more by order of favorite), soundtracks (and further divided into Disney, Broadway, and movies), *Nsync (get their own section), Christmas, and burned CDs (compliations, live shows, etc). Whew! It was quite a feat, but I'm feeling rather proud, and really organized. And! All the duplicates (which I make of my favorite CDs as to not ruin the original, and also to be able to listen both in the car and in the house) are nicely in my car visor holder, ready to be moved back into the vehicle.
Go me!
I also packed away picture frames and decorate-y things, which filled one small box and part of another, which will be further filled with non-decorate-y things that need to go with me, anyway. And I cleaned out a few drawers, and got rid of a bunch of clothes I don't want anymore (packed up and ready for Am Vets, whenever they're in the area next), and yes. The room looks like a tornado hit it, but it's getting there. I'm not sure I'll tackle the attic or my loft before I go, as most of that is class projects from grade school, old toys, etc., but that'll be there for me to go through next time I'm home.
And now that I've had my lazy morning, I should actually get ready for work. Yes.
Apparently, I was the top banker in Illinois this quarter, and was thus invited to the Most Valuable Branch luncheon, which is today. I'm not sure why they waited until the afternoon before the luncheon to let me know, but they did. She said to go straight to the luncheon at 11:45, rather than go into work first. Score! I did have to call back and ask about hours, because if I start four hours later today than planned, I won't make my hours this week. And I'd rather go in to work for a few hours and get paid, than have a lazy morning and not. But-- DOUBLE score!-- she said not to worry about it. Whee!
So anyway, I guess this is a nice way to end my time here. Last year started out rocky -- really rocky. There was a point where I was looking elsewhere. I'm glad I stuck it out, though, as the second half of last year turned up. We got more help, I was more comfortable with the job, and I started really getting to know the customers. I started to almost *gasp* enjoy my job. It wasn't without bumps and annoyances, but it was a thousand times better than it started. I'm just glad I was able to leave on a high note like this. Kind of puts a nice cap on things.
***
Last night, I organized my CDs. Really, really organized them. I threw away ALL the jewel cases that take up a ton of room, and put everything into a massive CD binder. I actually got them all into one binder, and realized it was too small, had to take everything out, and exchange it for the larger one. But now they're there, organized by single artist (and then loosely by musical type, but more by order of favorite), soundtracks (and further divided into Disney, Broadway, and movies), *Nsync (get their own section), Christmas, and burned CDs (compliations, live shows, etc). Whew! It was quite a feat, but I'm feeling rather proud, and really organized. And! All the duplicates (which I make of my favorite CDs as to not ruin the original, and also to be able to listen both in the car and in the house) are nicely in my car visor holder, ready to be moved back into the vehicle.
Go me!
I also packed away picture frames and decorate-y things, which filled one small box and part of another, which will be further filled with non-decorate-y things that need to go with me, anyway. And I cleaned out a few drawers, and got rid of a bunch of clothes I don't want anymore (packed up and ready for Am Vets, whenever they're in the area next), and yes. The room looks like a tornado hit it, but it's getting there. I'm not sure I'll tackle the attic or my loft before I go, as most of that is class projects from grade school, old toys, etc., but that'll be there for me to go through next time I'm home.
And now that I've had my lazy morning, I should actually get ready for work. Yes.
Tuesday, July 6, 2004
The days go by, and things get better.
Six days of work.
Seventeen days of Illinois residency (six of which to be spent in Washington, DC).
Twenty-six days before I start my new job.
My little heart is beating a bit more nervously lately. It's all coming so fast. I don't have enough time. To pack, to see my friends, to fit in all the things I want to do before I move.
The nerves were bound to set in at some point. It's suddenly so real, so immediate. Before I know it, the car will be packed, I'll have pet the cat one last time, said goodbye to the only house I've ever called home, and I'll be on my way.
Scary? Yes. Exciting? Yes. One part anxiety, one part thrill. I've been looking forward to this for a long time, and it's happening. Maybe not as fluidly as I'd hoped, but it'll fall into place soon enough. *nods*
Seventeen days of Illinois residency (six of which to be spent in Washington, DC).
Twenty-six days before I start my new job.
My little heart is beating a bit more nervously lately. It's all coming so fast. I don't have enough time. To pack, to see my friends, to fit in all the things I want to do before I move.
The nerves were bound to set in at some point. It's suddenly so real, so immediate. Before I know it, the car will be packed, I'll have pet the cat one last time, said goodbye to the only house I've ever called home, and I'll be on my way.
Scary? Yes. Exciting? Yes. One part anxiety, one part thrill. I've been looking forward to this for a long time, and it's happening. Maybe not as fluidly as I'd hoped, but it'll fall into place soon enough. *nods*
Monday, July 5, 2004
Happy Birthday, America
Well, it's July 5th, but anyway. Heh.
My cousins were in from Kansas City this weekend. It was V's 20th birthday on the 3rd. Happy Birthday, V! Good to see them.
Let's see. Saturday, worked. Went to Grandma's after work to meet with the fam. The "kids" headed back to N'Ville for Ribfest. We parked at the bank, and then walked about a mile and a half to where Ribfest was being held. Paid our $5 to get in, made our way over to the food, and it started pouring. I'm talking serious rain here, folks. We turned around and left, without getting a single bite of food. The walk back was rough, as I was in flip flops. It's quite difficult to walk in a torrential downpour in flip flops. Even though we had umbrellas, we were soaked from head to toe, right down to the skin. So wet we could squeeze water out of our clothes. Got back to Grandma's, and Jess and I went with Mom and my aunt to Kohl's to purchase some dry clothes. I luckily had a second pair of capris with me, so I just bought new underwear. *laugh*
Had the birthday celebration, ate WAY too much, and headed home.
Sunday, we got a late start, and got to Grandma's about lunchtime. Ate again and went to the parade. There was a Canadian marching band in the Fourth of July parade, which I found amusing. It was a pretty decent parade, although I was disappointed in the performance of the shopping cart drill team. They didn't do nearly as complicated a routine from last year. The bagpipes were my favorite, as usual.
Ate dinner (way too much), watched some 4th of July specials, watched the Cubs/Sox game, went for a walk, ate dessert.... can we say the theme of the weekend was Eating?
So that's what I did this weekend. And today, I've been organizing things. Whee. My time is getting short! EEEP!
My cousins were in from Kansas City this weekend. It was V's 20th birthday on the 3rd. Happy Birthday, V! Good to see them.
Let's see. Saturday, worked. Went to Grandma's after work to meet with the fam. The "kids" headed back to N'Ville for Ribfest. We parked at the bank, and then walked about a mile and a half to where Ribfest was being held. Paid our $5 to get in, made our way over to the food, and it started pouring. I'm talking serious rain here, folks. We turned around and left, without getting a single bite of food. The walk back was rough, as I was in flip flops. It's quite difficult to walk in a torrential downpour in flip flops. Even though we had umbrellas, we were soaked from head to toe, right down to the skin. So wet we could squeeze water out of our clothes. Got back to Grandma's, and Jess and I went with Mom and my aunt to Kohl's to purchase some dry clothes. I luckily had a second pair of capris with me, so I just bought new underwear. *laugh*
Had the birthday celebration, ate WAY too much, and headed home.
Sunday, we got a late start, and got to Grandma's about lunchtime. Ate again and went to the parade. There was a Canadian marching band in the Fourth of July parade, which I found amusing. It was a pretty decent parade, although I was disappointed in the performance of the shopping cart drill team. They didn't do nearly as complicated a routine from last year. The bagpipes were my favorite, as usual.
Ate dinner (way too much), watched some 4th of July specials, watched the Cubs/Sox game, went for a walk, ate dessert.... can we say the theme of the weekend was Eating?
So that's what I did this weekend. And today, I've been organizing things. Whee. My time is getting short! EEEP!
Monday, June 28, 2004
Earthshake!
I sure am smappy today! This is how I work things. Days and days (and days) without posting, and then BAM! Three in one day. Heh.
We had an earthquake this morning. Eeeeeearly in the morning, about 1:10 am. I hadn't gone to sleep until almost midnight, so when I woke up, I was like "is it morning yet?" I felt the bed shake, and something on my desk was rocking and rattling.
I thought I'd imagined the bed shaking. And at first, I thought maybe the cat had knocked something on the desk. But the door was closed, and the cat was not in my room. So then I thought maybe a train had gone by. But then I realized we SO do not live that close to the train tracks, as I've NEVER in my life had anything rattle due to a train. Can't even HEAR the train from here. So then I thought, maybe a big truck dropped one of the sewers they're putting in down the street, which made the ground shake. But then I realized it was 1 in the morning, and why on earth would they be working in the middle of the night? So I just rolled over and went back to sleep and figured I'd imagined it, or something.
Then, when I woke up this morning, I remembered the shaking. I thought it couldn't have been an earthquake... could it? So I went online and put in "Illinois earthquake" and sure enough.... it WAS! We had an earthquake!
And I'm not even living in California yet! So, I survived my first earthquake. It was practice. Heh.
Here's the story, if you're interested.
We had an earthquake this morning. Eeeeeearly in the morning, about 1:10 am. I hadn't gone to sleep until almost midnight, so when I woke up, I was like "is it morning yet?" I felt the bed shake, and something on my desk was rocking and rattling.
I thought I'd imagined the bed shaking. And at first, I thought maybe the cat had knocked something on the desk. But the door was closed, and the cat was not in my room. So then I thought maybe a train had gone by. But then I realized we SO do not live that close to the train tracks, as I've NEVER in my life had anything rattle due to a train. Can't even HEAR the train from here. So then I thought, maybe a big truck dropped one of the sewers they're putting in down the street, which made the ground shake. But then I realized it was 1 in the morning, and why on earth would they be working in the middle of the night? So I just rolled over and went back to sleep and figured I'd imagined it, or something.
Then, when I woke up this morning, I remembered the shaking. I thought it couldn't have been an earthquake... could it? So I went online and put in "Illinois earthquake" and sure enough.... it WAS! We had an earthquake!
And I'm not even living in California yet! So, I survived my first earthquake. It was practice. Heh.
Here's the story, if you're interested.
Trip to LA
Oh-kay! Before I forget too much of this, let me post about my trip. Since there wasn't very much "business" to take care of after the roommate fiasco, it was a pretty enjoyable vacation. [I didn't take many pictures, but they'll be posted in the "more" section.]
Sunday
After recovering from finding out I'll be moving alone, we headed out to see some of the town. Our hotel was on Sunset and La Brea, about two blocks from the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Mann's Chinese Theatre. We first set off for the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on Sunset for some caffiene and people watching. That is a very enjoyable place that we subsequently visited many times. Then we went driving up in the hills, looking at the sprawling houses and beautiful views of the city. After the drive, we headed to Mann's Chinese Theatre to see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. (I liked it better the second time around.) After that, we took a stroll down Sunset again to a little Indian restaurant recommended by the hotel staff. It was yummy!
Monday
I had my interview at noon, so we headed out about 11. Got there awfully early, but that was okay. They took me to lunch and then back to the branch to meet the regional manager. It was, all in all, a three-hour ordeal, but it was good. After the interview, I met up with Sarah and Suzanne and we headed into Downtown LA to pick Noora up from the bus station. Once we found Noora, we went back to the hotel for a bit before meeting Noora's friend Angela for dinner at Mel's Drive-In.
Tuesday
Noora stayed at the hotel with us, because Angela had to work. I had an appointment to look at an apartment in West Hollywood, so Suzanne, Noora and I went. Sarah opted to stay home. Well, the guy never showed. Bummer! We went back and collected Sarah before going for a drive (and more house gazing) in Beverly Hills. We had a brief emergency stop at the Beverly Hills City Hall for Sarah to use the washroom before pointing the car towards Santa Monica and the 3rd Street Promenade. On the way, we saw Dave Navarro in his Hummer (I had NO idea who this was, but Sarah and Suzanne were pretty excited). We ate on the Promenade, strolled through some of the shops, and then headed to Westwood for the Spider-Man 2 Premiere.
We arrived about two hours before it was supposed to start, to get ourselves some parking. Angela had told us about a lot that was inexpensive. We stopped at Starbucks, and then headed across the street from the red carpet hoopla, where there were no barriers and no crowds. We parked ourselves on a bench and sat back with our coffee. Before long, however, people started gathering by us, and barriers were put up. Oh well. We were at the front of the pack, in any case!
As people started to arrive, their limos dropped them off directly across the street from us. And the neat thing was that anyone directly involved with the film came across the street to greet us. Alfred Molina (Doc Ock), James Franco (Harry), Willem Dafoe (The Green Goblin), Kirsten Dunst (Mary Jane) and Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man) all came over, along with the creator, the director, and a few others. The non-Spider-Man people did not cross the street (I think they were told not to), but Maroon 5, Hal Sparks, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and many others were there. Then Sarah (our Sarah, not Michelle Gellar) pointed off to the side across the street and said "Dom!" Heh. I don't think he arrived in a limo, but Dominic Monaghan was there, too. We waved and he waved back. That was fun. Pictures of all of this in "More"
After everyone was inside the theatre, we headed to Jerry's Deli to meet Angela for dinner. It was tasty!
Wednesday
Noora was off with Angela, so Sarah, Suzanne and I headed to Burbank for the Warner Bros. Studio Tour. We went in the morning to make a reservation for the afternoon. On the way, we saw Josh Duhamel (Tad in Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!... who I didn't know at all, but Sarah and Suzanne recognized). We had a few hours to kill before the tour, so we drove out to Encino to check out the Extended Stay I'll be staying in, and to make a reservation.
We went back for the tour, and were mistakenly given tickets to the screening of A Cinderella Story. The lady took Suzanne's away when she asked about it. The tour itself was pretty neat. They have a Harry Potter exhibit in the museum, which was probably my favorite part. Costumes and props from the third movie, mostly. Some from the first two. We got sorted by the sorting hat (Sarah and I got put into Hufflepuff, Suzanne, coincidentally a redhead, was sorted as a Weasley into Gryffindor, which was all done with random sound clips from the movie). The rest of the tour was neat... we went onto the "Gilmore Girls" Yale set (I'll have to watch the show now to see it), and got to see the new set for "Joey".
After the tour, we headed into downtown Burbank for food and to walk around a bit. Real cute place. I can't really remember what we did after Burbank... huh.
Thursday
Since Angela works at Disneyland, she was going to just take Noora to work with her. Suzanne and I headed out to meet Noora and hang out at the Land of the Mouse. We started at Disney's California Adventure, rode the Tower of Terror, the California Screamer, saw Muppets 3D, rode a ferris wheel over the Bay, and ate at a Mexican restaurant before heading over to Disneyland. There, we did the Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Star Tours, Mister Toad's Wild Ride, Small World, Matterhorn Mountain, Jungle Cruise, and Indiana Jones. Pirates of the Caribbean was, sadly, closed all afternoon. They kept saying they'd reopen, but it hadn't happened by the time we headed back across to California Adventure for Soarin' Over California (which was totally awesome). After that, we went to Disneyland Grand Hotel for dinner, and then headed home. Whew!
Friday
Sarah and Suzanne went up to Santa Barbara for the day, and Elaina came down from Bakersfield to do some apartment hunting with me. We drove all around Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino, and Woodland Hills looking at places. We didn't actually go into any, but called on a few to see about vacancies and price range. We stopped at Johnny Rocket's in Encino for lunch, and ended up eating a few booths over from Jeri Ryan from Boston Public/Star Trek Voyager. I've never seen either show. Heh.
After lunch, we made our way to Santa Monica to go to the Pier. We had ice cream, waded in the ocean, walked along the beach (sounds like a date, huh? *laugh*), and watched some guys play volleyball. Then we went to the Promenade for some window shopping and more Starbucks before heading back to Hollywood and the hotel.
Saturday
Suzanne, Sarah and I went to Melrose for some shopping. We went into Fred Segal for some sticker shock ($750 for a little cardigan), and to the Beverly Center (just a regular mall... nothin' special), and then to the music warehouse to try to purchase Spider-Man. They didn't have it. We went back to Sunset to the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf one last time, made one last stop at Tower Records and Tower Video, and then headed towards the airport. We got there pretty early, but better early than late.
The flight was uneventful. Watched Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! so I got to see who Josh Duhamel was. Heh. We got in to Chicago early, but for some reason, it took over an HOUR to get our luggage. Ack! Arrived home about 2 in the morning, and that was that.
The lesson learned: I need to buff up on my celebrities. I would have recognized almost no one if it hadn't been for Suzanne and Sarah. I don't watch a lot of TV, so I didn't know half the shows they were talking about. Maybe I should take out a subscription to US Magazine. Ha ha ha. Or not. Anyway.
Below, pictures of Willem Dafoe, James Franco, Kirsten Dunst, Tobey Maguire, and Dom Monaghan.
Spider-Man 2 Premiere
Willem Dafoe
James Franco
Kirsten Dunst
Tobey Maguire
And then, embarrassingly, this popped up on Getty Images...
It has got to be the absolute WORST picture of me EVER. For some reason, I was weirded out by all the people reaching out to touch Tobey, so I was leaning back away from him as far as I could. *laugh* Awful, awful, awful. It could have been a picture of me shaking Tobey Maguire's hand, but instead, it's me making a face, leaning away, and looking generally horrible. And it's from a professional image service. Ack!
Dom
Not nearly as clear as ones of people who did cross the street, but it's Dom! With my camera! Heh.
Sunday
After recovering from finding out I'll be moving alone, we headed out to see some of the town. Our hotel was on Sunset and La Brea, about two blocks from the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Mann's Chinese Theatre. We first set off for the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on Sunset for some caffiene and people watching. That is a very enjoyable place that we subsequently visited many times. Then we went driving up in the hills, looking at the sprawling houses and beautiful views of the city. After the drive, we headed to Mann's Chinese Theatre to see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. (I liked it better the second time around.) After that, we took a stroll down Sunset again to a little Indian restaurant recommended by the hotel staff. It was yummy!
Monday
I had my interview at noon, so we headed out about 11. Got there awfully early, but that was okay. They took me to lunch and then back to the branch to meet the regional manager. It was, all in all, a three-hour ordeal, but it was good. After the interview, I met up with Sarah and Suzanne and we headed into Downtown LA to pick Noora up from the bus station. Once we found Noora, we went back to the hotel for a bit before meeting Noora's friend Angela for dinner at Mel's Drive-In.
Tuesday
Noora stayed at the hotel with us, because Angela had to work. I had an appointment to look at an apartment in West Hollywood, so Suzanne, Noora and I went. Sarah opted to stay home. Well, the guy never showed. Bummer! We went back and collected Sarah before going for a drive (and more house gazing) in Beverly Hills. We had a brief emergency stop at the Beverly Hills City Hall for Sarah to use the washroom before pointing the car towards Santa Monica and the 3rd Street Promenade. On the way, we saw Dave Navarro in his Hummer (I had NO idea who this was, but Sarah and Suzanne were pretty excited). We ate on the Promenade, strolled through some of the shops, and then headed to Westwood for the Spider-Man 2 Premiere.
We arrived about two hours before it was supposed to start, to get ourselves some parking. Angela had told us about a lot that was inexpensive. We stopped at Starbucks, and then headed across the street from the red carpet hoopla, where there were no barriers and no crowds. We parked ourselves on a bench and sat back with our coffee. Before long, however, people started gathering by us, and barriers were put up. Oh well. We were at the front of the pack, in any case!
As people started to arrive, their limos dropped them off directly across the street from us. And the neat thing was that anyone directly involved with the film came across the street to greet us. Alfred Molina (Doc Ock), James Franco (Harry), Willem Dafoe (The Green Goblin), Kirsten Dunst (Mary Jane) and Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man) all came over, along with the creator, the director, and a few others. The non-Spider-Man people did not cross the street (I think they were told not to), but Maroon 5, Hal Sparks, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and many others were there. Then Sarah (our Sarah, not Michelle Gellar) pointed off to the side across the street and said "Dom!" Heh. I don't think he arrived in a limo, but Dominic Monaghan was there, too. We waved and he waved back. That was fun. Pictures of all of this in "More"
After everyone was inside the theatre, we headed to Jerry's Deli to meet Angela for dinner. It was tasty!
Wednesday
Noora was off with Angela, so Sarah, Suzanne and I headed to Burbank for the Warner Bros. Studio Tour. We went in the morning to make a reservation for the afternoon. On the way, we saw Josh Duhamel (Tad in Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!... who I didn't know at all, but Sarah and Suzanne recognized). We had a few hours to kill before the tour, so we drove out to Encino to check out the Extended Stay I'll be staying in, and to make a reservation.
We went back for the tour, and were mistakenly given tickets to the screening of A Cinderella Story. The lady took Suzanne's away when she asked about it. The tour itself was pretty neat. They have a Harry Potter exhibit in the museum, which was probably my favorite part. Costumes and props from the third movie, mostly. Some from the first two. We got sorted by the sorting hat (Sarah and I got put into Hufflepuff, Suzanne, coincidentally a redhead, was sorted as a Weasley into Gryffindor, which was all done with random sound clips from the movie). The rest of the tour was neat... we went onto the "Gilmore Girls" Yale set (I'll have to watch the show now to see it), and got to see the new set for "Joey".
After the tour, we headed into downtown Burbank for food and to walk around a bit. Real cute place. I can't really remember what we did after Burbank... huh.
Thursday
Since Angela works at Disneyland, she was going to just take Noora to work with her. Suzanne and I headed out to meet Noora and hang out at the Land of the Mouse. We started at Disney's California Adventure, rode the Tower of Terror, the California Screamer, saw Muppets 3D, rode a ferris wheel over the Bay, and ate at a Mexican restaurant before heading over to Disneyland. There, we did the Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Star Tours, Mister Toad's Wild Ride, Small World, Matterhorn Mountain, Jungle Cruise, and Indiana Jones. Pirates of the Caribbean was, sadly, closed all afternoon. They kept saying they'd reopen, but it hadn't happened by the time we headed back across to California Adventure for Soarin' Over California (which was totally awesome). After that, we went to Disneyland Grand Hotel for dinner, and then headed home. Whew!
Friday
Sarah and Suzanne went up to Santa Barbara for the day, and Elaina came down from Bakersfield to do some apartment hunting with me. We drove all around Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino, and Woodland Hills looking at places. We didn't actually go into any, but called on a few to see about vacancies and price range. We stopped at Johnny Rocket's in Encino for lunch, and ended up eating a few booths over from Jeri Ryan from Boston Public/Star Trek Voyager. I've never seen either show. Heh.
After lunch, we made our way to Santa Monica to go to the Pier. We had ice cream, waded in the ocean, walked along the beach (sounds like a date, huh? *laugh*), and watched some guys play volleyball. Then we went to the Promenade for some window shopping and more Starbucks before heading back to Hollywood and the hotel.
Saturday
Suzanne, Sarah and I went to Melrose for some shopping. We went into Fred Segal for some sticker shock ($750 for a little cardigan), and to the Beverly Center (just a regular mall... nothin' special), and then to the music warehouse to try to purchase Spider-Man. They didn't have it. We went back to Sunset to the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf one last time, made one last stop at Tower Records and Tower Video, and then headed towards the airport. We got there pretty early, but better early than late.
The flight was uneventful. Watched Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! so I got to see who Josh Duhamel was. Heh. We got in to Chicago early, but for some reason, it took over an HOUR to get our luggage. Ack! Arrived home about 2 in the morning, and that was that.
The lesson learned: I need to buff up on my celebrities. I would have recognized almost no one if it hadn't been for Suzanne and Sarah. I don't watch a lot of TV, so I didn't know half the shows they were talking about. Maybe I should take out a subscription to US Magazine. Ha ha ha. Or not. Anyway.
Below, pictures of Willem Dafoe, James Franco, Kirsten Dunst, Tobey Maguire, and Dom Monaghan.
Spider-Man 2 Premiere
Willem Dafoe
James Franco
Kirsten Dunst
Tobey Maguire
And then, embarrassingly, this popped up on Getty Images...
It has got to be the absolute WORST picture of me EVER. For some reason, I was weirded out by all the people reaching out to touch Tobey, so I was leaning back away from him as far as I could. *laugh* Awful, awful, awful. It could have been a picture of me shaking Tobey Maguire's hand, but instead, it's me making a face, leaning away, and looking generally horrible. And it's from a professional image service. Ack!
Dom
Not nearly as clear as ones of people who did cross the street, but it's Dom! With my camera! Heh.
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