Thursday, September 30, 2004
Except, I'm not talking about
Salt N Pepa. I'm talking about Christina Aguilerra! (you're shocked, I'm sure :)
I haven't been that big of a fan of hers. I mean, looks wise I vote Britney (but now she's kinda gone kinda white trash, so says the trashy magazine I read about her in), but I think we all can agree "xtina" has an actual *voice*. But I DIGRESS!!
Anyway, looks and well-marketed careers aside, more power to the girl because
now she is doing a show on MTV, talking to young people about sex and how our rights are being threatened by Bush Co. YAY CHRISTINA!!
[Warning: Rant!] Abstinence only education is B*S!!!!! Bush (and all supporters of this) need to wake up and realize it's 2004 and there are gay people and underage youth having sex at alarming rates and telling them that "pre-marriage sex" is "bad" is not only dismissing a huge part of our population who CAN'T get married (!!), but it's completely neglecting to advise them of safe sex at. all. What kind of logic is that? It's not. It's ignorance.
Ugg. Sorry I know I've gone off this before - and actually I didn't mean to get my panties in a bunch (so to speak), I actually just meant to sing my praises to Christina. I think she's going to encounter some seriously frusterating and liberating discussions in her quest - but I wish her the best and am so glad she's doing what she's doing!!!
::: Update 10/1
Here's a great animation about why it's important to get a democrat in the WH QUICK!! Check it out > "
A Long Time"
Aaand another one - this is actually kinda funny. It's like our current political situation dramatized into a trailer for a movie:
Check it out:
The Democrats (
coming to a theatre near you winning nov. 2!)
I'm off to my drum lesson (I've been slacking on practicing something fierce!), but Warren goes on tour next week so I want to get one last one in before he goes. I'm taking along some Ben Kweller and some Metric to learn a few songs. Should be fun.
I want these
iPod Speakers!!
:::::
Jem, Rick & I went to Phantom Planet lastnight @ Slims - it was good, but not as rockin as the first 2 times I've seen them. I won't even go into how bad the opener was (we left & came back. we seriously thought they were joking at first, and when we realized they weren't we took off to save our ears the agony)
This Friday though we've got a KICK ASS show: Libertines & Radio 4 - I'm SO STOKED!! Unfortunately Rick has to leave town on business (Tahoe, though, so it's not so rough :) but I've got 4 other girlfriends going with me, so it'll be an awesome time.
I also have photos from last week to post.. and a lot of other stuff that's been on my mind but I haven't been getting around to blogging about.
Tonite I'm going to see a play Matt (my ex-boyfriend) is starring in:
The Designated Mourner
Bye!
Friday, September 24, 2004
[
mental note]
hello all. how's your week been? mine has been good.
I really was kinda stressed coming back from Florida.. and have had some other potentially sad/but now it's happy emotional rollercoasters happen throughout the week... but the good news is I'm back & I'm on a roll!!
However, wouldn't ya know it, I feel like I'm coming down w/ a cold. :( As always though, I refuse to let it get me! So I'm fightin the good fight. I was feeling fine at the beginning of the week...
We went to a show on Tuesday night:
Muse at the Warfield. It was good! Muse was waaay more rockin than we thought they'd be so it was a pleasant surprise. They hadn't listed the openers though and when we got there I was stoked
The Evening were on the bill! Sweet! But get this - they said show started at 8, and we got there at 8:05, and the 2nd band was already on! WHAT GIVES WARFIELD!?!? JeeshK!! The second band wasn't my cup of tea either (America is Waiting ?!?) The name alone I couldn't get into, sorry. Oh and the Warfield strikes out 2x cuz the fancy pants in the light booth obviously thought we LOVED that really bright light flash (obscenely bright) in our eyes over & over & over again. I closed my eyes on the major beats to avoid the OUCH! (looking back this could be my cold starting as my eyes have been way more sensitive to light these last couple days)
Oh! And Rick's friend Jeff joined us for the evening, too, which was cool. He's in town from Boston this week and I was psyched to finally meet him. Him & Rick went to college together - and then traveled through South America together for 7 months! Jeff (Cecil) was a crazy single man at one time apparently, but now he's kinda more settled down (aka happily married) on the east coast. Which is awesome, but he hasn't been out here in a long time apparently - so all his buddies here are psyched to have him out here and partyin like they used to!
So before the show we all went out for some YUMMY sushi at our *favorite* place. Rick & I had been craving and it was soo good, as always!! Jeff really liked it, too, and he said he hadn't had sushi in years! Crazy!
So Wednesday I had BAM and then went & picked up
Jee for a show at Bottom of the Hill:
Fu Manchu w. openers
Rolling Blackouts Jee had sorta turned me onto Fu Manchu a bit more last year and since we'd both missed last time they were in town, we planned to hit this one when we saw they were coming. They were pretty good. It was good to see them live finally, but I'm not sure I'd go see them again. Their songs are cool, and it's fast paced with some good guitar and drums... but sometimes their songs all sound the same. Oh, and a notable trait I have to mention is that the lead singer had one of those classic punk faces, where just before he rocked out really hard, he looks likes he's gonna be sick. It was pretty funny, but in my head I kept thinking "Oh no, he's gonna boot!!" hahaa
Rolling Blackouts were really good actually. Granted my 2 gin drinks were probably kickin in right then.. but seriously, I'd see them again.
Better than any part of the show that night though, was that it was just SO GREAT to see Jee. I hadn't seen her in what felt like forever, but more so we just haven't seen eachother one on one where we could catch up. Luckily, the first band SUCKED (total hard core screamer / santa cruz punk) and so we went in the back & screamed our way through catching up :)
We talked a lot about our relationships... She's in one that's kinda the first of this length & magnitude for her in awhile. And, as you all well now, I'm in one that's SLAYING me on how absolutely amazing it is!!! (not to mention I wouldn't even be in it at all if it weren't for jee!) But good couplehood aside, we've both naturally been wrestling with a few things and it was just fantastic to have some good ol' fashioned girl talk to help sort it all out. xoxo
That night however I probably shouldn't have drank or stayed out as late as I was starting to feel the sore throat coming on. But Fu Manchu played a really long set, so before I knew it it was 12:15 and I motioned to Jee that I really needed to go home to sleep! Coming from my week on the East Coast,where I was forced to adjust to the time zone due to my little sister waking up for school at 6am!, it's taken me awhile to get back in the swing of things back here on the west coast. Staying up to my usual 1am or 2am isn't even an option - and even midnight (3am east coast) has been hard!!
Anyway - by Thursday morning I was sore throat city & really feeling run down & feverish. It's totally just catching my immune system down - so I'm determined to give it a run for it's money and try to kick it's ass outta my body!
So bummer was though, I had a show planned lastnight that I *really* wanted to see: Rilo Kiley / Tilly & the Wall at Bimbos. But by the afternoon I decided it was best that I forgo that opportunity and just get myself better. Because...
We have a big weekend coming up! Hence why I'm home tonite, too. I wanna kick this thing so I can be in tip top form (or atleast closer to it than I'm feeling now). And it's working! I think I'm feeling a bit better today (not worse, which is a great sign!) Tomorrow night's going to be fun though because not only is Rick's friend Jeff is in town, but his other friend Bruno came up from LA - AND it's my honey's Birthday weekend!!!!!! So, we're all going out & I'm lookin forward to a fun night of partyin w/ my sweetie and his out of control party animal friends (ha).
Update: Here's
my photos from our party evening (and
Marisa's photos too)
::::
Rick gave me his Lomo to play around with... but it's either broken or needs new batteries. I had to sorta teach myself the ropes tonite though so I searched around on a few sites while I ate dinner. Recently I got a HOLGA too... but have yet to finish the roll and get it developed. Fun new experimental stuff though. Speaking of, I submitted a photo to
JPG Magazine (
Heather&
Derek's new venture). Check it out. I love that they're always doing community projects like this!
I feel like I had more to say, but I think I need to get off the computer. It's only 10pm but I'm fading fast. Time to crawl in bed & kick this dang cold!!
Monday, September 20, 2004
Today marks the one year anniversary of the "Freak Check"!
Read the story of
How We Met for more details... (note this anchor link might not get you to the right place the first time. If it doesn't take you to the post titled "how we met", then click back & click the link one more time)
We laugh because at the time I set out to make sure he
wasn't a freak. But it was more like Freak? Check!! :) Because we're both music freaks, partyin freaks, travel freaks... the list goes on!
Pretty wild. Who knew a year later I'd be sooo head over heals?
Sunday, September 19, 2004
I'm home!!!
I'm so happy I could cry!! I actually did have very big happy tears in my eyes yesterday as I got off the plane and felt the cool San Francisco air. But I had little patience for the painstaking minutes it took to get from the airport to my house, as I was tired of passing the time before returning to *my life*.
The flight seemed to take FOREVER! and with an hour delay already, I was anxious to just. get. home. SO by the time I got on BART I just tried my best to just close my eyes, let my mind be soothed by my music and be comforted by the fact that, although I wasn't home already, it was closer now than it had been in 10 days and that was better than nothing!
Finally I got home and snuggled my sweet fuzzy kitty for a long, long time!! Nobody gives him snuggles like his Momma and I could tell he was in heaven soaking the familiar lovin up from head to toe. My little buddy is sooo handsome!!! It was a very sweet and exciting reunion for both of us.
Then quickly I did a little cleaning up and took a shower to get ready for Rick's arrival. We missed eachother so bad this week, it was agonizing. But seeing eachother was almost like a shock, so amazingly good and yet both of us just kept pinching ourselves that we were really finally together again. I was sure I was going to wake up any minute, still in Florida, a million miles away from my lover.
Thankfully, I'm *really* here!! And the last 24 hours back in town could not have been more lovely, or more genuinely the San Francisco that I know & love.
First of all coming home to my lovely little sunny garden flat and having
my sweet kitty here to meet me with open paws and purrrrrs. And then seeing my sweetie, who had brought me the
biggest bouquet of sunflowers I've ever received in my life! :) AND he made us reservations at
Little Nepal (
SFGate review), a restaurant we've been wanting to try in my neighborhood (and it was really good!!).
Then this morning we went for my *favorite* breakfast: Huevos Rancheros at
Boogaloo's on Valencia. And while we were waiting for our table, we went into
Aquarius Records. I listened to what they had at their listening station and decided I want the new
Clinic. I should have bought it today. Rick bought a few CD's that I'm looking forward to hearing though.
Also, coincedentally, today was the
1st Annual Valencia Street Fair! Which made sense after I heard it was '1st Annual', because when we first saw it I was like "Since when does Valencia St have a Street Fair?". Well, I was delighted we were down there for the first day of it!
It was only a block long since this is the first year, so maybe next year it'll be 2 blocks! :) Usually I don't visit other Street Fairs around this city, but I was glad we stumbled upon this one. There were some great vendors, mostly local Mission artists, restaurants and stores had booths with stuff for sale. I got a new necklace and a great new ring!
Luckily the sun came out, too!! It was really cold lastnight & we even woke up to cold & rain this morning... so I felt like Mother Nature was shining down on the Mission today, supporting their 1st year... (and maybe trying to sooth my transition from the tropical warmth to chilly SF! :)
We ran into
Ev, Sarah and their friend, Scott, and stopped and chatted w/ them for a bit. And then I recognized this girls baby line,
Speesees (she had a booth) that I'd just heard about recently in a conversation I'd had with someone after I told them about my wanting to start a baby line. But I couldn't figure out where & who I had been talking with though, and because I knew Rick wasn't there I couldn't use him as my backup short term memory (which often comes in so handy!). I told her "Oh, someone I know knows you..." but then found myself searching for who the heck it could be and then finally remembered it was from a great conversation with a bunch of architects at Rachel's going away party. And she said, "Oh ya, I know a ton of architects!" and waved her arms to the two guys there chatting with her and one of them (
Jeremiah) was the guy I had been talking to! Huzzah! Small world! :) So it was great to chat w/ her about her business and to run into Rachel's friend again.
So my last 24 hours, between coming home to my darling kitty and flat full of MY stuff, to the delicious (and wonderfully authentically ethnic) dinner, to my favorite breakfast with my sweetie, to buying music and shiny jewelry, to the sun coming out, running into old and new friends in our cozy little city, and experiencing Valencia Street in full swing on a Sunday morning... *sigh* it is sooo very good to be home. :)
As we were walking back to the car I said to Rick that I couldn't have asked for a more amazing welcome back, and that I wanted to kiss whoever was responsible for making everything so magical for me. And Rick said "You're the one whose responsible. You've created this wonderful life for yourself and we were all just here waiting for you to come home."
So I kissed him and he kissed me back. :)
Thursday, September 16, 2004
I know some of you might not be into this, but to quote
Sarah "..hey, it's my blog." Or maybe you're just not into politics, like my sister, "You're not talking about politics with me, are you? Cuz if you are, I'm not listening." (when trying to explain to her how
Bush is threatening our rights as women.)
Anyway - these people raised all this money to get a room at the Park Palace Hotel in NY (
read news story), and put up
this awesome big banner. Very cool.
Mark Morford wrote another one of his fantastically sarcastic articles about the election, titled "
Love Masochism? Vote BushCo!"
"I mean (they will say), sure Bush is widely regarded as the most politically inept and ethically dangerous and environmentally hostile president in American history, and sure women's rights were hammered and civil rights were shriveled and every single major ally we have in the world now either disrespects us or mistrusts us or openly abhors us like an Olsen twin shuns direct sunlight.
And sure Dubya's sanctimonious and violent warmongering actions in the Middle East have done far, far more to inflame anti-U.S. hatred and have amplified the threat of terrorism against us a thousandfold, but hey, the Texas schlub only lasted four years and now we can move on, right?"
:::::::
And lastly, an excerpt from a recent
Kerry campaign email that I just loved:
"...George Bush and Dick Cheney have lost over a million jobs, made our health care crisis worse, and turned record budget surpluses into record deficits. They misled America into war, failed to plan for the peace, and are running up a $200 billion bill at the expense of America's middle class taxpayers.
And now they are acting like they are doing us a favor by standing for re-election. They even have the gall to tell the American people how risky it would be if we turned them out of office.
The biggest risk to America's future is four more years of Bush-Cheney's incompetence, misinformation, and ill intent."
:::::::
I saw 6 more Bush stickers/lawn signs yesterday, but 2 for Kerry/Edwards! There are *some* Democrats in Florida, thank GOD.
OK, now back to work.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
1. Life is Tough
Sorry to say it, but it just gets tougher. You think you've got it rough now? Going to school is so hard? Fitting in is so hard? Working all day just to get up & do it all over again? Well, get used to it. As life goes on we soon realize that sometimes daily life takes the best attitude you can muster. Some days are horrible and some days are great, but the good news is as long as we keep putting one foot in front of the other, we can continue to see the good days and enjoy our lives. And really, as tough as it may seem some days, life is also AMAZING and is full of the most joyous, thrilling, wonderful moments you could ever wish for. Hang in there.
2. Memorize this saying:
"It's none of my business what you think of me."
I think it was from some book years back, that I never read, but I LOVE the message. What others think of you shouldn't even matter. I know it can seem like it does sometimes - and certainly there's an element of caring what people think that can help keep us in check - but in all reality, why are you caring what these other people think?
For example, you might be self-conscious and think Person A is thinking something about you. Well, you really don't know what they're thinking. And it doesn't matter! Whatever their range of emotions might be, it probably has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them. Jealousy, fear, or just plain curiosity. Person A might have given you a look and not smiled, because you haven't smiled at them... so you're tied. Honestly most people are very self-absorbed and you may think they're thinking something about you - but 90% of the time, Person A is probably wondering what you're thinking about them! (Surprise them and smile!)
Life's too short to get caught up worrying about what everyone else thinks. You can't please everyone, so instead take that energy to just listen to what makes you happy and do as you please. Give to others and treat others as you would like to be treated - and I can guarantee that people around you will notice. They'll see a more confident, carefree, giving person who just wants to have fun and not be bogged down by the details. And if you're not as guarded and you try to open up without feeling so intimidated (aka worried about what they think) then you just might make a new friend!!
3. YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE.
Everyone thinks they're different or weird. I feel like I'M different & weird!!! I feel like a total alien sometimes! But, thing is, there's certain people I am around that make me feel great, and others that don't.
Think of a friendship that totally made you feel normal... A friend you could be silly or sad or crazy or just plain boring around and it was OK. There are more friendships in your future like that! Don't feel like an off-friendship is any reflection on you - sometimes people just don't click. Find people you feel good around... even if it's just one person. And if you don't know anyone around you, then one of those people just might be a new friend you totally click with... so you've got nothing to lose. Try being a friend to someone else who looks like they need it or try connecting with someone about something you're both doing, or ask them if they've ever done (insert one of your hobbies)... It might feel awkward at first, but they might be just as nervous as you are. After the first couple sentences it will be less awkward - and you just might find yourself a new friend! (If you're apprehensive to try this, read #2 again)
4. There is life after school!!!
Junior High was HELL for me. Well, not entirely - I can remember moments and days of super silliness and bonds with friends like I had never felt before, but I had my dark days FOR SURE. Same with High School - and honestly, I don't think I would ever do it again... but the good news is you don't have to!! Time ticks on and years go by and WALA! You're FREE!!!! SO if anything, please just remember that this micro-society you're stuck in will be a thing of the past some day and by that time you'll have made memories that will last you forever and you'll be onto bigger and better things. So please, don't take it so seriously. It's just school. You'll make it through, I promise.
5. I know you've heard it a thousand times before - but I cannot stress enough
one of the KEYS to getting through life is ATTITUDE.
I have had some serious ups & downs in my life (as we ALL have, see #1 & #3) but I finally realized that the ONLY thing I could control is my attitude. I can either go into something with a bad attitude or a good one. I can either choose to be happy or I can just make it worse by blaming everyone else and throwing a big ol' pity party, have a temper tantrum, probably hurt someone's feelings in the process and dig myself even deeper. Hmm - which one's easier?
I think it can be hard when you don't know what the heck these strange and huge emotions are, especially when you're knee deep in the quagmire! So try journaling your feelings out, or even asking someone if they'll listen. But if you talk it out with someone, know that you don't have to come to some solution or make them feel guilty for not fixing your problem... Just state that you just want to be heard and see if it makes you feel better. Sometimes even asking for a hug can help.
Having a good attitude can be as simple as, "I totally don't want to do this, but I guess I'll just give it my best shot". Or even make light of it somehow by just plain out admitting, "Man oh man, I feel totally lost in this situation and I don't like the feeling at all!" (put on a funny frowny face) :)
It's OK to be vulnerable and feel lost. You don't have to know what's going on or be right. We can have off days and not be so happy about things, but truly there's a way you can try to be a good sport about it and know that it's not forever. Remember that
the one thing you can always count on is CHANGE. You're not a victim to your surroundings, you can reinvent yourself at any time. Make your life what YOU want it to be: Listen to your feelings, make lists of the person you want to be and the things you want to do. If you set goals and have the right attitude, the change that happens in your life can be in the direction YOU want it to go.
Lastly, I lend you my favorite expression (used by many for centuries, but here I'll clean it up a little for the young crowd): POOP HAPPENS.
It's true! :) Life is tough, but it's a lot easier if you can stop worrying so much about what other people think of you, keep in mind you're not the only one that feels out of place at times, and that bad days (or months) won't last forever. Try to have a good attitude about things, and if all else fails - just remember: Sometimes poop just happens.
Yesterday I learned what it is like to be a single Mom and not be able to get any work done. By the time we woke up at 6:30, left here at 7:30 got her there by 8 we realized we'd forgotten her bag lunch at home. And because it's a private school, there's only a lunch program that you have to pay for & be in on at the beginning (for some crazy reason) so she has to bring her own lunch. So, I go pick up some things for the house and came back for maybe an hour and before I know it our friend Laura calls and needs to be picked up. That works fine cuz it's on the way to Haley's school and I need to bring her her lunch.
Laura & I talked to the head of the school for a little while about a few issues, and then I dropped Laura off and came back home. By this time I was starving and made myself lunch and had maybe 45 minutes before I had to leave to go get Haley. oy!!
Then Haley & I try to hit a dance store to get her a leotard & tap shoes for her Dance class. We try some stuff on, but don't find anything - so we leave and set out to go to another, but realize it's getting close to 5 and we have to get back to the apartment (in the pouring rain) for an appointment my Mom had scheduled and we had to keep. By the time that's overwith it was 6 and Haley had to get to doing her homework. Again I have another hour or so, but then it's dinner time and I have to make it!
I will say here I made a DELICIOUS dinner! I don't cook very often, so when I do I get all proud. It was tasty: chicken stirfry, with broccoli, red pepper, spinach, garlic and soy. MMM!! We had that on rice w/ a side salad (romaine, carrots, mini tomatoes) and I made Haley tell me it was excellent :) She agreed, except for the red peppers.. I got all of hers. haha
SO then I had to help her with her English and helped her study for a test. I think I learned as much as she did!!! Let's just say I didn't 'retain' much from my school years, because really - up until these last couple days, I couldn't have identified the pronouns and adverbs in a sentence. (blush)
I know, that's horrible - but it's true!! I'm not a writer and have never been a good editor... I'm a creative! haha Anyway - Haley's a smart kid and I'm so proud of her... no doubt the girl will be more successful than me one day! I can't wait to hear how she does on the test. I'm hoping she nabbed me an extra cuz I'd like to see how well I studied!
::::
This morning I took a dip in the pool for the first time! It felt great and Rosie had a really fun time on her walk and hanging out by the pool with me. It was even sunny out! The best part is just how warm it is all. the. time. And with it being kinda cloudy and stormy right now it's just right - not too hot.
Ok, I have 30 mins before I have to go pickup Haley again - then it's off to a dance store to see if we can find those items, and then tonite we're going to try to have dinner w/ the McInnes'.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Hahahahaa! My friend
Bruno sent over a link for a possible love match for
Kazoo. Her name is Olivia and she's really got
a way with words!
I'll have to forward the link onto my fuzzy friend... I'm almost sure he'll be smitten after he gets to read through some of her most deep and personal thoughts! However, we'll have to see more photos of this Olivia... as no doubt Kazoo's been looking at a lot of kitty porn all week while I've been gone. :)
Fat free cheese should be banned!!!
I was wondering why this shredded cheese was melting so oddly when we tried to make a nachos plate yesterday. And then, since I don't have my beloved toaster oven to make a famous WilloSuperDelicious(tm) melted cheese sandwich like I do at home, I put some on a slice of bread today and tried to melt it a little in the microwave and it came out all gross. Fat free is STUPID! I love fat! Bring it ON!
Fat free stuff most often NEVER tastes as good as the real thing, so why torture yourselves people? Get out & exercise instead!!
I will however say that the Coffee Light Frappucino at Starbucks tastes just like the regular one and therefore given the option, I figure I might as well. Those things have enough sugar in them as it is, so if it tastes the same... then might as well. But I certainly won't die if I don't have the option.
Adding real cheese to the shopping list: Avocado, Honey Mustard, Cheddar Cheese, Apples
Slowly I'm seeing the signs of the conservative Republicans that live here. (ugg)
Yesterday, as I was taking Haley to school, we were waiting at an intersection and the guy in the car in front of us got out of the car. We weren't sure why, but then he walked determinedly over to the grassy patch in front of a Comfort Inn where someone had placed a Kerry/Edwards sign, and yanked it out!
Then, like he was taking it really personally that the sign even existed he walked back to his car tearing up the sign and showing a look of disgust on his face.
Haley & I started cracking up! It was honestly just so funny that this man took such a personal distaste to the sign and made such a public expression of it. As he got in the car we saw his Bush/Cheney bumper sticker displayed proudly on his rear window and realized that what we had here is just a true Bush fan. I honestly just can't help but laugh at the guy. How can you possibly be proud to be a supporter of Bush? The man's an idiot!
Anyway, remind me to go take down some Bush/Cheney signs when I see one next and even better yet, call the local Democratic Kerry supporters and ask them where I can get more of those lawn signs so I can start putting them every 500 feet around here. :)
Monday, September 13, 2004
Well I went to bed late and rose just a couple hours later to get my Mom to the airport and Haley off to school. I literally rolled out of bed and went straight to the kitchen and made Haley lunch, popped her a bagel in the toaster for breakfast, poured myself a cup off coffee for the road and we split!
After we got my Mom on her way (I hope she caught her plane!) I dropped Haley off. It was really cute to see all the kids at her school and I felt like a SERIOUS soccer mom in my Mom's huge SUV with a fluffy white dog on my lap. HA!
I couldn't believe how hot it was out even leaving the house at 7am! Since then it's been sunny, then rainy, then sunny, then rainy. I sure hope Ivan doesn't blow our power out. My Mom said I need to go buy a grill so we can cook if it does. I have a whole list of things we need around here.. and I've already done 3 loads of laundry and it's only 8:20am SF time! ha!
Here's a few more cute photos that Joe took yesterday:
mother and daughters
beach toes!
i love this photo of my mom, she looks so carefree and happy!
Joe will be uploading all of his to my Jacksonville album eventually.
:::::
Also, in case you didn't notice I also uploaded/added these photo albums lastnight:
SF*ND BBQ (9/4/04)
Santa Cruz going away party (9/5/04)
Various Aug/Sept Photos, including a few of Kazoo, The Donnas show, the 9/2/04 Giants vs Rockies game, Anuj & his newborn twins, and a few of all the broken/vandalized bikes on my street, most of which have been there forever!
Lovemakers & Film School @ 12 Galaxies (8/26/04)
Sunday, September 12, 2004
We've had a good weekend here in Jacksonville, but my stay is going to last a little longer than planned! Lemme catch you up on whats been goin on so far though....
Yesterday my Mom & I went for yummy lunch (and cold beers - mmm) and then did a little shopping. I mostly got comfy warm clothes, so SF style that I won't even need them here it's so hot!
Then lastnight my Mom made us a yummy dinner (salmon & mashed potatoes - my favorite!) and even brownies ala mode for dessert - mmm!! We were going to play a game (Oodles of Doodles), but it got late so Haley & I just played our own doodling games* instead.
*I draw a little random thing on the page & she has to make a drawing out of it. Another one is one of us has to think of a scene & then each of us draw it (this one's cool cuz it's neat to see how different two people interpret the same scene!)
Today we got up & headed over to St. Augustine to have brunch. Driving over to the coast from here (Orange Park) was nice & no sooner after we arrived there did we get a call from my Mom's friend who recommended we drive a bit more north to Ponte Verde and meet her & her son (one of Haley's good friends, Joe) at the
Sawgrass Marriott for their gourmet brunch. It was really nice & we all ate lots of yummy food!
Afterwards we took Joe with us & headed to the beach to put our feet in the water (it is sooo warm!) and take a little walk. It was really nice! The beach has a ton of shells on it! We wondered with every little thing if it was a result of the hurricane weather or not.
There's more photos from the last couple days posted here:
Jacksonville Photo Album
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So, I was supposed to catch my flight this afternoon, but plans have changed. My Mom has to go back to Colorado to take care of some real estate business, so I'm going to stay here with Haley so she doesn't miss any school. Originally my Mom & her were going to go, because my Mom was worried Hurricane Ivan might be headed straight for us and just figured she'd avoid it all together. But now it seems that it's turned (and let's hope it stays that way!!) so to make sure Haley doesn't miss any more school, I'm going to stay while my Mom can take care of the CO biz. My Mom's been through so much lately that truely I'm so happy I can help... I wished I could have helped her move, etc... so being here now is good. Hopefully Haley & I won't have to many sister squabbles! :)
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One fun thing is that I have a dog for the week!! Little Rosie is their sweet Bichon and she's sooooo sweet and playful. It's so fun having a dog around to walk and play with! She's got such a personality and she loves me cuz I love to play and snuggle with her so much :)
But of course I miss my sweet fuzzy kitty
Kazoobie like CRAZY :( It just makes me terribly sad how long it will be until I see him again (I fly back Saturday). But the good news is he has had Lucia over there & my neighbors to let him out so he can still enjoy the outdoors and not be too pent up. But I worry about him.
Luckily Lucia will be able to help out again at the end of this week - and I have a couple of other friends I can call on to swing by and help out. phew!
I feel very lucky to be able to work remotely with my job... but my kitty is the one thing that I need to be home for. That and I miss my sweetie something fierce. This will officially mark the longest we've been away from eachother and it's torture!!!
This is all I can think about:
Man those are gonna be 5,000x as good when I get back (if it's even possible, because my goodness is it amazing all ready). :p
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Aaaanyway, I better get myself to bed so I can deal with work tomorrow AND taking care of my sassy 13 year old sis! haha
Your email & comments this week are appreciated so I can stay sane :) xoxo
Saturday, September 11, 2004
OK, so I haven't had time to upload all the photos yet, but here's a few of em atleast!
Kazoobie's been enjoying the backyard a lot this summer...
The super sexxxy
Lovemakers
Lyne, Cam & me at the Lovemakers show! These girls are the SWEEEEETEST girlfriends a girl could ask for!!
See my new giraffe!? Kazoo & him are keepin me company while I work.
We hit the Giants vs Rockies game on 9/2 and had great seats!
Mmm... garlic fries!
Last weekend in Santa Cruz: Samara, Kyle, Max & Willo
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Everyone here is stressin on Hurricane Ivan!! oy!
Friday, September 10, 2004
Hey hey!! So the big secret is that I'm in Jacksonville, FL! It was a secret because I came here & surprised my little sis on her 13 birthday!! She's a teenager now - oh my!!!
My Mom and I had been planning it and she had told Haley there was some kind of surprise coming, but Haley had no idea what it was. After hearing she was guessing "a last minute flight & 2 meet & greet passes to Hilary Duff in Seattle WA" I thought for sure she'd take one look at me and be totally bummed. hahaa But she is totally psyched!!
I had pretty bad delays with my flights yesterday - and as many of you know flying west to east makes you lose a day as is... but I'd gotten up at 5am, with 3 hours of sleep under my belt - all to find my 6:40 wouldn't leave till 8:30 and then when I FINALLY got to Atlanta (after seriously crashing on the plane to try to gain a few more hours of zzzz's) we had more delays. I could have driven to Jacksonville and gotten here 2 hours earlier if I'd known!!
So instead of arriving at 5:30, I finally got to the restaurant at 8:30. I had left messages for my Mom so she had delayed taking Haley to dinner (and Haley was trying to be so polite, as she wasn't even that hungry - but all she knew is she had to go to get her big surprise, so she was a good sport). So I beat them there and waited inside till they walked in the door... and BOO! Surprised Haley GOOD!!! :)
She screamed and then we hugged for like 5 minutes with tears in our eyes. It was awesome! :) Dinner was fantastic (Chart House!) and so was the delicious Lava Cake for desert!!
I'm really excited to be here this weekend with them. I didn't really tell you all this but recently my Mom & Step-Dad seperated... and my Mom, for whatever reason, decided this was a great time to get out of the small town of Steamboat (after 30 years!) and head to a warmer climate. I don't blame her!! So that's why they're here!
Haley's stoked - as I would have been, at 12 I wanted out of that town to be the new kid somewhere else something fierce!! It's taking a bit to adjust to all the new for both of them - but they have their cute little doggie Rosie and a few Hurricanes to keep em cozy :p
Anyway - we're off for a day of shopping and checking out Jacksonville. Have a good weekend all!
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P.S. They chose Jacksonville because they know a family here that are close friends, kids Haley's age, etc... so my Mom knew they'd have that connection. :) One of em is Joey, just one year younger than Haley - but equally (and fantastically) way into computers. Like a little Jimmy Neutron - I can't wait to meet him!
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Ooooh oooh oooh!! I'm setting up my
Airport Extreme Base Station - so exciting!! But uh-oh! I'm having problems making it see my network (cuz I have a wireless router that's not an
Airport - I can still use the Airport Extreme w/o this, right? help?) Anyway, more on that later... I can't work on it tonite unfortunately.
HOWEVER I did pump my laptop tunes through my fancy stereo speakers there for awhile, and it was sweeeeet! I just couldn't surf the internet at the same time. D'oh!
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I've FINALLY downloaded my photos. But... that's a teaser cuz none of them are uploaded yet - but man are there some fun ones! I just have to sort, upload & name em.
And lastly, there's big stuff happening tomorrow... but it's a secret! So you'll get an update on that by Friday! Bye!
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Jeeshk, I am slackin on the bloggin deal, huh?! If you're like my one friend, who says she still finds herself visiting a couple times a day only to be disappointed that I STILL haven't updated, I'm sorry - I've been a bad blogger! I think I'll set up the option to email you guys with alerts when I update so you can be notified.
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So I had the funnest weekend! Did yoU!?
Ours started last Thursday night when Rick took me to a ball game. Giants vs Rockies (Rockies won by 1) and it was such a warm night, which made for a wonderful game! I don't necessarily go for the sport, but I CAN tell you the beer, hot dogs and garlic fries were FANTASTIC :) And the very cool thing was that Rick had bought these tix online (where season ticket holders sell the ones they're not going to use) and they were in the 2nd row right next to where the pitchers warm up. So it was like we were right on the field next to them! Pretty sweet!
So that was fun - and yes, of course I've got a few photos. (that I'll upload later)
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Friday night we'd made dinner plans with my friend Molly B and her boyfriend. Molly & I grew up together in Steamboat and now she lives in the East Bay. We'd seen eachother last summer and then again at our 10 year and we've been meaning to get together since then and here it's already been a year!!
I made reservations for us at
Foreign Cinema, since Rick & I have been wanting to try it and I thought it'd be a fun city thing to do for the east bayers :) And it was! However, we didn't get to sit outside where the movie was playing, apparently you have to request for that ahead of time. But it didn't matter as our table was fine inside and now I know!
I'd heard the service is bad (or slow) and it was a little slow, but when they did come around, they were very nice. Our dishes were pretty good and the dessert was delicious! We all had tasty mojitos, too!!
Afterwards we hit Elixer where a bunch of Rick's friends were at... it was Kelly's birthday and by 10:30 when we got there, they'd already been at dinner themselves and were all very drunk. Funny..
We left and tried to hit another bar, Casanova - but it was so frickin hot in there I couldn't bear it, so we headed up to Zeitgeist (like 1000 other people did on such a hot night so we had to stand in line for 5 minutes!!). But no doubt, it is the place to be w/ all those outdoor picnic tables! The cold pitchers of beer go down easy there and it was great to hang with Molly and get to know her boyfriend a bit better. I think the temp literally went up as the night went on too! Man, was it nice out!!!
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Saturday Rick & I got up, had breakfast & Rick took off to check out electric guitars in the East Bay. I got some work done, mostly putting up very teeny sites for my little sister & some other friends - and then around 3pm we headed over to Thee Parkside for the SF*ND party. (aka indie music geek party). Jem, Rick & Tania showed up, I swapped some CD's w/ Ian, chatted it up w/ the other peeps I knew there (and met some new) and enjoyed the
Ex-Boyfriends set.
Audio Out Send were pretty good, but they are kinda slow and I was getting sleepy due to the heat!! But it cooled off a bit as the sun went down, and we enjoyed sitting & chatting w/ Misty & Ted (of
Bagel Radio) for the remainder of the party.
Rick & I were craving sushi at that point, so we headed back to his hood and tried
Wasabi & Ginger for the first time. The had some Toro on special and it was MELT IN YOUR MOUTH DELISH! We got a 2nd round.
All weekend we had several parties planned, so we knew we had to pace ourselves - so Saturday night ended with us watching 2 more episodes of Six Feet Under (Second Season) before calling it a night.
Sunday morning we got up & headed down to Santa Cruz, where my brother lives. He is takin off soon to do some traveling, including Vietnam for his business
Om Gallery, and wanted to have a little going away party for all the departures: Himself, his girlfriend Samara who's also going off to travel for a couple months, and his roomate/business partner Kyle who has decided to go back to school for his Masters in Oregon.
First Rick & I hit the beach and enjoyed laying out in the sun while I read him a few excerpts here & there from my
Giant Robot magazine. It was beautiful out, with the perfect amount of breeze so it wasn't too hot. It was so nice!
Sunday night's party was a blast. Rick & I put up our tent in the backyard, complete with aero bed! so we had our own little accomidations for the night & wouldn't have to drive anywhere. PLUS we got to use our camping gear again like we've been saying we want to!!
I timed us putting up the tent and getting everything ready from start to finish & it was about 17 minutes. We didn't have much light & it was only our 2nd time putting together this tent (which is easy), so I think next time we can do it in less time for sure. Which is just cool, cuz I think it might seem like it's gonna take forever (especially when it's dark and you've already had a few drinks and you know you could just sleep on the futon inside the house instead so do we really need to set up the tent?), but now that I know it's that fast & easy - I'm happy to tackle it! Maybe we can come camp in your backyard next?!
Sunday morning however was the only time the tent wasn't as good of an idea - when you feel that 8am sunshine beatin down, the birds chirping, the neighbors sawing, etc. Maybe with an earlier bedtime that'd be OK, but I can't sleep with much noise around! So it wasn't long before I had us move inside to see if we couldn't sleep just an hour more.
Slowly the house got up & we went downtown to see Max's shop, see his new office and have some yummy breakfast bagels.
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We headed back up to the city and hit Guitar Center. Rick got a pick up for his acoustic (cuz he got an amp for his upcoming electric), and I got a metronome for practicing, and played on the drum sets for a teeny bit. They were having a big sale so it was crazy in there.
I was suuper tired by the time I was done w/ my errands and a hair appt (where I was so sleepy that I closed my eyes when I was under the dryer and dozed off more than once, HA!) so I came home, made some dinner and watched Mona Lisa Smile. It was great! Then I slept like a baby in my own comfy bed!!
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That's a wrap - now if I can just get the photos up!! I have a ton from the last week or two I haven't even downloaded yet. But first I have a lunch date w/ a client! Adios!
