Young Love

One of my favorite spots in the world.

A Little Me Time

The company I work for decided to host an employee day at Six Flags on Friday. Although I'm not a big fan of roller coasters, I really didn't mind just walking around the park, going to the shops and enjoying a free buffet lunch. Unfortunately, since it was on a Friday I couldn't really find anyone to take the day off and go with me. Considering how the day went, this was probably a good thing.

I know it's hard to predict the weather weeks in advance, but oh my goodness was it hot! It was one of the hottest days of the summer. According to the weather guys, we hit a high of 108 degrees. No wonder I almost passed out numerous times during the 3 1/2 hours I was there! No matter how much I stayed hydrated--went through three 32-ounce drinks--I just couldn't take it anymore. So after lunch, which was outside under a pavilion that offered just a small amount of relief, I left the park with a bag of souvenirs and an M&M ice cream sandwich. There was an outlet mall down the road so I stopped there before heading home. I managed to snag a cute navy blue J. Crew dress and a peach Banana Republic shirt I love. I was so exhausted from the heat I found myself going to bed at 9:30.

I spent all day Saturday recovering. The last thing I wanted to do was spend more time in the heat wave. So, I sat at home and watched Blue Valentine and Titanic while I spent the entire day creating sets on polyvore.com. This one was definitely my favorite:

I love the idea of wearing this outfit on a date and going on a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset. The reality is that the heel would probably get stuck in one of the gaps between the wood, my feet would be killing me and my knees would be shaking not because of my date but because I hate heights. Oh well...but it is a damn cute outfit.

The heat today wasn't as bad as the past three days, but I still chose to spend two hours of the day at the movie theater watching Friends with Benefits. It's been awhile since I've actually fallen in love with a romantic comedy so I was a little scared that I'd only be rolling my eyes throughout the movie. So what was the verdict? Loved it. Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis have some crazy chemistry, which is probably the most important element of a romantic comedy since the basic story never really changes. It was funny and awkward and sweet. Of course it was completely unrealistic in the sense that they were young, had great jobs and amazing apartments in New York City. I'm here to tell you--that just doesn't happen.

I think the part of the movie that really got me was when Jamie (Mila) was showing Dylan (Justin) all the great things about NYC, including her favorite spot. This got me thinking about all my favorite spots in NYC and how I'll miss them when I'm gone. Then there was a scene where Dylan was showing Jamie his favorite spot in LA, and that got me missing all my favorite places in California. The relationship part of the movie was cool, too. The banter was great and I found myself laughing a lot. If you're not into romantic comedies, then you may want to pass on this movie. If you love them or you're a huge JT fan, then see it. He's naked a lot and he's dorky cute throughout the movie.

Since I'm obsessed with creating these polyvore.com collages, I created one to sum up my weekend:

Hope you had a great weekend and were able to enjoy a little "me" time as well!

Bits & Pieces of This & That

Every day I come across things I find interesting or trigger random thoughts in my head, so I thought I'd share a few of them here to make room for some new ones.

New Online Distraction: Polyvore.com

One of the blogs I read regulary is by Bethany Joy Galeotti, an actress on One Tree Hill. I'm a huge fan of her personal style--it's quirky yet feminine, classic yet edgy, comfortable yet pretty damn cool, at least in my eyes. One of the things I love about her style is how she personalizes her pieces to create something that's one-of-a-kind. In one of her posts she talked about buying a necklace from a popular retail store and transforming it into something personal and unique. Yesterday she posted a collage and I noticed it was created on Polyvore. I'd heard of it before but never took the time to explore. Well, after two minutes on the site I'd already signed up and started creating my own inspiration board. I had so much fun. It reminded me of actual boards I created for my interior design classes back in the day. I've already created two more! Here's a look at My Sweet Dreams Seaside Bungalow and The Summer Look I Wish I Could Pull Off.

My Sweet Dreams Seaside Bungalow on Polyvore.com

Orange & Turquoise Summer on Polyvore.com

Pleasantly Surprised Me: Ice Loves Coco

I admit it, I judged this couple based on what I saw on the outside, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out I was completely wrong. After watching the first few eps of their reality show, I have to say that they have one of the healthiest relationships I've seen on reality TV--and even in reality. They understand what a marriage means and they do what they need to do to make it work. I know you can't believe everything you see on TV, especially when it's reality TV, but their relationship doesn't give me the fake vibe. They talk about supporting one another and loving each other, but you also see that they have their disagreements like any other couple. At the end of the day, they know what really matters and they've somehow managed to keep it together for all these years.

Made Me Geek Out a Little: Green Lantern

I watched it this weekend and loved it. When I started to get my feet wet in the world of comics, I discovered there was a comic book writer that was being praised for giving new life to DC Comics characters that weren't as well known and beloved as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. One of those characters was the Green Lantern. I didn't end up reading the comic books, but my research did lead me to others he'd written that I really liked. As I became a fan of Geoff Johns, it was hard not to become familiar with the Green Lantern Corps, so when the movie came out I felt I needed to show my support and watch it. It didn't hurt that Ryan Reynolds was the lead, but as the movie progressed, I found myself appreciating the meaning behind the Green Lantern. Most people, like myself, wouldn't think much about a superhero with a lantern, but I definitely changed my tune after this movie. The lantern and its power are awesome.

Totally Craving: The Buttery Bakery

About two weeks ago I went to Santa Cruz for my cousin's graduation. While I was there I visited an old friend and asked her if she knew where I could get a graduation cake. Without hesitation she recommended The Buttery. Wow, that place is amazing! I had one of their fruit tarts and a macaroon--both so yummy. Although their signature chocolate cake, which is what we ordered for my cousin, was simply amazing. We had them add fresh strawberries to the buttercream filling, and that only made it even more perfect. I'm drooling just thinking about. Wish I had a picture of the slice, but this one will have to do.

Interesting Read: The California Dream is fizzling out

I came across this article on CNN.com and as I started reading it I found myself thinking about the Orange County, California, I knew growing up. Sadly, it barely exists anymore. The orange groves that lined Irvine Blvd. and the smell of strawberries in the summer air are now gone and have been replaced by strip malls and housing developments. I'm no stranger to change--I know it's inevitable--but it's still hard to see pieces of my childhood disappear each time I go back for a visit.

The Kindness of Strangers

One of the things I actually love about my job is how it can sometimes pleasantly surprise me on any given day. Friday was one of those days.

Maintaining a Twitter page for our company is one of my job responsibilities. I retweet what others post and I comment and have conversations with people from time to time. There’s one person I interact with mainly because I find him interesting and entertaining. He drives across the country doing something he really loves for a living, and you can see it on his website and in his tweets. One of the things he tweeted Friday morning included a picture of a popular burger chain out west called In-N-Out. Since I’m from that side of the country and love that burger joint, I tweeted back, “I’m so jealous.”

From that point on we were engaged in a bunch of direct messages. Long story short, he basically asked for our company address and before I knew it a delivery guy from the deli around the corner was handing me a box full of cupcakes:

This virtual stranger I had exchanged pleasantries with a few times online had a dozen cupcakes sent to our company from across the country. What was his reason? It was very simple; he wanted to thank us for being so kind to him and thought we at least deserved cupcakes for working so hard. Sure, there could have been an ulterior motive—some strange marketing ploy, I don’t know—but my gut tells me this was just an act of pure kindness. Well, at least that’s what I choose to believe. There are so many things in this world that make me lose my faith in humanity, but it only takes one small ray of sunshine to erase it all and give me hope.

Let the Creative Juices Flow

I'm feeling motivated and I hope it lasts long enough for me to accomplish something. After enduring one bad work week after another for the past few months, I've decided to pick myself up and do something about it. Work sucks? I updated my resume this weekend and my Monster.com account and sent out resumes. I'm also looking into a freelance editing gig to earn some extra bucks. Personal life sucks? I teamed up with a co-worker to write a crappy screenplay about how our lives should have turned out. When it's finished, we're hoping that some production company that produces cheesy TV movies will buy it. Bank account depleted? Stay at home and write, write, write so we can finish the cheesy TV-movie screenplay and make some money.

I also have three ideas for a novel bouncing around in my head. They're all very different from each other, but I think each one has potential. As long as we're still on the whole writing thing, I'm trying to make a conscious effort to keep up the blogs, especially the TV one now that I have a Twitter account. BTW...10 random followers already. Woohoo!

My last two projects involve editing a comic...er...graphic novel and a story my friend has been working on, which is actually pretty interesting and has me wanting to know what's going to happen.

Yeah, when I decide to go full steam ahead it's pretty much all or nothing. The abnormal amounts (at least for me) of iced coffee I've been drinking lately might have something to do with all this hyperactivity. I used to feel this way about work, but I think it would be better for me to use this energy for my own projects.

So what exactly triggered this frenzy of activity, you ask? My boss will be adding another person to our tiny team, probably next week, and I'm not too happy about the new hire. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure this person is absolutely lovely, but I already don't like her because she's basically going to be me. Instead of hiring a full-time, on-site developer that we desperately asked for and need, she's hiring a person who has the skills to do my job and is asking for a salary that's $20k more than mine. This means I'm never going to get my 10% back and I'll probably be forced to be the go-to technical person while she gets the creative projects I wanted. So, to avoid getting sucked into this drama and becoming a raging ball of fury, I've already asked for my own office (which was offered to me before but I declined because I didn't see the point) to help keep me sane and I've started looking for a new job. I got a call from a recruiter today about a pretty kick-ass job, so fingers crossed that the hiring manager thinks I'm worth interviewing and hiring.

Anyway, that's what's been going on with me lately. Time to get back to work. I have some notes to incorporate into our screenplay outline that I want to get done before bed. Night!

If You Can't Beat Them, Follow Them

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I now have a Twitter account. I know, gasp. It's not a "personal" account with my name and this blog on it, but it is linked to my TV blog. So why did I sell out? I did it for a job...well, a job that I really want. If you read this job description, I guarantee you would think it was created for me. Unfortunately, one of the job requirements is: Significant personal presence on a variety of social media sites.

While I do maintain our social media sites at work, I don't have my own. So I decided to jump on the bandwagon and start one. Although, the chances of me actually getting this job are pretty much the same as my chances of winning the lottery. I'm sure a million people have already applied during the four days the ad has been up on the site. Even if the economy were in good shape, there would still be a ton of people applying simply because the job is for an entertainment site.

Anyway, the point to this post is that I'm on Twitter now so it's only a matter of time before it completely consumes me. Could Facebook be next? Possibly, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

2010 Task #2: Rearrange Bedroom

For some bizarre reason I decided to take on this task over the weekend. Saturday evening I was sitting on the couch watching TV when I realized I was bored with my bedroom setup. I immediately started moving boxes, pushing furniture and vacuuming dust balls hidden behind and under the furniture.

So, because of this little project, all the crap that was hidden away in my bedroom is now sprawled out in the living room. I thought about moving things back in my room last night, but I decided against it. I figured the clutter would force me to go through all my stuff and get rid of the things I didn't need anymore.

So how do I feel about this new room? I like it. It feels brand new even though everything in it has been around for years. Although, my body was a little confused this morning. It's so used to running on automatic pilot when I'm half asleep that it kind of short circuited when it realized everything had moved. It'll adjust soon enough. Unfortunately, I didn't take any before pics so I can't really do a before and after comparison. Once everything is put away in its rightful place then maybe I'll snap a few shots.

State of Rest

I've been plagued with a scratchy throat and some weird postnasal drip thing this week, so I think I'm going to stay in this weekend. Maybe I'll do a load of laundry and catch up on Fringe with a mini marathon. If I get really adventurous, maybe I'll try to see another movie. Leap Year, The Lovely Bones, Nine, Sherlock Holmes and Up in the Air are still on my must-see list. Hmmm, wonder what I'll be in the mood for. Any guesses?

Label Me This

Read this article, "10 Reasons Geeky Ladies Are No Longer a Boner Killer (and Is This a Good Thing?)," and found it pretty amusing.

Now, I'm by no means a Geeky Lady, at least not by normal standards. I'm not a gamer (don't even own one game console, unless you count my little Ms. Pac-Man joystick thingy). I don't attend cons. I'm not fluent in a made-up language. I don't know much about outer space. I'm not a tech junkie. I do not listen to hipster rock. I do not possess the typical traits found in a Geeky Lady.

I will confess that lately I've become familiar with a side of myself I didn't know existed. Sure, when I was a kid I loved watching The Jetsons and got superexcited about a project that involved creating a home in outer space, but I never thought those things indicated I had an inner geek.

Science fiction was never my cup of tea. I didn't really understand it and the future world didn't really appeal to me. Well, apparently that's changing. I'm almost done with the entire Battlestar Galactica series and I'm sad that it's ending. I watched Avatar last weekend--in IMAX 3D--and really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to the return of V this spring. I'm not exactly sure if this is just a phase or something that's always lived deep within me. I used to hate tomatoes, but now I love them. Is this science fiction turnaround the same type of thing?

Lately, comic books have been registering on my radar, too. I guess this isn't exactly new considering I've always had a thing for Superman and Clark Kent, watched the Batman TV show as a kid and really enjoyed the Batman and Spider-man movies. I think what's surprised me is the interest I've developed in actual comic books. Recently, two friends started writing one and recruited me (against my will) to help edit it. With no clue how to edit such a thing, I turned to the Internet to do some research. My research led me to an actual comic book store, where I purchased my first comic books. And yes, I now have a favorite comic book writer. In fact, I found the article I mentioned above on his Twitter site.

Geeks are becoming so mainstream that they're actually cool, which means anyone getting into this world this late in the game could probably be labeled a wannabe. Yeah, I was never really good at getting into the in crowd--any crowd for that matter. Although, I guess if you really think about it, a lot of people in entertainment didn't start out being cool. I'm sure many of them were once labeled freaks and geeks and dorks. Now look at them, they're the ones setting the trends. Yeah, I was never really good at being a trendsetter either.

Anyway, I like what I like regardless of whether or not it's cool or acceptable. I like romantic comedies while some snub their noses at them and dismiss them as formulaic garbage. I like teen movies and teen shows, which to others seem childish and immature. Sometimes I read trashy, cheesy novels that more literary people would find a waste of time. My iPod is filled with so much bubblegum pop that those with a more sophisticated ear would probably rather hear nails on a chalkboard than listen to one of my playlists.

The way I see it, I can't be defined. Can any of us? Some may try to give me a nice little label, but the truth is, that label only describes one part of me--it does not make up my whole being. Basically, I think what I'm trying to say can be summed up in the famous words of John Hughes:

Dear Mr. Vernon,

We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong, but we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us, in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. But what we found is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess and a criminal. Does that answer your question?

Sincerely yours,
The Breakfast Club

Not Quite Normal

One full week of the daily grind has come and gone and I'm still feeling slightly off balance. I'm finding it difficult to get back into my normal routine, but I suppose that's normal when you go from one extreme to the other. I went from being on vacation to sitting in front of a computer for eight hours, sunshine and normal temps to wind chills and snow, and PST to EST. I left my iPod home twice this week, spent most of the week tripping over my feet on my way to work, and found myself constantly running for the bus. I don't think I've been able to actually get in the shower before 8 or leave the house before 8:50. Yeah, you could say I'm still adjusting.

Tomorrow I have a baby shower to attend then at some point this weekend I'll need to do laundry. I feel like I spend most of my time doing laundry.

Lately I've been thinking about picking up a mindless second job. I figure the distraction might get me off the couch and out of fridge, plus the extra money can't hurt. The only thing stopping me is letting go of the freedom I have with my time. Scheduling vacations would be a pain and I'd probably be even more exhausted than usual. I guess I'll have to think about it a little more.

Does the Tooth Fairy Take Wisdom Teeth?

You know how you'd put your baby teeth under your pillow and the tooth fairy would take it and leave you money? Well, I wonder how much she'd leave for wisdom teeth.

Yeah, yeah, I know.

I've been putting off yanking out my wisdom teeth for quite some time now--probably a decade--and have finally scheduled an appointment to get them removed in exactly one week. So I better eat everything I can on Thanksgiving, because I'm only going to be able to eat mush for the rest of the holiday weekend. Happy Thanksgiving to me!

I don't really trust doctors and there's some anxiety here only because I've heard a million horror stories about wisdom teeth extractions. Everything from the IV slipping out and the person regaining consciousness during the procedure to getting the wrong tooth pulled. How any of that is possible, I'm not quite sure. So, I made it very clear to this man all my concerns and hangups.

What sucks is that when I made this appointment I didn't know the office had two oral surgeons, so instead of getting the one my coworker recommended I got his partner. Some of his reviews have been glowing and others were negative. I tried to switch at the office, but they assured me he was just as good (of course), so I decided to give him a chance. He seemed nice, competent and he didn't give me attitude when I got all crazy on him with my questions. Instead of prolonging the inevitable, I just gave in and made the appointment for next Friday.

With all four teeth being pulled I'm sure my face is going to swell up to twice its size. Even better--I decided to skip the anesthesia and go with the novacaine and laughing gas cocktail. I always thought I'd be one of those patients to be put under, but there's something about it that doesn't sit well with me. Plus my insurance won't cover it, so that pretty much helped me make the decision.

So, until this actually happens I anticipate a few anxiety headaches and an increase in my blood pressure. The only thing that's making me feel better about this whole thing is that maybe it will help alleviate all my other ailments like the jaw cracking and headaches. The doctor did notice how loud my jaw was and seemed slighly taken aback by it, which is the normal response from everyone. After this I may need to get fitted for a mouth guard. He said that over time it could get to the point where I can't open my mouth that wide...and cue the dirty jokes.

By the way, did you know that an impacted top tooth could move up into your sinus cavity if a cyst develops around it? Yeah, I didn't, but now I do. So I'm making sure that sucker gets yanked.

Booked & Ready to Go

I'm pretty proud of myself for making vacation plans before airfare skyrocketed. I did the research, put in my vacation time, got it approved fairly quickly and bought my ticket for the bargain basement price of $279. Yes, I'm pretty impressed with myself. Now all I need to do is make plans for when I'm in California, which by the way will be from December 18 to January 4.

The good news is that my family wants to take a trip up north the weekend after Christmas, so I may finally be able to see friends I haven't seen in ages. One of them is pregnant, so I'm hoping to get a glimpse of her baby belly. So exciting! In fact, while I'm home another friend is due to give birth and I hope I'm there when it happens. Last time her little buddle of joy timed it just right and made an appearance the day I was leaving. I actually got to see her hours before I boarded my plane.

I'm also really excited to see the changes my mom made to our house--new exterior paint, new flooring, new toilets! Trust me, the place really needed these updates.

Then of course I can't wait to see all my favorite former coworkers, who of course are now dear friends. I don't think we could have stayed in touch all these years if they were merely people I used to work with once upon a time. Every year I make it a point to try to get together with them for lunch or dinner when I go home for Christmas. It's kind of become some sort of tradition since I left. Thankfully, I don't have to sneak into the old office to see them since they've all been able to escape its clutches.

Disneyland is also on the agenda this year. My sister has an annual pass, so she has kindly offered to pay for my ticket as a Christmas treat. Unfortunately, she's going to do everything in her power to get me on Space Mountain. In case you didn't know, I hate roller coasters. Can't stand them and I don't get the supposed rush that everyone gets from riding them. The feeling I get when my stomach drops and my heart starts racing is probably similar to that of someone suffering from a heart attack. I think it's the most horrible feeling ever! Oddly though, I'm perfectly OK with going on the Matterhorn and Splash Mountain. Yeah, I don't have an explanation.

I'm not all that excited about another year ending, especially so quickly, but I am looking forward to this 18-day vacation. Yes, I do have a crapload of vacation days and for that I'm very, very thankful.

A Return to Order

It's hard to believe in two short months it'll be 2010. I feel like we were just ringing in 2009!

One of my New Year's resolutions was to consistently maintain a blog, and I think I've done OK. Granted, the posts haven't been as frequent lately, but I blame that on the fact that I've been staying home a lot for budgetary reasons. I really can't blog about things I'm doing if I'm not really doing anything, right?

One project I started recently was a writing blog. OK, I know what your're thinking, isn't this a writing blog? Well, yes, sort of. I prefer to see this space as more of a this-is-what-I've-been-up-to blog. It basically exists to let people know I'm alive since I'm not on Facebook or Twitter. I don't really know how many people are reading this, but I'm pretty sure I can confirm that I have four regular readers and maybe one or two who stop by occasionally.

Anyway, I got the idea for this new blog while reading someone else's blog. Basically, she's reading this book on writing called A Writer's Book of Days by Judy Reeves that offers daily writing exercises. These prompts are completely random and are meant to get your brain moving--kind of like mental exercises--so you can get over whatever issues you have with writing and just write. Well, considering I've become a cheapskate lately, purchasing the book wasn't really an option, so I decided to create my own plan.

I searched the Internet for seven different writing prompt sites/generators for each day of the week. It's kind of fun because I never know what I'm going to get. Although, I will admit to occasionally cheating. If it's one of those generators that allows me to hit a button for the next one, then I will if I think the current prompt is completely lame. So far I've been sticking to this plan, with the exception of the time I took off for my Maine vacation.

Some days I'm pretty excited to get home and see what my topic is for the day, and of course, on other days it's the last thing I want to do. On those days I pretty much force myself to get something up on the site even if it's just a short paragraph.

I think the reason why I've hit a huge block with my writing is because I've basically psyched myself out. I need to remember that whatever I write does not need to be perfect, and that the most important thing is to get my thoughts out before they disappear. First drafts are supposed to be imperfect. Sometimes they're not even supposed to make sense--that's what the editing process is for, which is something I forget sometimes since I spend most of my time being an editor.

I didn't really mean to make this whole post about writing, but it is what I've been doing lately. I haven't added this blog to my list at the right mainly because it's one of those things that's raw and full of mistakes and incoherent thoughts, which I suppose isn't too different from this one or the TV blog. 

I've realized that in order for me to get anything done in my own life, I must set deadlines. I'm not good at being self-disciplined or self-motivated, at least not anymore. As I've gotten older I've become more complacent--used to the life I've created for myself. This doesn't exactly translate to happiness or feeling fulfilled. Of course, this falls into my hands. If I want that, I've got to do something about it, right?

So, the only thing I can think of that may work is to create personal deadlines. I've always been able to meet them in my professional life and I seem to respond to them, so why not try them in my personal life? Now, I realize I've created deadlines and life plans in the past, but that's not what I'm talking about. I've tossed aside the idea that I need to get married by a certain age or start having babies at a certain point. Yes, biology plays a factor in that last one, but planning those things isn't realistic. There are so many factors outside of my control that it would seem silly to put a deadline on all of that stuff.

What I need to do is start small (writing five pages a day) and work my way up to the bigger things (moving back to CA). If I can get myself into a regular schedule of deadlines, then maybe, just maybe I can begin to get things accomplished again. My mind has been zigzagging all over the place (which I believe can be blamed partly on my work environment), and I just need to find a way to create some sort of order.

The other day I had another horoscope that seemed right on for the day. Actually it pretty much described every day: Getting through the workday will be a bit of a battle -- not because you're fighting with anyone, though. You just won't want to be there. You'd much prefer to be home, either alone or with the one person on the planet you feel comfortable enough to be completely silent with. It's not that you're tired -- you're just drained. You've been burning the candle at both ends lately. It's okay. Even you need to rest every now and then.

Although that's pretty much how I feel every day, the feeling was particularly strong on that day because I went to bed at 2 a.m. and I woke up to rain. Yes, I would have much preferred being at home.

Status Report

It's been a while since I last blogged about anything. It's not that I haven't had anything to say, in fact, I was going to update this past weekend, but my body had other plans. A sore tooth and headaches just made it hard for me to be at the computer for long periods of time. Now, I'm leaving for Maine for a few days, so chances are I won't be posting anything until sometime next week. Sigh...so much for my attempt at regular posting. Have a great week!

I Am a Warrior

Once again my daily horoscope amuses me:

You want someone who's physically attractive, intellectually appealing and brave enough to handle your warrior spirit. All that needs to happen well before the hopeful applicant can even become remotely close to being invited into your heart. If you've already found someone who's up for the challenge, you'll let them know how much they're appreciated. If you haven't, you'll spend yet another day on the prowl -- but now, you might have some luck.

Too funny! Does this mean my Tom Welling look-a-like is hanging out at my local Starbucks?

That third quality is going to be the toughest one to find in a guy. I suppose "warrior spirit" really means stubborn as a donkey. Anyone willing to put up with my attitude, BS and most importantly, my crappy TV lineup deserves a medal.

No Circus for Me

My horoscope for today:

It won't be a boring day. Startling, for sure--shocking, maybe. But definitely not boring, humdrum or run-of-the-mill. Your first surprise will likely arrive via either a coworker or someone else you see on a daily basis. Either way, they won't be acting even remotely close to the way they usually do. Of course, you being you, you'll enjoy the change -- and encourage it. Hey, it's your job to be a sparkplug. Might as well have fun with it.

Lately this thing has been so accurate, it's scary. The week I was in a crappy, horrible mood, each horoscope for every day of that week mentioned something about me being angry and getting into disagreements. Totally freaked me out.

Before I read this morning's blurb, I received a surprising email from my boss asking my co-worker and I if we wanted tix to the Britney Spears concert. Apparently, one of the intern programs we work with is giving them to us as a thank you. Unfortunately, I'm out of town next week. Of course I totally would have gone because say what you will about the girl, but she really can put on a show. I went to her Pepsi-sponsored concert years ago because we got free tix from a family friend, and it was definitely entertaining. Oh well...I wonder if they have any tix to the U.S. Open they can give us. ;)

No matter--hopefully I'll be able to catch an Angels game while I'm home, and I'm really hoping my sister's hook-up can get us tix to the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. I've lived in Orange County most of my life and I still haven't been to a show. What is this you ask? It's basically an art show where they re-create famous works of art with real people. It's really cool if you're into that kind of stuff.

OK, I have a few more things to do before I hit the sheets, so I better get to them. Vacation here I come! Woohoo!

Why Banks Suck

Aside from the obvious reasons--the financial meltdown, inflated executive bonuses, ridiculous fees, blah, blah, blah--I discovered another thing that makes me want to stuff money into my mattress.

I'm already pissed off about the lame way Chase is handling WAMU's switchover, but that's to be expected. What really lit a fire under me today was the fact that some random insurance company decided to withdraw money out of my account without my authorization. To top it off, this caused my account to be overdrawn. Yeah, not nice. Unfortunately, I did not discover this until after I deposited a check into this account. Now I can't even close it until the check clears and I can safely take out the money.

I called WAMU to file a dispute so hopefully the fee will be reversed and my money will be returned. They told me to call the company and have them reverse the charge, but after some online research, I discovered that this was happening to a crapload of WAMU and Chase customers. The charge was showing up in my account as a debit with no PIN authorization, but apparently this company was using routing and account numbers from checks. According to my findings, this insurance company was identified as a division under the AIG umbrella--another reason to hate them. I did attempt to call them, but the little recording said they had a high volume of phone calls and the wait would be longer than usual. Yeah, I think I know why they have a high volume of calls. Perhaps they should stop stealing people's money!

With all these banks merging and buying each other out to form these SuperBanks, I'm wondering more and more about their ability to secure my personal information and money.

Until this whole thing gets resolved, I've initiated every alert I can think of on that account to make sure I know exactly what's going in and coming out in the next week or two. Once I'm in the clear, I'm shutting that thing down. They're not taking more of my hard-earned money. That privilege only goes to the government--mainly because I don't really have a choice in the matter.

I'd Rather Be...

When I'm at work and 4:30 p.m. hits, I like to play a game called, "5 Places I'd Rather Be." Today's locations include:

1. On a ship (heavily medicated) in the Aegean Sea
2. Disneyland. (This happens once every few years, and I've been seeing lots of commercials lately.)
3. On the deck of a beach house looking at a sunset
4. Hanging out in CA with my sister's puppies
5. In an empty pool

The list is different every day, but #3 and #4 show up pretty often.

I'm usually wiped out by 3 p.m. After five hours of sitting behind a desk I tend to get antsy. If I could find a job that allows me to work on a laptop from anywhere, I'd take it in a heartbeat. Technically, this job could easily be that, but unfortunately, my bosses would see it more as a detriment than a benefit.

My least favorite time of the day has to be the afternoon, specifically 2-5, even on the weekends. During the week it drags and I'm prone to falling asleep. On weekends it's kind of a signal to me that the day's almost over, meaning Monday will be here before I know it. Yeah, 2-5 is a killer for me.

So what exactly is my favorite time of the day? Oddly enough, it's 2-5 a.m.--well, if I'm still awake. During those times when I'm still up, I find myself enjoying the complete silence (well, as silent as it can possibly be considering where I live). There's something about thinking that I'm the only one awake that's comforting to me. I know no one is going to bother me about deadlines or projects that need to get done. I know that no one's going to interrupt me if I have a thought that needs to be written down. I know it's just me and my thoughts, and I'm OK with that scenario.

On Friday night I stayed up until 4 a.m. reading a book. For some reason I felt compelled to finish it. It's been a while since I've done that and it felt good. There were a few moments when I stopped reading and just listened. What did I hear? Nothing. Absolutely nothing--and it was nice. It was just me and the book, and I felt...relaxed. Let me tell you, that doesn't happen very often. Yes, I get tired to the point of not being able to move or think, but that's not what one would call relaxed.

Anyway, I'd also have to say that morning, around 6-8, is another favorite--if I'm actually up at that time. I find it really odd that I like these times of the day when I'm totally not a morning person. It takes me 30 minutes just to drag myself out of bed in the morning. But I have a feeling that if I didn't have this lame 9-5 schedule to maintain, I'd be a better morning person.

Anyway...right now I'd rather be in bed. Night!

Grease Is the Word

I'm sitting here on the couch trying to relax and watching Grease. For the millionth time. I don't know what it is about this movie, but it's the only one that makes me want to sing. Well, this and the Sound of Music. "Summer Nights" comes on and all of a sudden I'm bopping my head and trying to hit that high note both Olivia Newton John and John Travolta do so well. You know what I'm talking about. You know you've tried to hit that high note, too. Don't deny it.

Well, tonight that wasn't the song that made me bust out like Whitney Houston on crack. As I caught up on my blog reading, I suddenly started singing "Hopelessly Devoted to You." I didn't even know I was doing it until I found myself struggling to breathe. Yeah, I never could figure out how to get the breathing right while singing. Or maybe I just have bad lungs from inhaling all the NYC bus fumes.

Anyway, point is I'm not much of a singer. If you heard me, you'd know why. My sister instantly shushes me when she hears me start to sing along with the radio. I blame my mother for my inability to carry a tune. The only difference between me and her is that she doesn't care and will sing her little heart out at church until the very end. I guess I need to give her credit for her I-don't-give-a-crap attitude.

Yes, this is my Friday night.

Rewind: 6.25.09

I wrote this post last week and forgot to put it up:

Some days more than others, I'm much more equipped to deal with the commute and the tons of people I have to deal with on the streets. Today was not one of them. I walked off the train feeling overwhelmed and wanting to turn around and head back home. Even as I type this I'm tired and grumpy, and it's taking everything in me to be productive. I need an iced coffee. I'm babysitting my friend's cat for the next few days, and I'm a little worried about it. Granted, he's in a new environment with some strange lady and it's only been less than 24 hours since his mama left him, but I'm concerned that he's spending way too much time hiding under my coffee table. He did a little exploring last night while I was watching TV, but that didn't last long. The minute he heard noise from outside, he bolted for the table. Sigh...I hope he adjusts soon.

Update: As you can tell from the photos above, little kitty eventually came out of hiding and was so cute. He loved rolling over and having his tummy rubbed and I found it interesting how his paws would always flex--he'd stretch them out then close them up again. He was always at my feet, which meant I accidentally stepped on him a few times. I guess he can't help being affectionate! In the last pic he's checking out my bookcase, trying to figure out a way to get up there. He never did figure out the logistics. But he did manage to find a teeny tiny hiding place by my stove. Amazing how a 20-pound cat can squeeze his body into such a tight space.

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So, I have another new favorite TV show that I've discovered during my Netflix summer. Everyone and their mama has been telling me how great this show is, but without access to Showtime and an already packed TV schedule, I never had a chance to check it out. I'm talking about Dexter, the friendly guy-next-door-do-gooder serial killer. Love him! I'm watching the Season 2 finale tonight, which makes me a little sad. Season 3 doesn't come out until August 18, which is only one month and maybe three weeks away, but I'm addicted. Just can't get enough of Dexter Morgan. Oh well...hopefully Battlestar Galactica and The Tudors will keep me distracted.

I thought this ad campaign was awesome
even though I hadn't seen the show yet.

I can hardly believe the end of June is here. Summer is just flying by at record speed. Before I know it Christmas decs will be out and we'll be ringing in 2010. Can time just slow down a little, please? I can't catch up.

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In the past I've gotten a few wrong numbers. The most noteworthy of those was some man with a very heavy accent looking for some girl. To my ears he sounded like some drunk pimp looking for his hooker, but that could have just been my overactive imagination. After a while those calls stopped--I think he may have realized he was dialing the wrong number when no one was calling him back. I think I distinctly remember him sounding a little pissed in one of his messages.

Anyway, today I received my very first wrong number text. This is what it said: LOL Did I kiss your Bf? Oy vey...had so much fun with you guys. Thanks for saving me from all the crazy boys.

From what I can tell, the call originated in a suburb of Chicago--the Northbook West area. No clue where that is. It must have been one hell of a night for this young lady if she's kissing her friend's boyfriend. Or best friend...who knows? For a second there I thought I might have actually had a life last night. But I guess my evening with the anti-social cat was real.

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Upon seeing my checkcard, the Starbucks guy made an observation today that no other cashier has ever made: You're not from around here, are you? At first I was a little confused and simply said that I was, well, at least now. I guess you could consider me a person from this area after five years. He said my Wells Fargo checkcard tipped him off because there weren't any here. At that point the light bulb went off and I explained to him that his assumption was correct. He proceeded to tell me he was from Texas and I said I was from California.

As I walked out, I couldn't help wonder what the correct answer to the where-are-you-from question is without giving my life story. The question has never offended me--it just confuses me. While I was in TN last weekend, the question was posed to me and I automatically blurted out California. I guess it's because this person knew I'd traveled from NJ and knew I probably wasn't "from" there.

Sometimes the question gets even more confusing when it's meant to be where are you from, as in what country did your parents come from? See? Confusing question. My answer hinges on various factors--the conversation, the circumstances, the person, whether the full moon is in the house of Saturn. Sometimes I don't even feel like I'm from this planet, so maybe I should just say Venus. I think my response next time will be Hawaii. For some reason that seems to make sense to people and doesn't warrant any further explanation.

Update: Yeah, I was feeling a little random that day. I pretty much recorded every thought that popped into my head, well, the ones that didn't have to do do with work.