shorter repeats

i leave for new york in just a few short hours, the same red-eye flight i always take. i'm excited to see my friend Vanessa! just finishing up some laundry, and i'm just about set to go.

i got the best news today: i won a contest at the club that gets me $1100 worth of personal training sessions! i don't know who was more excited, my trainer or me! my club does this body age thing and they set up a contest where you had to guess the body age of several trainers, mine included. she's 29, but her body age is 17. yikes! i'm sure mine is that of a retiree. anyway, i got the most correct answers (truthfully, my trainer helped me out a bit) and am stoked!

speaking of training, my trainer has me doing cardio speedwork and i HATE it. but that's just because it's hard. :) i worked out hard with her yesterday, and tried to replicate most of the workout alone today. this is where i know i still need a trainer -- sometimes i can't get myself as motivated when i work out alone. i did 45 minutes of cardio speedwork today, and felt pretty good about my effort. the bummer is, because i have a bum knee the elliptical is out and i'm stuck with the bike (trainer urges the spinning ones) and the erg. 25 minutes of speedwork on the erg and i'm ready to die.

the incident quotient on this week's "trauma" is significantly higher than last week's episode. who knew a street fair could be so dangerous?

i was short on patience earlier today, which was likely why i was so irritated by everyone's idiocy, but now things are all good.

cash grab

i went to tahoe/reno over the weekend, and for the first time, i flew. (and boy, are my arms tired!)

i fear it's spoiled me for future trips, as the take-off to touch-down time is 55 minutes, with just 38 of that being flying time.

i was doing well friday night, two-and-a-half hours at the roulette table followed by an hour at a single deck $5 table (!) and fueled by shots of patrón (no chaser, thanks) with a couple of beers mixed in for good measure.

saturday was a downward spiral. maybe one winning hand, total? goes to show -- gotta quit while you're ahead.

the plane ride home was uneventful, save for him being on my flight.

oh, and standing next to him while he boarded the flight ahead of us to LAX. it made me giggle that he had a barney (as in the purple dinosaur) tote bag as his carry-on.

scavenger hunt

i thought i would lay low for the next week or so until i head down south for a wedding. by "laying low" i meant not going out as much, getting some rest, and saving money. as usual, i'm more successful at some of the things and not as successful at others. i've not done as well getting rest as much as i'd have liked, and although it may seem counterintuitive that i'm still saving money and going out, i have been. a month or so ago i decided i was fed up with the amount of times a week i ate out. sunday night dinner with the family aside, i set a goal of eating out only once a week. for a single person who doesn't care very much for cooking and cares for leftovers three days in a row even less, this was no small feat. i'm proud to say that i've stuck with this and my bank account shows. (oh, and i've made myself some nice meals, too!)

which is good, because i'm going to have a kick-ass time when i go to nicole's wedding next weekend. i'm driving down thursday morning and i'll probably stop a couple of times along the way.

i went to the giants game on monday night, probably my last of the season. this makes me sad, especially since the giants have been so rotten this year. but it also signifies the beginning of fall, which i recently decided is my favorite season. seasons don't mean much in california, but the slight chill in the air makes me anticipate the light sweater-wearing days of fall in california.

jewels and i went for the most delicious sushi dinner on thursday night at a place neither of us had tried. i've been craving one of their rolls since then, and i'm sure i'll head there again soon. we walked to dinner, which i enjoyed, and came back and ended the evening in the hot tub. it was a great way to end the week.

i was at work by 6 yesterday morning, so you'd think i would have slept in a bit this morning. riiiight. anj invited me to an event at laguna seca today, and while i have no interest in motorbike racing, i thought i'd go for the experience. plus, the tickets are free, so i can't argue with that. it's been about 6 years since i last was in monterey, which is only one of the most gorgeous places ever.

you never know what saying "yes" to things will bring.

not that sound

it was so strange having had a day off in the middle of the week. not bad, of course, just strange. i was telling a friend of mine on friday how i went swimming on wednesday, but instead said sunday. because, really? it felt like a weekend. in the middle of the week! doesn't get much better than that. i didn't do much but swim and watch movies on the 4th, and dinner was mediocre pizza. i discovered that i can see my city's fireworks displays from my backyard, which was cool. i think next year i'll do a bbq for the 4th and invite folks to see the fireworks from my backyard. that is, if i can manage to get it cleaned up before then. i've been procrastinating like no other on pulling weeds and trimming stuff, i just have no interest whatsoever in gardening. because it's been so hot, i've closed the shutters going into the backyard, and now the weeds/nastiness is out of sight. but not out of mind, obviously.

thankfully, today has been cooler than the past couple of days. although i've no right complaining when las vegas and phoenix, and even places in utah, are well into triple digits.

juan is recovering well. he had surgery on his hand on thursday and now has two pins in it, which will remain for about 6 weeks. we kid because we love, and my father has taken to calling juan "frankenstein," which my sister has shortened to simply "frank," because of all of his braces and bandages. i had dinner with my sister and juan last night, the first time i've seen him since the accident. most of his bruises have healed, but seeing him in his brace get-up is frightening, if only because i can't help but think "what if?" he's in good spirits though, and is anxious to return to work.

i'm stoked that the all-star game will be shown on fox, which is one of the three hi-def channels i get. since i'm too cheap to pay for the package through comcast, i receive the hi-def channels through the tv's built-in tuner over the air. my father had tickets to some special event for the all-star game but declined them , thinking i wouldn't want to attend. goes to show he really wasn't thinking, because OF COURSE i would want to attend!

summer solstice

"Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it."
"the great gatsby"

oh, daisy, i couldn't agree more. but this year? this year i remembered. it's a quarter to eight, and the sun shows no sign of going down.
it's one of those small things that deserves recognition, this first day of summer. i didn't do anything particularly special, but spending time with friends, having lunch outside, and now watching a woody allen flick have been the perfect ways to ring it in.



welcome, summer.

another one bites the dust.

perhaps you've noticed my new layout? a friend of mine commented today that it just didn't seem like "me," and if you know me in real life, you're probably thinking the same thing. yes, i typically am not drawn to floral motifs, but the colors of this template were so summer-y, i was immediately drawn to it.

moving on.

i took a 2 mile bike ride on sunday (i keep typing saturday! yay for long weekends!) and it was lovely. i need to pursue different physical activities, away from the standard gym routine. that's not to say that i've been to the gym any time in recent memory, but i cannot stand the local branch of 24 hour fitness to which i belong. another friend of mine was treated to a diatribe about my dislike of that gym the other night. it seems ridiculous that, while my membership allows me to visit other gyms, i'd travel a distance out of my way to go to the gym just because the one near me is shitty.

anyway.

i also bought a pair of swim goggles in the hopes that i'd start swimming laps. while i was on vacation, i swam and swam and swam. and it felt good, not even like i was exercising. that's pretty much my favorite kind of exercise, when i'm just doing things i like that happen to be physical.

monday i went to santa cruz in the morning. how long have i lived in the bay area to know that if it's hot and sunny on this side of the hill that it'll probably be cold and windy there? the fog burned off just before i left, but it was a fun day anyway. pretty much any day with photo booths and soft frozen lemonade at the beach are good. (for those keeping score at home, those are three of my favorite things.) i've not yet scanned my photo booth pix, but here are a few of my faves from yesterday:

psssst! we used to own this company



i found a wallet in that particular photo booth, and being the good citizen that i am, returned to the lost and found. several teen staff members of the boardwalk had no idea where the lost and found was, sending me on quite the chase before i found it. let's hope tyler of redwood city found his wallet.

monday night jewels and cy hosted a yummy bbq. it was the perfect cap to a wonderful weekend -- playing cards with friends, enjoying the weather, food and company.

snack attack

Lisa and I will be making a pilgrimage (it seemed only fitting to use that word given the post-Thanksgiving timing of this entry) here on Saturday.

Yes, more food this close to Thanksgiving, and yes, it's over 30 miles each way -- what of it?!

What sparked this seemingly sudden trip? If you know me, you know I loves me some Sonic, particularly their fresh fruit slushes (can I get an "Amen!" for lime?). But that's not what was the impetus for this trip.

My friend Matt called me on Saturday to brag that he was in line at Sonic. Jewels made a special phone call from Texas to inform me that she and her hubby were in line at Sonic.

Some friends, eh?

Come Saturday, a chicken sandwich with honey mustard and a lime slush will be mine.

And if I'm feeling particularly saucy, I may make that slush a large.

Oh, who am I kidding. It'll be large all the way.

jive talking

For the third consecutive year I'm hosting Thanksgiving. It doesn't bother me much because my father does most of the cooking, I just have to clean the house, provide appetitzers (my family makes meals off of apps) and make a pie or two.

Our menu for this year will be different from years past: Cornish game hens, fresh crab, french-cut green beans, spring salad, dinner rolls, corn, garlic mashed potatoes, cranberries, stuffing and my pumpkin spice pie with fresh whipped cream.

This year I'm feeling a little of the proverbial holiday stress as my mother invited her brother, John, and her closest friend, Judy, to join us. She's known Judy since they were 12 years old, so it's pretty much like having family over.

Uncle John is a different story. He and my mother have never been close, and after his recent divorce he moved from Southern California up here, about 10 minutes away from my folks. In the 7 or so months he's lived up here, my mother has made repeated attempts to invite him places, but he never calls her back . Seriously. So when he called, conveniently, on Sunday after all these months of not returning phone calls, my mother asked me if I wouldn't mind setting an additonal place for Uncle John.

Despite my family's dysfunction, I still believe in "family first" and making people feel welcome, so I said of course he was invited. My mother called him back and asked what his Thanksgiving plans were, if he was headed down south to spend it with his sons. He said no, they already have plans, so he'd be sticking around here. So my mother said, "We're headed to B's for Thanksgiving, why don't you join us?" He did the "aw, shucks" routine and said he couldn't possibly invite himself.

Pshaw, says my mother to herself. Why the heck else would he call after 7 months, oddly coinciding with a holiday?!

Anwyay, I'm excited to have a few extra people over. I have a seemingly endless to-do list to prepare, but at least I got one major one out of the way yesterday: new dishes. I have a set that originally started with 8 place settings I've had for about 5 years and it's dwindling. I headed over to Crate & Barrel yesterday and picked out an inexpensive pattern and bought 10 settings. If had really planned ahead I would have gotten new flatware. Mine has definitey seen better days, and I'd love to have settings for 10 or 12. That'll be a purchase for another day, or maybe Santa will bring me it...

For those that celebrate it, have a Happy Thanksgiving!

winter wear

You know winter is on it's way, even in it's mildest California form, when my daily 'fit changes from jeans, a t-shirt and flip-flops to jeans, a fleece and Pumas.

don't deconstruct

My father was in a car accident last week. He's okay, but his car had to be towed from the scene. My mother, upon hearing about said accident, shook her head and said,"Just last night I was telling him his tailgating is out of hand!"

While waiting for the highway patrol to show up, some guy on a motorcycle shows up and insists he's part of the three car accident (dad hit someone, that someone hit someone else). He waited for the CHP to show up before going into his sob story about how he slid on debris from the accident, which caused him to fall off his bike. The officer looks at him, looks at the apparent paint scratches on the bike, and waves the guy off, saying as a motorcyclist, he needs to be aware of potential debris on the road and handle his bike in a controlled manner to allow for this. The guy was furious, sputtering that my father's front license plate caused the accident, as it was ripped from the front of his car in the accident. At this point, my father gestures to his back seat and points out that he's already removed the license plate from the road, immediately after the accident (oddly enough, my father received a "fix it" ticket mere weeks before for failure to have a front license plate). This guy drives off, furious that he's not part of the accident, and the highway patrol officer takes the guy's license plate number and says he's going to include it in his accident report. (That really has nothing to do with anything, I just thought it was interesting.)

So anyway, the officer and my father get to talking, and my father asks him if he knows my cousin, also a CHP. Turns out, he and my cousin used to work together before she transferred further north when she and her girlfriend bought a house together (side bar: everyone in the family, except her parents, knows she's a lesbian. The CHP officer even asked how Patty's girlfriend was). So the officer offers to give my dad a ride to work, just a short jaunt from where the accident occurred. I cracked up at the mental image of Dad rolling into the parking lot in the back of a CHP car.

My father is heartbroken that his year-old car is now damaged goods. I'm sure the fact that he's driving around my work truck in all its nasty glory isn't doing much for his spirits, although if I have to hear him say one more time, "This truck has plenty of life in it!" (it has more than 210,000 miles on it). My mother says it's a good excuse for him to get the 7 series he cheaped out on and pass the 5 series on to me. I wouldn't object. I'm just glad he's safe, and maybe (maybe!) this'll learn him not to tailgate.

But who am I kidding.

dumb luck

I've been called for jury duty. I registered in this county when I became a homeowner, a change from the county my parents live in. I'd been called three times with my registration in their county, but never had to show up as my number wasn't called. Apparently, this county does things a tad differently than I'm used to. This county assigns you four days worth and service can be at one of seven different courthouses, the farthest one at least 45 minutes from my home. So when am I scheduled for jury duty?

(wait for it...)

December 26-29.

For those keeping score at home, I need to call or check online twice a day for each of those days to see if I need to serve my civic duty.

Starting the day after Christmas.

birthday wishes!

Happy Birthday to her today!

take it off

Today is a wonderful day. Why? Because I have it off. Not because it's the observed Veteran's Day holiday, but because if I didn't get the heck out of work at some point soon, heads were going to roll. Or some other such jazz.

So I asked for today off. This is huge for me, although it most likely will not make sense to anyone who: a) isn't employed by family, or b) doesn't have a guilt complex. I actually asked for last Friday off, and was politely declined, as the big boss had a huge meeting to go to and, as usual, my timing was off. That and I waited until Thursday to ask for it off. So we compromised, or rather, he said, "Why don't you take next Friday and Monday off instead?" Taking both days off seemed a little frivolous, but I jumped at the chance to have a day off and was absolutely giddy all week anticipating my three-day weekend.

What you have to understand is that, aside from taking vacation days, I've never, ever, taken a day off just to hang out. It feels odd, and I had all kinds of ideas on how to fill up my day by being out and about, then I realized there was so much to do at home. I've tackled projects this morning that have been on my "to do" list for ages, and it feels pretty darn good to have finished them.

It's also nice to realize that it's 2pm on a Friday and I only just took a shower.

My excuse for not having a rushed day is partly because this evening will inevitably lead itself to debaucherous activities in the celebration of her birthday, of which I am greatly looking forward to, and also keepin' it low-key in anticipation of.

Here's to a great weekend!

radio cure

My spending this week has been out of control.

At the end of last week I was smarting to Jewels that I had been really good at saving and watching my spending, not eating out as much, etc.

I need to eat everything I said in that conversation, because, well, yeah -- there goes all that savings-related goodness.

I "treated myself" to a couple of things on eBay, including a hard-to-find fragrance. So even when I'm poor I'll stink good.

I had my eye on a jacket last year but couldn't justify buying it, as it doesn't really get cold enough here to wear something so insulating. But enter Sundance in January and I have a whole new excuse to buy something. So while I was in Palo Alto on Saturday, I made a stop at the North Face and found the same jacket I pined over last year:

It's made with a down alternative, but not marshmallow-y at all, and hopefully will be warm enough for the Utah trip as well as winter activities (yay for cross-country skiing and snow-shoeing!).

Of course, my main reason for heading to Palo Alto in the first place was to buy the foam for the sun deck/bench in my backyard, so that was an added (hefty) expense -- since foam is 100% petroleum, the price has gone up exponentially. It'll be ready tomorrow, and I'm anxious to complete the bench. Just in time for winter! /sarcasm

While in Palo Alto, Jewels and I made a stop at Stanford, where I treated myself to a new lipstick (it's so freaking awesome) and the Benefit brow filler at Sephora. Truth be told, I was needing both of these pretty badly. I went to a new lady to wax my brows and she effing scalped me, so now I need to fill 'em in while they are in that nasty growing-in phase. The lipstick choice (Vincent Longo), done by one of Sephora's finest, left me with doubts, but then I tried it on. I feel so growed up with my growed up lipstick!

Then we headed over to Nordstrom and Crate and Barrel, where I bought shoe stuffs at the former and Christmas ornaments at the latter.

Yesterday had me heading to Barnes and Noble, Trader Joe's and Tower Records. I did well at the first two stops, then all hell broke loose at Tower. I mean, c'mon -- the CDs are now 40% off, and the DVDs 30% off!

I came away with 2 CDs for gifts for mom and dad, 8 for myself and a DVD that's been on my wishlist for years. Their used CD section was completely picked over, but I managed to find Guster's "Keep It Together" for $4.79 after all the discounts on the used rack. That was the best deal I got, although $15 for a double CD for my father isn't bad either. I also bought Sia "Colour the Small One," Rilo Kiley "Takeoffs and Landings," The Smashing Pumpkins "Greatest Hits," Regina Spektor "Begin to Hope," Gnarls Barkley "St. Elsewhere," Wilco "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" and The Essential Simon and Garfunkel. I'm thinking of going to a different Tower when I go to pick up the foam mattress tomorrow to check out what's left of their used section as well as their books -- the Tower I went to today doesn't carry books. I'm sad that Tower isn't going to be around any more. I wrote a while back that there's something about buying CDs that buying mp3s just doesn't match.

How I got into writing about spending MORE money when I was writing about spending LESS is beyond me.

rock da vote

So didja?!

what dreams may come

I had the weirdest dream two nights ago.

I dreamt that we were preparing for nuclear war. My family was at our cabin and somehow my father got wind that NASA was allowing a small number of people to take shelter in their underground bunker, but we had to be dressed in a particular suit. This full body suit was white, and made of a Tyvek-type material (identical to the stuff worn in clean rooms in the tech industry). My sister refused to dress in said suit, and I remember feeling so angry with her, cause, duh -- it's a matter of life or death! I only had sandals but wearing the suits required wearing closed-toe shoes, so I grabbed my father's snow boots (I vividly remember this part, he's had this pair for as long as I can remember) and wore those. We raced to our next-door neighbor's house, which had magically become the NASA bunker (the morphing of locations/people always cracks me up in dreams) and we were locked in, safely awaiting what might come.

Then I realized I didn't have my cell phone on me, and I wanted to call my friends and, well, say goodbye, I guess, as morbid as it sounds. I panicked looking for said phone, and roamed the cavernous hallways of the NASA site until I found a payphone. I kept trying to call my friends (collect, mind you -- there were no pockets for money in my Tyvek suit!) but no one was answering.

The dream ended here, but I woke up in a panic. I wonder if any online dream interpreters could piece together the bits and pieces of this convoluted dream.

pour, mix, serve

How to win a Halloween costume contest:

step 1: procure paper bag large enough to fit noggin (BevMo bag worked well!)



step 2: spend more at Michael's than you intended, but have fun getting carried away with creativity



step 3: refer to inspiration before continuing



(Fandango surfer)



step 4: arrange everything before gluing



step 5: prepare last minute changes (buttons on shirt, added collar and v-neck to shirt),
take picture to show weirdo fellow bloggers



step 6: pose for pic with Jewels (geisha), before costume judging began



step 7: self-take pic after winning Starbucks gift card



[PHOTO NOT FOUND]
step 8: feel the pressure for next year's party after winning

sunshine days

She is always thoughtful with her gifts, and my birthday this year was no exception. She and her hubby gave me a gift certificate to Lowe's and two weekends of their time to devote to household projects, namely my backyard.

I had been wanting to create a sun deck for reading and general sunworship-ness for some time, but as usual, I was missing two-thirds of the time, money and energy equation. I'd also had my eye on a pineapple fountain from Tommy Bahama (I know!) but didn't want to spend the 200 or so clams they were asking.

Enter my bestest friend and her handy hubby, who bought redwood from the lumber yard and brought over their saw (bought as an excuse to execute this project, perhaps?) and got to work one hot weekend a few weeks back.

Before said project could begin, some minor adjustments needed to be made to the space designated for the sun deck, particularly clearing it out of the wood chip-debris and what remained from the fountain grass and jasmine that I pulled out last year.

We made a stop at Lowe's for sand (lots and lots and lots of sand) while Cyrus got everything settled to begin the project, and it was there that I was met with the fountain-from-Tommy-Bahama's-cousin. I knew instantly that I had to buy it, and at about half price of the one from the "island purveyor," I knew it was a good choice.




All cleared, sand poured, ready to go!


The master carpenter, ready to get down to bidness


Hey, what's this work stoppage?!


I got the fountain assembly job


Ta da! (pay no attention to the dead foliage in the background!)


Finished product. I now need someone to help me lift it into place!



The bench/sun deck is about the size of a twin bed, and is sure to be super comfy if I ever get around to buying the foam, as Jewels offered to sew the cover for it. I'm thinking Sunbrella fabric, despite its hefty price tag, because the backyard gets a ton of sun and investing in something durable might be the best option. I will be installing a shade over the bench, but that will most likely have to wait until next summer.

Thanks, guys, for all your help!

birthday wishes!

Happy Birthday to her today!

truly outrageous

I over committed myself to activities on Saturday, so much so that I left the house about 7:30 in the morning and didn't return until 9:30 in the evening. But what a day it was!

My morning event went really well. This was my first year participating in this event, and I can say I'll definitely do it again next year. I was there until about 2:30, then I left for SF for Augusten Burroughs' book reading at the new SF Center's Bloomingdales, of all places.

I wanted to wait until the gawkers had died down before venturing to the new SF Center, but when this came up, I figured I'd put up with it. Holy moly, I have never seen so many people in a freaking shopping mall in my entire life. There was a line to get into H&M and the "Food Emporium" was every person for themselves. I should have realized when I had to valet park at the Hilton that things weren't going to be good. (Note to self: never park at the Hilton again, even though self and valet parking is the same price. $40 [the day's maximum] for the time I was there is outrageous, and to fund that whore's lifestyle? No thanks.)

So I killed time until 6 by having a look at what was drawing so many people to a mall. Nothing spectacularly special as far as shopping goes, even though there are a couple of stores that are exclusive to the Center, but other than those, it was the standard fare: Abercrappy, Aldo, Bath & Body Works, etc. It really was far too long to have to kill time, but I got a healthy dose of people watching in, so that was good.

Notice anything about this sign?
His last name is misspelled, thus prompting the quick set change in the next pic.


(and see how close I am to the front?
That's cause I got there early, but that didn't stop two bitches
and two emo wannabes from squeezing into the non-existent space.
If you wanna be up front, get there early, effers!)








The "after party," in the middle of the men's section


Complete with a DJ!