Still New

Attention Google Reader People

2009-12-01T21:12:00.000-05:00

I changed the link to the blog. It's so new is no longer quite as new. The new link/name is: juliacbee.blogspot.com

I really have no idea if the RSS feed will update automatically, so I figured this little announcement might help all 2 of you who subscribe to this.

Cute Break

2009-12-01T13:34:00.000-05:00

Recaps on my week-long visit to Nashville are forthcoming. In the meantime, here's a video that could melt the coldest of hearts.

Plans

2009-11-11T23:49:00.000-05:00

The past few days have been a whirlwind of anxiety and decision-making. I'm still absorbing all the changes that are taking place, both short and long term. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Monday night was sleepless. All the confidence I'd been feeling the previous days totally evaporated, and I woke up sleep-deprived and jittery with nerves. For about 6 hours straight all I could think about was that it was TFA decision day, driving myself utterly insane in the process and maybe not the most pleasant person to be around. Around 5pm (we were told we'd find out after 8) my brain kind of just shut off, from what I imagine was a combination of fatigue and over-thinking. I told myself I wouldn't check my email until I was home after working a bit later than usual, and somehow managed to ignore that pestering red blinking coming from my phone telling me I have unread messages. Of course as soon as I get home I go right upstairs and open up my email. The first is just a general TFA email titled "Your Teach for America Application." The second, sent shortly after, was titled "Welcome to the Atlanta Corps!" At that point I just started smiling and didn't stop for approximately 5 hours, told my mom, and texted Caitlin letting her know that all our theoretical planning was actually (finally) real.

So, Atlanta it is. I'll be an elementary school teacher (curve ball!) and I'm completely thrilled. I officially accepted the offer today, and have to register for the GACE test that I'll be taking January 9th in Georgia. More flights to book! Speaking of flights - the test timing, as well as other pre-Institute work, coincides pretty terribly with my Thailand program. After thinking it over and talking with my parents, I've decided not to go to Thailand after all (sorry, gdub alumni newsletter). I'm still visiting my family in Germany at some point in the spring, but priorities lie with TFA, so Thailand has to wait. The silver lining is that I'm getting basically all the money back that I've put into the trip so far...which is now dedicated to moving costs. Another silver lining is that I'll be at Alumni Weekend!

And yes, I'm already looking at Craigslist to see what kind of housing options there are (it's so cheap!) despite the fact that I know extremely little about Atlanta so far. And already loving the fact that Caitlin and I designated Wednesdays as Roommate Dinner at Soul Vegetarian night. Agh. SO EXCITED!!

Jumbled

2009-11-08T17:32:00.000-05:00

My brain's been a little chaotic the past few weeks, so I'm not going to fully flesh out these thoughts into their own entries.

- Flying to Nashville on the 23rd for a full week! I'll be joining the Dixon tribe for Thanksgiving and can't wait to meet the full extended family in all its glory. I'll also be there for Caitlin's birthday (which is, coincidentally, my half birthday) and potentially the birth of her nephew. Who said a lot can't happen in a week?

- TFA decision is rendered this Tuesday at 8pm (yeah, they give you a specific time, and yeah, it adds to the stress even more). There's not much I can say to express the general anxiety I have over the situation, so I'll leave it at this: Basket. Of. Nerves.

- I've been in a total cooking and baking frenzy lately. This past week alone I made pumpkin butter, chocolate chip pumpkin cookies, chocolate chip pumpkin bread (twice), pumpkin & black bean soup [yes, I carved apart, roasted, and pureed what felt like the world's largest pumpkin], a mushroom/onion/spinach/cheese/sausage frittata, and chili. My mom went to the produce market this morning and brought me back lots of beets and a bunch of little eggplants, so I'm currently toying with the idea of some grilled eggplant pizza. Ooh, and maybe a potato-eggplant tart. I suppose cooking and following recipes calms me down when I'm stressed and distracts my racing thoughts, and I do love sending off little packages of cookies (want one? Ask. Caitlin did).

Like I suspected, this entry is just about as disjointed as my thoughts have been lately. I guess I'll end with this: always make sure that when you take a huge swig of liquid Nyquil you check the expiration date first. Didn't take this precaution last night and discovered the medicine to be quite, quite past due. The consequence? Some seriously trippy dreams. Lesson learned.

Catch Up

2009-11-02T22:31:00.000-05:00

I think my blogging frequency is directly tied to the time I spend at a desk. Case in point: since moving back East, and especially since I started babysitting, my blog entries have been a lot more picture focused and a lot less actual writing or reflection. Now, fair warning - this entry will be generally much more introspective and much less story-centric.

I've spent the past 3 weekends straight out of town, so let's give them a quick recap in bullet point form:

AC
- Sending Tom off to Australia with lots of Roulette, 5 Hour Energy, Wawa, beer pong, and hanging out

Nashville/ATL
- Lots of driving, getting lost in Olympic Park (no, it's not easy to get lost in), GA Aquarium (shark petting, sippy-cup buying), Andre/5Hr, bachelor parties, drag queens, Pink Pony (where Caitlin fell in love), Waffle House, 6 Flags.

DC
- Wine tasting, grape stomping, Trollifying, front-loading the open bar (subsequently: dancing, mistaking Halloween props for candy, possibly Jumbo Slice) approximately 6 hours on the couch Sunday, Amsterdam falafel.

Despite (or maybe because of) being perpetually sleep-deprived over the weekends, saving less money than I thought I would, and indulging in several vices, I'm happier now than I was in San Francisco. When I first moved I told people that I was "taking a break from real life" by coming home, deciding to teach abroad, and leaving corporate America. Two months later I feel like I've actually started living again (oh melodrama, I know). I'm spending time with people I love, taking advantage of last-minute travel chances, and feeling much more like myself.

Two months from now I'll be boarding a plane to Germany and then on to Thailand only a few days later to teach English for 2.5 months and see a completely new corner of the world (anyone want to visit Thailand/SE Asia mid-March? I'm serious, talk to me). Hopefully after that I'll be spending a few much-needed weeks with my dad, stepmother, and little sisters before returning to the States, to either wherever TFA decides to send me (8 days!) or DC, most likely.

The immediate future holds nights like tonight - drinking a beer on the couch, oven on (currently: an enormous pumpkin), watching Cliff Lee destroy the Yankees - and weekends like the aforementioned. The eventual future is alternately defined and unsure, but I'm perfectly content to play the waiting game for a bit, especially when it's filled with things like planning next year's hypothetical apartment (complete with napping room/corner and game night) with Caitlin. Yes, I'd say things are pretty good right now.

Life as of Late, In Pictures

2009-11-02T19:56:00.000-05:00

Weekend in Atlantic City. Not pictured: the 17 bottles of 5 Hour Energy we bought.

Reunited and it felt so good.

We followed all directions.

Escaping DC streets for an afternoon of wine tasting...

And grape stomping.

It's all beautiful, basically.

Causes for Delay

2009-10-21T10:53:00.000-04:00

I'm in the middle of a very fun, but very busy and somewhat hectic 10 day stretch, so excuse the lack of real posting. Last weekend contained 2 very late nights, including one in AC that ended at 5:30am. This week is ultimate (twice), some longer work hours, and my final TFA interview and its accompanying prep work. Then it's a 9pm flight to Nashville on Friday for another weekend that has a high probability of very little sleep and a lot of adventures. In short, I'm about 50% nerves and 50% anticipation. Regular posting to resume next week.

Ghosts?

2009-10-14T21:46:00.001-04:00

I'm starting to wonder if the house my babysitting family lives in is haunted. Maybe it's just the changing of the seasons and the fact that it's a little windier and that Halloween is on the brain, but today was weird.

Normally I get to the house at 2pm, take care of some laundry, and then read until it's time to pick the kids up. Today I kept hearing this weird, distant coughing sound, as if I could hear the neighbors if the neighbors lived 10 feet from me. I was a little creeped out but didn't think much more of it and returned to my book (er, As I Lay Dying).

An hour later I was outside with Daniel while Nina was inside doing homework. Suddenly Nina rushes out and she's in a total panic. She said there was something in the house and that she didn't want to be in it alone. After a little bit of prodding she told me she kept hearing heavy breathing and coughing, and that suddenly the microwave turned on by itself, at which point she ran outside. I came into the kitchen with her and tried to reassure her that no, no one else was there and that yes, of course I'd stay inside with her while she did her homework. She was still pretty freaked out despite my efforts, and I have to admit I definitely got the heeby jeebies and felt like my stomach was tied up in a knot.

Even now I'm kind of just shuddering thinking about it. I'm not sure where I stand on ghosts or haunted houses, but either way I'm hoping this was a one-time kind of thing. Seeing as how I get scared watching crappy horror movies (ugh, The Grudge) I don't think I'd cope particularly well if I had to deal with this again. Not at all.

Clean Eating, With a Side of Fries

2009-10-10T23:05:00.002-04:00

Lately I've found myself becoming much more vegetarian-minded. Earlier in the year I made the resolution to only eat meat about once a week, and try to have it be locally/sustainably sourced. I actually managed pretty well for the most part, lasting from the beginning of January through mid-May or so. Then summer arrived and I got admittedly lazy and wound up being more careless about what I was eating. It's not that I was eating junk all the time, I just stopped eating consciously.

The past few weeks I've made the effort to eat a lot less meat and animal products and making sure that the ones I do eat are free range, grass fed, and organic whenever possible. Even more recently I've been turning down meat in general, even if the above criteria are met, in favor of beans, quinoa, nuts (tons and tons of almond butter), and as much fresh fruit and vegetables as possible. The physical effects are obvious - I have more energy and run longer and faster - and mentally I'm more alert. I'm not sure if cutting out meat is solely to thank, but I do think that it's a result of eating cleaner. Avoiding packaged foods makes a huge difference, not only because it cuts down on the chemicals I'm eating but because it also requires me to think more about what I'm hungry for and how to prepare it. Cooking and baking also calms me down, so I gain another mental and emotional benefit.

This post stems from a conversation I had last night with a friend about his new internship. He's working at a local organization that's working on an initiative to provide greater access to healthy foods in corner stores in Philadelphia. Corner stores are notorious for the ubiquity of processed food and drink, and my friend's company is working on a business model that can convince these store owners to put healthy foods in their markets. While organic/sustainable/other buzz word products are the eventual goal, the initial aim is just to actually provide healthy options like produce in the store. This way the children who buy their breakfast at the corner store now - consisting of packaged donuts or a bag of chips - can in the future pick up an apple or yogurt instead and hopefully create a habit of healthy eating.

Personally, I think it's dismissive to say that people who struggle with obesity or who eat a lot of junk food are just "asking for it" or "lazy." Far fewer people today know how to cook than 50 years ago, largely thanks to the rise of the food industry, frozen dinners, and fast food. No one markets oranges or broccoli today - instead, it's Fanta and Doritos. The basic lack in education about how to prepare fresh foods, coupled with limited access to whole foods (the concept, not the store, especially in low income communities), is one of the key drivers to why obesity and its associated diseases like diabetes is skyrocketing in America. I realize I'm not saying anything especially groundbreaking, but I think it's a morbidly fascinating issue that's really come to light recently and is receiving a lot of positive attention through figures like Michael Pollan and Alice Waters and movies like Food, Inc.

There are two things I'll leave you with. The first is a discussion and article on the chef Jamie Oliver, who is filming a new reality TV show in Huntington, West Virginia - the "unhealthiest city in America." Read the opinion piece from Jezebel here and the full NYTimes' Magazine writeup on Jamie here. The second is that my personal exception to being mostly meatless will always, always be a cheeseburger and fries - the real kind, with grilled mushrooms & onions, Swiss, and A1. And bacon, if I'm really feeling it.

There Is a Light That Shines....

2009-10-07T20:25:00.000-04:00

The other day I had the chance to creep around my (babysitting) family's house and take pictures of the light fixtures I talked about earlier. I'm not really normally one to gush about interior design/decorating, but I thought these were too unique not to share.

Lights over the kitchen table:

Detail....

Lights over the kitchen island:

Mosaic in the hallway:

My personal favorite - fixture over the doorframe leading down into the basement:

The two re-worked chandeliers in the living room. These originally started off as classic crystal chandeliers, but the family commissioned a local artist/friend to give them quite an overhaul:

Yes, that's a whisk.

Sogno Mio

2009-10-01T21:11:00.001-04:00

Today I started my new job working for the local family I described in a previous post. I think they're going to be totally lovely and completely hilarious.

Sogno Mio is the name of their house, and it is mind-blowing. The entire place is filled with incredible art - mostly done by my boss - and relief sculptures and amazing light fixtures. The wonderful thing is that you never feel like you're in a museum; it's all homey and warm but at the same time bursting at the seams with beauty and creativity. Everything is represented - the slightly twisted, the dream-like, the modern, the classic, and it's hard not to be inspired by the imagination and process behind each work. I'm planning on being completely creepy and doing some photo posts showing the house a bit. I promise you've never seen light fixtures like these.

Meg, the mom, is refreshingly un-suburban and un-Stepford. Well, I guess that's obvious since she's an artist, but she's so quirky, and I adore her. Today when I complimented her on the house, she replied with:

"Oh, thank you! We really tried to make it artistic. So many people's houses around here look all the same, and even people who do something trendy are still all such fucking robots!"

She called my neighbors robots. I love her.

The kids are equally delightful. I spent the better part of my day playing disc golf with Daniel, who is 5 and replaces his "r" with a "w" and who told his entire class I was a "pwofessional ultimate fwisbee" player. I really didn't have the heart to correct him. He also is totally loving ultimate and the discs I brought them, and already knows that when we throw that the "alligator chomp" is the easiest way to catch.

After some disc indoctrinating (indisctrinating?) Nina (7, applied lip gloss to her forehead and cheeks in little half-moons) and Daniel did some tree climbing while I did some majorly paranoid hovering ready to catch any small child that might lose its footing. After getting thoroughly covered in bark chips and ensuring both kids wound up feet on the ground, it was time to call it a day. If this is what work is like for the next three months, you can count me as completely satisfied.

Travels

2009-09-29T15:27:00.000-04:00

Coming back home from an amazing weekend away (this time DC) can sometimes feel like a let-down. Going back to reality - especially when that reality means living at home - requires an adjustment to regular routines and responsibilities. That first day back can be a little rough.

What makes days like these significantly easier, however, is discovering amazing flight sales to my first love - Nashville, TN. After a last-minute gChat discussion with Caitlin, I decided to jump on the insanely low fare (non-stop and all!) and will be flying down October 23rd to see Caitlin. Not only did I promise her I'd be visiting this fall, but we also determined yesterday that we've been friends 15 years. I won't lie, it gives me the warm fuzzies knowing that 50 years from now we'll be old and grumpy together and will actually be able to say that we've been best friends since 4th grade. Clearly a visit to celebrate our anniversary is in order, and clearly I can't talk about visiting Nashville without quoting my favorite musical Nashville reference. No, it's not Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" (what is a Nashville party?!).

It's Nappy Roots' "Aw Naw" (can you catch the reference?):

I'm going to go ahead and make the bold statement that I like Nappy Roots better than Luda when it comes to Southern rappers.

I'm getting sidetracked. Nashville last time was ridiculous - roadtrips, Britney, very little sleep, and slapping people all played integral roles throughout the weekend. I anticipate this next trip to hopefully involve less slapping, equally little amounts of sleep, and lots of impromptu dance parties. 3 weeks.

A Moment to Breathe

2009-09-22T18:04:00.000-04:00

Or more fittingly, to blog.

Tomorrow marks the 3-week point in my experiment of living at home. So far, so good. I've been working remotely for my SF company for the past few weeks, which is an exercise in patience and motivation (I just want to go outside!), but that's done next Wednesday, to no small relief I must admit.

The next day I start my new job (gig?) as a part-time babysitter/nanny for a family that lives about 10 minutes from me - by foot. When I moved home I made some personal resolutions that I wouldn't lose every aspect of my city life, and walking places was among them. I'm pleased to say I've been keeping this up pretty well. Whereas high school Julia would have driven to the gym (.75 miles), the coffee shop (.5 miles), and people's houses (varying, under a mile though), city-to-suburbs Julia is keeping up the walking pretty well.

Okay, I digressed.

The family I'm babysitting for is pretty lovely. The mother is a Philly mural artist (check some of her work out here), the dad is a commercial real estate developer, and they have 4 kids and 1 dog. It's going to be regular, set hours which is a relief, both for my bank account and my fears of being bored.

I'm also babysitting more occasionally for a few other families, including 2 little girls who I sat last Saturday. What were the major lessons I taught them that evening? Not to go into dark alleys alone, and never to pull your shirt down, point at strangers, and yell "hey boyyyys." Especially never in tandem. It's the little things, really.

Honestly, I had a big SF-retrospective post planned. Things I did, people I saw, etc etc. The motivation slipped away from me though, and now I find myself focused much more on the present and future, so I think the entry is abandoned...for now. Sometimes it takes a while to gather one's thoughts after a life shift, and this may be the case here.

I do think living at home, and especially working with kids, will result in some entertaining and blog-worthy moments. I'm already planning an entry on the neighborhood bunny, pictures and all. You're excited, I know.

Also, everyone send some good thoughts Ben's way - he's currently in the midst of the GA flooding. And Ben - living at home isn't so bad, and I fully support the decision.

..............

2009-09-11T13:18:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm alive. Back safe on the East Coast, working part-time remotely for the old job and getting settled in. As of yesterday all my boxes arrived, and with the exception of needing to bring massive amounts of clothes to Goodwill and taking out the trash, my room is feeling less like storage space and more like, well, my room.

I owe posts, I know. I'll get there!

Saying Goodbye with Food

2009-08-25T19:07:00.001-04:00

The title really says it all. When people ask me what I want to do while I'm still in San Francisco my answer usually involves eating, be it trying a new restaurant or going to one of my favorites. I think it's fair to say that my relationship (yes, relationship) with food is completely altered now that I've lived out West. I care more about eating locally and sustainably, eat less meat, and eat more organics when possible. I've researched farmers' markets in Philly, and I've carefully perused the menus of my favorite restaurants, deciding on my order days - or weeks - before I actually go.

My last dinner in the city, fittingly, will be a burrito from El Farolito. There is nothing organic or sustainable about it, but it's what I've eaten on my first visit and my first day as a resident here in San Francisco. I know I'll be happy for real slices of pizza and cheesesteaks back East, but I know I'll miss the burritos. Chipotle might be good, but it's not the real thing.

Then there are the meals I had this past weekend in Tahoe with my book club. The best pesto ever (besto, and yes, Nicole, it really was the best), countless truffles, scrambled eggs, mounds of cheese, all washed down with plenty of wine. Then there's my last (sob) book club meeting tomorrow night, where I know there'll be even more cheese, wine, and snacks. It's safe to say book club has always been about eating, and talking, and eating, and talking....I'll miss the triple cream brie, but I think I'll miss the girls more.

The last few meals I have in my remaining week here will be decadent, to say the least. There's my last work lunch tomorrow at Plouf in Belden Lane (I'll have the roasted cod, please). Dinner on Friday is at Espetus - what was that I said about eating less meat? Then there's NOPA, my hands-down favorite (hello, bacon flatbread and roasted porkchop...again with the meat thing) on Monday. Wednesday morning I'll spend my last few hours in the city drinking coffee and eating eggs at Chloe's before I get back on a plane headed East.

So yes, I think it's safe to say I'm saying my goodbyes to this city with food, but not just food. It's my goodbyes to the people I enjoy this food (enjoy so, so much) with, because what doesn't say "goodbye, and I'll miss you" like burritos, hot cups of coffee, glasses of wine, hunks of cheese, and breakfast. Nothing.

Bullet Points

2009-08-19T14:11:00.000-04:00

Woah, yesterday was a doozy. I'm still tired from it despite 9 hours of sleep and a large serving of caffeine. In short, dentists and health insurance companies are not my friends. However, let's keep things a little light around here for now. Here are some bullet points of thoughts/things going through my head lately.

I can't wait to eat breakfast and lunch somewhere besides at my work desk. Cannot. Wait.
Along those lines, I have 7.5 work days (including today, and it's almost noon, so let's call it 7) left in the office. Squeeeee.
I will be on a plane in 2 weeks exactly. I think it's safe to say the reality of the situation is sinking in.
Tahoe this weekend. Sun, champagne, and an all-girls weekend. And more champagne.
It is 59 degrees in San Francisco. It is August 19th. You can imagine my total dismay at that particular situation.

Hmm, okay, not a really thrilling list. Wait, YES it is: see bullets 2 and 3.

Maybe it's time to crawl under my desk for a mid-morning nap....

Brighten Your Monday

2009-08-17T18:48:00.000-04:00

Here are some things I like to do on Mondays when I'm alone in the office (9 days left, not that anyone's counting).

1. Read my two new favorite blogs:

No Pink Jerseys. It's sports for girls, without the girly aspect. Want to know what's actually going on in football this season? Read this. Written by 5 hilarious, kick-ass girls, I see it getting big. You want to be the first to know, right? Right.
2birds1blog. Snort-milk-out-your-nose funny, with a DC/NY twist. That means you know it's good.

2. Listen to Pandora. Current favorites include: Lykke Li, Santigold, MGMT, and Lily Allen. They'll add a little pep to a normally dreary Monday.

3. Watch turtles have sex. Didn't see that one coming did you? It makes me feel a little dirty, but I haven't laughed that hard in a while.

4. Watch Pot Psychology. Want to see some hilarious, snarky, and stoned bloggers answer reader-submitted questions? Look no further. It's also where I found the turtle porn (God, what kind of traffic is that going to drive to this site). Example:

Do I Have To Change My Tampon Every Time I Pee? from Pot Psychology on Vimeo.

There you have it, your Monday afternoon cup of sports, sarcasm, sounds, and a little animal sex. And alliteration.

Real World DC Run-In

2009-08-13T12:51:00.001-04:00

Before I forget, and in addition to the pictures I've been meaning to put up from Wildwood/DC, I wanted to share that while walking to Froggy's on Saturday we came across the Real World: DC cast. They were eating at La Tomate in Dupont, and we were tipped off by the multiple camera men hovering in the outdoor patio. Jenn took a picture of them, and there may or may not have been some heckling, including but not limited to comments about the camera adding 10 pounds.

Woopsie.

Apparently they've been a real pain in the ass to local DC-ers, so I don't think any of us felt all that guilty about it. I guess that's what happens when people start getting real.

100th Post? Let's Make It a Good One.

2009-08-10T12:44:00.000-04:00

100 posts. That's a milestone, right? I guess it's only fitting that my 99th post promised big news, because I've got some. I didn't even plan on timing it with the 100th post! Okay, ready?

......

Last Tuesday I gave notice at my job. August 28th is my last day in the office, and it's looking like September 1 will be my last full day as a resident of the West Coast. September 2 I'm flying back to Philly, where I'll be living at home through the end of December before I head to Asia and Europe for the first half of next year. Good LORD it feels good writing that. Of course, this isn't news to many of you, as I shared the news far and wide this weekend in DC, and I've been wanting to share (blog) about this for a bit, but of course had to wait til it's all official. Let me just say it again though:

I'm SO EXCITED! I feel there's been a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. It took me a while to make the definite decision, but ever since I made up my mind that I'm moving home I've become increasingly convinced that I'm doing the right thing. Needless to say my mother is thrilled, as is my wallet for no longer having to pay rent, food, etc. I'm also thrilled to be back East, where I can make easy trips to DC, NYC, Boston, and beyond, eat as much Wawa as I wanna, and play PADA fall league!

Yes, this is a great 100th post. I'll post some recaps of Wildwood and some pictures of this weekend soon, but I thought it only fitting to share the big news as soon as possible. West Coast, it's been a good run. East Coast, I <3 you.

I Know!

2009-08-03T21:35:00.001-04:00

It's been forever. I promise, in 3 days I'll have a lot to tell the 4 of you who still read this.

Menagerie

2009-07-07T12:52:00.000-04:00

My house is currently filled with animals. There's Mona the cat, whom we all know and love. The fish, who I feed when Chris is out of town. And now there's Lucy and Zeus, the two dogs I'm watching for 10 days.

These aren't little toy poodles/mini dogs, these are some DOGS. Lucy is a big German Shepherd/Lab mutt, and Zeus is a Brittany Spaniel. Lucy is adorable, quiet, loves to snuggle, and farts/twitches in her sleep. Zeus is high strung and needy. Oh, and a terror. Yesterday morning I walked downstairs to let them out and saw something out of the corner of my eye. What was it? The kitchen trash scattered everywhere, peppered with puddles of piss.

I cannot explain to you my level of anger as I mopped up dog pee at 7:30am on a Monday morning. Needless to say, Zeus knew I was pissed when I put him, his blanket, and a bowl of water outside for the day. I emailed my roommates telling them to ignore the incessant whining, and crossed my fingers he'd learned his lesson. This morning it was the bathroom trash, and no pee. I guess it's an improvement.

They leave Sunday, and while I could keep Lucy forever and not complain, I'll be happy to see Zeus go. Is that awful?

Home

2009-06-23T11:41:00.000-04:00

I've been home for almost the past week now, and I leave tomorrow. This is the longest I've been here in nearly 2 years, and I miss it. It didn't really hit me when I was in college (for obvious reasons), and while I knew on some abstract level that I miss home since living in SF, the reality of it didn't fully sink in until these past few days. It's not just the creature comforts that I miss, although living rent-free with a full kitchen has its obvious perks. I miss the sense of familiarity, using not street names but muscle memory to drive around my neighborhood, and the overall sense of calm. I do love living in cities, but I can't deny that escaping to the suburbs has its benefits every once in a while. It's quieter here (right now I hear birds, a distant lawnmower, and my curtains rippling in the breeze), and greener. No, not greener. Lusher. Juicier. It rained the first few days I was here and the yard was vibrant, soft grass underfoot and splashes of flowers.

There isn't much of a purpose to this post. I'm happy to be home, and I think next time I'll allow less time to pass before I return again.

An Adventure in Urban Hiking

2009-06-08T00:08:00.000-04:00

On days like today, living in a city can be stifling. Don't get me wrong - I love city living and all it has to offer. On days like today, though, I have an urge to get out. The sun is shining, the sky blue, and though it might be a tad windy (as San Francisco has the tendency to be), it's the kind of day where I want to be out in the country, far away from honking horns and city lights. Alas, I'm a car-less city dweller, so it seems my options could be limited. I love Golden Gate Park, but sometimes it's also nice to see something a little different. Yesterday I used The Google to see what kind of in-city hiking San Francisco has to offer, and stumbled across Glen Canyon Park. Aptly named, the park is a lush, green canyon tucked just behind Noe Valley (my neighborhood) with a short little trail, and only a mere mile away from my house (up some steep steep hills).

This morning Adam and I set out after a quick breakfast, armed with my camera and a full Nalgene (side note: for a delicious breakfast make some rolled oats with water, add a dash of milk, some raw honey, a healthy sprinkling of cinnamon, and some slivered almonds). We made our way down Diamond Heights, where the park greeted us at the bottom of the hill. The trail started at the road, and only a few hundred meters in the cars and city sounds disappeared. Instead, we found ourselves on a green trail running alongside a tiny stream. There were beautiful wildflowers, buzzing bees, and the trail varied from a sun-bathed, wide path to a shady trail only large enough for one person.

The trail isn't very long, and after a brief hike we came out onto the side of the canyon, peppered with snake holes and boulders large enough to sit (and pose) on.

After wandering around the edge of the canyon, we made our way back onto the main street, where we discovered the best-kept Safeway in the city and had a feast of meatballs, feta orzo salad, and fresh strawberries. We ate in a playground adjacent to the Safeway that looked out onto the canyon, and after a bit of lounging made our way back home. The rest of the afternoon consisted of a nap, a long walk, and a bit of Sunday evening grocery shopping. I also made some delicious (if I do say so myself) and cheap (really, maybe $2 for all of it) black bean burgers. Interested? Here's the recipe:

1 can black beans, rinsed (more or less, scaled to how many people you're trying to feed)
~ 1/3 cup uncooked rolled oats
Garlic (however much you see fit, but I recommend a healthy serving)
The juice of 1/2 a lime
Chopped cilantro (again, however much you see fit)
A bit of black pepper

Mash all ingredients together until 3/4 of the beans are mashed up and the oats are sticking to the black beans
Make patties with your hands (this made 5 small-medium sized burgers)
Heat a large skillet and add a bit of olive oil
Cook the burgers in the skillet, about 5 minutes on each side
*If you like, add a slice of cheese in the last 2 minutes of cooking
Enjoy with some sliced red onions, lettuce, tomato, dijon mustard and ketchup

To keep this from turning into a total marathon blog post, I'll wind things down. Both the burgers and the urban hiking will be repeated in the future. The burgers with some mozzarella cooked inside, and urban hikes at the Land's End Trail and Lake Merced, both here in SF. Ah, escapism.

23 - A Birthday in Pictures

2009-06-02T23:49:00.000-04:00

The dinner crowd.

I harbor secret dreams of being a food photographer.

Frothy, delicious tequila.

Candle success!

With our newest friends in the most depressing (but awesome) bar on Earth.

14 years don't lie.

What got us through the next day.

Milestones

2009-05-27T19:31:00.001-04:00

This past week, and the next couple of days, hold a lot of personal milestones for me. Well, maybe not a lot. Three, to be specific. Then again, three milestones in 10 days is pretty good, I'd say.

The first milestone is my 1 year anniversary here in San Francisco, which was this past Sunday. Thinking back on that first day, filled with frantic dashes to look at housing, an A's game, and collapsing into bed in the house on Bryant Street, I am amazed by how quickly time has passed. This past year has seen some good, some bad, and its fair share of sadness. While I spend a lot of my time looking to the exciting events in the future, I must pause and reflect on the shifts and happenings of this past year. Living here has changed parts of me, has made me appreciate what the East Coast does (and does not) offer, and has given me new friendships and experiences I would not have had otherwise. I'm proud to have made it to this milestone - as many of you know, and as older blog entries show, this move wasn't always the easiest for me. Life, of course, still has its ups and downs, but I made it a year as a stranger in a new city.

The second milestone is my birthday. 23! I know, so young, but for me it's an exciting age - through college, into "real life," with responsibilities and bills to pay and a desk in an office. Not necessarily what dreams are made of, but it's independence. I'm happy to leave 22 behind, honestly. I made it a year out of college, survived a move and managed to keep my job, but 23 will be better. Every year, probably, will always be better, but 23 has goals to keep, places to see, even more change. I don't know where it will take me, or where I'll be a year from now, but I think I'm okay with that. More than okay; I welcome it.

My last milestone comes next Monday - my 366th day at work. One year! I stuck it out, and will continue to stick it out for a little while yet. No major failures, enough successes, and a persistent alarm clock. I think that's the winning combination. Much of this milestone is similar to my 1-year-in-SF milestone, but I couldn't leave it ignored. A celebration will be in order, likely in the form of an enormous cup of coffee and a deliciously gooey breakfast pastry.

There we have it - a few happy accomplishments on the life calendar. And for those of you who I won't see on my birthday - I miss you! and I'm thinking about you, always.

CTown and NSolo

2009-05-22T20:50:00.001-04:00

Wouldn't that make a great name for a band? It's even better for a pair of newlyweds. Feast your eyes on photos from this weekend:

Packed in the car, part 3 of 17.

Mmm, pork.

Best self-timer picture ever. Way to be good-looking, guys.

At the service.

At the hotel restaurant, where we drink $4 margaritas, ate appetizers, and prepared for a night of debauchery.

Please realize that there are no other pictures from after the reception until the following morning, leaving a 12 hour photo gap that erases any evidence of the fact that we went to Silk City (part diner, part dance club - only on the East Coast), danced 3 hours straight, went to Wawa at 3am, that Audrey had to go to the hospital, or that Matt didn't come back to the hotel and showed up the following morning in his clothes from the night before. Ahem. Glorious.

Roadblocks

2009-05-14T19:12:00.000-04:00

I meant to update this sooner, but sometimes life gets in the way. Example: a glorious weekend in Philly for Carissa's wedding, and then catch swine flu (okay, not really, but it was flu) on the flight home and feeling on the wrong side of ill since Sunday night. Oh well, back at work, and already ready for the weekend (if every week was a 3-day work week, I'd be a happy girl).

I want to save my wedding recap for when I have a little more time (so 3pm tomorrow afternoon) and after I send some kiddos the pictures from the weekend.

HOWEVER, I do have a shiny spot of good news that is very unexpected and totally welcomed - I'm getting a raise at work! I had my quarterly review today, and since this one is more on the informal side I wasn't expecting much more beyond "do this, not that, and good work with this." Instead, I got frozen yogurt with Pam (green tea and lychee, YUM) and was told that I'll be getting a raise soon. HIYO! Didn't expect this at all. At. All. I'm thrilled.

Lastly, my birthday is 2 weeks (!!) from Saturday. I think I'm going to order some cupcakes to bring to dinner. I'm definitely going with 6 red velvet, but what should the other 6 be? I'm leaning towards: Snickerdoodle, Latte, or (wildcard!) Orange Creamsicle. Help me decide people - which one would you want?

Stand By Me

2009-05-06T17:10:00.000-04:00

I love this video so much.

Bored? At Work?

2009-05-04T17:26:00.001-04:00

Here, let these distract and entertain you:

www.textsfromlastnight.com - I try to avoid laughing loudly when I'm alone at my desk on a daily basis thanks to this site. Recent example:

(678): why did i wake up with a kid named Raphael in my bed this morning?
(770): I dont know but you did call last night to tell me you found the last ninja turtle

www.overheardintheoffice.com - Thanks to Caitlin for reminding me of this site. Here's a good one:

Engineer: Damn, I'm tired. I was up all night with a case of the number threes.
VP: Number threes?
Engineer: You know, when you think you have to go number two, but actually you have to puke in the bathtub.

Also check out www.overheardinnewyork.com and www.overheardatthebeach.com for similar boredom-killing goodness.

Another big favorite of mine is www.jezebel.com. Read this if you're a woman or if you're a guy who appreciates snark.

Lastly, if you haven't set up an RSS feed or something through Google Reader, do it now. It gets you through those long days (like today, it seems). Anyone have other suggestions? I know about FML, and I refuse to promote it.

Grainy Eyelids

2009-04-28T20:53:00.000-04:00

Where is this extreme exhaustion suddenly coming from? I barely kept my head from hitting the desk all day today. Was it 2 workouts yesterday? I don't think I'm in that bad shape. Ugh, regardless, it is extremely frustrating to go through the entire day so tired all I want to do is sleep, but knowing that I can't realistically go to bed til about 10pm - I want to avoid waking up in the middle of the night as best as possible. Also, didn't go to volunteering today. They tell us to stay away when we don't feel well, so if I'm coming down with something then hooray for being safe! And if not, hooray for more sleep!

Excuse me, it's now time for me to 1. eat cereal for dinner because I'm too tired to cook; 2. take a bubble bath; 3. watch RHNYC; 4. fall asleep. Maybe I'll throw in a glass of wine somewhere there for good measure.

The Netflist

2009-04-27T18:45:00.000-04:00

I just spent a little time at work updating my Netflix list (ie, the Netflist). I think I've got some good classics in there, as well as some better new movies, but what am I missing?

Hmm. That picture is smaller than I hoped it'd be.

Also, what are your book suggestions? The past three I've read are: Trail of Crumbs, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and Water for Elephants. I loved all three, for all different reasons. I also plan on doing a review of the three in the coming days, so stay tuned for that.

Also....

2009-04-21T19:34:00.000-04:00

My Twitter feed had to be taken down from the blog. I had to lock my actual account because of wanting to keep some people out, and that resulted in the irritating Twitter pop-up on this site. So bye bye Twitter.

Yikes

2009-04-21T19:16:00.000-04:00

I've really neglected the blog lately.

Honestly I haven't had much motivation to write. The past several weeks have been stressful and slow-going, and I often found myself overwhelmed with everything that's been happening.

Regardless, I need to get back on the blog wagon if I want anyone to keep reading this thing...although I'm almost at le blog's one year anniversary! How things have changed.

So what can I write about to keep you all entertained for a bit? It might have to be bullet points again, because we all know how much I love them.

I am 10 days away from completing 2 (TWO!) of my new year's resolutions. Yes, the ones that I didn't post to the blog. Here's a hint: it involves running and money. Let's leave it at that.
I'm going to Philly in May! I'll be there for my lovely captain-from-freshman-year Carissa's wedding and I am thrilllllled. Sadly my mom won't be there when I'm in town, but I get to be back in PHILLY. East Coast, I miss you. Give me your humid (weather), your seasons (changing), your Wawa yearning to be eaten. If I could return to you today that wouldn't be soon enough. Patience. Patience.
Caitlin is coming for my 23rd birthday. In a word: squeeeeeeeeee. I don't think we've been this good about visiting since......ever? Since I moved from Nashville?
BLAIRE is making the trek out from B-more and is visiting over 4th of July!! My button will see everything this city on a hill has to offer, and I forsee many nights of LOTR marathons.
Wildwood! July 25th/26th. I'm going. Are you?

Hmm, that seems to be the laundry list of life events lately. Tonight is my second night of volunteering at UCSF. Last week that consisted of playing foosball and Rock Band, and it seems to be a fair indication of how things will run the next several months.

Okay, dear readers, I'm signing off. I promise we'll make this updating thing run a lot smoother. Really, I do.

Bullet Points

2009-04-03T00:09:00.000-04:00

Because I'm still working my way up to real posts again.

- Mini-triathlon. Happening...well, I need to register. But I'm buying my training suit this weekend, so that's saying something, right?
- Went to Vegas last week for work and saw Steve Forbes give a talk. Take heart, he says, the banking crisis will be over in the fall. Conservative agenda notwithstanding, he's a surprisingly entertaining guy.
- Did a little PR for my mom and landed her an interview with an autism blogger!
- Debating the merits of joining a fun coed team out here. I'm looking for yall's advice on this one - to play, or not to play?
- Volunteering in the Teen Lounge at UCSF Children's Hospital starting in 10 days. Nervous, but mainly excited.

These are the little things taking up my days lately. The past couple weeks have had some heavier happenings, but I don't really have the energy or desire to write about them right now. It's bullet points for now, but we'll be back into real writing soon.

My Favorite Picture of One of My Favorite Nights, With One of My Favorite People

2009-03-30T23:20:00.001-04:00

I miss you, I love you, and I will never forget you.

Neglect

2009-03-26T16:39:00.000-04:00

My poor little blog, I'm neglecting you. It's not personal, I swear. The past few weeks have been busy with various distractions, happenings, and trips, and I just need to get my thoughts in order a little bit more. After that we can reunite and catch up. Can you be patient a little longer?

Want A Free Magazine and Help Support the Print Media?

2009-03-19T20:05:00.000-04:00

https://www.timecmg.com/mine/

You're welcome.

Sprint Triathlon

2009-03-18T13:29:00.001-04:00

I think I'm going to do one. There's a womens-only one taking place in Santa Cruz in September, with very doable distances (1/4 mile swim, 11 mile bike ride, 2.5 mile run) that Ashley will hopefully be doing with me. I. Am. Pumped. Has anyone done one? Any tips/hints/experiences you have to share?

Also, I'll be putting up more photos from Nashville in the next couple weeks. I realize my posts lately have been very picture heavy, and not very writing heavy, so I'm looking to change that.

This'll do for now though.

Nashville Part 1: Britney. Or, an Experiment in Sleep Deprivation.

2009-03-11T23:00:00.000-04:00

You think I'm kidding? From 3am CST Thursday morning until 3am CST SATURDAY morning I slept 5 hours. And this is the beginning of that story....

Let's fast forward through the boring parts. Plane, Nashville.

CAITLIN! For those of you who don't know, Caitlin is my sista-from-another-mister. We adore each other and have long-term plans to open a B&B in Vermont and adopt some brown babies. Let's not get ahead of ourselves though. Here we are, ready to depart:

Oh, wassup Georgia? Thanks for being the most traffic-heinous state ever.

This is for all you haters. Like it or not, Britney is back. We were about 10 rows back, and it was one of the best concerts I've been to. Acrobats, pyrotechnics, and seeing Ms. Spears make a public recovery from what was surely a traumatic psychotic break made the whole trip worth it. And for those of you who still mock me - 1. I want to see you get back on your feet the way she did in just a year; and 2. it's my blog and I'll write what I want to.

My 12-year old self is SO EXCITED about "Baby One More Time" (okay, my 22-year old self is too. Also, signs you've aged = not being able to elicit the same primal screams I did 10 years ago).

Post-show we meet Mr. Ben Spears at a club, Masquerade. We think this is "da club", but when we pull up after the scariest cab ride ever we are confronted with goths everywhere. Gee, we didn't stand out at all. The club was in this scary abandoned warehouse, with a distinct "I'm in a slasher movie" feel. Too bad we ended up having the time of our lives dancing up a storm right alongside the glowstick artists and hoodrats. For evidence of our mirth, as well as club clientele, please see:

We stay out til last call and crash at Ben's. Ben! (Yeah, their neon sign was not up to snuff)

Ben had to be up super early (read: 5am) that morning, so after a blissful 2.5 hours of sleep we awake and begin the long journey back to Nashtown. What's a roadtrip without 6am Cracker Barrel?

At 9am we roll into Caitlin's driveway after a rousing sing-a-long to N'Sync (debut album, if anyone cares) and encountering mounted deer at a gas station in the middle of nowhere.

Best 24 hours of my life.

Stay tuned for Part 2: The Slap Heard 'Round the World.

Soon, I Promise

2009-03-11T15:43:00.000-04:00

Pictures and a recap of the weekend in ATL/Nashville will happen soon, but unfortunately I got slammed at work and have been crashing early these past few days. This is just a reassurance that the posts will actually happen soon.

In the meantime though, I have to give a huge thank you to Ben for being the best host and entertainer ever last weekend. Think goths and hoodrats.

New Haus.

2009-03-04T16:39:00.003-05:00

I'm really proud of myself. I got these up about 2 months faster than at my old place.

My room from the bathroom.

Room from the corner looking towards the bathroom.

Bathroom. Er, yeah, still organizing that one. Blaire, see your picture?

Super cozy living room.

Mmm, kitchen.

Also, here is a picture of Mona:

Her left ear is permanently folded in half because she got in a fight with a rattlesnake. I'm going to go ahead and say that's one of her 9 lives right there. My roommate's friend found her in the desert, and now she's the attention-whore of the house. She also likes to play with random bits she finds on the floor. Example?

Look familiar?

That's right.

Rundown

2009-03-02T12:58:00.000-05:00

The past week was insanely busy. I took a bunch of pictures, and will be giving a more detailed writeup of various activities soon, but in the interest of posting on a somewhat regular basis here's a quick rundown of what the past week has looked like:

- Getting settled in the new house
- NightLife at the Academy of Sciences
- Karaoke Friday night
- 4 hour UCSF volunteer training session Saturday AM (as painful as you can imagine it would be)
- Returning to my brunette-ness
- Almost going out, but bailing due to the day's roughness and calling it an early(ish) night
- Desperately trying to find an outfit for BRITNEY, happening Thursday night if anyone cares.

It's a short week for me - I fly out at 1am Thursday morning and land in Tennessee at 9am. Shenanigans ensue.

Like a Middle School Dance

2009-02-25T13:35:00.000-05:00

That's how the division was on the live-blogging idea. Boys v. girls. Well here's something to make you both happy - I didn't watch (hence, no living blogging) last night because I got caught up in Planet Earth instead. However, it might still happen. Depends on my levels of dedication (nowhere near Alex's Gossip Girl liveblogging).

Anyways, many thanks to Ben, Nicole, Caitlin, and Ruddiger for the blogging feedback. Ben, I hear you on the matter of breaking up content-rich posts - look for a change there. Dan, just to make you happy, I'll be putting on pictures of Mona the cat. I'm also thinking of doing a video comparison of her and Will Ferrel. It works. Wait for it. And Nicole and Caitlin, I'll do my best to satisfy your RHNYC fix.

In other, briefer news, I had an interview at UCSF this morning for a volunteering position in the Child Life Services Dept. If all goes as planned, and I get my IDs/fingerprinting/training sessions sorted out, I'll begin a weekly volunteering stint working mostly with teens for a couple hours on the weekend. I'm really excited for the opportunity. I feel like it can be difficult to create a connection to a new community, which SF still is to me. I'm optimistic that becoming involved at the hospital will give me a greater sense of belonging here - my friends are my social web, and work is work, but I think creating a richer community network will instill a greater sense of belonging here. Fingers crossed!

What's Your Opinion

2009-02-24T00:47:00.000-05:00

Should I start live-blogging Real Housewives of NYC? It is, after all, one of the more ridiculous shows on TV, and I'm starting to feel like I could add some sort of other dimension/layer to the blog.

Actually, let's open it up in general - what do you all want to see more of? Mundane recaps? Photos? Videos? Links? Leave it in the comments.

Let's Take A Poll

2009-02-20T13:46:00.000-05:00

How old do you think this kid is? 10? 14? An awkward and underdeveloped 18?

Love it.

PS. Watch the whole thing.

Twitter Time

2009-02-16T14:49:00.001-05:00

So last week I took the plunge and joined Twitter. What more could I want than for people to get a microblogged look at what I'm eating, what I'm thinking, and what I'm doing throughout the day? And yeah, it's way easier to update that to sit down and write a full blog post between meetings at work.

So, shameless plug time:

www.twitter.com/juliabee

You know you want to.

Stump

2009-02-12T14:12:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things is a dog show. Specifically, the Westminster Kennel Club that just happened. If you're with me when I'm watching this you can find me either ridiculing the more ridiculous breeds or cracking up at an equally hilarious and adorable dog. Stump, this year's Best in Show, is no exception.

What an old man dog.

Sap

2009-02-10T21:49:00.000-05:00

I cannot wait to see Flippa again.

Many Good Things

2009-02-08T20:42:00.000-05:00

Despite my last post, many happy, positive things have happened in my life lately. I'm going to do this out in bullet points for the sake of clarity, brevity, and keeping you, my loyal reader(s), from slapping your forehead onto your keyboard.

I got a promotion! And a raise! I wasn't utterly surprised, but still completely flattered and pleased, especially given the pickle our government and economy is currently in. I am now a "Junior Associate" and have a happy little pay bump that'll make saving up a bit easier. What am I saving up for....?
This time next year I will be in Thailand for a 10 week program that will 1. get me TEFL certified and 2. allow me to teach English in a community center in Ao Luk, Thailand. I applied a few weeks ago and was officially accepted this past week. My tentative plan is to go to Thailand and then fly to Europe afterwards to spend more time with my family and travel around a bit. I am so, so excited. More details will be discussed in the coming months, but that's another happy announcement.
I'm moving apartments (again, yes, again)! I'm moving so that I can save up for said program and traveling. I'm moving to Noe Valley, where about 95% of my friends live, to a great house. I found the place on Craigslist, and will be living with 4 other people - 3 women, 1 man. They are teachers, architects, and students, and I got along with them really well at their open house. The house is fantastic - 3 levels, backyard, huge comfy living room, large sunny kitchen, all with a really charming, homey feeling to it. My room is the master bedroom - light filled, two (two!) closets, and best of all....my own bathroom. Lady readers of the blog, and men who need a little more room, you can appreciate this. This will be the first time in 5 years I will have a bathroom all to myself. There's even a window in it! Best of all, I'm paying about $225 less a month on average. It's really win-win-win.
Last, but by no means least...my brother got into med school! I am SO proud, SO happy for him, SO excited that things are working out splendidly for him. He's going to med school in Germany - thus far he's been accepted into med school in Berlin, and is still waiting to hear back from a few more. He's already over there, and I can barely wrap my head around the fact that for the next few years my big brother will become a doctor all while living in Germany. I'm thrilled.

Those are my new, happy updates. Also, it's finally raining here in CA. After a long drought I felt the first rain drops hit my head this afternoon, and now sounds of cars swishing over wet pavement are coming in from the street. It's Sunday evening, and I'm warm in my living room. As I said, many good things are happening.

Better Days

2009-02-04T00:55:00.000-05:00

The title of this post isn't to say today was awful. It was just one of those days that drags on forever, with minor mishaps casting a pretty negative pall on an already-boring day.

To start, I could barely get out of bed this morning. I decided to treat myself to a coffee on my way in from work - normally, I try to make coffee something I really enjoy on the weekends, something I take my time with and that eases me into a lazy Sunday morning. Today though it was just a desperate move to jolt me awake. I head into Specialty's for a small plain drip, and as I'm going to sprinkle a little cinnamon on my coffee (if you haven't tried this, do it) my gym bag swoops in like some sort of angry hag determined to keep me from starting my day well and coffee gets everywhere. On the counter, on the sugar packets, dripping into the barista area, and onto the cup lids. Ugh. I apologize profusely and offer to help clean up. The girl at the counter was really sweet, and I gingerly refilled my cup and hustled out of there. I didn't want to risk another mishap.

The morning crawled by.

At lunch I headed to Subway to get my normal lunch. About 2 hours after the fact, when I start thinking about what I want for dinner, I remember: I packed my lunch with the tofu stir fry I'd made last night. Bum.Mer. I took a bite of the stir fry, and my crappy work mini-fridge had morphed all the delicious flavors into "fridge taste." You know it. It tastes kind of like cold plastic and coolant. Gross.

Afternoon........snail's pace.

At this point I'd really gotten myself riled up and ready to get to the gym. I get changed at work and what do I realize? I forgot my gym shoes. All I had was my shirt, spandex (yeah that's right), and socks. And black ballet flats. It was atrocious. Can you imagine me on the rowing machine in ballet flats? With white ankle socks? Okay, I'm stopping there before I vomit in my mouth. Needless to say, the gym didn't happen.

So where does that leave me? At the end of a long Tuesday with laundry and a shower still on my to-do list. Can it be the weekend? Please?

Back in Action!

2009-02-02T23:06:00.000-05:00

Hello loyal readers!

So the big report is done, work has slowed down a TON, and lots of exciting things have happened here lately. Where do I even begin? I suppose I'll break it out into sections, writing more when I feel like, and sticking to bullet points when I get lazy (often).

So, let's see....

Alumni Weekend
So. Great. I got to spend all of Friday with my Button, and we even made the trek out to Court House to see Linds, watch movies, chit chat, and basically act like it was senior year all over again. Seeing them was so good. It felt like my life had been on pause from graduation til that Friday, and being back in DC started everything up again.

Friday night was not nearly as relaxing, but excellent. I got to see everyone, going from Marshall's to Froggy's (classic), ending with a cab ride back to Mt. Pleasant (one of many from the weekend). Many pictures were taken, lots and lots of hugs were given and received, and a necessary dose of Ruddiger was had. It was a great kickoff to the weekend.

Saturday was COLD. That is the best way to describe Saturday. I barely played at all, due to the weather and my hangover, and spent most of the time trying to get warm. Saturday afternoon we watched Wedding Crashers and I got the most pathetic grilled cheese ever. That night we trekked to Hillel for dinner and trivia, and made Pete's birthday video (hey Pete!). I headed to Naomi's with Kanika for a bit, pounced on Ryan (who was out cold thanks to a sleeping pill), and got to catch up with two of my favorites from GW. Excellent times. Saturday night's party was great, with a reprisal of jello shots and me accidentally (I swear) putting a tiny (miniscule) dent in the wall. It was tiny, seriously.

I made it to brunch on Sunday only a little late, and equally miserable as Saturday morning. Afterwards I saw Ivey for a bit, then made my way to Chinatown to hang out with the guys from my year. After lying down finally I realized I wanted to spend more time in DC so I changed my flight to early (I mean EARLY) Monday. We spent the rest of the day hanging out and watching football before I crashed in Dan's bed. My flight was a little miserable, with some major delays, but Delta was nice and gave me back $100. Woop woop!

Thoughts on my experience: I miss and love DC and my friends there. Like I said, sometimes it feels like I put life on pause moving out here, and it was just so comforting being back in a place that I know and where I feel at home. I know I'll be back soon, soon soon soon, and in a way that makes being away a little bit easier for now.

Okay, I'm signing off earlier than I thought I would - I've got some things I need to get sorted out tonight that you'll be hearing all about in the next couple of days. More updates are back, I promise!

Back to Normal Soon, I Promise

2009-01-23T01:28:00.001-05:00

The past 2 weeks have been painfully hectic. Work has been a total drag - I have a big report due that's due tomorrow. It's been sucking up my time much more than I'd prefer, and has left precious little time for anything, much less blogging.

I also flew to DC last weekend for Alumni Weekend (more on that soon!) so I was MIA in that respect too. I'll be back to normal posting soon, especially now that I found out that people actually read this ('sup fan club!)

Happy weekend!

And because this really never gets old.....

In Pictures: My First Ever Business Trip

2009-01-09T14:44:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I got on a 6:45am flight to Las Vegas for my first ever business trip - the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Approximately 130,000 people descend onto Vegas for this show, full of video games, TVs, and all kinds of gadgets. My company sent me so that I could both see what the fuss is all about, and to help support two of our clients who were on-site. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, but here's a couple pictures I took with my cell phone.

Watching the sun rise over the mountains from my seat.

One section of Microsoft's ridiculously huge booth.

Panasonic's new super-thin LCD.

Samsung's ridiculous wing display of TVs (eek, sorry I couldn't rotate it).

Dinner at The Venetian (inside!)

A very blurry view of the Strip from my seat in the airplane.

Will I be back next year? Doubtful. But I'm glad I got to see what it's all about.

My Beautiful, Beautiful Sisters

2009-01-06T22:26:00.001-05:00

My trip to Germany for Christmas was all I hoped it'd be: relaxing, and filled with good food and my wonderful family. It wasn't terribly exciting, in the sense that I didn't go sightseeing or out into the city much. Instead, the days were filled with long breakfasts (complete with freshly baked bread - every day- and cheese and farm butter and general deliciousness), afternoon walks, reading books to my sisters, and long talks with my dad and stepmom.

It had been two and a half years since I'd last seen them, and leaving was incredibly sad and difficult. I plan on making my visits more frequent in the future - I think I would regret missing out on the lives of my young sisters, and miss the company of my father and stepmother, both of whom I get along with splendidly.

Philippa (the 17 month old) and I got along especially well...she has these endearing habits of squeeeezing you really tightly, giving big wet kisses, and putting her forehead against yours and cuddling up. By the end of the week she was letting me comfort her and leading me around the dining room table, my finger grasped firmly in her little hand. I think I'm going to miss her the most of all, and I'm eager to get back as soon as time and money allows.

Here are a couple of photos from my trip, along with a video of Philippa roaming around with her Big Bear. As a note, Philippa is the blonde little baby, and Adriane is the brunette 4 year old.

...Brings About the Start of a New One

2009-01-02T16:31:00.000-05:00

Hello 2009!

I ushered in the new year in the most low key manner I have in recent years. While my favorite NYE is still 2006 (leading into 2007), with the dress-up party at T St, this one is up there for its good food and relaxation.

The lead up to new year's was hectic. We almost decided to go to Vegas, the idea of a house party was thrown around, and then all of a sudden it seemed all options disappeared. I was invited to my friend's dinner party (you can read all about it here), which is how we started our night. Nicole, from my book club, is an amazing cook with a wonderful apartment, as well as a food blogger. She was given some money to throw a new year's eve feast, and it was delicious! We ate all sorts of roasted chicken, vegetables, gratin, black eyed peas, homemade baklava (!!), and I got to see some of the book club girls as well.

We left around 10, with the intention of meeting up with some people and seeing the fireworks. Unfortunately the Muni, though it had promised to run more frequently, had a wait time of over 20 minutes, and seeing as how we were far away from our destination but close to my apartment, we turned around and headed home.

The rest of the night was blissfully low-key. We popped open some champagne, ate some German marzipan pigs for luck, watched Finding Nemo, and caught a view of the fireworks from my living room window. I went to bed happy and ready for 2009.

This morning I made my resolutions - I don't normally do this, but this year I thought I would give it a try. I don't have many, and the ones I do have are reasonable enough. I don't think I'm quite ready to share them yet, if only because I don't want to have to acknowledge to a wider audience that I didn't keep them - purely selfish!

So, to keep you satiated, here are some photos of NYE 2008 - from the comfort of my couch.

Being attractive while keeping Adam's identity hidden (standard)

Nemo! Of course I capture the saddest moment in the movie.

What is NYE without champagne?

Our Frankenstein marzipan pigs.

Happy 2009 everyone!

The End Of A Year...

2008-12-31T15:16:00.000-05:00

2008 draws to a close today. I can't say I don't welcome a new year, as 2008 was full of ups and downs for me. Predictably, the highs were so high, and the lows painfully deep.

When I think back on the last year, change is the word that comes to mind. Change happened on a variety of levels - I graduated college, moved across the country, and started a new job within 2 short (so very, very short) weeks. I enjoyed successes and felt the hurt that comes with failure, laughed often, and cried my part. Today isn't a day to recap the lows of my year - I am (sometimes acutely) aware of them, and I feel ready to accept them and move on.

The many highs are sometimes too much to count, but a short list includes...

Graduating college
Getting a job!
Getting the women's team back to Regionals
Visiting my family in Germany
My mom's visit back in September
Wildwood!
The party at Will's house after Regionals
Froggy's on graduation night (despite the fact that I ended up crying)
ABC
Thanksgiving with my family
Obama
Finding my book club
Taking a leap and moving across the country

I won't take this chance to talk about 2009, as it is not yet upon us (although mere hours away). 2008 deserves recognition as the year of incredible growth and transition. I don't think I've learned as much about myself in a year as in the one about to pass, and for that I am both grateful, and maybe a bit exhausted as well. I didn't make any resolutions last year..at least not that I can remember..so I don't have to submit myself to self judging in regards to what I did and did not do. That can wait for a year from now, I guess.

For now, I wish all of you a wonderful and happy new years eve. I hope 2008 was kind enough to you, and that you are looking forward to the next year with hope and anticipation.

See you in 2009!

In The Spirit of the Holidays

2008-12-26T11:05:00.000-05:00

And my love for LoLCats

Time to Reboot

2008-12-25T07:16:00.000-05:00

An excerpt from Thomas Friedman's recent op-ed:

"My fellow Americans, we can’t continue in this mode of “Dumb as we wanna be.” We’ve indulged ourselves for too long with tax cuts that we can’t afford, bailouts of auto companies that have become giant wealth-destruction machines, energy prices that do not encourage investment in 21st-century renewable power systems or efficient cars, public schools with no national standards to prevent illiterates from graduating and immigration policies that have our colleges educating the world’s best scientists and engineers and then, when these foreigners graduate, instead of stapling green cards to their diplomas, we order them to go home and start companies to compete against ours."

Here's the link, read the whole thing!
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/24/opinion/24friedman.html?em

Merry Christmas everyone! I'll soon be putting up pictures from Germany, but for now I hope everyone has a relaxing day with the people you love.

Döötschland

2008-12-20T01:53:00.001-05:00

No, it's not how you spell it, but I'm on a german keyboard, so there.

now iäm going to stop tzping normallz...german kezboards are set up differentlz, get used to it.#

Anzwazs, just posting to saz that iäm alive and well, and that i made it safelz to the continent. little sisters are adorable, stepmom is awesome as alwazs, and mz dad gets in from amsterdam todaz.

thatäs all folks. if i dont post again while iäm here, merrz merrz christmas!!

20 Minutes Left on a Friday

2008-12-12T19:38:00.000-05:00

So what do I do?

Blog a wee bit.

First, please watch this video. It is amazing. Edit: I stole this off Anna's blog. There, happy?

Second, this is a public plea for my roommate not to leave San Francisco and stay in our happy home forever (or at least until I'm gone, she's free to do what she wants after that). Alex, stay! Who else will I watch GG with, providing snide comments in the hopes that they'll make it into your live-blogging post? No one. Don't go breaking my heart like that.

Third, the Bay Area is expecting lows in the high 30s this weekend, as well as lots of rain. Happy I just bought some rainboots, not happy for the weather. I haven't seen that kind of cold in what, 8 months? I guess it's cruel preparation for Germany, which is a mere 7 days away! I guess 6 if you're counting down when I actually leave, but I'll be traveling for close to 24 hours. Brutal.

On tap for the weekend: dinner at RNM tonight, tomorrow is massage (!!!)/movie/xmas-and-dress shopping/cocktail-and-holiday-sweater party, and Sunday is probably recovering from Saturday, with some laundry and Germany prep-work thrown in.

That's the quickfire update of life right now. Not really sure how animal battles fit in, but I'm sure someone could make a really deep analogy and it would all work out.

If You Were to Ask Me How Life is Right Now

2008-12-11T01:46:00.000-05:00

I'd say something to the effect of.....it's pretty damn good.

Tonight I went to bookclub, which was kickass because people seemed to get way more drunk that usual, annnnd we had a white elephant gift exchange and clothes swap. Besides coming away from the evening with:

One frog-esque piggy bank (gift exchange)
One Zara purse
One pair of cheap pearl earrings
Two old copies of Lucky magazine
(treasures, all of them!)

...I also walked away feeling great about life, friends, and the future. My job is getting much better...it seems the growing pains are subsiding and I'm settling in well with my clients, responsibilities, and skills. And when jobs get better, life seems to get better (a sad, but accurate, correlation). I'm getting back into the habit of going to the gym, reading more, listening to music more, talking to and seeing friends more....it's just more more more of the intangible things that keep me going and allow me to put my head down and get through tougher times. I'm incredibly grateful for the friends I'm making and the ones I already have, and I'm thankful to have a family that loves and supports me, especially my mother, whom I can call crying and, 45 minutes later, hang up feeling calm again.

Sometimes I feel like what I write about here is something of a broken record...things are great, then awful, then great again. It has, admittedly, been a very difficult 6 months. The post-college transition was taxing, and being in a new city made me feel especially isolated at a time when all I wanted to do was run home for the weekend or into the arms of loving friends. Now, I am so, so excited for 2009. I have resolutions to make (yes, I'm doing them, and yes, I plan on keeping track of my progress here), and an entire year laid out in front of me where I am transition-less. How I welcome it! Ask those close to me and they will tell you that I am a planner by nature. I love thinking in the long term and dreaming up new ideas, trips, career paths, even what I want to cook. Now, I can have a year where I can plan to my heart's content, but with the comfort of knowing that, no, I don't need to act on this immediately. For the next 12 months I get to settle in, relax, and see what this whole growing up thing is about.

To bring it all full circle, I'm the baby of my book club by about 4 years. Tonight I told a few of them "If I'm anything like you guys when I'm older, I'll be more than happy," and it couldn't be more true. If growing up means turning into someone more comfortable in my own skin, more confident in my abilities, and more willing to cut through the bullshit then I'll take it. They're a lovely group of girls, and if that's what I have to look forward to, so be it.

This is a Nothing Post

2008-12-09T01:48:00.001-05:00

1. I go to Germany in 10 days. I am very, very excited.

2. Go see Bond. It was awesome.

3. New Britney CD = awesome.

4. New (to me) Black Keys CD = fantastic. Get it.

5. Office holiday party was a success!

6. I had a great conversation with Maggie tonight, and it made my day. Why have we been neglecting the phone so much!?

7. Chuck Bass baby. Chuck. Bass.

Exciting Things are Happening

2008-12-03T01:43:00.000-05:00

Kind of.

To start, my brain has quieted down quite a bit the past couple weeks. I'm no longer on the verge of a major freakout regarding life, and I'm feeling pretty good about things. I've decided to stay in San Francisco for all of 2009 for various reasons. The city itself is beautiful, I'm meeting great people, and my job is actually getting much much better. More responsibility, less boredom, and a lot more appreciation from my coworkers. The casual dress code and work from home days don't hurt, either. Nor does the 65 degree weather when the rest of the country is ice ice cold.

I also need to have a non-transition year. College was always busy, and there were always plans to travel home, summer housing and jobs needed taking care of, and it was just go go go. 2008, of course, was a huge transition, with graduation and moving across the country. So in 2009 I'm looking forward to feeling a little bit more settled in a new place. I'm also planning on kind of recentering myself through a couple of ways, including maybe taking some art/ceramics classes and getting more into writing again. I've just felt incredibly scattered the past few months and, more than anything, rootless. It's hard to know where home is after having just graduated and left behind a lot in DC and then so suddenly moving somewhere utterly new. Slowly, though, little roots are forming here, and while they might be delicate and easy to tear out, why not let them grow a little deeper? The decision to stay has left me with a deep sense of calm, the kind that comes in a moment of clarity where suddenly an invisible burden lifts off your shoulders.

2010 holds big plans for me, but luckily nothing that I need to worry about, at least for now. The time for applications and essays will come soon enough, but right now I'm enjoying the respite of thinking ahead and just staying in the moment more.

Other recent/future happenings:

Thanksgiving in Chicago. Delicious food and my beautiful family led to a relaxing week filled with lots of sleep, long walks with Buddy the dog, and much-needed family time. I'm always amazed how a conversation with my mom can refocus me and calm me down. I think it's something only moms really know how to do.
B-B-B-Britney! Yes that's right, in March I'm flying to Nashville, roadtripping to Atlanta with Caitlin and Anna (!!), among others, and seeing Ms. Britney Spears in concert, 12 rows back. Think I'm lame? Don't care. I get to spend a long weekend in Nashville with my best friends, get back to my hometown (because let's be honest, Nashville is home), and get back in touch with my 7th grade self, the one who saw N'Sync in concert (TWICE) and may or may not have an autographed picture with LFO, that terrible boy band who sang the Inspector Gadget song (who else is in the picture? YUP, Anna and Caitlin).
Germany in 2 weeks, where I get to meet my tiny baby sister and see my not-as-tiny other baby sister. Christmas in Germany is sure to be a vision of gingerbread, steaming mugs of chocolate, and long walks in snowy fields and along icy rivers. I'm also ready to spend time with my Daddy and stepmom and see their new house outside Heidelberg.

That's all for now. I've noted everyone's comments on great inspirational sports movies and will be adding them to my Netflix queue. Any other movie suggestions are always welcome.

Oh, and happy holidays everyone! I hope the turkey was nap-inducing and that the coming weeks see you full of yummy holiday treats and keeping your head up amongst the dismal economic forecasts. It's the time of year for snuggling into warm blankets, drinking warm drinks, eating candy canes, and holiday parties! I, for one, will be doing all of the above, and I hope you are, too.

Inspirational Sports Movies

2008-11-20T21:49:00.000-05:00

God, I love them.

Put me in front of movies like Remember the Titans, Friday Night Lights, We Are Marshall...the list goes on....and I will be happy as a clam. I don't know what it is--the inspirational destruction of race and social prejudices? The thrilling games? The alternately supportive and destructive family?

Really, it's a magical mix of all those elements. Regardless, I guarantee you that anytime I'm bored, put on Remember the Titans and I'll be one entertained (and happy) camper.

Point of this post? Up for debate.

Caitlin - The Recap

2008-11-18T16:11:00.000-05:00

My fingers would quite literally fall off if I tried to recount everything from Caitlin's visit, so here are the highlights from the weekend:

Thursday:
- Farolito: Caitlin's first taqueria trip ever. Delicious.

Friday:
- The day is kicked off with mimosas and breakfast at Stacks.
- Shopping. So. Much. Shopping.
- Introducing Caitlin to the wonders of frozen yogurt
- Pier 39! Sea lions + In-n-Out = typical SF tourism.
- The Big Umbrella for an arts show. So hot and crowded I literally thought my face was going to melt off.
- Jameson Comedy tour. The best bit was clearly about how pinkie toes get caught on afghans.
- Getting on stage at the comedy tour? Subsequently getting kicked out? Look, everyone was gone, how was I supposed to know it's not allowed.
- Trying to hail a cab outside the comedy club when we wind up in a limo. Um, what? Proceed to go on what feels like the longest limo ride ever through the city, where I sat on the floor.
- End the night sitting on a fire hydrant waiting for Caitlin as she proceeds to walk up and down some of the biggest hills in the city to go see a park.

Saturday:
- Morning = death. Get breakfast on the corner and skip out on our brunch reservations. Cab back to my house. Caitlin in last night's clothes, me barefoot and in pajama pants.
- Sit on the couch for about 2 hours, where I eat about half of a loaf of sourdough bread.
- Pry ourselves off the couch, pick up Adam, get Mitchell's ice cream, and go to the bridge!
- Caitlin and Adam walk out onto the bridge, while I get nauseous from fear and turn around about 30 yards in. The fact that I'm wearing a skirt in gusty conditions doesn't help.
- To the beach! Yes, it was 75 degrees, so we head to the beach for classic "jumping in waves" pictures and so Caitlin can see the Pacific.
- Dinner at Asia SF. We get lessons in sake from the bartenders and watch some hot trannies lip sync on the bar in skimpy costumes. Someone is there celebrating a divorce.
- Call it a night since nothing can top the "gender illusionists," so we head home to hang out and watch SNL. Asleep by midnight.

We head out of the house at 9am the next morning to get Caitlin on her flight. I spend most of the day either in bed napping or on the couch. The night ends with Chinese food and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo.

Needless to say, the weekend was amazing. I'm super pumped for our next reunion, scheduled to take place somewhere in the Midwest during the Britney Spears tour. Am I kidding? I'll leave that one for you to figure out.

For Alex

2008-11-11T12:23:00.001-05:00

And for all my other dear friends who, in the passing of Prop 8, have seen their civil liberties thrown out the window.

Hope

2008-11-10T23:48:00.000-05:00

This time last week, my heart was beating with nervous anticipation. We were all merely one day away from bringing to an end one of the longest campaigns in US history and electing the 44th president.

24 hours after uncertainty sent my heart into a nervous pitter-patter tears swam in my eyes during Obama's acceptance speech. Four years ago on election night I went to bed with a heavy heart, but looking back it seems far less things hung in the balance at the time. Last week, however, it seemed that the future of America was at stake--would this be the night when we, as citizens, make another grave mistake by sending the wrong person to the Oval Office? No. This year we chose to herald the return of reason and, dare I say it, intellectualism to America. Last week, I cried because I was filled with the hope and optimism that had escaped this country recently, and because the system works. A candidate won the presidency in both the popular and electoral vote, a definitive statement that yes, we believe in change, and yes, we can. Last week, I cried because I saw the man who I voted for win an election that I care deeply about and last week, I cried because it was an historical night.

After wiping away the tears we joined the crowds in the streets, just as there were crowds in New York, in DC, and, surely, across the country.

Mere feet from my old doorstep we found the revelers, climbing on street posts, dancing to drum circles and brass bands, shouting, hugging, and high-fiving.

This, already 3 hours after the results came in.

The excitement in the air was tangible, that night and through into the next morning. Today that excitement remains, somewhat tempered with the ever-darkening financial horizons, but still there. I imagine it will grow back into a frenzy around Inauguration Day, and I do so very hope that we will continue to feel so optimistic in the coming years.

DISNEY

2008-11-10T23:14:00.000-05:00

A few weeks back I took a road trip down to LA with two kickass girls for my very first Disney adventure ever. It was incredible. Not only am I a fiend for roller coasters, but I was so thoroughly impressed with the artistic vision in the park. Truly, the attention to detail, the story that was told, was breathtaking. Up until this weekend I was upset that I'd never been to Disney as a child, but now I'm pleased that this was my first trip--a weekend with two friends, and at the age where I'm old enough to go on all the rides (and not be scared) as well as appreciate the effort that went into the entire operation. Yes, some of you may scoff at the idea that something so juvenile as Disneyland could hold some sort of creative merit, but you'll be the ones missing out. I, for one, am a new member of the Disney fan club (not really though, although I'm sure such a thing exists).

On to the pictures!

Follow the signs....

Sup huge pumpkin?!

Tea cups!!

Hey roommate!

Ah, building castles in the sky....

Great Adventure!

The Bridge, a la Disney:

Note: Not the actual bridge.

Celebrity sighting:

This blew my mind:

Tower of Terror:

Outside the Haunted Mansion:

On Splash Mountain....

After Splash Mountain....See how wet Alex's shirt is? Yeah, my shorts were right there with her (not because I peed myself out of fright. Just the splash).

The next morning, after a 12 hour Disney day, we went into LA to get brunch with Alex's friend Garrett and his friend (um, whose name I forgot). We had a delicious breakfast, saw Garrett's (now old) apartment, got Pinkberry (YUM) and went up to the LA Observatory, where we could see both the Hollywood sign as well as look out onto LA (at least what the smog allowed). We hit the road and made it back to SF in 6 hours. It was, altogether, the perfect weekend escape, and I can't wait to go back.

The Long-Awaited Pictures of My Room

2008-11-10T22:18:00.000-05:00

Please, everyone, sit back onto your seats normally and take a deeeeeeep breath. They're here.

Note: I apologize for the terrible photo quality. The iPhone isn't really cut out for any sort of picture-taking, and my Chinatown camera kicked the bucket halfway through Disney adventure.

Feast your eyes upon my new (well, 2 months new) home.

Living Room, complete with dinner on the table and Dexter on the TV:

The quite beautiful view from our living room windows:

The kitchen! I love it.

And, lastly, the bedroom.

Oh yeah, see that shelf action?

The other side of my room is my desk/TV and my closet, and a lonely wall that needs love in the form of decoration. Besides my discs, those are there.

Ta-da! Hope you all enjoyed it.

Aw Crap

2008-10-29T01:19:00.000-04:00

I owe you guys TWO picture posts now, one for Disney and one for the apartment (yes, still). In my defense, my camera broke so I can't upload my pictures yet. Also, my shelf isn't mounted yet, so I'm still only about 80% moved in, and I want to be able to show you all the 100% awesome glory of it all.

That is all I have for you today. I started work at 6:30am Pacific Time today, and now I'm sitting in bed watching "Broken English" and waiting to fall asleep. My Halloween costume is hanging over my closet door (even MORE pictures), there's a big party on Friday I'm looking forward to, and CAITLIN will be here in barely over 2 weeks (I think we're at 16 days). My brain is also in overdrive, and has been for the past week or so, so maybe you'll all get lucky and be privy to any mental catastrophe I unleash on this thing.

I also owe a lot of people emails and phone calls. Coming soon, I promise.

A Teaser...

2008-10-21T23:17:00.000-04:00

To my Disney adventure picture post!

Yes, that's Tinkerbell, and we're all surprised and excited to see her.

Also, "The Hills According to Me" might actually be somewhat more ridiculous than the actual show. Please see:

Okay, pictures and life updates coming soon!

Personal Conversations on the Bus

2008-10-14T21:41:00.000-04:00

To my great delight, my bus line is filled to the brim with people who love speaking loudly about their personal lives on the bus ride home.

Recent examples:

#1. Hipster girl who decides to tell her supposedly ignorant friend all about Sarah Palin's horrifying track record and why McCain is the devil. Newsflash: You're in San Francisco. Unless your friend is living under a rock and/or in the middle of Ohio, spare us all your sure-to-be profound insights on the current political system. Or just save it for when you get home.

#2. Same bus ride as before. Phone rings, guy answers by saying "Sorry dude, I'm on a crowded bus so I can't really talk," and then launching into a 15 minute story about how his house got robbed, his computer is gone, but they found the guy who stole his bike because he was "trying to sell it in a shady way by Civic Center" and that the discovery of said bike "really cracked the case in a bunch of robberies by [his] house. We're talking 7 or 8. And that's not 7 or 8 in the whole city, that's like, 7 or 8 in just a few blocks of me, but the bike's still with CSI so it'll be a while before [he] gets it back." Listen bud, everyone on the bus is listening, and everyone is wondering how you can sound so pompous while talking about getting robbed. Oh, and 7 or 8 robberies in a city the size of San Francisco over a period of about 2 weeks would be miraculous.

#3. Today's bus ride home. West Coast version of Jappy girl talking on the phone about how she's just setting all these lofty artistic goals for herself, but really, she just found a job and apartment, and she wants a routine, but when she really thinks about it, wants to learn a couple more languages so that she doesn't have to live in the US, and these are all the humanitarian crises in Asia, but she'd really love to travel to S. America..definitely Chile and Argentina, maybe Peru, and a little Latin American spice with some Ecuador thrown in. Fist meet face.

#4. Also on today's bus ride (apparently obnoxious talkers come in two's). This girl was talking so loudly I'm sure the bus driver heard her all the way from her back seat. This is one of those loud, grating voices that you really can't help but listen to, and one this particular occasion she was sharing how her roommate might get fired, but she (the talker) is working full-time, and now that she's working never has any free time (HA), and, "not to be selfish", but she bought the TV and if her roommates (who are apparently pink-slipped freeloaders) watch it when she can't, well, is that really fair?

Ah, the voices of the city.

In other news, this past weekend was awesome. Roller derby might be the most ridiculous thing ever, and unfortunately is as staged and fixed as the WWE. On our quest to get tickets early we actually talked to one of the guys on the Brooklyn team, who asked Adam what size his feet were to recruit him on the team, made us poke at his muscles, told us about how he started an 18-person fight, and guess what his other job is? (Cue him grabbing his enormous belt buckle) He's a bull rider. Bare back, baby.

Anyways, roller derby = hilarity. One of the women looked like my grandma. No, really.

Sunday was spent at the (horse) races. SO AMAZING. I won $75 but ended up breaking even after adding up what I put in to bet at the start plus beers, food, and parking. In one race I actually picked the 1-2 combination, but foolishly didn't bet on the combination itself (think about it...there you go). If I had, I'd have made about $400. That's the "FUCK" of the weekend. And Adam, the birthday boy, broke even by betting on Flightly Girl, horse #9 in the 9th race at 9:1 odds. I'm not sure if that was intentional or a coincidence, but it paid off (and out).

Annnnd now it's back to the grind for another week. Oh, and for those of you who care, I'm feeling 100% better after Mono-Fest 2008. OH. One more thing. See ya'll at Alumni Weekend, betches.

Picture Post #2 - Work Fun Day in Golden Gate Park...On Segways

2008-10-08T22:08:00.000-04:00

So my work took another fun day, this time going to lunch at a tapas place and then taking a 3 hour Segway tour in Golden Gate Park. It was hilarious. I almost fell twice, and one time my boss BIT IT. I laughed, then pretended to be concerned, then kept laughing. I was also a big fan of spinning in a circle, as Segways have a zero turning radius. This led to a lot of nausea and not really paying attention to what our tour guide was saying (which, in retrospect, probably contributed to my almost falling and not listening to the safety instructions). But it was still awesome. Now I get why all those tools commute on them.

Anyways, on to pictures!

Segways, resting.

Two of my coworkers:

Who's got two thumbs and is a nerd? THIS GIRL!

My office.....my whole office.

And just because it's pretty, one of the dahlias in the dahlia garden in Golden Gate.

One more picture post to go....the new house! Expect that in the coming days.

Picture Post #1 - Mom Comes to Visit

2008-10-08T22:03:00.001-04:00

The view of the beach from the wharf in Santa Cruz.

Snuggling seals underneath the pier.

Our very adorable bed & breakfast room.

Mommy! On the deck of our room overlooking the garden. She now knows how to text and take phone pictures. Isn't she pretty?

And lastly, the requisite trip to the GGB. Pretty spectacular, despite my hate of bridges.

Live Blogging the Debate!

2008-10-08T02:07:00.000-04:00

No I'm not.

HOWEVER, I would just like to point one thing out. If anyone noticed the 20s-looking guy in the upper left corner of the screen most of the time the camera was on Obama, with the blonde hair, 'stache, and green tie.....I know him. I went to high school with him, and seeing as my high school was 400 people, that's saying something.

I had been wondering if I'd happen to know anyone in the audience seeing as how the debate took place in Nashville, so imagine how excited my "OH MY GOD I KNOW THAT KID" sounded.

And no, I'm not commenting on the quality of the debate, either McCain or......that one.

Editor's Note:
My high school in Nashville, not Philly.

Ah, October!

2008-10-07T02:34:00.000-04:00

October is here, and the city is beautiful. It's like a combination of bunnies and rainbows and lollipops, all gallivanting together through the streets of euphoria.

But really, the past few weeks have been a revelation--skies so blue you'd swear your eyes deceive you, warm weather, and mild, cool nights. And finally, Friday night: rain! I haven't seen rain in 4 months, save the summer shower that rained out the Sunday of Wildwood. But West Coast rain has been like the unicorn of weather patterns, referenced in witty conversation but rarely seen.

It was a sight for sore eyes, and sounds for sore...ears? The past four years in DC have created an appreciation for falling asleep to the sound of wet pavement under cars, that unmistakable whssssssshhhhh that make you happy you're inside and warm. The smell of a freshly rained-upon city can be intoxicating, sidewalks swept clean from months of dirt, with air so crisp you just want to breathe, breathe, breathe until your lungs burst. So, Friday night, I happily stepped outside into the lightly falling rain, feet wet on the pavement, streetlights reflecting off the road. I think you can't really feel like you live somewhere until you experience something other than just sun; it's the comfort that rain brings that makes you feel like, just maybe, you're starting to feel at home somewhere new.

So yes, hello October! The coming weeks are full of exciting birthdays (roller derby and horse racing!), DISNEY (I am finally going to the Happiest Place on Earth) with 2 quite awesome girls, and Halloween just around the corner. I'm looking forward to pumpkin smells, layered warmth, and the last few weeks of Indian Summer.

And then on to November, full of Thanksgiving trips and a visit from the one and only Ms. Caitlin D. She wants gays, Full House, shopping, and the Golden Gate Bridge, and by God I'll give it to her (errrr....figuratively speaking).

And really, I promise, a picture post is coming soon, with new house, Momma's visit, and work fun day (SEGWAY TOUR).

I Have to Make a Confession

2008-09-30T01:44:00.001-04:00

I have an addiction...

to playing Tetris on my phone. This isn't your run-of-the-mill phone game though. It's gotten to the point where I'll whip it out mid-conversation, mid-tv show, mid-work day. I can't help it! I even think about it when I'm not playing!

It reminds me of when I got really into Solitaire for about 3 weeks, culminating in me beating the game in 81 (yes, 81) seconds. I haven't played since.

Thus far I've made it to level 11, but who knows where it'll go from there!? Tetris is like my sweet mistress, lurking for me in the dark corners of my mind.

Embarrassing? Maybe. Scintillating? Obviously.

What's This? A New Post!?

2008-09-25T00:13:00.000-04:00

Finally! I'm going to update you all, my dear readers (all....4 of you) on life here lately.

Hmmm, where to begin. Oh right, the move. Pictures haven't been taken yet, and there are still shelves and posters to be hung, so as soon as I get that taken care of I'll put up some pictures of the new place. Despite the lack of pictures and shelves, it's been awesome. My roommates are all great, and moving wasn't tooo terrible. The weekend was filled with consumerism, making stops at Bed Bath & Beyond, Ikea (SWEDISH MEATBALLS, HELLO!), Best Buy, Target, and probably something else that I'm missing. I'm hoping to have some sort of Oktoberfest house-warming party, or at least an afternoon of grilling, in the next couple of weeks. I do love living here though, being away from the hobos and having a room that doesn't get bright in the mornings or is deafeningly loud at night (no more skateboarders going by!). The neighborhood is also pretty nice, with your standard array of coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants, and overpriced boutiques (really, a rusty couch frame for $500? That's not chic, you just bought trash). I'm basically moving up the ladder of yuppiness. Whether that's good or bad is yet to be decided.

Moving on....

Mommy's visit! It involved lots of great breakfasts, lots of walking around the city, as well as getting out of the Bay Area for a day. We spent 2 days and 1 night in Santa Cruz, which was super super relaxing. We stayed at basically the most charming bed & breakfast ever (complete with afternoon wine & cheese!), spending the first day down by the beach and at the wharf, and then going downtown for a bit the next day to find my mom some Birks (yes, Birkenstocks in Santa Cruz. We love cliches). After that it was on to The Mystery Spot! Which was amazing. It's basically this strange little area set in the redwoods outside SC where gravity is completely screwed (it might also kind of be an optical illusion). Please see:

(Thank you to this dude for letting me post a picture of him)

Essentially you stand on the weirdest angles ever, feel totally dizzy, and look alternately shorter/taller based on where you're standing. Bizarre. At one point I saw a crooked beam that was actually level (they had a level on hand to demonstrate) upon which a pool ball rolled uphill. Or what looked to be uphill. I highly recommend it to anyone going to the Santa Cruz area, if anything because it's a total trip.

After Santa Cruz we returned to the city to do some touristy sight-seeing. However, I was super tired on Saturday so we ended up just getting breakfast, relaxing at the house, and getting Thai with Alex. OH! And going on a field trip to get Mitchell's (best ice cream ever), where Alex was a fool and got 2 scoops. Ridiculous. Sunday was a huuuge day of sight-seeing, including Union Square, Chinatown, North Beach, Coit Tower/Telegraph Hill, Pier 39 & Fisherman's Wharf, and the Golden Gate bridge. In.Tense. Momma flew out Monday morning bright and early. It was great to see her, and Mommy-time was definitely needed.

Work has been meh, fine. I was working on a super lame report for basically all of last week and up until yesterday. It could have been done in a day, but I was basically given the wrong instructions about 4 times. BUT my laptop did arrive! Work laptop? Money, very money.

Ah, and maybe what's been contributing to my total lack of posting and complete exhaustion the past few weeks? Mono. Again. Mini-rant: My co-workers have been all "Ooooh, don't get me sick!" or "Maybe I caught it from you and that's why I've been tired." Listen: Unless we have, or will, engage in a heavy makeout session or I spit in your drink (don't put it past me), I highly, highly doubt that I will give you mono or I've already given it to you. So just shut up.

Friday is a work Fun Day, so expect a post on that. Fingers crossed I won't see my boss naked again (female boss, FYI). Also on deck is an apartment picture post, and hopefully lots more updating once I start feeling awake again/not like I'm going to fall over on the sidewalk I'm so tired.

Okay, that's it for now, dedicated readers.

Exxxxxeunt.

I Know, I Know

2008-09-15T17:44:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted in almost a week! What can I say, it's been very busy here in San Francisco. Actually, that's probably pretty untrue, except for all of the moving/apartment shenanigans this weekend. I promise a longer post, complete with pictures of the new place, very soon. Then it'll be another longer hiatus as my MOM is coming to visit on Wednesday!! Yes, I'm extremely excited. It's a big week.

Ups and Downs

2008-09-09T17:46:00.001-04:00

It's been a roller-coaster of a day.

It started when the J-line got backed up by about an hour. Two packed trains passed my stop without letting people on, and the third got to my stop at 9:02am...it's a half hour ride into work. The train itself was already getting full, which is pretty unusual. I grab one of the last seats, but little do I know that I'm directly behind a frankly terrible smelling homeless person. Like, people were covering their noses. I endured the smell of old cheese/wet dog for the 45 minute ride (yup, lots of delays, so exciting) and was realllly relieved to get off that train.

The up was that it's free breakfast day in my building, so I had an apple fritter. Delicious. Then, 5 minutes after I sit down at my desk, I get a call from a job I'd applied to last week. They want to interview me! After a bit of schedule investigating we decide on 5pm tomorrow. It's a communications job at a sustainable agriculture/organic produce distribution company. It looks awesome and in-line with my anth/public health interests, so naturally I'm pumped.

2 hours later, I get a call saying that we have to postpone the interview til October because my would-be supervisor is going to Spain for a month at the end of the week and is totally swamped. Booooooooooo. October will be here soon enough, but still! I'm not a very patient person and this definitely didn't help out in that regard.

Now I'm just waiting for the next "up" to happen. Chances are it will involve food.

Ah, what else is new? Tonight starts the adventure of packing all my stuff up for the move on Saturday. Uh yes, I am completely pumped, thank you for asking. I also played tennis for the first time ever on Sunday, which was...okay? I didn't suck completely, and now my right arm is sore as hell, but I think I'm going to take some lessons and get a little bit better. Maybe a replacement for ultimate? Lastly, my momma is coming next week to visit for 5 days, and I am completely and totally excited to see her. Our agenda includes trips to Santa Cruz, being touristy, and doing wine tasting in Napa. It's gonna be awesome. (Hi Mami!)

That's really all I got for now. I think I might take a 20 minute nap at my desk soon, seeing as my coworker is leaving for an hour and I'll be alone in the office. I feel like my brain is moving in slow motion.

Earthquake?

2008-09-06T00:03:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting in my bed and suddenly felt a little wobbly. I thought maybe it was the really big truck driving by, but then the truck went away and the wobbliness continued. Then I looked at my wall and the mirror was shaking. This whole episode lasted maybe 10 seconds.

Interesting.

Update:

Suspicions confirmed!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/06/california.quake/index.html

Minor quake jolts Oakland, California

SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck east of Oakland, California, at around 9 p.m. ET Friday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake's epicenter was about 10 miles (16 kilometers) below the surface, the USGS reported.

Residents said they felt a sharp jolt, saw plants sway and dishes rattle.

There were no initial reports of damage or injuries.

It Just Keeps Getting Better

2008-09-03T20:42:00.000-04:00

They're buying a new work computer for me!

This after multiple near-panic attacks due to various computer douche-baggery and receiving emails 15 minutes after they were sent.

Maybe the job hunt will go on hiatus for a bit....

What Living in SF Does To Your Brain

2008-09-02T23:06:00.000-04:00

I guess I can tell that my vocabulary is shifting as a result of living out here. Evidence? Today Christina K's gStatus was "Reading with my bear"

What did she mean? This:

What did I think she meant (very, very momentarily)? This:

If you don't know, please see items #1 and #3 here:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bear

Buying My Love

2008-09-02T18:02:00.000-04:00

I just got word of 2 new company policies:

1. September is now going to be all casual dress code. Fucking sweet.

Want to know what's even better than that? Why, it's:

2. Starting this week my job is conducting a 3 month trial of everyone getting one work-from-home day a week. I get to choose the day, and all I have to do is install VPN software on my laptop.

All of a sudden things are looking up, and I feel a little something like this....

Oh Look! A Word Cloud!

2008-08-27T15:29:00.000-04:00

This Is a Useless Post

2008-08-27T01:37:00.000-04:00

1. Fancy new layout! Not really new or fancy, but thanks to Blogger's templates and a night with nothing to do, I went big and clicked the "Save New Layout" button. For those of you wondering, I chose it for the widescreen effect. I feel it makes the reading experience more enjoyable.

2. I just caught up on the last 2 episodes of "The Hills". And all I can say is....wow. Does anyone watch this anymore (spare me the glaringly obvious observation that yes, I just watched it, so obviously someone does)? Really, I want to know. It seems like the only thing they're really good for is making some great facial expressions and eye rolls. These girls have got non-verbal communication down. Please see:

Oh yeah, that's some good shit.

Anyways, at this point it seems like the girls are becoming total caricatures of themselves. Lauren is the dull whiny one (seriously, look at how she acts on dates. No wonder she's had so few), Lo is the snarky bitch who looks like an aging housewife, and Audrina is...simple. I'll admit that I was kind of into the show seasons 1 & 2, but I can only spend so many half hours of my life completely uselessly. Goodbye, Hills. The rest has all been written.

1/4 Year

2008-08-24T21:11:00.000-04:00

That's exactly how long I've been living in San Francisco. 3 months ago today I boarded my plane sleepy and bleary-eyed, and emerged 9 hours later the newest member of people who make drastic moves directly after college.

While my time here has had its ups and downs, I'm beginning to love it more and more. I'm starting to feel a bit more comfortable (while still missing the enveloping comfort and total familiarity of the East Coast), savoring the mundane, and cuddling into my still-growing social nest. Every day I'm getting more and more clarity (and ironically, the questions coming from) regarding my goals, hopes, wishes, whatever you want to call them. While they'll probably change in the next months, as goals have the tendency to do, I'm excited to watch them grow and change. I'm also reading everything in sight right now, devouring op-eds, memoirs, novels, and articles, and loving it. Instead of reading for tests or class, I'm reading just to step back a little bit from my life and immerse myself in something completely detached from myself.

Yesterday we took the train to Berkeley to explore the campus and take advantage of the beautiful weather. It was exactly a college campus should be: a self-contained enclave that lets you forget that the outside world still exists, with rolling green grass, leafy walkways, and distinguished architecture. After traipsing around for a couple hours we went to a local brewery & restaurant that Yelp gave good reviews. The late afternoon was spent drinking (lots of yummy cider for me), eating wings & greased soaked baked potatoes, and watching the Olympics. We hopped back on BART and spent the rest of the night hanging out at Valley St, with Chan & co making an appearance (and experiencing Mitchell's for the first time!!), and ending with me passing out in the papasan for a bit.

Today has lent itself to simple life maintenance; meeting Alex for lunch at Dolores Park Cafe and reading Dreams From My Father, making a stop at Bi-Rite for simple groceries, and relaxing in my room with the sun shining in from the hills. The coming week will hopefully be low-key in anticipation of Labor Day weekend; the boss is out of town through Wednesday, and the office closes at 2pm on Friday. The only possibility for negativity is my informal Q2 review, but even that I'm not too concerned about. I think it's safe to say that life is good, and getting even better.

Rage-Inducing Moment of the Day

2008-08-22T20:59:00.000-04:00

When I get a bill from AT&T on an account I don't even have, with a number I've never seen, and then when I'm on the phone with customer service my call gets dropped TWICE.

The Highlight of My Week Thus Far

2008-08-19T18:01:00.000-04:00

Dear Yellow Bouncy Ball,

Thank you for letting me buy you and use you as my new office chair. I think we've had a fun couple of days so far. Major highlights have been trying to bounce myself off you as high as possible when no one is looking, as well as dancing to the jazz band outside my window. I hope that the coming weeks will continue to provide me with the most fun I've had at work the entire time I've been here, as you are a cheerful, bouncy, delightful office companion. I might have to play it cool when other people are in the office, but trust me, I'd rather be bouncing.

Love,

The Ass Who Sits On You

Foul

2008-08-18T22:26:00.001-04:00

I think something died under the stairs of my apartment, because it smells like someone bludgeoned a skunk with a moldy block of cheese and left it in the sun for a few days.

Seriously though, this is disgusting. That is all.

Update: My roommate cooked fish. I shudder to think what it tasted like.

Book Reviews

2008-08-18T14:40:00.001-04:00

I'm taking a page from Alex's blog and doing 2 book reviews today. It's a dreary Monday and the bay looks silver-y grey from my work window, and a quiet office lends itself nicely to blogging.

Book 1: The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls.

The Glass Castle is an unbelievable memoir. Not in writing style, but in actual events; I find them incredibly difficult to believe. The book begins by recounting the author's earliest memory--she is on fire in her trailer park kitchen at the age of 3. She was making hot dogs on the stove, and her ballerina outfit catches fire and she is engulfed in flames while her mother paints in the next room.

The memoir is filled with moments like this, where the reader shakes their head at the squalor the author grew up in, and at her critically dysfunctional family life. Her parents are manic depressive and alcoholics, often forgoing feeding their family in favor of hording chocolate or spending their daughter's hard-earned escape money for a night at the bar. You can't help but feel for the children, who are alternatively enthralled by their parents or angered and ashamed. One of the turning points for the author is when she in on her way to a Park Avenue party and sees her homeless mother rooting through trash on the sidewalk.

The book is an exercise in emotional restraint for Walls. Instead of treating the book as a catharsis, she writes from an objective, emotionless perspective. It seems that at this point in her life the hardship she's gone through is completely detached from her current reality. She rarely expresses anger towards her parents or family, instead choosing to recite the facts of her life like she's reciting facts from the encyclopedia. It's an easy read, but it'll leave you feeling frustrated with Walls and her family, especially her parents. It's true, though, that Walls had a life worth retelling, so if you're into memoirs you'll probably enjoy this.

Book 2: The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett.

I finished this 1,000 page novel this morning on the J on my way into work. I've been working on it the past couple of weeks, and I was left generally satisfied with it. The story is set in the 1100s in medieval England, where the country is engaged in civil war. Pillars of the Earth weaves together an ensemble cast of characters whose lives become entwined in the first 200 pages, all with varying goals, desires, and wishes. Frankly, it's a 1,000 page soap opera with all the standard ingredients: love, lust, war, religion (medieval, remember?), murder, and conspiracies. At times I was just wishing for the book to end; at a certain point one village can only be invaded by the same guy so many times. But it's fluff, and fluff is always pretty easy to stomach, even in large portions. The writing is easy and engaging enough, and one of the books greatest strength's is its character depth--you really begin to know and feel the characters, and you can bet that if you see one guy at the beginning he'll show up at the end with his own twisted history. If you're currently overwhelmed by more intense reading and want something on the side to pick up and just entertain you for a bit, this is a good choice. But if you're looking for something profound that'll change your life, leave this at home.

Next two books on tap are Eat, Pray, Love (I feel like everyone woman has read this book, but I might be wrong) and Obama's Dreams from My Father. Needless to say I'm more excited about Obama's book, but I'm also vaguely curious to see how living in Italy, India, and Indonesia goes. Maybe I'll just have to go on vacation there and find out.

Let's Get Physical

2008-08-13T19:22:00.000-04:00

It's a terrible song, I know.

But here's something I've realized in the past week or so (big revelation turn-around): I am not someone who enjoys going to the gym.

This probably explains why I rarely went to the Hel-Wel when it was warm enough to play outside, and why it took a major breakthrough for me to sign up for my gym out here. I just really dislike being in a recycled air box that looks like Globo-Gym, surrounded by girls too concerned with their makeup and guys too concerned with their rippling (ha) muscles. I find that it takes a huge amount of effort to motivate myself to get on an elliptical for 45 minutes when I'd otherwise happily get outside and play ultimate, ride my bike, or just take a long walk.

So why am I not playing ultimate? There's a few reasons, but 2 major ones. The first is that I got to San Francisco too late into the club season to really weigh my different options. The second is that I wasn't in the financial position to be able to afford living a normal life and also play club, and that I also wasn't ready to make the time commitment. I was, and am, new to the city, and I wanted my weekends to explore my new surroundings and get comfortable in a completely different place. And disappointingly enough, San Francisco doesn't have any semblance of a real summer league like PADA or even WAFC. There's technically a league that plays in Golden Gate, but it's beginning-friendly, not even allowing zone for the first 5 weeks or so. One word: lame. I'm excited for winter league, and am faintly toying with the idea of playing club next year. If I don't do that, I'll also be more than content making Wildwood my yearly tournament come-back.

My real point though is that I like being outside and doing something that actually achieves a purpose that exceeds meeting a time or calories-burned goal. Yes, I like chasing after a piece of plastic for 8 hours straight, but 8 hours in a gym? Fat chance. After spending the last 5 weeks or so trying to be diligent about heading to work out after work, my enthusiasm is waning. It's time for me to get outside again, start doing yoga after a year hiatus, and maybe even throw every once in a while...living with Alex will hopefully help with that aspect.

One thing I will not do is hike for extended periods of time. Why? Because of a disastrous senior hike in high school that has still left me scarred to this day. I'll save that story for another day though.

October 1st

2008-08-12T14:20:00.000-04:00

I know, it's still almost 2 months away.

But October 1st is my newly self-imposed deadline. On that day I'm hoping to have:
1. New house
2. New job

New house is essentially taken care of. For those of you wondering, Alex and I were actually offered the amazing apartment we looked at on Thursday. It was perfect--good size, great condition, nice quiet little side street. On Sunday we got the email saying we'd gotten the apartment. But, plot twist!, the landlord (who lives below) would need to share the bathroom and kitchen with us due to some sort of legal shenanigans. The landlord was a cool younger guy, but we weren't crazy about the idea of suddenly having a 3rd (and at times 4th, when his girlfriend was around) roommate. So we did the unthinkable in the San Francisco rental housing market...we turned him down.

So then how do I have a place to move into October 1st? I'm now taking a room opening up in Alex's current place at Hayes and Fillmore (.5 blocks from the Full House houses, if you're wondering), waving goodbye to the Mission and its sunshine and burritos. I'm not overly heartbroken about it, as Alex's place is gorgeous, with fun things like dishwashers and laundry (which I'm currently lacking), as well as an enormous kitchen, deck, backyard, and big living room. My future room is a bit smaller than my room now, but with a big closet. It also won't be blindingly bright at 7am every morning, and won't be filled with the street noises I currently hear while falling asleep (for example sirens, crackheads, and drunks). Lastly, I can GET A DOG. My bulldog puppy dreams are nearing fulfillment....

So I guess I just need to get a job in the next 6 weeks. Totally doable, crap job market be damned.

I'd also like to wish Alex a very happy (albeit belated) birthday! Here's to you, future roomie. May your coming year be filled with grilled peaches, kegs of Blue Moon, and many multiple roommate makeout sessions (disclaimer: not her roommates. Other roommates).

On a slightly more serious note, I'd also like to just take this chance to publicly remember my Granny Bell. I found out on Friday that she died last week, at the ripe old age of 92. I was her only granddaughter for 18 years, and I loved her and miss her very much. My dad said it best in his email to me and my brother:

Do not grieve too strongly for her. First, she would not have wanted you to do so; for she was cheery and optimistic in her outlook on life. Sadness had its place, of course, but was also to be kept firmly in its place. Secondly, she had had what we British call a very good innings. She enjoyed a long and full life -- though not without its trials and tribulations -- one marked by love, children and companionship, as well as robust good health until almost the very end, when physical frailty and arthritis became a daily burden. Thirdly, she died peacefully at home. Pamela found her in her armchair, looking quite peaceful, with the television on. As Pamela reconstructs things, she had opened the windows, aired her bed, had a light breakfast and watered the plants in the pots in the front garden. These exertions would have called for a brief rest -- and so she departed this life quietly and in dignity. Such a death we wish not only for those we love, but also for all who have led decent lives.

Current Wishlist

2008-08-06T17:50:00.001-04:00

Things that I want right now:

A banana muffin from Boudin.

The apartment Alex and I are looking at tomorrow.

Bulldog puppy. Name if it's a boy: Gulliver (Gully for short). If it's a girl: Lucy.

A vacation.

And, lastly, a nap.

August August August

2008-08-05T13:10:00.000-04:00

How it is already August when I'm wearing a sweater and it's cloudy, cold, and dreary outside? 22 years of experience tell me that this is the month when I should be sleeping without a blanket, darting from air conditioned cars to air conditioned apartments, and rediscovering the relief a sprinkler can bring on a hot day.

But no. Instead I'm stuck in some kind of winter-to-spring limbo that demands a fluffy comforter at night and sweaters by day. I suppose, on the plus side, that when the East Coast is buried in snow I'll still just be wearing a light sweater, down jackets be damned. The thought still doesn't completely satisfy my inherent need for sticky 95 degree heat.

Something else about August that I recently realized was that, for the first time in 17? 18? years, I won't be having a first day of school. Of course, the anticipation for these first days varied. When I was younger my mom used to put together huge, cone-shaped containers filled with candy and back-to-school goodies like pencils and cute erasers. If I remember correctly, there's a picture of me on the steps of my house on my first day of first grade, wearing a yellow flowered dress and holding this enormous reminder that fun was over and school was starting. I wasn't smiling in the picture. In fact, I looked pretty unpleased for summer to end.

While the unpleasantness of the end of summer probably never quite left my face, feelings changed. I remember my first day of high school and being SO excited to finally have left middle school and enter what I thought would be adulthood. First day of college was a mix of fear and excitement. And then, last year, my last first day of school was a mixture of the apathy any bored senior knows, nervousness in facing first practice as captain, and the simple, enlightening knowledge that I'd made it through 3 years, I can do one more.

Now, a year later, I'm conflicted. Habit tells me that in a matter of weeks my routine will consist of hard plastic desks, afternoon practices, and late nights (not of studying, though). Part of me, admittedly, has the itch to go back and start learning anew, but that's an itch I can wait a year or two to scratch. The greater part of me has the desire to face new challenges in an as-of-yet underdeveloped part of my life: work. In the past day I've spoken to or emailed with two of my favorite DC people. One is embarking on a 2 year teaching challenge, the other quit his sure-to-be profitable job at Deloitte before it even started, becoming a field organizer for the Obama campaign. Both of them are working their asses off, drowning in work and assignments, going to bed exhausted every night from the sheer energy it takes to make every day successful. The thing is, they love their jobs, despite the late nights and despite the daily challenges and stress they're always presented with. While one (obviously) did have a first day of school, but on the other side of the desk, it seems that they're content to have August go by without the overwhelming wish to be back in school. Yes, we might miss college and its irresponsibility, but there's no real need to be back. The next step is treating them well.

Right now my "next step" is...average. I'm currently trying to make the decision between:
1. Staying where I am (professionally) for the next 6 months or so, earning a raise and promotion and sticking it out til I go somewhere else for a higher-level position.
Or
2. Going somewhere else now, same position, dealing with getting broken in to a new company all over again, but hopefully doing so in a more vibrant, challenging, and fitting environment.

Advice is welcomed.

So, that's August for me. Coasting along til I figure out my (re)direction, spending time off soaking up the city, its people, its food, reading for pleasure (something I never had in school), and building my sweater collection.

And if anyone wants to send me some candy on the first day of school....I won't say no.

Wildwood. Or, An Adventure in Deep Frying

2008-07-29T20:28:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I returned to the East Coast to partake in my favorite summer activity:

Wildwood.

What is Wildwood, you may ask? Besides being the trashiest place on the Boardwalk, and the easiest place to spot teenagers of the jail-bait variety, it's also the world's biggest beach ultimate tournament. Roughly 3,000 ultimate players descend upon this hepatitis-drenched enclave with the purpose of playing ultimate and spending 48 hours intoxicated.

This weekend was no different. I played on Bayonet Tailgate Party in the 3-1 Beer league. The team consisted of only the best and brightest. Errr...drunkest and drunkest. It was basically all my favorite people assembled into a cyber pink ball of awesomeness (minus Jenee and Dan, whom I missed terribly), with the badass-est logo on the beach.

Evidence:

I know, we're terribly good looking and stylish. It's a blessing and a curse.

To get the boring part over with, we went 3-3, losing 2 games on double game point and 1 by three points. BTP was robbed of its championship dreams, but everyone had moments of glory and moments of hungover-ness on the field, some more than others (I was of the latter persuasion).

Friday started off early. Got off the plane at 7am after being con men and convincing our gate agent that I was suffering a terrible case of food poisoning and that we'd be missing our connecting flight to BWI. We were then picked up by my mother in Philly for a delicious breakfast and then dropped off at the Greyhound station, where I thought I lost my wallet (it was in Adam's pocket).

3 hours later we arrive in Wildwood after taking NJ transit down the shore. Approximately .2 seconds after the bus driving away do I realize I've left my purse (complete with wallet, passport, and birth control) in my seat. Commence sprinting after said bus. The operation was a success as the bus luckily hit a red light 1.5 blocks down.

After that we joined Adam's family on the beach, where 2pm beer drinking and cheesesteak eating commenced. After checking into the efficiency suite (best idea ever), we departed for dinner, once again with the Croce clan.

Sidebar: the efficiency suite is the height of Wildwood ghetto chic. Imagine 2 dark, musty-ish rooms. The first has a creaky pullout couch and a mattress on the floor...with a headboard nailed to the wall 2ft above. A "kitchenette" with full sized fridge (it held beer and only beer this weekend), mini stove, and unplugged microwave. A bathroom with a window that didn't open (leading to steam room-esque conditions) and broken toilet seat. Lastly, the "bedroom", with 2 full size beds maybe, MAYBE one foot apart from each other, with windows looking out onto the hotel's dumpster backyard. All class.

Back to dinner. I decide now's a good time to start drinking, so I start off with a Long Island. You can imagine where the night went from here. After hitting the nearest liquor store Adam and I do a "Tooter" (pre-mixed shot of death) and head to Old Man Steve's condo, where joyous/snarky reunions commence. LFaust proceeds to make me some kind of rum drink, and I think this is where the night went downhill. Or uphill, depending on how you look at it. We head to the Bolero, where I accost the likes of Danny and the Biggest Tim. I think shots were taken. Fast forward to about 1:45am--I'm being obscene towards Lauren due to a conversation she was having and next thing I know she throws her drink at me. I, logically, throw mine back.

Cue both of us being thrown out of the Bolero. Yes, it's the first time I've ever been thrown out of a bar, and of course it's due to Ms. Lauren Faust. Thanks, douchebag. Also, no matter what she tells you, she threw her drink first. Fact.

Passing out happened around 3am. Waking up was at 9am. Nausea was 9am-7pm.

Saturday night was equally amazing, but in different ways. After hitting the beer garden we return to Steve's condo for more Can Jam (laundry hamper + discs + holes), drinking, and hanging out. We set off for the Bolero once again, with Lauren and I timing our entrance so as not to incite the suspicion/wrath of the bouncers. Once inside it's the same usual shitshow. Packed dancefloor, terrible cover band, bar crowd 4 people deep. While there I was enlightened about websites like DateACougar.com, but after the day's hangover wasn't really feeling more drinking. Neither were a few others.

At 12:45am-ish eight or so of us head back to the hotel room for some hanging out. None of us were prepared to walk in to see MS scamper out of the bedroom with the most devilish look on his face EVER. For privacy's sake I'm going to forgo the rest of the juicy details, but the end of the night ended in creating a delightful sleeping nest out of sleeping bags and wet towels for a special someone (or so I was told...all the hanging out led to passing out around 3 again).

In between the devil smile and nest-creation much hanging out commenced, leading to a major 2am hunger session. Being 2 blocks from the boardwalk we figured everything would be open, and we'd have our choice of pizza, fries, and other gluttonously delicious treats. We arrive at the boardwalk...and it's empty. Yeah, you've got you random 15 year olds being daring and staying out late, but no neon signs welcoming us. Except....30 yards down we spot a yellow sign (I believe Lindsay called it "A yellow beacon of hope"). We walk up and enter a little slice of heaven. Corn dogs, funnel cakes, frozen bananas, deep fried Oreos/Twinkies beckon to us. A feeding frenzy ensued, and about $50 later we walked away overloaded with fried deliciousness. I had a corn dog and funnel cake, but that was nothing compared to a few others. Notably: Will got a funny cake covered in caramel, strawberries, and mint chocolate chip ice cream. Matt Shiel actually managed to get them to make a funnel cake with deep fried Oreos IN IT.

We returned to the hotel happy and stuffed. I passed out, but the aforementioned nest building ensued. Josh or Adam can give you the detailed run down.

Sunday was relatively low-key. We lost our second game, and were done for the day at around 1pm. Then, the heavens opened up and it started POURING. Games were delayed, then teams eventually started bailing. Julie was kind enough to offer us a ride back to BWI; we got in the car at 2:30 and arrived at the airport at 7:15pm. I was seriously worried that our airline wouldn't let us get back on our flight due to getting off in Philly on Friday--the customer service rep on the phone sounded pretty foreboding. However we get the BWI and the line is long and there's only one rep working. We get bumped to the front of the line because our plane was leaving relatively soon. The e-ticket kiosk gives us some trouble, so the one rep comes over, gets our passports, and hands us our tickets, just like that. We think she saw that there was an error with our reservation and didn't want to deal with it, and hit that big red override button. God bless that angry woman. The flights were happily uneventful, and 16 hours after leaving the shores of Wildwood we arrived at my house and promptly passed out.

Already looking forward to next year....

Happy Birthday to My Big Brother

2008-07-24T16:24:00.001-04:00

My brother Roland turns 24 today -- GOLDEN BIRTHDAY ALERT.

I'm not telling you what I got him because he might be reading this (I'm not sure though).

Anyways, Roland, happy birthday! I'm glad that we've made it through 22 years without ever making good on those threats of kicking each other asses when we were 8/11/14/17/etc, because if we had then you'd be missing out (because let's face it, he would win in a fight).

Seriously though, thanks for being there through the good and bad, and for letting me bear witness to your various hair phases, highlights including the mullet, dreads, and the Justin Timberlake fro. Also, thanks for scaring off all the people who wanted to ask me to Homecoming in Nashville - Caitlin was the best date I could have asked for.

I hope that this next year sees you going to med school in Germany and having all your hard work rewarded, and that the following years bring you happiness, love, and the peace of mind that you've got a little sister looking out for you. And great hair.

Love,

Julia

Desperate Measures

2008-07-24T16:04:00.000-04:00

Posted on the sidewalk (literally--I almost stepped on it) 1 block from my house.

In Keeping With My Last Post...

2008-07-22T23:48:00.000-04:00

A conversation overheard while walking out of my BART stop.

"....So he gets caught doing a hand-to-hand with a motha-fuckin' undercover and gets no time! And me?! I get caught doing a hand-to-hand and I get fuckin' MONTHS and MONTHS in prison...you feel me?"

Oh, I feel you.

My 'Hood

2008-07-22T17:04:00.000-04:00

Last night two women were arrested outside my door for either a DUI or something drug-related. Their black Escalade was also towed.

A little under 2 weeks ago a young man was shot at killed 2 blocks from me in a seemingly random act of violence, and the police hung up posters asking for help in their investigation.

Then, this popped up on SFist today (happened last Wed):

SFist Blotter: Valencia Street Stabbing Edition

A female was attacked on Valencia Street last Wednesday. It happened to the friend of an SFist contributor, both of whom would prefer to remain anonymous. Here's what went down:

Last Wednesday night, after a wonderful evening with friends I was walking home around 12:30 am. I was just a few blocks from my home and I was assaulted [between 15th and 16th on Valencia Street]. Two men in a large light colored van pulled up, the passenger got out and took my bag and stabbed me in the neck, then took off. From what I can remember I dropped immediately to my knees then began crawling up Valencia St.
Within moments I was found by a woman who screamed for help and stayed with me, wrapping my neck in her scarf. From there, it was a whirlwind of sirens, gurneys, and lights in my face. I arrived at SF General where they determined with a cat scan that the cut was about 1 1/2 inches deep and had cut into one of my main arteries. They needed to operate. The operation took about 3 hours and they were able to stitch together the artery and assessed that no damage had been done to my esophagus or my tracheal... good news.

This attack failed to make any crime blotters as far as we can tell. Also, no arrests have been made.

I feel safe in most parts of my neighborhood. My BART stop is prone to crackheads (I actually saw some smoking crack the other day, out in the open), and there are certain blocks I tend to avoid, like dark side streets. I don't walk around alone, or I bike most places. It just seems that there has been a sudden wave of violence in the city, and my neighborhood is affected somewhat (less than others, though). It speaks to the lackadaisical nature of the SF police force that they can successfully tow big SUVs but can't seem to make arrests stemming from violence. I dunno, this isn't meant to be a rant on the nature or causes of violence. I just find it interesting that I feel completely comfortable in my neighborhood, and yet these kinds of things are happening in such close proximity.

In other news, my 27 year old roommate Greg managed to walk in on me in just a bra and underwear while blow drying my hair. Hilarity/blushing ensued.