Saturday, December 27, 2008

A Few Snippets from Christmas

I've been at my parents' house for the past few days, celebrating Christmas through the enjoyment of delicious foods and my mom's famous gingerbread cookies. A few recent occurrences:

I knew that one of my nieces was going to receive an American Girl Just Like You doll so I got her an adorable little salon chair from Target. They only show the purple one in the picture but the one I got was a really pretty bright blue and just happened to be just over 20 bucks and the perfect size for an American Girl doll. However. I found out on Christmas Eve that FIVE of my nieces were going to get American Girl dolls from Santa. It was too late for me to rush to Target in search of more chairs and in any case it is unlikely that there would have been four more. So they have since all been fighting over who gets to do her doll's hair in the one chair. Yay.

I picked up a sore throat from somewhere in LA and it has evolved to a stuffy nose and finally to a semi fake sounding hacking cough and feeling of generalized drowsy elation. Codeine cough syrup has helped but today I got antibiotics.

I went over to Jenny's house yesterday to visit with her for a bit and give gifts to her and Gabey. One of her parents' friends came to visit and, after being introduced she said "You girls better wash your hands after touching mine." That's it. No qualifiers. No "because I'm just getting over the flu" or "the dog might have been running through poison oak." So I was left to wonder WHY??? And then Jenny gave me chocolate cake and I went home for more gingerbread men.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Still in existence

Well I've been a bit absent online recently, but that's only because I've been enjoying my vacation to the max.... hanging out with friends and family, participating in leisure activities, Christmas shopping, and spending quality time with my man. I'm sure I'll have much more procrastination-in-front-of-the-computer time as soon as school is back in session on January 5 but for now I'm freeeeeeee!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

More self personality deconstruction

I have this friend, and when she is put in awkward social situations she often turns into this outgoing, super friendly and interested version of herself. Most people tend to respond positively and want to talk to her and be around her. I tend to want to beat her with a wooden spoon, but she's probably onto something. Because I evidently lack basic social skills. When put in awkward social situations I want to escape. And since I am catagorically incapable of expressing any feeling other than the one I am experiencing, I tend to stare around the room with a horrified look in my eyes. Observing other people's social patterns without contributing one of my own. Or else I will silently judge people for their poor choices (how's that for the pot calling the kettle socially inept??).

I'm not outgoing enough to strike up effortless conversations with people and I'm not self confident enough to just stay quiet without feeling awkward. I went by myself to the wedding of a childhood friend and I spent the whole time wishing I had just sent a gift. And it didn't help that everyone with whom I struck up a conversation-- her father-in-law, her grandmother, the caterer-- would eventually pat me jovially on the shoulder and suggest that I might like to go mingle with some of the nice people my own age. And hit the dance floor with them! Didn't I like to dance!?

The other day I was at the mall and I wandered into the Sketecher's store. I realized too late, when I was already inside, that I was the only customer in the store. This probably doesn't bother, oh, anyone like it bothers me. But I guess I feel obligated to make an effort to look around if I'm the only one there, even though I've ruled out all the shoes when I walked through the door on the basis that I'm incredibly picky. I feel the same way when I am one of the few people to show up at a crappy poetry reading or show of some kind-- I want to leave but I feel like since I'm there I have to stay because it would be much more obvious if I left.

"Hi," said the nice salesman standing by the door.

"Hi" I mumbled, instead of fishing my cell phone out of my pocket and pretending to answer it as I left the store.

The salesman very nicely asked if I was looking for anything in particular and told me that the store was offering some buy one get one half off type deals. And I listened. And then I looked around. And then a woman with long black hair and a Macy's bag walked through the door and I grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and said THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE. But actually I just walked out toward my freedom, represented in this case by a soft pretzel.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

A Thanksgiving Tale

The sun it did shine, it was a beautiful day
so we went for a drive out along the bay
We drove and we drove, my parents and me
And my aunt and uncle and their other guests, three
The kids visiting from France, my aunt's relatives
got to see just how we Americans live....

With the trees and the breeze and the blue blue sky,
we watched as the butterflies played oh so high.

We watched for awhile but grew tired and parched.
"Time to go" said my dad, back to the cars we all marched.

But on the way home, my sis called in alarm--
it turned out her daughter had broken her arm.

She'd been bouncing and playing and having such fun,
but now she'd need surgery, so my dad had to run
to the hospital ER, to come to their aid.
So he left the house while arrangements were made.

Without Dad or my sister, Mom and I made the best.
We served lunch and entertained our guests.

Then Mom said "it is time to throw all this away.
Crab doesn't keep, not for a third day."

"No, wait!" I cried out. "Not the yummy crab meat!
I will finish it all. I will sit here and eat."

So I ate and I ate. And it was quite a good trick.
(Though I admit afterwards I felt a tiny bit sick.)

We turned on the football, asked our guests to sit.
My mom cooked the turkey, I helped out a bit.

I mashed the potatoes, I mixed up the veggies.
(My mother and I were just a tiny bit edgy.)

"The turkey is ready!" said Mom. "So is the rest.
But wait. Where on earth are all of our guests?"

I turned and I looked-- it was true, they weren't there.
Not on the family room sofa or chair.
Not in the bathroom or bedroom; not in the hall
They were not anywhere to be found-- not at all!

And then something went bump!
How that bump made us jump!

We looked! Then we saw them step in through the door.
We looked! And we saw them! There were Things galore.

Thing One and Thing Two, what a strange sight to see.
And another Thing One, Thing Two, and Thing Three!

These Things in the house eating turkey and pie;
These Things in the house playing games, drinking wine.
These Things in the house when my father was out;
These Things in the house with no children about....

Our Thanksgiving plans had gone a bit awry,
but we had quite a time, the Things, Mom, and I.

Then my sister and family came in late at night.
She said, "How was the dinner? Did it all go all right?"

And really, I did not know what to say.
How could I begin to explain our day?

Would I tell her about it? Now what would I do?
Well... what would you do if your sister asked you?



Happy Thanksgiving!

Saturday, November 29, 2008

I'm back, baby.

Here I am in SoCal again. People keep asking how long I'm planning to stay and my fairly consistent response has been till they kick me out. "They" referring to the general population of LA, I suppose?

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

My sister just called to say that my niece broke her arm on the trampoline at her in-laws house. My mom's response? "I guess they're not allowed to try and go somewhere else for Thanksgiving; they just have to come here." No, seriously, we're all concerned about the little one and hopefully she will be okay. Dad's gone to meet them at the hospital and until then I'm here with my mom and aunt and uncle and guests, feeling that familiar awkwardness that goes along with my inability to make small talk. We are also eating crab so that our stomachs are nicely stretched out for tonight.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Twilight on the Big Screen

Because everyone was talking about how amazing it is and because my classes rendered me incapable of reading anything for pleasure that would require more than 12% of my brain to stay focused and because I tend to take pleasure in the vampire romance as a book genre, I read Twilight. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I was enraptured while I was reading it and I had positive things to say about it. But after I finished it, I started teasing out little pet peeves that existed in the book and mentioning them in a kind of halfhearted, nitpicky way. I would mention little things without being able to name exactly what bugged me about the book. Fortunately, when she came to visit, Jenny was able to put into words exactly what I had felt "When you're reading the book" she said as we walked through the streets of San Francisco trying to find a bar that might serve the likes of us "you're totally into it. Because she's a captivating writer. But then you get to the end of it and you put the book down and you're like 'What the fuck??'"

Exactly. Yes. That was exactly how I felt. I was thoroughly entertained by the book while I was reading it because it made me feel like something really exciting and titillating was just around the corner, just on the next page, just keep reading and you will get to it! But that book is SUCH A TEASE. All suspense, hardly any release. All semi-soft making out, no gettin its freak on. I'm not saying it wasn't exciting, but, well, not a lot actually happens in that book. In the final 45 pages or so there is some real action but other than that the characters devote a freakishly large of their time to talking about their feelings.

So when we were walking out of the theater and my sis said "That was it?? Noting happened!" I came back with "I told you, it's a MAGIC BOOK." Nothing really happens in the book, so ta-da, nothing really happens in the movie. I thought that a lot of good decisions were made-- like tweaking the plot so there was an actual story arc. And removing whole sections of dialogue but keeping enough to make the hardcore fans happy. And making Jacob Black a-freakin-dorable (in a totally harmless way, I swear. I KNOW he's only 16. Sigh).

And even though it had many ridiculous moments (at one point my sis leaned over to me and asked, "are Edwards lips getting redder and redder between frames? Are his cheekbones getting more pronounced??") actually, I could possibly be talked in to going to see that movie again. Because I'm a sucker for the slow-motioney bits and the intense stares and the uniquely beautiful people and the music buildup. I'm totally the person who gets hoodwinked in to buying something because it comes in a pretty package or because the salesperson flatters me into it. I can be quite the airhead consumer. And I also know that the Hollywood gloss won't be quite as shiny on the small screen so I'll need to see it in the theater if I ever want to see it again. Which I guess I kinda do.... Damn it.

Vacation: Week 1

So I am officially into the first week of my glorious glorious winter break that is glorious. Here's a little update on how I've been spending my time:

Eating delicious foods prepared by my mother or paid for by my sister.

Going to movies-- Bond, Twilight, Bolt.

Child-wrangling.

Sitting on my ass.

Hm. I guess that's pretty much it.

I had been planning to decompress in my SF apartment for a few days and enjoy the beginning of my break without going anywheres, but my sis called me up and shamed me in to coming to my parents' house. This has worked out splendidly as it allows me a legitimate excuse to not really do anything-- "I'm spending some time with my family."

Monday, November 24, 2008

It feels a little like drinking chocolate syrup and benadryl

Freedom.

Finished my last Med-Surg clinical and thus my second quarter of nursing school on Friday. Have been suspended in a blissful cloud of glitter and rose petals ever since.

I love everything.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

My weekend: A series of conversations

At 7:30 pm on Friday following an exhausting day at clinical-
Jenny: So do you wanna go out tonight?
Jules: I dunno. I'm kind of exhausted. I don't think I'm up for it.
Jenny: You're no fun!
Jules: Well I've been on my feet all day... since 6:30...
Jenny: I didn't say it wasn't legitimate. I just said you're no fun.
Jules: Fine. Come over.

While leaving the house-
Jenny: [takes off glasses and goes to "clean" them on the nearest piece of cloth-- a pair of jeans I had hung up to dry]
Jules: What are you doing?! DON'T DO THAT!!
Jenny: Jesus. Of all the things you've yelled at me for.... Of all the things you could have yelled at me for....

At the first bar-
Jenny: Can I get a vanilla vodka and-
Bartender: No. Beer and wine only
Jenny: Oh, um... a... Stella?
Bartender: You got it.
Jules: Same here.
Bartender: Okay [goes to get drinks]
Jenny: I had to try so hard to think of a beer besides PBR.

Later-
Jenny: Check out the guy in the turquoise shirt.
Jules: What about these douchebags behind us?
Douchebag 1: Did you just call us douchebags?
Jules: Oh, um. No. Haha! I meant... those guys over there. Haha!
Jenny: No! Ha! [engages in witty banter with Douchebag 2; lets him try on her glasses].
Douchebag 1: So those glasses really make you guys look smarter. Seriously, it adds like 20 points to your IQ.
Jules: Okay...


Later-
Jules: Check out this creep behind me.
Jenny: You mean the guy staring at me?
Jules: What? [tries to look over shoulder]
Jenny: Don't look at him. No! Don't look at him! No! Stop trying to look at him! No! Stop it!

In line at the club-
Jenny: We need to take pictures.

Still in line-
Guy 1: Is that a Trojan tattoo with roses?
Jules: Yep.
Guy 1: That's awesome!
[Jules & Jen meet the medical students. Introductions.]
Guy 2: So what do you guys do?
Jenny: I work at UCSC, she goes to nursing school.
Guy 2: Oh that's cool. We totally rely on nurses.
Jules: Um...

In the club-
[Jen & Jules stare around in complete sensory overload. There are no words to describe it....]
Jenny: What's with all the creepy weirdos?
Jules: What's with all the guys singing the song lyrics?
Jenny: What's with all the guys dancing with each other?
Jules: What's with all the guys in V neck shirts?
Jenny: What's with the music?
Jules: What's with the crazy people on the stage?


Later-
Douchebag: How old are you?
Jenny: 26 [holds up fingers]
Douchebag: 26?
Jenny: yeah
Douchebag: [walks away]
Jenny: Oh my god. He thinks I'm an old bar hag.

Saturday-
Jenny: I'm too sick to go to my conference.
Jules: I don't know if I believe you actually had a conference. You've barely mentioned it, you didn't write anything about it and you can't seem to describe it to me.
Jenny: Wanna see my nametag?

At Denny's
Jenny: Did you go in the handicapped stall?
Jules: [confused look]
Jenny: In the bathroom? Did you see the little short toilet? Oh, wait. Did you not go to the bathroom?
Jules: I haven't left the table.

In a bar-
Jules: Two Kamakazi shots please.
Bartender: That's ten dollars.
Jules: [tries to hand him credit card]
Bartender: You don't have cash?
Jules: No.
Bartender: You don't have ten dollars cash?
Jules: No.
Bartender: [sighs in frustration]
Later-
Jenny: Can I get a Stella please?
Bartender: Do you have cash?
Jenny: No.
Bartender: Forget it; I don't have time for this.
[I feel the need to point out that this was at a touristy bar with no minimum charge policy, on a Saturday night, in Union Square in San Francisco...]

In the second bar-
Bouncer: [standing between Jules & Jen, staring off into the distance] I've been to LA in 1993..... people don't know how bad it is there.... it's pretty bad.... but yeah I went there a long time ago.... I've been to Philly too... it's pretty bad there....
Jenny: Oh one of my best friends lives in Philly, she-
Bouncer: And I've been to Pittsburgh.... I think Pittsburgh was the worst place I've been.... Boston's pretty bad too.... I've been to Boston.... [walks away suddenly to card some people]
Jenny: Um. What the fuck?!
Jules: I DON'T KNOW.
[Bouncer comes back and resumes his speech as though he's never been away]
Bouncer: And I've been to New York.... that's probably the worst place I've ever been.... Philly is pretty bad, though.... but I think maybe New York is the worst place I've been.... [walks away again]
Jenny: We're leaving.
Jules: So I don't remember-- did we say something like "Can you please list for us the cities you've been to? And were any of them bad?"

Sunday morning-
[alarm clock goes off]
Jenny: NO!
Jules: What time do you want me to set-
Jenny: NO!!!
Jules: Okay, nevermind.


You can read Jenny's version of the events here.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

almost halfway done (ish)

Tomorrow I will be halfway through with the second-to-last week of the second quarter of my prelicensure year of nursing school! Which means there are only two more quarters! And then a big, stressful test and then two years of advance practice training after that and then I'll be done with school, I promise!

I've just got to make it through a final, two term papers, and four more clinical days and then we get a big long break for December which makes me so happy I would do a little dance if the invisible evil gnomes attacking my neck/shoulder/back area would give it a rest with the jabbing and rock-pelting for a moment.

Friday, November 7, 2008

America the Beautiful

About a year ago I signed up to become a "monthly supporter" for Greenpeace which means that they take money out of my account every month. Sometimes I'll forget and not budget for it and get confused about how much money I have. And then I'll go online to look at my account and remember. If I'm really broke, I'll feel slightly irritated. But never irritated enough to un-sign up, mainly because it would feel a little like tossing a lit match onto a giant redwood.

I recently drove from SF to Santa Cruz on possibly the nicest day of the year-- sunny with a light, cool breeze. And I took these pictures.







I lived in the concrete jungle of LA for 8 years and now I've moved into another city. Sometimes I forget how beautiful the earth is and how lucky I am to live where I do. But when I stood on the cliff looking out at the endless stretch of ocean (and praying for an earthquake not to come and tumble me down to certain and very painful death), it took my breath away in that wonderfully cliche way it does in young adult literature.

I'm feeling rather optimistic after the election since we will now have a president who doesn't believe that global warming is just God's way of huggin' us closer. Something must be done. Click here to support Greenpeace.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Julia's Delicious Hot Cocoa

The weather has turned a bit chilly so I've been craving winter treats. Here is the recipe for my lovely, rather decadent, chocolatey cocoa.

Buy the cheapest mix you can find. Scoop 2 to 6 teaspoonfulls of mix into a mug.


Add water until full. Place mug in microwave and hit "easy minute." Watch cup spin slowly around on plate in microwave. Turn away for two seconds to put the mix away and turn back to find that cup has boiled over.


Mop up chocolatey water from plate and wipe away chocolate globules from outside of cup. Stir vigorously. Enjoy!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Feeling better.

So I went to the doctor who had me move my head and shoulders while I shrieked "ouch!" at various points. Then he wrote me a prescription and told me to go home and lay down. And now, thanks to a lovely combination of acetaminophen, hydrocodone, and a sandwich, I'm still in pain but I sure don't care!

Monday, November 3, 2008

I speak in code to confuse my content crawler.

I was doing some online perusing and I noticed on Miss Grace's blog that she has an es-yay on numero ocho advertisement. I was mildly horrified but I thought maybe her content crawler had gotten befuddled since she did write a post about how she feels about that particular proposition.

But then I clicked over to my own blog and there it was!! An ad urging the inhabitants of this fair state to say yay to establishment and keep wedlock betwixt one human with a wang and one human with a vajayjay.

Horror of horrors!

It's okay with me when ads crop up on my page that don't really encompass my beliefs-- such as the depression ones that appeared when I wrote about my quarterlife crisis and the "find tattoed singles" ads that came about after I posted about my tats. But this is something that clearly has nothing at all to do with anything I have written recently, if at all. My recent posts have all been about Halloween, being crazy, cooking-ish, and how much my life exhausts me. NOWHERE did I speak out about my aditional-tray eleifs-bay regarding the of legal union of two homo sapiens of different genital organs.

I don't feel personally wronged when two persons of the same reproductive makeup come together, profess their love for one another, share a household and a life, and have some rights and privledges that go along with it.

I feel wronged by hypocracy, judgementalness, and the wasting of millions of dollars to fight something that does not cause harm. Shame on you, google and blogspot for allowing those ads to be placed on pages, regardless of the content of the blog.

Get the eff out there and ote-vay!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Halloweenage (part 2)

Well my one of my very favorite nights has come and gone once again. Halloween was fun, although I probably enjoyed last weekend's shenanigans even more. Friday night, I got home from the hospital, decompressed for a few hours, and started getting ready. Dan was throwing one of his Lodge parties which promised food, drinks, and interesting architecture. Since I like to wear as many costumes as possible as a general rule, I decided to go as a vampire. It is a repeat from last year, but I have the fancy hair streaks and I had bought some extra accessories. And my vampire costume involves considerably more comfortable shoes than my mad scientist costume did. Anyhow. I found my fangs in my jewelry box, put them in my mouth to see how they looked and they essentially shattered. Apparently the tooth mold isn't built to last. So I spent probably 45 minutes painstakingly re-melting the plastic, fitting it to the fang pieces and sticking them in my mouth. After a number of failed attempts in which the plastic gummed up on a spoon, a mug, my fingers, and my dress, I succeeded.

Kelly texted. They were calling a taxi. Awesome.

Thirty minutes later, I texted. Were they on their way? No. Still waiting.

At 11, Kelly called to say she was sorry but the people she was with didn't want to wait any longer so they were walking to a bar. Could I get a cab and come meet them?

At this point I was already exhausted from my long day at the hospital and I partly wanted to just heat up some cocoa and snuggle in bed watching Will & Grace. But I was already wearing a fucking Halloween costume and it would break my heart a little to take it off and let one of my very favorite holidays pass without giving it the respect it deserves. So I gathered my bearings and left the house, deciding that if I could get a cab I would go meet Kelly and if not I would make an appearance at Dan's.

There were no cabs so I took the train over to Dan's and hung out with some of my classmates. Twenty minutes after I stepped through the door my left fang shattered once again. I decided that, instead of half-snarling my way throug the party, I should remove the right one and spend the evening explaining that I was more of a "gnawing vampire." I failed at picture taking that night. But I pretty much looked like a vampire with no fangs.
Dammit.

I really shouldn't be irritated that my costume didn't work out the way I had planned because on the scale of things it's really not a big deal. But Halloween costumes are one of the things I'm usually really good at. In the past two years alone, I had some pretty awesome costumes.

I think I may have mentioned my Little Miss Sunshine costume from last year and how fantastic it was.

And then there was the mermaid, complete with dinglehopper.

And the zebra.


And this year is the first since Halloween 05 that I didn't reprise the Peacock.


I didn't wear it this year partly because Elena borrowed my feathers and hasn't returned them (well, I moved 300 miles away which made that decidedly more difficult for her).

And I have to throw this last photo in because I came across it while going through my old photobucket account and it's just amazing. Even though it showcases Miss Grace's jackass of an ex boyfriend I think it's fantastic. Plus, it's technically Gabey's first Halloween since he's curled up in her belly at 6 months gestation.


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Yam Fries

The recipe for my latest attempt at domesticity:

Go to store and stare aimlessly around produce section. Come home with, among other things, several carrots and a yam. Ponder what might have possessed you to buy a yam since the amount of yams you have consumed in your entire life could fit inside a medium sized purse. Leave yam and carrots in fridge for approximately 1 week.

Remove from fridge, wash, and dry. Admire these items for a moment and congratulate yourself on the interesting healthy food choices you are making.

Cut the yam and carrots into smallish pieces. Put them on a baking sheet and sort of shuffle them around in some olive oil. Add a few shakes of salt and pepper.


Bake on 400 for, oh, around 15 minutes.

Enjoy.
Pairs well with green bean orzo pasta soup, leftover breadsticks, and San Francisco tap water.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Halloweenage! (part 1)

Last night I went to Diana's for the annual crazy Halloween bash thrown by her roommate, Rico, and whoever he happens to be living with when the end of October rolls around. I was very excited to go to the party, partly because my first impression of Rico involved him explaining that he wasn't sure what he was going to be but that he has a whole bunch of different costumes. "But I'm not gay," he added as an afterthought. Here they are at the party:


And here is my costume:


It was pretty interesting taking the train over to their house wearing that. What am I, you ask? I'm a MAD SCIENTIST. Not "some kind of nurse" which was what several people thought. I had actually considered making a name tag to go with the costume, which might have helped. Something like "Lune McCrazypants, Scientific Researcher." But I ran out of time after dyeing my hair. And I also sort of thought my accoutrements would clarify my theme:

In case you can't read that, it says BRAIN SLURRY: White Male, age 43. Capture: standard procedure, near Chinatown. Comments: "Please don't hurt me!" It definitely looked eerie when I drank my vodka cran out of that jar. Those metal tools are my research/torture instruments. I bought the big weird fork thing and the tongs at Thrift Town a few weeks ago. I found them in Kitchenware(?), probably because they didn't know where else to put them. But I thought they looked creepy and kind of rusted and used.

This is me with my classmates, the Morton Salt girl (Evie) and Medusa (Diana):


And after a few drinkies we started trading props:

Evie wanted to see how my Brain Removal Device worked and I thought I felt a sprinkle.

Very nearly everybody was dressed up, which was awesome. There were some good costumes that I failed to capture on camera-- the loofah girl, the guy dressed as Frida Kahlo, the girl with cars all over her jacket who was a traffic jam.

It was a good time. Now I just need a plan for next weekend. And a different outfit, because I don't wear the my costumes twice in the same year. That's just my rule.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

OR you?

Today I am in the OR. It should be very interesting... They will give me special blue scrubs and I am supposed to stand behind the sterile field and watch the surgeries and not touch anything. Hopefully I will not vomit!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

dorkus maximus

A conversation:

Me: It's been a really intense experience... I feel like maybe I should write about it.

Jenny: Yeah writing about stuff can be really cathartic. And I like the format of blogspot.

Me: I like it too-- that's one of the reasons I switched over from Myspace. But I don't know; I think I might have to do it in a non-online format.

Jenny: Well sometimes I'll write in my blog but then don't publish it, just save it as a draft.

Me: Hm. That's a good idea. I do like blogspot's format.

Jenny: Yeah, who knew it would make such a difference?

Me: Yeah, really. Oh my god. We are gigantic nerds.

Jenny: Uh, yeah. I already knew that.

Me: Wow. We are talking about the level of pleasingness of blog formats.

Jenny: At least we're not talking about, like, going to Renaissance Faires or something.

Me: Actually! I saw a billboard for one when I was driving the other day and I dunno, I thought it looked like a lot of fun....

Jenny: No.

Me: But-

Jenny: No.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

football, 40s, fools, and fish heads

I kind of hate to admit this but I had almost semi-forgotten exactly how much I LOVE going to USC football games. Weird. I took a quick jaunt down to LA this past weekend to go to the game and see a few of my peeps. As a season ticket holder, I could have gone to the 2 previous home games but I've been too caught up with school and not wanting to drive down there and blah blah blah to be able to. So this was my first game of the season. AND I WAS VERY EXCITED!!! Everybody thought I was crazy 5 years ago when I bought my season tickets. "You're crazy," they said. And they were probably right. Instead of buying the student pass (since I was a grad student) or buying scalped tickets for the games I wanted to go to, I was spending, well, a lot more. But I'm very glad I made that decision. Good for you, Julia of the past. Now here's some other advice-- don't cut your hair off. You will regret it.

Michelle and I decided it would be a good idea to buy 40s and walk around campus before the game. Here we are in front of Tommy Trojan, AKA inspiration for tattoo #1.

Normally I am categorically against wearing a scarf and a tank top-- it's too "combination of the seasons" like wearing ski pants and flip flops or a mini skirt and ugg boots. Although, come to think of it there have been many occasions when I wear my fauxfurry boots and a skirt when I'm going out on the town so I guess I don't really have any room to be up on my high horse. But if I saw someone wearing a tank top and a scarf, I might judge them. So I don't blame anybody who saw me on Saturday and perhaps judged me. But- the weather was nice and I wanted to show off my ink and I still had to wear something cardinal and gold. Plus I was drinking a 40 and all of my ideas seemed like good ones at the time.
Including the idea to 'take a bunch of photos at the game!' Since I have been going to the games for 8 years now, it is likely that I already have several versions of the following photos. But here they are again....



I took this flower picture as we were walking to the game. Michelle thought it looked hopeful.


After the Trojan victory, we were walking to the bookstore and out of the corner of my eye I saw this woman who had been walking next to us trip, stumble, and fall on her face. She had a little boy with her who said "help. help." in that faint, terrified way that a traumatized kid might. So Michelle and I hurried over to the woman whose nose was bleeding profusely. Michelle gave her some tissues and I jumped into Student Nurse mode and instructed her to pinch the bridge of her nose and apply pressure with the tissue. And then I found out how frustrating it is when someone doesn't listen to you. She kept just sniffing and swiping at her nose with the tissues and then putting them down. She wouldn't hold the tissue to her nose so she got blood all over her hands, face, and the grass around her. Great. So Michelle went to look for the public safety people and called them while I stayed with the woman and tried to help her with the tissues. She seemed really out of it and the little boy looked terrified.
I asked the woman her name. She wouldn't tell me.
I asked if she had been drinking. She stared at me.
I asked if she was planning to drive somewhere. She said "Certainly not."
I told her it looked like she was swaying a little while she was sitting. She said, "You are."
She definitely wanted to be left alone. Every few minutes she would say something like "Okay. Thank you." which clearly meant "LEAVE ME ALONE NOW." But if there's one thing I'm good at it's sticking around whether I'm wanted or not and was also concerned about the little boy so I stayed with them until the public safety guys showed up. Then we told them what had happened, I alcohol swabbed the hell out of my hands, and Michelle and I took off for the bookstore where I rewarded myself with a new sweatshirt.

I got to spend some time with C which was really nice, and then on Sunday afternoon I drove back up to SF. I arrived at my apartment where Kelly was Bowiesitting for me. She opened the door and said "Hey! Welcome home! How was LA? Oh, just to warn you there's a big bag of fish heads in the bathroom."

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

There are NO CUTE GUYS in Santa Cruz

Jenny and I have long been of the understanding that there are NO CUTE GUYS in Santa Cruz. If you think there are, you haven't been outside the county and you are wrong. There are no cute guys in Santa Cruz. There are beautiful girls. Plenty of them. And there are okay looking guys. And there are cuteish guys. And there are guys who surf. And since there are plenty of beautiful girls and a staggering lack of cute guys, these okay guys and cuteish guys and guys who surf have a disproportionate number of beauties vying for their attention. If there is a cute guy, you can guarantee he is either at the center of a circle of girls or being shielded from them by his girlfriend. And maybe it's a relative thing, too, because there are lots of different kinds of cute-- nerdy cute, funky cute, interesting cute, wonderful personality cute.... I think maybe one of the reasons I stand by the assessment that there are NO CUTE GUYS in Santa Cruz is that so many of them are such jerks. Since they are constantly getting hit on by pretty ladies, they seem to develop these "hotter than thou" personalities. Which is really obnoxious because, well, they're not.

I was at a party a few years ago and I tapped a boy on the shoulder because he was wearing a tee shirt that had the name of a beer from Fiji. I had been to Fiji a few months before and I was curious to know if he had been there too. He answered my questions in a polite, yet over-the-top uninterested way. His mouth was saying "I was there on a surf trip" but his eyes were saying I'm soooo not stoked about you, regular-looking girl. I'm out of your league! I'm gonna get me some pussy tonight from one of these gorgeous girls! They will hit on me! Because I surf!!
Hey, asshole, I'm not interested in you either. I was really just trying to be polite and not spend the party glaring around the room and thinking this town really has no cute guys. Yes. That includes you. That is the only reason girls hit on you-- you are mediocre looking and you surf and you are surrounded by other mediocre guys and gorgeous, gorgeous girls. Regular girls like me don't stand a chance. The odds are devastatingly in your favor, you tool.

Anyhow, I just wanted to make sure that we are clear on the fact that there are no cute guys in Santa Cruz before I tell this story. I'm not sure if I can do it justice. You have to imagine that Miss Grace is high on cold medicine and is basically telling the following story as if it were one long, continuous sentence:

"So I was at work a couple weeks ago and I was sitting on the bench outside eating lunch and we saw this guy ride by on his bike and I turned to my coworker and I was like "that was kind of a fuckable guy wasn't he?" And then I riding the bus to work a few days later and this guy got on the bus and I don't really remember what the other guy looked like but I think it's pretty statistically unlikely that there's more than one cute guy in town so I think it might have been the same guy but I hit him in the face with my purse. And he had a bike with him. And THEN a couple days ago this guy came into work who I think might have been the same guy that I hit in the face with my purse and he had his pant leg rolled up like he had been riding on a bike so I think it's the same guy but I'm not sure but he's really cute and I think he might be. A cute guy in Santa Cruz! I don't know what to do!"

A cute guy in Santa Cruz! Or, possibly, three! Someone out there is doing their part to positively influence the demographics. Want to do yours? Here's what you do: Step 1. Leave the county. Step 2. Find a nice, handsome man and bring him back to Santa Cruz. Step 3. Have his nice, handsome, boy babies. Make Santa Cruz better for future generations of regular girls. Trust me, they deserve it.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Not exactly the 50 yard line

When I moved into my apartment I was considering getting one of those cable/internet packages, but then I realized that the wireless internet is mostly strong enough to work in my apartment provided I don't mind the occasional laptop-in-hand march around the living room looking for a signal. So I use my TV for watching movies and as something for my couch to point towards. And this was fine, until Saturday, when my team had a game. I called Kelly to see if she wanted to grab dinner and watch it at a bar. She was busy. And suddenly I was out of Trojan friends, which was something I hadn't really anticipated. And anyone else who I could have potentially talked into watching the game with me because they like me was already busy. I thought about meeting up with the USC alumni group at a bar they apparently go to in the city on game day, but it was kind of far away and I wasn't really in the mood to put on my being nice to strangers hat.  So I went downstairs to the clubhouse room where there is a nice big TV and settled down to watch the game there. But then around halftime some people who had reserved the room came in and started setting up for a party. I stayed until the air was thick with tension and they were all shooting me why the hell doesn't she leave already? glares.

And that's how I came to be watching the remainder of the game in the workout room, perched on the seat of an exercise bike.

slam dunk

You know how sometimes you momentarily forget what you are doing and go to put, say, the cereal in the fridge and the milk in the cupboard? Well I just threw my underwear in the garbage. Excellent.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Ways to avoid studying; all of which I did yesterday

- go running
- take a shower
- scoop litter box
- load dishwasher and wash pots
- wipe off counter
- go grocery shopping
- do laundry
- meticulously fold laundry
- meticulously clean out dryer lint catcher
- go to Thrift Town
- go to dollar store
- order compression stockings online
- put important dates into callendar
- put not so important dates into callendar
- straighten hair
- watch Sex & the City
- clip fingernails and toenails
- lay out clothes for the next two days
- organize study materials without actually looking at them

I have a test today. EEEEK!!!!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

The answer is, unfortunately, yes.

Last night, I'm sitting down to eat my grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup while watching a Will & Grace rerun and I notice a number of tiny black flakes in my soup. These likely represent the teflon coating that has been chipping off one of my pots at an alarming rate. But do I eat it? Am I actually that lazy? Will I probably get cancer?

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Ouchie.

So apparently me getting up at or before 5 am for three days in a row is bad. And not just because I can't seem to get my brain working and I'm having trouble writing any of these sentences at all, let alone coherently. I came over to Michelle's house today and declined her offer of going to a party with her and her boyfriend because I just couldn't fathom the idea of making polite conversation with strangers for the afternoon. Instead I took a luxurious shower and collapsed into bed. But then I realized I had left the timed heater lamp thing on in the bathroom. Which meant that it was ticking and I wanted to turn it off. So I stood up from bed probably too quickly, got a headrush, stepped awkwardly onto the ground with my right foot and slammed my left foot, medial malleolus-first into a dresser/pile of boxes. And it effing HURT! And, five hours later, it still hurts. Good thing I'm not, oh I don't know, in a demanding academic program wherein I'm required to run around a hospital unit and stand for extensive periods of time. Yep, good thing.

Friday, September 26, 2008

A good start to my day

This morning I stood in front of the mirror trying to extract an eyelash from my eye. Then I realized that what I thought was an eyelash was really just an exceptionally straight, dark blood vessel. Which basically means that I poked myself in the eye for 5 minutes for NO REASON. Oh, and that I'm insane.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Pac 10 Opener. Represent!

Well tomorrow is USC vs. Oregon State which is awesome, but also kind of suckey since I'll be missing most of the game because it starts at 6 and I won't even get home till 8 or 8:30. And I can't wear any of my USC paraphernalia because I have to wear my uniform.

Fortunately, I pimp my act with Trojan Pride on my back.

Forced Lecture= Bad, Forced Socialization = Good

It's officially the middle of week 3, not that any (and all) of us are counting. Today we had class in the morning and I was looking forward to coming home to prepare for the next couple of days and relax in the afternoon. But then Michelle informed me that she had gotten an email and was supposed to spread the word that this new student interprofessional lecture thing was required for all of us to go to in the afternoon.

And so I started my internal complaining that lasted for the next several hours.
I had some good points, I thought:
1. You can't tell us we have to go to a lecture on the day of the lecture. Not all of us check our email obsessively. I do, but you don't know that.
2. I have two essentially 14+ hour days (if you count commuting, which I do) ahead of me, so I desperately need any amount of downtime on Wednesday afternoons that I can get. I need to read my textbook and learn about my patient's diagnosis, treatment, and meds. I need to set out my clothes and belongings for the next couple of days. I need to eat an early dinner, take a hot bath, and put on my jammies so that I can trick myself into falling asleep ridiculously early. I need to get into my very specific wednesday afternoon routine because there is a very real danger that anything that disrupts it will render me incapable of getting the amount of rest required for the next two days!!!
3. I don't want to go.

But, being the rule abiding student I am, I went. And actually, I'm glad I did. Not because the content was particularly enlightening (note to scientists/medical professionals: when planning an event that requires creativity such as the skits that were performed today, it's okay to ask for help!! People have different talents. There is a reason why some people are writing the movies, some people are watching the movies, and some people are operating on the moviegoer who aspirated their popcorn), but because it gave me an opportunity to interact with my classmates outside of class. It was good, remembering how nice everybody is and how much I do enjoy their company. And it was probably good for me to be forced to do this because it is highly likely I would have otherwise gone home and sat on my couch. I think it would be pretty easy to let school and exhaustion take over my life and I'll admit I've let it happen to a certain extent.

So the lessons from today:
1. Interdisciplinary collaboration in healthcare is good.
2. I might talk big about skipping a lecture but once I know it's mandatory it's pretty much guaranteed that I'll show up.
3. I need to take advantage of opportunities for social interactions so as not to find myself home on Saturday nights with Bowie (no offense, Bowie)

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

A New Appreciation for Old Jeans

Well today was productive, but not in the sense of homework or school. I had to get out of my house so I did what comes naturally-- I went to Thrift Town where I bought a pair of jeans and a scented candle (I've been needing a scented candle for my bathroom because, well, it's Bowie's bathroom too, TMI?). I had thoughts of going to the bookstore and buying the sequel to Twilight, but after hearing that this New Moon book is similarly lacking in the hot and heavy department, I kind of lost momentum. So I puttered around my house, doing the dishes and organizing my desk, until it was time to have dinner with Diana. We agreed to meet halfway between our houses and I ended up getting there about 25 minutes before her (the public transportation system in SF, while superior, is not flawless) so I agreeably went to Out of the Closet. And I ended up finding another pair of jeans!

So, I'm rather excited. Because while many people do not believe me when I mention in the first time, I have a rather large posterior. I'm not sure why, but people seem to want to believe that "oh she thinks she has a big ass, but she's just a skinny white girl." Which is not true. It's big. Trust me. So anyhow, jeans that fit are just hard to find period, am I right ladies? Add to this the fact that my butt is a size or three larger than my waist and it can make the jeans-finding a rather frustrating exercise. Actually, it's not so bad now that I'm aware that having an expansive behind is actually not an undesirable characteristic. But in high school, when my curves started appearing in what I understood to be the wrong hemisphere of my body, pants shopping often reduced me to tears.

But in the coming years I've been able to find pants that fit. And actually the pants that fit BEST are Apple Bottoms, but I don't think I can get away with the flamboyant gold accents on an everyday basis. So I often end up spending far too much on jeans that end up disappointing me-- the waist is actually too big and folds out, or the legs are too long (and no I'm not getting my jeans hemmed, I don't have that kind of commitment), or they do that muffin top thing. But today I think I've come up with a solution-- thrift store jeans. They are cheap, often of a quality brand, and someone else has already broken them in. It's perfect! I'll just have to watch out for crabs.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Here, Content Crawler, try this on for size!

Attempting to trick my content crawler thingy into posting ads on my page that have something to do with things I love and NOTHING to do with.... um.... an idlife-may isis-cray.

Okay, here goes.

Some acceptable ad subjects!- roller coasters, satyrs, costumes, magic, unicorns, books, the ocean, pickles, scented candles, apple cider, kittens, buttons and bows, plumerias, music, unicorns, lazing about, hot baths, snow, making soap, pedicures, tea sets, holidays, presents, mall pretzels, musicals, football, pie, laughing, shooting stars, unicorns...

McFlabulous

Thursday- Got up at 4:55 am, left the house by 5:10, got to the hospital at 6 to look up info on my patient for the day, had our preconference meeting and got started with my nurse at about 7:15. Worked on the unit until 7 pm. Drove home. Took a quick shower, ate dinner, set out my clothes for the next day, kissed Bowie. Fell asleep at 10:30 when my head hit the pillow.
Friday- Woke up at 3 am for NO REASON AT ALL. Fell back asleep 15ish minutes later. Got up at 5:45 am, left the house at 6:00, got to the hospital at 6:45. Worked on the unit until 7:15 pm. Drove home. Went out to get a movie. Stopped at McDonald's on the way home for a double cheeseburger, fries, side salad, and a chocolate milkshake. It. Was. Delicious. Slept for 12 solid hours.
Saturday- Spent the majority of the day staring into space. Went to an engagement party in the evening.
Today- Woke up early with a new determination to GET SOME SHIT DONE. Ran on the treadmill. Lifted weights. Vacuumed. Put clothes away. Made grocery list. Went out to visit with Flynne & Tyler. Had minor setback and drove through McDonald's for the second time in three days. But by god them's some good milkshakes.

The Halloween Hunt Begins

I'm a little ashamed of myself that I really haven't gotten my act together as far as Halloween is concerned. Today I begin my quest for costumage although I'm frankly disappointed by my lack of ideas. Here's hoping that inspiration will strike me today!

Monday, September 15, 2008

gee thanks, google

Apparently the content crawler has picked up on my current sentiments because all of the ad links on my page are now things like: Midlife Crisis? Female Midlife Crisis? Marriage Crisis? Depressed or Anxious? MISERABLE AND ALONE AND WORRIED ABOUT HOW MANY OVA YOU HAVE LEFT?? CLICK HERE!!!
Good thing I don't let things like that get to me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some weeping to get back to.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Where's Waldo?

I'm pretty sure I know why Bowie likes our rug so much.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Second Quarter, First Clinical Day, Yay!

Today. Was. Exhausting. I just got home twenty minutes ago. And I get to arise at 5:45 and do it all again tomorrow! Yay!

I think I might have been just a teensy bit on edge today as a result of between one and all of the following: starting school again, starting clinicals again on a new unit, being too stressed out to eat much of anything, getting yelled at by the parking attendant, having my lady days come early, my recent depressed feelings regarding the loss of my childbearing years, getting into an argument and being given the silent treatment (albeit arguably deservedly), and losing twenty dollars yesterday. Failing at life? Me? Nah.

The good thing about today was that I got to have dinner with Flynne and her man, Tyler, at PF Chang's. Flynne and I were a couple of peaches since we had both had incredibly long and stressful days. Hers involved not getting a lunch break and mine may or may not have involved considering the long-term effects of strangling the parking attendant. I think Tyler's day involved wanting to drive an ice-pick into his eye socket but, since he's a gentleman, he instead offered to pay for whatever wasn't covered by Flynne's gift card. Yay!

I'm including this picture from the last time Flynne and I went out, a few weeks ago. That chick just came up and started dancing up on us. She smelled really good, though so it was okay.
And then we went back to the house where there may or may not have been some drinking 
and nudity and hot tubbing and Tyler won the prize for lamest Never Have I Ever, ever. "Never have I ever been so drunk I couldn't get up the next morning." Well then, my friend, you haven't LIVED. But, uh, thanks again for dinner :)
This may or may not have been my most scatterbrained blog post yet! Yay!




Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Shout out to Corporate America

After class today I realized I need some crucial items for my first clinical day of the quarter-- namely, a clipboard and some gum. I decided that the best place to find these and other, questionably necessary items was Target. So I called Kelly and we decided to meet there. I was inside when Kelly called to tell me she had arrived.
"I'm coming in the entrance on the left," said Kelly.
"When you're looking at Target from the outside?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"Are you walking in right now?"
"Yeah I'm walking in through the doors. I'm by the candy section."
"Huh. I don't see you...."
"I'm wearing orange pants."
"ummm"
"I'm hopping up and down and waving."
"Okay I'm going over by the doors... Is there another entrance to this Target?"
"Actually, I think there is one. But I'm going to go to the restroom, do you want to just meet there? It's by the pharmacy."
"Perfect. See you there."

5 minutes later....
"Where are you now?"
"Uh, standing outside the restroom."
"That's where I am!"
"You're at the Daly City Target, right?"
"Yeah."
"The one right off Serramonte?"
"Yeah."
"Are you in a parallel universe??"

We eventually figured out that I had accidentally gone to the Target in Colma, instead of Daly City. It was an honest mistake seeing as these two Targets are located less than a mile away from one another and have the same freeway exit. I don't even know what to think about that.

My MeMe

I was tagged by Miss Grace, of course.
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules in your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them. (um. I don't know if I actually have 6 following bloggers...)
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged. (hmmm. I'm pretty sure not tagging anyone will follow along with my already stellar record of failing at life. So that's what I'll do.)


1. My taste buds are apparently still developing. I was an extremely picky eater as a child. My family still teases me about the time in my life (23 or so years ago) when I would only eat white food. You know, cottage cheese, bread, rice, marshmallows. I started liking vegetables halfway through college. I started liking pickles three years ago. I started liking Bloody Marys two weeks ago.

2. With the right amount of flattery, I can be talked into just about anything.

3. When I am at my parents' house I like to rifle through my old books and read them again. The Ordinary Princess. Double-Yuck Magic. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. Someday, Angeline. Number the Stars. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher. The Babysitters Club. I pretend that it's because I just want something mindless, but really it's because I know these books can't hurt me because nothing that bad happens in them.

4. Silly words and phrases make me incredibly happy. Rabblerousing. Higgelty piggelty. Pluck. Noodle. When people say "I'm going to hop into the shower" or "excuse me, I just need to get into this cupboard."

5. I actually think my lips look kind of sexy after I've been crying. You might not notice because of the puffy, squinty, bloodshot eyes and the ghostly pale skin, but the lips really do become quite plump and rosy.

6. I've never been to Vegas as a grown up.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

A year late for my quarterlife crisis

Fall quarter of school officially starts tomorrow and when I think about that, it really just exhausts me. Because while I thoroughly enjoyed my time off, it also made me realize how all-consuming I have let school become. And I know it's only temporary and I know it's really what I want to do but it's hard for me to accept that I've sort of become this person who let go of the important things in her life.

You wanna know my life goals? My REAL ones? Here they are: to get married and have babies. That's it. Bottom line. That's all I have wanted out of life since I was about 16. To get married and have babies. School, work, career, hobbies.... pretty much just killing time until I got married and started having babies. And if I let myself think about it too hard and realize that many of my friends are already much farther along that road than I am and that I'm already older than all of my sisters were when they got engaged, it doesn't take much to push me into a sea of despair.

Because honestly? I have spent a long time telling myself that what I really wanted was a career and independence. I think it's partially because I was raised in a society where women are now expected to want that since we didn't have the opportunity in the past. And don't get me wrong, I do want to go to nursing school and eventually be a nurse practitioner. I want that to be my job and my passion and I think that I will enjoy it. And I want hobbies and friends and goals and pets and LIFE. But first I want to get married and have babies. Throughout the past ten years I thought that would happen eventually, naturally, on its own. Especially as I got older and, I thought, closer to my goal.

But it turns out? I wasn't getting closer. Because I'm not there yet. I know I'm only 26 and this isn't the 1400s so I'm not some old spinster. But even though I consider myself a happy person on a daily basis, when I think about the 26-year-old I thought I would be when I was a little girl.... I feel disappointed.

Monday, September 8, 2008

But we prefer the term "Ivory Debris"

Though we in my family all possess straight teeth, crisp grammar, college degrees, and a taste for expensive jewelry, I've always suspected that I at least had a streak of white trashiness. Apparently I come by this honestly, as evidenced by this pile of random crap in the yard:
Quite a hodgepodge accumulation. It is in a rather hidden, out of the way area, blocked from view by a plum tree and a fence. But it's there all right. Just like my love of PBR and Wal-Mart.

I did not inherit her love of gardening

I took this pic of my mom today. This is exactly how I picture her in my mind's eye.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Ways in which I have recently failed

I really thought I had it all under control. I know I have made big lifestyle changes and have had to give up a number of things. But other than that, I honestly thought that I had a pretty good handle on things.

A closer look at recent occurrences gives striking evidence that much of my life gets a big, fat, FAIL.

- I didn't realize that the first USC game was August 30th until 9pm on the 29th. Since I don't have TV at my apartment, I raced to my parents' house, calling my mom and begging her to prepare chips and salsa. I missed kickoff.
- I was in charge of the August CD and mailed it out on September 2nd. I had honestly been mentally creating the CD for a good 6 months. But then I got a new computer and I don't have an external hard drive so I couldn't instantly transfer all of my music. So I started actually making the CD and finished it in the early August 20s. And then I tried to mail it at Staples on August 29, but the saleswoman tried to charge me $22 for each package (of which there were 11) for some unknown reason so then I had to wait until I could go to the post office.
- I was planning to leave Bowie at my parents' house while I was in LA. I forgot to mention this to my parents until the day I was leaving when my mom informed me she wouldn't be at the house for 2 of the days.
- I didn't visit my former workplace while I was in LA.
- I flaked on Miss Jennifer. On her birthday.
- I was going to make CDs for my family members. I didn't get around to it. I decided I could still do it in LA but then I forgot to bring my laptop with me.
- I volunteered to bring bagels for my group's unit on our last clinical day. When I got to Safeway I decided that bagels would be too expensive. I texted the people in my group, saying I would bring donuts instead. I walked home, looked up a couple of donut shops, called them and asked their hours and prices. I decided that the prices were actually pretty similar and if I had wanted to save money I should have made cookies or brownies or something like all the other groups were doing. I also decided that I didn't want to get up any earlier than I already was just to go to the donut shop. I walked back to Safeway and spent 30 minutes agonizing about the amount of people on the unit and the correct ratio of bagels to cream cheese. When I brought the bagels in, I was greeted with "I thought you said you were bringing donuts..?"
- I asked C if he wanted to go to San Diego with me. He said maybe. I forgot and assumed he was going with me. I got mad and cried when he told me he wasn't sure if he was going.
- C told me about his friend's show that he was really excited about. I planned to go, but then I forgot about it and changed my LA plans 4 times.
- I drove Stef to LA and told her that I would be going to San Diego one of the days so I could maybe give her a ride. I drove to San Diego, but forgot to call Stef and offer her a ride.
- I forgot to call my sister back to tell her when I was on my way so I arrived at her house and had to wait for 2 hours.
- I made semi plans in LA for Friday night but ended up being too tired to drive back from San Diego that night and I didn't call anyone involved.
- I was planning to sell some of my USC football tickets to my friends while in LA since I can't go to all the games. I didn't sell any.
- I noticed there was no conditioner in the hall bathroom at my parents' house. I went to Target and came home with what turned out to be two bottles of shampoo.
- I forgot to clean out my fridge or empty the trash before I left my apartment for a week and a half.
- I haven't ordered my books for next quarter yet, even though classes start on Wednesday.

Miss Grace


We started our friendship in elementary school, wherein she would say "headlocks or pressure points?" at the beginning of recess and I would choose and Miss Jennifer Grace would ensure I received the torture of my choice. It might be this activity that led my mom to question if I really wanted to be friends with Jenny, but I did. Granted, my choice in friends up until this point was not all that great-- there was the girl who wouldn't share any (no, really, NOT ANY) of her toys if you went over to play at her house. And I believe I succumbed to the "you can be friends with me, but you can't have any other friends" line from two separate people. And there was the girl who stole my really cool eraser. I stole it back during lunch but then I was worried she would notice it was gone so I put it back in her desk. But my choice to become friends with Jenny was well founded. Sure there were (and still are) the bouts of torture because she was (and is) freakishly strong. And don't even get me started on the licking. But we also made daisy chains and came up with elaborate past life stories and she told me how to spell "October" when I had to write it on the board and froze because I didn't remember how.

We stopped going to the same school after 5th grade. And we both went to crazy (in their own drastically different ways) private schools and commuted and did all kinds of fancy extracurricular activities to try and get into colleges. We still managed to hang out occasionally-- I think I remember going to the Boardwalk pretty consistently every summer. And then in High School we would get, um, dressed up and go to the Catalyst or swing dancing on weekends. For the love of God I wish I had a scanner so I could share how amazing we looked when we got dressed up because my idea of "going out clothes" when I was 15 was a pleather skirt and stripper-high heels and Jenny usually wore a tiara.

In college she talked me through my first couple weeks when I was miserable and homesick and again at various times in the year when those feelings came back. She made me go to my first frat party when she came to visit. She told me to buy the water bra if it really made me feel that good about myself. We both got caught up with our own lives and excitement but we always managed to talk on the phone for ages even if we couldn't be bothered to drive the 2 hours to visit that often. Plus we both had weirdly parallel dysfunctional relationships that we probably stayed in much longer than we would have if we hadn't had each other as a commiserating sounding board "does your boyfriend tell you that you can't meet his friends?" "Yeah, all the time." "Oh, I guess it must be normal then."

And then she told me she was going to have a baby. Over email. And I got mad. Because she told me over email. And, to be honest, because I was jealous. And had my own issues. Whatever. But the thing is, I think I would have gotten over it much faster if it hadn't been her. Because normally if someone did something that bothered me or that I couldn't deal with, I would have called Jenny to bitch about it. I'd vent for a half hour or so, she'd listen and psychoanalyze me and I could move on. Except I had no one who knew me well enough or who knew that was what I needed and I didn't know how to deal with it, so I got weird and awkward. But I knew my feelings were odd and inappropriate so I did my level best to disguise them and overcompensate. And then I did get over it, which is good because Gabey's two and a half now so I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be talking if I hadn't been able to move past it....

And the crazy thing is? We've stayed friends. I think it's pretty amazing that we have managed to do that as long as we have. I mean, there are those people you've known for a long time so you feel like you kind of have to be friends with them but you wouldn't necessarily choose them as a friend if you met them tomorrow, am I right? But even though our upbringings were different and our lives have taken very diverse pathways, we have a lot of odd similarities. We both thrive on attention and validation. We can't concentrate at concerts. We are both borderline (??) OCD. We both have semi-exhibitionist ways and like to hang out naked. Wait, that sounded weird- no, we don't hang out naked together. We both have strange, very real fears of people in large costumes and finding severed heads behind shower curtains. We have similar life goals.

Jenny tells me what I want (to eat, to wear, to do with my life) and she's usually right on the money. She got drunk with me over the phone when I was depressed and hysterical. She knits. She accepts the hard parts of her life with a strength and grace that I don't know if I could possess. She liberally uses the phrase "that's against my religion." She genuinely enjoys ironing. If you ask her to, she will dance for you. She will also spoon you with or without your permission. She generously tips waitstaff and bartenders. She's something like a third generation atheist. She DOES NOT CRY. Miss Grace is at the top of a very short list of people I would pick to accompany me on a desert island (though with her coloring, I think she would probably break my fingers for making her live there). She's made it to 26 and I am genuinely excited about the possibility of what the next 26 years has to offer and what kind of shenanigans we might encounter.

And so Miss Jennifer, I hope you know how much I love you. You are one of the smartest, strongestmost beautiful, sweetest, funniest, classiest, most ridiculous people I know. Happy happy birthday, darlin.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

I've also watched 15 episodes of Family Guy

Well here I am in the greater LA area....
The drive down was fine-- my good friend and neighbor Stefanie decided to take me up on the ride to LA to visit a friend. We had a nice time for the first hour or so wherein she used the conversational skills clearly inherited from her mother (So Julia, what is your favorite movie of all time? Have you read any good books lately? How do you envision your life in 5 years?). Then she informed me that some people tell her she has "carcolepsy" and zonked out. I coaxed her awake with Taco Bell and David Sedaris and she was a fine travel companion after that. We met up with Elena and Jon for delicious dinner and phone envy at Houston's. Okay, I know everyone else already knows this but man iphones are cool! I always thought I didn't want a touch screen phone, but I suppose I can get over that for a phone that makes the noise of maracas when you shake it.
My car is still making the funny noise but I plan to ignore it and drive to San Diego tomorrow to visit 2/3 of my sisters and 5/8 of my neices and nephews!

Sunday, August 31, 2008

While browsing through my mom's computer

I came across these photos from my childhood.

I was quite the little cutie pie, wasn't I? Miss Jennifer and I recently revisited the subject of our idyllic childhoods. I think this one of me and my daddy captures that pretty well:
This is pretty much the epitome of my stylishness (that's me on the rock). I don't think my taste in clothes has evolved much farther since then:
I was a rather accomplished athlete once upon a time... you'll notice here that I'm about to shoot right past these three boys. Got my all-white racing suit on, I'm more than prepared to leave you, Mr. Pink Hat, and all your friends in the dust:

Definitely starting to enter my gangly/awkward period. Check out my subtle tribute to the Santa Cruz Fire Department. Not sure where that came from, but it certainly matches my shirt.
I actually like this photo because I am pretty sure that it was taken before my grandmother got sick, but after I was old enough to appreciate just how wonderful she really was.

Anyone else miss my long hair?

Will somebody remind me of this post the next time I think it will be a fun or interesting or good idea to chop my hair off?Every time I do it I remember why I spend the next 3-7 years growing it back. And then when it's long I start to think it might be cute short, and I would use less shampoo, and maybe now that I'm older and know more about hair care it will look better short than it did the last time. Not so.

Because I have grown it out and cut it short several times, I am sure this idea will cross my mind again. So when that happens, please, SOMEBODY SAVE ME FROM MYSELF.