that rosebud girl

the stone balloon.

wow…it’s almost the end of the month. already? sheesh….

last night, i finally got to hang out with pete. i took ed with me, and bill came too….we went to the stone balloon….i’d never been there. it was alright. i got broke fast though. we even saw mike corey there. he kept asking me if i’d ever be back on the women’s basketball beat, which cracked me up. i miss those guys at ud sometimes. they were awesome. but i’m still glad i’m not a reporter. hahahaha.

we all carted off to waffle house afterward…in elkton…i hadn’t been there in a while! no sketchiness in elkton this time….just a greasy meal. mmmm….waffle….hash browns…..

but i did feel a little ill this morning. i must not be able to absorb my alcohol as well as i used to. eeeek! that’s not good…especially for when edgar comes around here in august….

sigh…back to work…almost done here….

a scare for nothing.

i don’t know why i tripped out over the snow….it had stopped snowing by the time i left work and it wasn’t like there was 6 inches of it outside….just a little minor dusting off the car and such. the roads were kind of shitty, but not impassable. considering that a) i’ve driven in a snowstorm before; b) i’ve driven on unplowed highway before; and c) i’ve had the (dis)pleasure of having skidded into a snowbank and getting stuck — this wasn’t that bad! sheesh.

at least i am home now and will not have to worry about snow until tomorrow afternoon. and i didn’t even bother to try parking in the driveway because there was so much snow on it, so hopefully my car is not too out of alignment on the street….

uh-oh, snow …

so i’m at work right now…it’s like, 10 p.m…..and it’s snowing like a bitch outside. at least all the sleet and freezing rain stopped (the sound of which freaked me out…it sounded like the skylight at work was cracking and about to fall off)….but there’s now like, two inches of snow on the ground.

all the weather maps make it look like the snow will stop soon, but i’m seriously freaking out and wondering if i’ll get home. it was pretty icy out there already. my car was encased in a sheet of ice before i went to work and it took me 20 minutes to scrape it all off…sucked…worse, our boss made fun of me and made me feel like a jackass because i didn’t show up early….even when he called me at home to tell me about our early deadlines tonight….but i showed up late (actually at 6…my regular time….but i was supposed to be early) because of the stupid ice on my car….grrr….

i’ll stop ranting now…but i wish i’d brought a shovel to work….i don’t even have my trusty bucket in my trunk. *sigh*

more snow!

whee! it snowed on monday. luckily, all we had to do was go to the grocery store, so we didn’t have to drive far…

ed brushing off my car before we went to the grocery store.

our neighbor’s snowy car.

this is a dead bird facedown in the snow. it had been on our front porch just about forever until we took the snow shovel and chucked it as far as possible. it landed in the yard just like this. i think it’s on our neighbor’s side now….what a rude surprise when the snow melts!

snow makes the neighborhood pretty.

more houses down the street covered in snow.

things …

my life is so random….and so are my thoughts right now….

i was sitting at work today when i got a voicemail….my phone never rang, either (stupid reception problems at work). but it was pete who called. damn. i hadn’t heard from him in a while. and that’s exactly what he said to me in his voicemail. so he invited me to come hang out with him since we hadn’t hung out in ages….since my birthday probably….wow, that was months ago! but…i was at work….grrr….i was totally bummed! oh, well. i am determined to go hang out with him sometime. oh, the joys of working at night. sometimes it just downright sucks.

the usc crew is at it again….next year’s season opener is going to be on our coast, at fedex field….so we’re already planning for it. i’m stoked. i’m sure edgar will come….probably jphung and austria and their women too….it’ll be a big ol’ party out here. and hopefully everyone will stay at our house….and all sorts of crazy things will probably happen. damn. we need a party to make life interesting…..

i talked to mom the other day and found out my lil’ bro was playing basketball….he’s the starting center for his eighth-grade team at santa barbara….and he’s playing half-blind, apparently. i guess he doesn’t wear his glasses when he plays. i don’t know how he sees. but dad says he’s pretty good. i told mom to get michael contacts, though, and i think she’s going to do it. but yes, my beanpole brother is a basketball player. crazy. maybe he’s really good. i wish i could watch him play. and i guess i’ll have to keep checking the PDN now just in case his name gets in the paper. maybe he’ll get really good and be a stud player in high school. and then he’ll have to talk to the paper. and then i can say, “see, this is what i used to do for a living. blah.”

i went to the gym twice this week. i’m so proud of myself. but now i am very sore. my legs are yelling ow, ow, ow!

it’s supposed to snow this sunday. yeesh. but nothing major at least….

okay, now back to work….

smoother sailing.

i am back on terra firma….back on the east coast….

my san diego trip went well. i met everyone i was supposed to. (on time, too. no more cancellations.) i was really happy with the ceremony and the reception site….it was really pretty….seaside…sunset….i’ll have to put up a picture or something later. i was happy with all the vendors i spoke to and i already know who i’m booking. whew. lots of crap out of the way.

i had just one more minor incident before i left….on sunday, i thought i had lost my keys to the rental car. i totally freaked. i even had to have my cousin take me to my 10 a.m. meeting because i couldn’t find the keys. when i got back, we tore the house up….and then i looked in the car itself…and there were those stupid keys, sitting in the ignition. i am an idiot. so i had to call AAA to unlock the car, but got that done and went to LA….sunday was just a long day anyway because dianne and i had stayed up the whole night watching anime….yeah, we were on a serious binge! we stayed up until 8 a.m.!!! crazy. and i had like, an hour of sleep. and then there was that whole key incident. blah.

i visited maureen first at her new house….she and rob and joe haven’t moved in yet…but it looks way better than the last time i saw the house. they painted all the rooms a different color (so cool) and made all the room additions and whatnot. it looked like fun. i can’t wait to start fixing up my own house.

after that, i went and shot pool with edgar at yankee doodle….i won our first best-of-seven series….i almost choked away my 2-1 lead….but then edgar scratched on the 8-ball in game 6…so i was triumphant. it was one of my best pool outings in a while….i was actually sinking stuff…and making hard shots…damn….i need to shoot pool more often.

on monday, i went to see mark…we decided on wedding music…whee! we couldn’t hang out long, though, because he had to work….but at least i didn’t get a stupid parking ticket this time….

so it was a very productive trip. i am proud of myself. and i think i’ve fully recovered from the lack of sleep and very, very, very unhealthy eating habits. ugh. i need to hit the gym….

a minor disasco …

so i’m sitting here at my auntie vicky’s house in san diego….killing time until i have to meet my dressmaker….just about everyone has gone off to work…but here i am puttering around on their computer and taking advantage of their DSL….i need DSL…i am addicted to it….but anyway….

i got in okay yesterday. slept most of the flight. had a really blah omelette on the plane. but the day certainly wasn’t without its snafus….and boy, were there quite a few of them….

1. i waited forever and a day to get my luggage. everyone on my flight had already picked up their bags and i got totally paranoid that my stuff was lost. so i walked around to the other end of the baggage carousel from where i was standing…to the end where all the bags get spit out….and i saw my luggage sitting right near the start of the belt…off the freakin’ belt! i bet someone had seen my suitcase, thought it was theirs, looked at it….and then didn’t have the friggin’ courtesy to put it back on the stupid belt so it could come around to where i was standing. i was pissed. i waited almost half an hour. i want to punch that idiot. i could have been on my merry way half an hour earlier. grrr.

2. there were about 20 million people at the enterprise rent-a-car i went to. i killed another 30 minutes there. but they gave me a free upgrade to a full-size car. at least i’m not driving around a deathtrap car. they even offered me an SUV (for a small fee). but i can’t drive those things. but it would have been cool to roll up in a pathfinder. or some other big-ass SUV. too bad there were no escalades. then edgar would insist i drive us around on sunday while we listen to 50 Cent or Ludacris or something like that.

3. i was hoping my cousin mae was still in town. but i called her while i was still in LA and it turned out she’d left for Humboldt already. she was somewhere in Santa Barbara when i called. bummer. i really wanted to chit chat with her. and give her invitation ideas. oh well.

4. i had a meeting with a wedding photographer at 7. but i got to the guy’s house and there was no one there. i killed half an hour waiting and no one showed up. so i called him and as it turned out, we had a little miscommunication. he thought our meeting was at 6. oops. so i rescheduled. it was probably my stupid fault anyway. i am an idiot.

5. this morning, i was supposed to meet with a videographer at 10. but i called him around 9 to get directions, and as it turned out, he hadn’t written down my appointment (stupidly, i didn’t go and confirm it sometime last week). and the guy’s wife just had a kid a couple of days ago anyway. so i had to reschedule with him too. at least all my other appointments this week have been confirmed. or so i hope. now i’m getting paranoid.

hopefully, everything goes smoother from here on out…

wedding planning…you gotta love it.

at least i’ve been hanging out with my cousins….and i finally got my jamba juice fix last night! woohoo! i haven’t had a jamba in three years…..

i could be a homeowner!

our house…in the middle of the street….

well, okay, it’s not in the middle of the street. but it will be our house.

yes, ed and i put in an offer for a house. and after a little bit of haggling, we’ve got it. barring any wild and wacky things (like major structural damage or something dire like that), the sale should go through. we need an inspection. but otherwise, i’m totally excited. hopefully, we’ll move in mid-february. and hopefully, i will not be severely broke. lots of details still need to be worked out.

and it’s totally hit me — i am an adult. thinking about adult-like things. geez. how soon we all grow up. it’s crazy. doesn’t seem that long ago that i was futzing around through college. now i have a job, a fiance, and a house. and hopefully a new car. and i have lots of bills to pay. eeeek!

me as an adult is kind of scary. and i’m sure it’s scary to a lot of people who know me….

a national title!

USC Trojans…2004 national champions!

woohoo! just wanted to yell it to the world. ed and i watched the rose bowl yesterday…at a friend’s house…and he was a michigan alum….and yeah, we beat him down…ha! so usc is finally good again at football. too bad this all happened right after i graduated. oh, well. at least the new year is off to the right start….