that rosebud girl

(nfl) pool fever

the epic nfl suicide pool is still going like the energizer bunny.

todd e-mails me this morning and says, “this is getting ridiculous.” so i e-mailed him back saying, “this got ridiculous about three weeks ago.” which it did.

then jorge e-mails me, lamenting the fact that they don’t get a bye in the pool. wuss.

no one refuses to die. i am in awe. i guess when you’ve got $220 on the line, things like that happen.

keep your eyes on new england and jacksonville this week. i’ve stopped saying this is the week the pool will die. because it still won’t happen. at this rate, i want them to get to the end of the regular season … though i have no provisions for what should happen if there is still a regular-season tie.

by the way, i am still alive in my own redo pool. maybe i should pick one of todd’s or jorge’s teams from here on out …

damn you, notre dame!

i’m sitting at work watching the stanford-notre dame game and watching the damn cardinal blow it. not more than two minutes after the game ends, my extension rings. so i pick up the phone, and immediately, a recording of the notre dame fight song begins to play. it runs its course, and the person hangs up.

i’m pretty sure i know who that was. robert is such a dinglenut. he knows how much i hate the nd fight song.

it was damn funny, though.

but he should have talked to me! i haven’t heard from him since he left the bee. dork.

now, back to work. i’m still pissed stanford couldn’t pull off the upset. i just wanted to see the irish lose!

giving thanks.

non-monday holidays always throw me off. thanksgiving had me all screwed up. i kept forgetting that friday was kind of a regular day. but anyway.

my thanksgiving was low-key. just lunch at home. then i had to work. speaking of work, i haven’t had a day off yet this week. only one — sunday. (i am having a gannett flashback.) not that it’s really a big deal, but well, i’ve had 13 billion projects to take care of.

in the vein of thanksgiving, i am totally thankful to be in one piece. and able to put one foot in front of the other. because i almost got into a car accident on friday! it wasn’t high-speed or insane or anything, but it was a near-accident. it would have totally been my fault! and i tell you, there’s nothing like watching a car pass mere inches in front of you and knowing you got lucky!

so ed and i are barely a block from home. we were on our way to natomas. i needed to do some shopping at michaels. but i’m at an intersection and look both ways because i don’t have the right of way. looks all clear. so i pull into the intersection. just as i do that, ed starts yelling, “whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!” and there’s this car (coming from the driver’s side) barreling through the intersection. as soon as ed starts yelling, i hit the brakes. (thank goodness for excellent brakes.) i stop and totally think this car is going to catch the front corner of my car and i’m totally screwed. but the car passes in front, mere inches from the bumper. ed’s like, “did he hit you?” and i’m like, “nope. barely.” and another car goes through the intersection and i back up and breathe. holy crap.

i was so scared. i wanted to cry. wow. but we went about our way without further incident.

other than that, not much else.

and this is a week late, but here is my favorite picture from last week’s tailgate:

me and the rayo boys (three-quarters of them, that is). we’re trying to be all gangsta. i became a member of the headband crew for a day. and?i got a black & mild out of it (it’s a ghetto thing).

by the way, that was the best tailgate food ever! i asked for ethnic bbq and got it — jamaican jerk chicken, some empanada-like things, and fried plantains. sweet! jabari and his homeboys hooked it up. i ate far too much (which is probably why i had a mere one beer). that, and the drive was exhausting!

okay, back to a football saturday. and 13 billion projects. and brunch. ed is cooking. that makes him super awesome.

a rail adventure.

every so often, some shady folks ride public transportation. not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s true. usually, i mind my own business and just try not to provoke those folks. but sometimes crap happens.

today, i was on the rail … i’d gone to a yarn shop to buy more yarn and knitting needles (like i really needed more yarn and needles … but whatever). so i’m sitting on the train and all i need to do is go two stops to get home. the stop in between is the exchange point. so the train stops to do its thing and i can see from my vantage point that there is a fight about to break out right outside the train. one dude pushes another, and this is all just as the doors open and people start getting on and off. so the dudes are yelling and the guy who got pushed is trying to just kind of not retaliate. the belligerent guy pushes one of the doors open — dude’s carrying a mini stereo, by the way — and is all hot and bothered. he’s cussing, kicking things … and this is all happening at the door nearest me (but i’m kind of across the door and a couple of rows down).

then the crazy dude starts hitting one of the plexiglass panels that are right next to the door … and after a few big hits, he shatters the damn thing with his elbow. boom! shards of glass everywhere. this guy across from me in the aisle is all covered in glass. a few shards land on and near me, but nothing crazy.

crazy dude then steps off the train and security is on him asap. the whole thing happened in a matter of minutes.

that was my adventure for the day.

phew.

as edgar put it, we learned something on saturday:

never, ever, ever schedule fresno state again. or at least, don’t schedule a team with that much senior leadership.

so ed and i did end up going to the fresno state game … and the alma mater damn near gave us a heart attack. i swear, it was the most tense game i’ve been to in a while. it was more tense watching this than watching this year’s notre dame game. holy crap.

but i did get to see the sickest Reggie Bush run ever (probably the greatest run i’ve ever seen live). i mean, the dude fakes going out of bounds, then cuts all the way across the field to score a 50-yard touchdown. unbelievable.

so besides all that general craziness, my saturday was okay. i am still breathing. but damn fresno state. first the 1992 freedom bowl, now this. they’re such bad news.

now i am in santa monica. with ed. on our anniversary. (happy anniversary, ed.) and i am going to go back and spend time with the hubby, dammit.

dizzying options!

our new house is going to kick ass!

ed and i went to the design center today to pick out a wicked ton of options. wow. it was kinda nuts. i mean, you get to pick everything, from the color of your stairs’ railing to the carpet to the color of your cabinets, what kind of fixtures, blah, blah, blah. it was tons of fun. and it’s nice to pick everything out and not worry about having to remodel or change things or lament the horrible taste of the previous owners or lament the fact that whomever owned your house previously was totally stuck in 1950s decor. yeesh.

ah, the joys of buying a brand-new house. seriously, though, everything is going to look really good. no crazy color scheme, just lots of beige-y, brown-y things, especially in the kitchen. i am super excited about the kitchen (and all the stainless steel appliances we are going to have). but it’ll be a nice-looking house. lots of room for accents and whatnot.

now we just have to wait for them to finish building it. and find a way to pay for it, of course.

tomorrow, we are going to la. bright and early too. ugh. but it’ll be cool. i want some food. and we are staying in santa monica in some swanky place. i’m down with that.

i also got a boatload of packages today. i went to the post office with a slip and they handed me an actual bin. cool. we got home later from the design center and i had another slip, but i won’t be able to pick that stuff up until next monday. dangit. but i got lots and lots and lots of yarn. woohoo! now i need to turn that into stuff i can sell …

okay, back to work. i feel sleepy. but we have free pizza today, so maybe that will keep me awake later …

football, and kids.

wishy-washiness and indecision freaking kill me. sometimes all i need is for people to make up their minds.

first i was going to the fresno state game. then i wasn’t. then maybe. then maybe not. then a yes.

all because no one could figure out the whole extra ticket situation. but we got it all straightened out. it only took about 20 tries and three days. but i am officially going.

i’m stoked because, hey, it’s a usc game, and also, i haven’t attended a game with ed in a while. so i’m looking forward to general craziness and such. and good food. i don’t know who’s in charge of the tailgate this weekend, but i heard they had carne asada last game. and thai bbq the game before. i felt kind of shafted on my birthday … there were only brats there. bastards. so i hope there is good stuff this weekend.

on another note, i will have been married a year on nov. 20. holy crap. it flew by! that’s crazy.

it amazes me that i haven’t screwed this up yet. you’d think someone as screwy as me would do that. as someone i know is apt to say, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every so often.

i am the luckiest human being in the universe. thanks for putting up with all my crap, ed.

rizza and i also had this brief conversation about kids and about how my kids will be a pain in the ass (and about how i have always been a pain in the ass … even until now). i said to her, i expect my kids to be a pain in the ass, and if they weren’t, i’d be afraid. because if my kids want to take on their mother and fight for certain things, that’s fine with me. i don’t want my kids to be subservient and spineless. i will not stand for that. that’s not what my mom taught me. she is fiery and stubborn, and so am i. we rarely back down from anything. i like my people like that.

free-thinking, independent, self-reliant and free-spirited — that is all i want out of my kids. if they turn out to be geniuses and make far more money than me, that is just gravy. the other intangible things are far more important to me. oh, and that they stay out of jail. and not kill anyone. if they beat up a few unfortunate souls along the way, that’s fine with me. i’ll provide the two-by-fours (and teach them all the dirty fight tactics i know).

seriously, though, those four intangible qualities are what matter most to me. if my kids can make a sandwich, bandage themselves up after falling off a bicycle, walk up to and pay a cashier for a candy bar (with money i give them, of course), feed?and take care of the cats?and learn how to fold laundry by the age of 10, i will have done my job. independence is where it’s at! you gotta turn those kids loose with some real-life skills. they’ve got to be equipped to make it on their own without having to call mom and dad 16 times a day (and if my kids insisted on calling me more than three times a day with non-emergency issues they know they can handle on their own when they’re out of the house and old enough to be on their own … i wouldn’t answer the phone).

is this really too much to ask? i mean, today’s children are so coddled. it’s frightening. i mean, there’s nothing wrong with letting them feel a little disappointment once in a while. there’s nothing wrong with forcing them to think for themselves?and make some of their own choices early on.?makes ‘em stronger. and you can’t do everything for them. if one of them decides that he or she wants to learn how to fix his or her own bicycle at the mere age of 11, i’ll hand him or her a wrench. that’s the kind of self-reliance i want to see.

phew. end of semi-rant.

by the way, ed and i got to pick out some of the electrical options in our new house today. i am excited. we also got to ask for our jetted tub in the master bedroom. sweet!

tomorrow, we will go to the design center and really get to the bulk of the options — carpet, cabinets, flooring, whatnot. should be oodles of fun.

lastly, i just found out H&M is opening a store in san francisco this weekend. do you know how wickedly important this is to my life?! i have to go. and i’ll probably wind up spending $150 on like, 10 different pieces of clothing. geez! but this is such a momentous occasion since i will now no longer have to pine to go back to delaware (or chicago, for that matter) in order to go to H&M.

ah, the small things in life make me happy.

the many moods of me.

okay, let’s see how many highs and lows we can go through in the span of, say, 36 hours.

on saturday morning, i was excited.

paperwork got signed. wad of cash exchanged hands. house buying is more or less official. yay. now we need a formal mortgage. but that is a different story. but on thursday we get to pick out lighting. and we will possibly take a trip to the design center and pick out carpet and crap.

saturday afternoon, i was stoked.

usc beat the hell out of cal. winning streak is at 32. freaking sweet.

saturday night, i was happy.

pete called me around midnight, just after i got off work (i was home already). he called me about a girl (he usually does … i am his unpaid psychologist/adviser/general shoulder to lean on and occasionally cry on). a girl who wants to be his friend. sounds like the makings of a cool friendship. i am happy for him.

later saturday night, i was tired.

hey, i had to work. and i knit quite a bit. my fingers ache.

sunday morning, i was in a pretty good mood.

ed and i had brunchish/lunchish thing at scott’s. his daughter is so cute! and she is huge for a four-month old. we speculate she will be 6 feet tall. and will get a basketball scholarship. ha. seriously, i hadn’t seen scott in a while and it was nice to visit and chit-chat.

sunday afternoon, i was annoyed.

i lost an earring somewhere between scott’s house and mine. it’s probably on a street somewhere. i am teed because i just got these earrings like, two days ago. grrrr. i have a penchant for losing earrings. that sucks, you know? because what am i supposed to do with all these single dangly earrings?

i am also getting the tar kicked out of me in fantasy football. but that is nothing new.

sunday evening, i was pissed.

i find out i may not have a ticket to this saturday’s fresno state-usc game. ed thought edgar would have an extra. edgar tells me he doesn’t. i throw a hissy fit and say i will force ed not to go to the game (or LA for that matter) if i don’t have a ticket to saturday’s game. i think i scared edgar off. ed tells me to calm down. i’m still pissed over the whole thing. sheesh.

later sunday evening, i was feeling like a retard.

because i’m wrestling with the english language. do you know how many times i had to change headlines today? mainly because my brain isn’t processing thoughts the right way. i’m not saying what i mean. or i don’t know what i mean. something like that. english is not my friend tonight. (i had a much better day on the desk saturday.)

i’m not sharp today. *sigh* chalk it up as another mediocre night. this is why tomorrow exists.

right now, much later sunday evening, i am kind of flabbergasted.

i have a ridiculous list of projects to do. i need five clones. one to go to work, one to knit, one to do my web projects, one to do my jewelry projects, and one to be a bum. i need to sort out my schedule for the next week. and i have to visit the not-so-friendly neighborhood post office. *sigh*

so that is the gamut of emotions.

ah, death cab.

okay, some lyrics:

in catholic school as vicious as roman rule
i got my knuckles bruised by a lady in black
and i held my tongue as she told me
son, fear is the heart of love
so i never went back

but if heaven and hell decide that they are both satisfied
and illuminate the NOs on their vacancy signs
if there’s no one beside you when your soul embarks
then i’ll follow you into the dark
– death cab for cutie, “i will follow you into the dark”

have i mentioned that death cab kicks serious booty? if you haven’t heard the latest cd (titled “plans”), do it already! terrific stuff. it’s also a fantastic rainy-day cd … it’s all mellow and stuff. not quite depressing, but it’s got that rainy-day feel.

and you can’t beat lyrics like the song above. it’s quirky stuff. the first time i heard the above song, i burst out laughing in the car. because it’s funny to me. i went to catholic school for 12 years. it’s insane. it really is. i tell that to people and they say it explains a lot about the way i am. ha! i say i went to an all-girls catholic high school and things really get interesting. we catholic schoolkids are a pretty screwy lot. this is the reason i am a non-practicing catholic.

but anyway.

i am hoping to see death cab for cutie on new year’s eve. they’re playing at some rave/festival/outdoor thingy in l.a., and edgar and the krew may go. i want to go. i want to see the band, dammit. that, and the black eyed peas are playing too. freaking sweet.

i went and played some poker last night and lost a mere 40 bucks. not so bad. i want to play some more poker. edgar needs to hook me up.

i was also talking to marie today and somehow we got on the topic of filipino gambling. and we started talking about pusoy and about how more people need to learn how to play it. i told mike about it on wednesday and he was totally intrigued. maybe i should start a pusoy tournament. you only need four people. marie said she’d be down with it.

like i really need another reason to gamble. seriously. but cards are fun!

i also have this new obsession with yarn. like funky yarn. i bought some furry stuff i’m going to turn into a scarf. and lots of super cool handspun yarn that will make sweet hats and scarves. and i bought a weaving loom (i was inspired by marie’s super-cool woven scarves). it’s the perfect season for all that stuff. and i need to get cracking on making things. because the holidays are coming up. and i need to put more things up for sale. and i kind of need cash (gotta pay for all that yarn and stuff somehow!).

like i really needed more to do. sheesh.

on another note, i think the house-buying will become official saturday morning. ed and i have to sign the paperwork and plunk down some serious cash for the deposit. holy crap.

…

two prevailing, rather conflicting thoughts?

you only live once.

and i’m really, really, really, really sorry.

that’s all. *sigh*