So evidently 2009 is ending tonight. I'm not really sure where the past 365 days went, but that's what the calendar tells me.
I guess it's been a pretty eventuful year. During 2009 I graduated from college, got very tan, moved from California to Boston, (sadly) lost my tan, started my first real job... and then there are some other things I'd better not mention here.
I think the strangest part about 2010 will be not being a student anymore. Because in school, it seemed like every year was going to be different... different schedule, different things to be learned, different people to meet. And of course in school, you are working toward the ultimate goal of earning a degree. So it always seemed like graduation served as some kind of driving purpose behind the things I was doing, or at least some kind of reward at the end. But I'm not sure how I like post-graduated life. If getting a degree has been my goal for the past 4... 8?... or maybe even 16 years if you consider all those long years of education leading up to this point... then what is my goal supposed to be now? Because I have a job, and while I guess I'm glad not to be unemployed and bumming around right now, I can't say that the "real" world actually seems real or meaningful at all, or that I have any long-term goals related to this world. Maybe to survive through my first year at this job and come out with some kind of a personality in tact, but that's about it.
After that... well. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be waiting around for some kind of magical enlightening moment to occur where I suddenly become wise and understand the secrets of the world, or if I'm supposed to be figuring those out for myself. Personally I think it would be nice if a white owl named Hedwig would just come along and tell me.
Sometimes life seems like it's going to take a really, really long time. I'm pretty sure that it's not, and that I'll end up becoming one of those slightly annoying old ladies who goes around exclaiming how time has flown by. But right now I can't even imagine what it will be like to be 30, or 40, or maybe even 25. It's weird not to be measuring time in terms of academic years, or summer vacations, or whatever else I've been doing up til this point. Maybe everything is going to blur together now. I'm not sure if I like that.
Anyway. It looks like my sunny 60-degree Californian Christmas will be followed by a very cold, white New Year in Boston.
Remember to wear you red or yellow undies at midnight, depending on what you want the new year to bring. Red is for love, yellow is for wealth. Don't ask me where I got that from because I don't remember. Just do it.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
No thanks.
I just saw a commercial suggesting that a GREAT gift for a new bride would be a basket filled with cleaning supplies.
Ummm....
When I get married, please do not get me a basket of cleaning supplies. Unless maybe it comes with a coupon for you to come over and clean. Thanks.
Ummm....
When I get married, please do not get me a basket of cleaning supplies. Unless maybe it comes with a coupon for you to come over and clean. Thanks.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Dreams
Last night I had some pret-ty strange dreams.
I dreamt that I was on a boat, and in a raft, and floating in the ocean. Ironically, I floated into a forest at some point, and explored some old deserted houses, and then floated away again. It was a long night of floating and splashing. But I remember feeling completely happy and unrestricted and free by the end... who knew that floating could be so liberating?
I dreamt that Memorial day was the Monday after Thanksgiving. Except I mistakenly thought I had the day off when I didn't, so I accidentally missed work and spent the whole day floating. When I realized this mistake, I started frantically thinking that people were going to wonder why I hadn't been on Sametime all day.
I dreamt that my Blackberry was really, really, really big.
I woke up at 8 am and my mind told me to get up and go to work, because there was IT auditing to be done. And then I remembered that it was Thanksgiving and I told my mind to shut up and go back to sleep. So that's what I did. Happy Thanksgiving.
I dreamt that I was on a boat, and in a raft, and floating in the ocean. Ironically, I floated into a forest at some point, and explored some old deserted houses, and then floated away again. It was a long night of floating and splashing. But I remember feeling completely happy and unrestricted and free by the end... who knew that floating could be so liberating?
I dreamt that Memorial day was the Monday after Thanksgiving. Except I mistakenly thought I had the day off when I didn't, so I accidentally missed work and spent the whole day floating. When I realized this mistake, I started frantically thinking that people were going to wonder why I hadn't been on Sametime all day.
I dreamt that my Blackberry was really, really, really big.
I woke up at 8 am and my mind told me to get up and go to work, because there was IT auditing to be done. And then I remembered that it was Thanksgiving and I told my mind to shut up and go back to sleep. So that's what I did. Happy Thanksgiving.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
This Ain't a Dollhouse
What an irritating song. Slacker radio is awesome, though. It brings cheer to many a dull workday. (Found at www.slacker.com if you are also suffering through dreary days of work and require some musical cheer.)
Today someone was talking to me about skiing. She asked me if I knew how to ski, and then quickly followed with "I guess there probably aren't any mountains in California." Come on, Boston. Haven't you people ever heard of a little feat of nature called the Sierra Nevada mountain range?? It's kind of a big deal. And you thought Californians were bad at geography...
By the way, everybody one the East Coast skiis. I guess snowboarding hasn't made its way over here yet. Too bad. Nobody in California under the age of 40 skiis anymore. Well, mostly.
Today I had to wear gloves when I left work. Which makes it very hard to play with my Blackberry while waiting for the bus. Yes, I do finally own my very own Blackberry. It has an awful lot of buttons. But we are getting along nicely so far.
I discovered that a girl at work wrote on her blog almost a year ago about her "love/hate relationship with the idea of having a Blackberry." I swear I just saw this today. It was freaky. I'm almost positive that she has the same personality type as me. Which might explain why she's inside my head...
So tomorrow I intend to be very productive. Which I will then follow with four very unproductive days... also known as my Thanksgiving holiday break!!! No turkey for me this year. Just a hot date with my DVR and some much-needed time away from my life as a business-lady. I'm very excited.
Today someone was talking to me about skiing. She asked me if I knew how to ski, and then quickly followed with "I guess there probably aren't any mountains in California." Come on, Boston. Haven't you people ever heard of a little feat of nature called the Sierra Nevada mountain range?? It's kind of a big deal. And you thought Californians were bad at geography...
By the way, everybody one the East Coast skiis. I guess snowboarding hasn't made its way over here yet. Too bad. Nobody in California under the age of 40 skiis anymore. Well, mostly.
Today I had to wear gloves when I left work. Which makes it very hard to play with my Blackberry while waiting for the bus. Yes, I do finally own my very own Blackberry. It has an awful lot of buttons. But we are getting along nicely so far.
I discovered that a girl at work wrote on her blog almost a year ago about her "love/hate relationship with the idea of having a Blackberry." I swear I just saw this today. It was freaky. I'm almost positive that she has the same personality type as me. Which might explain why she's inside my head...
So tomorrow I intend to be very productive. Which I will then follow with four very unproductive days... also known as my Thanksgiving holiday break!!! No turkey for me this year. Just a hot date with my DVR and some much-needed time away from my life as a business-lady. I'm very excited.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
My New Love/Hate Relationship
I joined the world of working adults a couple months ago and very quickly discovered the secret to being a businessman/businesswoman. You might be as disappointed as I was to find that it is not, in fact, some sort of elite wisdom about the world. The secret actually revolves around the obsession with a single all-powerful, all-knowing little device: the Blackberry. Thanks to this nifty little machine, there is no longer any such thing as work life or personal life. It's all crammed together in some kind of 24-hour portable cyber-life via the Blackberry.
At first I was a little bit horrified at this discovery, and I kept thinking how I never wanted to hand over my soul to this deathly little thing. Then after a few weeks, I decided that Blackberrys are actually sort of cute, and maybe even useful. I almost ordered one, but it fell through at the last minute. I took this as a sign that the Blackberry and I are just not destined to be together. And then I had a few really crummy weeks in Businessland, during which time I decided that Blackberrys are definitely an evil, unnatural creation, and I thanked the universe for not sending one my way. And then I was riding the bus yesterday when I saw a young, perfectly-nice-looking girl pull a titanium Blackberry Curve out of its cozy little pouch. It just looked so shiny and harmless. So I decided right then and there that I wanted one after all. The same one, actually. So now I've ordered one, thus beginning what will likely turn out to be a powerful love-hate relationship. Don't judge me.
I am, however, vowing to keep my work life away from the Blackberry. No work e-mail, no fancy over-priced internet plan, no co-workers ping'ing me at ungodly hours of the night. Just a fun, innocent toy to satisfy my love of texting and double as a backup alarm clock. (Let's hope I don't drop it on the ground like I did to my iPod on the way home today...)
By the way, I just discovered that there is a Facebook fan page called "I Text in Awkward Situations." Um I'm pretty sure I have done this. See, Blackberrys might be useful for something.
And also, I think I have made friends with bus driver who drives the 6:40 bus leaving from Copley Square. He's super nice and he waits very patiently while I fumble through my bag in the dark looking for my bus card. He even let me ride for free on day when I couldn't find it. Today I left work a little early and got on a different bus, but I saw Mr. 6:40 on his break and he waved at me. What a nice guy. Too bad the 6:12 bus driver is not nearly as friendly. He drives like a maniac and never waits for stragglers to get on. What a difference 28 minutes can make.
At first I was a little bit horrified at this discovery, and I kept thinking how I never wanted to hand over my soul to this deathly little thing. Then after a few weeks, I decided that Blackberrys are actually sort of cute, and maybe even useful. I almost ordered one, but it fell through at the last minute. I took this as a sign that the Blackberry and I are just not destined to be together. And then I had a few really crummy weeks in Businessland, during which time I decided that Blackberrys are definitely an evil, unnatural creation, and I thanked the universe for not sending one my way. And then I was riding the bus yesterday when I saw a young, perfectly-nice-looking girl pull a titanium Blackberry Curve out of its cozy little pouch. It just looked so shiny and harmless. So I decided right then and there that I wanted one after all. The same one, actually. So now I've ordered one, thus beginning what will likely turn out to be a powerful love-hate relationship. Don't judge me.
I am, however, vowing to keep my work life away from the Blackberry. No work e-mail, no fancy over-priced internet plan, no co-workers ping'ing me at ungodly hours of the night. Just a fun, innocent toy to satisfy my love of texting and double as a backup alarm clock. (Let's hope I don't drop it on the ground like I did to my iPod on the way home today...)
By the way, I just discovered that there is a Facebook fan page called "I Text in Awkward Situations." Um I'm pretty sure I have done this. See, Blackberrys might be useful for something.
And also, I think I have made friends with bus driver who drives the 6:40 bus leaving from Copley Square. He's super nice and he waits very patiently while I fumble through my bag in the dark looking for my bus card. He even let me ride for free on day when I couldn't find it. Today I left work a little early and got on a different bus, but I saw Mr. 6:40 on his break and he waved at me. What a nice guy. Too bad the 6:12 bus driver is not nearly as friendly. He drives like a maniac and never waits for stragglers to get on. What a difference 28 minutes can make.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Haunted Housewares, etc.
My alarm clock is most definitely haunted. Just in case you doubted me last time I mentioned it, listen to this...
This particular alarm clock has two separate alarms, A and B. The other day, I set alarm A before I went to sleep. Like a normal non-haunted alarm clock, it woke me up the next morning with its cruel, mind-splitting beep. I dragged myself out of bed after a good half hour of hitting the snooze button and shut it off. By switching it to 'off'.... because that's usually how one prevents their alarm clock from continuing to beep. Well. Once I was up and about and at least half an hour had passed, the clock began beeping again. Out of nowhere. And not Alarm A, either. This time it was Alarm B. Which I could tell right away, because they have distinctly different sounds. Please note that I have not set Alarm B in weeks... haven't even touched it.
Now of course I am not completely opposed to logic, so my first thought was "did I accidentally turn on Alarm B at some point while I was hitting the snooze button?" Which would be kind of hard to do, since the 'on' switch is located on the side of the clock, nowhere near the snooze button... but that surely makes more sense than a haunted clock, right? Well I promise you that I checked and doubled-checked and triple-checked that both alarms were switched to the 'off' position. Which means that I had sitting before me a beeping alarm clock and no alarms even turned on!! So how do you even shut that off?! Not by playing with the 'on/off' switches. That did no good. I was kind of afraid to unplug the whole thing... because if it kept beeping after that point, then I would just have to move. So I finally got the thing to shut off by hitting the snooze button. Since I did that, I haven't heard from it since. Umm...
This is only one of many inexplicable incidents in the life of my haunted alarm clock. Why again did I move that thing across the country with me? Hmm. I think I might be sort of afraid to get rid of it.
Also, this past week was one of the worst weeks I've ever had. So much for getting off to a happy start with November. The only positive thing about it is that it's over. And it's prompted me to consider a lot of large life issues. Like what it actually means to be alive, and how I can best spend the time that's ahead of me. I'm not entirely sure what that involves yet, but I'm beginning to see what it does not involve. Maybe life is a huge game of process of elimination? I'll let you know when I figure it out.
This particular alarm clock has two separate alarms, A and B. The other day, I set alarm A before I went to sleep. Like a normal non-haunted alarm clock, it woke me up the next morning with its cruel, mind-splitting beep. I dragged myself out of bed after a good half hour of hitting the snooze button and shut it off. By switching it to 'off'.... because that's usually how one prevents their alarm clock from continuing to beep. Well. Once I was up and about and at least half an hour had passed, the clock began beeping again. Out of nowhere. And not Alarm A, either. This time it was Alarm B. Which I could tell right away, because they have distinctly different sounds. Please note that I have not set Alarm B in weeks... haven't even touched it.
Now of course I am not completely opposed to logic, so my first thought was "did I accidentally turn on Alarm B at some point while I was hitting the snooze button?" Which would be kind of hard to do, since the 'on' switch is located on the side of the clock, nowhere near the snooze button... but that surely makes more sense than a haunted clock, right? Well I promise you that I checked and doubled-checked and triple-checked that both alarms were switched to the 'off' position. Which means that I had sitting before me a beeping alarm clock and no alarms even turned on!! So how do you even shut that off?! Not by playing with the 'on/off' switches. That did no good. I was kind of afraid to unplug the whole thing... because if it kept beeping after that point, then I would just have to move. So I finally got the thing to shut off by hitting the snooze button. Since I did that, I haven't heard from it since. Umm...
This is only one of many inexplicable incidents in the life of my haunted alarm clock. Why again did I move that thing across the country with me? Hmm. I think I might be sort of afraid to get rid of it.
Also, this past week was one of the worst weeks I've ever had. So much for getting off to a happy start with November. The only positive thing about it is that it's over. And it's prompted me to consider a lot of large life issues. Like what it actually means to be alive, and how I can best spend the time that's ahead of me. I'm not entirely sure what that involves yet, but I'm beginning to see what it does not involve. Maybe life is a huge game of process of elimination? I'll let you know when I figure it out.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Hello November
Thank goodness you are here. I've been looking forward to you this year.
I'm very excited that you are bringing Thanksgiving in a few weeks. Not because I have anything fun to do for Thanksgiving... I'm probably going to eat sushi and watch Starz this year. But Thanksgiving means that I have TWO EXTRA DAYS OFF WORK!!!!!! That means two fantastic days free from thinking about IT controls, and two days without the shrill sound of my three alarm clocks going off at 6 am, and two days that I might actually be able to take long showers and do laundry and go shopping and stay up late... so many possibilities!
And I'm especially excited that you're only one page on my calendar away from December... which happens to be when I'm going on vacation for an entire WEEK!! And when I'm going to California!
If you want to be really nice then maybe you could even bring some sunny weather? I will promise not to complain too much about the 35-degree days if you could just be so thoughtful as to hold off on the rain and snow.
I would really, really like it if we could be friends. Especially after October was so mean to me this year. I'm secretly hoping that you and I will get along much better. In fact, if you can just be friendly, I will finally work on getting over June, July, and August...
I'm very excited that you are bringing Thanksgiving in a few weeks. Not because I have anything fun to do for Thanksgiving... I'm probably going to eat sushi and watch Starz this year. But Thanksgiving means that I have TWO EXTRA DAYS OFF WORK!!!!!! That means two fantastic days free from thinking about IT controls, and two days without the shrill sound of my three alarm clocks going off at 6 am, and two days that I might actually be able to take long showers and do laundry and go shopping and stay up late... so many possibilities!
And I'm especially excited that you're only one page on my calendar away from December... which happens to be when I'm going on vacation for an entire WEEK!! And when I'm going to California!
If you want to be really nice then maybe you could even bring some sunny weather? I will promise not to complain too much about the 35-degree days if you could just be so thoughtful as to hold off on the rain and snow.
I would really, really like it if we could be friends. Especially after October was so mean to me this year. I'm secretly hoping that you and I will get along much better. In fact, if you can just be friendly, I will finally work on getting over June, July, and August...
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Oops.
I live in apartment 35.
Last night I paid an accidental visit to apartment 45. I might have fiddled with the lock for a good 30 seconds, trying to open the door and get inside, only to wonder why my key did not work.
And it's possible that I may have done the exact same thing to apartment 25 a few weeks ago. And just never told anyone about it. Because I thought, "Wow that was really stupid. I must be in outer space today. More than usual. But I'll never do that again."
Sooo... does it count if I did it again, but to the floor above me this time??
If the residents of #25 and #45 are reading this, I'm really sorry if you thought you were being robbed. My bad. I blame it on whoever decided to make every floor in this building look exactly the same.
In other news, I love Michael Scott. Sometimes he just speaks to my soul. Like here:
"Quarterly reports are just unreadable. They're just numbers and boring and bleh. So what I was thinking is that maybe we should have some sort of graphic... like if we have a bad quarter, put in a storm cloud... and when we have a good quarter, fireworks. Or a race car. Now it doesn't have to be a race car... you can just use your imagination."
I pretty much just want to work at Dunder Mifflin Scranton.
Last night I paid an accidental visit to apartment 45. I might have fiddled with the lock for a good 30 seconds, trying to open the door and get inside, only to wonder why my key did not work.
And it's possible that I may have done the exact same thing to apartment 25 a few weeks ago. And just never told anyone about it. Because I thought, "Wow that was really stupid. I must be in outer space today. More than usual. But I'll never do that again."
Sooo... does it count if I did it again, but to the floor above me this time??
If the residents of #25 and #45 are reading this, I'm really sorry if you thought you were being robbed. My bad. I blame it on whoever decided to make every floor in this building look exactly the same.
In other news, I love Michael Scott. Sometimes he just speaks to my soul. Like here:
"Quarterly reports are just unreadable. They're just numbers and boring and bleh. So what I was thinking is that maybe we should have some sort of graphic... like if we have a bad quarter, put in a storm cloud... and when we have a good quarter, fireworks. Or a race car. Now it doesn't have to be a race car... you can just use your imagination."
I pretty much just want to work at Dunder Mifflin Scranton.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
When the Dryer Breaks Down...
THIS is how I have to dry my unmentionables:
I'm sorry if you are offended by this. It's just the exact sort of ridiculous thing that would happen to me. And of course I did not have the cash to run them through another dryer... oh yeah, and did I mention it was after 3 am? So walking to the ATM was not really a viable option. (The middle of the night is seriously the best time to do laundry! No wait for the machines.)
...so anyway, it was quite the predicament. Nice, huh?
I'm sorry if you are offended by this. It's just the exact sort of ridiculous thing that would happen to me. And of course I did not have the cash to run them through another dryer... oh yeah, and did I mention it was after 3 am? So walking to the ATM was not really a viable option. (The middle of the night is seriously the best time to do laundry! No wait for the machines.)
...so anyway, it was quite the predicament. Nice, huh?
Fall in New England
...is a very colorful experience.
Unfortunately, winter is not nearly as charming. It snowed last weekend... mid-October. However, I have decided that this was a one-time mistake from the sky, and that as punishment, the snow is not coming back for 2 months. Just in time for Christmas.
In the meantime, it will continue to be fall. I think this MIGHT be why I moved here.
In other news: work is crummy and never-ending... I spent a couple days in the lovely state of Texas this week... I spent one day in Providence, Rhode Island -- which is actually a pretty town that happens to be missing all lane markings... and I'm becoming slightly obsessed with boots. You can't be an East Coast girl without boots. If it were up to me, I'd wear flip flops all-year-round, but my Rainbows do not like the icy weather. My toes become very unhappy.
And also, I used to love baseball, but right now baseball and I are in a fight. One of the playoff games ran into extra innings this week and screwed up my DVR recording of House. When you have a boring grown-up job that takes over your life, you look forward to things like your weekly DVR'd viewing of House, and you become very unhappy when you discover that you only have the first 15 minutes of it. Thanks a lot, Yankees. We are not on friendly terms.
Unfortunately, winter is not nearly as charming. It snowed last weekend... mid-October. However, I have decided that this was a one-time mistake from the sky, and that as punishment, the snow is not coming back for 2 months. Just in time for Christmas.
In the meantime, it will continue to be fall. I think this MIGHT be why I moved here.
In other news: work is crummy and never-ending... I spent a couple days in the lovely state of Texas this week... I spent one day in Providence, Rhode Island -- which is actually a pretty town that happens to be missing all lane markings... and I'm becoming slightly obsessed with boots. You can't be an East Coast girl without boots. If it were up to me, I'd wear flip flops all-year-round, but my Rainbows do not like the icy weather. My toes become very unhappy.
And also, I used to love baseball, but right now baseball and I are in a fight. One of the playoff games ran into extra innings this week and screwed up my DVR recording of House. When you have a boring grown-up job that takes over your life, you look forward to things like your weekly DVR'd viewing of House, and you become very unhappy when you discover that you only have the first 15 minutes of it. Thanks a lot, Yankees. We are not on friendly terms.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Friday!
I got my Massachusetts license in the mail today. I guess that makes me an official resident. Hmm. (And it has a funny little holographic likeness of an Indian chief, in case you were wondering what a Massachusetts license looks like.)
I think I need to purchase some gloves. Soon.
In other news, hot chocolate coffee is possibly my best idea ever. MAYBE someone thought of it before me, but I've never heard about it. Or I surely would've been drinking it all throughout college. Chocolately and caffeinated... what more can you ask for?!
I love fruit snacks. As of 2 weeks ago. Yum.
I don't love swine flu. It's annoying to hear about, and it's making everyone paranoid. They have started putting gigantic bottles of hand sanitizer in every single conference room in our offices. However, I will confess that I got on the bus recently and sat down next to a girl who started coughing and sniffling... and I MAY have changed seats at the first stop.
And today I heard that your cell phone has more germs than a toilet seat. In that case, we are probably all going to catch the swine flu. Nice.
I think I need to purchase some gloves. Soon.
In other news, hot chocolate coffee is possibly my best idea ever. MAYBE someone thought of it before me, but I've never heard about it. Or I surely would've been drinking it all throughout college. Chocolately and caffeinated... what more can you ask for?!
I love fruit snacks. As of 2 weeks ago. Yum.
I don't love swine flu. It's annoying to hear about, and it's making everyone paranoid. They have started putting gigantic bottles of hand sanitizer in every single conference room in our offices. However, I will confess that I got on the bus recently and sat down next to a girl who started coughing and sniffling... and I MAY have changed seats at the first stop.
And today I heard that your cell phone has more germs than a toilet seat. In that case, we are probably all going to catch the swine flu. Nice.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The Tale of the John Hancock Elevators
I am secretly afraid of elevators. A few weeks ago I rode the elevators to the top of the 102-story Empire State Building. I nearly had a heart attack on the way up, and another one on the way down. I don't think I'm afraid of heights or anything. I don't mind BEING in high places. I just don't like getting there. I'm always feeling like I'm one broken cable away from plunging to a very unhappy ending.
This does not sit well with the fact that I work in the John Hancock Tower, a 60-story building. Our offices are located between the 44th and the 48th floors. Translation: I have to spend a lot of time riding the elevators.
But these are not just REGULAR elevators. They're strange and confusing. And on top of that, I'm pretty much convinced that they're haunted.
Exhibit A: These elevators are divided by floor range. So there's a separate set that go to every 10 or so floors, which is pretty standard for tall buildings. Okay. But these elevators are ALSO separated by evens and odds. So for instance, there is a specific set of elevators that go to the ODD FLOORS ONLY between 37 and 47. To get the the EVEN floors, you have to go UPSTAIRS via escalator (which I am also secretly afraid of, but that's another story). Once you get upstairs you will be greeted with yet another fleet of deathly elevators separated by floor ranges. Somebody told me this is because the elevators in the building are "stacked." I don't know what that means exactly, but I definitely don't like what it sounds like.
So I've been spending a lot of time on the 48th floor. Sometimes instead of going upstairs to get on the elevators that take you to EVEN floors, I just say to heck with it an ride the ODD elevators up to 47, and then from there ride up to 48. Which brings me to be Exhibit B.
The other day I rode up to the 47th floor, ultimately on a quest to 48. Now I swear to you that the HIGHEST button in this elevator was 47. So I reach the 47th floor, step out, hit the button to go up, step back in to the SAME ELEVATOR SPACE, and suddenly the buttons go up to 48. WAIT A MINUTE!! This all happened in about 15 seconds. I was pretty sure that the elevator I had just stepped out of HADN'T EVEN MOVED! I'm not even sure the doors closed!! And even if they did... did some sort of secret elevator with a '48' button come from a hiding space behind the wall???
Later on I even verified that I wasn't crazy by double checking that the 37th-47th floor elevators only have buttons up to 47. So where did this mysterious extra button come from?? Conclusion: haunted elevators. Seriously. I had a haunted alarm clock. It's possible.
I also get dizzy riding the elevators up and down everyday. I think I can get up to the 48th floor in this building faster than I can get up to the 3rd floor in my apartment.
I'm thinking that maybe my next job will be in a very small building where I will become good friends with the stairs.
This does not sit well with the fact that I work in the John Hancock Tower, a 60-story building. Our offices are located between the 44th and the 48th floors. Translation: I have to spend a lot of time riding the elevators.
But these are not just REGULAR elevators. They're strange and confusing. And on top of that, I'm pretty much convinced that they're haunted.
Exhibit A: These elevators are divided by floor range. So there's a separate set that go to every 10 or so floors, which is pretty standard for tall buildings. Okay. But these elevators are ALSO separated by evens and odds. So for instance, there is a specific set of elevators that go to the ODD FLOORS ONLY between 37 and 47. To get the the EVEN floors, you have to go UPSTAIRS via escalator (which I am also secretly afraid of, but that's another story). Once you get upstairs you will be greeted with yet another fleet of deathly elevators separated by floor ranges. Somebody told me this is because the elevators in the building are "stacked." I don't know what that means exactly, but I definitely don't like what it sounds like.
So I've been spending a lot of time on the 48th floor. Sometimes instead of going upstairs to get on the elevators that take you to EVEN floors, I just say to heck with it an ride the ODD elevators up to 47, and then from there ride up to 48. Which brings me to be Exhibit B.
The other day I rode up to the 47th floor, ultimately on a quest to 48. Now I swear to you that the HIGHEST button in this elevator was 47. So I reach the 47th floor, step out, hit the button to go up, step back in to the SAME ELEVATOR SPACE, and suddenly the buttons go up to 48. WAIT A MINUTE!! This all happened in about 15 seconds. I was pretty sure that the elevator I had just stepped out of HADN'T EVEN MOVED! I'm not even sure the doors closed!! And even if they did... did some sort of secret elevator with a '48' button come from a hiding space behind the wall???
Later on I even verified that I wasn't crazy by double checking that the 37th-47th floor elevators only have buttons up to 47. So where did this mysterious extra button come from?? Conclusion: haunted elevators. Seriously. I had a haunted alarm clock. It's possible.
I also get dizzy riding the elevators up and down everyday. I think I can get up to the 48th floor in this building faster than I can get up to the 3rd floor in my apartment.
I'm thinking that maybe my next job will be in a very small building where I will become good friends with the stairs.
I Should Be Working Right Now
You know what would be kind of scary? If you happened to step into an elevator on your way to lunch and standing there was none other than the managing partner -- i.e. the "most important" big shot VIP in the whole office. Especially if he were wearing a full suit, and standing with two other big-shots wearing suits, and meanwhile you were wearing a pink sweater with a colorful scarf and your purple bus shoes (i.e. the shoes that you wear when walking to and from the bus because they're comfortable, even if not particularly professional or flattering, but it's okay because you have cuter, more painful shoes in your bag that you fully intend to change into before entering the office), and your hair was extra wild and curly due to the fact that you slept in late and were too lazy to make it neat, because you figured nobody would see you today anyway, seeing as how everybody you are assigned to work with is out of the office at a client site, which is why you made sure to book a cubicle for the day so you could take full advantage of the opportunity to remain hidden and look sloppy. BUT MAYBE you weren't expecting to run into any big shots in the elevator.
Yeah... that would be intimidating.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Madness
'Cause that's pretty much been my life in the past month. So far in September I have moved across the country; settled into a new apartment; started a new job; bought a car; traveled to New York City TWICE - once for work, once for play; and become an adult. Okay, just kidding about the last one. That hasn't happened yet. But the rest are true. Which explains the lapse in blogging.
So I live in Massachusetts now. I can't really tell you what it's like. I haven't had time to take it all in yet. I think I've been busier in the past few weeks than I've ever been in my life. Which is a huge contrast from a month ago, and two months ago, when I was lying by the pool and the biggest worry on my mind was the shade of my tan. Life sure can change quickly. Today is the first day all month that I have nothing to do.
Well actually I do have plans today, kind of. They include walking to the park down the street for the Watertown Faire on the Square, taking my baby SUV for a drive (we've been apart for a whole week now!), and MAYBE going to the gym. My running shoes traveled all the way from California this week, so they deserve to see some action. I COULD log on to my work computer and start tackling the millions of online-training sessions I have to finish... I've been telling myself all week that I'm going to catch up on those this weekend. But now that it's actually the weekend, I'm feeling a change of heart. Isn't the point of being a grown up that you don't have to work on Saturdays??
I think I'd better get dressed if I hope to accomplish any of my plans today. I am determined to visit the fair, at least. That's a pretty big deal in Watertown, from what I can tell.
Pictures and additional updates will come sometime in the near future, I think.
So I live in Massachusetts now. I can't really tell you what it's like. I haven't had time to take it all in yet. I think I've been busier in the past few weeks than I've ever been in my life. Which is a huge contrast from a month ago, and two months ago, when I was lying by the pool and the biggest worry on my mind was the shade of my tan. Life sure can change quickly. Today is the first day all month that I have nothing to do.
Well actually I do have plans today, kind of. They include walking to the park down the street for the Watertown Faire on the Square, taking my baby SUV for a drive (we've been apart for a whole week now!), and MAYBE going to the gym. My running shoes traveled all the way from California this week, so they deserve to see some action. I COULD log on to my work computer and start tackling the millions of online-training sessions I have to finish... I've been telling myself all week that I'm going to catch up on those this weekend. But now that it's actually the weekend, I'm feeling a change of heart. Isn't the point of being a grown up that you don't have to work on Saturdays??
I think I'd better get dressed if I hope to accomplish any of my plans today. I am determined to visit the fair, at least. That's a pretty big deal in Watertown, from what I can tell.
Pictures and additional updates will come sometime in the near future, I think.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Last Night
....I had a dream that I was on an airplane flying to Japan. But the weather became really stormy, so the plane had to make an emergency landing in South Korea. I remember being really afraid that I was going to get lost (completely feasible for me) and be captured by the Kims. How is it that I've had multiple dreams involving Kim Jung Il?? He is not exactly a hot topic on my mind.
What I should be dreaming about is flying to Boston, Massachusetts... seeing as how I will be flying there in 3 days. Like, indefinitely. Because I have to start my grown up job and my grown up life, and at some point I pulled out a map and decided that Massachusetts would be a fun place to be a grown up.
Which means I have 3 days to pack up my life and fit it inside two and a half suitcases. Plus a carry-on. Um, wasn't it just June?? Wasn't I supposed to have all summer to do this? Apparently tanning and sleeping and pool-going take up more time than I thought. Sometimes I really, seriously dislike being a procrastinator.
Also, I love tricks. Don't cross me or I will become a wiley schemestress :) It's all in good fun.
What I should be dreaming about is flying to Boston, Massachusetts... seeing as how I will be flying there in 3 days. Like, indefinitely. Because I have to start my grown up job and my grown up life, and at some point I pulled out a map and decided that Massachusetts would be a fun place to be a grown up.
Which means I have 3 days to pack up my life and fit it inside two and a half suitcases. Plus a carry-on. Um, wasn't it just June?? Wasn't I supposed to have all summer to do this? Apparently tanning and sleeping and pool-going take up more time than I thought. Sometimes I really, seriously dislike being a procrastinator.
Also, I love tricks. Don't cross me or I will become a wiley schemestress :) It's all in good fun.
Friday, August 28, 2009
The Definition of Cool
Isn't it funny how the meaning of "being cool" changes as you get older?
For instance, in elementary school, I like to think that nobody is really "cool" or "uncool." At least in the early years. Everyone is just a kid, and hopefully some varying degree of "cute."
By the time you reach junior high and high school, you become very conscious of who is cool and who is not. It's a huge popularity competition, in some respects. I don't think I was ever very cool in those years. I was a good student, which apparently was not that cool, and I was somewhat shy. I may have been a little awkward. By my final year of high school, I think I no longer cared much about being cool or not. Which is funny, because this was probably my coolest year of all. (By this time I had become considerably less awkward, I had a boyfriend, and I was pretty sociable.)
In college, the definition changes A LOT. Being smart no longer makes you an outcast. Intellectual curiosity and high academic achievement are ideals to strive toward, not to mock. (Well, hopefully. I generally felt this way at Cal Poly, most of the time.) Eating lunch alone is socially acceptable. Dressing cute for your 8 am class in unnecessary and uncommon, as most students will stroll in wearing jeans or sweats. And whether you like to party it up or play Dungeons & Dragons on the weekends, you will probably be able to find plenty of others who like to do the same, thereby assuring you that your activity of choice is cool to someone.
And then when you graduate, it changes even further. Suddenly it's "cool" to be mature and successful, I think. It's cool to have a job and an apartment and stability. Maybe it's even cool to get 8 hours of sleep at night. And suddenly it's NOT cool to drink too much alcohol, or to goof off all the time, or to make too many inappropriate jokes. Right?
Sometimes I wonder what the popular kids from the high school era are doing. Are they successful, or are they just bumming around?? Are they still cool? One perk of NOT being super cool in high school is there is no rude awakening once it's all over. You know, no reality check, no thinking "oh shoot, I've gotten by this far with my good looks and popularity and endless stream of followers to reassure me that I'm awesome... now what?!" (At least in my imagination, this is what some of them are thinking.) I just think it's interesting, and sort of ironic, how this whole coolness factor evolves as you become an adult.
In conclusion: I think the geeks probably do grow up to rule the world. Along with the business majors, of course. Maybe this means that in adult land, cool and uncool will finally reach a happy medium.
For instance, in elementary school, I like to think that nobody is really "cool" or "uncool." At least in the early years. Everyone is just a kid, and hopefully some varying degree of "cute."
By the time you reach junior high and high school, you become very conscious of who is cool and who is not. It's a huge popularity competition, in some respects. I don't think I was ever very cool in those years. I was a good student, which apparently was not that cool, and I was somewhat shy. I may have been a little awkward. By my final year of high school, I think I no longer cared much about being cool or not. Which is funny, because this was probably my coolest year of all. (By this time I had become considerably less awkward, I had a boyfriend, and I was pretty sociable.)
In college, the definition changes A LOT. Being smart no longer makes you an outcast. Intellectual curiosity and high academic achievement are ideals to strive toward, not to mock. (Well, hopefully. I generally felt this way at Cal Poly, most of the time.) Eating lunch alone is socially acceptable. Dressing cute for your 8 am class in unnecessary and uncommon, as most students will stroll in wearing jeans or sweats. And whether you like to party it up or play Dungeons & Dragons on the weekends, you will probably be able to find plenty of others who like to do the same, thereby assuring you that your activity of choice is cool to someone.
And then when you graduate, it changes even further. Suddenly it's "cool" to be mature and successful, I think. It's cool to have a job and an apartment and stability. Maybe it's even cool to get 8 hours of sleep at night. And suddenly it's NOT cool to drink too much alcohol, or to goof off all the time, or to make too many inappropriate jokes. Right?
Sometimes I wonder what the popular kids from the high school era are doing. Are they successful, or are they just bumming around?? Are they still cool? One perk of NOT being super cool in high school is there is no rude awakening once it's all over. You know, no reality check, no thinking "oh shoot, I've gotten by this far with my good looks and popularity and endless stream of followers to reassure me that I'm awesome... now what?!" (At least in my imagination, this is what some of them are thinking.) I just think it's interesting, and sort of ironic, how this whole coolness factor evolves as you become an adult.
In conclusion: I think the geeks probably do grow up to rule the world. Along with the business majors, of course. Maybe this means that in adult land, cool and uncool will finally reach a happy medium.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
I Might Be Blogging from Inside the Matrix
Last week I watched The Matrix. For the first time. Yes, I do realize that I'm probably the last person on the planet to see this movie.
I'm secretly kind of bad at understanding movies. I blame this on my tendency to space out for extended periods of time, causing me to miss important plot details and wind up confused. I guess I thought this was going to be that kind of film, so I never bothered to see it. (With a book, it's easy to go back and re-read pages if you need to, but with a movie, you kind of have to take it in as you go along... unless of course you plan to become good friends with the rewind button.)
I actually found it to be a very interesting movie. And I must mean that sincerely, given that that I'm still thinking about it days later. I happen to like philosophy an awful lot, and if you let it, I think this movie opens the door to some interesting philosophical ideas. It questions the meaning of reality. Is the world as we know it actually real, or just real to us because it's all we know? Is a spoon really a spoon, or do our minds just think it's a spoon? And speaking of our minds, they are pretty powerful. How much of our version of "reality" do they control, and how much can we control them?
And then of course there is the age-old argument of fate versus free will. I don't think this movie changes the fact that I believe in the forces of the universe, although maybe my "universe" actually consists of some machines gone wild. Or something else gone wild that is controlling what I think.
Of course, if I'm in the Matrix right now, then the creators of the Matrix are reading this and laughing at me seriously hard.
Even so, it was a good movie. Just in case you've been living under the rock next door to mine and you still haven't seen it, I give it my recommendation. Just be prepared to get in touch with your thoughtful side afterwards.
I'm secretly kind of bad at understanding movies. I blame this on my tendency to space out for extended periods of time, causing me to miss important plot details and wind up confused. I guess I thought this was going to be that kind of film, so I never bothered to see it. (With a book, it's easy to go back and re-read pages if you need to, but with a movie, you kind of have to take it in as you go along... unless of course you plan to become good friends with the rewind button.)
I actually found it to be a very interesting movie. And I must mean that sincerely, given that that I'm still thinking about it days later. I happen to like philosophy an awful lot, and if you let it, I think this movie opens the door to some interesting philosophical ideas. It questions the meaning of reality. Is the world as we know it actually real, or just real to us because it's all we know? Is a spoon really a spoon, or do our minds just think it's a spoon? And speaking of our minds, they are pretty powerful. How much of our version of "reality" do they control, and how much can we control them?
And then of course there is the age-old argument of fate versus free will. I don't think this movie changes the fact that I believe in the forces of the universe, although maybe my "universe" actually consists of some machines gone wild. Or something else gone wild that is controlling what I think.
Of course, if I'm in the Matrix right now, then the creators of the Matrix are reading this and laughing at me seriously hard.
Even so, it was a good movie. Just in case you've been living under the rock next door to mine and you still haven't seen it, I give it my recommendation. Just be prepared to get in touch with your thoughtful side afterwards.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Ensenada
This past weekend I had the chance to visit Ensenada, Mexico via cruise ship. My expectations were set pretty low after having received quite a few "tips" pointing out that Ensenada is not the cleanest, safest, or most luxurious place to visit. Fortunately, when you aren't hoping for too much in the first place, there's nowhere to go but up. Which is probably why I ended up having a perfectly enjoyable time.
I was able to catch a city tour that included wine tasting at one of Mexico's oldest wineries, a visit to Ensenada's pretty & artful convention center, and shopping time downtown -- where I definitely paid my dues to the tourism industry by purchasing way too much cheap junk. I practiced my haggling skills, somewhat... although I felt kind of silly because I am certain that the locals live off of American tourists who are convinced they have fabulous haggling skills. (In reality, I'm pretty sure that most items are priced at about double the intended selling value anyway... hence all of the 50% off "sales" everywhere.)
[Inside the winery]
[Inside the convention center... one of the ceilings]
Seriously, these people must think we are pretty darn cheap... coming to visit their city on a fancy ship, and then beaming with pride when we can get a $10 item down to $6. I guess they're used to it.
[Downtown]
Afterwards, I took a slighly sketchy cab ride back to the ship. I was halfway expecting the taxi to fall apart (that poor car was shaking and squeaking like you wouldn't believe), but both the car and myself made it back in one piece. All in all, it was a fun outing with few mishaps.
Okay, so maybe I did get temporarily lost in downtown Ensenada. And this was AFTER the original tour bus had already departed, because our one-hour shopping allowance had come and gone. AND I had left my cell phone on the ship because certain people warned me not to use it outside of the U.S. So I guess that's what I get for taking too long and shopping too slowly. But you know how it goes... all's well that end's well.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Random Thoughts
Why are boys' razors always better than girls' razors? I am willing to give up my cutsie pink and purple shades for a sturdy (albeit ugly) black one with three blades that actually WORKS. From now on I think I am just going to buy boys' razors.
The crust is the best part of the pizza, don't ya think? It's what separates the amazingly good pizzas from the pizzas that are just mediocre. AND it tastes delicious. Thank you Dr. Atkins, but I think I will continue eating my carbs with a side of carbs.
Where has Anderson Cooper been?? How long does he plan to take vacation from his self-titled show?! Erica Hill may be ranked the second hottest female reporter in America, but she is NOT what keeps me coming back every night at 7 pm... and sometimes 8, 10, and 11 pm.
When I leave SLO this weekend, I think my first order of business will be to get food from a DRIVE-THRU! SLO is the only city I have heard of that bans drive-thrus, and I miss the ability to order cheap food while secretly wearing my pajama pants. Unfortunately, there is a high likelihood that I will spill ketchup in the car. Still totally worth it.
I wonder if I'll ever learn to bake? (FYI, I'm planning to bake cookies in the near future.)
I wonder if I'll ever learn to walk without falling. Or to carry objects without dropping them. So far today I have broken a wine glass, spilled my Diet Coke, and tripped at least once.
Speaking of wine, I don't really like it. I've tried to appreciate it, especially since all of my sophisticated future business colleagues will probably be drinking it, but it just tastes bitter. I do, however, like to drink apple cider from a wine glass and pretend like I'm drinking wine.
I really like my Apple-Mango-Tango flavored laundry detergent. It smells great AND it has a spunky name. Too bad it doesn't actually motivate me to do laundry.
I think I could go on for hours, but I'll spare you the inner workings of my brain. Besides, I should probably think about packing. Tomorrow evening I leave town, head to LA for the night, and then depart from Long Beach for my cruise to Ensenda, Mexico! This will officially be my first time out of the country. (Of many, I hope.) Cross your fingers that they let me back in!
The crust is the best part of the pizza, don't ya think? It's what separates the amazingly good pizzas from the pizzas that are just mediocre. AND it tastes delicious. Thank you Dr. Atkins, but I think I will continue eating my carbs with a side of carbs.
Where has Anderson Cooper been?? How long does he plan to take vacation from his self-titled show?! Erica Hill may be ranked the second hottest female reporter in America, but she is NOT what keeps me coming back every night at 7 pm... and sometimes 8, 10, and 11 pm.
When I leave SLO this weekend, I think my first order of business will be to get food from a DRIVE-THRU! SLO is the only city I have heard of that bans drive-thrus, and I miss the ability to order cheap food while secretly wearing my pajama pants. Unfortunately, there is a high likelihood that I will spill ketchup in the car. Still totally worth it.
I wonder if I'll ever learn to bake? (FYI, I'm planning to bake cookies in the near future.)
I wonder if I'll ever learn to walk without falling. Or to carry objects without dropping them. So far today I have broken a wine glass, spilled my Diet Coke, and tripped at least once.
Speaking of wine, I don't really like it. I've tried to appreciate it, especially since all of my sophisticated future business colleagues will probably be drinking it, but it just tastes bitter. I do, however, like to drink apple cider from a wine glass and pretend like I'm drinking wine.
I really like my Apple-Mango-Tango flavored laundry detergent. It smells great AND it has a spunky name. Too bad it doesn't actually motivate me to do laundry.
I think I could go on for hours, but I'll spare you the inner workings of my brain. Besides, I should probably think about packing. Tomorrow evening I leave town, head to LA for the night, and then depart from Long Beach for my cruise to Ensenda, Mexico! This will officially be my first time out of the country. (Of many, I hope.) Cross your fingers that they let me back in!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Getting Married
No, not me. Everybody else.
Okay, not quite everybody. But lots of people. I guess that once you've graduated college, that's the thing to do. But why?
I'm not complaining or anything. While I'm happy for anyone who has found their soulmate by the age of 22, I honestly don't wish I was getting married. I'm content in knowing that marriage is not on my to-do list for the near future. I'm not anywhere near ready for that sort of thing.
In fact, most of the time I still feel like a kid. Not in the sense that I want anybody to take care of me, or that I can't think for myself. But in the sense that there are tons of things to see and plenty of experiences to be had before I want to tie myself down to any serious responsibilities. And besides, aren't you supposed to have some kind of profound revelation about life before you are mature enough to get married?
I'm not usually cynical. Really. But I can't help wondering if all of these people know what they're doing. Have they been in enough other relationships to be sure that they are marrying the right person? Have they taken the time to decide which qualities they want in a spouse? And if even the answer to those questions is yes, how can a 22-year-old be sure that they won't be an entirely different person by the age of 32? Or 42? Just saying.
By the way, when I finally do get married, I'm pretty sure I want to elope. More spontaneous, more economical, and less opportunity to change my mind. Of course, this will be after I've had my profound revelation, so I'll be old and wise by then, and maybe even decisive. (If my future husband is lucky, maybe I will even become less accident-prone.) Stay tuned.
Okay, not quite everybody. But lots of people. I guess that once you've graduated college, that's the thing to do. But why?
I'm not complaining or anything. While I'm happy for anyone who has found their soulmate by the age of 22, I honestly don't wish I was getting married. I'm content in knowing that marriage is not on my to-do list for the near future. I'm not anywhere near ready for that sort of thing.
In fact, most of the time I still feel like a kid. Not in the sense that I want anybody to take care of me, or that I can't think for myself. But in the sense that there are tons of things to see and plenty of experiences to be had before I want to tie myself down to any serious responsibilities. And besides, aren't you supposed to have some kind of profound revelation about life before you are mature enough to get married?
I'm not usually cynical. Really. But I can't help wondering if all of these people know what they're doing. Have they been in enough other relationships to be sure that they are marrying the right person? Have they taken the time to decide which qualities they want in a spouse? And if even the answer to those questions is yes, how can a 22-year-old be sure that they won't be an entirely different person by the age of 32? Or 42? Just saying.
By the way, when I finally do get married, I'm pretty sure I want to elope. More spontaneous, more economical, and less opportunity to change my mind. Of course, this will be after I've had my profound revelation, so I'll be old and wise by then, and maybe even decisive. (If my future husband is lucky, maybe I will even become less accident-prone.) Stay tuned.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Where Have all the Colors Gone?
In searching for bedding and sofas for my future grown-up apartment, I have reached a terrible conclusion: the world of adults is a dreary, colorless place. How difficult is it to find cheerful, bright, colorful items that do not have Hello Kitty or Power Rangers characters plastered all over them? It's as if you grow up and then suddenly everything becomes dull and grey.
No, seriously. I have decided that adults do not like actual colors. They like varying shades of brown and maroon. If they are feeling particularly adventurous, they will spring for a boring blue. I think they dislike cheerful shades because this just reminds them of how much fun they are NOT having at their cheerless jobs.
Don't get me wrong. I am excited to have a real job. Sure, sometimes I wish I could have an awesomely fun job... like a river rafting guide. Or Oprah Winfrey. Or the Watertown tree warden. How do you manage to become a tree warden, anyway? Do you have to go to school for that?? I guess it would help if I actually knew what a tree warden was. Hmm.
Anyway, the lesson here is that I don't want to grow up and begin hating all things colorful. Maybe if my business career does not pan out, I will become a designer and start a line of pretty housewares for adults. Please look out for that.
In the meantime, I plan to decorate with sunflowers and paintings of the ocean and cucumber-flavored candles. Please come over and visit!
No, seriously. I have decided that adults do not like actual colors. They like varying shades of brown and maroon. If they are feeling particularly adventurous, they will spring for a boring blue. I think they dislike cheerful shades because this just reminds them of how much fun they are NOT having at their cheerless jobs.
Don't get me wrong. I am excited to have a real job. Sure, sometimes I wish I could have an awesomely fun job... like a river rafting guide. Or Oprah Winfrey. Or the Watertown tree warden. How do you manage to become a tree warden, anyway? Do you have to go to school for that?? I guess it would help if I actually knew what a tree warden was. Hmm.
Anyway, the lesson here is that I don't want to grow up and begin hating all things colorful. Maybe if my business career does not pan out, I will become a designer and start a line of pretty housewares for adults. Please look out for that.
In the meantime, I plan to decorate with sunflowers and paintings of the ocean and cucumber-flavored candles. Please come over and visit!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
25 Things
...because I like random things, and I never did this when it was circulating around Facebook.
1) I used to hate sushi, but now I think it's my favorite thing to eat. Or maybe I just love to practice my newfound chopstick skills? Either way, I eat it a lot.
2) I always set my alarm clock for really odd times, such as 8:02 or 9:21 or 11:36. I'm not really sure why. Why do you set yours in multiples of 5??
3) When I grow up, I want to be Lorelai Gilmore. She is my favorite TV adult. She is fun/quirky/bold/smart with a hint of attitude.
4) Speaking of TV personalities, if I had to liken myself to any TV character, it would be Elliot from Scrubs. Sometimes it's like watching the skinny blonde doctor version of myself. (In case you haven't watched Scrubs, Elliot is rather clumsy and spazzy, and even though she means well, her big mouth tends to get her into a lot of trouble.)
5) When I was a kid, I used to write fictional stories and put all the pages of each story together like a book. My brother illustrated the covers.
6) I am a terrible artist, although I think creativity comes in many forms.
7) I first saw the movie "Edward Scissorhands" last year and became instantly fascinated. This guy has SCISSORS for HANDS!! I guess I thought the title was going to be some kind of figure of speech or have some sort of symbolic meaning... but no. Who ever thought of such a wild concept??! I love it.
8) In high school, my favorite subject was math. I thought I was going to become a math major in college, but I changed my mind after reading the Cal Poly graduate status report and deciding that careers as mathematicians are not exactly growing on trees.
9) I like the smell of sunscreen. I think it smells like summer.
10) I like to read or watch the news almost every day. I think people should be more informed about world events.
11) I am clumsy and accident-prone. I spill, drop, and break things on an everyday basis. I'm not sure how I got this affliction, or if it will ever go away.
12) I took piano lessons for 5 years, although I don't have too much to show for it.
13) Most of the time, I hate driving. Once in awhile I'm in a driving sort of mood if I feel like getting lost in thought or listening to music, but I will never be a fan of driving in traffic. It's too stressful.
14) If I could have any career that I wanted, I would probably choose something to do with journalism. I would be a reporter or write commentaries... or maybe work for a non-trashy magazine.
15) My second choice career would be an investigator of some sort. This one comes in second because I haven't worked out all the details yet. I just like solving "mysteries" and looking for "clues."
16) I have been to Oprah's show as an audience member. I went to her "After the Oscars" taping in Hollywood during 2007. Unfortunately, nobody who I was particularly excited about won any Oscars that year. The most exciting interviewee was probably Ellen Degeneres. Also, Oprah didn't give away any free gifts. It was still fun.
17) My pre-college extracurricular activities have included Girl Scouts, Academic Decathalon, and cheerleading. Sometimes I still break into cheer.
18) Patience is a virtue which I tend to lack. I try my best when I think it counts. If I am trying really hard to be patient with you, then I must like you a lot.
19) I think perfume is a little nauseating, and I almost never wear any. (Although I do like the scent of a good cologne on a boy.)
20) I'm a big fan of equilibrium as a concept because I think it applies to many different things.
21) Many people don't take me very seriously. Probably because I'm a little loud, a little spazzy, and some shade of blonde. However, they might not guess that I've lived through some crummy things, that I think about serious ideas fairly often, and that I can hold my own pretty well.
22) I hate billboards. They are SO ugly and unappealing; not to mention they are filled with brainwashy propaganda. The world would be a much prettier place if there were no billboards.
23) I've always been pretty independent. I think I was ready to move out on my own by the time I was 12.
24) I like to argue. One of my high school teachers told me I should become a lawyer because I like to argue so much.
25) Unfortunately I can't cook. If my future husband is reading this, please accept my apologies in advance. I hope you like takeout.
1) I used to hate sushi, but now I think it's my favorite thing to eat. Or maybe I just love to practice my newfound chopstick skills? Either way, I eat it a lot.
2) I always set my alarm clock for really odd times, such as 8:02 or 9:21 or 11:36. I'm not really sure why. Why do you set yours in multiples of 5??
3) When I grow up, I want to be Lorelai Gilmore. She is my favorite TV adult. She is fun/quirky/bold/smart with a hint of attitude.
4) Speaking of TV personalities, if I had to liken myself to any TV character, it would be Elliot from Scrubs. Sometimes it's like watching the skinny blonde doctor version of myself. (In case you haven't watched Scrubs, Elliot is rather clumsy and spazzy, and even though she means well, her big mouth tends to get her into a lot of trouble.)
5) When I was a kid, I used to write fictional stories and put all the pages of each story together like a book. My brother illustrated the covers.
6) I am a terrible artist, although I think creativity comes in many forms.
7) I first saw the movie "Edward Scissorhands" last year and became instantly fascinated. This guy has SCISSORS for HANDS!! I guess I thought the title was going to be some kind of figure of speech or have some sort of symbolic meaning... but no. Who ever thought of such a wild concept??! I love it.
8) In high school, my favorite subject was math. I thought I was going to become a math major in college, but I changed my mind after reading the Cal Poly graduate status report and deciding that careers as mathematicians are not exactly growing on trees.
9) I like the smell of sunscreen. I think it smells like summer.
10) I like to read or watch the news almost every day. I think people should be more informed about world events.
11) I am clumsy and accident-prone. I spill, drop, and break things on an everyday basis. I'm not sure how I got this affliction, or if it will ever go away.
12) I took piano lessons for 5 years, although I don't have too much to show for it.
13) Most of the time, I hate driving. Once in awhile I'm in a driving sort of mood if I feel like getting lost in thought or listening to music, but I will never be a fan of driving in traffic. It's too stressful.
14) If I could have any career that I wanted, I would probably choose something to do with journalism. I would be a reporter or write commentaries... or maybe work for a non-trashy magazine.
15) My second choice career would be an investigator of some sort. This one comes in second because I haven't worked out all the details yet. I just like solving "mysteries" and looking for "clues."
16) I have been to Oprah's show as an audience member. I went to her "After the Oscars" taping in Hollywood during 2007. Unfortunately, nobody who I was particularly excited about won any Oscars that year. The most exciting interviewee was probably Ellen Degeneres. Also, Oprah didn't give away any free gifts. It was still fun.
17) My pre-college extracurricular activities have included Girl Scouts, Academic Decathalon, and cheerleading. Sometimes I still break into cheer.
18) Patience is a virtue which I tend to lack. I try my best when I think it counts. If I am trying really hard to be patient with you, then I must like you a lot.
19) I think perfume is a little nauseating, and I almost never wear any. (Although I do like the scent of a good cologne on a boy.)
20) I'm a big fan of equilibrium as a concept because I think it applies to many different things.
21) Many people don't take me very seriously. Probably because I'm a little loud, a little spazzy, and some shade of blonde. However, they might not guess that I've lived through some crummy things, that I think about serious ideas fairly often, and that I can hold my own pretty well.
22) I hate billboards. They are SO ugly and unappealing; not to mention they are filled with brainwashy propaganda. The world would be a much prettier place if there were no billboards.
23) I've always been pretty independent. I think I was ready to move out on my own by the time I was 12.
24) I like to argue. One of my high school teachers told me I should become a lawyer because I like to argue so much.
25) Unfortunately I can't cook. If my future husband is reading this, please accept my apologies in advance. I hope you like takeout.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Bad Luck
My car was vandalized today. Ironically, this is the third time it has happened to me, each time in a different city. All three incidents have resulted in the same window being smashed. If you are a car thief and happen to be reading this, can you please quit assuming that my Corolla contains items of value??
So for about half an hour I was incredibly disappointed in humanity. Why must people be such mean jerks?? My poor car never hurt anybody! But then a very nice maintenance man offered to help me vacuum the broken glass off the seats, even after I gave him a little bit of an attitude. (I couldn't help it; he asked if I had gotten everything "worked out." Of course I hadn't! I had just woken up to discover that my car was vandalized. Was I supposed to have magically "worked it out" in an hour?!) This small but random act of kindness made me happy. Maybe for every jerkface car thief roaming around, there is a nice maintenance man willing to help you vacuum up the shattered glass.
For the record, these three break-ins have resulted in the following losses, combined: a $25 gift card to the GAP (which wasn't even mine - sorry Robert), earbud headphones, and a couple of jugs of water that cost 99 cents each. Nevermind the stereo or the laptop computer, albeit with a broken hard drive, that I accidentally left sitting in a backpack on the floor of the car. Moral of the story: these are some seriously half-witted thieves.
<3, ncb
So for about half an hour I was incredibly disappointed in humanity. Why must people be such mean jerks?? My poor car never hurt anybody! But then a very nice maintenance man offered to help me vacuum the broken glass off the seats, even after I gave him a little bit of an attitude. (I couldn't help it; he asked if I had gotten everything "worked out." Of course I hadn't! I had just woken up to discover that my car was vandalized. Was I supposed to have magically "worked it out" in an hour?!) This small but random act of kindness made me happy. Maybe for every jerkface car thief roaming around, there is a nice maintenance man willing to help you vacuum up the shattered glass.
For the record, these three break-ins have resulted in the following losses, combined: a $25 gift card to the GAP (which wasn't even mine - sorry Robert), earbud headphones, and a couple of jugs of water that cost 99 cents each. Nevermind the stereo or the laptop computer, albeit with a broken hard drive, that I accidentally left sitting in a backpack on the floor of the car. Moral of the story: these are some seriously half-witted thieves.
<3, ncb
Monday, July 6, 2009
A Little Backwards
...Because usually I like to read blogs, if anything. But now I've decided to take a stab at writing my own for the following reasons:
1) I've recently graduated from college and will soon enter the terribly boring world of grown ups. And not only that, but I'll be doing so in a brand new city where I know... nobody. I forsee lots of lonely nights ahead where such a self-important activity as blogging could be fun. (Or at least it could pass the time.)
2) I can keep tabs on my ex-roommates-turned-blogging-pals who will now be heading in different directions. (Or staying in place.) And they can keep tabs on me while I pretend to be an adult. So for instance, if I find an ultra-rich New England man and we happen to get married [for the money], then they will know about it without me having to send an informative memo back to California.
Of course, if I marry an ultra-rich New England man, then my first demand will be an ultra-fancy beach house in California anyway, where I can spend my days lounging by the ultra-fancy pool. And then I will invite you (my lucky readers) over for sunbathing, and when you ask how I managed to score such a fabulous place with a fabulous pool, I will end up telling you all about my rich New England hubby. You might not meet him right away because he will be stationed at the New York City penthouse... but that's probably just as well. I don't care much for chaperones.
I mean, just kidding. I fully intend to become an independent career woman with my own fancy beach house.
What was I saying? Oh right, the reasons.
3) I was "inspired" by another blog. If you are the author, you know who you are.
So there you have it. If you come back next time, I will try to stay on track. (However, I can't make any money-back guarantees on that one.)
<3, ncb
1) I've recently graduated from college and will soon enter the terribly boring world of grown ups. And not only that, but I'll be doing so in a brand new city where I know... nobody. I forsee lots of lonely nights ahead where such a self-important activity as blogging could be fun. (Or at least it could pass the time.)
2) I can keep tabs on my ex-roommates-turned-blogging-pals who will now be heading in different directions. (Or staying in place.) And they can keep tabs on me while I pretend to be an adult. So for instance, if I find an ultra-rich New England man and we happen to get married [for the money], then they will know about it without me having to send an informative memo back to California.
Of course, if I marry an ultra-rich New England man, then my first demand will be an ultra-fancy beach house in California anyway, where I can spend my days lounging by the ultra-fancy pool. And then I will invite you (my lucky readers) over for sunbathing, and when you ask how I managed to score such a fabulous place with a fabulous pool, I will end up telling you all about my rich New England hubby. You might not meet him right away because he will be stationed at the New York City penthouse... but that's probably just as well. I don't care much for chaperones.
I mean, just kidding. I fully intend to become an independent career woman with my own fancy beach house.
What was I saying? Oh right, the reasons.
3) I was "inspired" by another blog. If you are the author, you know who you are.
So there you have it. If you come back next time, I will try to stay on track. (However, I can't make any money-back guarantees on that one.)
<3, ncb
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