February 27, 2004
Happy Birthday SuzieTay!
I love Suzanne Young Taylor and Happy 23rd Birthday to her! She is the greatest and I miss her soo much!
February 25, 2004
My sister just called and my Dad is wearing a Speedo
Somebody...bring me back to paradise...quick! It's Wednesday morning and I'm back at work...sitting in my sad little cube, typing away while the overhead fluorescent light flickers away (damn facilities). I'm ready to retire. Boo hoo. My time in Kauai - to quote all of ABC's Bachelors and Bachelorettes - was an AMAZING EXPERIENCE. I had the time of my life and of course, the trip was way too short. There was so much I wanted to do...but no time! I've decided that this little tease of Hawaii demands another trip. I must go back.
The first night I got there, I took a walk down the street just in time to see the sun set over Makana Mountain (aka Bali Hai). I just sat there for an hour in complete tranquility. Now, I know that we have some beautiful sunsets here in rainy Southern California...thank you smog...but in Hawaii, it's not just about the sunset. When the sun sets in LA, it's like an event separate from the rest of the LA world. In order to get the full effect of it, you have to head down to the beach...away from the hussle bussle and smog...to check out the vibrant colors. It is only at the beach, during sunset, that you are reminded that the world is beautiful. In Hawaii, however, the sunset engulfs the whole island into its beauty. Everybody and everything on that island embraces the sunset. No matter what is happening in that moment, nothing else matters when the sun is going down. There is something just so peaceful and so sacred about it. I just felt completely at ease as the sky went from crystal clear blue to a fullfilling yellow to a fiery orange to a vibrant pink to a soothing purple and finally to a deep midnight blue. For a moment there, I actually thought I was floating. (Sigh.)
My sister's wedding was a nice and intimate occasion with an extremely beautiful view of the island and the ocean. As we were getting ready in her room at the Princeville Hotel, we could see all the surfers riding the waves in front of a backdrop of lush green mountains. It was a scorchering hot day (we were all melting in the sun), but all for the better because there wasn't a rain cloud in sight. Everybody was having a great time chatting it up and intermingling. And can I take a minute to say how much I love Eric's mom, Jackie? She is such an exquisite and sweet woman. Robee looked like a princess in her wedding gown and when Jackie saw her all dolled up, she started balling and kept telling her she was "a dream come true." It was sooo sweet...she had all the bridesmaids in tears. (Sigh.)
Kauai was true paradise. The weather was excellent...it rained a little bit, but it was still nice and hot. We went to the Limahuli Botanical Gardens and saw mango trees, guava trees, autograph trees, and screwpines. In the distance we could spot some whales in the ocean. I ran around the garden and got bit 20 times by insects that certainly weren't mosquitoes (based on the big ass red circles on my legs...um, yeah, no skirts for me for a while). I explored a cave, drank lots of guava juice, became real good friends with all the damn-loud roosters, stood in the clear water ocean (believe it...me in water), went in a pool AND a hot tub (yeah...again...believe it...me in water), laid out on the beach, discovered the heavenly experience of papaya seed salad dressing, took a ton of pictures (with everybody else's cameras), was a human ping pong in finding my luggage, had my picture taken with some hot hula dancers, drank enuf Mai Tai's to swim in (...if I could swim), and learned the proper way to fly...thanks to a lovely couple from El Segundo and their "magic" coke and sprite bottles. :) This long weekend/short vacation has instilled a new spirit in me. I've decided that I need to retire now, I've realized that Hawaii must be one of the places I move to (I say give me 6 years) and I'm now determined to learn how to swim. Any teachers out there?
February 20, 2004
The Love Affair Ends
(Sniff, sniff) I don't know how I'm gonna get through my Sunday nights without Sex. Week after week I have relied on it to make me laugh, smile, and feel all fuzzy and warm inside...and now my sex world is coming to a crashing end. Boo hoo! I feel a little ridiculous to have such strong feelings for the nearing finale, but I can't help it. I honestly feel like I'm losing something here. These women aren't just characters on a tv show, they mean much more and stand for much more than that. They have become a steeple for city chic women everywhere...they're down to earth yet posh at the same time. I might be building them up to be more than they are cracked out to be, but I made an emotional investment in their lives from the first pun that came out of Carrie Bradshaw's mouth. It was love at first pun. Seriously though, the end of this era has kind of got me swirling into oblivion. I think about everything the four of them have been through...how close they are, how they are always there for each other. I want to cry thinking about how much it tears them up to be apart. Like Big said...they're each others soul mates. Now I'm sad, I'm on a low, and it's making me rethink and reevaluate my life...my independent, alone life. Oh no...it's not making me depressed now, is it?! Oh GREAT! And now it's raining! How perfect is that? Perfect drabby weather for my oh-so-perfectly-drabby mood. What else can go wrong?! OH SWELL...LIGHTNING AND THUNDER. Somebody save me before I slit my wrists.
February 12, 2004
Thank God it was only a Dream
Lately I've been having very vivid dreams. I get emotionally invested in what's happening and it feels like it's real. It's starting to freak me out. Last night I dreamt that I found out the reason why I haven't been losing any weight. It turns out I was pregnant. (Gasp! Me? Pregnant? Not possible.) I apparently had been sleeping with this faceless, nameless man (again...Gasp!) and now we were going to have a bebe. Due to the upcoming arrival, we had to get married. I don't think I even liked the guy! Not even as a friend! It was dreadful. There was all this chaos...we were going to have a baby shower, but not a bridal shower...and my family and friends were all meeting his family and friends and it was just really uncomfortable. People weren't magically clicking. They weren't seeing eye to eye on certain issues. Basically, my side of peeps were on a different level than his peeps. There was awkward tension about the situation. I was really uncomfortable with what was happening. Then on top of everything, I started to freak out about the fact that I now (again) had to give up all the substances I like to pretend I'm addicted to (i.e. coffee, alcohol, caffeine...among other things). And I was thinking I just got that stuff back! And now I have to give it up?! Again?! And for 9 months?! This is preposterous! Talk about a horrible dream! I woke up in the morning and I had one of those reality check moments. Thinking about it...I guess there are many real issues that I'm dealing with that lead to the compilation of events in my dream...I'm obsessed with the fact that I didn't lose any weight on the friggin' South Beach Diet, the fight for gay marriage in Massachusetts has been circling my mind, we just had a bridal shower for my sister (in which there was a lot of preparation for), and just last night on The Bachelorette, Meredith met her 4 remaining guys' friends and families (Lanny's mom was scary...all that the rest of America is afraid of about Texans was confirmed true in last night's episode). So yes...I guess there is rationale for my dream...but seriously, still, it was freaky. All I say is thank God it was only a dream.
February 11, 2004
South Beach...I've jumped off! Weeee!
I'm back to my regular antsy self and I'm loving it. I missed my anxiety. My biggest fear, though, is that I'll end up gaining weight. I can't let that happen. I'll be SO MAD if that happens. My sponsors now have a whole new purpose...a whole new focus. Instead of must lose weight, it's must not gain weight! Eeek. How awful would that be? It'd be freshmen year of college all over again. (Trust me, it wasn't pretty.)
Whoever said Lisa Loeb was so 1995 was...well, right. But I don't care. She's great! And I still love her. That's why come St. Patrick's Day, I'm going to have my green beer (oh wait, I gave up beer...oh fuzz it...it's St. Patty's Day) and then head on down to The Roxy to see her live. I can't wait! How boss is that?! Lisa Loeb! Maybe I'm stuck in the 90s, maybe I'm going through some serious girl rock phase...call it what you want...I'm loving it!
February 08, 2004
Huzzah for the Gays! 49 States to go!
I cannot believe that for 14 days I have been depriving myself of the foods that I enjoy most, and I HAVEN'T LOST A SINGLE POUND. Fuzz this. This is bullshit. I can't fuzzing believe it. It just makes me want to throw in the towel. It's so discouraging. I've gone through all that...for NOTHING! Even still, after much discussion with my diet sponsors, I have decided to continue with this mad diet...tough it out...at least until Hawaii...I've come this far, I might as well give it a little bit longer. I know, right...what the fuzz am I thinking?
So...I have put several new activities on my "things to be addicted to" list. At the top of my list is the driving range. I've never golfed, but I've always wanted to learn. I've decided I'm gonna start going to the driving range. It can be so much fun. I'm excited! And I'm off to a good start...someone showed me today the proper way to grip a golf club. I'm set now. Novice today, Golf Guru tomorrow. Also on my list...learning languages on tape in my car. First language to conquer: French. This brilliant idea came from Laurel. She's learning to speak Spanish and suggested I try it and learn French...and I'm hooked! I love it...it's such a novel idea. I wish someone had suggested this to me earlier...I would be speaking 5 languages by now! It's great...I feel like I'm really making use of my brain. And the latest addiction to be added to my list: tape cassettes. Whoever said cds were the new tape cassettes was clearly mistaken. Tape cassettes are alive and well, and I'm staging a come back...all starting with my "learn how to speak French" tape. Lola doesn't have a cd player...but it's fine. I didn't want one anyway. She's old school and has a cassette deck. I'm gonna start making tape copies of my cds. I mean, how else am I going to listen to Jill Sobule and Juliana Hatfield in my car? I'm telling you, TAPES RULE.
February 03, 2004
Riding along in my automobile...
Slowly, but surely, I am learning. So over the holiday, Blake was browsing through the Sky Mall catalog on a plane coming back from NM, and came across this picture. He got such a kick out of it because it reminded him of me. This is my car...and Blake thinks I looked exactly like this when I was a kid. Haha. I think it's cute. By the way...I did the inevitable...I named my car...Lola. Thank you Jeralyn.
February 02, 2004
I didn't see her Boob
This weekend was filled with pros and cons. Cons: I was consistently tired, I didn't do some of my personal chores, I got really sick, and I didn't get to go out on Saturday night to a House club. Pros: I finally took my bridesmaids dress to get altered, I had a kick ass alcohol-free-sugar-free Super Bowl time, I got my car washed, and I did laundry. The real highlight of my weekend, however, was running into my first teacher crush...my 7th and 8th grade Home-Ec teacher. (Sigh.) I freaked out when I saw her. I thought No, that can't be her. I haven't seen her since...well, probably 8th grade. I have to say something. I mustered up the courage to talk to her and I did. She said she remembered me, but she being a teacher and having had millions of students, which I'm sure she runs into all the time, I reintroduced myself. She said, "Wow, you must have graduated high school already." Then I did the awful. I made her feel old when I said, "Actually, I graduated college." (Eek!) We chatted. I went to blah blah blah and studied blah blah blah and she is doing well...still teaching, but in a different school district. Then she told me, "Well, you look the same. You're aging beautifully. You've aged well." Then I died. Ha! I got all giddy. Now, I normally am not one to turn red, but I felt like I was glowing red from blushing! Man, this teacher...she was the one at my school that every boy AND girl had a crush on, including me. I loved this teacher. She was (and still is) so beautiful...tall, skinny, long blonde hair, sweet, intelligent. Everybody wanted to take Home-Ec. Yes, this was definitely the highlight of my weekend.