:lightbulb:

i've finally got it.

i've been in a funk beyond belief since the middle of january. maybe even the beginning of january. i don't know anymore. but it's been too long, and people are noticing. matt, my parents, my friends - they know somethin's up. i've been attributing most of my depression to my lack of stimulus during the workday. i come into the office, get online, facebook, email, read kristina and marisa's blogs, facebook, burn a cd, eat lunch, blog, facebook, twiddle my thumbs, and go home.
i'm a mess.

but we've all had boring jobs before. i used to work in the music department office, for pete's sake. so how come this time i keep thinking i need some words of wisdom from zoloft's bouncing white blob?




THE SUN!!!!

just because california is a naturally warmer state than new york does not mean that we have 365 days of constant sun. january and february are just as gloomy [well, almost just as..] as most other parts of the country. yes, we have days of 75 degrees and sunny here and there, but they are not consistent enough to pull me out of this funk. all i've gotta do is make it another few weeks and i should be home free! [i hope!] WHAT A RELIEF!


MR. SUN, PLEASE COME THE FUCK OUT TO PLAY BEFORE I GO INSANE.

friday the 13th

since i can remember, my friday the 13ths have always been really good days.
[knocked on my wooden coffee table]
and this one was no exception.

friday at work was alright - nothing special, but not a particularly horrible day, if i remember correctly. i was in a really great mood on my way home and was all smiles as i got on the subway. all of a sudden this delicious odor began wafting my way. it smelled like melons. i had no idea where it was coming from, but thought the man sitting in front of me might have been up to something when i saw him bent over and the people around him staring at him out of the corner of their eyes. a young man across the aisle from me reached over towards the busy man and returned with 2 sticks of incense in his hand. turns out the guy in front of me was selling his homemade incense. the young man bought a pack of the raspberry sticks, and i asked to smell them. $1/pack? hook me up! my room now smells absolutely delicious and so does my bag where the oil rubbed off. mmmm.

i emerged from the train station, a little bummed that my bus was not waiting for me as usual. a moment later, though, i saw a sleek looking hybrid bus pulling up. there are about 15 bus bays - this fancy bus couldn't be my ride, could it?? it came to a smooth and quiet stop right in front of me. i didn't even know they HAD hybrid buses in la. i'd never seen one before. i stepped on, way too excited for my own good, and took in the fresh smell of new car. MMM! the air on the bus smelled and felt great. i wish i could have ridden it to the end of the line.

as soon as the bus started rolling away, i began to text matt to tell him my good bus fortune. mid-text, he calls me. this always seems to happen. he had just finished an afternoon of hard mountain biking, and just missed a call from world's end management. i tell him to get off the phone with me and call them back! he calls a bit later to a. tell me he's got a meeting with world's end on wednesday [yay!] which means b. he won't be leaving for australia on valentine's day anymore - he's here til wednesday. [yay again!] i'm so stoked and i rush to target to get some card supplies. matt stops by while i'm out [figures] but it's alright, because i've got card-making to do.

i spend the evening doing arts and crafts and finally playing with my cat, asha. after a week and a half of being sick as a dog, she is a brand new kitty. she literally got better over night and i am thrilled. now if she'd just stop stepping all over my valentine material...

around 8:00 or so, my front door opens and i hear matt coming up the stairs. he shows up looking absolutely splendid, with a jacket and tie, bearing a single red rose, our favorite ice cream [with cones], and a homemade card. inside the card i find out that matt has bought us tickets to see paul mccartney at coachella in april. i am beyond touched, and congratulate him on winning the gift game. my poem and underwater camera are no match for paul. he cheated. nothing can compete with paul. i can't stop smiling. we leave soon after for indian. once again, we're one of the only people there. poor place. if they ever close i don't know what i will do. but i have NEVER ever ever seen this place packed. we give them so much business, though, so we're doing what we can.

we order way too much food [as usual] so that we have enough for lunch the next day. food is particularly delicious this evening. at one point during our conversation, in response to something or other, i say "yeah, but..." matt quickly points out that "yeah but lives in india!" we both freeze and, realizing our surroundings, quickly look around and burst into laughter. whoops.

after stuffing our faces with bombay chaat, kabuli naan, shahi paneer, mint chicken tikka, basmati rice, raita, and a yeti, we peace out and return home to our ice cream. we slurp our cones, lounge around in my room, and hit the hay.

who said friday the 13th was a day of bad luck?

i want pie! i want beef jerky!

uhhh...

incredible.

my name is jose! i am peruvian!

the homeless man i pass some mornings in front of the hollywood branch library on ivar has finally decided it is time to bring our relationship to the next level.

the first time he spoke to me was the week before christmas, when he wished me a merry christmas. since then, i've kept an eye out for him, though i know i'll never miss him - if he's around, he'll let me know. with a round, tan face, he's extremely friendly, always offering a wave or a 'hello! how are you this morning?'

this morning the front of the library was particularly crowded. the doors don't open until 10 am, so, strolling through at about 9:55, i am lucky enough to catch the group right before they head in every morning. i didn't see jose, but didn't think much of it [while there are a group of monday-friday regulars, jose seems to show up just about once or twice a week]. as i passed the book depositories, though, i heard a 'hey! hey!' and turned around to see jose waving, with a big smile plastered across his grubby face.

"how you doin today?"
"good, how are you?"
"good, thank you! where are you going? you going to work?"
:proceeds to walk down the block with me:
"yep!"
"my name is jose! i am peruvian!"
"ahh -"
"what is your name??"
"jessica."
"where are you from? where do you live here?"
"other side of the hill."
"ohh, you're from here originally?"
"no. i'm from new york."
"ah! new york! why did you move here?"
"the weather is so much nicer here!"
"you like the weather here?"
"yeah! new york's cold!"
"yeah, i used to live in new york. it can be rough. the weather can be real rough. well. my name is jose! you have a lovely, lovely day."
"thank you, you too. see you soon!"
:shakes hand and kisses it:
"have a wonderful morning, baby! peace!"

now, normally, when a somewhat grungy, scrappy man follows me down the street, i keep my head forward, my headphones on, and walk towards my destination as if my life depended on it. this may be somewhat prejudiced of me...it's just that it's unfamiliar - and, really, i would be just as likely to walk quickly away from a well-dressed, clean cut 40 year old skeez ball..so i suppose i'm not judging entirely on appearance or social status...i guess my reason for normally speed walking away from strangers is that they're just that - strangers. and anyone following me down the street whom i do not already know probably does not have the best intentions. so. anyhow. my point was..
i found my run in with jose to be quite endearing and i hope that others take a minute to talk to him, too.

sustainable skidmore

why wasn't all of this in place when I went there???

ayasha*

ayasha is my new cat.
and she is sick as a dog.

a few hours after having her tubes tied, i picked her up from the vet and brought her home. she was pretty loopy, and when she finally crept out of her cat carrier, she stumbled over a couple times.
hey, you would too if you just had your underbelly shaved and your female insides mangled and tied up so that you couldn't ever have babies. and on top of that she had been microchipped and de-fleaed. poor thing.

the next day she developed a bit of a sneeze. i let it go for a day before bringing her into the vet - they told me to watch out for sneezing and lethargy. well, she had both of those times 10.

now i find myself squeezing medicine through a plastic syringe into her mouth twice a day. [i thought taking care of a cat was supposed to be easy..] the first few days were alright - she didn't seem to mind too much. now i realize that cooperation with me was not a choice. she just couldn't move. now she's getting back just enough energy to fight back. it's ok, though. i've got it under control. i'm juuuuust strong enough to overpower her.


*she's pretty tiny, and ayasha means "little one" in cheyenne.
and "asha," what she goes by, means "hope" in hindi. thanks, kash. gt would be proud.



drugged up kitty.

all i want to do

a new song obsession.

and look, you can even sing along!!

thank you, bob

craig newmark, bringing people together.

i don't have a cat carrier.
and i'm not well off enough to feel OK about putting money into something i'm only going to use once every few years.
matt suggested a box. or a picnic basket. or a laundry basket. and while i had a really wonderful vision of packing my cat up for a picnic, i don't currently have access to any of these passable substitutes.
i'm sure it doesn't help that i didn't really think of this until last night. when i need one today.

so i decided to take a gander on craigslist.
$10. small dog/cat carrier. noho.

BA DA BING!
perfect.

i email sale-1016402964 to see if a. the cage is still available and b. if so, can i pick it up today before 5pm?

sale-1016402964 [from here on out we will refer to him as Mike]: yes, i'm here until 4.
me: great! what is your address?
Mike: xxxxx Chandler

turns out Mike lives RIGHT across the street from me. if chandler's one-way/bus lane shiz wasn't in my way, i could walk there. but there are fences and bushes lining the bus lane, just to prevent people like me from easily retrieving cat carriers, and i can't get over them.
so i will drive.
but still.
REALLY?? of all the places in north hollywood, you live across the street from me?

craig, you son of a gun, you've done it again.

$1.5 billion

that's how much mark zuckerberg is worth.
he's 24.
i'm going to be 24 in less than 3 months.
so sad.

i do love facebook, though. and i remember the first day that skidmore was added. i had written a message to the facebook gods requesting that they extend their membership from just those in the ivies to the rest of us in just as elite institutions. i got a message back [do they still even do that?] which said they were working on it. a few mornings later, i woke up to




alex kasprak was my first friend. i think it's because we were the only two to have joined at that point. i think i've spoken all of 7 words to him after that friend request.
oh well. i think we're still friends to this day.

there was a point to this post that i can no longer remember.
i'm sorry.
remember when our facebook homepages looked like this?



your picture, the number of friends you were connected to through classes [what? i don't even remember that.] and the number you were connected to through other friends.
basically, how popular you were. right there, smack dab in the middle of the first page you saw when you signed in.
"hey joe, you are connected to 17 people through friends. that means you probably have 2 friends of your own and you're lame as shit."
or
"welcome, alice! you are connected to 142,533,634,221,368 people through friends. wow! you must have soooo many friends and be, like, super awesome! we want to be friends with you, too! tell us how it's done!"

and the birthday alerts, right there for you to feast your eyes on with such ease. come onnn, why'd they have to throw the birthdays down to the right, requiring me to put forth the effort to actively search for the section by scrolling? scrolling?? ugh.
why do you make me work so hard, facebook?

now i have the hiccups.

[EDIT: 12:49PM.
i remember what the point of this post was going to be. it was that last night, when facebooking craigslist-ers who were interested in the punching bag that matt was selling, i think i accidentally invited one of them to join facebook. i didn't mean to. and i don't even know if that's what i did. but, because i have my language set to pirate mode, i did something. and i'm not quite sure what.
but, it was something that i immediately guessed to be wrong as soon as "Congrats, matey! A demand to join ye ol' facebook has been sent to the livery bilge rat [insert email address here]" popped up on the screen.
whoops.]

wünderniks

i adopted a cat today.

she is a stray. she is about 7 months old. she is a black tabby. her shelter-given name is mandy. i will be changing that. promptly.

she is getting spayed today, so i can't bring her home until tomorrow.

photos coming soon.

this is SO weird.

i wish i hadn't seen this.

my days of imagining a groundhog sleepily creeping out of his hole after weeks in hibernation, yawning and rubbing his eyes as he readjusted to the sunlight are over. gone are the days i spent trying to figure out how we knew whether or not the groundhog actually saw his shadow.

THESE are the people in charge of determining when springtime comes??
ugh.
this just kills it all.

fumble, my ass.

that last call of the game last night was pure bull.
kurt warner was hit by lamar woodley when his arm was BACK and on its way FORWARD.
GEEZ.
INCOMPLETE. INCOMPLETE.
NOT A FUMBLE!!!

i love you obama, but that game better not have been thrown because you wanted the steelers to win..

fumble...fumble, my ass.

on a lighter note, bruce springsteen did crotch slide into a camera man.

who wears short shorts?

i don't, unless i'm visiting my mechanic, in which case i wear very short shorts.

i tried nair last night for the first time. i had been told in the past that it would burn. it would sting. it would be a very unpleasant experience.
i must say, i had no problems. aside from the smell of burning, it worked amazingly better than i had envisioned, and there was zero discomfort. maybe it's because i was using nair for men. or maybe it's because my body is made of steel. or maybe it's because whoever gave me nair advice years ago was lying.

"click to continue listening to music"

i hate having to click on advertisements in the middle of a song i'm trying to listen to on myspace.

i already hate myspace for a number of reasons, and its one saving grace is fucking itself in the ass.

a night of history and balls

good stuff.
real good stuff.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Changefest '09 - Obama's Inauguration

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

girl's got a cravin'

i just went to the store and bought tampons and brownie mix.

cause i've got a purple ticket [the day after]

i had heard that on wednesday morning, PRESIDENT obama would be attending a national day of prayer service at the national cathedral. hoping to catch a glimpse of him after being denied by the media tower the day before, matt and i woke up at 7:30, packed up our bags, threw them on our backs, and caught the metro to cleveland park. we stopped into starbucks for some hot cocoa and breakfast sandwiches and began our mile and a half trek [uphill] towards the cathedral.

arriving at one side of the cathedral we were told by a copper that we couldn't get in that way. we continued up the street and looped around and found a nice, small crowd of people standing across the street from the cathedral. it was nice to have room to put my bag down, turn around and move as i pleased. there hadn't been much of that in the days prior.

we had heard that the service started at 10am, which is precisely when we arrived. i called mom to see if he was in the church already, and she said she thought she saw the back of his head in the first row. we stood in the cold, hoping the ceremony wouldn't be too long. mom called back a little after 11 and said they were doing the closing prayer [ah, where would we be without cell phones and cnn?]. we prepared ourselves as people started exiting the church. there was another media tower directly in front of the church doors, which gave me hope that perhaps he would actually exit out the front [news cameras know all]. this, however, did not happen. we waited, waited a little longer, and waited a little longer still, until the last few people trickled out and the cops on bikes left their posts. one said he thought he had heard a loud cheer from a side street, where there was a smaller gathering of people. apparently there was a side door to the church [of course there was], and the president had probably snuck out that way. not one to give up that easily, i waited at the corner to cross the street to check that he was gone for sure. while waiting for the light to turn green, matt looked up and across the street to the other corner. "hey! it's joe lieberman!" so no obama, but we brushed shoulders with joe lieberman. good enough. well, maybe for matt. not for me. we walked over to the cathedral lawn and took a pass by the front. the cameras were mostly gone, and those that were left were packing up. i didn't recognize anyone coming out of the church. he was gone. and i had missed him.

i hadn't had very high expectations when we woke up that morning, but once we got to the church and i saw the small crowd, the cops lined up along the road, the media platform, the men in black trenchcoats with sunglasses and ear pieces, i thought that maybe, just maybe, i'd get to see him. i didn't realize how much i had wanted to see obama until it dawned on me that i wouldn't get to, and i started to cry. matt told me it was really nice that i cared that much about our president, and that's true. i've never been into politics, never had any desire to see or be involved with any of our prior presidents [though i guess that really just includes bush, since i was too young when clinton was in action, sooo...], but i really, REALLY wanted to see obama. and i feel as though the best shot i had was during these few days. i really can't complain though. i was at his inauguration. barack obama's inauguration. AHH!!!

i walked back to the metro, teary-eyed and feeling irrationally sorry for myself, with matt. from here we ventured over to the white house where we were quickly ushered onto the sidewalk on the other side of the street. we all thought obama and his posse were going to come rolling in, so we stuck around. about 20 minutes later, two black cars drove through. and that was that. lame.

obama had opened his house to the public for a reception later that day. tickets had been available online, and i was kicking myself for not hearing about it sooner. because that was obviously my fault...
anyway, i was seething with jealousy over the lucky bastards in line.

we peaced out after the black car probably holding nobody drove by, and booked it to the lincoln memorial. there was another line, but it was moving quickly, so we ran up the steps, read the speeches, took our pictures, and jetted another mile and a half to the nearest metro stop. we hopped on the train to the airport, only to find out from united update alerts that our plane had been delayed an hour. ugh. why couldn't they have called 15 minutes earlier?

upon pulling up to the airport, though, we realized why our flight had been delayed. if it had left on time, there would have been nobody on board. there were people EVERYWHERE. this was the most thankful i have ever been for not checking any baggage. there was nobody at the electronic kiosk, so we printed our boarding passes and cockily walked by the droves of travelers. changed out of our winter clothing in the bathroom and got in line for security. good thing we were there early, after all. security was slow as molasses and it took us 45 minutes to get through. luckily we each had one last macintosh apple to enjoy while waiting. they don't really exist out west.
i crammed down some panda express [mmm orange chickennnn] and asked a united employee if he thought we would make our connecting flight in chicago. he said yes, probably. we said no, not if we only have 10 minutes to get to our gate. he ended up being right, but only because our chicago flight was delayed by 45 minutes...

while in line a girl asked if she could cut us to ask a quick question because her flight was leaving soon. i told her we were on the same flight, so we had to get through just as quickly. all she wanted to know was if flight 625 was going to chicago. we said yes. she was extremely grateful. too grateful. we passed her in line when we were boarding, and she recognized us as "the people who helped me!! oh my gosh you are so wonderful, thank you so much. i've had such a horrible day. they stole my wallet, and now got my credit cards and everything and i just want to get home..." she didn't stop talking, even as we were walking farther and farther away from her. i dreaded the possibility of sitting next to her on the plane.

our flight was fine, though. free drinks [unlike us airways. sluts.] so i drank my fair share of cran apple juice. we did crossword puzzles most of the way to chicago, and as soon as we landed we booked it to our next gate. our flight was delayed, so i had time for a nice pee before boarding. more crossword puzzles, a cat nap, and we were back in la. chris came and picked us up, dropped us at my house so we could get matt's car, and we headed to in 'n out for some eats.

it's good to be home.


Untitled (False Hope)

cause i've got a purple ticket [the day of]

6:57am
my alarm goes off.
not even close to having gotten enough sleep, we jump off the air mattress and begin preparing ourselves for the day ahead. the mattress didn't hold the air the whole night through, and so not only did i toss and turn all night long, but whenever i tossed or turned, i hit the ground. i slept horribly. i was not a happy camper when my Ringtone #3 began blasting a little before 7.
we knew the day was going to be a chilly one [forecasters said 30 degrees] so we did our best to bundle up. two pairs of socks, leggings, pants, tank top, long sleeved shirt, pull over, pea coat [courtesy of someone who left it behind at hermitage months and months ago], hat, mittens, scarf...im READY. bring it on, barack.

we left the house a little before 7:30 and began our 10 minute walk to the capitol. we had received purple tickets, and we saw the day before that the purple gate was the closest to ben's. how lucky. some people waited hours at the metro for a train. others waited hours inside, not able to get out of the stations because of the crowds. we walked alongside hundreds, drinking our overpriced trader joes protein smoothies, and finally saw the purple gate up ahead. we went to get into the first line we saw, only to ask and be told that it was a line for the yellow ticket holders. ok, we thought, our line's gotta be around here somewhere. we came to an area and were told we couldn't go any further. we asked the woman directing us away where we should go if we had purple tickets. she pointed down 1st street. "good luck," she added as we turned around.

as we walked down the purple line, about 6 people or so deep, i overheard a girl saying she had been there since 5am. ughh. i knew we had a ways to go. however, the further along 1st street we tried to go, the slower we were walking, until we came to an abrupt stop. we crawled over a chain and started walking up along the perimeter of the street, around trees and bushes, until even that ceased to move forward. stuck with a bush up my butt, i tried to see what was ahead. all i could see was a sea of people.
"what color ticket do you have?"
"purple."
"silver."
"ticket? i just want to get out of here."
clearly, this was going to be tougher than we had imagined.

8:15am
not wanting to get swept away in the direction of the silver tickets, matt and i stayed put right at the corner of 1st and D. people stopped moving. turns out, there were barriers up at the end of the block. there was nowhere to go. this crowd only grew larger by the minute, as everyone packed tighter and tighter onto the block. it's 8:30 in the morning, the woman behind me has got her walker up my ass and around my foot, it's cold as shit, i'm hugging complete strangers, and we're not moving. at all.

there was no security anywhere in sight.
you would think, when crowds of 2 million were expected, dc would have its shit together and monitor these forecasted crowds. instead, we were forced to listen to men like richard, a foreigner who decided to take it upon himself to direct the crowd. he was standing directly behind and above us on a lamppost platform and was yelling at us, with no credibility whatsoever, where to go, what he saw up ahead, and what he thought was going on.
he was stupid. and wrong. and all he did was work up the crowd.

9:30am
a man next to us called 911 to alert the authorities of the sheer magnitude of this situation and that complete chaos was not all that far away. "it's inauguration day. whaddya expect?" he was told.

i can't even tell you how closely crammed together we all were. i think i got further, sexually, with more people in 3 hours than i have during my life so far. suddenly, around 10:30 or so, after literally not moving an inch since getting crammed in this street corner, we surged forward about half a block. and when i say surged, i mean i had no control over where i was going. i was swept up in a wave of people and planted a half a block closer than i had been. apparently, silver ticket holders had broken down a barricade and this in turn allowed space for us to move. this is what i've been told, at least. who knows. i don't know what to think anymore. either way, we had finally moved. people were now given the opportunity to cut the line, much to the dismay of those of us who stayed in order. ["i hope your congressman is more honest than you!"]

we were now in a new mob of people which started about 10 deep and quickly grew to the width of the block again. i called my mom to see if she was hearing anything on tv about ticketed guests and whether or not everyone would be allowed in. she hadn't, but while i was on the phone i DID overhear a woman saying that if you had a purple ticket, your best bet would be to go over to the Yellow Gate and try to get in there. seeing that it was nearing 11am and the purple gate wasn't even open, we decided that we had nothing to lose, and went and joined our 3rd mass of obama-goers.

11:10am
new mob. new people. new hope.
again, closer than i would like to hundreds of people. so close, in fact, that when my phone rang, it not only vibrated in my pocket, it vibrated on another woman's leg. she thought it was her phone, until i, laughing, told her that no, it was just mine. on her leg. she told her friend to stay away from me. "she'll vibrate on you!" later on, when she accidentally hit me in the head with her glove, she told me that now we were even. this was a good crowd.

11:20am
a girl in front of me, realizing the time and that we haven't moved, is crying. i wanted to give her a hug, but knew that i wouldn't be much comfort. i was starting to freak out about not making it in, too. los angeles. i flew from los ANGELES. i have a TICKET. i had BETTER get through those gates or i am going to raise HELL.

11:30am
"purple tickets in the air! purple tickets in the air! this section is for purple ticket holders ONLY!"
this is the first order we have been given since arriving 4 hours earlier.
thousands of fists fly into the air, all of them bearing purple tickets.
we all had tickets.

finally, by some stroke of luck, our mass started moving forward. and kept moving forward. matt and i reached a security guard at a gate. really? there are people manning this? somebody works here? one of the first officials we'd seen all day. matt got let through, and a hand came down in between us. matt and i were still holding hands [the only thing to keep us from being swept away from each other] and the security guard decided that was grounds to yell at us. he was yelling at everyone to stop pushing, and, looking down at matt and i, proceeded to add, "this is what screws everything up. let go of each other."
slut.
just let me through the fuckin gate.

we finally busted through the "purple gate," which wasn't the original purple gate at all, but was actually the exit to the yellow gate, sprinted through metal detectors [for the record, there is tighter security at airports than there was at barack obama's presidential inauguration], and tried to find a viewing spot. barack is being introduced to the crowd as we're running around, and the moment we stand up on what ends up being our ledge for the rest of the ceremony, aretha breaks into song.
talk about timing.

during the days after the ceremony, i've been able to realize just how lucky we were to get in through that gate. at least 5,000 people, and probably more, WITH TICKETS, never even made it in. the planning committee cites overcrowding, but that's bullshit, because there was tons and tons of space in the ticketed area that matt and i were in. they just didn't have their shit together.

eff you, dianne feinstein, for almost giving me a coronary.

but in the end, thank you, dianne feinstein, for ultimately being the one to allow me to be present for such an occasion. this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and i still can't believe i was there for it. i can't put into words how i was feeling during the ceremony, except that the smile on my face was unwavering. and i think it will stay that way for quite some time.

barack obama, you are my hero.


so are you, matt, for wearing what you did.


untitled (Matt and purple tights)

cause i've got a purple ticket [the day before]

i just got back from barack obama's inauguration.
it was unbelievable. amazing. incredible.
and really, really, cold.

and if i didn't want to savor every moment of it, i would leave it at that.
but i do, so i won't.
so here we go.

matt and i took a red eye from los angeles on sunday night. we had a [very very brief, due to a delay - think home alone style] layover in cleveland, and neither of us slept. we arrived in dc around 9am to an empty reagan national airport, and headed straight to ben's apartment, where we were staying. we dropped off our bags and immediately trekked over to the rayburn building, where we would pick up our tickets from howard berman's office. we found a long mass of people [surprise, surprise] and found our way to the end of the line, where we waited a little under an hour to get into the building. we met a nice woman in front of us from massachusetts, whose sons go to the same high school that matt's uncle teaches chemistry at. small world.
we made it inside rayburn and easily found our way to rep. berman's office. we figured we would come across a secretary, be handed our tickets, and leave. however, after receiving our tickets [from a woman who informed me that after living in california for a year, i "really should have gotten a california id already." whoops.] we were told that if we wanted to meet mr. berman, he was in his office. really? cool!! we waited while he finished talking to another couple and then headed in. he asked us if we wouldn't mind holding on just another minute ["you know how it is. you've waited so long already, what's another 3 minutes?"] so we took it upon ourselves to take a seat on his couch. oooh, look at us. fancy valley villagers on our congressman's couch. he came back into his office and chatted with us for a few minutes. we found out that he lives within walking distance from our apartments in valley village, and that if we ever have any issue we'd like him to bring up, to please contact his office in van nuys. wow. does our government ACTUALLY work like that? it was really reassuring to see that it does. i had already succumbed to the idea that nobody really cares what i think. glad to see i was wrong. thanks, howie.

half wanting to go pass out and half wanting to make use of this beautiful 30 degree day in DC, we decided on the latter, and took a stroll down the mall, stopping in the botanical gardens, the air and space museum, and the american history museum. i don't quite know how we did it. we were running on no sleep and hot dogs and nasty ass pizza. not the most ideal combination for being a tourist, though i suppose those are what make these trips memorable.
while in the air and space museum, i stopped for a pee break. i came out to find matt sitting on a bench outside the restrooms, talking with a girl. i came over and she just SHUT UP. it was amazing. i have never caught a girl red-handed hitting on my boyfriend and then had the power to stop her in her tracks just by walking up. i couldn't believe it. so good.

i bought sarah palin condoms.

after the history museum [in which steven colbert has indeed managed to hang a portrait of himself] we stopped at an organic food stand and bought a barackwurst [clever. veeeery clever.]. matt and i had the grossest burps until we woke up the next morning.

after the museum fest, we headed toward the washington monument, which was under construction the last time i was in dc [dcs '99, anyone??] so it was exciting to finally be able to get all the way up to it. the only obnoxious part about this monument is that it is impossible to take a photo of the entire thing. this makes for a limited number of photo ops unless you're willing to get creative.

we finally made it to the lincoln memorial [from the capitol to lincoln is 2.7 miles, i have just learned] but there was a line to get up there, and it was getting late, so we decided to leave it for another day. we found a nearby trader joes, got us some dinner and some snacks for the am, and headed back to ben's around 8.

longest. day. ever.

[i shall break this entry up into 3 separate ones to spare your eyes and your attention span.]


untitled (Matt and Barackwurst)

i triple dog dare you.

too. too. cute.

with a name like that

i'm so happy they're alive.

thank you, Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III

4. hours.

i watched 4 hours of american idol last night.

i am not an american idol fanatic like my parents. it's a pretty religious event at my house. my mom keeps notes from each week. she met a contestant last year at the dutchess county fair and almost peed herself. well, so says my dad. i think he was secretly star-struck, too.

so while i do not have to go to confession for missing an episode, i do enjoy watching it when it's on and i'm free. but i missed the premiere on tuesday night because i was watching the biggest loser. [what? is that laughter i hear? shut the fuck up.]
jesse tivo-ed..tivo'd. tivoed. tivo'ed. *the fact that tivo is not a real verb is proving difficult in this particular situation.*
jesse taped tuesday night's ai for me so that i didn't have to fear about being left behind in the process. seriously, these audition episodes are key. KEY, i tell you.
since ai takes over the airwaves for not one night a week, but TWO, we first had to watch wednesday night's 2-hour episode before putting on tuesday's. i can't believe i watched 4 straight hours of that shit. seriously.

there were some entertaining contestants, though. the creepiest for SURE being this guy. i actually wanted to throw up. listening to him sing was rougher on my stomach than cleaning the shit off of jesse's roommate's cat's ass fur.

see you in hollywood.

imagine this was mr.paisley

for some reason i find this hilarious.

sucks to be you, fargo.

it currently feels over 110 degrees warmer where i am than in fargo, nd.




[edit: 1:48pm - it now feels like 84 in los angeles and -33 in fargo. and it's snowing.]

fri, sat, sun.

this past weekend was a-ok.

i don't remember what i did friday.
not because it was so good that i became inebriated to the point of forgetfulness, but because i don't think i did anything. did i? geez. i probably sat around hermitage watching it's always sunny.

saturday i woke up and made matt and i breakfast. scrambled eggs, fake sausage, toast, and seeded clementines that were virtually impossible to peel. by the time mine was rind-free, i'm pretty positive all the juice was gone and i was left with skin and seeds. tasty.
i cleaned up around the house for the rest of the morning and then went to pick up my car. $261 later and i've got myself a new, working turn signal. don't ask. keith, my skeevy mechanic, made sure to point out to everyone there that i was wearing my 'discount' shorts. i tried to make it a quick visit, but i was inevitably cornered while he told me about the various millionaires with "huge cocks! you wouldn't believe the size of this guy!", the girls who 'work' at the massage parlor around the corner and who "make so much money, you wouldn't believe it. and with most guys they're done in 5 minutes! easiest $200 you could make!" and the young girl he found using one of the abandoned cars in his lot to turn tricks with her 40-year old sugar daddy. "should i buy her condoms?"
after escaping keith's grasp [literally], i made some returns at joann's fabric and michael's. i stopped into home depot and picked up some potting soil for the garden. arriving at the hermitage, i found chris ladd, and we went to santa monica and met up with tim and jesse. we walked down the pier a bit, got some eats, and then headed to venice to stroll down the boardwalk. ahh, venice in the p.m. my favorite. crazies, galore!
seriously, don't walk there alone. it's sketchy as shit.
when we couldn't take the ever growing drum circle any longer, we peaced out and drove to find the canals that run through a small area of venice. i had seen them from a car, but had never walked along them before - i didn't even know you could, but we soon figured it out and walked canal side down along the houses. this place is gorgeous, and everyone that comes to visit me out here is now mandated to see these. the houses are ridiculous, the canals are real pretty by moonlight, and the foot bridges are adorable. someday. when i have enough money..canals, here i come.
then we went back home and chris and i drank some bottles of wine and watched it's always sunny.

sunday i woke up early to find charlotte in the kitchen cooking breakfast. what a nice treat! she made her version of chile quiles. mmm. william and i went to the spca to look at the animals. the cat rooms are my favorite. i hung out with this 4 yr old male named academy [lame]. he was so great. he had the BEST face. and when we scratched him under his chin, he stuck his neck out, closed his eyes, and almost grinned. real real friendly right off the bat. though when we were playing, one of his claws got stuck in my hand and now i'm left with a puncture wound and a bruise. battle wound in check, i went over to hermitage and pulled up the garden. time for round 2! i didn't have the heart to pull out the green pepper plant, though, because despite not being watered for at least 3 weeks, it's still producing fruit. so i'm trying to work around it. we'll see how that works. digging a foot down and mixing the soil is hard work, so i only got about 1/3 of the way done before i ventured inside and found a hungry chris and tim. we went to hugo's and got some mexican and then headed to menchies with william for some fro yo. mmm.
then we went back to hermitage and i watched more sunny. with chris. and wine..
matt got home real late, but i stayed up, since i haven't seen much of him since he's been working since he's been back. i was POOPED today.

all i want to do now is have a glass of wine...and watch some sunny.

somebody's got a case of the mondays,

but it's ok, because today is IN 'N OUT DAY AT THE OFFICE!!!!

every once in awhile, if we're lucky, a higher power decides that we should order in 'n out for lunch.

today is that day.

marisa will get it.

this weekend, when i wasn't drooling over the cats and dogs at the spca, meandering along the canals in venice, or working in the garden, i was seated on the couch [usually with wine and chris ladd at my side] watching it's always sunny in philadelphia.
if you have never seen this show, you need to go out and find it. now. and watch lots of it.
if you have seen the show before, watch more.
if you are easily offended, keep watching. that's the point.

charlie's temper tantrums are my favorite part of the show. and if you're lucky, they just may become yours, too.

watch it.
now.

get back together already.

i just looked at all 55 pictures of these two.

from 5 months ago.

don't judge me.

what earthquake?

there was an earthquake about 50 miles east of here tonight.
jake was on the front porch and he felt it.
matt, dave, and i were in the driveway and we didn't.
so, naturally we didn't believe jake when he told us he had just felt his chair shake.
"yeah, whatever, jake. how much wine have you had?"

20 minutes later, my phone rang. it was home, with dad on the other line. when i answered the phone all i got back was, "is everything ok?"
"what?" i asked?
"is everything ok??"
"is everything ok?"
"yeah. there was an earthquake."
"oh. there was?"
"yes, it's on channel 4."
"oh, haha. really? hahahhaha.."
"ok, well..i guess everything's ok, then."

"..hahahah. yeah. hahahah. everything's great."

hand me my tiara, please.

after talking for months about how i've always wanted a white, terry cloth robe like they have in the fancy hotels, i finally got one.
i've never actually worn one, but lounging about a 5-star hotel suite in a big, fluffy, white robe like they do in the movies has always been a dream of mine. it's always seemed like a status thing to me. if you're rich and famous, you have a bright white terry cloth robe.
this is obviously not true, as anyone can go out and purchase their very own.

but i guess i've been mentioning it quite a bit, because matt picked up on it and bought me the most WONDERFUL white turkish terry cloth robe.
i live in it.
nothing has ever felt so good against my naked skin as this thing. it's gotta be made of 20 lbs of cotton. it's so heavy. and huge. and wonderful. and warm. and it smells good. and since i've begun wearing it after my evening showers, taking it off and getting into bed has become the most difficult part of my day.

now i prance around my apartment in white fuzzy socks and my robe pretending that i'm anne hathaway in the princess diaries.
..after she's a princess, of course.

god bless you, mr. rosewater

I CAN'T BELIEVE THERE IS THIS MUCH SNOT IN MY NOSE.

if i were to give you directions on how to Live Like Jess For A Day, this is what i would tell you to do:

sneeze about 11 times.
empty nose into 3 tissues.
let 15 minutes go by.
repeat.
feel free to cough intermittently.

how is this possible?
i have no idea where all of this fluid is coming from, but the amount of it is freakin me out.
i don't mind blowing my nose all that much. when i first got my nose pierced, the thing that most upset me was that i wasn't able to pick or blow my nose for a few weeks. so i'm lucky to be able to drain my face. but i do feel bad for parker, who has to share an office with me. poor guy wasn't hungry at lunch today. i probably made him lose his appetite.

i'm hoping i get this all outta my system real soon. a snotty jess is an unattractive jess.
or so i can imagine.

i'm beating kristina

i've started running.
today, should i continue, will be day 3.
YES!
i can't make it too far before i wonder why the fuck i'm outside doing what i'm doing.
so far, this point has been whitsett. which is exactly one mile from my house. my goal right now is to at least keep my jog to this 2 miles, followed by my 15-minute ab workout from hell.
i must be doing something right, because i can't sit down or bend over without feeling excruciating pain. going to the bathroom is the worst, because your legs are at a complete 90 degree angle with your ass, and there's no getting around it. at least in a nicer chair or a couch you can recline a bit, or stretch your legs out. but not when you're peeing. i dread the trips to the bathroom i will have to make today. and i guarantee you there will be a lot.

also, i have more posts in 2009 than kristina.
this will quickly change.
so soak it up while you can.

seriously?

the other night i went to cj's pizza in rhinebeck with matt, my family, and our neighbors, the fishers. i didn't bring my wallet or my id because a. i wouldn't be paying and b. i never get id'd when i'm with the rents.

we sit down and matt and i order beers, no problem.
our beers are delivered to our table, no problem.
i even take some sips of my beer. no problem.

problem.
a new waitress beelines it to our table, her presence directed towards myself and matt.
"excuse me, can i just see some ID?"
matt takes his out.
i can't.
"uhh.." :fumbling awkwardly in pockets: "i don't think i have mine on me..."
"alright, well i really need some id."
"alright, well i don't have mine. so i guess you'll just have to take this beer away from me." [i didn't think she actually would.]
:takes beer and walks away:
"........." everyone at the table is silent for a moment while we process what just happened, except for my brother who shouts out, "oh my GOD, she's 23 years OLD."

i didn't know they were allowed to take a drink away from you after you've already begun consuming it. if i had known what was going to happen immediately after i suggested to the waitress that she steal my beer back, i would have chugged my beverage, at my dad's suggestion.

after my dad went and talked to the manager [my family is much better about sticking up for me than i am for myself], who still denied me my already-sipped-from beer, we settled down a bit and i angrily sipped my water. matt suggested i steal something from the restaurant. i went into the bathroom to look for some loot, only to find that there is nothing in there. not even a lousy vase.
last time i ever eat at you, cj's.

rappy poo near

i had the best new years ever.

the past few years i've stayed in with my parents, watched the ball drop, and hit the hay at 12:01.
this year i was in vermont with matt and his family. it was sooo wonderful. first off, his family is SO GREAT and i felt at home the instant i arrived. second, vermont is just one of the best states out there. despite the below zero degress temperatures, i wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else.

i arrived at matt's on tuesday evening, where i was immediately thrown into family dinner. it was delicious, and after a few beers and over 2 hours of apples to apples [ha.], i felt completely at home. the family dog, bela, and i had a love affair with one another. if i ever get myself a dog, it will be one of bela's kind. talk about love. the kitten, fight club, was hilarious and had neverending energy, which is great, because i can play with cats til the cows come home.

after waking up late the next morning [sidenote: i don't believe i got out of bed before noon the entire time i was home] to a delicious breakfast, matt and i got bundled up and went outside to work on the snowfort. once 11 feet high, the rain and warm days had melted it to about 5 feet. it was time to bring it back to life. we [i say we. i stood around playing with the dog and complaining about the cold.] sawed out [and i mean sawed. with a saw.] enormous bricks of ice that required not only myself and matt, but at times even his father, to hoist up on top of our snow structure. before long, i was colder than i could ever remember being, so i stayed outside with matt for just a little bit longer. because that's what you do when you love somebody. you suffer for them.
so what could be better than spending a vermont afternoon building a snowfort?
well let me tell you!
hot apple cider and SANDWICHES FROM PUTNAM are better than spending a vermont afternoon building a snowfort!!!
what a treat we had waiting inside for us. on my way up the day before i stopped in saratoga [i couldn't help myself] and picked up some sammiches from putnam. MM MM GOOD. i mean they better be flippin delicious. goddamn $9.00 sandwich.

we spent the rest of the day hanging out around the house, and after a dinner of tasty hors d'oeuvres [sp?] matt, his sister julianne, their parents and myself headed out to montpelier's First Night. there we froze through a creepy bread & puppet parade and a nice fireworks display at the capitol building. i would freeze through montpelier's nye celebration before times square's any day.

from there we went inside and warmed up a bit before matt, julianne and i headed over to langdon st. cafe for their new year's eve festivities. $10 entry to see two bands included one free drink! woo! what a deal!
the first band we saw was called primate fiasco. a mix of dixieland, new orleans jazz, funk...you get the point - they were sooo fantastic. we danced the night away beside the sweaty group of smelly [read: reallysmelly.] hippies. we fit right in. finally, a public gathering in which i felt 100% completely comfortable [except for the man in only a vest. my nose was not comfortable when i was within a 5 foot radius of him]. i dare you to find me a place like that in LA. i triple dog dare you.
[please? will you?]

sean showed up after work, and it was great to see him. we did the ol' slip-a-wristband-off-and-bring-it-outside-so-that-sean-can-put-it-on-his-wrist-and-get-in move. it worked. i had to pee a lot, and the line for the bathroom was always a bit of a wait. it reminded me of waiting in DAs. always feeling like i'm in someone else's way, and always waiting until the last possible moment before getting in line. i guess the latter problem is my own. matt and i went into the bathroom together a couple times, at the suggestion of a girl behind us, and came out to stares. even though it annoys me when i see other people doing it, it really does save time.

after primate fiasco finished their set, they came down into the crowd while Rusty Belle [skidmore band!!!] took the stage, and together they both rang in the new year with a fantastic rendition of After Midnight. my first midnight sans dick clark came and went, i finally had a boy to kiss, and after julianne and sean left, matt and i stayed on and danced allllll night long. the music MUST be good if I'M dancing. and the beer. the beer must be good, too.

rusty belle played on until past 2, when matt and i were getting ready to leave. what a partay! and cheap, local beers! unheard of in my new life. what a great time. it's been so long since i've been at a place like that. a nice little cafe filled with music and fun and love and free spirits who don't give two shits about anything except having a good time. smelly and sweaty as it was, i wouldn't have traded it for anything else.

as soon as we got home, matt and i dove into the remainders of our putnam delicacies and leftovers from dinner. it was a late night. but that's what new years is for.

i'm getting fat

and it's ok, because i'm eating delicious cookies.
and it's christmastime.
and it's ok to gain weight during the holidays.
that's what you're supposed to do.
and then you make your new years resolution to lose all that weight.

or that's what i'm telling myself, at least.

i made some kickass cookies tonight. i'm bringing some of them up to matt and family, but the rest i'm devouring myself. that's really why i made them..so i had an excuse to eat them. and that's why i made all of my favorites..magic cookie bars, peanut butter cookies with hershey kisses, and walnut ball things. SO GOOD I CAN'T STOP EATING THEM.

i wish i had money to join a gym. that would help when i try to make all of these cookies disappear from my hips and gut. maybe i'll just start running with tim.
haha.
that'd be a hoot.

cocktail dress

also, i got to see dana tonight.
him living in australia is a pretty major disruption to my life.
so it was really fantastic to see him.

we make the best cranium team.
fuckers had to end the game early because they were bored??
WHO GETS BORED WITH CRANIUM???
WHO?!!!

anyway.
cocktail dress was the charade of the evening.
props to dana.

#9

magic hat #9 is one of the most delicious beers around.
it is a major pity that it is currently only sold on the east coast. i guess they ship it as far west as chicago, but that's not far west enough. bitches need to export their brews to the west coast!
do it!
now!
this fact does, however, give me one big, legit excuse to lather myself in the stuff while i'm here.
"but i won't get to have it again until i come back east!"

yes, i'm taking big fat showers in #9.
when i went to the store to buy some, i saw some kid i went to germany with back in '99. he didn't remember me. i think his name was jacob. i'm not too sure.
back in '99. geez. that was 10 years ago.
time is FLYING.
flying like batman, which i watched again when i was in the airport last week.
what a fantastic film. heath deserves some major award for his performance. and i don't mean a leg lamp like the major award in A Christmas Story.
i mean an oscar.

the oscars should be interesting this year. quite a few good films were released, many of which i saw, and many of which i would still like to see.
i should get on that. i enjoy watching oscar-worthy, potentially-nominated films before the awards are given out. otherwise i feel like i'm watching them solely because of their award status. which is partly true. but this time i actually want to see most of them.
so, i should get on that.

pardon my spastic posting tonight.
i had too many # 9s.

i'm home

after 27 hours, i've made it home.

also, business class is awesome.

sfo

i woke up at 4:45 this morning to get to the airport for my 6:45am flight. luckily i flew out of burbank, so matt only had to drive about 20 minutes roundtrip on 3 hours of sleep as opposed to a lengthy 60 minutes or so, had i booked my flight out of lax [good on me for at LEAST considering that aspect of my travel plans]. thank you, boyfriend, for still loving me even after i scheduled my flight back east for such a god awful time. you're great. :)

since nobody flies out of burbank, i got there at 5:20, flew through security, and watched the minute hand go around the clock for an hour straight. it was excruciatingly painful. as well as dark. my flight to san francisco was a blur. i don't remember arriving here. i do, however, remember that i had an entire row to myself and that i wished i could have had that luxury all the way back to the east coast.

but at this point, just getting on a plane to the east coast would be nice.

upon arriving to this here san francisco airport at 8am, i found my gate for my 9:17 flight. super quick layover, no problemo. ok. delayed til 10:20. not too bad. 10:45. alright, alright..

"Attention, flyers [fliers?], we are currently looking for people with flexible schedules to New York who would be willing to give up their seat on this flight in exchange for a free roundtrip voucher good for anywhere in the continental United States good for the next year."

SWEET.

"how flexible?"
"we have a flight tomorrow morning at 7:42am."
"i'll get back to you."

10 minutes later. different representative.
"hi. could you give me some hotel information? i have no problem giving up my seat, i just have nowhere to stay tonight."
"well, let me see if i can get you on a flight tonight...ah, 10:20 red eye this evening, it would be business class. and i'll put you on standby for the rest of the flights out this afternoon."
"uhh..GREAT."

goodbye gate 80, hellooooo gate 81!
....goodbye gate 81, heyy there gate 83..
hmmm..at this point i realized that i wouldn't make it into new york until after 10:30 and as the last shuttle to grand central is at 11:10, i feared i wouldn't make it. last thing i want after 24 hours of travel is to be stuck in jfk until the morning.
so i just took myself off standby and currently have 8 hours and 14 minutes left until my flight.

my butt is numb, i have to pee, and i have bags the size of montana under my eyes.
ugh.

at least i'll get free [airplane] food.

merry christmas, kids

the chicago tribune is taking online submissions of photos of children who are terrified of santa.
they've put together a book of them, as well.
these are some of my favorites.



this one should speak for itself.
santa's face is amazing.


this girl looks like a bitch.


this chick knows where it's at. if you're gonna scream, SCREAM.
also, make sure to hold onto your candy cane with a kung-fu grip, no matter how terrified you may be.



i bet she doesn't even get the chance to cry, she's so genuinely frightened by this man.
i would be, too. look at him. creeper.
i guess that's what you get when you visit santa at walmart.


this is my absolute favorite. the description for this one informed us that these boys were both terrified out of their minds.
i think they've gone into shock.

click my fancy hyperlink above for more gems.

you'll shoot your eye out!

i can't wait for the annual christmas TV sesh i have with myself.

first and foremost is It's a Wonderful Life,' which you'd be crazy to miss. who wouldn't want george bailey to throw a lasso around the moon and pull it down for them?

second is the yule log. i generally spend about 7 seconds on this channel. but it's a staple, and the holidays just would not be complete if i didn't pause while flipping through the channels to acknowledge just how DUMB this is.

third is, well, quite possibly one of the funniest movies ever made: A Christmas Story.
thank GOD tnt/tbs/one of those plays this film for 24 hours straight the day before christmas. honestly. i don't know what i would do without it. that leg lamp? randy's snowsuit? ralphie's visit to santa? god.

if i can find my copy of Home Alone i will certainly watch that as well. hopefully with kristina by my side. what am i saying? if i can't find mine, i KNOW she'll have it. she probably keeps a stack of them under her bed for safekeeping.

fine. let me burn my hand.

yesterday, on the way to whole foods to get ear candles, i stopped at the convenience store at whitsett and chandler for a cup of coffee. it's cheap and it's good and it's always piping hot. so hot, in fact, that despite their heavy duty cups, i like to slide a second one on just in case my hand can't handle the heat. a protective covering, if you will. i used to do this regularly when i worked at the burgess cafe at skidmore. granted, our coffee cups may as well have been made out of tissue paper, for even with two cups i often found myself hustling to a flat surface to sit my beverage down until it had cooled.

anyhow, while i know this isn't the most environmentally-conscious way to consume coffee, i can't afford to risk burning my hand while i'm driving. so i did in fact take two cups. i brought my drink up to the register, all smiles, excited about the chilly weather and about the fact that i had managed to leave the house in my slippers and that it somehow seemed publicly acceptable, even in los angeles. i knew the coffee was going to be $1.20, but i waited for the man at the register to tell me so.
instead, he just stared at my coffee, as if confused as to what i was purchasing.

"you took two cups?" he said, after a long pause.
"oh. oh, look at that! ha! how'd that get there?!..." i responded, really just wondering if he was actually serious.
"....."
"should i...do you want me to go put this one back?"
"no. just leave it here."
"ok..."
"a dollar twenty."

fuckin economy.
when i told matt what had happened he pointed out how strange it is that we might not be living in a better america than our parents did.
is this really true? are we living in a world where expecting two coffee cups is considered to be just a little too extravagant?
god, i hope not.
but i'm starting to think maybe we are.

i'm going to see obama.

on november 10th i sent a message to the congressman of california's 28th congressional district, the oh so honorable howard berman.
after hearing on the news that tickets to obama's inauguration in washington d.c. in january were being given out [for free!] by house representatives and senators, i decided to give it a shot.

later that afternoon i received an electronic 'thank you for taking the time to write to our office.'
you're welcome.

on november 21st i heard back from mr. berman's office, which stated that they had received 2,000 requests for a stack of less than 200 inauguration tickets. these tickets would be handed out randomly by a lottery. please respond if you would like your name to be included.
duh.
though it seemed like a bit of a longshot, i had a good feeling. besides, somebody has to win 'em, right?

almost 3 weeks go by. nothing. i assume i haven't won, and concede to the fact that, come january 20th, i will either be sitting in front of my television, hoping that my antenna doesn't crap out, or sitting in front of a computer with chris, hoping that we don't lose our internet connection like we did on election night. it's a maybe lose-maybe lose situation.

december 10th, two days ago.
an email pops in from howard's office. 'thank you for participating in our lottery. i'm sorry you were not selected to receive tickets. you have been put on our waiting list as an alternate.'
ok. you never know. someone might not claim their tickets. howie may be able to get some more tickets from somewhere.. i've lasted this long, better not give up hope now.

december 11th. 8:37 am. i wake up and decide to check my email. i usually wait until work to do this so that i have something to do as soon as i get into the office. but for some reason, on this particular morning, i pop open my trusty ol' powerbook and check out my inbox.
"Congratulations! You've been selected from the waiting list to receive 2 tickets from my office for the 2009 Presidential Inauguration Ceremony."
...re-read it.
..one more time.
.OH MY GOD.

i run downstairs in my tshirt and underwear, i don't care who else is around, my hair is a mess. i find matt making oatmeal in the kitchen.
I JUST GOT TWO TICKETS TO OBAMA'S INAUGURATION!!!!!!
AND YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!!!
big smiles.
hugs.
more smiles.
some oh my god i can't believe its.

talk about a high. i was on cloud 9 all day long.
but i guess it makes sense.

i mean, somebody had to win 'em.

i'm dreaming of a..sunny christmas?

i know i've posted once before about southern california weather. but i'm going to do it again.
it's 75 degrees out today.
it's going to be 77 tomorrow.
it is december 10th.
uh.

then i drive around in my car in the evening, when it's dropped to maybe, MAYYYbe 60, and i blast the heat. that's not right. my dear friends and family are back east braving 30 degree days, if they're lucky, and i find 65 an excuse to bundle up with hat and scarf. i wonder what this means for my east coast return. i may not make it! what if i walk off of the plane and freeze upon contact with the brisk new york air?! that would be a shame. but stranger things have happened.

i think the office put the heat on today. the hallway has that smell that heaters give off after they've been neglected for 9 months. they've also ventured into the attic and dug out the christmas decorations. it must really be christmastime. it can be hard to tell 'round these parts. though last night i partook in one of my favorite holiday pastimes, driving around the local neighborhoods, looking at the christmas lights. it'll never get old, will it? i can't wait to go home and see charissa coons's house. her family always has their decorations up the day after thanksgiving. we never miss that one.

i guess i should learn to think outside the box. not everyone has a white christmas. i guess most don't, come to think of it. but growing up with them, that's what i'm used to, and it's proving difficult to adjust to christmas in the caribbean.
besides, isn't santa boiling in his suit?

all the single ladies

i normally try to stray from the mainstream of today, however, i cannot for the life of me stop listening to 'single ladies' by beyoncé.
my GOD what a track.
[thank you, middle school french for teaching me how to fetch up é on a pc]
and don't even begin to argue with me about how hot the video is.

something to wine about

we're having a wine and cheese party tonight.
i am contributing a bottle of gallo cabernet sauvignon (it was more expensive than my norm, Two Buck Chuck, so i figure it's gotta be halfway decent) and a block of 'semi-soft' cheese (again, a blind upgrade from my cheddah), courtesy of trader joe's.
only the finest.

i have just put on my only black dress. the one i wear to anything Formal.
you can probably peruse my facebook photos and find more than a handful of me in this very dress.
recitals, dinners, anything important.
wine and cheese parties.

i just made myself and matt some delicious grilled cheese and tomato and basil sandwiches, with two piping hot bowls of tomato soup. campbell's has got nothin on trader joe's.
trader joe's. now THAT'S mmm mmm good.

i should make my way downstairs. i'm trying to get over my habit of being fashionably late.
to everything.



[for tomorrow morning.]

whoops

i forgot i had a blog.

i've failed once again at continuing to write down my thoughts and ideas. just like when i try to keep a journal. i write for a couple of weeks [at best] and then, well, fuck it.
this is not intentional. this time i place all the blame on thanksgiving and the few days prior, during which i did nothing but bake pies. the days following, i did nothing but eat pie. no time for blogging. i just get off track for a couple of days and then can't get back in the swing of things.
i will also compare my lack of commitment to my gym habits. what gym habits? you may ask.
exactly.

i then read kristina's blogs because i find them so entertaining, and subsequently feel pangs of guilt for not repaying the favor. not that she's refreshing my page waiting for new posts or anything...

this past week has been a blur. it's been incredibly slow at work, so it hasn't been a busy blur. it's just been a strange week. i keep having to double check the day. thank goodness it's friday. i've had a pounding headache since yesterday morning and just want to sleep in tomorrow morning. wine party at hermitage tomorrow night and i need to be well-rested. though i did go to sleep last night at 10. i can't even tell you the last time i did that. but matt's been real sick since the middle of the week, so it's been early nights and lots and lots of tea for me! mmmm...tea. i can never get enough tea. i could write a novel about tea. about how much i love it, at least.

i just ordered lunch when i brought in my own.
i'm so fucking easily influenced by chinese food. ugh.
that's the way to my heart, by the way. chinese food. chinese food and, well, some other less materialistic things.

santa's little hermitage helpers

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

dude, you're gettin a dell!

what ever happened to steve, the dell guy?



and if THAT didn't convince you...

that's what i'm talkin' about

prop 8 protest march in west hollywood.


what bothers me the most about all of this [aside from the fact that prop 8 has indeed, PASSED], is that nobody has any idea what will happen to the thousands and thousands of california couples who have gotten married in the past 6 months.
some say the new ban is retroactive and will nullify all of these LEGAL marriages [fuck you.], while others say that these marriages cannot be overturned, as they were performed during a time when same-sex marriage was part of California constitution and it would just be absurd to turn around and revoke them all.
how can you not have thought about this??
MAYBE if you weren't so busy coming up with the most RIDICULOUS Yes On 8 campaign, you would have had time to get your heads out of your asses to think about the implications this proposition would have on your state's recently married.

get your shit together, california.

tears of joy.

there are no words.


obama '08.

VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i know the only person who does read this already visited her local polling place, but for anyone who may come across this randomly by clicking on Next Blog (come on, we've all done it...),

VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!


but it does! it does!