Leaving Keystone. 

Do you see all that snow? We thought we might have to stay in Colorado another night. We didn't. :( 

Snowstorm 

Friday fun

Who would have thought that a 3-day week could be so long. It's finally Friday and I am welcoming this weekend with open arms and a koozie for my Dos Equis. Our department has a presentation today for our attorneys and my role is: to sit quietly and enjoy. That's all I have to do! That's great, because that's exactly what I wanted to do. Sometimes it pays to be the Department Assistant. "Pays" probably isn't the word I should use, let's just say it works out. I should say that I've been having a bad attitude towards work this week, but I think I'm finally back in the groove. And now that I'm settled back in, next week starts my new and improved rigorous workout routine. I should note that by rigorous I don't mean working out more times during the week, but longer workouts. And by longer workouts I mean that I'll be taking more breaks, thus making them last longer.

I haven't posted much on our trip to Keystone, but here's a funny story. We get to Denver and rent a car from Enterprise. First of all, we had to upgrade to a 6 cylinder. A 6 cylinder? Really? That's an upgrade? Anyways, not the point of my story. Later that day I noticed some unidentified object sitting on the dash of the passenger side. It could be beef jerky, could be candy, it could be Mr. Hanky-we don't know. It was brown. What the hell? Who leaves that kind of stuff behind? What was it doing on the dash in the first place? All valid questions. So the whole trip we're checking on this mystery object to make sure it's still there. Yup-still there. Oooh-let's video it. I know-so mature. Well, it became our mascot of sorts. We looked at it with fondness and thought it might be our good luck charm, although it was disgusting. When getting ready to leave Denver, we examined the object further. Angela used an envelope to guide our friend out of the car and onto the ground. Upon closer examination-we still don't know what the hell it was. It was scary looking-we know that for sure. The moral of the story is: when there are gross things in the rental car, it's best to gawk and video them rather than actually remove it from the car. That would make too much sense.

eBay anxiety

I'm currently bidding on a purse on eBay. I haven't bid on anything in a loooong time. I forgot how obsessed I get with it. I'm sure everybody does. I keep checking it, and there's still a day and a half left on it. I also take it very personally. I am competing against these people. It's cut throat. Maybe I'm just weird. I sure do wish I was the one who came up with that idea, though. How did we live before eBay?

At least it's Wednesday

It sucks to be back at work. I know I should be happy to have a job, yadda, yadda, yadda, but I absolutely, positively do not want to be here today! It sucks to come back from vacation. Especially to a job you don't particularly like. Especially to filing. Especially to a boss who just asked me what my plans were for school and teaching, etc. I had to tell her that I'll be teaching in the Fall of 2005. I think one of the other girls in my department told her this. Great! I didn't want to tell her until I had to, because this company likes to let people go. Forget that raise I was asking for. I'm lucky if they keep me around until then. Oh well.

The vacation was great. We had such a good time and it really was an adventure. Between driving in snowstorms and on the side of a mountain with no guardrails and admiring all of the hot snowboarders-a good time was had by all. Really, if you want to know where all of the hot guys are-they're in Colorado snowboarding. I seriously busted my ass, but I think I made some progress. I did not fall onto my binding getting off of the lift. That's what I was really worried about. I calculated it, and if I go snowboarding once a year every year until I'm 40, I might be able to pick it up. That's the thing about living in Texas. I can't get out there enough to make real progress. Angela and Elizabeth are a couple of naturals on skis, though. They did great.

Summary of trip: Snowboarding-1, Lacey-0 -- it ain't over, though.

Random thoughts

Today I went to my school's alumni lunch/mixer thing. It always makes me feel a little bit like a grown up. I sat next to this little old lady, I guess she was about 80-something. She was a laugh riot and absolutely precious. I kept having to repeat everything that was said because she wasn't hearing the punchline of some of the jokes. So, I'd repeat it, and then she'd laugh all late. She had a hearty laugh too. It was quite cute. I do enjoy meeting new people and being around people that aren't my age and are different from me. I'm not actually a member of the alumni association anymore(shhh-don't tell them) because I'm still a little bitter that they changed the name of the school even though more people voted to keep it the same. Now it's supposed to be more nationally recognized and bring in more students, and indirectly have a football team that doesn't suck-I guess. Blah-de-blah-blah. Still not sure if I'm gonna re-join. But I'll damn sure go to the mixers.

Our company is having a Valentine's mixer today after work. There is going to be wine, spirits, and Chick-Fil-A nuggets. I didn't know they were such a big deal! I'm definitely going to the next one.

Cha cha

Happy, happy birthday! I Hope your day is wonderful.

Welcome to the Real World, sucker.

About a week or so ago, we saw one of the roommates come home with an eye patch. This is how it went down:

One of the first days they all moved in, they went to eat at PF Chang's and got all drunk. Later they went to party on 6th street or something and this dude got into a fight. Somebody punched him in the eye, and it detached! I guess inside his head (yucky). Hence the eye patch. It is supposed to heal, though. Apparently this is a common injury when people get hit in the eye. This is all hearsay, but it is from a credible source. I guess we'll see in June what really happened.

New Boobs Campaign '05

Please visit the link to the right and vote for Robin! She's a great mom and wife, works very hard and deserves this.

No mas!

Things that I am done with:

1. drinking, at least until Thursday.
2. a person who claims to be a good friend, but has missed my birthday the last two years for no significant reason. We can still be friends, but I’m not making the effort anymore. Fuck that.
3. humoring people. I’m too tired. Let’s keep it real.
4. filing. I don’t want to do it anymore. Please don’t make me.
5. Wal-Mart.
6. people at work not responding to my emails. I know you read it. Respond already. I need toner.
7. rain.
8. waiting for HR to realize how indispensable I am.
9. fake baking. That’s just no good.
10. “Newlyweds”

An 8 ball for ants?

Today, I got an 8 ball (a fake, company marketing tool 8 ball) for doing some training. I haven't been able to get a straight answer out of it all day.

George Strait

A little update on the concert-it was GREAT! Damn, he is hot! He really is a man's man. And, AND, Amber got to shake his hand. I saw her, too. It was such a moment!

On a sad note, a friend of mine from work was supposed to go to the concert too. She was so excited about the concert and talked about it all day on Friday. When she got home on Friday, she found out that her tickets had inadvertently been thrown away earlier in the week. When she told me that this morning, my heart broke a little bit for her. I feel horrible for her, but she's ok with it now. It must have been a rough weekend, though.

A-U-S-T-I-N

AUSTIN

This is the sign they have put on top of the Real World house. I guess Austin isn’t obvious enough, they have to advertise it in big, bright, neon letters. No other house has done this. That’s cool, though. At least A-town is getting some big ups. Earlier there was a quiet, lone protestor outside the house. He was holding a sign that had an anti-lust sign with “Jesus loves you” written at the bottom. I really hope the Real Worlders take that shit to heart. I mean, if it’s written on cardboard, it must be true.

A few things...

Woo hooooo! I'm going to George Strait tonight. Woo hooooo!


RW Update:

A friend overheard somebody say that the RW is going to be working at GSD&M. That's cool. Except some people from there were on the team that beat the shit out of us in softball. They were like the pros and we were like the Bad News Bears. I have a little problem with them, if you can't tell. They came down to the t-ball league so they could slaughter everyone else. They were borderline cheaters. Whatever. And now they get to work with the Real Worlders? I'm so jealous. I should say that I don't have a problem with GSD&M as a whole, just the softball team. I secretly wish I worked there, it's a badass company.

Also, somebody at my office (that I don't know) left me a message on my voicemail on my phone. It went something like this: "Hi, I'm so and so, and I haven't met you, but I think you might be my new best friend. I have a perfect view of the RW house. Everybody keeps telling me I'm tripping over the house and I'm glad to know you are too. We (a group of people I don't know) want to try and get in the house too. We need to be a big group and we need to be crunk all the time and then we'll hang out with them" or something like that. I was a little confused. Does everyone know how obsessed I am or what? I mean it's true, but how did she know? I already left her a message confirming the rumor and telling her "Hell yeah, I wanna be crunk!". We'll probably hang out this afternoon and watch the RW House.

Oh my-I just heard they're for sure filming and have been spotted walking by P.F. Chang's. I'm so taking a walk later.


One more thing, yesterday I saw the car that I hit in the parking garage. I had to do a double take because you can hardly even see it. The paint (my paint) was all buffed out and there wasn't even a dent. What the hell, lady? You want $350 for that? Now, I know it is my responsibility to pay for the damage-but COME ON! I've had rain do worse damage than that! Had it been my car someone else hit, I would have left it like that. But, we all know that my car is a big dent and scratch collection, don't we?




Happy weekend everyone!

Angela

Happy Birthday Angela! Have a spectacular day!

The thing is, I really don't care.

This morning I was late to work. I'm late a lot, but it's not like it matters. (Late to me is sometime between 7:30 and 8:00. Today I got here at 8:10) I'm always here before my whole department. I like it that way. I get here when it's quiet. I always work my 8 hours too. But today, I heard the alarm go off, and thought-I ain't havin' it-and turned it off instead of snoozing. Oops. It could have been a lot worse. Somehow, on my own, I got up at 7:03. In all seriousness, I am capable of coming in at 1 p.m. and saying I overslept. It could happen. I'm a night person. I can sleep late. It's one of my best attributes. This job has me a little off, but I'm sure if I was given a week, I could be back in my best sleeping late form.

Workaholic...not really.

I have a serious problem. It's called: "take too much vacation". That's the technical term. I refer to it as: "aw fuck it, you only live once." Even though I just got back from vacation, I'm leaving again in two weeks to go to Colorado to attempt to snowboard again. I don't really have the money, but my boss gave me the time off with no hesitation. So, I'm going snowboarding. It's a spur of the moment, Angela found a good deal on Orbitz kind of thing. I have a feeling that I'll be all by myself on the bunny slopes because everyone else knows how to ski without completely eating shit. That's ok. I'm excited. Hopefully I'm in better shape than I was last year. It was a rough time, but so much fun.

Here's a rundown of our trip to Steamboat last year:

Day 1: I flew into Denver and traveled on a freezing ass bus to Steamboat. I saw mountains and some real snow for the first time in my life. This day was the absolute coldest I've ever been.
Day 2: The first day of skiing. Lessons? I don't need no stinking lessons. I get on the lift just fine, but fell getting off and the operator had to come over and help me get up. It scared the crap out of me and I took off my skis and WALKED down the bunny slopes in search of some lessons. I wasn't about to try skiing down that huge hill! I know, I'm a baby. I took some lessons but I never really mastered the stopping part. After some skiing on flat surfaces we were supposed to get on the lift again. I was freaked out. The instructor rode up the lift with me and when I made it off without falling I celebrated. I had no idea what was ahead of me. I fell about 10 times on the way down. I had to take my skis off each time I fell. I ran into many people at the bottom of the hill. I was done for the day. Patience isn't one of my strongest qualities.
Day 3: I could hardly move and I had a huge bruise on my shin from my damn ski boot. I sat this day out so I could try snowboarding the next day.
Day 4: We all got our snowboards and took lessons. The instructors were really good and this was easier for me. I'm not saying that I didn't bust my ass every time I got up on the board, but I definitely felt more comfortable doing this. I spent the rest of the day on the baby hill.
Day 5: I snowboarded the baby hill all day. I did make a little bit of progress. I actually made it down one whole time without falling.

I should also mention that in the night time we listened to some bad ass Texas music and drank lots of beer. Shiner Light to be exact. Ew. And when you drink lots of Shiner Light and have to visit the port-a-potty with layers of clothes on, it makes it very interesting.

I'm hoping that I can remember how to pretend to snowboard. Statistically I should be better this year, but I'm not making any promises. We're going at night too. Now that will be very interesting.

I knew I should have fled the scene

Apparently not looking for 2 seconds can cause $350 worth of damage. Good thing I just got paid. And, in my defense, the lady had parked her gas guzzling, ozone ruining, soccer mom suv in a compact car space! How convenient for you! The good thing is she is really nice and was really appreciative that I even left a note. I still don't like her.

I will be shit-faced tonight. It may last all weekend.

G-ma

I don't even have to have kids to become a grandma. Last night, I sat in the rocking chair and crocheted. Good times.

Rollercoaster

Wow. You know how sometimes you can smell something and it takes you back somewhere in time? Like a memory you didn't even know you had? I just picked up a scent, not sure what it was-I can't describe it, but I had a flashback to being at my grandparent's farm house when I was little. It made me cry...at work...while I'm entering pleadings. The kind of cry that gives you a headache. What the hell is that about? I didn't see that coming. My grandparents both passed away while I was in high school. Now I'm stuck wishing I had more time with them. I'm not a religious girl and I'm not sure what I believe. I do hope there is a heaven (and I hope I get to go there-fingers crossed) so that I can see all of the people again that I miss. A lifetime isn't enough. And you can't hug memories. I feel like I'm forgetting things about them.

PS-I'm not having a bad day. I think it's good to think about the people you've lost. It's just sad.

Carrots, anyone?

Too bad, I ate them all. I just ate so many carrots that it isn't funny. The little baby ones. Like a whole bag. I just couldn't stop. They weren't mine.
That's weird.

I need supervision

I was in a funk yesterday. It was Monday, afterall. (I really try to embrace Mondays, but they still suck.) Anyway, to make matters worse, as I'm backing my car out of my parking spot in our garage, so thankful to be leaving work, I backed right into a motherfucking suv. I really shouldn't be allowed to drive. Sadly, this has happened to me multiple times. I seriously should have a driver's ed. instructor with me at all times. Put your seatbelt on. Start the car. Foot on brake. Take off parking brake. Adjust the rearview mirror. Check your mirrors. Check your mirrors. CHECK YOUR FUCKING MIRRORS! And I did check them, but I looked forward for a second to see how I was doing on the left side. Oh, I was fine on the left. It's the back where I was off. The things that ran through my head-Are you kidding me? Again with the hitting another car while backing up? You are ridiculous! Then, slight panic struck me. I almost fled the scene. Then I remembered that I'm a grown up and I need to be held accountable for my less than perfect driving. Also, I don't exactly know where the cameras are in our garage. So, I assessed the damage. Their car had a huge scratch in the middle of their bumper and mine was hit in the exact spot of the last "incident", so no new damage. I left them a note that said "So sorry! I hit your car. (All of my info.) Sorry again!" I was breezy. Except that I couldn't leave the note under the windshield wipers because I guess they had some new technology shit and I couldn't even lift them up. Then, I tried to leave it on the door handle, no go. So, I stuck it between the driver's door and the frame. I called Chaya immediately to tell her that I've one-upped her again. I'm the worse driver of the two of us. Then I listened to some Bob Marley and decided that Tuesday would be much better.

Uh oh. The note might have fallen out. They haven't called me yet. Hopefully, it's not someone at my company. Aside from waiting for them, I did all that I could. Conscience=clear.

Sidenote:
For this reason alone, I don't want another new car. Ever. Not only do I have to worry about all of the other idiots out there, I can't drive for shit (more specifically back up for shit) and I don't need that kind of pressure.


RW Update:
They have painted the house. It's red. I looks like the Spaghetti Warehouse, long porch and all. I wish the roommates would move in already. As if I need yet another distraction from work? Um, yeah, I do.

Good day.

b-day

Happy Birthday Amanda! I hope you have a great day.

We lost one of the best

RIP Chaya’s toenail.
It was a good toenail.
We’ll all miss it.


(I think she should glue it back on. Or make an necklace out of it.)

Excuse me?

Okay. When did it become such a big deal not to be married and have kids in your twenties? I'm 26. I'm single. I don't have any children to speak of. Thanks for pointing that out, though. As if I'm not cynical enough about finding Mr. Right, or at least someone who won't annoy me for the rest of my life, it has to be a big deal? I guess I breezed by the point that I'm not the norm now. Don't feel bad for me, either. I like my life. I have: great friends, a great family, a sense of humor, a job, a sparkly scarf, an education, stamping, crocheting, the summers off (soon enough!), vacations, a portable dvd player, single friends, cute purses, married friends and the desire to teach abroad. Just because a husband and/or children aren't on that list, doesn't mean I don't have a full life. I hate that I even have to point this out to people. Oh, and Aunt Barbara, next time you want to set me up, ON CHRISTMAS, let's do it at your house-k?

Straight out of the movie

I just realized-we have "the two Bobs" at my office. That's what we call them and that's really their names. Real life "two Bobs". "Two Bobs" of our very own. They are in charge. The "two Bobs". I wish I was friends with them.

New Career

This time next year, I'll be an elementary school teacher. Are you shocked? That is if I finish the program, pass the tests, find a job, and clean up my mouth. Last night I had my second orientation for the alternative teaching certification program. Tomorrow I start my online classes that will last until March 8. Really, I thought these online courses would be cake, but they're not. I don't even like cake anyway. It's really starting to feel like school again. I'm not so sure I like this part. I've met some really cool people though, and my teacher seems genuinely nice and seems like she would come help me fix a flat tire if I ever needed her to. That's a good quality.

RW update:
I can see the house from our building. We're bringing binoculars soon. Yesterday a friend and I walked by the house and the "crew" (I guess) just gave us ugly looks. So, while walking away, I turned around and gave them the old two finger flick off and yelled "Welcome to Austin, you bastards".

Go to hell Monday!

Mondays suck. That's all there is to it. I'm sure we can all agree on that.

Some accomplishments over the weekend:

*Made 2 scarves (neither one is long enough to wear, but I did it!)
*Found the Real World house-it's alright. It must be bad ass on the inside. It's 2 blocks away from my work. I'm so gonna stalk them. (Yes, my life is so uneventful that we actually sought out the house. Plus, I'm a RW/RR whore.) If I had my CAMERA PHONE, I would have posted a pic. Thanks, T-Mobile, for screwing up my life.
*Got a haircut that didn't cost $10
*Watched the entire first season of Sex and the City. In one sitting. I'm not sure, but I think we should be embarrassed about that. That's 6 hours of tv. Goooood lawd!
*Worked out

I was somewhat productive, you see.


Notable conversation-Women's lib at its finest:

Lacey: Can girls be bastards?
Chaya: Girls can be whatever they want.

Phila and NYC

Picture summary of our trip.

Oh my God. There's snow. Let's get a picture in it. 

More snow. 

Nice to know. 

Liberta! Liberta! Liberta! 

This is where the Constitution was signed. Very inspiring, but we did have to sneak out early because our tour guide was a boring jerk. 

One of Philly's greatest attractions. The Real World House. 

I think we were mostly impressed by the RW house. How sad are we? 

Ben Franklin's final resting place. 

Action shot. 

Rocky pose. I was really excited about this. 

Philly backdrop. 

La La and Cha Cha 

Ground Zero. It's still very sad there. I can't even begin to imagine. 

"Amazing fit into a box guy". He was playing Michael Jackson loudly. We liked him. 

Wow. 

Oh yeah. 

Is that a movie star? 

Not only are these glasses festive, they're patriotic. 

Colin Powell was actually speaking at this very moment. That's why we look all serious. 

Nice. 

My absolute favorite pic of the trip. Happy 2005!!!!!! 

Our last night in Philly. Actually this is Manayunk. Very cute part of town. 

Represent

Oh yeah, baby!

MJ revisited

Laugh if you want to, but it makes me happy to listen to my old school Michael Jackson cd.

My goodness

I had a great Christmas and a perfect New Year's and vacation. It's going to be a good year.

Keep Austin Weird

For a good time go see the lights on 37th street. Good stuff. Merry Christmas everyone!

That's more like it

Ok. I worked out last night. I didn't want to do it. I did it anyway. I'm feeling much better about myself (and the jeans will come with time). Today is another slow day at work. Long day. I just went to Target and it wasn't nearly as crowded as I thought it would be. I expected to see frantic parking, shopping, list checking, and checking out. None of these things happened. I was in and out. And, I'm officially done with the shopping. Commence with the wrapping. Yeah for vacay! There is a rumor that we may be let out early this afternoon, but it could be just a rumor. God forbid they let us out on the 23rd. Last year we were expected to work all day on the 24th, but since NO ONE was in the office (especially the attorneys) we were let go at lunch. I know that some people don't even get Christmas off and that I shouldn't complain, but where is the love? This company makes millions of dollars, and a couple more days off isn't going to deflate the value of the dollar people! Any more that is. This morning I was seriously disappointed when I woke up that it wasn't a snow day. I wanted to build a snowman. And drink hot chocolate. Oh well. At least I took off next week.

Guess what? "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas" is on!
Nice.

If you can't tell, work is slow...

No matter how pissy I am about being at work, hearing "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas" always cheers me up.

At least we get to wear jeans today and tomorrow. I am wearing my new silver shoes today, and I don't think the conservatives at the office appreciate them for their unique beauty. Fuckers.

I wish Santa was real. Not for the presents, but for the feeling of magic. Remember how fun it was to be a kid around Christmas?

It is soooo cold today and it's supposed to get even colder. This is good practice for Phila and NYC. I have a feeling we're going to be hurting come next week.

That's all for this hour.

Calories, calories

Maybe I should quit eating chocolate for breakfast. Just maybe.

What the hell?

Okay. This is ridiculous. I can't fit into some jeans I bought less than a month ago. They were a little snug to begin with, but COME ON! This has made me a little depressed. And, AND Christmas isn't even here yet. Merry f-ing Christmas to me. Yeah-I know I'm going to hell. Plus, after Christmas I'll be on vacay. So, I know the over-consumption will not stop anytime soon. Although I'm sure that the next week and a half will be filled with a plethora of good food and drinks (and pinatas), this will be our workout in Philly. Bring. It. On.

Christmas list

All I want for Christmas is a snow day. Preferably on Thursday. I don't think that's too much to ask for.

Enough with the eating and drinking

This past weekend has been one party after another. I had a holiday party Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. I am still full and drunk.

Some random accounts of the parties:

If you want to see Rocky Mountain jeans worn by crack addicts (really-you can see all of their ribs), men with eye patches, faux lesbian dancing, and more Wranglers than you can shake a stick at, please visit Ropers in North Austin.

Thanks Angela and Amanda for a great party! Everyone had such a good time and I laughed so hard my stomach was on fire.

My company holiday party was fancy and fun. We played craps and danced to "Footloose". Oh yes we did! I didn't start drinking until about halfway through, as to avoid being sooooo wasted, but I sucked 'em down like water. Luckily, drunk Lacey was postponed until the very end of the party. Then we moved to the club next door, where it is more appropriate to be drunk, and saw one of our attorneys (he is a big, goofy, white guy that never talks and walks with his head down in the halls) dancing to some hip hop and totally hitting on this cute, young thing. It was great. All I could say was- Oh. My. God. And I actually won a door prize at the party-a Simon gift certificate. Yeah!!!!

I went to Angela's party with her last night. It was great food and very nice people. It's so nice to meet new people and be welcomed so openly. There I was told that I have a very exotic look (I really don't, I think it was my eyeliner). I am such a white girl it isn't funny. I found these comments very interesting and obsessed about it all night. For the party, I parked under some trees downtown, and didn't think anything of it. By the time the party was over my car had so much bird shit on it that I was embarrassed to drive it. I had to get a little car wash on the way home.

It was a great weekend and thank the lord that this week is short. In one week from tomorrow I'll be in Phila!

Note to self

Please take more time to be thankful for all of the great things you have in life. You are really lucky! Life is short-have fun! Quit worrying so much about everything and enjoy yourself.

Oh yeah, quit drinking so much you lush.

Lacey

Lovely new shoes

They haven't actually arrived yet, and I anticipate that they'll be late due to the holidays, but they are lovely. At first I thought they were ugly, then I came to my senses. They are a little out there-they are silver. They look so comfortable. A quality that most of my shoes don't possess. They just don't make cute, comfortable shoe. But alas-here they are.

To go with my sparkly scarf, of course!

Thanks Dr. Scholl's

I am totally gellin' today. If you aren't gellin', I highly suggest it.


Last night it was again proved to me that I am very impulsive. I buy and start things on a whim.

Exhibit A:
I have a scarf, gloves and poncho that I haven't even worn yet that I'm going to return because I saw new stuff I want. This may seem fairly normal, but I am constantly doing this. I am a returner. And I already ripped the tags off. I do have the receipt, though. You can't imagine how many trips I have to make to the mall before I am satisfied with a purchase.

Exhibit B:
I decided that I wanted to learn how to play the fiddle. And that I would teach myself. So, I buy myself a little fiddle off of eBay (a cheap one)and get some tips off the internet. I played a little bit and even went to a music store to get a book on the subject. I broke one of the strings trying to tune it and haven't played since. It's really hard to play the fiddle.

Exhibit C:
Okay, same thing with the guitar. Now I can play some notes, but chords-forget it. If ever someone needs to hear "Yankee Doodle" or "Ode to Joy", I'm the girl. It's really hard to play the guitar too.

Exhibit D:
A few years ago I thought it a good idea to make my own candles. So, I got a chunk of wax, some molds and other accessories and attempted to make "homemade" candles. They turned out alright (if you like your candles sunken in the middle), but I wasn't going into the candle business anytime soon. That was the first and last time I made candles. All the stuff is sitting in the garage waiting to be used.

Exhibit E:
Wanted a fondu pot for my birthday a couple years ago. Have I ever made fondu? I think you know the answer.

Exhibit F:
My latest activity is crocheting. I bought some yarn, a hook, and a book. I'm still working on this one. I'm determined to make a scarf. I can't tell you which winter this scarf will make an appearance. I may have to enlist the help of professionals and take a class at Michael's for this one.

Exhibit G:
Sparkly scarf. Need I say more?

I rest my case. At least I admit it, though. I'm impulsive.

I'm certain that if I had more time, I would be a well dressed musician with my own business selling all these items. And I would be RICH!

NSF

Apparently I have a problem. I only have $10.31 left from being paid on FRIDAY. It's only Monday, people. This $10.31 has to last until December 23. Why do I do this? I still have to find shoes for the Holiday party this weekend. Looks like my Discover card will be making an appearance really soon. We haven't seen it in awhile. It should be a nice reunion.

Recap of the weekend:
This weekend's Ice Bats game was great. They actually won! There was a fight right in front of us. I tried to get an action shot-but my camera was too slow.

I got some George Strait tickets-ok seats I think. I was 6th in line at HEB. There were quite a lot of people there. Some people in line were getting all pissed and ghetto on HEB's ass. Some people thought we were standing in line for free food. I didn't tell them different. I also saw Santa there.

My mom got a new convertible. This is a big deal because just Saturday she was driving a minivan. Yes, a minivan. Not to mention that this minivan was not even purchased until my brother and I were in college and moved out of the house. We were all scratching our heads on that one. But it was comfortable on the few trips we took together. My mom now has the nicest car in the family. Go Mom! My parents also got digital cable after we moved out. No fair!

Trail of Lights Extravaganza! Oh my god the people! And the bus with the special people that was on the trail with all the other people. I'm amazed no one got run over. It took us about an hour to park because we got stuck in a parking lot with only 1 way in. And this way was blocked with people trying to get to this exit that didn't even exist. We had to practice a little traffic control to get the fuck out. We physically went to the cars behind us and told them there was no way out. It was insane. I think the city owes us a few bucks for that one. On the trail there were "oooohs" and "aaaaaahhhs" sprinkled with God damnits, shit, fuck, and I hate this. It was fun.

Sunday night was topped off by delirium at Applebee's along with Dos Equis and dessert. Yum!

I did NOT want to come to work today. I was almost depressed last night and had I not taken off last Monday I so would have called in. I've decided that I want to dub pornos for $60 an hour. Anyone know how I can get the ball rolling on that one?

Austin Ice Bats

Tonight we have glass seats. At last week's game we got to move into unoccupied glass seats for the first period. It was fun. Then the real seat owners had to go and spoil our good time by wanting their seats. Being on the glass is scary, though. It's not for the faint of heart. Shit is flying at you, the players are trying to kill each other right in front of you, and you damn well can't put your beer on the
ledge because I think the players aim for it. It was a little stressful for me, but fun. I might have too much anxiety for the glass seats, but here goes nothing. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Valued Customer

You'll be happy to know that T-Mobile and I have made amends (too bad I already filed that complaint with the BBB). They have given me a phone. It's no camera phone, but I can't afford to send the pictures anyway. Also,I really want a new digital camera. Just thought you should know. T-Mobile and I are all buddy-buddy again. At least for the next year. Did you know on most BBB websites there is a separate link for "Cell Phone Complaints"? Sad, huh? It's gotten that bad. I let my company coax me into staying because I figured that all the companies have their drawbacks. Plus, they seem to have better plans for what I need.

Old Phone

New Phone

Do you see how I might need a new phone? Nokias are just so durable and easy to work once you've had one. The last Samsung I had just kept taking itself off of vibrate at the most inopportune times. Needless to say, I have a mound of Nokias and 1 Samsung piled up in the closet. I'm going to build a robot.

Thankful

I really do have the best family and friends. I don't acknowledge that enough. That's what life is all about. I am usually so cynical, and I am working on that. But, I realized over the weekend and on my birthday that I have a lot to be grateful for. I have a great family who is so supportive, and who is so proud of me even though I have not reached my full potential yet (working on that too). I have great friends to dance with, cry with, laugh with, and celebrate with. Thanks for making my day so special. I love ya.

Famous red envenlopes with our names written in gold pen, oh how we love you.

Woo hoo for Christmas bonuses! I think if we hadn't gotten them this year, some people would have gone all Clark Griswald on their asses. We weren't sure if it was going to happen. There were events that led to speculation and secrecy about it. Thanks (insert company name here). You have really made our holidays. Now I have some vacay money. I can't complain on this lovely jeans day, bonus day, Friday. Plus, I am off from work on Monday due to my 26th birthday. Happy Friday all!

Oh yes I did

On my lunch hour I purchased a sparkly, sequined scarf from the Gap. Yeah baby. It is cu-ute. I'm sure you've seen it on all the SJP commercials. The guy that rung me up said that I was actually one of the few people who bought this. I was surprised. I think it's cool, flashy, but cool.

I'd like to take a minute to apologize to all of the people that had the misfortune of running into us on Saturday night. Sorry we talked your ears off-loudly, sorry we badmouthed Republicans (there are a lot of them on 4th street!), and please excuse the dancing. We were drunk on life and Nicotinas (huh?). Props to our girl for getting us home. That's love yo.

Oh yeah-Alexander-looooooong mooooovieeeeee. Cute boys, though.

I hope everyone had a great holiday. I'm ready for Christmas and New Year's! Bring it.

Neat

This is such a cool story.

Great Animal Story

When Chaya and I went to Florida this summer we went to New Smyrna Beach. It was great-Florida beaches are almost tropical compared to Texas beaches. At one point, about 20 feet away from me I thought I saw a shark and it took all I could to not scream "SHAAAAAAAAARK" at the top of my lungs and rush everyone out of the water. Instead I just called to Chaya to tell her to get the hell out because I thought I saw a shark and started walking towards the shore. She was about 10 feet away on the other side of me. Thoughts that went through my head: 1) what the hell are all these people doing having fun when there's a shark over there? aren't they paying attention? 2) can we beat this shark to the shore? 3) I shouldn't have drank so much, I didn't plan on outrunning a shark! Upon further inspection, it was a dolphin. That was a close one. It was so cool-I had never seen them that close up in the wild before (in Mexico I got to swim with a dolphin, or rather float in the water close to a dolphin). Seeing that dolphin was nice, but immediately I thought, if there's a dolphin, there could be a shark. I am so afraid of the ocean it's not even funny. I usually don't go out very far, just enough to cool off. The only reason that I was even out that far in the first place is because I had had a few cocktails. Those damn cocktails.

PS-My "shark" tale is not nearly as good as Chaya's stories. She has actually seen sharks near her. She is from Florida afterall.

What kids hear: blah blah blah Monday blah blah

I need some chocolate. Now.

Why does everyone think that because this is a short week we need to actually do all the work of the whole week in 3 days? People, slow down. Let's all just meditate for a moment and found our center and some chocolate-ok?

Pre Thanksgiving Lunch

Sometimes it really is cool to work for a big company. Today we had our Thanksgiving lunch and it was gooooooood. The firm has it catered and everyone brings sides/appetizers/desserts. I did not bring anything-I'm just not a cook or a baker, plus I'm lazy. They pass out many Simon gift certificates to the top 3 in each category. I really wanted to win the $100 one, but figured that there was too much competition out there. After an hour of eating and merriment, we visited the dessert room. Good stuff. There was talk of visiting the desserts again later on this afternoon. There are just too many to choose from. We even got to hang out in the "off limits to you" lounge with the tv and everything. In this lounge there are pastries every morning. Sometimes I wish I was that important just to have the option of eating these pastries and watching tv at work. But, I guess you don't get to be that important by watching tv at work anyway. Now I definitely need a nap.

Another good thing about this company is our Holiday party. Last year it was so much fun that I decided to drink too much wine and blacked out and had to confirm the next day that I had behaved. I know what you're thinking, but I wasn't that girl that made a total ass of myself. I emphasize total because words were uttered that shouldn't have been, but I was among friends at the time. At this year's party I'm definitely going to eat more at the dinner and drink less during the gambling, especially since I know way more people at the company this year because of my high profile marketing position. Ha! Anyways, I'm just giving thanks that today is like a field trip when you're in elementary school. Nothing else really gets done on those days. God Bless Corporate America.

Hump day happenings

Um yeah, when I have a stack of filing it's really helpful if you label each page with the word filing. That was a close one, I almost had it shredded.

I am the rsvp girl for our client Holiday Reception. I am getting all of these calls from clients and they're all so nice and sweet and professional and I wonder if they know that I have no idea what's going on most of the time.

I finally found the message I lost on the damn phonemail.

Last night I found out that I have been accepted into an alternative certification program to teach. I am well on my way to teaching the future and having the summers off. Woo hoo!

We are so lucky to have hot chocolate with marshmallows at work. Some people don't even have hot chocolate, much less marshmallows.

Angela's back in TEXAS!!!!!!!!

Dirty

Ever since I read Brian's post I've had that damn song stuck in my head.

My high school boyfriend was infatuated with Wu Tang. I wonder how he's taking the news.

Brian-make sure you pour some out, dawwwg.

RIP Dirty

Sad day

Today is a sad day for the old crew. My old supervisor is leaving. About 1 month ago our small office of around 30 people finally moved in with the rest of the company-around 300 people. I say finally because a year ago the small firm that I started with merged (whatever) with this huge firm. Small firms are just like family. Big firms are not. Anyway, not the point of my post-that could be a whole other entry entirely.

Although we acquired "casual Friday" when we merged, there were many things lost along the way. Included in this loss is many cool people. People just weren't prepared to sell their souls for the mighty dollar. My old supervisor hired me, taught me the ins and outs, and acted as our Office Manager throughout the merger. She was a great leader and friend. She is honestly one of the nicest, most caring people I have ever met. She had been with the old firm 16 years. She'll be working on another floor in our building, so we can still see her occasionally. We sure will miss her and wish her the best of luck in her new "dream job".

And...

T-Mobile is really pissing me off and they're lucky that they tricked me into another year of service or I'd be gone so fast...

So...

I did get to see the parade in person and I even got a little American Flag. Life is good.

Veteran's Day 2004

Tomorrow I will be honoring our veterans by going to work. If I'm lucky, maybe I can catch a glimpse of the parade downtown out of my neighbor's window. Thanks to the veterans for all that you have done and especially those who sacrificed their lives. God Bless America. We need all the help we can get.

The ties that bind

About 4 weeks ago my grandmother fell and broke her hip. She had to have surgery and is now in a rehab hospital. It has been an experience for all of us. She hates it there. My family tries to visit her everyday. Every time we show up, she is so happy we're there that she cries. It's precious. I go to visit when I get off of work, which is dinner time for them. Last night I met some of her little friends, and they're so cute. Some of their stories are very sad, though. She doesn't like some of the people there (staff included), and she's 80 years old and stubborn, so there's no reasoning with her. She will say out loud in front of people, "I don't like that old man" or "This girl just talks and talks and talks." Sometimes we have to shhhhh her. She is normally a very sweet grandma, but watch out if you get on her shit list. Did I mention that she smokes like a chimney and hasn't smoked once while in this place? I'm surprised she hasn't tried to wheel herself to the store to get some smokes. Her only health problem is her athritis. She can hardly use her hands and it's hard for her to get around, but she does. Before her hands got so bad, she used to knit, sew and crochet among other things. Yesterday I told her that I was trying to learn how to crochet and you would have thought I said I was going to be a doctor. She was so proud. I wish she could still teach me all of these things. She has great stories. I hope we can always remember them. One, in particular is when she was a little girl (she is one of 8 children) on the farm. At Christmas time they would put rags soaked in kerosene on the end of these wire things they made. Then they'd twirl them around. I think they actually threw them also. I believe "kerosene balls" is the technical term of the game. The first sparklers? We didn't believe that they actually did this, but even her sister agreed. I just want to soak her up and everything she's experienced in her lifetime. She has such a strong will. She has buried her husband and her son. She saves ziploc bags because she's been through the depression. She says things like "I swanny". If I'm lucky, she's me in 55 years.

She is doing great, though. She's so tough and hopefully she'll be good as new when she gets out. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful grandma and to have her in my life. :)

What a wild weekend

As I get older this is what my weekends turn into:

Friday-Happy Hour and dinner with friends followed by renting "White Chicks". In bed by 10 p.m.

Saturday-Breakfast with the family, visit my grandmother, lunch with friends, learn to crochet, and laundry. In bed by 12 a.m.-only because of said laundry.

Sunday-Race for the Cure, lunch and shopping with friends, nappy-pooh, and cleaning. In bed by 10 p.m.

I love these kinds of weekends. Especially following the last two weekends that weren't so relaxed.


The Race for the Cure in Austin was awesome! There were almost 20,000 people there. It was so moving to be involved in it and be there for all of the survivors and those that have lost the battle. My aunt is a survivor and I ran/walked for her. It was a beautiful day and I really did better than I thought I would. There were so many people on the sidelines cheering everyone on-it was great. It just gives you hope for the cure and hope for the people affected by it. The Komen Foundation does a really good job promoting the event and organizing it. It was a great experience and I encourage everyone to do it.

On the other hand, I did the Heart Walk put on by the American Heart Association a few weeks ago and it was a really disappointing turn out (to me at least). The walk was cool, but there just weren't a lot of people there. It's not that it isn't organized, it's just that I know more people could be reached. Many people are affected by heart disease and it seems to me that their campaign could be better. My dad suffers from heart disease and this cause is important to me. So, it is my mission to make my voice heard and help out how I can to make the Heart Walk even better.

Happy Monday everyone.
Only 4 more days till Friday!
Only 13 more days till I'm off for Thanksgiving!

The End of the World as We Know It

Bush is President.

God damn it.