When you inquire politely if I’M the one who flies cross country every week and then stare at me with incredulity as you consider the implications of such a trip and shake your head back and forth slowly, deep in thought, STOP and consider how this makes me feel.
Kthxbai.
Today, which is June 01, I got an email from Loehmann’s (a department store from my hometown which my mom and I frequent a LOT) wishing me a happy birthday MONTH and sending me a coupon. Sweet.
SO! Since it’s my birthday month, I suppose its as good a time as any to write down things I am desiring and perhaps even planning on getting.
1. A bicycle. My neighborhood is quasi suburban, and the streets are usually quiet and beautiful. I would LOVE to ride up and down and breathe the air and smell the lemon trees (of which there are…SO MANY! Oh, these California people.)
2. A trip to Vegas. Woo!
3. A new cuddle pillow for traveling (which I will be doing a lot of in the coming months.)
That is all for now, I do not desire much. 
Over the summer I will be traveling cross country weekly, as part of my job, taking prep courses for the GMAT, which cost a pretty penny, and volunteering at an animal shelter. Also, I would like to accomplish several trips to see my family (hopefully at an average rate of 1X per month), one San Diego fourth of July, and one August trip to Vegas with many people! I am excited already.
Does this seem disjointed to you? My thoughts work this way. I am going to whip out a physical calendar and try to lay down some plans. I will write about them when I understand them better.
Good day!
There are several things I’d like to say about living in California
1. Oh My God.
2. It is so beautiful.
3. I love my neighborhood.
Now, I’m from NYC so I will be the first to tell you that outside appearances and first impressions are hardly representative of what is contained within the depths of a city. For example– the upper east side is hardly an accurate cross section of the style, atmosphere, attitude, and general well-being of the rest of Manhattan. Especially not the rest of New York. So obviously, my take on California has nothing too substantive but my personal 360 degrees of “take” on Mountain View.
Mountain View– clean, friendly, safe (for now?), lovely!
I love my neighborhood, and I don’t have a car, so I stroll around whenever I can exploring it. I LOVE that I can walk to two supermarkets and one produce shop, I LOVE that I have a Marshall’s not too far away for a girly clothes fix, I LOVE that I walked to a Japanese supermarket and found the yam noodles Leo loves so much. All on foot! When I was living in LA, I was endlessly frustrated by the fact that I had to get in my car to get a gallon of water or a pint of milk. HATED it. (Loved the beaches though…)
Last weekend Leo and I drove down to Santa Cruz, which is a little under one hour away, and went to the cliffs by the beach to watch the people surfing and wake boarding, and watch all the dogs romping and playing in the sand. More things to love– the beach, the dogs in the water, the cliffs, the beautiful drive between MTV and SC, and the weather.
I’m not trying to get on my high horse and expound all the virtues of my living situation right now, but I just want to say, as a born (in a different place but a city no less) and bred city girl, I am absolutely enchanted, a la Cinderella, by my surroundings.
The caveat– I wish I could share them with my family. Every time I walk down the street and see the pretty flowers people have planted up and down the sidewalk, I think how much my mom would enjoy doing the same thing with me. Or how my brother would love having the pool right outside the front door. Or how my dad would enjoy riding his new bike up and down my ‘hood.
I miss my folks but I love this place. Bah, I wish the two were reconciled in an easy manner!
…but you can’t always get what you want.
Well, that’s more than a slight exaggeration, but I’ve been feeling guilty for not updating in an extremely long while and so– here, and update! With a new theme to boot!
I know I’ve said it before, but I really mean it this time. This video nearly made me collapse from an absolute cute overload.
Maybe I will make this a tradition, to do Sundry Mourning’s yearly survey. I did one last year. Well, here.
1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Graduate from college!
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t recall making any, so in that case, I didn’t do anything wrong by not keeping them. My new resolution will be to write more, maybe start a new blog for my family, to detail the beginning of a new phase in my life in California.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No, but my friend Lala is due very soon.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes, a great Uncle. He was a very kind man.
5. What countries did you visit?
Just this one, but spent an atypically higher amount of time in transit, on a plane. I suppose this will become a new norm.
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
I don’t feel as though I’m lacking anything. I recognize that I am lucky. Perhaps, the willpower to quit biting my nails!
7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
No specific dates, the same birthdays and anniversaries of the same people I will always love.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Graduating. Finishing school. It’s been a wild ride, and now its finished. (For a time, I suppose. Yeah, advanced education!)
9. What was your biggest failure?
.02 points shy of “Cum Laude.” Damn business stats.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I got sick once, right after my brother got involved in some scary shit at home. He stressed me out.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Hm. I was given a new computer as a gift, its wonderful! Maybe the case for it. Haha. I don’t know. Should I be worried that my memory seems shorter than a goldfishes?
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
All of ours. It was a growing year. My mom, staying strong throughout the early months of the year and the bullshit that swirled during my brothers last months of junior high. Leo’s, he roughed it through an incredibly hard semester and came out with beautiful grades, a beautiful job, and beautiful me. My dad, who doesn’t say much but dutifully chauffeurs us to and fro, including from Ithaca with a car stuffed full of junk.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Sarah Palin? Haha.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Food, as usual.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The prospect of getting a job, and a cool one at that.
16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Hm. Good question. Lil Wayne, that “Millionaire” one? Thats definitely summer 2008. Anything by Santogold or Justice for fall 2008.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder?
Happier!
b) thinner or fatter?
About the same?
c) richer or poorer?
Actually the same, but on paper, should be getting “richer” shortly.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Wrote. Educated myself about the world. Hung out with girlfriends. Tried harder to stay close to friends.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Worry about the future. Cry.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
Went and saw a double feature at the movies with my brother, “Yes Man” and “The Spirit,” followed by paninis at Piu Bello. It was a lovely day.
21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
I continued to be in love in 2008.
22. What was your favorite TV program?
How I met your Mother.
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I don’t think so. Maybe “apathetic towards” is more appropriate.
24. What was the best book you read?
I started reading “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” and was loving it, but since I haven’t finished, I don’t know yet if it was the best.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Leo usually does the discovering, and passes on the wealth to me. I loved The Ting Tings this year, The Faint, Justice, and Santogold.
26. What did you want and get?
A job!
27. What did you want and not get?
A different job.
28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Hm. Lars and the real girl.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 21, and I went to a beauty bar with my girlfriends, met some c-list actors, drank too much, watched everything come back up. It was an excellent rite of passage.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Less stress?
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Flats! Flats! More flats!
32. What kept you sane?
Leo, most certainly.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Meh.
34. What political issue stirred you the most?
The presidential election was pretty cool.
35. Who did you miss?
My family when they’re not around, Leo when he’s away. I love but few.
36. Who was the best new person you met?
Bridget!
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Not to be afraid, that if you work hard enough, you can achieve what you desire.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
“when i saw the future – the geeks were right”
From Boing Boing, is awesome:
Someone in Germany is driving an automobile built for UK roads and has installed a Muppet in the passenger seat. The speed cameras in Germany are made to take photos of drivers who sit in the left side of the vehicle, so drivers of UK-style cars driver can’t be easily identified.
A German police source said: “The number plate is not enough. We need clear evidence of who is driving the vehicle too.“But because this is a British vehicle we can never get a decent picture. The driver has obviously worked this out because he has placed a large puppet in the passenger seat.
“This may be an example of the famous British sense of humour but it is still dangerous driving. The driver has been caught on camera on several occasions and the puppet is on the passenger seat every time. We suspect he positions the toy deliberately before accelerating past the camera.”
How cute cute cute! (Apparently, according to WIRED, this has been done a couple of times before, but it’s still cute!) *Found on Boing Boing.
Nyaaawww!
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