5/30/07

MIne wasn't that long.

Today my sister graduated. Her commencement for her "college" was 2 1/2 hours long. My mom told me mine was just as long a few years ago. I have no recollection of that. I remember it being so hot I almost passed out. There was no shade, and I had on a black robe, 3 double lei's, and downed a water in like, 10 seconds. Shortie kept an eye on me. I know we chatted with the classmates around us.

I also don't remember it being so crowded. There were so many people there today. We got there early to save the front row of one of the sections...and then we had about 100 people standing in front of us to see their grads - they didn't get there early! In the beginning there was someone shushing those standing in our view. But I guess they gave up once they started announcing names.

Each graduation at there has a different "exiting" music band. My sister had bagpipes, there will also be some sort of music ensemble with a name I can't say. I think it's something tribal-ish. It's a bit different, but cool. I don't remember leaving our seats. It's weird, because all that only happened 3 years ago and I can't remember. Old age? No. But I guess I've just had so much going on that I'm forgetting bits and pieces. I remember the important stuff - like them announcing my name, shaking hands, and getting the diploma holder. I remember taking pictures, and going out for lunch after. I remember having to pee right before we were supposed to walk in - but I ran to the bathroom, and ran back just as my department was about to head out. Luckily Shortie held my spot. Oh, and I remember calling E$ telling her I finally made it!!! I guess I only remember the good stuff, and let the boring items fall out my head.

5/29/07

Hawaii? Yes please!

Today we met one of our employees that works in Hawaii. Well, she lives there. She lived in CA practically her whole life. For the past 20 some years, she'd go out to Hawaii almost every year for vacation - or tried to schedule it with work for trainings. 2 years ago, she bit the bullet and decided to move there. She was telling us of the small house she has, but it's worth it because of where she gets to call "home."

I'm jealous of this bravery. J and I talk all the time about moving to Colorado. But that's still only a 16 hour drive or a 3 1/2 hour plane ride. You can't drive to/from Hawaii. Kiss family good bye. It's not like travelling to a state where it's not necessarily a vacation spot so the fares are cheaper. But Hawaii? Everyone wants to go there! I do. I still have never been. I hope to be there sometime soon within the next few years. We have a wedding to plan/save for!

5/25/07

Start of a long weekend. Sort of.

Last night E$ and I headed up north. We arrived around 11 and were excited to finally get to sleep. She had been up since 4am EST with her flight and only was able to score a 1 hour nap. And she drove. But it was a rental - a brand new Mazda 3. Very sporty. We had the Ipod's going and she kept battling me with controlling the volume from the steering wheel. I think that's the coolest thing. I wish my car had that. Oh well!

Before we headed out, we stopped at 7-Eleven for some slurpees and waters. Outside there was this kid and he just kept looking at us when we pulled up. And when we got out, he slowly started walking towards us. I told E$ "Um, do you get the heeby jeebies from him?" She said he's probly looking for someone to score him cigs or beer. I guess. But it was still weird.

As we left, he's like "cool car". I'm like LET'S GET THE F OUT OF HERE!

So, our drive up was uneventful, and got in around 11. Now I'm alone in their house with their dog. She keeps roaming around the house. I wonder if this is what she does every day. I wonder if she is wondering who I am. And why I'm sitting at her parents kitchen counter? Oh well, She keeps wanting to play, but she's not good at it. I throw her stuffed animal, and she comes back with it, but won't let it go to let me throw it again. She'll learn some day!

5/23/07

A little sad, a little pathetic

Last night I was watching the season finale of Real World: Denver, Colorado. I visited Colorado for this past New Year's with a huge group of friends. One couple moved there last year so we all made the trip out there. Gorgeous place.

Anywhoo. While watching it, I was sort of bothered by Davis. He was the gay one (ya know, they throw them in there, plus an african american, couple of white girls, and one person who's never met a homosexual before). Anyways, at the beginning of the season he stated he wanted to prove to the world that you can be gay and monogamous. Well, in this episode, turns out he hadn't kept his promise. He's balling and balling because his boyfriend dumped him (surprise, surprise).

Anyways, then they start packing and I realize SHIT. I'm too old to be on this show now. I think the age group is 18-24 or something like that. I'm 25. How am I too old to be on that show? I wouldn't WANT to be. But still, it's nice to have the option. I guess I'll have to just keep my hopes up for American Idol (although disclaimer - I can't sing...well. I can sing, I just I'd be one of the ones they put up there to be funny than to show actual proof of talent).

Tonight's American Idol's finale. Last night it became apparent early on (well, after the first round of songs) that Jordin deserves it. Blake will do great with his different approach to music, but she's got the lungs. But I really didn't think it was such a good idea to sing that Christina Aguilera song...I was cringing on the couch.

5/22/07

I love weddings!

Well, today I got confirmation that I'm venturing up the coast a bit this weekend for a wedding with a friend. One of my best friends - E. Well, we'll call her E$ because she's cool like that. Anyways, it's one of her college roommate's wedding. I went to her other roommate's wedding last year and now it's time for the other one. I'm actually the "plus one" for the roomie that got married last year. I'm taking the place of her husband. But I don't mind! I love little quick trips. Plus San Luis Obispo (that's where we're going) has this great little yogurt place called Bali's. You can serve your own soft-serve and your own topings. They charge by the ounce, but it's pretty inexpensive compared to ColdStone or Golden Spoon. I'm excited!

Now I just need to find something to wear......

5/21/07

Weekend re-cap

Well, this weekend was quite the crazy one. 3 parties, 1 hangover, and more stories from the lovely s-i-l (sister-in-law).

Friday night was a bday party for a visiting relative. That was a lot of fun. Not only did it have some people I don't know, but some of our (J and mine) friends were there as well. Got to catch-up with Budget Boy's girlfriend and hang out with J's sis L. (not the psycho S-I-L). I had some lovely Malibu-Tampico cocktails (yes, I was ghe-tto) and they were quite delish. J and I left around midnight, stopped at Jack in the Box, and headed home. He had a work thing the next morning.

Saturday was day 2 of the parties - first up was his "welcome home" party for his bro and fam. It was a ton of food (they're all Italian) and a little too warm for me. I headed out for Shortie's graduation and let the drinking begin! Everyone was drunk on margarita's and shots of vodka or tequila. J met me there around 10 and said it was hilarious to see so many fun-loving drunk people at one place. There was a dj and at some point I stole the mic and we turned it into a sing-a-long. At midnight the music stopped, I turned into a pumpkin and headed home.

Yesterday I was a hungover mess. I did catch up and watch on Mtv all the episodes of the first season of America's Next Top Model. I like when they put them back to back to back. At 6 I finally got up, we ate, and then moved my sorry ass to the couch for a viewing of Music & Lyrics. That's such a great movie.

So, J's sis L and I love to just sit and gossip and make fun of the s-i-l. Sure it's catty and horribly mean. But with the s-i-l, you just can't help it.

She's shown up to both parties wearing full-length dresses with jeans underneath. Then she had these bead things on her toes. She has too many piercings for a woman her age, and her kids have horrible manners. There's nothing worse than horrible manners. And it's starting to rub off on L's daughter, who's 3. She started acting like them and she was put in her place immediately. Good to know some people still have great parenting skills!

Tonight we're off to see Shrek the Third! Whopee!

5/18/07

Techie to the rescue!

Yesterday my co-worker bought a desktop scanner and tried installing the software. She then remembered that her CD-rom doesn't "exist" according to her computer. We spent the better half of the afternoon trying to fix this. We tried to download the drivers, search for it to add it again, but no luck. My friend told me to call our IT guys, but they aren't the best in these kind of situations. Believe me.

So, today we decided to try again. She just decided to open up the computer and see if there was something loose. (that would be deemed as a big no-no from the IT guys.) She got it open and we started looking around. We saw where the CD-rom was there (obviously) and also her zip drive. We saw the little power cord and another cord that were connected. But we also found this belt looking thing. One end was plugged into the CD-rom, the other just dangled there. We checked the belt thing for the zip drive, and saw that the belt had one end in the zip drive, and then one end was in the mother board.

It became apparent we had to plug in the CD-rom. And we have no idea how it "fell out" before. It did at one point in time work. So, there was two plugs dangling off this belt. All the other ones were color-matched. White went in white, blue in blue, and black in black. Well, on this belt, the white one didn't reach. We tried and tried, and nothing would make that thing stretch. So, at the end of it, there was a blue plug. I said "hey, we should use that one!" She was nervous, but I pointed out that the black one had different prong spots so it wouldn't fit in this particular slot. BUT, this blue one had the same thing as the white. So I did it. And it WORKED!

Now, if we had actually gone to our IT guys, this is what they would suggest,

Let me hack into your computer (ok)
Hmm, you're right, it's disappeared. Well, did you try downloading new drivers (yes).
Did you try rebooting (yes)
Well, send it to us and we'll work on it, or just go without using the CD-rom.


Yes, that is seriously what they would do. You can't believe how difficult it was for me to let them put in my extra RAM a few months ago. I think I gave them a mild heart-attack.

So, we are very proud of ourselves. We didn't let colorful belts and cords and wires deter us!

5/17/07

I'd like Carly to be my new friend

Among working, my co-worker and I also enjoy time spent shopping online. More like cyber window shopping. Anyways, I found this and decided I would like Carly to be my new BFF. lol Oh it's so pretty!

But I just got a new purse at the outlets in Vegas last October. That means mine is only about 6/7 months old. But, when I visit my friend in Illinois in a month, we're going to their outlet. But I know they won't have Carly because she's new. Dammit!

5/16/07

Made it

Well, yesterday was definately an interesting night. There were so many screaming kids and lots of people and talking and wow. I was just excited to get back to my quiet little house.

Meeting his sister-in-law was NOTHING like I had imagined her to look like. Which is odd because she has pictures of herself on myspace. So I guess they're just REALLY old pictures. Anyways, she talks. A lot. And is definately a character. J's sis didn't bring wine so I ran to the store to grab some. And chocolate. MMMm. Chocolate. It was the good kind too.

Anyways, I attempted to watch American Idol. But with 3 kids, 5 adults, it was a bit challenging. I do have it on Tivo. But I got the basic gyst of it. I am so torn on who should stay, and who should go. I really like Blake. But I know that no matter what, he'll do good in his career. And Jordin and Melinda are just so similar with their styles and abilities that it's hard to choose. I guess I'll know more after this week, and then definately after next week!

Poor J. He's at home sick right now. He was telling me last night he didn't feel well. I went to sleep (am I horrible for that?) and he stayed up most of the night in the bathroom. So this morning he calls me cuz he's on his way home. Apparently yesterday him and 2 co-workers got a pizza and all 3 of them are sick. So at least we know it's not the flu. Cuz I wouldn't want to catch that!

I'm going to run home at lunch to check on him. Now that I know he isn't contagious. Hee hee.

5/15/07

Wine will help...

Just got a call from J's sister (not the "in-law"). Anyways, she was laughing at me cuz she is working till 7 and I'll be there before that...But she asked if she should grab wine. I said YES. And she said "Ok, well, for her, you'll need 2 bottles." LOL. God we read each other's minds.

Kinda/sorta/lil bit nervous..

Last night, J's oldest brother, wife, and 2 kids arrived for a week vacation out here. His brother is in the armed forces and has been in Korea since just before Thanksgiving last year. He's got a month off, and the fam decided to come out to visit. It's been about 2 or so years since they all came out.

I am meeting the wife and kids tonight. I met his bro last year when he came out for a few days before the big send-off to Korea. Cool guy. But not sure about the wife. She was the cause for most of the drama regarding J's bday/V-day gift. That was pretty much the last time we ever myspaced each other (she found me on there, but I'm not hard to find when i'm friends with her husband and sister-in-law). Anyways, since that all happened, I know J said it wasn't a big deal, but I'm just a little nervous to meet her. I know she'll act totally "normal" which should probly be read as "fake." Oh well.

Just a few more days to the weekend. And 2 awesome parties. And an extremely hung-over Sunday (hopefully).

5/12/07

I wish I took pictures...

Today I went on a major cleaning spree. I woke up at 10, and cleaned all the way till almost 1. It was exhausting. My shower is pretty clean. I still can't get it 100%. Kitchen is spotless, everything is vacuumed. J came home and said "wow, this place is really clean!"

Ya. I spent a lot of time. I know tomorrow when I get up my arms and stomach and back are going to ache. But when J came home, I told him that all I needed him to help with is clean the bathroom (mirror & sink). He said "ok" and turned on his movie. I finished the load of laundry, said I was gonna nap for an hour, and just assumed that bathroom would get cleaned sometime tomorrow...or next week.

When I woke up from my nap, I went to go take a shower, and realized "HOLY SHIT. He CLEANED!!" That tile on the counter was so damn clean, I almost cried. I was thrilled with it. I mean, he paused his movie and cleaned. I mean, for him to pause it was seriously a development.



I probly won't clean like that for another 4 months. Just doing all that cleaning just wiped me out. But it's nice to see everything that way. I was sad to get ready today, cuz that means the mirror for my makeup sits back on the counter, my hair dryer and 3 brushes will be on the counter, and it won't be 100% perfect for awhile.


Last night's game was fun, and I also have to post the crappy pics, but the really good video I took. After the game the stadium had about 20 minutes worth of fireworks. It was the first of their season. Love that! Makes you feel like a kid again :o)

Happy Mother's Day!

5/10/07

Tired of having disappointment

I think I'm a tad over-analytical/emotional/judgemental today. It's probly due to some hormones flying around in my body. But ever since I got off work today, I've not been a happy camper. I'm not mad, just not happy. Not sure if it's anyone's fault but my own.

I ran some errands after work - Costco, market, usual stuff. I felt so old pushing a cart through the aisles of Costco. Luckily, I was reminded that i'm not too old because I'm not at the age to buy a lot of the stuff in there...Mainly because I don't have a house to furnish (they have a ton of garden stuff there now), nor do I have a need for all their fun geeky electronics (again, things I have now are just fine), and no need for all the crazy vitamins, elixirs, meds, diapers (for babies....well, I guess grown-ups too? lol). My cart was pathetic - shampoo, conditioner, a movie, toilet paper, and some peanuts for J.

There were quite a bit of families, but also people shopping for their businesses. I always think about when I'll be those people and some young girl will be toting around her small cart with just a few items because her salary/checking account isn't too big.


When I got home, I hurried to put the things away, empty out the fridge, put all the toilet paper away (I think there's like 30 or something rolls!) and J is like "just sit down, eat, relax.". Um, this is when the judgemental stuff comes in. Immediately I start saying (in my head of course)

Easy for you to say. You came home and all you did was eat and play your guitar. I have things to do because that's what I do. I am in charge of this house. I can wait for you to do it, but that'll take to long. Must be nice.

I told you I was being judgemental. To his defense, he did tell me (without any prompts from me) that he was sorry that he doesn't just think of things to do. Although I got bitchy and said "you didn't notice the dishes in the sink? did you think that maybe the dishwasher needed to be emptied and reloaded?" He said he would have figured it out...Of course that was 5 minutes before he was about to leave to go meet up with some friends. I did it though. Didn't really complain. I guess it's part my fault because I so easily made things this way. I don't let him touch the laundry, he doesn't shop for groceries (unless it's for something we need for dinner - he'll pick up stuff), and he doesn't clean. Like, he'll clean up but not clean. No chemicals.

So, after I was done being a brat, I watched tivo, and then decided time to go to the gym...I haven't been (really) since the cruise. Whoops! It's just so easy to find something else to do!

On the way home, I called my sister because I came up with a great idea for Mother's day. Yes I know it's a few days away. But we're late planners (well, I blame this on my indecisive sister). In my mom's garage (also she lives there), there's a huge box of photos that just are all mixed together. Some are in the envelopes from when they were developed, some are just thrown in there.

I said we should go to Walmart, get some cheap photo albums, maybe some cute pens (for captions when we get inspired by a funny photo) and then have that as a fun project on Sunday. My mom has always been meaning to put these photos in some sort of order, but (like the gym), there's always something better to do!

She said no. She said my mom wouldn't handle it. Give the woman some credit! Sure there have been better times in her life. But we're in the present day. We can't change what's currently going on. There might be some tears, but there will sure as hell be a lot of laughs too. I gotta work on her. Or buy the stuff, say "you lost" and just do it anyways. I'm great at that ;o) (being a pushy bitch sometimes).

Finally, a calm day...

Well, Today's the first day in a few days that work has been a bit calmer. Sure, still processing a ton of new hires. But the drama has been low...For the most part. We currently have 2 more people that have bad backgrounds. I couldn't believe it, we had the exact same scenario happen again this week! Ok, so I thought I blogged about it. But I guess not. Basically someone knew they had a horrible record, and didn't really have an "active" driver's license because of the trouble they got into. So, they thought they'd be smart and just not put in their driver's license number for their background so it wouldn't be found. Ya. not so much for them. Weirdos.

But, the day has flown by. Tomorrow hopefully will to. I have a hair appt. at 4:30, then J and I are going to the dodger game with my aunt and uncle. It's Fireworks night!! Last year we went with Shortie's parents and a bunch of other people for the 4th of July. The stadium just does a really good job with the fireworks. I'm very excited!

5/9/07

Porgy and Bess - my first opera!

Last night J and I went to see Porgy and Bess. It's an opera that is part opera....part jazz...and very different from the typical opera with big white wigs, fat ladies, and a whole log of boredom. It's set in the 1940s in a poor neighborhood and is a story about a crippled man, a drunken slut (not really, but she was in the begining) and her lover that was also a drunk and abusive. The drunk lover leaves, the cripple shows his love for her, she's with him. Then the drunk comes back, tries to steal her away, big fight in the end.

It was really great. Our seats were 6 rows back, almost center stage. I was worried that I'd get bored, but it was awesome. The vocals of all the cast members was amazing. And, for times when you couldn't understand them - there was supertitles that ran above the stage (that was pretty cool.) During intermission I asked J what he thought - and he was enjoying it too. I don't think he was paying attention to the supertitles though ~ he said he couldn't understand part of what they were saying/singing, but got the overall point with the acting. I guess that's what it would have been like if the opera were in Italian. You just have to get the feeling from what the actors are doing onstage, and also feeling the emotion they give when they sing.

I liked it. I'm glad we went. The audience was a mix of casualware, business ware, and then dressy. We went the dressy route. I mean, when else will I get to wear my nice dresses? Only when I go on cruises? Nah.

5/5/07

cinco de mayo

Today is NOT Mexico's Independence day. That is on Sept. 16th. Today marks the day that the mexican army defeated the french at the Battle of Pueblo in the 1860s. So drink a beer for that, and drink again on the 16th of September for their independence day!

My drink of choice: Mojitos. Muy delicioso!

5/4/07

Made a good accomplishment...at the end of a crazy day

Well, so far it seems as if every Friday gets more and more crazy. Last week was the flat tire friday, then there the friday when we found out a guy was arrested and couldn't start work, and before that were all the friday's before the Vegas trips.

Today was no different. 3 phone calls within the first 2 hours of work that people didn't get their full pay. 1 got a check because we really got her timecards on time, but 2 were out of luck as we never got them, and therefore are considered late. Also found out that one of our pendings had to be formally let go, bad background. Then a guy calls - FedEx didn't drop off some checks, his included, and he was mad. We offer direct deposit for all employees to avoid situations like this. But, he says he doesn't "do" direct deposity cuz he has problems. Well, HE doesn't have problems, but he'd always have problems with direct deposits. Oh well.

I did get paid today, which leads me to my title of this particular blog. Last year, I bought a fridge for my place. I had to, and decided to just go "new." I put it on a Lowe's credit card and just finally decided (almost exactly a year later) that I need to just pay the damn thing off. $198.21 to be exact. So I did. So now I only have 2 (huge) credit cards left. They both have their pros and cons. The higher balanced one has a much lower interest rate, so every payment really takes down some of the principle. The other one has a lower balance, but a HUUUUUGGGGEEE interest rate. So every time you pay the minimum, you only put like, 5 bucks towards the principle. (slight exageration there...) Anyways, with the Suze Orman YF&B book, I'll be working on putting more towards the lower balanced/higher interest card until that one is gone. And she has a calculator on her site. If I pay the same $175 each month, she tells me it will only take me 3 years to pay off. Imagine that! Hopefully some months I can put more towards it! lol.

Anyways, however you spend your weekend, have a good one!

5/3/07

I guess it was good to suffer...

About 2 months ago I went to have a mole removed. I had one removed about a year prior, and they ended up removing the rest of it. It was a bloody fiasco. Well, I got a call from the doctor yesterday (actually, he left a message at my mom's house). So, I called him back and was told that he was on the phone and would get back to me.

2 hours later I still hadn't heard back. I tried calling him again, and now I was told he was with patients and would call me. I figured it must have been just to tell me I was ok. Obviously if something was horribly wrong, I wouldn't have been put on hold for so long about these results.

So, he does call me back. He said that the one they removed (that I actually went there for) was benign. But, he said for hte one behind my knee, that was a whole other story. He said that it was precancerous but I should be fine since it was removed. He wanted me to schedule a follow up in a month or 2 and have it looked at. He said that I wouldn't have any problems as long as nothing grows back.

Back the train up. What? I could have had cancer? What's the difference between a precancerous mole and a cancerous mole?

Now I'm freaking out because I had canceled an appointment to have one removed from right above my ear. I was afraid I'd bleed to death (not literally) because of how much the other one bled. And I'm afraid because what if they shave my hair off! Obviously not all of it. But still! Sure, call me vain. But that's a scary thought.

Another scary one is that I have cancer growing on the side of my head.

So, I called today, set up a followup and will see about getting that other one removed. And I'm bringing someone with me. And lots of paper towels.

5/1/07

Just a few more days

Well, it's just a few more days till the end of the week. Till the end of my challenge, till Cinco de Drinko, and possibly till a glorious afternoon in our town with lots of food and drink, for free! That one isn't in the bag yet, but J should found out soon if we can go. It's a pretty cool event - lots of local restaurants and businesses attend, offering some of their best cuisine and drinks. It's all inclusive with the purchase of the ticket. But, he might score 2 from his bosses. Nice!!

I was speaking with my friend on AIM today. We were discussing Coke's from McDonald's. You know, why they're soo great and so different from other restaurants. I explained to him that the syrup formula is still the same, but they add more CO2 to the mix in order to give it a different taste than other places. Many years ago, I worked in an fast food type place, and the topic of Coca Cola came up. A bunch of us wondered why it tasted different at different places. That was the reason we were told. I always wanted to crank up the CO2 there, but it was chained up and away from us measly employees.

So, I told him how I'd blog about it, give him a shout out - Hey JS! Anyways, I told him he should create a website that people can use to rate the different types of Coke's in the world (the beverage, not the drug). On the site, you can type in a location (approximate would work) and then rate their coke. There'd be a map that would pinpoit the spot, and give it a color rating. Green for excellent, Yellow for mediocre, and Red for YUCK! Anyways, he said that would be really hard to maintain, and he just got a new house and his gf is coming back soon and basically, all I heard was "blah blah blah." So I asked him if he had a blog, and he said only on his myspace. But I think even that is way outdated. Let me check. Yep. Last one was from 2005. yikes. I even suggested he could make a blog solely dedicated to his 500+ movie collection he has growing. But no. I think he's too cool for it.

Anyways, about the challenge. Except for the extreme cost of the tires from last week, I've not spent all the money. Oh, I did have to buy gas, but I had to put that on my credit card. Normally I don't, but when money is tight, you just do it. So, I have about 6 more bucks till Friday. Not bad. And I don't really have anything coming up that would need to use that cash. So yay for me! It IS possible!

 

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