The End. For Real.

Karaoke party last night. I dressed as Debbie Gibson/Tiffany with shorter hair.

Do you ever have those mornings where you wake up cringing because you might have acted like an idiot the night before? Today was one of those days.

No time to write anything, but I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Bye, Tucson!!!

Mexico & Margaritas Before Moving On

Katie & Jordy know how much I love Mexico so they took me south of the border this evening for a farewell dinner at La Roca, my favorite restaurant in Nogales.

Here's a photo blog of our evening:

Katie prepares to cross the border for the first time...


It was, in fact, a successful crossing...

... what with the one Mexican cop on duty who barely glanced at us.

I do love mariachis...

... and I thought this was sort of a romantic picture in an Ernest Hemingway, American abroad kind of way. Or not.

This is definitely an American abroad kind of shot...

You've got to love a sombrero.

As you can see, we browsed around a little before dinner. I love the knick knackery of Mexico!

I wanted Katie to buy the large plastic pig with the purse. The grim reapers in the back were pretty killer too... no pun intended... ha ha!

Once we arrived at La Roca, I took a bunch of pictures to be reminded of its cool decor:

The exterior courtyard...


The steps up to the cave restaurant...


The blue & orange main dining room...



And here we are after our meal (J = beef chimichangas, K & me = enchiladas, All of us = strong margaritas)...


We shared a flan for dessert...

I'm a huge custard fan, even if some people think it's slimy, like Jordy.

Before we left, I even took photos in the "damas" room...

... AKA women's bathroom... because the decor was so great.

Katie also appreciated the leather armchair provided for lady guests...


Afterwards, I wanted to get a street scene shot with K & J on the way back to the car...


This is a view of Nogales, Mexico from the U.S. side of the border...


Here was a view of the mountains on the drive back home...

Ahhhh, so pretty.

I will miss this place and everybody here who's made it what it is. You all know who you are.

And I think that's it.

I might have a chance for one last post tomorrow before the movers come to take my stuff (sometime between 1-5 pm), but I'm not sure if I'll have time or not.

Assuming I won't... Goodbye, my faithful readers!!!!!!

The kid I babysit told me last week in the swimming pool that I "looked like Fraulein Maria" (my hair was wet and looking rather like a Julie Andrews hair helmet at the time) so this seemed a fitting "adieu, adieu to you and you and you..."

PS -- If you're so inclined, check back here periodically. If I decide to start a new blog, I'll put the new address up here.

My Car Tires Are Getting Poked More Than I Am

For the first time in a while, I'm a little stumped about what to write this evening.

The problem is... almost nothing has happened to me in the past 24 hours aside from my usual routine, and I've already written about that around 5,000 times in the past month.

Oh, wait! I know! I got another giant nail in my tire today!

I actually heard it clickety-clacking last night on the way to Gerry's, and I thought it was a crappy station wagon* driving next to me until it passed me...

...and then I realized I was the one driving the shit car because the noise didn't go away.

So as I was leaving babysitting today, it was making this clackity noise out the driver's window. I pulled over on a side street to do a quick inspection, and what do I find? A giant spike in my rear left tire. At first I thought it was a rock so I started to pull it out, only to realize that under the "rock" (which was actually a round metal spike top), a giant nail was implanted in my tire.

This marks Round Three at Discount Tire of Tucson in the past year (if you're really dying to hear about my last tire dilemma, click here). Thank god I got smart and got a warranty because I've gotten my last two tire replacements free. That place is starting to become my second home. Also thank god I had Harry Potter with me at the time so I had a way to occupy myself for 90 minutes.

Anyway, this is something I will not miss about Tucson... shitty gravel alleys and dirty roads.

This tire destruction is getting old.
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* -- And yes, I believe it was a Plymouth Volare wagon (as seen in the picture), which reminded me of my high school friend, Heather K., whose parents lovingly bestowed one upon her in our teen years. It only had an AM radio so we would jam out to Christian rock and organ music whenever she drove. One time we crashed it into the molding on the side of her house's garage door, and we super glued the wood back, hoping her parents wouldn't notice. Unfortunately for her, I think they did. Also, our friend Brian threw up one night in the back seat after too many beers. That car was a real keeper!

Rainbows Aren't Just for Gays

I refuse to get schmaltzy this week, even with Chickytavaland's existence drawing to a close. I don't do schmaltz very well... it always seems fake and overdramatic to me.

I thought about writing some "why Tucson has been so fun and great" kind of blog entry or "what I've learned in grad school and/or from my friends" sort of piece (which actually would say something like... "it is possible to drink and go out four or five nights a week and still graduate with a 4.0"), but I think I just can't bring myself to do it. Not only is it too much work to write something semi-serious, but it seems a little cheesy.

That said, I must include this final schmaltzy inclusion in my blog:

I saw the most magnificent rainbow I believe I've ever seen tonight...

It was a full rainbow that arched all the way across Tucson.

Although the pictures don't do it justice, the rainbow was so bright you could see every single color clearly, and there was even a double rainbow for a while!

I was on my way over to Gerry's house for dinner when I first saw it, and I was so amazed that I drove back home to get my camera just to take these pictures...

You can see the color a little better here.

I don't remember ever seeing the sky look like that on the East coast. Actually, I don't remember seeing much of the sky there, period.

That is something I will really miss about Arizona.

My Last Monday in Tucson

My time in Tucson is drawing to a close.

Yep... my computer will be packed up this Friday (when the movers come to collect my stuff), and the blog will die... at least until I determine if I'll have time to do one in DC.

I don't have much to report today except the usual... babysat, went to the gym, read Harry Potter, and dismantled my bicycle to box it up for shipping.

Tonight, I'm going to one last 80s Night at Club Congress with my friends (thanks to the Sandstorm for arranging it!!!)...

My favorite night out in Tucson.

And on a totally unrelated note, don't believe that JC Penney is going to the birds. Ingrid showed me some cute clothes that she bought there last week so I ventured over there this past weekend and found these two pairs of shoes...

I figured they would go with my work clothes, which I've totally forgotten about in storage.

I guess I'll be needing those soon. Sigh.

Karaoke Queens

Look at my new desk (and chair, courtesy of Shauna)...

Crafty, eh?

This is what happens when you sell your furniture before you move.

In other news, I had a good weekend.

Although I did not see the shemale again (thus thwarting my chance to befriend him/her), I did meet my long-lost friend, Suzanne, out for a drink last Friday night.

I knew her 10 years ago when we were both in an Air Force training program. I was 23 and she was 30, and I remember thinking at the time that she was "really old." Anyway, she lives in Tucson now (and is moving to DC the week after me... so I can see her again there!), and we reconnected after all these years.

Of course, I forgot to take a picture of us (and my old pics are all in storage), but she looks great, and she reminded me of many stories I wish I had forgotten... namely, she was with me when I totalled my Jeep in 1997 at Big Bend National Park and had to be rescued by a bunch of deer hunters who brought us back to our campsite on a bed of dried corn... but that's a story for another day.

Then last evening, Ingrid hosted a girl's night chocolate fondue and karaoke "pre-party" for the big final event next Friday night. I didn't realize I was such a karaoke whore. God, I love that machine. I found that my voice is most similar to Pat Benatar, Patsy Cline, Nancy Sinatra, and Blondie. I also do a mean Cockney accent on any Madness tune. So I'm ready for next weekend.

Also in attendance... Iva...

...AKA "Madame Roxette"

Anna G...

... AKA "The Dixie Chick"

Plus The Moos ("Miss Kris Kross") and Katie ("Lady Wilson Phillips")...


As an added bonus, here's a sampling of Ingrid ("Wasted & Gay George Michael") singing Faith...

What stage presence!!!

Harry Potter Mania!

I was really trying to wait until I got back to DC to purchase my new Harry Potter book (one less piece of crap to deal with in this tiny, half-packed hellhole apartment and one less thing to weigh down my poor old Accord in the mountains), but as I may have mentioned before, I am not always the best at resisting temptation.

So here it is... MY copy of the last Harry Potter book...

Yes, I tried to recreate Harry's pose.

*** Non-Harry Potter fans (heathens that you are)... my apologies in advance as the rest of this blog may bore/baffle you because you don't know the characters about which I write, but tough crap, you should have read the books by now.***

I should mention here that my 36-year old brother has been calling me on a daily basis over the last few days to give me his take on what he thought was going to happen at the end of the book.

His prediction (and I don't know if he's right since I haven't even opened my copy yet)... Snape & Pettigrew will help Harry kill Voldemort, and Harry will become the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwart's.

The nerd (that is, my brother) actually attended one of those all night Harry Potter parties last night to get his copy (I will accede that he does have a 5-year old daughter who he brought with him, giving a little more legitimacy to his attendance at such an event), and then he called me today to tell me he finished the whole book already. Apparently he read from 1-3 am last night and then woke up at 7 am and read all day without stopping until he finished around 5 pm.

He also informed me that at the most recent HP movie (I think it's Order of the Phoenix?), he sat near an older woman who had costumed herself to look exactly like Delores Umbridge, which he found very amusing.

Indeed, there are few things I appreciate more than adults festooning themselves in costumes from a children's book...

See here: Subject # 1...

Wanna-Be Hufflepuff

Dweebs in a mall...

... with the bonus addition of some poor giant-like human transformed into Hagrid.

Quidditch rocks!!!!!

You know this guy lives for Renaissance Festivals.

Is this an Allman Brothers band member?...

... or Hermione circa 1972?

Neeeeerrrrdddd...

... with a light saber. Wrong series, man!

And this priceless video catch is my favorite...

Sorry, but I have to ask... are they a special needs group?

I think it's fair to say that Harry Potter knows no boundaries.