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!!!
Saturday, July 28, 2007
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!!!
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!!!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
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.
_______________________________________________
* -- 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!
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.
_______________________________________________
* -- 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!
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, July 23, 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
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!!!
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!!!
Saturday, July 21, 2007
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.
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.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Packing & Pool Time
Do you want to know what's great about moving? Nothing.
Look at my apartment as of today:
Just look at this mess!!!
Boxes to be shipped via freight...
Bike box, newspaper for wrapping, half-packed container, and stuff for Goodwill in my back hallway...
Half packed boxes in the middle of my living room...
Extra boxes next to my front door...
And moving crap all over my counter...
And in order to get rid of some extra food & cooking stuff in my cabinets & fridge, I went on a cooking binge (for me, anyway)...
First, banana bread:
Then, oatmeal raisin cookies:
Now I have to pack the bakeware. Sigh...
In order to escape my own chaos, I headed to the pool this afternoon, where I saw four people I know. Yet oddly, none of them saw me. I guess they didn't recognize me wearing my swim cap and goggles. Even waving didn't work. Or... maybe I was secretly wearing an invisibility cloak (YES, I'M GETTING PSYCHED FOR HARRY POTTER!!!).
My swim was great though... it was one of those days where I felt really fast and just glided through the water with little effort.
Unfortunately, however, I was in a lane next to the shallow end of the pool, which I try to avoid because it's right next to the area where they teach swim lessons to small children. And of course all I can think about is the amount of urine being produced by the little ragamuffins who are swimming just feet away from where my mouth is plunging.
Plus, tonight, in the lap lane on the other side of me, there was a shemale (you may pronounce it to rhyme with tamale if you want). Its face and upper body was clearly a man, but he/she was wearing a female bathing suit and swim cap, and I noticed a pair of women's shiny silver flip flops next to his/her kickboard at the end of the lane.
I kept trying to figure it out with sideways glances under the water (i.e.: could I see boobage or dick bulge?), but the only thing I chanced to see was a very male looking nipple accidentally sticking out the side of the suit, and then I felt a little pervy because even though it definitely seemed to be a guy, the nip was popping out of a girl's suit. So it was sort of like checking out a chick boob, which isn't really my bag.
But yes...
... it was almost this obvious.
Look at my apartment as of today:
Just look at this mess!!!
Boxes to be shipped via freight...
Bike box, newspaper for wrapping, half-packed container, and stuff for Goodwill in my back hallway...
Half packed boxes in the middle of my living room...
Extra boxes next to my front door...
And moving crap all over my counter...
And in order to get rid of some extra food & cooking stuff in my cabinets & fridge, I went on a cooking binge (for me, anyway)...
First, banana bread:
Then, oatmeal raisin cookies:
Now I have to pack the bakeware. Sigh...
In order to escape my own chaos, I headed to the pool this afternoon, where I saw four people I know. Yet oddly, none of them saw me. I guess they didn't recognize me wearing my swim cap and goggles. Even waving didn't work. Or... maybe I was secretly wearing an invisibility cloak (YES, I'M GETTING PSYCHED FOR HARRY POTTER!!!).
My swim was great though... it was one of those days where I felt really fast and just glided through the water with little effort.
Unfortunately, however, I was in a lane next to the shallow end of the pool, which I try to avoid because it's right next to the area where they teach swim lessons to small children. And of course all I can think about is the amount of urine being produced by the little ragamuffins who are swimming just feet away from where my mouth is plunging.
Plus, tonight, in the lap lane on the other side of me, there was a shemale (you may pronounce it to rhyme with tamale if you want). Its face and upper body was clearly a man, but he/she was wearing a female bathing suit and swim cap, and I noticed a pair of women's shiny silver flip flops next to his/her kickboard at the end of the lane.
I kept trying to figure it out with sideways glances under the water (i.e.: could I see boobage or dick bulge?), but the only thing I chanced to see was a very male looking nipple accidentally sticking out the side of the suit, and then I felt a little pervy because even though it definitely seemed to be a guy, the nip was popping out of a girl's suit. So it was sort of like checking out a chick boob, which isn't really my bag.
But yes...
... it was almost this obvious.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
My Friend Lizzy, Modern Day Saint
While I'm fucking around babysitting, taking photos of dumb statues on campus, planning karaoke parties, and drinking aimlessly at Plush, my friend Lizzy is saving the world. Really.
I met Lizzy in DC in 2001, right after she got back from a backpacking trip around Thailand. She and I were in a close group of friends who used to meet every Monday night for "Ladies Night Billiards" at Bedrock Billiards in DC.
Lizzy has always had an altruistic streak, working for NGOs, volunteering in the Peace Corps, and managing an inner city computer center (which is what she was doing when I met her).
After Hurricane Katrina, she moved to New Orleans to help out and ended up founding the St. Bernard Project to help rebuild homes for the poor...
AND... drum roll... it was just featured on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 this past week!!! Holy shit!
Check out my wonderful friend, Liz, and her boyfriend, Zack, on CNN... she even gets a live interview with Anderson at the end of it!!!! Watch how calm and articulate she is -- I'd be a bumbling wreck...
Funny thing is that Lizzy and Zack first got together at my 29th birthday party in DC several years ago! So I take partial credit for their union...
Here are a few more funny memories I have with Lizzy:
A little tipsy with other friends during New Year's in Key West...
Hanging out with our friends in the house we rented there...
Peeking in the showers at Key West's best restaurant...
Excuse my ridiculous antics, please.
And very hungover the day after New Year's...
... but at least we were on the beach!
Here we are camping in northern Maryland...
Paola didn't seem to have any problems with her kebab, but Lizzy and I just couldn't get ours to cook (thus the nonplussed facial expressions).
I think she finally got it cooked here...
Even if she'd probably kill me if she knew I was posting this picture.
Anyway, just wanted to brag about a great woman doing great things.
I'm proud to call her my friend.
I met Lizzy in DC in 2001, right after she got back from a backpacking trip around Thailand. She and I were in a close group of friends who used to meet every Monday night for "Ladies Night Billiards" at Bedrock Billiards in DC.
Lizzy has always had an altruistic streak, working for NGOs, volunteering in the Peace Corps, and managing an inner city computer center (which is what she was doing when I met her).
After Hurricane Katrina, she moved to New Orleans to help out and ended up founding the St. Bernard Project to help rebuild homes for the poor...
AND... drum roll... it was just featured on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 this past week!!! Holy shit!
Check out my wonderful friend, Liz, and her boyfriend, Zack, on CNN... she even gets a live interview with Anderson at the end of it!!!! Watch how calm and articulate she is -- I'd be a bumbling wreck...
Funny thing is that Lizzy and Zack first got together at my 29th birthday party in DC several years ago! So I take partial credit for their union...
Here are a few more funny memories I have with Lizzy:
A little tipsy with other friends during New Year's in Key West...
Hanging out with our friends in the house we rented there...
Peeking in the showers at Key West's best restaurant...
Excuse my ridiculous antics, please.
And very hungover the day after New Year's...
... but at least we were on the beach!
Here we are camping in northern Maryland...
Paola didn't seem to have any problems with her kebab, but Lizzy and I just couldn't get ours to cook (thus the nonplussed facial expressions).
I think she finally got it cooked here...
Even if she'd probably kill me if she knew I was posting this picture.
Anyway, just wanted to brag about a great woman doing great things.
I'm proud to call her my friend.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Lamest Element of the UA Campus
Even though it was 105 degrees today, this morning I rode my bike to the house where I babysit.*
I usually take a short-cut through the UA campus, and as I ride up University Boulevard, I have to pass this statue in front of the UA basketball stadium...
I think it's the world's dumbest design...
I mean, is that wildcat actually lending a hand to the other one?
Really, I hate that statue. It's so fake. I'd rather have Wildcats fighting or pouncing or roaring or even pooping for that matter.
_________________________________________________
*I'm not completely insane, it's just that I had no car this morning because I dropped off my old Honda at the shop last night for a tune-up before I drive across the country in two weeks, and thus I did not have it at my disposal this morning.
I usually take a short-cut through the UA campus, and as I ride up University Boulevard, I have to pass this statue in front of the UA basketball stadium...
I think it's the world's dumbest design...
I mean, is that wildcat actually lending a hand to the other one?
Really, I hate that statue. It's so fake. I'd rather have Wildcats fighting or pouncing or roaring or even pooping for that matter.
_________________________________________________
*I'm not completely insane, it's just that I had no car this morning because I dropped off my old Honda at the shop last night for a tune-up before I drive across the country in two weeks, and thus I did not have it at my disposal this morning.
Monday, July 16, 2007
The Stuff Nightmares Are Made Of...
Last night, I woke up around 3 am to go to the bathroom.
I half remember groggily coming back to my futon and looking forward to falling back to sleep, when I felt my foot kick over the nearly full glass of water that I'd left on the floor.
I had one of those "oh shit!" reactions because there was a large (and full) moving box next to the spilled water that started getting wet. I immediately pushed the box about a foot away, over a small ledge that it had been half resting on into my kitchen. I grabbed a nearby dish towel and bent over in the dark to sop up the water so it wouldn't spread any further.
In the very dim light of the early morning, I noticed a strange, long, little rectangular shape laying near the water where the box had been. For a second I thought it was a strip of cardboard that had come loose, and I started to move to pick it up but upon getting closer and squinting (I wasn't wearing my glasses), I noticed that it looked a little bit like a dead animal. Or at least I was pretty sure that I'd seen legs.
At that point, I was wide awake.
I ran to turn on the light and, half-shrieking, I discovered that the little rectangle was indeed a deceased critter... a baby lizard to be exact. And he was rather shriveled and dry looking, like he'd been there for a while.
I apologize now for not taking a photo of the event, but I wasn't really thinking about my blog right then.
Instead, as has always been my fear ever since my dogs killed a groundhog when I was a young teenager and my parents made me bury it (and I felt its dead weight on the end of the shovel, which completely skeeved me out), I am totally repulsed by the disposing of dead animals.
Therefore, I grabbed about six paper towels and folded them up in a thick bunch, grabbed the lizard (which honestly did look almost like jerky because he was so dried out) and then sprinted to my kitchen garbage can, where I tossed him into it with a spastic fling of the wrist. (Frankly, I would have liked to pitch him in the dumpster outside, but common sense... and a lazy streak... dictated that I should not go into an alley at that time of night.)
Somehow I actually did get back to sleep but not without pondering for a bit about how the lizard got there and died in the first place. I concluded that he must have crawled under the tipped up box while seeking a cave-like atmosphere and then got trapped and couldn't get back out (God forbid I pinned him under there accidentally and squashed him... that is so gross).
And of course, now I am wondering how many more lizards are running around, unseen by me, in my apartment, especially at night.
Then again, I could have been these people and found a dead lizard in my Slushie...
Oh hell! I hope the lizard didn't pour out of my water cup! I hadn't thought about that.
The bottom line is this... after my run-in with the massive roach/beetle character in my bathroom two weeks ago and now the discovery of a dead lizard right next to my bed, I am pretty convinced that Tucson during the summer time is downright scary.
Never mind the scorching weather. It's the wildlife that is driving me out of here. (No pun intended).
I half remember groggily coming back to my futon and looking forward to falling back to sleep, when I felt my foot kick over the nearly full glass of water that I'd left on the floor.
I had one of those "oh shit!" reactions because there was a large (and full) moving box next to the spilled water that started getting wet. I immediately pushed the box about a foot away, over a small ledge that it had been half resting on into my kitchen. I grabbed a nearby dish towel and bent over in the dark to sop up the water so it wouldn't spread any further.
In the very dim light of the early morning, I noticed a strange, long, little rectangular shape laying near the water where the box had been. For a second I thought it was a strip of cardboard that had come loose, and I started to move to pick it up but upon getting closer and squinting (I wasn't wearing my glasses), I noticed that it looked a little bit like a dead animal. Or at least I was pretty sure that I'd seen legs.
At that point, I was wide awake.
I ran to turn on the light and, half-shrieking, I discovered that the little rectangle was indeed a deceased critter... a baby lizard to be exact. And he was rather shriveled and dry looking, like he'd been there for a while.
I apologize now for not taking a photo of the event, but I wasn't really thinking about my blog right then.
Instead, as has always been my fear ever since my dogs killed a groundhog when I was a young teenager and my parents made me bury it (and I felt its dead weight on the end of the shovel, which completely skeeved me out), I am totally repulsed by the disposing of dead animals.
Therefore, I grabbed about six paper towels and folded them up in a thick bunch, grabbed the lizard (which honestly did look almost like jerky because he was so dried out) and then sprinted to my kitchen garbage can, where I tossed him into it with a spastic fling of the wrist. (Frankly, I would have liked to pitch him in the dumpster outside, but common sense... and a lazy streak... dictated that I should not go into an alley at that time of night.)
Somehow I actually did get back to sleep but not without pondering for a bit about how the lizard got there and died in the first place. I concluded that he must have crawled under the tipped up box while seeking a cave-like atmosphere and then got trapped and couldn't get back out (God forbid I pinned him under there accidentally and squashed him... that is so gross).
And of course, now I am wondering how many more lizards are running around, unseen by me, in my apartment, especially at night.
Then again, I could have been these people and found a dead lizard in my Slushie...
Oh hell! I hope the lizard didn't pour out of my water cup! I hadn't thought about that.
The bottom line is this... after my run-in with the massive roach/beetle character in my bathroom two weeks ago and now the discovery of a dead lizard right next to my bed, I am pretty convinced that Tucson during the summer time is downright scary.
Never mind the scorching weather. It's the wildlife that is driving me out of here. (No pun intended).
Sunday, July 15, 2007
A Super Saucy Saturday
I must say that this past Saturday was one of the more colorful days/nights in my life.
I woke up with a bit of a hangover from a tapas dinner party I attended at B & A's Friday night (A -- congrats on passing your thesis defense again, BTW!)... I didn't even drink that much, but I'd brought some Turning Leaf Sauvignon Blanc that gave me the worst headache I've had in a long time...
Buyer, be warned.
After moping around my place for a while in the morning, I called Ingrid to see if she wanted to go with me to investigate karaoke rentals at the "Chicago Music Store" downtown.
Luckily, she agreed to accompany me, and we ventured into the most chaotic, seemingly unorganized, and cluttered shop I've ever seen in my life...
This was the view down one of the alleyways of musical equipment.
After playing around for nearly an hour with the DJ equipment, pianos, synthesizers, and gawking at the pimped out purple & gold plated mariachi accordions, we found a great deal on a karaoke machine rental that has 5,000 songs on a built-in hard drive.
I made Ingrid (who is far more tech savvy than I) check out the musical choices on the hard drive from the store owner's "office." (FYI: his computer password is "asshole")
Look at this guy's nook...
You would appreciate it much more if you saw it juxtaposed amidst the entire store, which contains about 4,000 square feet of this tornado-like debris.
As we were paying at the front of the shop, this guy walked in with his baby bulldog...
Holy shit, how cute are the dog sunglasses (called "Doggles")?
I also commented to Ingrid that the above duo was total proof that dogs and owners do in fact often look alike. I think she responded with something like, "You're terrible." Oh, come on!
After hitting the gym and relaxing a bit at home that evening, my friend Iva text messaged me around 11pm to see if I wanted to meet out for a drink at Plush.
Normally, I might have said no because I was tired and still mildly hungover. But seeing as I only have two weekends left in Tucson (sad face), I figured I should take advantage of one of my last Saturday nights.
And, as is usually the case, the nights that you least expect to be great, turn out to be your best nights.
Long story short... we met these two guys at Plush. One of them (B.) had just graduated from UA. He looked, seriously, exactly like a young Andy Dick...
While he was seemingly heterosexual, he was there with his flamboyantly gay best friend, Ivan, who was visiting Tucson from Las Vegas, where he works as a sales assistant at Escada in Caesar's Palace.
While Iva paired off with B., I spent most of my night learning about gay life in Vegas from a highly entertaining member of its society.
We closed down Plush (recommendation: get an "oatmeal cookie" cocktail next time you're there). Then Iva and B. wanted to get coffee. Although I thought perhaps I should call it a night -- it was around 2:30am by this point -- I rallied my last drops of energy, and we walked about 1/2 mile to The Grill on Congress.
As I was waiting in line for the bathroom, I was pulled into conversation by a booth of three beef-cakey military officers who are special ops survival training instructors at Fort Huachuca.
It's times like these when it is beneficial to have been in the military before... because although they initially tried to convince me that they were not in the military, they started throwing out acronyms that I immediately recognized. So I called them out on it. I love the element of surprise.
Furthermore, judging by the fact that they were leeching onto anyone in a skirt who walked by their table during the time we were all there, it was pretty clear that these guys were positively desperate for a late-night hook-up. (Not really surprising considering the fact that they just came out of weeks of desert survival training.)
Their general horniness was made even clearer when they left their table around 3:30am and loitered outside for a while, peering back through the front window at Iva for at least five minutes and basically freaking her out. Soon, we received a message from our waitress that "the gentlemen outside wanted to buy the ladies some dessert." I told our guy friends that they apparently were not considered any sort of threat.
In response, super gay Ivan said he was ready to kick some ass. Then he giggled and corrected that to "get some ass."
We all went ahead and ordered a piece of chocolate cake to share (I mean, why not?) and about five more minutes later, our waitress delivered this to our table...
Seemingly harmless, no?
Until we opened it and found this inside...
If that's not a proposition, I don't know what is.
Ivan said he wondered what they would do if he showed up. Then he wondered if they were all sharing a room. Then the conversation took a rather dirty turn that I won't repeat here.
Needless to say, Jake didn't get lucky last night.
I woke up with a bit of a hangover from a tapas dinner party I attended at B & A's Friday night (A -- congrats on passing your thesis defense again, BTW!)... I didn't even drink that much, but I'd brought some Turning Leaf Sauvignon Blanc that gave me the worst headache I've had in a long time...
Buyer, be warned.
After moping around my place for a while in the morning, I called Ingrid to see if she wanted to go with me to investigate karaoke rentals at the "Chicago Music Store" downtown.
Luckily, she agreed to accompany me, and we ventured into the most chaotic, seemingly unorganized, and cluttered shop I've ever seen in my life...
This was the view down one of the alleyways of musical equipment.
After playing around for nearly an hour with the DJ equipment, pianos, synthesizers, and gawking at the pimped out purple & gold plated mariachi accordions, we found a great deal on a karaoke machine rental that has 5,000 songs on a built-in hard drive.
I made Ingrid (who is far more tech savvy than I) check out the musical choices on the hard drive from the store owner's "office." (FYI: his computer password is "asshole")
Look at this guy's nook...
You would appreciate it much more if you saw it juxtaposed amidst the entire store, which contains about 4,000 square feet of this tornado-like debris.
As we were paying at the front of the shop, this guy walked in with his baby bulldog...
Holy shit, how cute are the dog sunglasses (called "Doggles")?
I also commented to Ingrid that the above duo was total proof that dogs and owners do in fact often look alike. I think she responded with something like, "You're terrible." Oh, come on!
After hitting the gym and relaxing a bit at home that evening, my friend Iva text messaged me around 11pm to see if I wanted to meet out for a drink at Plush.
Normally, I might have said no because I was tired and still mildly hungover. But seeing as I only have two weekends left in Tucson (sad face), I figured I should take advantage of one of my last Saturday nights.
And, as is usually the case, the nights that you least expect to be great, turn out to be your best nights.
Long story short... we met these two guys at Plush. One of them (B.) had just graduated from UA. He looked, seriously, exactly like a young Andy Dick...
While he was seemingly heterosexual, he was there with his flamboyantly gay best friend, Ivan, who was visiting Tucson from Las Vegas, where he works as a sales assistant at Escada in Caesar's Palace.
While Iva paired off with B., I spent most of my night learning about gay life in Vegas from a highly entertaining member of its society.
We closed down Plush (recommendation: get an "oatmeal cookie" cocktail next time you're there). Then Iva and B. wanted to get coffee. Although I thought perhaps I should call it a night -- it was around 2:30am by this point -- I rallied my last drops of energy, and we walked about 1/2 mile to The Grill on Congress.
As I was waiting in line for the bathroom, I was pulled into conversation by a booth of three beef-cakey military officers who are special ops survival training instructors at Fort Huachuca.
It's times like these when it is beneficial to have been in the military before... because although they initially tried to convince me that they were not in the military, they started throwing out acronyms that I immediately recognized. So I called them out on it. I love the element of surprise.
Furthermore, judging by the fact that they were leeching onto anyone in a skirt who walked by their table during the time we were all there, it was pretty clear that these guys were positively desperate for a late-night hook-up. (Not really surprising considering the fact that they just came out of weeks of desert survival training.)
Their general horniness was made even clearer when they left their table around 3:30am and loitered outside for a while, peering back through the front window at Iva for at least five minutes and basically freaking her out. Soon, we received a message from our waitress that "the gentlemen outside wanted to buy the ladies some dessert." I told our guy friends that they apparently were not considered any sort of threat.
In response, super gay Ivan said he was ready to kick some ass. Then he giggled and corrected that to "get some ass."
We all went ahead and ordered a piece of chocolate cake to share (I mean, why not?) and about five more minutes later, our waitress delivered this to our table...
Seemingly harmless, no?
Until we opened it and found this inside...
If that's not a proposition, I don't know what is.
Ivan said he wondered what they would do if he showed up. Then he wondered if they were all sharing a room. Then the conversation took a rather dirty turn that I won't repeat here.
Needless to say, Jake didn't get lucky last night.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Kate Bush... Almost a Bollywood Star
Last weekend, I spent a good part of my day at Bookman's used bookstore.
I had a bunch of books I wanted to get rid of (read: not pay to ship to DC) and thought I'd see if I could pawn them off elsewhere. The good news is that they took several of them, and I ended up with a $12 book credit or a $6 multimedia credit. Not bad for some of the crapbag books I brought in (i.e.: James Frey's phony memoir, courtesy actually of Paola, and which I initially enjoyed until I found out it was all fake).
I decided against getting more books, as I was trying to get rid of too many in the first place (I know, I know, you can never have too many books... right, Greg?... but they're heavy) so I decided to check out the "multimedia" section.
First, I found Seasons One and Two of Arrested Development, but together they cost about $50, and let's face it, I'm a part-time babysitter, and money doesn't grow on trees.
So instead I dug around the CD area, where I found a hidden gem... Kate Bush's The Dreaming album from 1982...
Lately I've been on a big Kate Bush kick so I was really excited to find it. It has two of my favorite KB songs too... "There Goes a Tenner" and "Suspended in Gaffa."
I have to credit my friend Vicky H. (from high school) for introducing me to Kate Bush... because she was another artist we used to sit around listening to, along with the Les Miserables soundtrack, which I forgot to mention last week.
Anyway, I love love love the new CD. And I love Kate Bush's voice. Which really was the main point of this blog post...
And --- when I looked up some KB videos on You Tube, I discovered what freak show productions she used to make. Although one might already surmise from her music that she is slightly off-center, her videos prove that she has very little self-restraint and appears to bask in the overdramatic. Which is, of course, why I love her.
This is my favorite bizarro video...
...made even better by the fact that the song is called "Wuthering Heights" and features lyrics all about the characters in the book... which fits the theme of my summer Victorian reading spree.
Moreover, I also decided that Kate Bush is the British equivalent of all those Bollywood Indian women singers who belt out tunes about five octaves above the pitch of the highest soprano.
Personally, I've always liked the sound of those female Indian singers (although I do find it slightly bizarre that one country can produce that many women with voices that sound like they've been created with helium... but then again, India has like a gazillion people, right?) even though many of my fellow Americans loathe that piercing sound (take my friend, Aspen, for instance, who actually walked out of a theater in Mumbai -- dragging me with her -- before intermission because she couldn't handle the women's glass shattering voices. I'm guessing she probably hates Kate Bush too).
As a case in point, I found this clip from the Indian movie, Arpan...
... whose red-robed lady singer not only sounds a lot like Kate Bush, but she looks almost the same as her in the "Wuthering Heights" video too (minus the creepy, touchy stalker with feathered hair, of course).
Maybe it's an acquired taste. The music, that is. Not the creepy, touchy stalker.
I had a bunch of books I wanted to get rid of (read: not pay to ship to DC) and thought I'd see if I could pawn them off elsewhere. The good news is that they took several of them, and I ended up with a $12 book credit or a $6 multimedia credit. Not bad for some of the crapbag books I brought in (i.e.: James Frey's phony memoir, courtesy actually of Paola, and which I initially enjoyed until I found out it was all fake).
I decided against getting more books, as I was trying to get rid of too many in the first place (I know, I know, you can never have too many books... right, Greg?... but they're heavy) so I decided to check out the "multimedia" section.
First, I found Seasons One and Two of Arrested Development, but together they cost about $50, and let's face it, I'm a part-time babysitter, and money doesn't grow on trees.
So instead I dug around the CD area, where I found a hidden gem... Kate Bush's The Dreaming album from 1982...
Lately I've been on a big Kate Bush kick so I was really excited to find it. It has two of my favorite KB songs too... "There Goes a Tenner" and "Suspended in Gaffa."
I have to credit my friend Vicky H. (from high school) for introducing me to Kate Bush... because she was another artist we used to sit around listening to, along with the Les Miserables soundtrack, which I forgot to mention last week.
Anyway, I love love love the new CD. And I love Kate Bush's voice. Which really was the main point of this blog post...
And --- when I looked up some KB videos on You Tube, I discovered what freak show productions she used to make. Although one might already surmise from her music that she is slightly off-center, her videos prove that she has very little self-restraint and appears to bask in the overdramatic. Which is, of course, why I love her.
This is my favorite bizarro video...
...made even better by the fact that the song is called "Wuthering Heights" and features lyrics all about the characters in the book... which fits the theme of my summer Victorian reading spree.
Moreover, I also decided that Kate Bush is the British equivalent of all those Bollywood Indian women singers who belt out tunes about five octaves above the pitch of the highest soprano.
Personally, I've always liked the sound of those female Indian singers (although I do find it slightly bizarre that one country can produce that many women with voices that sound like they've been created with helium... but then again, India has like a gazillion people, right?) even though many of my fellow Americans loathe that piercing sound (take my friend, Aspen, for instance, who actually walked out of a theater in Mumbai -- dragging me with her -- before intermission because she couldn't handle the women's glass shattering voices. I'm guessing she probably hates Kate Bush too).
As a case in point, I found this clip from the Indian movie, Arpan...
... whose red-robed lady singer not only sounds a lot like Kate Bush, but she looks almost the same as her in the "Wuthering Heights" video too (minus the creepy, touchy stalker with feathered hair, of course).
Maybe it's an acquired taste. The music, that is. Not the creepy, touchy stalker.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
A Life To Be Jealous Of... Yeah, Not Mine
I have three things to write about today:
1. First... one more babysitting story (sorry, but it's all I've got going for me right now):
In contrast to the perfect little K. who I wrote about yesterday, the 4-year old girl who I normally babysit (M.) continues to be, well, not always so tactful or sweet. When I arrived this morning, she ran to show me some photos of herself that were taken yesterday at a photo studio. As I was looking at them and appropriately "oohing" and "ahhhing" at how cute she looked, she grabbed them out of my hand and said, "Stop talking! I don't like your voice."
Isn't that precious?
Later on, when we were swimming in the pool, she was pretending to be a mermaid, and I decided to become a shark and attack her feet. She screamed at me, "You're not allowed to be a shark!" And I said, "Well, if you get to be what you want to be, then I can be what I want to be. And I want to be a shark." She then got out of the pool and said she'd wait until her mom got home because "she plays mermaid better than you do."
When I recounted this story later to Miguel on the telephone, he responded with something like, "You know, it's good to know you're working on those important job skills in preparation for your return to State. I'm sure your new boss will be seriously impressed with your summer resume."
Hell yeah!
2. This is why an ex-boyfriend from college called me "the absent-minded professor":
I was running a couple of errands two evenings ago. I needed to get some allergy medication because I'm, well, totally allergic to the state of Arizona. The pharmacy at Safeway has this non-prescription stuff that I like so I always go there to get it. Plus, Safeway is near the gym, where I also intended to go swim laps.
I debated on whether or not I should go to the gym first or Safeway first, but then I decided I'd rather go to Safeway before getting in the pool so that I wasn't a hideous, chlorinated, dry-skinned, uncombed, dampened goblin at the grocery store.
After I picked up my allergy pills, I remembered that I needed some milk and cheese and salad and fruit. So I dropped them on the conveyor belt in line, and was in the midst of paying, when I remembered that I still had to go to the gym.
I looked at the clerk and said, "Oh, shit!"
I couldn't leave the stuff in my car for 45 minutes because, yeah, Arizona is like 105 degrees right now, and my car was about 135 inside. Another option would have been that I could have driven back across town to drop the stuff off at my apartment (OK, it's only like two miles, but still...) then go back again to the gym. And I didn't want to do that.
So I told the clerk to put all the refrigerated items in one or two bags, which he did.
I then drove the three blocks to the gym, parked my car, took my grocery bags of refrigerator items with me into the gym (God, I felt like such a cretin... and wouldn't you know it, there was a huge line to get in the rec center, and I was sure everyone was staring straight at me, wondering why in the hell I was hauling all of my Safeway groceries into the building), then I proceeded straight to the locker room, where I stuffed my cheese & milk into a locker... I figured it would at least be air conditioned there... and then swam my laps.
Other than feeling like a total ass (again) hauling my groceries out of the rec center, it all worked out. Or at least I haven't died of ptomaine poisoning yet, anyway.
3. Finally, what else I have been doing lately:
I have been trolling for moving boxes because I am too cheap/frugal/economically savvy to pay for cardboard. This means that I am constantly on the look out near dumpsters and recycling bins.
In fact, I saw a large box laying on the sidewalk the other day in front of Zachary's Pizza on 6th Street, and I immediately pulled my car into the parking lot, ran to the box and grabbed it. Turns out it was a UA petri dish shipping container (empty, thankfully), which is now filled with my shit to move cross-country.
Furthermore, I have already figured out the Target warehouse schedule, and I have become a bit of a Wild Oats delivery door groupie. Today, Scott (my Wild Oats warehouse manager buddy) even showed me photos on his cell phone of a trick he played on the general manager (covering his whole car in plastic wrap... haha! Hilarity!). Then he gave me about 15 high quality boxes and had some poor lackey tote them to my car for me.
Indeed, my madcap life is something to envy.
1. First... one more babysitting story (sorry, but it's all I've got going for me right now):
In contrast to the perfect little K. who I wrote about yesterday, the 4-year old girl who I normally babysit (M.) continues to be, well, not always so tactful or sweet. When I arrived this morning, she ran to show me some photos of herself that were taken yesterday at a photo studio. As I was looking at them and appropriately "oohing" and "ahhhing" at how cute she looked, she grabbed them out of my hand and said, "Stop talking! I don't like your voice."
Isn't that precious?
Later on, when we were swimming in the pool, she was pretending to be a mermaid, and I decided to become a shark and attack her feet. She screamed at me, "You're not allowed to be a shark!" And I said, "Well, if you get to be what you want to be, then I can be what I want to be. And I want to be a shark." She then got out of the pool and said she'd wait until her mom got home because "she plays mermaid better than you do."
When I recounted this story later to Miguel on the telephone, he responded with something like, "You know, it's good to know you're working on those important job skills in preparation for your return to State. I'm sure your new boss will be seriously impressed with your summer resume."
Hell yeah!
2. This is why an ex-boyfriend from college called me "the absent-minded professor":
I was running a couple of errands two evenings ago. I needed to get some allergy medication because I'm, well, totally allergic to the state of Arizona. The pharmacy at Safeway has this non-prescription stuff that I like so I always go there to get it. Plus, Safeway is near the gym, where I also intended to go swim laps.
I debated on whether or not I should go to the gym first or Safeway first, but then I decided I'd rather go to Safeway before getting in the pool so that I wasn't a hideous, chlorinated, dry-skinned, uncombed, dampened goblin at the grocery store.
After I picked up my allergy pills, I remembered that I needed some milk and cheese and salad and fruit. So I dropped them on the conveyor belt in line, and was in the midst of paying, when I remembered that I still had to go to the gym.
I looked at the clerk and said, "Oh, shit!"
I couldn't leave the stuff in my car for 45 minutes because, yeah, Arizona is like 105 degrees right now, and my car was about 135 inside. Another option would have been that I could have driven back across town to drop the stuff off at my apartment (OK, it's only like two miles, but still...) then go back again to the gym. And I didn't want to do that.
So I told the clerk to put all the refrigerated items in one or two bags, which he did.
I then drove the three blocks to the gym, parked my car, took my grocery bags of refrigerator items with me into the gym (God, I felt like such a cretin... and wouldn't you know it, there was a huge line to get in the rec center, and I was sure everyone was staring straight at me, wondering why in the hell I was hauling all of my Safeway groceries into the building), then I proceeded straight to the locker room, where I stuffed my cheese & milk into a locker... I figured it would at least be air conditioned there... and then swam my laps.
Other than feeling like a total ass (again) hauling my groceries out of the rec center, it all worked out. Or at least I haven't died of ptomaine poisoning yet, anyway.
3. Finally, what else I have been doing lately:
I have been trolling for moving boxes because I am too cheap/frugal/economically savvy to pay for cardboard. This means that I am constantly on the look out near dumpsters and recycling bins.
In fact, I saw a large box laying on the sidewalk the other day in front of Zachary's Pizza on 6th Street, and I immediately pulled my car into the parking lot, ran to the box and grabbed it. Turns out it was a UA petri dish shipping container (empty, thankfully), which is now filled with my shit to move cross-country.
Furthermore, I have already figured out the Target warehouse schedule, and I have become a bit of a Wild Oats delivery door groupie. Today, Scott (my Wild Oats warehouse manager buddy) even showed me photos on his cell phone of a trick he played on the general manager (covering his whole car in plastic wrap... haha! Hilarity!). Then he gave me about 15 high quality boxes and had some poor lackey tote them to my car for me.
Indeed, my madcap life is something to envy.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Maybe the Cutest Girl in the World
I've decided that if I ever have a daughter, I want her to be just like the 3-year old I babysat for last week (and this afternoon... and next Sunday).
This is her...
Smart, creative, funny, nice, cute, outgoing, patient, considerate, loving, articulate, cuddly, sweet, goofy, never bratty, and quite possibly the world's most perfect little kid.
We have spent the past few days playing bird (see above... she was doing GOB's "cukuku" chicken dance), hiding from bears, collecting rocks outside, making up songs, pretending to have picnics, reading library books, inspecting my car (her idea), eating cucumber sandwiches, feeding dolls, and playing restaurant.
Here we were chasing each other around the house in our version of a parade...
... but she wouldn't slow down for a good photo.
This is kind of more what K. really looks like...
... even though she has a bit of a strained look because she was trying her best to show off her killer milk mustache in the midst of our dominoes session.
Me... lackluster about most children. K. ... not like most children.
I'm pretty sure I love her a little bit.
This is her...
Smart, creative, funny, nice, cute, outgoing, patient, considerate, loving, articulate, cuddly, sweet, goofy, never bratty, and quite possibly the world's most perfect little kid.
We have spent the past few days playing bird (see above... she was doing GOB's "cukuku" chicken dance), hiding from bears, collecting rocks outside, making up songs, pretending to have picnics, reading library books, inspecting my car (her idea), eating cucumber sandwiches, feeding dolls, and playing restaurant.
Here we were chasing each other around the house in our version of a parade...
... but she wouldn't slow down for a good photo.
This is kind of more what K. really looks like...
... even though she has a bit of a strained look because she was trying her best to show off her killer milk mustache in the midst of our dominoes session.
Me... lackluster about most children. K. ... not like most children.
I'm pretty sure I love her a little bit.
Monday, July 09, 2007
I Heart Tobias & Mrs. Featherbottom
Back to the grindstone here... babysat this morning.
Washing my car and going to the gym this afternoon.
I probably should be packing up more sh*t in my apartment, but for some reason, this lackluster schedule of mine has actually left me with less energy than when I was crazy busy in school.
To keep myself occupied, I've been watching all of the episodes in the Arrested Development series. I am in love with that show. I can't believe they took it off the air! (This obviously says something about the stupid TV watchers in this country...)
I can't decide which I think is funnier: AD, Curb Your Enthusiasm, or The Office. They're all great in their own ways, and each has the ability to make me laugh out loud so I guess it's a three-way tie.
Tobias continues to be my favorite AD character. I just watched the episodes with "Mrs. Featherbottom," and I've decided she might be the funniest creation ever on television...
The Mrs. Doubtfire ruse, the fake nose falling off, the British words/accent ("how about a banger in the mouth?"/"I have jolly good news, gov'nah"), and the British Mini car driven on the wrong side of the road have literally had me cackling away in my apartment like some kind of hyena.
And nothing could beat this scene...
I think I rewound it at least five times.
Yes, I do have spare time on my hands, and yes, I really love Tobias.
Washing my car and going to the gym this afternoon.
I probably should be packing up more sh*t in my apartment, but for some reason, this lackluster schedule of mine has actually left me with less energy than when I was crazy busy in school.
To keep myself occupied, I've been watching all of the episodes in the Arrested Development series. I am in love with that show. I can't believe they took it off the air! (This obviously says something about the stupid TV watchers in this country...)
I can't decide which I think is funnier: AD, Curb Your Enthusiasm, or The Office. They're all great in their own ways, and each has the ability to make me laugh out loud so I guess it's a three-way tie.
Tobias continues to be my favorite AD character. I just watched the episodes with "Mrs. Featherbottom," and I've decided she might be the funniest creation ever on television...
The Mrs. Doubtfire ruse, the fake nose falling off, the British words/accent ("how about a banger in the mouth?"/"I have jolly good news, gov'nah"), and the British Mini car driven on the wrong side of the road have literally had me cackling away in my apartment like some kind of hyena.
And nothing could beat this scene...
I think I rewound it at least five times.
Yes, I do have spare time on my hands, and yes, I really love Tobias.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Follow-up on Scariest Bug Ever Seen in Tucson
First of all, I'd like to give credit to Brandon and Jon, resident Arizona entomologists, for correctly identifying that I did, in fact, find a "Palo Verde Beetle" in my sink... rather than a roach, even though it looked NOTHING like any beetle I've ever seen.
After a small bit of research, which led me to this web page, I recognized those barbed wire/yarn antennas and black spikes behind the head as those that I saw in my bathroom sink after my 4th of July revelry...
Finding this little monster in/near my apartment should not be surprising, as there are two Palo Verde trees in front of my living room window (apparently the bugs come out of burrowed holes around those trees in July).
However, I assure you, it was quite the surprise.
To quote the website:
"Newcomers to [Arizona] are sometimes horrified when they get their first glimpse of a huge bug that, for some, resembles a monstrous cockroach. Yes, this adult bug can be up to six inches long. Even worse--it flies."
Seriously, that creature is totally horrifying... and enormous (is that what she said?).
Plus I'm still not sure how it got in my bathroom.
In other news, I babysat a different little girl last week (cute pictures forthcoming), I'm getting a haircut today, I'm continuing to pack up my apartment, I'm going to the gym, I'm eating way too many "gordita" tortillas that I recently purchased from the Grande Tortilla Factory here in Tucson, I drank too much white wine with Katie last Friday night, I engaged in a Twin Peaks viewing and Citadels game-playing marathon yesterday at J & A's (where I was told I would make an excellent "Dungeons & Dragons" player due to my temporarily affected British character accent), and I'm loving the book Jane Eyre (from which I occasionally read dialog aloud by myself in my apartment in said British accent because I am, clearly, a monstrous nerd).
After a small bit of research, which led me to this web page, I recognized those barbed wire/yarn antennas and black spikes behind the head as those that I saw in my bathroom sink after my 4th of July revelry...
Finding this little monster in/near my apartment should not be surprising, as there are two Palo Verde trees in front of my living room window (apparently the bugs come out of burrowed holes around those trees in July).
However, I assure you, it was quite the surprise.
To quote the website:
"Newcomers to [Arizona] are sometimes horrified when they get their first glimpse of a huge bug that, for some, resembles a monstrous cockroach. Yes, this adult bug can be up to six inches long. Even worse--it flies."
Seriously, that creature is totally horrifying... and enormous (is that what she said?).
Plus I'm still not sure how it got in my bathroom.
In other news, I babysat a different little girl last week (cute pictures forthcoming), I'm getting a haircut today, I'm continuing to pack up my apartment, I'm going to the gym, I'm eating way too many "gordita" tortillas that I recently purchased from the Grande Tortilla Factory here in Tucson, I drank too much white wine with Katie last Friday night, I engaged in a Twin Peaks viewing and Citadels game-playing marathon yesterday at J & A's (where I was told I would make an excellent "Dungeons & Dragons" player due to my temporarily affected British character accent), and I'm loving the book Jane Eyre (from which I occasionally read dialog aloud by myself in my apartment in said British accent because I am, clearly, a monstrous nerd).
Friday, July 06, 2007
Tucson's Biggest Cockroach
CONTINUED...
When I got home from the pool party, I had my wet towel in my hand so I immediately headed toward my bathroom so I could hang it on a hook to dry.
I turned on the light in my bathroom...
I saw movement in my sink...
And I screamed when I saw the largest roach I've ever seen in my life...
This is him...
Mind you, this photo was taken post-mortem so his legs were curled under his body, making him appear smaller. In life, he was a fucking monster.
Without a doubt, he was at least two inches in length and at least an inch wide. And his front antennae were so huge, they looked like pieces of barbed wire or yarn.
He was so humongous that he could not get down the drain when he saw me come in the room. (I am still trying to figure out how he got into the sink in the first place, as he was far too large to fit through any of the bathroom orifices, except maybe the shower drain, and then he had a long hike from the shower.*)
Needless to say, I was mildly hysterical. I had dropped my towel, run to my kitchen, and was jumping up and down trying to figure out what to do.
I will not lie when I say that this thought popped immediately in my head: "Oh my God, why don't I live with a man? If only a man were here."
My second thought was... no, I must kill him. I can do this.
My third thought was... should I crush him with a phone book? No. Too messy.
Final thought... use the can of Raid under the sink.
So I grabbed the can, took my place in the bathroom doorway (at least two feet away from the sink) and sprayed the crap out of him with a long and steady chemical stream.
I must have used a quarter of the bottle. The thing would not die.
Finally, he stopped running frantically in the basin and began slowing down. Then he began to atrophy a bit while his front legs quivered.
I let him writhe around for a good five minutes (alone) while I put my next plan into action... how to remove him from the sink.
There was no way I was going to use a Kleenex or paper towel -- I mean, what if he came back alive and tried to get out of my hand? Plus, I would be able to feel his disgusting legs and shell through the soft paper material.
Luckily, I had some styrofoam cups left over from my thesis defense snack tray so I grabbed two of those, and after ensuring the creature was no longer in any way still spasming, I scooped him (with great horror) from one cup into the other, where I immediately put the other cup on top of him -- again, in case he came back alive -- and ran, literally ran, to the garbage can in the alley, where I placed him and his cup coffin. (I wasn't about to risk putting him in any of my own garbage cans inside my home.)
And so this is how I ended the 4th of July.
_____________________________________________
* I guess my landlord wasn't kidding last summer when he sent all of his tenants this notice about sewer roach infestation.
When I got home from the pool party, I had my wet towel in my hand so I immediately headed toward my bathroom so I could hang it on a hook to dry.
I turned on the light in my bathroom...
I saw movement in my sink...
And I screamed when I saw the largest roach I've ever seen in my life...
This is him...
Mind you, this photo was taken post-mortem so his legs were curled under his body, making him appear smaller. In life, he was a fucking monster.
Without a doubt, he was at least two inches in length and at least an inch wide. And his front antennae were so huge, they looked like pieces of barbed wire or yarn.
He was so humongous that he could not get down the drain when he saw me come in the room. (I am still trying to figure out how he got into the sink in the first place, as he was far too large to fit through any of the bathroom orifices, except maybe the shower drain, and then he had a long hike from the shower.*)
Needless to say, I was mildly hysterical. I had dropped my towel, run to my kitchen, and was jumping up and down trying to figure out what to do.
I will not lie when I say that this thought popped immediately in my head: "Oh my God, why don't I live with a man? If only a man were here."
My second thought was... no, I must kill him. I can do this.
My third thought was... should I crush him with a phone book? No. Too messy.
Final thought... use the can of Raid under the sink.
So I grabbed the can, took my place in the bathroom doorway (at least two feet away from the sink) and sprayed the crap out of him with a long and steady chemical stream.
I must have used a quarter of the bottle. The thing would not die.
Finally, he stopped running frantically in the basin and began slowing down. Then he began to atrophy a bit while his front legs quivered.
I let him writhe around for a good five minutes (alone) while I put my next plan into action... how to remove him from the sink.
There was no way I was going to use a Kleenex or paper towel -- I mean, what if he came back alive and tried to get out of my hand? Plus, I would be able to feel his disgusting legs and shell through the soft paper material.
Luckily, I had some styrofoam cups left over from my thesis defense snack tray so I grabbed two of those, and after ensuring the creature was no longer in any way still spasming, I scooped him (with great horror) from one cup into the other, where I immediately put the other cup on top of him -- again, in case he came back alive -- and ran, literally ran, to the garbage can in the alley, where I placed him and his cup coffin. (I wasn't about to risk putting him in any of my own garbage cans inside my home.)
And so this is how I ended the 4th of July.
_____________________________________________
* I guess my landlord wasn't kidding last summer when he sent all of his tenants this notice about sewer roach infestation.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
A Night of Gladiator Jousting
I spent yesterday afternoon drinking, eating, and jousting (hmmm, sounds a lot like "Medieval Times," doesn't it?)
After meeting Ingrid, Joe, and Jordy at the "The Greens" for a few hours for beer and ribs, I made my way over to Brandon & Andy's house for their 4th of July "American Gladiator" jousting tournament.
Here is a photographic sampling of the event:
Brandon vs. Erin (top woman gladiator)
Frankly, I hoped to earn that title for myself, but our mathematician friend Sooz (who stands nearly a foot shorter than myself -- which I mistakenly believed would give me the advantage of leverage) beat me after two ties and a win for each of us. So much for leverage... she knocked me over fair and square in our final fight.
This was the grand finale of the tournament...
Aleks vs. Boris (Aleks won after knocking Boris flat on his back onto the beam, which we all feared momentarily might paralyze him for life... especially after hearing the sound of bone crash onto the wood... CRACK!) Luckily, Boris was fine. Although he did lose the round, and Aleks was the named grand champion.
After enjoying homemade pit-smoked barbecue, it was time for another contest...
... the ice cream making championship!
Brandon's girlfriend made coffee ice cream and Alek's fiancee made praline ice cream. In order to determine the supreme chef, it came down to a taste test with the three judges above.
Kat won 2-1 for her coffee confectionery...
... and was presented by Andy with the trophy for 2007 Dessert Queen. (Nice cameo, Brandon... you look a little bit like a Peanuts character!)
And that was the night... until I came home and found an ugly surprise waiting for me...
TO BE CONTINUED...
After meeting Ingrid, Joe, and Jordy at the "The Greens" for a few hours for beer and ribs, I made my way over to Brandon & Andy's house for their 4th of July "American Gladiator" jousting tournament.
Here is a photographic sampling of the event:
Brandon vs. Erin (top woman gladiator)
Frankly, I hoped to earn that title for myself, but our mathematician friend Sooz (who stands nearly a foot shorter than myself -- which I mistakenly believed would give me the advantage of leverage) beat me after two ties and a win for each of us. So much for leverage... she knocked me over fair and square in our final fight.
This was the grand finale of the tournament...
Aleks vs. Boris (Aleks won after knocking Boris flat on his back onto the beam, which we all feared momentarily might paralyze him for life... especially after hearing the sound of bone crash onto the wood... CRACK!) Luckily, Boris was fine. Although he did lose the round, and Aleks was the named grand champion.
After enjoying homemade pit-smoked barbecue, it was time for another contest...
... the ice cream making championship!
Brandon's girlfriend made coffee ice cream and Alek's fiancee made praline ice cream. In order to determine the supreme chef, it came down to a taste test with the three judges above.
Kat won 2-1 for her coffee confectionery...
... and was presented by Andy with the trophy for 2007 Dessert Queen. (Nice cameo, Brandon... you look a little bit like a Peanuts character!)
And that was the night... until I came home and found an ugly surprise waiting for me...
TO BE CONTINUED...
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!
Before I start swilling beer and jumping in swimming pools at parties, I thought I would say HAPPY BIRTHDAY, USA!!!
Here's a little clip that I like...
... not only because it doesn't include GW Bush...
But also because it reminds me of Jordy, who can actually name all of the US Presidents in order. (We tested him one night, and he's almost like an idiot savant with our country's leaders!)
Or then again, maybe he's just an outstanding patriot. Or a US history major. Either way, it's impressive.
Here's a little clip that I like...
... not only because it doesn't include GW Bush...
But also because it reminds me of Jordy, who can actually name all of the US Presidents in order. (We tested him one night, and he's almost like an idiot savant with our country's leaders!)
Or then again, maybe he's just an outstanding patriot. Or a US history major. Either way, it's impressive.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Sweat It Up With Karaoke
My life is kind of like Groundhog's Day right now. Except that today I'm not babysitting because the family is in Disneyland so I'm considering this unpaid vacation time.
I should mention that it's supposed to hit 114 degrees today. I gave up on riding my bike to work last week because on the one day I did ride, it was well over 100 degrees, I had completely sweat all the way through my clothes before 8 am, the baby recoiled from my sweaty limbs, and I decided I'm not quite that masochistic (toward either myself or small children).
This cartoon character scares me, actually.
Speaking of masochism, I still have not turned on my A/C once this summer. My swamp cooler actually does a pretty good job, and heat really doesn't bother me all that much, as long as I'm not in the sun. By 3 pm, my place does heat up a bit, but then I just go to the gym or the pool, and it's cooled off again by the time I get back.
Christ, I think I've been talking about the weather for two paragraphs now.
Let's move on to something more exciting... namely, my going away party...
Listen up, Tucsonians/Tucsonans/Tucsonites:
SAVE THIS DATE... FRIDAY, JULY 27.
Why, you ask?
It's my last Friday in Tucson, and I have already put money down to rent a KARAOKE MACHINE. Yes, a KARAOKE MACHINE from a DJ company here in Tucson. The party will take place in Ingrid's backyard and/or living room, and we will all drink lots of beer, wine, and cocktails and sing to our hearts' content.
Honestly, we can't be any worse than these people...
... and they got to sing in front of a whole soccer stadium!
I should mention that it's supposed to hit 114 degrees today. I gave up on riding my bike to work last week because on the one day I did ride, it was well over 100 degrees, I had completely sweat all the way through my clothes before 8 am, the baby recoiled from my sweaty limbs, and I decided I'm not quite that masochistic (toward either myself or small children).
This cartoon character scares me, actually.
Speaking of masochism, I still have not turned on my A/C once this summer. My swamp cooler actually does a pretty good job, and heat really doesn't bother me all that much, as long as I'm not in the sun. By 3 pm, my place does heat up a bit, but then I just go to the gym or the pool, and it's cooled off again by the time I get back.
Christ, I think I've been talking about the weather for two paragraphs now.
Let's move on to something more exciting... namely, my going away party...
Listen up, Tucsonians/Tucsonans/Tucsonites:
SAVE THIS DATE... FRIDAY, JULY 27.
Why, you ask?
It's my last Friday in Tucson, and I have already put money down to rent a KARAOKE MACHINE. Yes, a KARAOKE MACHINE from a DJ company here in Tucson. The party will take place in Ingrid's backyard and/or living room, and we will all drink lots of beer, wine, and cocktails and sing to our hearts' content.
Honestly, we can't be any worse than these people...
... and they got to sing in front of a whole soccer stadium!
Monday, July 02, 2007
I've Been Tagged!
I've just been "tagged" by La-la-Laura (who I have now, finally, forgiven for calling me a witch), and since I have little else to write about today, I figured I'd take her up on the challenge... which is this:
The Rules are:
Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
------------------------------------------------------------------
1. I can think of a lot of "facts" about myself (many of which have been revealed over the past two years) but I have few habits... except right before I fall asleep. I always, always brush my teeth, I always take a vitamin, I always take my jewelry off, I always put on Labello lip balm, and I always have a glass of water next to my bed. I cannot fall asleep if any of the above has not been completed. I also must have coffee at some point within the hour after I wake up.
2. My favorite friend from high school is Vicky (who now goes by Victoria, even though I can't get used to saying that... maybe because it's my mom's name?).
I met her when we were in 6th grade gym class (1985!), and I remember noticing her because she had crimped hair (that was also long on one side and short on the other) and neon-glo jelly bracelets worn as earrings... a green one on one side and an orange on the other, and I thought that was hot shit. I liked her right away, even though I feared she was too cool for me (I mean, for God's sake, my mother was still buying me Carter's girls' underwear with cartoon characters on them).
We became great friends, even though we were both pretty bossy & opinionated and fought a lot because we each wanted to do things our own way and didn't want to follow the other.
I used to go to her house on weekends sometimes, and her family had 4 dogs & 2 cats -- all of which I was allergic to -- so they used to prepare a room for me to stay in that was pet-free, and I wouldn't leave the room except to get food and go to the bathroom, and we called it my "bubble," as though I were the Bubble Boy...
Anyway, we laid around and played Game of the States (for whatever reason we both loved that game... nerd vs. nerd, I guess) or Racko, and we listened to the Smiths and Yazoo and Erasure and Bread, and we made up games like "Who Will Die a Virgin?", and then we'd line up our friends' class pictures on a dart board and shoot darts at them to see who would die the virgin (it was always our friend Kerry, who has 2 kids now, BTW). And we had a million other games and private jokes, and I still think she's hilarious and can't wait to see her when I move back East!
... and it's pretty fitting that she's portraying herself as a ghoul. (Miguel and I were Siegfried and Roy, in case you were wondering).
And if you want to know why I didn't move out, it's because the rent was unbelievably cheap, the house location was incredible, and she was often out of town.
Sweet Maria. I'm finished with this thing.
I don't really have 8 friends with blogs (that would do this anyway).
So I'll just pass it here:
The Rules are:
Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
------------------------------------------------------------------
1. I can think of a lot of "facts" about myself (many of which have been revealed over the past two years) but I have few habits... except right before I fall asleep. I always, always brush my teeth, I always take a vitamin, I always take my jewelry off, I always put on Labello lip balm, and I always have a glass of water next to my bed. I cannot fall asleep if any of the above has not been completed. I also must have coffee at some point within the hour after I wake up.
2. My favorite friend from high school is Vicky (who now goes by Victoria, even though I can't get used to saying that... maybe because it's my mom's name?).
I met her when we were in 6th grade gym class (1985!), and I remember noticing her because she had crimped hair (that was also long on one side and short on the other) and neon-glo jelly bracelets worn as earrings... a green one on one side and an orange on the other, and I thought that was hot shit. I liked her right away, even though I feared she was too cool for me (I mean, for God's sake, my mother was still buying me Carter's girls' underwear with cartoon characters on them).
We became great friends, even though we were both pretty bossy & opinionated and fought a lot because we each wanted to do things our own way and didn't want to follow the other.
I used to go to her house on weekends sometimes, and her family had 4 dogs & 2 cats -- all of which I was allergic to -- so they used to prepare a room for me to stay in that was pet-free, and I wouldn't leave the room except to get food and go to the bathroom, and we called it my "bubble," as though I were the Bubble Boy...
Anyway, we laid around and played Game of the States (for whatever reason we both loved that game... nerd vs. nerd, I guess) or Racko, and we listened to the Smiths and Yazoo and Erasure and Bread, and we made up games like "Who Will Die a Virgin?", and then we'd line up our friends' class pictures on a dart board and shoot darts at them to see who would die the virgin (it was always our friend Kerry, who has 2 kids now, BTW). And we had a million other games and private jokes, and I still think she's hilarious and can't wait to see her when I move back East!
3. I am right-handed, but I hula-hoop and snowboard like a lefty. I also aim a camera and a gun with my left eye, which I discovered during riflery class in junior high. Can you believe that shizz? Yep, one of my redneck school's gym class units was target shooting with BB guns. I had to hold the gun left handed in order to aim with my left eye, which was confusing for a righty, to say the least. And I'm not kidding... we really did have riflery class. We had to wear workshop goggles, and sometimes we even shot at targets inside the gym. I'm guessing they don't offer that anymore. You know, Columbine and all.
4. This hotel room in the resort town of Huatulco, Mexico was one of the most welcome sites of my life:
Miguel and I had stayed the week prior in a primitive beach bungalow in the tiny village of Mazunte (about an hour north along the southern Pacific coast of Mexico).
Although it was fantasy-like in appearance...
... it was infested with bats...
... and I caught a terrible stomach flu, leaving me heaving over the toilet in the bat-infested bathroom for hours at a time for two straight days. My worst nightmare... puking all day under fanged, furry, flying creatures.
We therefore decided to stay our last night at the fabulous little hotel pictured above (back in civilization) during our last evening in south Mexico. I slept like a baby that night in the air conditioning and have never been so happy to see modernities again, like clean sheets and running water. And no bats.
5. I have lived in Florida, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Texas, Turkey, Washington state, Saudi Arabia, Sicily, DC, and Arizona. I hate moving, but I also love moving.
6. My mom is an only child. My dad has two sisters, who each have two kids. So I only have four cousins. Two boys and two girls, with an age range from 28 to 40. They're all married. Two of them are younger than me. Three of the four have kids. Those three live in Ohio and Michigan. One of them is a singer in a band called Blue Dahlia (seen in concert a couple of years ago by Katie & Jordy in Michigan!) that was once featured on NPR. The one without kids lives in Denver near my brother...
This is him with his wife (and my mom, niece, and me a few years ago). He and his wife had an Ohio State football themed wedding and they danced to an Usher song that they choreographed. Seriously.
7. I once dated the brother of a famous movie star.
8. My newest favorite website is passiveaggressivenotes.com because it reminds me of my horrible Japanese roommate that I lived with for almost four years in northwest DC. She left me mean, bitchy notes constantly, even though I was the cleanest roommate in the house and did the most work to keep the place clean.
She also collected stuffed animals (prompting my mom to ask if an 8-year old was sleeping in the room next door to mine), ate raw seafood while watching TV (stinking up our entire house), and accused me of scratching her brand new BMW and stealing her wretched plum vinegar (neither of which I did). She was rude to my friends, would not address me in person... always by notes, and I'm pretty sure I never saw her smile. Not even once.
... and it's pretty fitting that she's portraying herself as a ghoul. (Miguel and I were Siegfried and Roy, in case you were wondering).
And if you want to know why I didn't move out, it's because the rent was unbelievably cheap, the house location was incredible, and she was often out of town.
Sweet Maria. I'm finished with this thing.
I don't really have 8 friends with blogs (that would do this anyway).
So I'll just pass it here:
1. Paola
2. JC
3. Jenn
4. Anna
I don't think Anna has updated her blog in about a month and a half, but maybe this will inspire you, AG???
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Last Night With the Boff
I was pretty busy Saturday afternoon.
First, I had an interview with a family who is hiring me to babysit their daughter next week (because my regular family sprung it on me last week that they were going to California for the 4th of July holiday, leaving me without an income or any other plan).
So I advertised myself on Craigslist and got a reply within an hour from a woman who needs babysitter coverage for her 3-year old daughter, K., who I met yesterday and just might be the cutest child on planet Earth. (And really, I don't like very many children... which makes babysitting so appropo for me... but hey, it pays well.)
Anyway, I think K. and I will get along just fine. She wasn't even a tiny bit bratty, she seemed really intelligent (ie: she pulled out an atlas to show me that Alabama has a tiny strip of water), and her parents were very cool -- the dad is a freelance journalist and the mom is a yoga teacher. Plus their house was painted in bright greens and reds and oranges, and they have chihuahuas, guinea pigs, and Madagascar hissing roaches (in an aquarium, thank god), which is an animal combination even I can appreciate.
I then went to a BBQ out in BFE (west Tucson) at my friend Brian's house...
Here's his daughter, Lorelei, who was turning two...
Then I headed back for "Dive Bar Night" with Ben, Ingrid, Gerry, and later, Christian.
Here is a portion of Ben's email invite for the evening:
Subject: Dive Bar Hopping to the Airport: Saturday at 6:00 pm
Text:
Also known as "try to see if you can get me drunk enough to throw up on the airplane or be labeled as a terrorist threat."
I'm going away for a month, so I want to hit every dive bar between my place and the airport. My flight is at 10:35 pm and I have to be there at 9:30 with a month's worth of luggage, my passport, etc.
In other words, the last time I'm going to see Ben while I'm still in Tucson... AKA "our last hoorah." So sad.
On the drive from west Tucson back into town, I was struck by the landscape...
I could have captured the view better if I'd actually stopped my car, but I think this more accurately shows the moment of pre-sunset on the mountains as I saw it from my car window.
This was my destination...
The dive bar known as "The Greens"... where I met I, G, and B.
I'd never been there before, but I think I'm going back soon with Ingrid & Gerry to sample some menu options...
... who knew that The Greens was Tucson's "wild game" specialist? And they have alligator and frog legs on Friday nights!
After a beer there, we moved on to my favorite bar of the night...
... which gives new meaning to the word "dive bar."
It was my favorite bar of the night for two reasons: 1) Free pool and 2) the jukebox featured a Patsy Cline best hits CD. I played four Patsy songs in a row.
Here's a sampling of our pool skills...
... we started off girls against guys, but Ingrid and I absolutely SUCK at pool, and we were obliterated by Ben & Gerry (ha! It always makes me laugh... Ben & Gerry). So Gerry and I formed a team to challenge Ben & Ingrid.
In what has to be the best picture of the night...
... Ben masculinely cheers for Ingrid, who actually made a shot.
Meanwhile, my game was still sucking...
... as is sort of demonstrated here.
Check out how hot Ingrid was last night!
I blamed this (soon-to-be) missed shot on Ingrid's non-prescription sunglasses...
Gerry definitely had the best pose though...
Nice cue stick, G.!
Gerry then peeled off to have dinner with his grandmother, who lives nearby.
And he was replaced by the German physicist/Vibe driver/Heineken swiller/nacho eating assistant... AKA Cott...
I didn't take pictures at the Palo Verde Grill because we were too busy stuffing our faces with bar food, but here we are the Airport Inn (API) having our last cocktail before Ben freaked out about possibly missing his flight and then rushing us out the door before I even had a chance to finish my White Russian. It broke my heart a little bit.
This is my last solo photo of Ben/the Boff...
... I'll be driving back East when he returns to Tucson.
And here's the last shot of the night...
... outside the Tucson International Airport bidding Ben a final farewell. And my heart broke a little bit again.
I have to add as a last note that my melancholy feelings quickly evaporated when I received a text message on my phone from Ben within the hour stating that the nachos he'd eaten at the Palo Verde Grill had caused him to lay a Nagasaki stink bomb on the entire gate area, and the vicinity around him had cleared completely of passengers within 25 feet in any direction from him, lest they be gassed again.
I'll miss you, Boff!
First, I had an interview with a family who is hiring me to babysit their daughter next week (because my regular family sprung it on me last week that they were going to California for the 4th of July holiday, leaving me without an income or any other plan).
So I advertised myself on Craigslist and got a reply within an hour from a woman who needs babysitter coverage for her 3-year old daughter, K., who I met yesterday and just might be the cutest child on planet Earth. (And really, I don't like very many children... which makes babysitting so appropo for me... but hey, it pays well.)
Anyway, I think K. and I will get along just fine. She wasn't even a tiny bit bratty, she seemed really intelligent (ie: she pulled out an atlas to show me that Alabama has a tiny strip of water), and her parents were very cool -- the dad is a freelance journalist and the mom is a yoga teacher. Plus their house was painted in bright greens and reds and oranges, and they have chihuahuas, guinea pigs, and Madagascar hissing roaches (in an aquarium, thank god), which is an animal combination even I can appreciate.
I then went to a BBQ out in BFE (west Tucson) at my friend Brian's house...
Here's his daughter, Lorelei, who was turning two...
Then I headed back for "Dive Bar Night" with Ben, Ingrid, Gerry, and later, Christian.
Here is a portion of Ben's email invite for the evening:
Subject: Dive Bar Hopping to the Airport: Saturday at 6:00 pm
Text:
Also known as "try to see if you can get me drunk enough to throw up on the airplane or be labeled as a terrorist threat."
I'm going away for a month, so I want to hit every dive bar between my place and the airport. My flight is at 10:35 pm and I have to be there at 9:30 with a month's worth of luggage, my passport, etc.
In other words, the last time I'm going to see Ben while I'm still in Tucson... AKA "our last hoorah." So sad.
On the drive from west Tucson back into town, I was struck by the landscape...
I could have captured the view better if I'd actually stopped my car, but I think this more accurately shows the moment of pre-sunset on the mountains as I saw it from my car window.
This was my destination...
The dive bar known as "The Greens"... where I met I, G, and B.
I'd never been there before, but I think I'm going back soon with Ingrid & Gerry to sample some menu options...
... who knew that The Greens was Tucson's "wild game" specialist? And they have alligator and frog legs on Friday nights!
After a beer there, we moved on to my favorite bar of the night...
... which gives new meaning to the word "dive bar."
It was my favorite bar of the night for two reasons: 1) Free pool and 2) the jukebox featured a Patsy Cline best hits CD. I played four Patsy songs in a row.
Here's a sampling of our pool skills...
... we started off girls against guys, but Ingrid and I absolutely SUCK at pool, and we were obliterated by Ben & Gerry (ha! It always makes me laugh... Ben & Gerry). So Gerry and I formed a team to challenge Ben & Ingrid.
In what has to be the best picture of the night...
... Ben masculinely cheers for Ingrid, who actually made a shot.
Meanwhile, my game was still sucking...
... as is sort of demonstrated here.
Check out how hot Ingrid was last night!
I blamed this (soon-to-be) missed shot on Ingrid's non-prescription sunglasses...
Gerry definitely had the best pose though...
Nice cue stick, G.!
Gerry then peeled off to have dinner with his grandmother, who lives nearby.
And he was replaced by the German physicist/Vibe driver/Heineken swiller/nacho eating assistant... AKA Cott...
I didn't take pictures at the Palo Verde Grill because we were too busy stuffing our faces with bar food, but here we are the Airport Inn (API) having our last cocktail before Ben freaked out about possibly missing his flight and then rushing us out the door before I even had a chance to finish my White Russian. It broke my heart a little bit.
This is my last solo photo of Ben/the Boff...
... I'll be driving back East when he returns to Tucson.
And here's the last shot of the night...
... outside the Tucson International Airport bidding Ben a final farewell. And my heart broke a little bit again.
I have to add as a last note that my melancholy feelings quickly evaporated when I received a text message on my phone from Ben within the hour stating that the nachos he'd eaten at the Palo Verde Grill had caused him to lay a Nagasaki stink bomb on the entire gate area, and the vicinity around him had cleared completely of passengers within 25 feet in any direction from him, lest they be gassed again.
I'll miss you, Boff!
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