Overeverything'd

I'm overworked and overbooked (the latter is a fault of my own). I'm seriously burned out. And I'm trying so hard not to let every little thing piss me off.

Michele Turns 24

Photo: DJ Normatron & her groupie

Photo: Water, water, everywhere!

Use the Record Retention Labels Accordingly

Photo: Dear Management,
Do not destroy anything labeled in pink.

Mommy Blogs

Is it just me, or has there been an explosion of mommy-blogs? It started with The Shins circa 2004, and since then, Blogger and Typepad have been infested with very (very) proud mothers showing off the gums of their teething ten-month-old's. Well, I guess it's a bit soothing to know that the internet isn't solely exploited by perverts and MySpace junkies.

And since God knows I'm so not ready for a child of my own... I leave you with a (random) photo of the cutest child ever! I'd love to have a daughter I can dress like this one day.

Photo Credit: Sartoria List

February Highlights Already?

I'm nowhere near as good as I'd like to be, but I'm getting better and better with every new bruise, scrape, and bloody injury. Ryan, Dan, and I hit the slopes of Bear Mountain to have us some snow-fun. The second pic below is the 'money' shot. My shutter speed has the best timing.

No Added Chemicals

For the first time in 9 years, the amount of strands
poisoned by hair-dye equal the amount of zero.

The OC Says Goodbye

Photo: Adam Brody

I'll admit it: for the past several years, The OC has been my guilty pleasure. Now that it's met its demise, there will no longer be weekly helpings of Adam Brody - a man who encapsulates a lot of the qualities I expect out of an alpha male. Like oh my gosh, he's like, so hot.

The series finale was satisfying - although a huge part of me wanted Mischa Barton to come back for a cameo (maybe as a dream? a hallucination?). Anyway, thank God the Cohen's got out of Orange County (after realizing it's not all it's made up to be). And unlike real-life Adam and real-life Rachel, their characters ended up getting married. Le Sigh.

Since Adam Brody is single and job-less now, he should take some down time to get to know the little people. While a part of me suggests that he become cuddle buddies with Natalie Portman, it's quite obvious that she is too good for him. But I'm not - so holla!

The New Who?

Photo: Bilson, 2007

Perez Hilton dubbed her 'The New Natalie Portman'. But as much as I love Rachel Bilson (and I love her a lot), there will never, ever be another Natalie Portman. Let alone a 'new' one. That doesn't mean we can't appreciate how unbelievably cute Rachel Bilson is - so let's!

Arts Colony

The 100th Pomona Art Walk successfully seduced the attendance of artists and art enthusiasts alike. Second street was dotted with craftsmen from all arenas of the interlocking art world, and was a place to mingle with a camera in one hand, and wine in the other.

After convincing my good friend 'Re fried' to join me for a night of music in the streets and art from head to feet, we shimmied our way down the street's narrow corridors, and found ourselves atop the 2nd Street Bistro, oogling that which is Lisa and Ash's new art loft. Vaulted ceilings, brick wall facades, and floor to ceiling windows were all a cause for me to stand there green with envy. The loft was flat out amazing! So old, and so full of character. Lisa, a good friend and coworker, scored the keys to the sprawling space just last week. It was extremely convenient to have a pit stop amongst all of the galleries and mini-concerts taking place just below our feet.

For anyone interested, Metro Pomona hosts an art walk on every second Saturday of each month. Every gallery on 2nd Street and Garey Avenue are open to the general public - for free. It has definite potential to be an entertaining night out on the town.

Photo: 2nd St. Bistro

What is your pocket blessing?

My pocket blessing is 'a long drive' to absolutely nowhere. When I get frustrated, pissed, sad, overwhelmed, and mind-boggled, all it takes for me to calm down is a long drive. I hop in my car, drive far, drive fast, and most importantly, drive alone. It's me, my thoughts, my music, my self-rationalizing, and my prospective action plans playing out in my head. I leave my house, drive for 1-2 hours, and drive back home. Not getting out of the car once. Sometimes, like today, I'll run by a Starbucks drive through... but for the most part, it's 80 MPH down the 215 to the 91 to the 15 to the 60 to the 57 to the 10 and back home. Very therapeutic. Sometimes I get back with my eyes a bit puffier than when I left. But damn, something about a long drive - alone - at night - is all I really need. Well, that and my dog.

January 2007 Highlights Part II

Some friends/coworkers and I decided to ski & snowboard this past Saturday. Big-ups to all my friends who board... it's a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. Way back in the day (and I mean waaaay back) I used to ski frequently... and very good might I add. But snowboarding is a whole new ball game; and it sure as hell took the best of me.

My coworker Dan moonlights as a snowboarding instructor - so I had the privy to have a full days worth of private (and free) lessons. The first half of the day involved me holding fiercly onto his hands the whole way down the intermediate slope (yes, we basically skipped bunny). It took about 1 hour to get down. Shut up.

The second run went by smoothly. I finally got the hang of things - and could actually turn that board on my own. Needless to say, I loved it! We're already planning on heading up to summit/bear/mtn high a couple more times before the season's end. That way I can get good enough for Mammoth next Christmas.

Kudos to Dan - and his barrel of patience. Poor guy. He had to wait for me to mozey on down the mountain the entire day. I promise I'll get better buddy!

Sidenote: The loveliest Portuguese (or so says his accent) man works at the rental shop at Snow Summit. I honestly believe he's the most attractive person I've ever seen in person. That's all.. it just needed to be said.

January 2007 Highlights Part I

I can't believe January 2007 is almost past-tense. Despite the fact that 90% of my time 'awake' was strictly devoted to work (see two previous entries), I really can't complain too much... especially since time-worked sandwiched a hardy helping of time-spent with some of my favorite people!

Photo: Le gang

Forgive me if I can't contain all of my excitement, but look at this photo! It's almost all of my favorite single London Bedfordian loves-of-my-life! From left to right: Sandy, my partner in crime and bar ho; Mikey, my favorite boy from London; Norma, my favorite favorite; and Ace, who, despite being excessively mean in '07 (as shown above), is the best person to dance with.

We all met up in Beverly Hills for a lovely (and expensive) sushi dinner at Sushi Roku on the 21st of January. This was after unsuccessful attempts to meet up at Zip Fusion and Boss Sushi (we almost felt as though we were never meant to eat fish - long story). Sidenote: Norma, I'm sorry you didn't like the eel. We had no idea it would make you gag.

Photo: Mochi


Photo: We take the best pictures.


Photo: Mikey is flat out adorable.


Photo: Mean in '07, but so easy to love.

All in all, the night was lovely! Just lovely! My single friends are an A+, and I'm almost certain that there's a correlation between London and being single... because, well, I do believe they're the only single friends I have left.

Office Mates

Having close friendships with coworkers over the age of 40 is both fruitful and strange. Take away the age, marriage, and children factors - and we all have quite a lot in common. We have similar problems to work through, and similar insecurities to overcome. And even though I'm decades younger, they're more than willing to take advice from someone whose head isn't clouded by years of experience.

[Sidenote: and i'm hoping the day never comes when they stop referring to me as 'the kid']

The thing that gets me is this.. one minute, I'm running over to one of their cubicles to have them explain the fine details of a retirement plan. The next minute, I'm running over there to make them watch Dick in a Box. Wierd i tell you... freakin wierd! But a blessing nonetheless. They make work more than just bearable - they make it fun and worthwhile.

All Work, No Play

It's quite funny to look back and recall the many times I've sat idle and daydreamed of being a pawn in the corporate world. Though in retrospect, I don't recall any of my daydreams involving 10-12 hour work days, little to no sleep, meal-wavers, buckets of tylenol, and cancelling evening reservations with friends in order to ensure that the quality of my work would be the screw to set the bar.

But really, I can't complain too much. Despite this being 'what i've always wanted', the busy and fast-paced world of a grown ass woman makes for a good feeling of accomplishment at the end of the day - when I walk out of the office knowing that I've satisfied another client.

[side note: don't get me wrong, we get our fair share of ungrateful motherbleepers who make us cynical, cold-hearted, and are perfect examples of why it can be so easy to lose your faith in human-kind.]

My free time on weekdays is becoming frighteningly scarce. By the time I ebb my way through traffic - the only thing I want to do is crawl into the furthest corner of my bed and canoodle with my schmoe of a dog.

T-minus 6 hours until my alarm goes off. Ohhh corporate ladder, you better be worth it.

People's Choice Awards

A friend of mine - who so happens to have my dream job at CBS - scored my mom and I tickets to the PCA last night. So after a quick stop at the studio, mom and I arrived at the Shrine with our excitement in tow. Being that I've been to several award shows in the past (bite me), I already knew the drill: no cameras and no cell phones with cameras, so we got through security pretty smoothly, and secured our 2nd row seats on the balcony. Now, if you've ever been to the Shrine, you can appreciate how damn close we were to the stage. Granted, we were no where near arm's length from our fave celebs, but still - we were there.

We really didn't care too much about who was to be there - except Jennifer Aniston! We're so team Aniston (Though lately, Angelina Jolie is making it really hard to hate her. In time she'll grow on me, I just know it. Not.).

Photo: Jennifer Aniston at the PCA '07

My Joy

When I want [yearn, bleed for] something - and can't have it - I still can't bring myself to settle for anything different. It doesn't matter if that 'something different' is equally yolked, or even if it's better. My something is the only thing that will be my joy.

And if I truly can't have it, I'll eventually phase it out. Does that make me an idealist, or just stubborn?

Happy New Year!

2006 was down right fabulous - all thanks to a hardy paycheck and willingness to travel. Also combined with a harmonious blend (and unquenching thirst) for church, foreign dishes, and family - 2006 is to go down in the books tied for the title of 'best year of my life so far' (alongside 2004).

2007 does not come without its own set of promises and adventures. The month of March is to answer many questions regarding what's in store for my academic and/or career-based future... and I anticipate whatever is to come. In the mean time, while I'd love to admit I haven't been sitting around planning the next year - I'm not made that way... thus, I've been sitting around planning the next year. Of course, every outcome is dependent upon acceptance letters or promotions - and I've done some prep work in preparing myself for either path I'm set to walk down.

07, bring it.

Photo: Favorite photo from the holiday season.

Accomplished

Last year, after being hired at the farm, I devised a list of things I wanted to accomplish in 2006. This list stayed constant all year – without any alterations.

My goals for 2006 (dated: November 25, 2005)

01. Pay off credit card (Accomplished)
02. Pay off Europe credit card (Accomplished, but then I used it again)
03. Fix ipod (Accomplished, but then I broke it again)
04. Fix digital camera (Sent it to the Philippines, bought a new one)
05. Buy a new laptop (Upgraded desktop and bought a new monitor)
06. Get braces (Accomplished)
07. Grow out all of my dyed hair (Accomplished)
08. Save money for a trip to Japan (Accomplished)
09. Save money for a trip to the UK (Accomplished)
10. Stay at job for one full year (Accomplished)

My goals for 2007 (dated December 22, 2006)

01. Pay off Europe credit card, again (Accomplished 2/17/07)
02. Pay off braces by April/May
03. Finish interior improvements to parent's house
04. Make exterior improvements to parent's house
05. Decide: stay at the farm and buy a car or go to grad school
06. Save money for a trip
07. Grow long and healthy hair
08. Enroll to teach Sunday School
09. Finish Old Testament of Bible
10. Lose weight to fit into bridesmaid dress
11. Purchase digital SLR
12. Go to a taping of the Ellen DeGeneres show
13. Donate [big] to a charity

Outdated Song

99% of the time, I'm alright with the way things worked out. Then there's that one percent - that 5 minutes and 10 seconds of Cannonball, when I'm like - damn.

You, the roaring tide.
Me, the message in a bottle.
A part of me will always long to float in your abyss;
And recount the times you’ve pulled me under
The foam of your embrace.

With each passing breath I float, far and far away;
From the darkest depths of your center,
The loudest rumble of your roar.
But the bit of you that’s seeped inside me will always be there;
And there it will stay;
With feelings tattooed on a badly beaten surface;
Reminiscent of the time
When I wanted you
To sweep me away - forever.

Lead Me Lord

If You lead me Lord I will follow.
Where You lead me Lord I will go.