I decided to brave the Black Friday shopping crowd the day after Thanksgiving this year. I went to one of the most crowded stores you could go to: Target. My goal?: To buy a $14 crockpot that was on sale from $35. I've been telling people this for the past two weeks and everyone thought I was crazy, "Do you realize how many people are gonna be there??" I've never been one to be swayed by people, so I went to Target this morning around 6:15 am...and left at 6:50 am...with a cart full of stuff I bought all on sale. Oh yeah! In and out, no problem. I bought two crockpots (one for me, one for Geoff's mom), a toaster oven, a cupcake decorator for my little cousin, and other minor stuff I needed. When I walked in, it was quite crowded (especially around the electronics section). But I'm an experienced Black Friday shopper and knew that Target would have other registers open besides the regular ones up front. So I made my way over to the jewelry counter, but there was a line already forming. So I back-tracked to the Pharmacy (because I knew people paid for their purchases there along with their prescriptions) and, sure enough, they had two registers open with only ONE customer at each, taking any customer, not just Pharmacy pick-ups (Pharmacy wasn't even open yet). I stood in line and waited less than a minute. It was great.
Today, Geoff and I are driving up to Sacramento to visit his family. I'm looking forward to seeing them, but NOT looking forward to the drive. Ugh.
November 28, 2008
November 26, 2008
7 Days of Gratitude - #1
#1 Life
Above all else, I am truly thankful for everything and everyone who has a positive effect in my life. When I'm having an extremely crappy day, and I mean REAL crappy (like it has been for the past two days), I force myself to stop and try to enjoy the good things in my life. Someone always has it harder than you. When I remember that, suddenly all the crappy stuff becomes insignificant. I think of that Dave Chappelle skit, where he impersonates Prince. He says (excuse the language), "Enjoy yo'selves, bitches." I'll say it aloud to myself, and it makes me smile, because what he's saying is to have a good time, enjoy life. And that's exactly what I try do and be thankful for.
November 25, 2008
Rain...Finally!
It's raining pretty hard right now! I'm so happy. It's much-needed too, especially since the horrible fires almost two weeks ago. I love the rain. There's something about it that makes me feel cozy and romantic. Cuddled-up with your loved one under a blanket while the rain beats down outside. Or snuggled in bed with a good book while it's pouring out (which is what I'm about to do), it's so soothing . You couldn't ask for a better setting! I'm gonna go and enjoy me some of it right now...
7 Days of Gratitude - #2
#2 My Pets
I'm grateful for having the best dog ever. Gidget is awesome. When I wake up, I usually find her snuggled close to me, the tip of her tail wagging as soon as she sees my eyes open. When I take her out for walks, she’ll occasionally look up at me, as if she’s wondering if I’m having fun. She makes a really big deal about me coming home from work, greeting me at the door with a toy in her mouth (like she has a present for me), tail wagging and jumping up and down, making me happy after I've had a bad day. I adopted her when she was 5 months old. Now she’s almost 6 years old! And she still acts like a little puppy. The picture above is what she does when she's bored and wants my attention.
If you want a pet that's easy to care for, get a Beta fish. Indigo doesn't ask for much. He stays clean. He's self-sufficient. Easy to care for. Only needs to be fed a sprinkle of food once a day and tank cleaned maybe once a month. He rocks.
November 24, 2008
7 Days of Gratitude - #3
#3 Mac n' Cheese
I figured I'd put at least one silly thing on here. Mac n' cheese is a bowl full of happiness, really. I find I feel better after I've eaten some. Seriously, I do. I can see why they call it "comfort food." I'm forever grateful for the ingenious person who thought of this simple dish. Here's my favorite mac n' cheese receipe:
I figured I'd put at least one silly thing on here. Mac n' cheese is a bowl full of happiness, really. I find I feel better after I've eaten some. Seriously, I do. I can see why they call it "comfort food." I'm forever grateful for the ingenious person who thought of this simple dish. Here's my favorite mac n' cheese receipe:
- 2 boxes Velveeta shells & cheese (or a similar store-bought brand)
- 1 lb. ground beef (or ground turkey, whichever you prefer)
- 1 16-oz. jar of salsa
- Cook pasta according to directions. Brown meat in a skillet. When finished, mix pasta, cheese sauce, cooked meat and jar of salsa all together. Serve.
OR, instead of ground beef and salsa, I'll sometimes add shredded rotisserie chicken and either steamed peas or broccoli to it. For you bacon lovers, mac n' cheese with crumbled bacon is good too.
Yum. Enjoy!
Weekend Update
Saturday
Got up early and took Gidget (my dog) for a short jog. Afterwards, I took a shower, cleaned up the bathroom, laid in bed and read "Twilight" for a few hours. Geoff called me to say that he was going to his parents' house to remove their faceboards and gutters and that his mom was cooking a pre-Thanksgiving dinner for the family and told me to come over. I got dressed and headed over to Downey. When I got there, I watched as Geoff and his dad tore down a few things outside of the house. I got bored of that, so I went inside to help his mom cook. Almost everything was made from scratch. It smelled so good, my tummy was grumbling the whole time. A little while later, Cassie came home and Erin and Erick came over, so we were finally able to eat. After dinner, we sat around and talked for a while, then Geoff went back to Irvine to hang out with his friends and, after talking some more, the rest of us went home.
Sunday
I had breakfast with my dad in the morning (at a place that had the BEST waffles) and then Geoff called to ask if I wanted to come over. He asked if I wanted him to take me to see "Twilight" at the movie theatre, but I told him it was okay, since I knew he didn't really want to see it (although it was very sweet of him to offer). Erin, Cassie and I are probably going to see it sometime early in the week. Geoff was so sure I was going to say yes, that he didn't have a back-up plan of what do to. So we decided to go to Best Buy and Target so that we could point out our Christmas lists to each other. While we were at Best Buy, Geoff bought a new DVD player so that we could watch "WALL•E" when we got home. If you haven't seen it yet, you should. It's such a good movie. The DVD extras have a couple of cool short films called "Presto" and "BURN•E." After "WALL•E," we watched TV for a little bit and then went to sleep, looking forward to the short work week.
Got up early and took Gidget (my dog) for a short jog. Afterwards, I took a shower, cleaned up the bathroom, laid in bed and read "Twilight" for a few hours. Geoff called me to say that he was going to his parents' house to remove their faceboards and gutters and that his mom was cooking a pre-Thanksgiving dinner for the family and told me to come over. I got dressed and headed over to Downey. When I got there, I watched as Geoff and his dad tore down a few things outside of the house. I got bored of that, so I went inside to help his mom cook. Almost everything was made from scratch. It smelled so good, my tummy was grumbling the whole time. A little while later, Cassie came home and Erin and Erick came over, so we were finally able to eat. After dinner, we sat around and talked for a while, then Geoff went back to Irvine to hang out with his friends and, after talking some more, the rest of us went home.
Sunday
I had breakfast with my dad in the morning (at a place that had the BEST waffles) and then Geoff called to ask if I wanted to come over. He asked if I wanted him to take me to see "Twilight" at the movie theatre, but I told him it was okay, since I knew he didn't really want to see it (although it was very sweet of him to offer). Erin, Cassie and I are probably going to see it sometime early in the week. Geoff was so sure I was going to say yes, that he didn't have a back-up plan of what do to. So we decided to go to Best Buy and Target so that we could point out our Christmas lists to each other. While we were at Best Buy, Geoff bought a new DVD player so that we could watch "WALL•E" when we got home. If you haven't seen it yet, you should. It's such a good movie. The DVD extras have a couple of cool short films called "Presto" and "BURN•E." After "WALL•E," we watched TV for a little bit and then went to sleep, looking forward to the short work week.
November 23, 2008
7 Days of Gratitude - #4
#4 Charity
When I first starting working for a non-profit organization, I knew that was the industry I wanted my career to be in. Knowing that my job is directly making an impact for a good cause made me love the work I do. There's such gratification in it and I'm thankful that I get to do what I do. If you've ever volunteered for a place that you truly loved and felt like what you're doing was a contribution, that's how I feel when I come to work each day. Sure, there's times when I have rough work days. No matter what your job, everyone has those. However, what brings me back is thinking about the very people whose lives I'm helping to improve. And those people are worth the rough days.
November 22, 2008
7 Days of Gratitude - #5
#5 Books
I love reading. I read my first book when I was 3 years old (my mom has a cassette tape recording of me reading at that age). It was called, "Five Little Monkies." I still have a copy of it! To this day, I could spend an entire day snuggled in my chair or bed, getting lost in a good book. I especially love when I'm reading a book that I cannot put down. Books help you increase your vocabulary, your imagination and brain activity.
My goal in life is to write a children's book. I have one that's partially completed. I've got the title, characters and outline all put into place. I just need to fill in the gaps. I've put it off for almost 5 years now. I felt that I wasn't getting "inspired" enough to actually finish the story. Maybe finishing it will be my new year's resolution.
7 Days of Gratitude - #6
#6 Whittier College
I have been working for them for almost two months now and have come to not only appreciate where I work, but also the wonderful people I get to work with. It feels good to know that I have colleagues who fully trust, respect and believe in me and the work I do, to strengthen our department and the overall institution. I hope that this is the beginning of a long professional relationship with Whittier College. Cheers!
I have been working for them for almost two months now and have come to not only appreciate where I work, but also the wonderful people I get to work with. It feels good to know that I have colleagues who fully trust, respect and believe in me and the work I do, to strengthen our department and the overall institution. I hope that this is the beginning of a long professional relationship with Whittier College. Cheers!
November 21, 2008
(Last) Weekend Update
I just realized that I didn't say what I did last weekend. It was quite busy! Here's a somewhat brief write-up of what happened:
Friday/Saturday
After work, went to FAFC in Santa Fe Springs to attend their Women’s Holiday Heart and Home mini-conference and brunch. I was invited to attend by Geoff’s mom (Ginger) and sister (Erin, who is a youth pastor at the church). It started with a woman guest speaker giving an evening lecture on Friday night and continued the following morning with a hosted brunch and two additional morning lectures, given by the same guest speaker. I went to this event last year, which they called a women's holiday tea. Like last year, Ginger and Erin hosted a table again. It turned out very pretty...
To host a table, you're responsible for decorating the entire table, provide dinnerware, dessert, and a party favor for your guests to take home. This is always my favorite part of the event because you get to see what everyone else came up with for their tables...
(This one above had a real bird in it)
These were just a few of the many tables there.
Though the brunch was wonderful, the guest speaker was not. She spoke on 3 occasions, Friday night, during the Saturday morning brunch, and again after the brunch. She gave very “messy” lectures. It was all over the place. She would have her nose in her Bible, reading an excerpt in a monotonous tone, then all of a sudden be all over the stage, animately talking about random things. It was like ADD, but on crack. I mostly tuned her out, except for one part where she said something that actually offended me (I won't go into it though).
After the brunch and lectures were over, Ginger, Cassie and I went outside and thought it smelled like fire. We looked up at the sky and saw there was smoke nearby. We thought it was just a house or building that caught on fire. Turns out, it was bigger than that. Much bigger. We went back to Erin's apartment and turned on the TV to see that excessive fires had broken out in Yorba Linda, Corona and Brea. There was thick smoke covering the sky and there was a strong wind that day, which made it worse. The next time I went outside, I could see the smoke blowing it's way over to Long Beach.
Despite the smoky air, Cassie and I went shopping at Lakewood Mall so Cassie could buy some Uggs. We also went to Cost Plus World Market. I love that store. They have such cool stuff there. When we got to Lakewood, the sky was so dark that it looked like it was going to rain. Well, technically, it was raining -raining ashes. It was gross. We didn't stay out long and, after I dropped Cassie off, I went home to change out of my smoky clothes, take a shower and clean my house.
Sunday
I went over to Geoff's in the morning and we originally we going to try to go to Disneyland. But, because the air quality was horrible from the fires, we cancelled. So instead, we decided to save Disneyland for Christmas and ended up spending the day in Irvine, near Geoff's house and Costa Mesa, since the air was clean and clear in those areas.
We went to several stores, including Borders, where Geoff bought me "Twilight" to read. After shopping, we went to see a movie. We ended up seeing "Quantum of Solace" (James Bond). It was okay. I liked "Casino Royale" better. After the movie, we grabbed Chinese for dinner and, after a phone call to see if the coast was clear for Geoff to come home, we went back to Geoff's to eat and play Guitar Hero.
And that was my weekend.
Friday/Saturday
After work, went to FAFC in Santa Fe Springs to attend their Women’s Holiday Heart and Home mini-conference and brunch. I was invited to attend by Geoff’s mom (Ginger) and sister (Erin, who is a youth pastor at the church). It started with a woman guest speaker giving an evening lecture on Friday night and continued the following morning with a hosted brunch and two additional morning lectures, given by the same guest speaker. I went to this event last year, which they called a women's holiday tea. Like last year, Ginger and Erin hosted a table again. It turned out very pretty...
To host a table, you're responsible for decorating the entire table, provide dinnerware, dessert, and a party favor for your guests to take home. This is always my favorite part of the event because you get to see what everyone else came up with for their tables...
(This one above had a real bird in it)
These were just a few of the many tables there.
Though the brunch was wonderful, the guest speaker was not. She spoke on 3 occasions, Friday night, during the Saturday morning brunch, and again after the brunch. She gave very “messy” lectures. It was all over the place. She would have her nose in her Bible, reading an excerpt in a monotonous tone, then all of a sudden be all over the stage, animately talking about random things. It was like ADD, but on crack. I mostly tuned her out, except for one part where she said something that actually offended me (I won't go into it though).
After the brunch and lectures were over, Ginger, Cassie and I went outside and thought it smelled like fire. We looked up at the sky and saw there was smoke nearby. We thought it was just a house or building that caught on fire. Turns out, it was bigger than that. Much bigger. We went back to Erin's apartment and turned on the TV to see that excessive fires had broken out in Yorba Linda, Corona and Brea. There was thick smoke covering the sky and there was a strong wind that day, which made it worse. The next time I went outside, I could see the smoke blowing it's way over to Long Beach.
Despite the smoky air, Cassie and I went shopping at Lakewood Mall so Cassie could buy some Uggs. We also went to Cost Plus World Market. I love that store. They have such cool stuff there. When we got to Lakewood, the sky was so dark that it looked like it was going to rain. Well, technically, it was raining -raining ashes. It was gross. We didn't stay out long and, after I dropped Cassie off, I went home to change out of my smoky clothes, take a shower and clean my house.
Sunday
I went over to Geoff's in the morning and we originally we going to try to go to Disneyland. But, because the air quality was horrible from the fires, we cancelled. So instead, we decided to save Disneyland for Christmas and ended up spending the day in Irvine, near Geoff's house and Costa Mesa, since the air was clean and clear in those areas.
We went to several stores, including Borders, where Geoff bought me "Twilight" to read. After shopping, we went to see a movie. We ended up seeing "Quantum of Solace" (James Bond). It was okay. I liked "Casino Royale" better. After the movie, we grabbed Chinese for dinner and, after a phone call to see if the coast was clear for Geoff to come home, we went back to Geoff's to eat and play Guitar Hero.
And that was my weekend.
November 20, 2008
7 Days of Gratitude - #7
My longtime friend, Aranne, posted this on her blog today. She got it from a blog of a friend of hers. What better way to spread gratitude and appreciation? Over the next 7 days, from now until Thanksgiving, I will be posting things that I'm grateful for. If you have a blog, I encourage you to do the same thing. It'll make you feel good. Here's #7 on my list...
#7 The Internet
Without the internet, I wouldn’t have been able to reconnect with old friends. Without the internet, how could I find a broad range of resources to reference my questions or problems and find the answers? Without the internet, I couldn't do my job. And lastly, without the internet, Geoff would never have been able to find me again.
Thank you world wide web!
#7 The Internet
Without the internet, I wouldn’t have been able to reconnect with old friends. Without the internet, how could I find a broad range of resources to reference my questions or problems and find the answers? Without the internet, I couldn't do my job. And lastly, without the internet, Geoff would never have been able to find me again.
Thank you world wide web!
Lighten-Up
Since my last post was a bit of a downer, I thought I'd post something funny to brighten the mood a little. Yesterday, I was on the phone with my mom, asking her for her address so that I could send her something in the mail (I still don't have her Houston address memorized). I had no idea my simple question for her address would open up a can of worms. Here's how our conversation went:
Mom: "...Gosling Rd., Woodlands, TX"
Me: "Gosling? Like a baby goose?"
My mom, a senior executive for the biggest international import/export corporation, asks: "Oh, is that what that is?!"
Me:(rolling my eyes) "Yes, mom."
Mom: "Then what is a chick?"
Me:(shaking my head) "It's a baby chicken."
Mom: "Oh. Well, I knew that."
Me: "Mm-hmm."
Mom: "What's a baby duck?"
Me: "Are you serious? It's a duckling."
Mom: "Oh, I knew that too."
Me: "Are we done now?"
Mom: "Wait, one more...what's a baby swan?"
Me: "I think it's called a cygnet."
Mom: "Okay, you can't expect me to know that. How the heck do you know?"
Me: "I remember from when I took zoology in college."
Mom: "Really? Well I'm glad to know my money went to good use."
Me: "Um...okay. Because I knew what a baby swan was called?"
Mom: "Not everyone knows that, Amy!"
Me: "Okay. Sheesh."
Apparently, knowing the technical term for a baby swan is a pretty big deal. Remember that, people.
Mom: "...Gosling Rd., Woodlands, TX"
Me: "Gosling? Like a baby goose?"
My mom, a senior executive for the biggest international import/export corporation, asks: "Oh, is that what that is?!"
Me:
Mom: "Then what is a chick?"
Me:
Mom: "Oh. Well, I knew that."
Me: "Mm-hmm."
Mom: "What's a baby duck?"
Me: "Are you serious? It's a duckling."
Mom: "Oh, I knew that too."
Me: "Are we done now?"
Mom: "Wait, one more...what's a baby swan?"
Me: "I think it's called a cygnet."
Mom: "Okay, you can't expect me to know that. How the heck do you know?"
Me: "I remember from when I took zoology in college."
Mom: "Really? Well I'm glad to know my money went to good use."
Me: "Um...okay. Because I knew what a baby swan was called?"
Mom: "Not everyone knows that, Amy!"
Me: "Okay. Sheesh."
Apparently, knowing the technical term for a baby swan is a pretty big deal. Remember that, people.
November 18, 2008
Missouri Loves Company...Just Not Mine
Okay, so here it is. The reason why I wasn't looking forward to going to Missouri (and now don't have to and I'm surprisingly upset by it). It's a very long story, but I have a lot to say...
My dad, sister and I were going to Missouri next week to see and meet my dad's mother. I say "meet" because I've never met this woman my entire life and neither has my sister. My dad had a very harsh relationship with his mom and, when he was 17, left home to live with his aunt (his dad's sister) and soon after joined the Army when he turned 18. From the moment he left home, he never saw or spoke to his mother ever again.
Flash back to when my parents were married and I was about 4 years old...
My mom wrote a letter to my dad's mother, telling her that even though she hasn't seen or spoken to my dad in several years, she wanted her to know that he was married now and that they have a daughter (me). My mom told her that she understands if she doesn't want to communicate with my dad, but that she would like it very much if she would have a familial relationship with me since she was my grandmother. My mom enclosed a picture of me and mailed the letter. About a month later she received a letter back from my dad's mother. She had written my mom a very odd letter, basically saying that my mom didn't understand and that she wasn't in a position to open that door again and didn't really want anything to do with my dad, including me. Along with the letter she wrote to my mom, she returned the picture of me because she didn't want it. My mom didn't tell me this story until I was 15 years old. At that time, I didn't really care. It didn't bother me. As far as I was concerned, I already had a grandma on my dad's side (my grandpa's 3rd wife) and she was the only grandma I'd ever known since I was born. I should note here, however, that my dad isn't close to her or my grandpa either (I know, he has issues). However, I have a very close bond my grandpa. :)
Fast forward to last year, July 2007...
After Geoff and I returned from our trip to Alaska, my mom told me that, after 38 years, my dad finally spoke to his mother. They connected through my dad's half-brother (who hadn't seen my dad since he was 10 years old). I called my dad to find out what happened and I could hear in his voice how excited and happy he was. This made me happy too. He said that she asked about me and wanted to know about my sister. At this point, it hit me. Up until now, she never knew my sister even existed. For some reason, this really pissed me off. I tend to get defensive when somebody insults my sister (despite the fact that I do it all the time), but I felt this was beyond insulting. This triggered a whole bunch of other bitterness that I was shocked I had in me. I was angry for her not knowing about my sister, I was angry that it was my dad who had to call her and not the other way around, and I was angry that she sent my picture back that my mom sent her when I was 4. I kept all this inside of course, not wanting to ruin my dad's happiness and reconciled family.
For several months after, my dad would always update me and my sister on the phone calls he would have with his mother, his sister (who he hasn't seen for about 25 years) and his half-brother. Then, this past January, he tells us that his mother and his sister are coming out to California to visit and to not make any plans the third weekend of February. He goes on to say that he's going to have a limo pick them up from the airport and that we were all going to get dressed up and celebrate by eating at some expensive restaurant in L.A. My sister and I expressed that we would feel a little awkward, but that we would go for him. My dad hasn't had a family-family for many years, and I know how happy this was going to make him. He and my mom divoriced when I was 12 and, since then, my sister and I had been the only family he had.
February rolled around and soon it was the third week. Three days before my dad's mother and sister were to arrive, I get a phone call from my dad telling me that they weren't going to be able to make it out afterall because "other things came up." I could hear the disappointment in my dad's voice and this made me even more angry at his mother (FYI, I don't feel right calling her my "grandmother"). Deep down inside, I knew they weren't going to come. Really, I knew. But what made me angry was how hopeful my dad sounded. My dad isn't one to give anybody benefit of the doubt, including his own children. However, he willingly and freely gave it to his mother when she cancelled her visit. Willingly. I knew that was going to be a mistake.
Two months later, my dad ended up flying out to Missouri to see his family for the first time after 38 years. He asked my sister and I to go with him, but I told him that it would be better to have his moment first and then my sister and I would eventually go after he got his stuff with them out of the way. When he returned from his trip, he was so happy and didn't stop talking about it for three weeks. It was weird to see my dad act so giddy. I'm so used to him being the strict, sometimes pessimistic, military man. Nonetheless, it was a nice change to see in him.
Fast forward to September (two months ago)...
My dad tells my sister and I that he wants the three of us to fly out to Missouri for Thanksgiving. He told us to get the time off because he was buying our tickets in the next couple weeks. I hesitated and my sister argued not to, but we gave in. (A funny side note: my dad initially got mad that we didn't want to go. He said, "What the hell? You know, when your mother wanted you guys to go to Japan to see her relatives, you couldn't wait to go, you were so damn excited." My response was, "You have to be joking. We weren't excited because we were seeing relatives...we were excited because it was JAPAN! I'm sorry we're not peeing our pants over Kansas City, Missouri.")
Every week since then, my dad kept saying that he was going to buy the tickets, but kept putting it off. At one point, I was pretty sure we weren't going at all. My dad has a nasty habit of saying he'll do something and won't follow through with it. Then, about a month ago in October, my dad calls to tell me that he bought the tickets and will give me a copy of the flight itinerary. I was surprised and a little disgruntled. Surprised because he did buy the tickets, but disgruntled because I didn't really feel like going. I was starting to get bitter about the fact that, after more than a year of communicating with my dad, his mother still hadn't tried to contact me or my sister, either by phone, letter or email. Not even a card, and by this time Christmas, my birthday and my sister's birthday had all passed -perfect occasions to send at least a card or some form of communication (let me reiterate that I said "card," not "present" like some people think I mean).
Between the time my dad had first visited back in April, until recently, he would always talk about how his mother is going to be spoiling my sister and I when we visit for Thanksgiving. "She's going to be buying you guys a lot of stuff, just so you know" or "She's probably going to buy a Cadillac Escalade just so she can fit all of us in the same car to go shopping." He'd say odd things like that. It sounded weird to me. I didn't take him seriously and neither did my sister. It just sounded like a bunch of crap. My sister and I felt that -even though we're never ones to turn down a free shopping excursion- if this was her way of making things up to us, she was going about it the wrong way.
Now fast forward to today, this morning...
Every other day, my dad kept going over our plans of what we're going to be doing in Missouri. He also kept asking my sister and I if we were getting excited as the day of our departure neared. And he also kept asking us to recite our flight schedule to him by memory. He did this because he was excited and was looking forward to all of us being together. Come to think of it, this was really going to be the first trip that my dad, sister and I were taking all together. Over the last couple weeks, my sister and I began buying winter clothes, since it's cold there right now, and my sister went out and bought new luggage, since she had none of her own. We were making a mental packing list. Good thing we hadn't actually packed yet...
This morning, I get a call from my dad around 6:30 am. I was still half-asleep, so I didn't answer the phone, but could hear the jingle my phone played when I had a new voicemail. An hour later, I got up, took a shower and got ready for work. I went into my sister's room to ask her something and we ended up talking about our trip next week. She showed me her new travel bag and, after talking a little more about our trip, we were kind of getting a teeny bit excited about going. I went back to my room to dry my hair. After I finished drying it, my sister yelled down the hall for me to come to her room. When I walked in, she had her cell phone pressed to her chest. She said, "Dad's on the phone and wants to talk to you. We're not going to Missouri." I took the phone and listened as my dad said that his mother was "feeling ill" and that she wouldn't be able to come up to his sister's house to be with us for Thanksgiving. You see, we were going to stay at my dad's sister's house in Kansas City. Apparently, my dad's mother (and I didn't know it until that moment) lives a 7-hour car drive away. She was supppose to drive up and stay at his sister's house with us too while we were there. My dad continued on to tell me that he didn't want to be spending the majority of our trip in the car, driving 7 hours back and forth between his mother, his sister and his half-brother's houses. He said that our airline tickets would be good for about a year and that we could try going again in the Spring. I said it was alright, not to worry about it and that we'll go another time. My sister argued that we should still go so that we could pull a "in your face" to my dad's mother. She said that if we went, we would be showing her that we didn't care if we saw her or not. I told my sister I didn't want to waste a plane ticket on feeling spiteful.
After a few minutes, the feeling I was having took me by surprise. Out of all things, I was feeling hurt. At first I thought my feelings were hurt, but that wasn't it. It was that I knew my dad's feelings were hurt and this hurt me and immensely pissed me off. How could this woman do this again? This is the second time now. Saying that she wasn't feeling good was a poor excuse. She somehow knows that she's not going to be feeling good later in the next week too?? Come on. Bottom line: she's uncomfortable meeting us and doesn't really care to. It doesn't matter to me; I could care less. However, she keeps jerking my dad around and, frankly, nobody pulls shit like that on my dad. She has caused nothing but disappointment for my dad, heartache for me, and inconvenience for my sister. My sister had to practically beg the restaurant she works at to give her the time off to fly out there for Thanksgiving. Now, she's missing out on the busiest money-making days and all for absolutely nothing. What's even more pathetic is that I know that my dad's mother won't ever bother to pick up the phone to call us and apologize for our trip not working out. I'm sorry to say that all I know about this woman is that she's selfish.
I'm sure some of you are asking, "Why don't YOU call her, Amy??" My answer is that I've already tried to contact her indirectly through my mom. Sure, I was only 4 at the time, but it was put out there that she had a granddaughter that would love to meet her...but she rejected it. From then, the ball was always in her court. I can't force someone to talk to me who made it perfectly clear that they didn't want to -and, to me, still doesn't want to. What gets me though is my dad's happiness. All he wants is for all of us to be together, in the same place, and do family stuff. But, for some ignorant reason, she won't let it happen. Something about me and my sister, she just doesn't care to know us right now. If it weren't for my dad, I would easily just brush her off.
Let me say that I have good instinct about people. Everyone in my family tells me this. I read people very easily, which is why I'm good at the type of work I do. Back in February, when my dad's mother was supposed to visit for the very first time and cancelled at the last minute, I knew she would be like this. I knew that whatever crap my dad was saying about her wanting to "spoil" me and my sister was either a flat-out lie she was telling my dad, or my dad was making it up to cover-up for her non-enthusiasm of wanting to meet us. I knew from almost the beginning that she has no interest in meeting us. If she was that eager, it would've happened already. After my dad delivered the news to me this morning, I really had to bite my tongue to keep from saying, "I told you so." Yes, I have good instinct about people. However, for my dad's sake, I wish I was wrong this time.
So now what am I doing for Thanksgiving, you ask? Well, I'm going to cook Thanksgiving dinner for me, my dad and my sister. After dinner we'll probably go see a movie. The next day we'll go shopping to find some "Black Friday" deals. Then over the weekend, I'll probably be driving up to Sacramento with Geoff to visit his extended family. If I play my cards right, I might get Geoff to stop off in San Francisco for a little while to visit my once home.
As of right now, I'm almost over my hurt and anger and I'm starting to feel a little relieved we're not going to Missouri anymore. Hopefully, my dad is feeling the same way.
My dad, sister and I were going to Missouri next week to see and meet my dad's mother. I say "meet" because I've never met this woman my entire life and neither has my sister. My dad had a very harsh relationship with his mom and, when he was 17, left home to live with his aunt (his dad's sister) and soon after joined the Army when he turned 18. From the moment he left home, he never saw or spoke to his mother ever again.
Flash back to when my parents were married and I was about 4 years old...
My mom wrote a letter to my dad's mother, telling her that even though she hasn't seen or spoken to my dad in several years, she wanted her to know that he was married now and that they have a daughter (me). My mom told her that she understands if she doesn't want to communicate with my dad, but that she would like it very much if she would have a familial relationship with me since she was my grandmother. My mom enclosed a picture of me and mailed the letter. About a month later she received a letter back from my dad's mother. She had written my mom a very odd letter, basically saying that my mom didn't understand and that she wasn't in a position to open that door again and didn't really want anything to do with my dad, including me. Along with the letter she wrote to my mom, she returned the picture of me because she didn't want it. My mom didn't tell me this story until I was 15 years old. At that time, I didn't really care. It didn't bother me. As far as I was concerned, I already had a grandma on my dad's side (my grandpa's 3rd wife) and she was the only grandma I'd ever known since I was born. I should note here, however, that my dad isn't close to her or my grandpa either (I know, he has issues). However, I have a very close bond my grandpa. :)
Fast forward to last year, July 2007...
After Geoff and I returned from our trip to Alaska, my mom told me that, after 38 years, my dad finally spoke to his mother. They connected through my dad's half-brother (who hadn't seen my dad since he was 10 years old). I called my dad to find out what happened and I could hear in his voice how excited and happy he was. This made me happy too. He said that she asked about me and wanted to know about my sister. At this point, it hit me. Up until now, she never knew my sister even existed. For some reason, this really pissed me off. I tend to get defensive when somebody insults my sister (despite the fact that I do it all the time), but I felt this was beyond insulting. This triggered a whole bunch of other bitterness that I was shocked I had in me. I was angry for her not knowing about my sister, I was angry that it was my dad who had to call her and not the other way around, and I was angry that she sent my picture back that my mom sent her when I was 4. I kept all this inside of course, not wanting to ruin my dad's happiness and reconciled family.
For several months after, my dad would always update me and my sister on the phone calls he would have with his mother, his sister (who he hasn't seen for about 25 years) and his half-brother. Then, this past January, he tells us that his mother and his sister are coming out to California to visit and to not make any plans the third weekend of February. He goes on to say that he's going to have a limo pick them up from the airport and that we were all going to get dressed up and celebrate by eating at some expensive restaurant in L.A. My sister and I expressed that we would feel a little awkward, but that we would go for him. My dad hasn't had a family-family for many years, and I know how happy this was going to make him. He and my mom divoriced when I was 12 and, since then, my sister and I had been the only family he had.
February rolled around and soon it was the third week. Three days before my dad's mother and sister were to arrive, I get a phone call from my dad telling me that they weren't going to be able to make it out afterall because "other things came up." I could hear the disappointment in my dad's voice and this made me even more angry at his mother (FYI, I don't feel right calling her my "grandmother"). Deep down inside, I knew they weren't going to come. Really, I knew. But what made me angry was how hopeful my dad sounded. My dad isn't one to give anybody benefit of the doubt, including his own children. However, he willingly and freely gave it to his mother when she cancelled her visit. Willingly. I knew that was going to be a mistake.
Two months later, my dad ended up flying out to Missouri to see his family for the first time after 38 years. He asked my sister and I to go with him, but I told him that it would be better to have his moment first and then my sister and I would eventually go after he got his stuff with them out of the way. When he returned from his trip, he was so happy and didn't stop talking about it for three weeks. It was weird to see my dad act so giddy. I'm so used to him being the strict, sometimes pessimistic, military man. Nonetheless, it was a nice change to see in him.
Fast forward to September (two months ago)...
My dad tells my sister and I that he wants the three of us to fly out to Missouri for Thanksgiving. He told us to get the time off because he was buying our tickets in the next couple weeks. I hesitated and my sister argued not to, but we gave in. (A funny side note: my dad initially got mad that we didn't want to go. He said, "What the hell? You know, when your mother wanted you guys to go to Japan to see her relatives, you couldn't wait to go, you were so damn excited." My response was, "You have to be joking. We weren't excited because we were seeing relatives...we were excited because it was JAPAN! I'm sorry we're not peeing our pants over Kansas City, Missouri.")
Every week since then, my dad kept saying that he was going to buy the tickets, but kept putting it off. At one point, I was pretty sure we weren't going at all. My dad has a nasty habit of saying he'll do something and won't follow through with it. Then, about a month ago in October, my dad calls to tell me that he bought the tickets and will give me a copy of the flight itinerary. I was surprised and a little disgruntled. Surprised because he did buy the tickets, but disgruntled because I didn't really feel like going. I was starting to get bitter about the fact that, after more than a year of communicating with my dad, his mother still hadn't tried to contact me or my sister, either by phone, letter or email. Not even a card, and by this time Christmas, my birthday and my sister's birthday had all passed -perfect occasions to send at least a card or some form of communication (let me reiterate that I said "card," not "present" like some people think I mean).
Between the time my dad had first visited back in April, until recently, he would always talk about how his mother is going to be spoiling my sister and I when we visit for Thanksgiving. "She's going to be buying you guys a lot of stuff, just so you know" or "She's probably going to buy a Cadillac Escalade just so she can fit all of us in the same car to go shopping." He'd say odd things like that. It sounded weird to me. I didn't take him seriously and neither did my sister. It just sounded like a bunch of crap. My sister and I felt that -even though we're never ones to turn down a free shopping excursion- if this was her way of making things up to us, she was going about it the wrong way.
Now fast forward to today, this morning...
Every other day, my dad kept going over our plans of what we're going to be doing in Missouri. He also kept asking my sister and I if we were getting excited as the day of our departure neared. And he also kept asking us to recite our flight schedule to him by memory. He did this because he was excited and was looking forward to all of us being together. Come to think of it, this was really going to be the first trip that my dad, sister and I were taking all together. Over the last couple weeks, my sister and I began buying winter clothes, since it's cold there right now, and my sister went out and bought new luggage, since she had none of her own. We were making a mental packing list. Good thing we hadn't actually packed yet...
This morning, I get a call from my dad around 6:30 am. I was still half-asleep, so I didn't answer the phone, but could hear the jingle my phone played when I had a new voicemail. An hour later, I got up, took a shower and got ready for work. I went into my sister's room to ask her something and we ended up talking about our trip next week. She showed me her new travel bag and, after talking a little more about our trip, we were kind of getting a teeny bit excited about going. I went back to my room to dry my hair. After I finished drying it, my sister yelled down the hall for me to come to her room. When I walked in, she had her cell phone pressed to her chest. She said, "Dad's on the phone and wants to talk to you. We're not going to Missouri." I took the phone and listened as my dad said that his mother was "feeling ill" and that she wouldn't be able to come up to his sister's house to be with us for Thanksgiving. You see, we were going to stay at my dad's sister's house in Kansas City. Apparently, my dad's mother (and I didn't know it until that moment) lives a 7-hour car drive away. She was supppose to drive up and stay at his sister's house with us too while we were there. My dad continued on to tell me that he didn't want to be spending the majority of our trip in the car, driving 7 hours back and forth between his mother, his sister and his half-brother's houses. He said that our airline tickets would be good for about a year and that we could try going again in the Spring. I said it was alright, not to worry about it and that we'll go another time. My sister argued that we should still go so that we could pull a "in your face" to my dad's mother. She said that if we went, we would be showing her that we didn't care if we saw her or not. I told my sister I didn't want to waste a plane ticket on feeling spiteful.
After a few minutes, the feeling I was having took me by surprise. Out of all things, I was feeling hurt. At first I thought my feelings were hurt, but that wasn't it. It was that I knew my dad's feelings were hurt and this hurt me and immensely pissed me off. How could this woman do this again? This is the second time now. Saying that she wasn't feeling good was a poor excuse. She somehow knows that she's not going to be feeling good later in the next week too?? Come on. Bottom line: she's uncomfortable meeting us and doesn't really care to. It doesn't matter to me; I could care less. However, she keeps jerking my dad around and, frankly, nobody pulls shit like that on my dad. She has caused nothing but disappointment for my dad, heartache for me, and inconvenience for my sister. My sister had to practically beg the restaurant she works at to give her the time off to fly out there for Thanksgiving. Now, she's missing out on the busiest money-making days and all for absolutely nothing. What's even more pathetic is that I know that my dad's mother won't ever bother to pick up the phone to call us and apologize for our trip not working out. I'm sorry to say that all I know about this woman is that she's selfish.
I'm sure some of you are asking, "Why don't YOU call her, Amy??" My answer is that I've already tried to contact her indirectly through my mom. Sure, I was only 4 at the time, but it was put out there that she had a granddaughter that would love to meet her...but she rejected it. From then, the ball was always in her court. I can't force someone to talk to me who made it perfectly clear that they didn't want to -and, to me, still doesn't want to. What gets me though is my dad's happiness. All he wants is for all of us to be together, in the same place, and do family stuff. But, for some ignorant reason, she won't let it happen. Something about me and my sister, she just doesn't care to know us right now. If it weren't for my dad, I would easily just brush her off.
Let me say that I have good instinct about people. Everyone in my family tells me this. I read people very easily, which is why I'm good at the type of work I do. Back in February, when my dad's mother was supposed to visit for the very first time and cancelled at the last minute, I knew she would be like this. I knew that whatever crap my dad was saying about her wanting to "spoil" me and my sister was either a flat-out lie she was telling my dad, or my dad was making it up to cover-up for her non-enthusiasm of wanting to meet us. I knew from almost the beginning that she has no interest in meeting us. If she was that eager, it would've happened already. After my dad delivered the news to me this morning, I really had to bite my tongue to keep from saying, "I told you so." Yes, I have good instinct about people. However, for my dad's sake, I wish I was wrong this time.
So now what am I doing for Thanksgiving, you ask? Well, I'm going to cook Thanksgiving dinner for me, my dad and my sister. After dinner we'll probably go see a movie. The next day we'll go shopping to find some "Black Friday" deals. Then over the weekend, I'll probably be driving up to Sacramento with Geoff to visit his extended family. If I play my cards right, I might get Geoff to stop off in San Francisco for a little while to visit my once home.
As of right now, I'm almost over my hurt and anger and I'm starting to feel a little relieved we're not going to Missouri anymore. Hopefully, my dad is feeling the same way.
Missouri (aka, "Missery")
I was going to fly to Missouri next week to spend Thanksgiving with my dad's side of the family. My dad, sister and I were to fly out a week from today.
I just found out this morning that we aren't going afterall...and I'm feeling surprisingly hurt as to why we're not going.
I'll tell you more about it later, when I have the time to type it all out. It's kind of a long story.
I just found out this morning that we aren't going afterall...and I'm feeling surprisingly hurt as to why we're not going.
I'll tell you more about it later, when I have the time to type it all out. It's kind of a long story.
November 12, 2008
NyQuil, Anyone??
It started yesterday evening. I was on my way home, sitting in traffic on the 605 freeway, when I suddenly noticed my throat was slightly scratchy when I swallowed. I thought, "Oh crap." Now is not the time for me to be sick. When I got home, I drank some tea and went to bed early to get plenty of rest. At 3:30 am, I woke up to a bad sore throat. That's the worse. When you wake up in the middle of the night, feeling lousy. I managed to get back to sleep and dragged myself out of bed at 7:30 am to go to work -which I shouldn't have done. I couldn't help it though! I had (and still have) so many things I need to take care of before Friday.
When I got to work, I thought I was feeling a little better. I got some things done and then headed out with some of my colleagues to a birthday lunch. I finished off my lunch and was feeling pretty good. Then, while driving back to the office, *wham!* I felt like I ran into a wall. My head was feeling cloudy, nose was runny and face felt hot. When I reached my office, I gathered my stuff, including any work I could do from home, and left early. Once at home, I quickly changed into my jammies, guzzled down some NyQuil and crawled under the blankets, where I was knocked out in 10 minutes. 8 hours later, my endorphins kicked in and woke me up, and now I'm on my blog telling you this boring story.
I don't mind being sick that much, but I HATE having a sore throat. I think it's the worse part of a cold. I'd rather be puking my guts out than have a sore throat, it pisses me off that much (sorry for being graphic). If I just have a slight fever or the sniffles, I like snuggling in bed and having Geoff spoil me (like all girls like their husbands/boyfriends to do). He's the only one that knows exactly what I need to have when I'm sick (my blanket, a certain DVD, crackers and a certain drink).
I look like a poster child for NyQuil. Guess I won't be going to work tomorrow. The beauty of my job is that I can work from home if I need to. Though I'm sad that I'll be missing tomorrow's campus-wide earthquake drill, participating in "The Great Southern California ShakeOut" (click here). Eh, maybe I'll do it at home anyway. Ha ha.
Don't you think being sick brings the baby out of all of us??
When I got to work, I thought I was feeling a little better. I got some things done and then headed out with some of my colleagues to a birthday lunch. I finished off my lunch and was feeling pretty good. Then, while driving back to the office, *wham!* I felt like I ran into a wall. My head was feeling cloudy, nose was runny and face felt hot. When I reached my office, I gathered my stuff, including any work I could do from home, and left early. Once at home, I quickly changed into my jammies, guzzled down some NyQuil and crawled under the blankets, where I was knocked out in 10 minutes. 8 hours later, my endorphins kicked in and woke me up, and now I'm on my blog telling you this boring story.
I don't mind being sick that much, but I HATE having a sore throat. I think it's the worse part of a cold. I'd rather be puking my guts out than have a sore throat, it pisses me off that much (sorry for being graphic). If I just have a slight fever or the sniffles, I like snuggling in bed and having Geoff spoil me (like all girls like their husbands/boyfriends to do). He's the only one that knows exactly what I need to have when I'm sick (my blanket, a certain DVD, crackers and a certain drink).
I look like a poster child for NyQuil. Guess I won't be going to work tomorrow. The beauty of my job is that I can work from home if I need to. Though I'm sad that I'll be missing tomorrow's campus-wide earthquake drill, participating in "The Great Southern California ShakeOut" (click here). Eh, maybe I'll do it at home anyway. Ha ha.
Don't you think being sick brings the baby out of all of us??
November 11, 2008
We Have Contact
I noticed today that my name and contact info are finally on Whittier College's website, under the Advancement staff listing. Woo-hoo! (Click here to see)
Only the Lonely
A friend and former colleague of mine at the Aquarium sent me the pictures below. They have two sea lions in quarantine at the moment, each in their own quarantine kennels and separated by a fence. Everyday, somehow, one of the sea lions manages to escape and find its way into the other sea lion's kennel and no one could figure out how this was happening. A mammalogist would go to fed the sea lions and suddenly find both of them in one kennel, instead of in their own separate kennels. It would always happen when no one was around. So, last week, one of the mammalogists went to hide and spy and monitor the sea lion's activity. This is what she saw...
He hoisted himself up and pulled himself OVER the fence....
He hoisted himself up and pulled himself OVER the fence....
Then jumps in the water...
Then goes to greet and play with his friend.
Turns out, he was just really lonely and wanted to be with his friend, not by himself.
How cute is that?? I must've laughed for 10 minutes straight. He was that desperate to have some company.November 10, 2008
Weekend Update
Friday
Gave my board presentation during the day and received glowing reviews for it. The board chair said he was impressed with me and that I spoke eloquently and gave an excellent presentation. They fully approved of my 6-month plan for the college. However, success doesn't come without its challenges. I just found out this morning that they voted ME to manage the process of conducting an internal feasibility study for the college. I've never done one of those before! Luckily, I'll have my boss's support, but still. It's a compliment, but sheesh! That's some deep work they're asking me to do!
After the board meeting, I left work and headed over to Erin's (Geoff's sister) to have a ladies' night. Woot! Originally, the plan was for a bunch of us girls to possibly head out to Hollywood. But, thanks to our grumbling tummies, we instead went to El Torito at Long Beach Towne Center to stuff our faces, throw back some margaritas and watch Brooke hit on the waiter (shut up, you know you did). Sleepiness ultimately set in almost immediately after. So, following a quick impromptu trip to Walmart (where Erin and I bought the same towlie wrap and became towlie twins), we all went back to Erin's, changed into our jammies, and fell asleep one-by-one.
Saturday
I slept in that morning, woke up and ended up chit-chatting with Cassie and Erin until 12 noon-ish, staying in my jammies the entire time -it was great. Erin cooked us breakfast, we ate and talked some more, then Erick (Erin's husband) came home and we decided to continue our ladies-only party elsewhere by shopping at Target (our 2nd home). We stopped to pick up Geoff's/Erin's mom on the way. When we got to Target, Erin and her mom went to look for table decor for their church holiday brunch table, while Cassie and I browsed the Christmas section. Target always has cute stuff for Christmas, but their stuff is especially cute this year. I already have my eye on what I'm going to spend my next payday on.
After Target, we went back to Erin's and (after venting about my sister for a moment) I left to drive out to Irvine to see Geoff. When I got to his place, his brother Sean was there and they were watching some Japanese anime series (a common activity they do together). I, being half-Japanese, am NOT particularly interested in anime, but have been known to watch it every once in a while. This was one of those times. The series turned out to be pretty cute with a good story line. It had a Harry Potter feel to it with a love-hate relationship thrown in. It was called "Familiar of Zero." If you like anime, I recommend this one. Anyhow...ohmigod, I can't believe I just added a whole paragraph about anime!! I'm such a dork...anyhow, after watching too much TV, we went out to get something to eat and then went to Best Buy, where Geoff surprised me and bought me a computer cooking game to keep me busy and happy while I'm on my dreaded and hated Thanksgiving trip in Missouri (aka, Missery). More on that in the coming days...
Sunday
The next morning, Geoff and I went to the Japanese market in Costa Mesa. We originally went just to buy an ear cleaner to replace the one he lost (and was also obsessed with). We ended up shopping around the whole store and picked up some tasty Japanese snacks and drinks.
We got back to Geoff's, sat around and talked with Brad about a cruise to the Mexican Riviera that the three of us have been talking about going on, along with Brad's kind-of girlfriend. Nothing finalized yet, but looks like late November/early December we might be going on a last-minute trip. We'll see. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Later that day, I helped Brad organize his huge DVD collection. He was very happy I alphabetized his movie library. And with the amount of DVDs he has, that was no easy task. After a quick trip to the sporting goods store with Geoff, I finally headed home.
When I got home, I saw it was very windy in Long Beach. I fed Gidget and then took her for a walk, which she didn't like because it was too windy. Once back inside, I headed to my room to install my new computer cooking game Geoff bought me onto my laptop. While it was installing, I checked my Facebook and email and discovered that one of Geoff's friends (who I've also known since middle school) got married the day before, on Saturday. No one really had any idea (at least Geoff and I didn't). I was shocked and slightly taken aback. If you knew this person and their story, you would be too. I mean, I'm happy for this person, but this impromptu marriage feels a little irrational to me. Maybe I'm too logical of a person. Oh well. Everyone's different, I guess.
After delivering the news to Geoff about his friend and talking about it with him for a little bit, I caught-up on my episodes of "The Office" and "Entourage," and then headed to bed. Like, two minutes later, I fell asleep. One big busy weekend. Zzzzz...
Gave my board presentation during the day and received glowing reviews for it. The board chair said he was impressed with me and that I spoke eloquently and gave an excellent presentation. They fully approved of my 6-month plan for the college. However, success doesn't come without its challenges. I just found out this morning that they voted ME to manage the process of conducting an internal feasibility study for the college. I've never done one of those before! Luckily, I'll have my boss's support, but still. It's a compliment, but sheesh! That's some deep work they're asking me to do!
After the board meeting, I left work and headed over to Erin's (Geoff's sister) to have a ladies' night. Woot! Originally, the plan was for a bunch of us girls to possibly head out to Hollywood. But, thanks to our grumbling tummies, we instead went to El Torito at Long Beach Towne Center to stuff our faces, throw back some margaritas and watch Brooke hit on the waiter (shut up, you know you did). Sleepiness ultimately set in almost immediately after. So, following a quick impromptu trip to Walmart (where Erin and I bought the same towlie wrap and became towlie twins), we all went back to Erin's, changed into our jammies, and fell asleep one-by-one.
Saturday
I slept in that morning, woke up and ended up chit-chatting with Cassie and Erin until 12 noon-ish, staying in my jammies the entire time -it was great. Erin cooked us breakfast, we ate and talked some more, then Erick (Erin's husband) came home and we decided to continue our ladies-only party elsewhere by shopping at Target (our 2nd home). We stopped to pick up Geoff's/Erin's mom on the way. When we got to Target, Erin and her mom went to look for table decor for their church holiday brunch table, while Cassie and I browsed the Christmas section. Target always has cute stuff for Christmas, but their stuff is especially cute this year. I already have my eye on what I'm going to spend my next payday on.
After Target, we went back to Erin's and (after venting about my sister for a moment) I left to drive out to Irvine to see Geoff. When I got to his place, his brother Sean was there and they were watching some Japanese anime series (a common activity they do together). I, being half-Japanese, am NOT particularly interested in anime, but have been known to watch it every once in a while. This was one of those times. The series turned out to be pretty cute with a good story line. It had a Harry Potter feel to it with a love-hate relationship thrown in. It was called "Familiar of Zero." If you like anime, I recommend this one. Anyhow...ohmigod, I can't believe I just added a whole paragraph about anime!! I'm such a dork...anyhow, after watching too much TV, we went out to get something to eat and then went to Best Buy, where Geoff surprised me and bought me a computer cooking game to keep me busy and happy while I'm on my dreaded and hated Thanksgiving trip in Missouri (aka, Missery). More on that in the coming days...
Sunday
The next morning, Geoff and I went to the Japanese market in Costa Mesa. We originally went just to buy an ear cleaner to replace the one he lost (and was also obsessed with). We ended up shopping around the whole store and picked up some tasty Japanese snacks and drinks.
We got back to Geoff's, sat around and talked with Brad about a cruise to the Mexican Riviera that the three of us have been talking about going on, along with Brad's kind-of girlfriend. Nothing finalized yet, but looks like late November/early December we might be going on a last-minute trip. We'll see. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Later that day, I helped Brad organize his huge DVD collection. He was very happy I alphabetized his movie library. And with the amount of DVDs he has, that was no easy task. After a quick trip to the sporting goods store with Geoff, I finally headed home.
When I got home, I saw it was very windy in Long Beach. I fed Gidget and then took her for a walk, which she didn't like because it was too windy. Once back inside, I headed to my room to install my new computer cooking game Geoff bought me onto my laptop. While it was installing, I checked my Facebook and email and discovered that one of Geoff's friends (who I've also known since middle school) got married the day before, on Saturday. No one really had any idea (at least Geoff and I didn't). I was shocked and slightly taken aback. If you knew this person and their story, you would be too. I mean, I'm happy for this person, but this impromptu marriage feels a little irrational to me. Maybe I'm too logical of a person. Oh well. Everyone's different, I guess.
After delivering the news to Geoff about his friend and talking about it with him for a little bit, I caught-up on my episodes of "The Office" and "Entourage," and then headed to bed. Like, two minutes later, I fell asleep. One big busy weekend. Zzzzz...
November 5, 2008
Amy Had a Little Lamb
I found this in a box today while cleaning out my storage unit not too long ago that had my stuff from when I moved back home from San Francisco. I had been looking for it for a while now. This is the very first gift Geoff ever gave me. I was about 14 years old and he was 15 years old. It’s a little lamb that he “won” at Knott’s Berry Farm. We were there with a group of our friends from high school. I say “won” because he didn’t actually play a game to get this. It was one of those things where there’s a guy standing by a big scale, and he either tries to guess your age or your weight. If he guesses right, you get nothing and if he guesses wrong, you get a prize. Know what I’m talking about? Anyway, Geoff asked the guy to guess his weight. The guy guessed 180 lbs…..Geoff was only 135 lbs. So Geoff got to pick a prize. I think the girl he was interested in, or kind of dating at the time was being a total ass to him that night, so he didn’t ask her if there was something she wanted. Instead, Geoff asked me. I looked at all the things they had and this cute little lamb caught my eye. I pointed it out, he told the guy that’s what I wanted, and then he gave it to me. This happened about 14 years ago. I’ve kept this little lamb all this time. I always had it placed either on my bookshelf or my dresser. Even when Geoff and I lost touch for 7 years, I still kept it. In my house in San Francisco, I had it on my dresser. Funny thing is, during the time I lost touch with Geoff, I must’ve had at least 5 garage sales during those 7 years. For at least 2 of those garage sales, I would look at the lamb and wonder if I should give it away. Both occasions, I would pick it up, look at it, and decide not to. It didn’t feel right.What’s sweet is that there’s not many detailed things Geoff remembers about high school (other than the music he played in band and being on the track team). However, when I mentioned this lamb and showed it to him, he recalled exactly what happened. When I asked how he remembered that, but not many other things from high school, he said, “Because. You were my best friend. I didn’t care about anyone else.”
Geoff has been my best friend for 15 years now, from the first day of band camp the summer before my freshman year, up to this very day. Even when we lost touch for 7-8 years, Geoff says he thought of me an awful lot during that time and I was still in his heart. During our friendship, we never even talked about dating. It was just something that we never thought of. When we did begin dating, it wasn’t an easy step to take. However, today, we’re happy we made that decision. I feel lucky that, when we get married and have children, I’ll have fun stories to tell them about me and Geoff, from high school to present day.
Already we have a fun intro to how we met. Geoff likes to tell it. He starts off by saying, “This one time, at band camp…”
Sometime soon, I’ll post a story about how we came to find each other again after 7 years. It’s very sweet. We call it our Classmates.com commercial. Stay tuned…
We Make History
Even though he lost the presidential election, I thought the speech John McCain gave when he conceded was so eloquent last night. When all was said and done, there was no animosity, only unity.
"I wish godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.
Americans never quit. We never surrender.
We never hide from history...we make history."
-John McCain
"I wish godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.
Americans never quit. We never surrender.
We never hide from history...we make history."
-John McCain
November 4, 2008
iVote
I voted today. Voting this time felt quite different than when I voted four years ago. I felt more connected, more involved. As I was casting my vote, I was suddenly overcome by a feeling of patriotism and fondness of our country. I was proud of this election. To have a person of African-American descent running for president on one side AND a woman running for vice-president on another, to have both made it to the top, it almost makes you want to cry. This election is an amazing example of how progressive and forward-thinking our country is. It’s groundbreaking. And I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of that.
Whether you’re black, white, Hispanic, Asian, rich, poor, highly educated, a high school dropout, blue collar, white collar, fat, skinny…on November 4th we are all awarded equally with the same privilege: the right to vote.
Whether you’re black, white, Hispanic, Asian, rich, poor, highly educated, a high school dropout, blue collar, white collar, fat, skinny…on November 4th we are all awarded equally with the same privilege: the right to vote.
Side note: I found it kind of funny that places all over the US were reporting long lines and wait times to vote. I voted around 9:30 am, and I barely had to wait 5 minutes!
Blog It
Since today is a momentous event in history, I thought I would add a small mark in my own personal history: my very first blog.
When I first thought about creating a blog, I was going to make it a travel blog, documenting places I've traveled to. Some friends suggested I should do this to share my travel experiences with others, since I apparently give good detail. I had been doing it on Word documents on my laptop anyway, so why not upload them to a blog and share with friends?
The more I thought about it though, I decided that there were other things I wanted to share about my life too. My dog, my friends, the passion I have for my career, the man I love. These are huge pieces of my life that I don't think I could not talk about. Traveling is just an added bonus that I like to share.
I've read the blogs of my other friends and they're so fun or inspirational to read. I hope my blog will accomplish the same. So enjoy what I have to say about a few things in my life, what I'm doing, where I'm going, who I'm with. It's not my whole life, but you're getting a good glimpse.
When I first thought about creating a blog, I was going to make it a travel blog, documenting places I've traveled to. Some friends suggested I should do this to share my travel experiences with others, since I apparently give good detail. I had been doing it on Word documents on my laptop anyway, so why not upload them to a blog and share with friends?
The more I thought about it though, I decided that there were other things I wanted to share about my life too. My dog, my friends, the passion I have for my career, the man I love. These are huge pieces of my life that I don't think I could not talk about. Traveling is just an added bonus that I like to share.
I've read the blogs of my other friends and they're so fun or inspirational to read. I hope my blog will accomplish the same. So enjoy what I have to say about a few things in my life, what I'm doing, where I'm going, who I'm with. It's not my whole life, but you're getting a good glimpse.
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