Cambodia: just a lil hike, mmkay

At the waterfall at Kbal Spean

From Banteay Srei, we got back in the car and headed to Kbal Spean. Our guide had told us that morning that we would go out of town to some temples, then continue out of town to the lake, for a boat tour of the floating village. On the way from Banteay Srei (temple 1) to Kbal Spean (temple 2), Piseth turns to us (in the backseat) and says "The BF and Charlie: we are heading to Kbal Spean. We will get out of the car and hike up to it. It will take 45 minutes to get there. The hike is very steep. Very strenuous. Ok?"

At this point, we're like "uh....ok?" I mean, we are in the car, halfway there. And we wanted to see this thing, so we werent going to back out. But I'm not entirely sure that was an option. I think he was just telling us this as part of his tour guide spiel, not as a question or even as a warning.

The BF and I at the waterfall. See how we are NOT wearing
hiking gear? Also, we are drenched in sweat.

So we get to the spot, get out of the car, grab some bottles of water and start hiking. We proceed to hike about a mile uphill, gaining about 700 feet in elevation as we do so. Now, a 700 foot elevation gain might not sound like much, but over only a mile, that kind of elevation gain means I'm using my hands and feet to scamper up some rock clumps in more than one spot on the "trail". As a point of comparison, Little Si (outside of Seattle) is an elevation gain of 1200 feet over 2.5 miles. That's about 70% of the incline of this little trail.

Our local, fit guide scampers on up the trail, staying just within eyesight of us, where he stops and waits. Then he continues on while we slowly make our way up. Keep in mind, we were informed of our hike about 10 minutes before commencing on said hike. The BF is wearing sandals (granted, they're Keen all-purpose sporty sandals, not some Rainbow flip-flops, but still) and I'm wearing Sperrys. Boat shoes. Known and desired for their lack of tread on the sole.

We reach the top of the hill in due time, quite sweaty, but otherwise fine and begin taking pictures of the waterfall and carvings in the river bed. Kbal Spean is the location of the "thousand lingas". A linga is a phallic symbol and according to legend, water that passes over a linga is imbued with special powers and holiness. Therefore, in order to have pure, holy water in the village below, the Khmer people carved a thousand lingas into the rocks in the riverbed. And a thousand years later, the carvings are still visible. Pretty impressive.

The riverbed carvings of lingas

The rain pouring through the
thatched roof on the edge of
the guard shack where
we waited out the storm.

Of course, while we were taking pictures of the carvings, it started to rain. Not "spritz a little on and off like Seattle in January" kind of rain; the "dump buckets of water at a time so hard it hurts, like July in Florida" kinda rain. We duck into the nearby trail guard station to get out of the rain, and sat there for a few minutes waiting for it to die down. We chatted with our guide and learned that he had a wife and son and that he wanted his son to grow up and go to college, perhaps even medical school. 

Sitting in the guard shack, waiting for the rain to die down.
My Sperrys have been with me on four continents,
through all kinds of weather. And now, they've been with me
on an impromptu Cambodia hike and rainstorm.
Love these shoes.

When the rain finally slacked up, we started hiking back down to the car. In the rain. On a now slippery steep trail. It took us a while to navigate back down, getting rained on the whole way, and I just kept thinking "Fritha and Conan would love this. But I'm glad I'm not holding Bucca's leash right now. I would totally fall and slide all the way down this muddy mountain."







We finally get back to the car, where our guide is waiting patiently. We plop our wet selves into the backseat and head off to lunch.

Douchebag of the Week

Y'all. I have some friends who are dating DUDES.

I mean....DUDES.

Pie recently went through this with a 20-something-year-old dude who wore low-slung sweatpants with a popped-collar polo shirt and sunglasses on his forehead after dark. In Seattle. Where we dont have sun anyway.

Then there's Queenie. Who's been seeing this dude for 3 months (or so). And when they hang out, they have a great time. He's super fun and sporty and interesting and thinks she's super fun and interesting. They have fun outings or just fun conversations over dinner, etc.

There are just a couple of problems here:
- They've been seeing each other for 3 months and never has the conversation of "are we exclusive?" come up. When you're in college, or immediately thereafter, that may seem normal. But by the time you are a real adult, you are likely not dating just for fun and want to be in a relationship. And if the guy you're seeing is a real adult (NOTE: age is just a number when it comes to this. more on that later.), he'll be in the same situation. Men are pretty simple: they like what they like. If he likes you and wants to be in a relationship with you, he's not going to let much time go by before he tries to lock you down. Let's take Fritha and Conan for example. Four months after they met, they were dating pretty seriously and he's trying to figure out how to drop the L bomb without freaking her out. Even BF and me - once I realized we were dating, it was not long at all (< 3 months) before we were serious. He was dragging me to his work functions, to meet his friends in other cities, to meet his family in another state. (standard disclaimer: every relationship is different and everybody moves at their own pace, blah blah blah so, you know, whatevs)

- The guy, let's call him Tank, doesnt have a "real job" so he has a weird schedule and lots of time on his hands. Therefore he takes lots of last minute side trips to play golf, go to the beach, go to a wedding. Due to this, his schedule is a little wacky and he isnt really into planning things. Which would be fine, except that it bugs Queenie. She has her ess together and likes to plan things. Case in point: July 2, she texts him to ask if he has July 4th plans and invites him to hang out. He tells her he's not sure he's going to be in town. July 4th was a Wednesday this year. Makes impromptu out-of-town trips a little harder. And yet, still, less than 48 hours before fireworks time, he's not sure he's going to be in town. This is either a blow-off or the lame, flaky truth, but either way, ugh.

- But even the flakiness and lack of scheduling could be overlooked....except.....his preferred communication method is texting. Now, as a general rule, I'm not anti-texting. But it is a limited sort of communication vehicle and needs to be balanced with phone calls, emails, post cards, in-person chats, etc. to have real conversations. Apparently Tank does not agree. He pretty much ONLY texts Queenie. Even after she told him that she would like them to add more in-person time in among the texting, he continues to primarily text her. 


So, Queenie decides this is not the kind of relationship she wants to be in and responds to his text by saying "BTW - I'm kinda over all this texting. LMK if you wanna hang out in person sometime."

She is clearly articulating a communication preference to someone with whom she is going on dates. I support this.

The response,via text of course, effectively clenching his spot as DBOTW: "ok".


Queenie is walking away, head held high. 

"Before you see it on Facebook...."

Things our parents never had to deal with: phone calls from friends that begin with "I just needed to tell you something before you saw it on Facebook".

Generally this statement prefaces some big news (engaged, married, pregnant, divorced) and generally I'm grateful for the heads up. I dont mind learning big news about long-lost friends this way, but close friends, I would rather hear from personally. In fact, I have warned friends who I expect to have big news soon, that this news should be conveyed personally. Fritha, Conan, Rosie, Frannie, PattyCake, Pickle - I'm looking at you.

I had two such "before it's on Facebook...." conversations recently: one was a dear friend who was telling me she's engaged (so excited for them!!!) and one was a friend telling me she's expecting twins. (TWINS!!!) And this is very exciting news.

It's just such a sign of the times that these conversations take place. We are all so addicted to the internet (by "we" I mean "me and hopefully y'all too, but I say we so I'm not alone in my psychosis") that it's the source of information gathering, news sharing, meeting, dating, buying, selling, learning, telling.....you get the point. And while it's often very efficient to share news on Facebook, because you can quickly reach a large number of people, there are still some of us who like the phone call.

So any of you about to share big news, make at least a few phone calls before putting it on Facebook. If you call me, I promise to respond with an appropriate amount of emotion and support. Possibly even an overload of emotion and support. I mean, you know how I do.

Piles of Laundry

I just realized I havent purchased laundry detergent in almost 3 years. I bought 2 large things of Gain liquid detergent 3 years ago at the QFC on Rainier Ave S. (it was BOGO with the Q card) and that was the last time I purchased laundry detergent.

I understand how odd that sounds. A) that it's been that long since I bought detergent and b) that I remember the details of my last laundry detergent purchasing experience. But, really, it makes sense when you explain it.

The Tad and my BoyFriend At The Time (BFATT) were roommates who had just moved from Renton to the CD, near Rainier Ave S. and I was helping them unpack and get settled in. (I didnt actually help them MOVE because I was in France on moving day, but I wanted to contribute in some way). I was running errands, picking up stuff for their new place (paper towels, towel racks, cleaning products, etc.) and thought I'd pick up a few things for myself while I was at it. Such as laundry detergent.

So I take the 2 jugs of detergent home. I use them as needed over the next few months. Then I move to a new apartment and take the 2 jugs of detergent with me. I've not purchased laundry detergent the entire time I've been living in my current apartment.

I hate doing laundry. I really do. It's bad enough on its own, but the fact that I have to use a shared laundry room (in my apt building) really makes it worse. So I avoid doing laundry.

Generally underwear is a limiting factor in the length of time one can go without doing laundry. I have overcome this challenge. I have 72 pairs of underwear. Socks are another common limiting factor; I dont really wear socks. My limiting factor is probably sports bras. But if I just don't work out often, I dont have to wash those as often.

Since I frequently head to a friend/neighbor/acquaintance's home to take care of their pets, I use such opportunities to use their laundry facilities. I figure, if I have to schlep my laundry down the hall to the shared laundry room, I might as well schlep it to my car and drive it to a friend's house where I can drink vodka tonics and watch everything in their DVR while my clothes get clean and the cat eats its food. Or whatever. But I don't always schlep my laundry detergent. I wouldnt want to contaminate their machine with my detergent, should my friend have a skin sensitivity. Also, laundry detergent is heavy and a pain to schlep.

Let's recap: I rarely do laundry and when I do, I often do it somewhere else, using someone else's laundry detergent.

But wait! There's more!

I recently discovered that SO many Web sites offer coupons and free samples of their products. Sometimes I troll these sites just to sign up for the free samples. Dove shampoo and conditioner is a good one....so is Tampax....and Tide detergent. I get and use free samples of detergent.

Also, I really do have friends with skin sensitivities, many of whom learn this the hard way after purchasing the wrong kind of detergent (Rosie and KJ). Because I have no such issues, I have inherited a few bottles of detergent from friends.

And then there are the friends who move and don't want to move liquids (like detergent....or tequila for that matter), from whom I've inherited additional bottles of detergent. (Thanks, Conan!)

So......I havent purchased laundry detergent in a few years. And dont see myself purchasing any anytime soon either.

Just "Sittin'" Around

I do a lot of sitting: house sitting, dog sitting, cat sitting, baby sitting, couch sitting, barstool sitting...you know.

I'm pet sitting this week. These people are paying me to stay at their house and play with their pets. Since I'm willing to do it and actually quite good at it, it's a win-win: I get paid to play with pets (which is fun, since I don't have any of my own) and they have the peace of mind of knowing their pets are looked after.

But the whole concept of a pet sitter is a little foreign to me. Growing up, my family had pets (cats: Max, then Oreo) and anytime we were out of town we'd either leave a large amount of food and water for her (overnight/weekend trip) or we'd ask the neighbors to stop by and feed her (longer trip). In return, when they were out of town, we'd return the favor.

Don't people have friendly neighbors anymore? Or do they just have high standards of care for their pets? Or maybe this is only true in Seattle, where people are nicer to dogs than they are to other people? Whatever it is, just because I don't understand the system doesn't mean I haven't learned to operate within it. Kinda like gravity.

For those who've never "sat" for others, here's a brief rundown of the pros and cons:

Pros:
- kegerator
- stocked fridge (sometimes even homemade mac & cheese...thanks Conan!)
- cash ("sitting" money has sent me to France and Peru)
- kegerator
- good tv (bonus channels, DVR, DVD collection)
- stocked bar
- access to washer/dryer that don't require quarters
- unsupervised access to peoples' homes (the Nosy Nellie in me LOVES this)
- kegerator
- sometimes even cars, hot tubs, pools, grills and decks

Cons:
- get clawed in the face by an angry kitty
- cleaned squishy, cold dog poo off the floor (it's way worse when it's cold and squishy than when it's warm and fresh...I promise)
- sleep in a strange bed/couch
- share strange bed/couch with large dogs
- share pillow in strange bed/couch with angry kitty
- share water glass with angry kitty
- consume lots of allergy meds

In general, the pros FAR outweigh the cons. Especially the cash and the kegerator. So I "sit".

Douchebag of the Week

Yes, I know the title of the feature is a misnomer. Get over it.

This "week", the honor goes to CrapBag, an, um, ah...associate*...of Maid Marian.

Maid Marian met CrapBag last fall, when he was moving into her apartment building. He was very cordial and friendly and stopped to chat with her every time he saw her in the parking lot or stairwell.

Not long after he moved in, CrapBag left a note on her door letting her know that he thought she was great and he wanted to take her to dinner sometime. Cool! They continued talking in the parking lot and stairwell and even sometimes by phone!

When Maid Marian and I were hanging out over Thanksgiving, she excitedly told me that she had a nice new neighbor who had asked her out. They had yet to go out, but she was looking forward to getting to know him better. They continued talking through the busy holiday times, and even spent some time together, baking cookies, wrapping gifts, etc.

In the following weeks, Maid Marian and CrapBag invited each other over for dinners, had long chats and even had some kissing time. Maid Marian found that she really enjoyed CrapBag's company and entertained the idea of being in a relationship with him. So they discuss this possibility and CrapBag shares his hesitation in getting into a RELATIONSHIP (cuz, they're like, SO scary and stuff) and Maid Marian agrees that they'll just continue getting to know one another, with no titles or pressure. **Keep in mind, at this point, they still have not been on a real date.**

In mid-May, Maid Marian comes to visit me. She had told CrapBag that she was planning a trip to the Packin-dubs (PacNW...Pacific Northwest...does it work?) but didnt share specifics. Despite the fact that she hadnt heard from him in the week before her trip, her second night here, she received a text message from CrapBag. At 7:53pm. Pacific Time. Which is 10:53pm in CrapBag's time zone. Fritha, Conan, Pie and I witnessed the text and in our expert opinion it was, in fact, a booty call. Clearly.

Over the course of her visit, Maid Marian ignores a total of 5 texts from CrapBag and finally responds to let him know she's out of town. Maybe it was his communication habits, maybe it was the accidental hike, the rain, the cocktails or my fabulous couch but Maid Marian decided she did not want to be in limbo with CrapBag. She either wanted a relationship (ooooh...scary) or a friendship, but she needed some definition.

She returns home, tells CrapBag this, to which he responds, "well,uh...uh...I mean...uh...I thought we didnt want a relationship (ooooh....scary)." Maid Marian says "yeah, well, now I do" and leaves.

Firm in her decision, she ignores his late night texts and begins exploring other dating options. The DAY AFTER she meets another eligible young man, CrapBag calls and says "I mean...maybe we could think about seeing where things could go....and maybe have a...you know...relationship (ooooh....scary)."

Now let's remember that it was in NOVEMBER that CrapBag left the note for Maid Marian suggesting they go to dinner. And in the 8 months since (Yes, 8 months...nearly long enough to grow a full-term baby. Or a Trans Am-worthy mullet.) he has yet to make good on his offer. So, why should she believe he would make good on his offer to "maybe think about seeing where things could go....and maybe have a...you know...relationship (ooooh....scary)."

Douchebag. Maid Marian is moving on.



*due to the fact that CrapBag never took Maid Marian on a real date, he can not be referred to as "boyfriend" or even "some douche she dated" but neither is he her "baby daddy" or "lurver" and is therefore an "associate".

Gathering Dust

I've been partially through several books for a while now. Somehow I just keep finding other things to do besides reading.

But today I FINISHED A BOOK! I was waiting for the bus this morning (which was about 15 minutes late and therefore crowded and slow all the way in to the office) and I opened up the book that was stashed in my bag. And I READ IT!

A few months ago (ok, maybe it was last summer...time goes by so quickly at my age) I was having snacks on the patio at the Red Lion Hotel with Fritha and Conan (and I think Pickle and PattyCake and Traskinator? and maybe some others?) when Conan reminded me of an author I hadnt read in years. We were discussing medical conditions and mitochondrial diseases came up and Conan said "isnt that what the boy in A Wrinkle in Time had?"

I LOVED that book as a kid. In fact, I loved the whole series, particularly the third book, A Swiftly Tilting Planet. Re-read it several times. Upon sharing that with Conan, he informed me that I am a big nerd and that reading sci-fi/fantasy books like that thoroughly stamped my geek card.

Not that I deny my geekdom. Despite having been told "I don't really get the geek vibe from you" I really am a geek and I embrace it. After discussing Madeleine L'Engle's books with Conan and Fritha, I went searching the trilogy to re-re-read it. Unfortunately those books still live at home with mom and dad. After unsuccessfully searching the intertubes for a downloadable version, I gave up.

At Conan's last weekend, I was sitting on the deck, enjoying a nice 7 & 7 and wishing for a nice book to read. Since he didnt have any US Weeklys lying around, I hit the bookshelf, where I found A Swiftly Tilting Planet. Yay! I picked it up and began reading. And enjoyed it just as much this time as all those times before.

AND I can finally mark a book "100%" in my new reading progress chart! Maybe now I'll get around to finishing the other books that are stacked by my bed, on my kitchen counter, desk and coffee table.

Valuable Real Estate

"I'd been sittin' there a while and I forgot. D'you ever forget? Happened to me." - Ron White

I forget stuff. Like giving Rosie a check for football tix four times in a row. And that my license expired and required renewal before I could board the flight I just booked. Or that I need to email TCM. And whether Grandmother's birthday is April 4 or April 6.

But with all the stuff I forget, I manage to remember a shocking amount of crap. Like what I wore to work on May 12, 2008 (a black and white leaf print dress with red peep-toe flats). And all the words to Legally Blonde (seriously...all of them. ask Pickle).

I'm kinda fascinated by which pieces of info permanently lodge themselves in my brain. Why is it that I remember Maid Marian's parents' address but not the last time I watered the plant in my living room?

Most recently, I realized that I remember the coffee order of a former client.

Over the course of last summer, my team put together several events for our clients and through these events, I bought my clients a bit of coffee. Here's what I learned:
The Rouse likes a short americano, with two raw sugar packets
Derby Girl will usually have what I'm having, or a grande nonfat mocha
Montana and Conan also like the grande nonfat mocha

Trivia, for sure and that's all well and good. I also know Baconmeister's beverage (grande iced latte in a venti cup with extra ice and a splash of half and half) and that PattyCake recently switched to a tall skinny vanilla latte (from grande...fewer $$, fewer calories).

But the one that kinda bugs me is this: Ferris was a spokesperson I worked with very briefly last year. He is no longer employed by or affiliated with my client and therefore no longer affiliated with my team or me. And yet...if I ran into him in Starbucks, I'd be not at all surprised to hear him order a venti americano with sugar free vanilla syrup.

Can I please reclaim that space in my brain?

STILL Can't. Focus.

But can breathe. My sinus infection thing is mostly gone, just a bit of a lingering cough. The lack of focus has more to do with my (self-diagnosed) ADD than a stuffy nose or associated medicines.

As usual, my illness struck at the most inopportune time: busy week at work and out-of-town guest. So I had to drug up and power through. Which I did and now I'm fine. Yay.

Despite my stuffy nose and cold meds, Maid Marian and I had a lovely visit. She got in on a Wednesday night and spent the next couple of days exploring the city, hitting the Market, the flagship Nordstrom, other lovely city spots. We ate at such fabulous places as Collins Pub and Pesos, visited the Space Needle (at sunset, ftw!) and loitered about.

Maid Marian got to meet Pie and Fritha and Conan and partake of Conan's delicious kabobs. She also got to meet The Tad, FrankieWayne, PattyCake, Pickle and others (about whom she had heard many stories).

This was all fun, but probably the highlight of the trip was the lovely hike we took...by accident.

Seattle has ferryboats. Ferryboats are cool. We thought it'd be fun to ride one. So we looked up the ferry schedule and prices and figured out where the ferry terminals were and decided that we'd take the ferry to Vashon Island. I'd heard it was fun.

So we purchase passenger fares and walk on to the ferry. We have a lovely ride, see some great views and land on Vashon, where we start walking toward downtown. We walk (at approximately a 6% grade) for 30 minutes or so and come upon the Vashon Island Realty Office, which advertises maps and ferry schedules. We stop in to pick up maps and schedules and the guy says "You girls walkin' to town?" And we say "Yes sir." (we're good Southern girls...of course we said Yes sir).
To which he replied "You thought it was close to the ferry terminal, didn't you?"
Uh...blink blink. "We didnt really know...we're just adventurin'."
"Yeah, town's about 4 more miles from here."
Uh...blink blink.

By this point, we figure we've walked that far, we might as well keep walking. Plus, it was nice weather and we didnt have anything else we had to do. So we kept walking.

We passed 3 houses, a retirement center, a cat store (where you could buy cats, not stuff for cats), lots of trees, some fields and a couple of horses. We're pretty sure the horses were laughing at us. Much like the drivers of the cars who kept passing us.

Something like 55 minutes passes and we walk upon an Episcopal Church that is also a bus stop. I remember someone (JazzHands I think) telling me that town was "a little ways" from the ferry terminal and thinking I should have asked "Whatchu mean 'a little ways'?"

By this point, we are hot, thirsty, in need of "facilities" and just plain over it. We hop the bus back to the ferry terminal and realize that there's this dumpy looking Mexican resturant on the water, so we head in to wait for the ferry. We found a nice little table on the deck, ordered (delicious) nachos and margaritas and spent the next couple of hours reminiscing about our accidental hike.

I really should send her this as a reminder of our outing.

What's the best way to move a couch into a new apt?

Apparently, over the railing, down to the ground, then down the street.

Fritha was moving into a new apartment that is exactly 1.75 blocks from her old apartment. She did most of the moving in a couple of trips in her car and Conan's car, over the course of a couple of days.

The largest, most awkward item that needed to be moved was her couch and it required a little more effort than the other items. When the couch first arrived at Fritha's home, it took 6 adults a few hours to get it into the apartment. Doors were taken off their hinges, light fixtures were removed, there was much screaming and crying and drinking. Ok, maybe there wasnt crying.

To get the couch (Craigslist find, sub-$100) out of the apartment, a repeat of this procedure would NOT be happening. Which left "off the balcony" as the best alternative for getting the couch out of the 2nd floor apartment.

The date was set, the accomplices were invited and the plan was formed. Fritha and Conan bought rope and Simpson and the Vegases and I formed a plan. Debating the merits of end-over-end or "seated position drop" we picked a direction, moved the couch onto the balcony and tied the ropes (one around each end to hold weight, one around the middle for steering). Division of labor: Simpson, Conan and the Vegases slowly lowering the couch, me on the ground steering and taking pictures. Once the couch was lowered, we picked it up and carried it across, the street, one block on the sidewalk, cut through the 7-11 parking lot and into Fritha's new building. We wrestled the couch up the three flights of stairs and into its new home, which is lovely.

It's in a new apartment, but I have no doubt that it will serve as a comfortable resting spot for many people in months to come. People like out of town friends, visiting family members and various others who just like to sleep there for fun (ahem...Pickle and me).

Questionnaire Thingy

Ok, this is a silly little thing I poached from another blog. But it's pretty fun.

***************FOODOLOGY***************
1. What is your salad dressing of choice? Ranch. On salad, on French fries, on chicken fingers, sometimes on pizza…you get the picture.
2. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? Oh so many. Peso’s, Serafina, The Met
3. What food could you eat for 2 weeks straight and not get sick of it? Turkey sandwich…in fact, I think I’ve done this
4. What are your pizza toppings of choice? Mushrooms take the #1 spot, but basically, I like my pizza like I like my men: LOADED!
5. What do you like to put on your toast? Bacon
***************TECHNOLOGY***************
1. How many televisions are in your house? 2. I’m not the original owner of either of them.
2. What colour cell phone do you have? shiny lime-ish green
*****************BIOLOGY******************
1. Are you right-handed or left-handed? Right handed. I tried to train myself to be more left-handed once…it was kinda fun!
2. Have you ever had anything removed from your body? Wisdom teeth, splinters, stray eyebrows
3. What is the last heavy item you lifted? Printers. Lots and lots of printers.
4. Have you ever been knocked unconscious or fainted? Fainted once. Been close to it several times. I have this condition….
************BULLCRAPOLOGY**************
1. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? Yes and no
2. If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Princess Consuela Banana-Hammock
3. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? Heck yeah! I once attempted to eat a spoonful of ground cinnamon for $50. (in case you’re wondering, I couldn’t do it and ended up sneezing up cinnamon for the next 3 days)
************DUMBOLOGY******************
1. How many pairs of flip flops do you own? Not enough!!
2. Last time you had a run-in with the cops? Define run-in? Actually, I don’t remember the last time I even saw a cop, much less had an encounter or a “run-in”
3. Last person you hugged? Fritha?
**************FAVORITOLOGY****************
1. Season? Football
2. Holiday? Christmas
3. Day of the week? Friday
4. Month? September
***********CURRENTOLOGY*****************
1. Missing someone? Yes
2. Mood? Happy
3. What are you listening to? the TV
4. Watching? Ugly Betty
5. Worrying about? my credit card bill
***************RANDOMOLOGY*****************
1. First place you went this morning? the bathroom
2. What’s the last movie you saw? He’s Just Not That Into You...with Pickle and Pie and friends
3. Do you smile often? Actually, yeah
********************QUESTIONS******************
1. Do you always answer your phone? Nope
2. You love…? poofy skirts, warm chocolate chip cookies, the beach and pink champagne
3. If you could change your eye color what would it be? Terminator Blue. Don't freak out, Wafer!
4. What flavour do you add to your drink at Sonic? Cherry…mmmm
5. Do you own a digital camera? Yes. Two actually. I think both of them have dead batteries right now.
6. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night
7. What’s on your wish list for your birthday? Fritha and Conan made my wish list come true: they gave me a pink flask and a Big Fat Llama
8. Can you do push ups? Yes. I’m better at the “girl” kind
9. Does the future make you more nervous or excited? Both
10. Ever been in a car wreck? Yep. I am now the proud owner of some guard rail on I-95 as a result.
11. Do you have an accent? Yes ma’am.
12. What is the last song to make you cry? Dunno, but it was probably country music.
13. Plans tonight? Update my blog
14. Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? Not yet
15. Name 3 things you bought yesterday: phad thai, chicken cashew nut and chopsticks? (all I bought yesterday was lunch)
16. Name 3 things from the bailout: is this like a quiz?
17. Have you ever been given roses? Yes. Some of them were even Killarney roses
18. Current hate right now? Scarlet Johannsen. She’s #1 on my list of celebrities I want to fight.
19. Met someone who changed your life? Yes
20. How did you bring in the New Year? At a wedding! With Rocky & Bullwinkle and Rosie & Sigma and a DJ who had ZERO Michael Jackson music
21. Name three people who might complete this? Meh.
22. What were you doing 12 AM last night? Eating a cupcake! Thanks Frannie!
23. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Crap! I have an 8am conference call!

Old, Older, Oldest

Last week was my birthday. I turned another year older.

I loved my birthday this year. It was on Friday the 13th (which is awesome) and I got to go to work! (I love going to work on my birthday...everyone has to be nice to me!)

PattyCake wrangled a fun crew (Pickle and G-Funk and Shanks) for a birthday lunch, because she said "no one should have to eat Lean Cuisine on her birthday." We headed to Collins Pub, where my steak sandwich was fantastic, both glasses of wine were delicious and the waitress brought us a birthday dessert.

Back at the office, my Big Purple Cup was returned to me, I was toasted at our "staff meeting" and after a couple glasses of wine, PattyCake and I headed out. We got on a bus to go to my birthday party, missed our stop but managed to find our way home from wherever we got off the bus.

After changing into a Sparkly Sweater Dress, I headed to the Nabob, where Rosie, Frannie, Bullwinkle, Fritha, Conan and Pie were all waiting with gifts. I got a tape measure, a flask, a Big Fat Llama and cupcakes. Yay!

Over the course of the evening, we had a great time just mingling with each other and the other fantastic friends who joined us: Jazz Hands, Sigma, Traskinator, FrankieWayne, Pickle and Skater among others.

And since we're not spring chickens anymore, we headed home around 11:30pm and got a good night's sleep.

2009 birthday cupcake count: 9 (major improvement over 2008)

All in all, an EXCELLENT birthday.

Air Freshener for My Life

I've kinda been in a funk lately. Just a general discontentment. Multiple factors contributed to this malaise: general post-holiday blues, I still think about a guy who's no longer in my life, I'm broke, my clothes are lame, first Christmas without my aunt, I'm broke, anniversary of my brother's death, a rug that won't stay clean, weird stuff at work and a couple of other things.

The funk has been manifesting in weird ways. Like not grocery shopping and eating stupid meals (seriously...Cheetos dipped in queso?). And sleeping on the loveseat. And crying at work. And panic attacks. And bad hair.

But the funk stops here.

A few days ago, I started pinpointing some of sources of the funk and doing what I can to fix it. I talked to some people at work to help deal with the weird stuff and that's getting much better (no more crying at my desk! yay!). I went to the grocery store and bought normal stuff like lettuce and bread and milk (and wine and lean cuisine, of course). I bought a vacuum to help keep the rug clean.

And now, to really get rid of the funk, I think I need to mix things up. So I'm training for a 5K and doing online dating. Yes, I said online dating.

When I mentioned this to some friends, Fritha's boyfriend (Conan), suggested I sign up for multiple dating sites and chronicle my experiences. You know, like on a blog or something. (can you guess what's coming next??)

So I've signed up for online dating. On multiple sites. Stories soon to come. Maybe I'll get a book deal out of this some day. Or MAYBE I'll meet a nice guy who's not a pansy. It's a win-win.