29 January 2009

Last, uh..No

I love Jeff Buckley's song "Last Goodbye." It was an anthem of mine a week or so ago.

So, sorry Scarlett...I can't get behind this.

28 January 2009

Wednesday Answers

Nothing like a little procrastination. This time, courtesy of My Digital Ghost...

Listen: What was the last concert you went to, and what was your experience like?

Gosh, I can't even remember...I assume it was some sort of cover band because I don't know that I have seen live music in a while. How sad is that? I assume, though, that my experience was getting pushed around, getting tired of standing, and eventually leaning up against something for support.

Watch: Is there a movie that inspires you? If so, which one?

I wouldn't exactly say it was inspiring in a good way, but Revolutionary Road really made me think about life, what I would love in a relationship, and, importantly, what I could not tolerate in one. It made me evaluate dreams and support and what that all means. And it made me really think twice about my life at that moment.

Read: What was the last time you read a book and saw the film adaptation afterwards? What was your reaction?

I think it was The Other Boleyn Girl. I could not put the book down...it wasn't a fine piece of literature, but it was a good, descriptive book that really kept me, as the reader, involved and interested. The movie, on the other hand...was TERRIBLE. I almost turned it off. And, it takes A LOT for me to stop watching something. 1. I was transfixed by the horrible teeth they had Natalie Portman wear, and 2. The picked the worst parts of the book to adapt, so it made no sense. Also, Henry VIII was known to have the Tudor reddish hair. Not be dark like Eric Bana. This also bothered me.

26 January 2009

The Lust to Wander



So, I've got it bad. It has been over six months since I have been on a plane, and at least three months since I have gone more than 1.5 hours away from my home.

I've got wanderlust, and it is reaching a critical point.

I figure I will take about a week in May/June. I would like to take more, but work (and this is assuming I still have a job at that point) is down quite a few people and I don't want to push it and leave for much longer than that. I am not usually the person to worry about this, but you make do with what you have and that's what I can do.

That said...where should I go? I am looking for some help here. Part of me is yearning to go back to Spain (maybe start in Madrid, head up to Salamanca then back). Then I think, what about Amsterdam? Or maybe Italy. Or...Costa Rica...I really want to go to Cuba but would rather not go alone, and there is a good chance I will be traveling solo again (unless someone wants to meet me somewhere?!). Belize? Peru? Spain?

Help me out, pretty please!

25 January 2009

Sunday Answers

This one from Sunday Stealing...

1. If you could say anything you wanted to say to George Bush, what would you say?
Goodbye.

2. If you had to be the mother of Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan, who would you choose and why?
Probably not either, but I think Brit-Brit...I think she just wants someone to notice here and is crying for help, whereas Lohan is a total egoist.

3. You get to be Queen for a day. The kids are all taken care of, and you can spend as much money as you want. What do you do all day?
I think I would go to the gym and hire a trainer for a day, to walk me through all sorts of exercises I could do from the next day forward. Ditto a personal chef. Then I would probably go buy a baseball team so I could manage them, thus ensuring an income for some time after my Queendom is over. And maybe I would treat Luca to a groomer...but he may hate that.

4. Is there a song that brings tears to your eyes every time you hear it? If so, which one?
The Luckiest by Ben Folds. That song makes me cry like a baby. "Now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles and falls, have brought me here..."

5. A fairy taps you on the shoulder and tells you that you can either have a perfect face or a perfect body for the rest of your life. Which do you choose?
I would wonder what that means, exactly. What is a perfect face? Would the perfect body be the perfect body for me/my type, or would I look unhealthy? Neither seem like a good option.

6. If you could live any place in the world and money was no object, where would you live and why?
I don't think money should stop any of us from moving where we want to be. I see myself living back in Spain someday. Timing just has to be right.

7. What is your biggest regret in life?
This sounds trite, but I try not to have regrets...especially given some things that happened this last summer, I try to be a doer, and not look back and wonder why I didn't do something. That said...I wish I would have stayed in college a little longer, and stayed in Sevilla a little longer, too. But, had I stayed in school longer, I wouldn't have had the same experience I had in Sevilla, and had I stayed in Sevilla longer, I wouldn't have had some fantastic travel experiences. So, it all works out in the end, methinks.

8. If you could go back and visit one person in your life who is now dead, and ask one question, what would that question be and why would you ask it?
Often times I wish I would have asked my grammie for her green bean recipe. More and more lately I have been craving those. But, in general, I just would have asked all my now-passed grandparents many more questions.

9. If you had the choice to age forward (like we are now) or aging backwards (think Benjamin Buttons) which would you choose and why?
Forward. I don't really have much of a desire to go back to my youth. It was a terribly awkward, and just generally not so great, time.

10. What will the epitaph on your headstone say?
I like a quote by Michael Landon, "Remember me with smiles and laughter, for that is how I will remember you." But, realistically, I am not the most smiley/laughy person, I am much more serious and "dark & twisty." So I would just like it to read, "Loving daughter, wife, mother, and friend." Hopefully all of that will be true by the end of my time.

22 January 2009

Getting Older

This is one way I know I am getting older...

I was at the supermarket (no, that's not it...I have been grocery shopping since forever), and in line, paying for my groceries. The bagger comes up, is very helpful and polite, and leaves an overall good impression.

That impression? "Wow, what a nice young man."

Yes, I said it to myself. Yes, I am apparently old enough to call someone a nice young man.

Gah.

20 January 2009

Today is the Day


In just a few hours, the moment we've been waiting for (some of us, for 8 years) will be here. No more Bush presidency, no more bringing the country back to the 1950s with fear and intimidation. Whoo-hoo.

I am not naive, however. President Elect Barack Obama (PEBO) has a rough road ahead of him. The economy is in shambles. We are continuing an unjust conflict, bleeding money every day that could go to improve our economy/roads/schools/healthcare/etc. It is going to take a lot to fix this. I am not sure that it is going to happen in the immediate future, but...

...I think this will give the country some hope. Our current president has been almost radio silent over the past few months. Senioritis set in early for him, it seems, and he just didn't give a crap anymore. It is his legacy that will continue to be tarnished for leaving such a mess, and his supporters that are taking a large brunt of this downturn, but he doesn't care. I don't blame it squarely on just Bush's shoulders, there was a whole adminsitration that seemingly didn't care about the consequences of their actions. PEBO has been vocal since the day after his election. He is trying to become the leader that we need. We'll see if that happens.

Hopefully it will. Hopefully things will turn around before too long. Hope, hope. Audacious to even think, but yet, we all still feel it.

19 January 2009

All Inked Up


So...after at least 15 years of talking about it (yes, it was really that long...at the minimum), I finally did it. I made a decision, and got a tattoo.

Every year around Christmas time, I get a bug in my bonnet, so to speak, about figuring out what I want and getting it put on my body. It wasn't fear that held me back...rather, a total lack of decision-making mechanisms. I had gone into a ton of shops here in SF, one year with my cousin in tow, to find an artist and perhaps some inspiration. Each time, I came out empty handed.

This year, I was in a funk and needed to make some changes. I made a decision on what I wanted -- a climbing, flowering vine on my foot, originally with a hummingbird -- and went to talk to a few artists.

I got the total crazy eyes from one place; largely, I think, because I don't necessarily look the tattoo part. Which, let me just say...the hairy eyeballs I encountered over the years when I walked into shops shows a judgmental side that I don't really like. You never know what a person is really like, or into, until you talk to them. How did these folks know I didn't have ink all over my body, beneath my clothes? Just because my hair isn't in the Betty Page hipster style, and I don't wear skinny jeans and ill-fitting tops from second hand stores, does not mean anything. I get so tired of the judgmental people here in SF (and this sounds like I am judging, but really, I don't care what you look like, just how you treat me and others...my friends run the gamut of looks/styles).

Anyhoodle, I didn't feel comfortable in any of the shops, so I continued my search. I found out about this shop in kind of a random neighborhood (for a tattoo shop). I walked in, and immediately the front desk guy came up, talked to me, didn't give me a weird look, answered all my questions...basically didn't make me feel like the idiot every other shop had. I actually made an appointment for the next day, and put a deposit down...there was no turning back now!

I was completely nervous about the pain. When I went in, the artist repeatedly told me it was going to hurt, I would flinch...just warning me (especially since this was my first one!). He drew up the beautiful drawing you see in the pick, and got to work. And, I have to say...didn't really hurt. Hardly at all. It is on top of my foot, where there is no fat, and it just was a minor annoyance. It has been three weeks now, and the whole process has been too easy, I swear. Not much pain, and after, it just felt like a sunburn...and since then, no scabbing, no nothing. Whoo-hoo.

And...I love it. LOVE IT. It is surprising, kind of peeks out from my shoes, and is a little unexpected. It looks awesome in my shoes, and is exactly what I wanted (dainty, girly, pretty...I think my artist thought I was a looney toon). Of course, I immediately started planning my next one, which will also be beautiful. But...so many people seem to get their firsts on their backs or hips, which is great, but I love that mine is in a place where I can admire it regularly, which I do.

16 January 2009

I Get it Already


It is often a rude awakening, realizing what you thought was something good is really not that at all. That the person you have thought about, and possibly invested time in, hasn't reciprocated really at all. I think often times, deep down, we know, but you never want to give up the hope that perhaps something will change. But then reality hits. And it really sucks.

Do we really need a movie about this? The book, I believe, was popularized by Sex and the City. The movie, which somehow has a pretty great cast, has been running its promo incessantly... we must have seen it 15 times during the part of the Golden Globes I watched, and today, it has been on almost every other commercial break...all day (am home, not feeling so well).

I hate these books that generalize everything, saying people fit into these neat packages and every situation is the same. Of course, none of us want to think our situation is like anyone else's, and of course, often times it is no different than what everyone else is going through...but still.

The movie promos also make women look like simpering tools...in the age of cell phones does anyone sit by their pink rotary waiting for someone to call?

I do like the one line by Drew Barrymore about being rejected by 7 different technologies...that is true. We are so accessible...the phone, text messaging, Facebook, IMing, email, MySpace maybe...and the old excuses don't work. And it hurts a little more when you don't get an email/text/IM/etc., because it is so easy to do any of those things. This line won't make me go see the movie, but it did make me think.

So he's just not that into me. I get it already, you can get out of my head now, thankyouverymuch.

Friday Answers

Back to the once in a while memes...this one is from ilaxSTUDIO...

Is it harder for you to eat healthy or get exercise?

It is much harder for me to eat healthy. I like eating healthy, but cooking for one person is tough when all the recipes I have are for 4+ servings. I don't like eating leftovers for days on end. So it is easier to grab something at lunch (which I try to make healthy), then cook something random for dinner. It's not that it's necessarily unhealthy, but they often aren't the best rounded meals.

Exercise, on the other hand, is a little easier. I can throw on my tennis shoes and put a leash on the dog, and take a jog or walk. I can pop in a DVD and do my little workouts here at home. I can run to the gym and do a quick workout. I like exercise, I like feeling like I have accomplished a little more, physically, then others:-).

I do try to balance things...but for me, exercise is a little easier.

12 January 2009

One Week

In just 7 quick days, the end to my long national nightmare will be over, and there will no longer be a Bush in the White House.

Yippee!!

It seems like it wasn't that long ago that we were fighting the lost cause of Gore's win. Or that I was threatening to stay in Canada when G-Dubs was inexplicably re-elected. But looking back over the course of these 8 years, it is hard to believe that so much could go wrong, and so little could go right.

An attack. A war declared. A war declared over. An ongoing conflict reminiscent of the one in the not so distant past. Lies. Wiretapping. A nation held in fear. A nation of overspenders, living a life we can't afford, the example being set by our overspending government (this one goes out to all elected officials, who cannot seem to control themselves).

What will the legacy of these past 8 years be? I can't imagine ever looking back fondly on the first 8 years of the aughts.

And while our new leaders are inheriting a world of mess, I am hoping overall confidence starts to increase. I don't think things will change overnight, and I don't think everything will be better once the new administration comes to power. I already disagree with some of the policies they are pushing (cut taxes? Are you kidding? Cut all you want...people aren't gonna spend money unless they know they'll have an income), but I feel like, so far, there are no huge power trippers a la our current (for 7 more days!) VP.

So bring it on. Couldn't be any worse, right?

**housekeeping**
On a totally separate note, I have this cool new tool that let's me see where you, dear reader, are. Leave me a note, let me know how, and who, you are!

06 January 2009

My Dog, the Brat

It is hard to believe that this cute little pooch could be anything but a sweetheart, I know. But it's the truth.

After almost two years, this was the first time I had left Luca with someone new. Usually, he goes to my parent's house and stays with them, or with the pet sitter they had (who moved away at the end of the summer). I had left him with a neighbor two summers ago, but that didn't go so well. But I had places to be this weekend, and the Luca couldn't come along this time.

My friend C offered to watch the pooch. I took him over to her house on New Year's day, and we hung out there watching movies, hanging out, and letting him get a feel for the place. He seemed to be fine and very comfortable, so we told him he'd be back there a few days later to spend a fun day with C.

No problem, right?

I wish! I arrived with the dog in the morning and quickly left. Apparently, he sat at the door crying. He was fine when C would sit and hold him, or play with him, but the minute she got up, he would run to her front door, cry, and jump up and try to hit the handle to open it. This couldn't continue all day, so C was nice enough to come to my house and spend the day/night here.

She thought it would all be good at that point. He was the king of his domain, and was much more comfortable here. So comfortable, in fact, that sometime during the night, he decided to leave C a nice treat for her to find in the morning. So nice, this dog.

When I got home, Luca cried and cried and followed me all over. He then sat on my lap throughout the rest of the day, and if I moved, he was sure to be with me. You would think I had left him for some extended period of time, not just 24 hours! I don't know what to do about this... I can't have a bratty dog for the sitters!

04 January 2009

Secret Life

I get sucked into all sorts of TV marathons...usually crappy reality shows like The Real Housewives of [name the place], or True Life on MTV, or...really, anything.

Today was one of those lazy Sundays; once I got home from my quick out-of-town sojourn, I plopped on the couch and went through the Tivo guide. I landed on "The Secret Life of the American Teenager."

Unlike most of the marathons I watch, this one is really good.

It starts in a somewhat typical way...good girl teenager has sex for the first time, and gets knocked up (because if we have learned anything from TV, good girls always get pregnant after the first time they have sex). Molly Ringwald, who of course was stellar in her day as a pregnant teen in For Keeps? (with Randall Batinkoff, swoon), plays the mom, and her reaction to her daughter being preggars seemed so spot on for that situation.

Being TV, there are of course some exaggerated moments. But they seem to play this really well... angry siblings, stressed parents, rumors around school, friends freaking out. Thankfully, I don't have first hand experience with this, but I imagine it isn't too too far off base.

I will say...watching this show is 1. good birth control. So much to worry about with kids (especially girls! The boy is getting off easy here, no pun intended); 2. making me consider should I have kids, getting them chastity belts (boys and girls); 3. a good warning to keep your children locked up for a very, very long time. Home schooling never looked so good!

01 January 2009

Happy New Year

Welcome to 2009.

May it bring a stronger economy, job security, a more peaceful earth, and a hopeful tomorrow.

A fresh start is always good, and I hope we all get it where we need it.

Happy New Year.

May it be better than the last.