Hi people from my past. I just wanted to say thanks for actually writing stuff on LJ. It's good to hear from you. I enjoy the multi paragraph descriptions of the things happening in your life so much more than the word bites on fb.
(x) Shot a gun ( ) Gone on a blind date (x) Skipped school (x) Visited Canada (x) Visited Hawaii. () Visited Cuba (x) Visited Europe () Visited South America - (x) Visited Las Vegas. () Visited Central America (x) Visited Asia (x) Visited Florida (x) Visited Mexico (x) Visited Washington, DC (x) Seen the Grand Canyon (x) Flown on a plane (x) Served on a jury (x) Been lost & found my way out (x) Traveled to the opposite side of the country (x) Swam in the ocean (x) Cried yourself to sleep (x) Camping in a trailer/RV or tent. ( ) Ridden on an elephant (x) Ridden on a camel (x) Eaten just cookies or cake for dinner/breakfast ( ) Eaten a raw oyster (x) Been on TV ( ) Been on Radio ( ) Stolen any traffic signs (x) Been in a car accident. (x) Been a patient in the hospital () Donated blood (x) Gotten a speeding or any other type of ticket (x) Gotten a piercing (ears or other body parts) (x) Gotten a tattoo (x) Driven a four-door car ( ) Ever owned your dream car (x) Been married (x)Been divorced (x) Fell in love (x) Fell out of love ( ) Flew in Goodyear blimp ( ) Flew in hot air balloon () Flew in helicopter () Rode on a snowmobile (x) Gone para sailing ( ) Jumped out of a plane ( ) Rode a Segway (x) Rode on a motorcycle (x) Rode a bicycle (x) Roller skated and ice skated (x) Water Skied (x) Eaten raw octopus or other raw seafood (x) Fished and hunted for food (x) Played amateur sports ( ) Coached a school's male soccer team ( ) Been a member of a sorority or a fraternity (?) () Editor and volunteer on a World Wide Web Site ( ) Mother, grandmother ( ) Father, grandfather (x) Relative of or married to a Veteran
The issue with the landlady is worked out. I wrote a nice email,and she wrote a nice one back. It was the contractor who was being pushy, by stopping by unannounced. Unfortunately the landlady doesn't communicate super clearly, so I mistook it for a demand when it wasn't. Sadly, it ruined part of my vacation in SF. : (
My landlord is normally very nice, but twice now, she's sent me an email saying her contractor needs to get into the back yard, can I unlock the side gate? A. Is he there NOW? Because on weekends, I don't exactly check my email every 5 seconds. B) I was out of town. Both times! C) where the hell is my 24 hour notice? And D) to state the obvious, why would you assume I'm home and checking my email. Also E), you should install a doorbell, because if I'm anywhere other than the living room, I can't hear people knock. Then there was the time (before we put the lock on the gate) that her contractors just walked into the back yard without any warning, past the window of the bedroom where I was getting dressed (which is why we installed the lock). And the other time her husband and a contractor came over when we were home and tried to get into the back yard (not realizing we locked the gate) without alerting us they were going to do that. I don't know what my landlord's husband looks like. They're lucky I didn't call the police when I saw them try to get into the gate. What the hell are these people thinking? My landlord is a nice lady, I just don't think she realizes what an invasion of privacy this is. I need to compose a nicely worded letter to set her straight.
So the plan to economize isn't going that well. I keep finding events I need to attend, and they sometimes include hotel, airfare and rental cars. And then there's the snow boarding. We're suddenly going snow boarding. This came about because I went to a FREE yoga class at a sports store. That was being economical, right? But the sports store rents skis, and we were reminded that you can easily get an inclusive ski package from here to Lake Tahoe. Oh, and somehow I seem to have purchased a mountain bike. It was LT's bday last Monday. I had been looking here and there for bikes to replace the one he had stolen. I put in the lowest starting bid on a bike on Ebay, and just found out that I won it! The price was low, but the shipping was high. I hope it's a good bike. Cuz I bought it.
On the flip side, I cancelled my plans for a luxurious spa treatment in SF this weekend. That will offset the cost of the bike (but not the shipping). And I guess I will not attend the Lebowski fest in LA. :(
I guess I mentioned that I had that plan elsewhere. But here I am with my plan. I'm going to get some stuff taken care of this year. I'm taking some tests to get some certificates that will look good on my resume. And I hope to pay down a little debt. (That's not going that well so far), and I'm working out more, watching my calories, etc.
It's half way through the first month. Seems like half a year since I started all this extra stuff. I've already gone through three containers of dental floss in my effort to have a great checkup at my next dentist visit.
LT gave me a book on Haute Couture sewing for xmas. It's fascinating reading. I never knew what ridiculous amounts of hand sewing went into Haute Couture fashion. And I'm not talking about Armani or Ralph Lauren (that's Pret a Porter). I'd have to quit my job if I wanted to make anything with that level of work. They literally finish every edge and even the clips on the seams. Here's a picture from the book to show what I'm talking about. It's not that easy to make out. I have been doing a lot more hand sewing, but never on visible seams. I'll probably give it a try with the new things I've learned. I've even learned a lot about ironing seams. I always iron my seams (so so so many people don't), but now I've learned how to iron them correctly.
The book is called Couture Sewing Techniques by Claire Shaeffer.
We just got back from a weekend in San Francisco. The purpose of the visit was a costume tea at the Palace hotel. I didn't want to take the train up there IN COSTUME, or go home IN COSTUME, because we had to WALK 1.5 miles to and from the train station in San Jose. The train station doesn't allow over night parking, and I'm too cheap to take a cab. Plus, I wanted extra time in SF, So we went up the night before and came home the day after. We got a good rate at The Palace Hotel. It was super convenient. But I felt like I spent the entire weekend in Union Square. We somehow got into the shopping frenzy that was taking place. I've never seen so many people in Union Square, and I've stayed in that part of town every single time I've been there, but one. That's like 30 times. Never have there been so many people! Anyway, I found myself sucked into H&M on the way to dinner Friday night, and left with 3 dresses. I wanted to look for more. I don't often get the shopping urge, and even rarer, do I have success. But it was getting pretty late and we needed to eat. We ate at a Mexican Restaurant on Powell that I've tried twice before. I always found it OK..., but this time was less than stellar. The service was a bit off, and the guac was SANS seasoning of any kind. It was like mushed up avocado and nothing else. Trip Advisor will hear about this! They will also hear about the fact that there was a MAN in our room when we checked into the otherwise pretty great hotel. Who knows why he was changing the pillow cases at 8:00 at night... But I digress. We went back to H&M first thing Saturday. I was sure I would leave with bulging bags of possessions, but the mojo was gone. After the shopping, I needed to start getting ready for my costume tea. LT wandered off to sell some goggles at the Steampunk store in the Haight, and I managed to do my own hair do.
The tea was lovely, and had a huge turnout! The tea room at The Palace is so amazing. Here are some pictures. ( Collapse )
LT got back from from his journey by the end of the tea and was able to take a picture of my HAIR for me. ( Collapse ) Later we walked for miles looking for dinner, and ended up at a bistro called Annabelles. I liked it very much. I liked the atmosphere, the food and the waiter, who looked like a goth boy, but was probably not. I over indulged at the restaurant and had not only one glass of wine (which was very tiny), but TWO. The second was larger. I was all drunk, being such a lightweight, non drinker and such, and I guess this is why I'm writing this giant post. It's to tell you that I'm such a lightweight that I STILL have a massive headache. I had some cigarettes, too much wine, and I'm now in a state of remorse and repentance.
Despite the hangover this morning, we marched out into the world so I could see something other than Union Square on this trip. (Although I do love Union Square at XMAS!)( Collapse ) We went to GG Park for a bit. But I had to leave fairly quickly because I had scheduled a detoxing Thai Massage. That was lovely. I've been to this place before (After the Bay to Breakers race). I snuck a few pictures for yelp while I was there this time. I want my house to look like this! ( Collapse ) I was hoping I'd be headache free and feel like a new person after that, but sadly, I didn't. :( After that, we spent a tad bit more time in the park, ( Collapse ) and then headed back to the hotel with one very out of the way stop at Mikes Bikes. We grabbed the first food of the day since breakfast at Subway and caught the 6:30 pm train back to San Jose.
And there you have our weekend. It was fun, but not long enough. Hangovers and soar throats from smoking have taught me that I should take better care of myself. Getting out of breath walking up hills has taught me to work out more. Seeing myself in the fitting room mirror has taught me to stick to my diet better.
I waver between wanting to "LIVE" (you know, having a fricken glass of wine now and then) or wanting to feel good. I waver between wanting to enjoy food or look better in clothing. We'll see what the new year brings. We shall see.
The weekend was spent sewing and watching the entire series of 30 Rock on Netflix. There is still much sewing to do. Some windows still don't have curtains, and those Halloween costumes aren't going to make themselves.
I haven't gone for a nice long bike ride in two weeks!!!
PS, watching 30 Rock reinforced my need to move back to NY. But I just signed my one year lease here, so I have lots of time to plan it.
We're moving about 1.5 miles away into a single family rental house tomorrow. Yay!
As I'm packing, I'm wondering why in the world I've been dragging so much stuff I never use around from apartment to apartment, state to state. I have 50 pounds in piano music. But don't have a piano or keyboard*. I have 3 large boxes of receipts because the gov't says you should keep them. I have a new set of silverware I've never even taken out of the box. I have a beaded top that's 25 years old, and I've never taken the tag off of it.
Well, luckily, the new house is pretty spacious so I can hold on to that supposedly important crap.
*I found a couple FREE antique pianos on craigslist. Maybe one of them will write back to me.
