Favorite Pastime of the Unemployed

Enjoying coffee at various cafes with friends, especially ones who are also unemployed or have flexible work schedules...

This delicious latte and hot chocolate were from Amandine, a place also with delicious croissants!

Rockin' With the Folks

When my brother asked if it would be worth it to shell out some bucks for the Paul McCartney concert, I told him it was the closest we'd ever come to hearing the Beatles perform live. Of course YES!

Knowing that the Beatles were our parents' favorite band, we decided to treat them to the concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Somehow we all managed to make it there on time, amidst the horrific traffic and congestion at the Bowl entrance itself. (Over a decade of attending events at the Hollywood Bowl, and yet they still haven't figured out a solution to the gridlock in the area?!)

Sir Paul was so spectacular, he needed no opening band. The man played nearly 3 hours straight, with more than half of the songs from the Beatles repertoire. Wheeeee! At 67, he's older than my dad and in better shape than any of us. He either played the guitar or piano for every song he sang. Did I mention the awesome pyrotechnics?

The former hippies were also all out in full arm swaying glory for his 70's Wings stuff. The best part? When my parents asked my brother, "Why does it smell like skunk out here?"
Replied my brother, "That's not skunk. It's marijuana."

A fun family outing indeed.

Belated Farewells To A Home

After eight and a half years at my cozy little apartment, the bf and I moved out together to a place more than twice the size of the old place and all the modern amenities. It all happened quickly and in the end it was easier and harder than I thought it would be to move on. It's been nearly 2 months and as with my new years resolutions and all other plans, I'm finally getting around to saying goodbye and acknowledging how important that place meant to me.

I grew up as an adult there. I learned to truly be by myself - alone on weekends, killing bugs I hated, and more aware for my own safety and well-being. I fell in love there, then got my heart broken. I dated guys I probably shouldn't have and had them stay over just because I could. Though it was small, I hosted all sorts of friends there, from overnight visits on my inflatable aerobed to huge parties of over fifty people crammed into the shared backyard space - back when we were all younger and poorer and no one minded sleeping on the floor atop an inflatable mattress or cramped around a firepit in the backyard for a party.

I switched decades somewhat gracefully there and traversed over a dozen countries, all the while knowing that that little apartment would always be the home base I'd come back to. I wrapped up job #1 and job #2 while living there - the only 2 permanent jobs I ever had since I finished college. I made some wonderful friends during my time there, and lost friends I thought would be around for a lifetime.

I met the bf while living there - my first serious relationship. And man did we have fights there. And tears. And kisses. And happiness and incredulousness when he decided to move in to the tiny abode barely enough for one person and a cat. Then more tears when we found out I had cancer.

I managed to cram a lot of stuff into a place with barely any storage space. I slowly shed most of the hand me down furniture piece by piece as I rearranged and refurnished the place several times. I learned to (somewhat) live within my means and accepted that this old place would never completely feel clean to my mother's or my own standards. As the years went by, I'm not sure when it happened, but I started calling it "home" instead of "the apartment" while my parent's home became "my parent's house" instead of "home." It served me well and I won't forget it. I'll miss the cheap rent and rent control, but I won't miss the lack of AC, washer and dryer, and space!

It's All A Sham

A knock on my bathroom door as I finish brushing my teeth. The bf peeps his head in.

BF: I want some cookies.
Me: Um, ok. You want me to bake you some?
BF: :)

I wander over to the kitchen and whip out the frozen Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough from Costco.

Me: You know, you can bake these yourself too.
BF: ???
Me: They're precut. You just plop them on the cookie tray with parchment paper.
BF: That's it?! And here I thought you baked them from scratch every time! I thought you were slaving over them.
Me: Uh no.... How did you think I was able to bake them so quickly every time?
BF: It was all a lie!

Rocking Your World and Then Some

Has this been the longest I've gone without blogging? I don't remember anymore. I swear to you, brain cells are dying off quickly as I type. There is a good reason for that and let's just say 34 has, well, kinda sucked. So much so that I've decided to devote an entirely new blog to that reason, over here.

I don't plan on completely abandoning this blog, but writing will be a bit sparser for the next half year to year. This blog is still my baby, and I'll update with stories and random thoughts as I see fit. In the meantime, as the new year comes upon us, I'll have to come up with new resolutions! Whoo hoo... I tend to do them around March but maybe this year I'll do them on time.

My latest thoughts as the bf and I have a lovely post Christmas spat over yet another lame reason... we have these crazy neighbors who don't seem to care that there's no sound proofing between our adjoining bathrooms. They have no qualms about cursing at each other horribly and calling each other names when they fight (which is at least once a week or more). I believe there were objects thrown near someone's head once. So much negativity. We often wonder when something bad will really happen. Often times, I want to leave an anonymous note to the she-neighbor and say "You can do better. Leave him." Or sometimes, the bf gets really fed up and just wants to yell "Shut the F UP!!! We can HEAR YOU!"

On the flip side, the bf and I are so paranoid about them hearing us, we're very quiet. Even when arguing. Or at least I think so. At least there's no obscenities hurled at each other. Even so, I wonder if they can hear us. And I wonder if they think the same things, like "why are those people together?!" God I hope not.

Chest Deep in the Mid Thirties

It's my last day of being 33 and I spent more than half of it NOT working. heh heh... Unfortunately I also spent half of 33 being cursed with an undiagnosed illness which hopefully will be diagnosed next week when I'm 34. Huzzah.

I decided to pamper myself with an overpriced pedicure today but already managed to ruin it by stubbing my toe two minutes into shuffling around at home. That's me, Miss Twinkletoes.

The BF is also now unemployed, as today was his last day of work. He's napping soundly right now after weeks of long hours. At least we're going to Disneyland tomorrow! Wheeeee.....

All in all, a pretty quiet birthday eve thus far. I will continue to navel gaze and reflect on 33 and ponder what life has in store for 34 throughout the week!

Driving Encounters

As I drove to yet another doctor's appointment this morning, I was stuck behind this behemoth of a vehicle. This Mercedes Sprinter was the height of two sedans stacked on top of one another, but the length was still about van sized. I kept wondering how it doesn't just tip right over every time it makes a turn. Dumb looking car. It also managed to block my view of everything in front of me, but just short enough to not block out the sun. Grrrr....