Saturday, April 25, 2009

California Dreamin'

Yes folks, I have fallen in love with the state of my birth! Er, my birth state of California, that is... After spending a week with the BFF in Silicon Valley, I realized that maybe I am not just a Seattle girl, but a straight up bonafide West Coaster. I was born in SoCal, actually, but regardless I had a blast in NoCal and am seriously contemplating a geographical change in the next few months. Like, a permanent one people.
Everyone and their grandmother knows that I am not a Texan. I don't pretend to like living here, but I *try* to not be an ass about it. I know a lot of people who LOVE Texas!! Yay them!! It's just not me, so the possibility of the fabulous economy here in the US making job hunting really, uber retarded for me makes a move that much easier. As stupid as this sounds, I have no problem taking a job at a bookstore, a coffee shop, or the aquarium gift shop in California. Here? Not so much. Sadly, it's a pride thing and I admit it. What if someone I haven't seen since my heyday as a big, important (scoff!) manager at my old IT firm comes in to Half Price Books and sees me stocking the shelves? What if that person happens to be Tan Ex-Boyfriend who is doing very well and is also toting his wife and 2.5 children to gawk at me and point whilst I redden in shame? Or what if said person is Cheating Ex-Boss who fired me for an alleged gossip train that I had no part of? Or what if it's... Skanky Ex-BFF who drives nothing less than the latest luxury SUV and wears more diamonds than Beyonce? GASP! Nooooo!!!! The horror!!!!!!!!

So, you see, it's a pride thing. And I am not proud of that. It's also a cultural thing. For some reason, in places other than Dallas, it's okay to be 30 years old, working in a shop, being all single-like, and still be a respectable human being! You're not looked down upon or chastised and it's totally chill! You can even live with some awesome friends free of charge (save some dish washing and garden help) because they are so much teh awesome and genuinely want to help a chick get back on her feet and get the heck out of a place she's been whining about for over 10 years! To quote Liz Lemon: I want to go to there.

And this is there... Enjoy!

There are 12 million different fruit trees in BFF's backyard. Okay, maybe more like a dozen or two, but dude. An orchard nonetheless!!
Also in the backyard... Well, the neighbor's backyard, but same diff.
These are two of the lovely animals I would be sharing a humble abode with... Achoo & Snork (aka Kipper & Polly). Oh, yeah and the BFF and her Hubs as well, of course!Hiking in the mountains (yeah, I said it) in a nutshell:
Dork. Stick.
I climb rocks!
E-Snazz climbs bigger rocks...
Look Ma! I'm in nature and not screaming and flailing!
Overlooking my Kingdom.
Monterey in a nutshell:
Dirty Sea Captain!
Oh, the plight of the lone gull. I'm naming this one Charlie.
Jellies are my favorite. At least when enclosed behind glass.
San Francisco in a nutshell:
Look Ma! I'm taking public transportation! CalTrain rocks!
Bay Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
AlcatrazThis is what a $20 tuna melt looks like...
The sourdough was almost worth it.
Good Friends.

I miss it already...

Friday, November 14, 2008

Carnies, Freaks and Texans. Need I Say More?

These are some shots using my not-as-cool-as-the-Nikon-D40-Casio-Exlim-pocket-rocket from the sticky, icky, fabulous State Fair of Texas 2008.
These people scare me...
Big Tex scares me.
Spot the alien goat. He will eat your face.
Fair food is...gross. Fried Cheese Curds? Seriously?
What, exactly, makes a banana crazy? And how can I get one?
Allie knows how to do fair food. In style. Rock that Corny Dog, Toddler!And what is the fair without sand sculpture. The fair is so weird.
Carousels, however, are amazing...
Goodnight Dallas!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Turning 30 is... Fun!

Okay, I have been slacking on here in a major way. Let's just say I have had other things going on in my life and now I am ready to catch everyone up! Here we go...
I turned the dreaded 30 on August 21st and had a crazy bash at the Nylo (a boutique hotel in Plano) to celebrate!

There were drinks with cousins and friends!

There was pool!

There were egg-shaped swinging chairs!

And Square-O shaped chairs! This place likes chairs...

Even the elusive Taylor came out to celebrate!
A portion of the Original Plano Gangstas... Or something like that.
Crystal is not a Plano Gangsta, but I like this picture, so it stays!

It was a fantastic array of family and friends that made my 30th year a truly joyous event! After the party in our reserved area in the bar...
...we retired to the room upstairs for some amazing(ly silly) photo ops. These are just from my camera. I think there were a total of three snapping away at our ridiculousness in the room...but only the stupidest ones of me & Michelle made it to this page for your enjoyment since we share the type of bond after being BFFs for an insane amount of time! I will leave it to you, dear reader, to caption.
What happened after this was me making my brother take me to the Taco Bell drive-thru for a bean burrito since I hadn't eaten anything all night. Oops! And then I think we watch TV in the room and he bailed as soon as he could. Thanks Tay!
Fin.