Lunch at CIMBA

Just wanted to give you all a quick look at what our lunchtime looks like. Tommaso took this picture one day during a break from class. I realized after looking at it, that someone from the outside might think that this looks complicated or bizarre. I don't know how we do it, but we manage to make it work. (And FYI: The hand on the right holding the cutting board is mine.)

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

Tonight, after dining out with Tommy, I came back to school and joined Lisa on the couch in the common room. We were watching a movie for awhile when in walked Tommaso. I looked up and asked him jokingly, "Did you bring me dessert?" He smiled, put down his bag and pulled out a bag which, as he handed it to me, caused me to say, "OH MY GOD. DID YOU BRING ME DESSERT?!" He had. Good Italian.

(It was a nutella filled pastry, by the way. Very yummy.)

Sunshine

Today I went out to lunch with a friend and realized, when he asked how I was doing, that I am really happy. This is a nice change, because the first few weeks back after winter break were a little rough for me. Everyone was driving me crazy, school was hard, it seemed like nothing we (as a team) were doing was right, and it felt like this was never going to end.

That has since changed. I don't know if it's because the sun is out, (it hasn't been out for basically a month straight) but either way, I am thrilled to be here. School is going really well. Our consulting project is going *fairly* well. The sun is out. I'm working out again. I love the people here. I love Italy. Starting to look for jobs. I actually am narrowing down my options and figuring out what I want to do! That, in and of itself, is a miracle.

Anyway, I just wanted to share that with everyone. Hope you are all having a fantastic, sunny day too.

P.S. Did I mention it was sunny? Because if I forgot, IT IS!

Voicemail

Here's a fun little story for you. So, as you may (or may not) know, I am in the middle of a consulting project. Basically, this project consists of calling a lot of European businessmen to get information about something. I'm not going to go into specifics because I don't want to get in trouble for saying something I shouldn't. For this story you don't need to know specifics.

Day 70 or so of our project. We had spent the first 70 days preparing, creating the schedule, the template of questions, talking with the company, going on winter break, and waiting on answers from important people etc. So, day 70 rolls around and I'm thinking, "Great! We get to actually move forward and start calling people!"

My first phone call went like this:

ring..... ring..... "Hello?" Blah blah blah, I say who I am and what I'm calling for. He says, "What are you talking about?" My first panic attack sets in. Oh my God, these people (who were supposed to know about our project) have no idea. Quickly, and calmly I try explaining the deal. "Oooohhhhh, yeah, I remember. Well, for that I actually am not the right person to answer these questions." I end up getting another number and then call that person. This time it goes well.

Next phone call:

ring...ring...ring...ring...(start mentally preparing the message I'm going to leave) ring...ring...(start thinking it's taking a long time for voicemail to pick up) ring...ring...(maybe they are on the other line or something, therefore voicemail isn't working)ring...ring... I hang up. I then say to my teammates, three of whom are Italian, "Wow, that rang forever."

Then in a joking manner I said, "They probably don't have voicemail or something."

I said this assuming that I was completely wrong because, what business person would not have voicemail? Everyone, especially people who work at important companies, has to have voicemail, right? WRONG. Instead of making everyone laugh, like I thought I would with my "probably don't have voicemail" statement I was met with three very serious faces saying, "No. No one has voicemail."

This is when I went into shock and then said, "WHAT?! They don't have voicemail?! Are you kidding me?!" No, no, no. They weren't and I knew what that meant. It meant having to call and actually catch someone while they are at their desk. It meant the project taking longer because of all the time I'm/we are going to spend hearing the phone ring forever. It meant me having to adjust to the European way.

By the way, I'm not saying that this is a bad thing. In fact, I think it makes sense. I mean, I think many Americans dread going to work in the morning for fear of all the voicemails they have. Maybe we should all adopt the no-voicemail rule.

American Idol

One of the girls in this program was watching American Idol last night on the Air Force Network. A few of us were giving her crap for watching it, and then I heard the TV announcer say something about Kansas City. Apparently the auditions from this episode were from KC! Anyway, I said, "Kansas City! That's where I'm from!" Another girl said, "Oh, you can show us your friends" (in a joking manner). Not two seconds later (they had been showing clips of people waiting in line to audition) a girl from my high school class appeared onscreen and said something about KC. I immediately said, "Oh my god, that girl went to my high school!" People thought I was joking for a second, and then realized I was serious. It was all very funny. I mean, I'm in Italy, using the Air Force Network satellite to watch American TV and I see a girl from my high school on it. Crazy.

Punto

Fiat Punto, that is.

This baby is my rental car, a.k.a. ticket to freedom, for the next 14 days. And I am so excited.

*CUT TO 14 DAYS LATER*

Obviously I was so busy driving that I couldn't even finish this post. Seriously, it was awesome. Driving in Italy is great. The other drivers actually pay attention! Kind of. Throughout my entire time driving, I would say the scariest part was driving down the ridiculously steep and snowy hill that is right outside of my school. This happened on the 26th when Alok and I were planning on driving to the train station to catch a train to Florence. As I started going down the narrow-barely-big-enough-for-2-cars-in-only-some-areas street, the Punto started sliding. On one side of me was a jagged stone wall, and further down the street (about 30 feet) was a BMW. I was just hoping that my car did not hit the BMW. After sliding for a second or so, I realized that the car did not have anti-lock breaks, so I quickly took my foot off the pedal and replaced it. This caused the car to stop and my heart a chance to not explode. I'm so happy I've had a lot of practice in KC (ice) and Denver (snow) driving.

Anyway, the rest of the time with the car was fairly uneventful. I drove all over, though, and had a great time trying to see if I was as aware of my car's size as most Italians are of their cars. (It's incredible, really.) I think I got really good with it, managing to park in some crazy areas. The best, though, is how quickly I backed down a street that was lined with cars on one side and a stone wall on the other. The reason I had to back down it is because I had to get out of the way of the car coming down the hill and towards me. This lane was only big enough for one car, and since backing downhill is easier than uphill, I basically had to back up about 50 yards down this very-windy, very-narrow street. What amazes me about that particular incident is how quickly I did the backing up.

Having mom with me was what kept reminding me how different Italian drivers are from American drivers. Whenever I would do something, or some other car would do something a little on the dangerous side (according to an American), mom would gasp or say "ooh ooh ooh!". I think she just tried not to look most of the time.

Time for bed. Hope everyone's 2009 is off to a great start!

One more time...

Just had the same issue with mom and Skype. Mute was not on to begin with, then it was. All I heard was, "I can't hear you. What happened? I don't know what happened."

Sushi in Bassano

Here is another blog I wrote for CIMBA:

Having just finished a long stretch of classes and Six Sigma green belt training, all of the MBAs were ready to have a little down time. When Tommy (the program coordinator at the undergrad campus) suggested we go to the sushi place in Bassano, I immediately jumped at the chance. As much as I love having Italian food for every single meal, something different is always appealing. Since car seats, a hot commodity here in Asolo, were limited, we used some of our Kepner Tregoe skills to decide who would go. The lucky five were Tommy, Jay, Javier, Claire and myself. Full of excitement and hunger, we made our way to Bassano, where we had one of the best meals we’ve had in awhile. Even though our outing lasted only a few hours, it was just what we needed. Instead of Human Resources Management discussions we had discussions about how we were spending our winter break as well as what we were looking forward to in our consulting projects. Instead of eating the same pasta we make for every meal, we had tuna and salmon sashimi and miso soup. Instead of Italian wine, we had sake. Most importantly, instead of learning more business-related concepts, we learned more about each other.

After stuffing ourselves full of raw fish, we took a quick walk through the streets of Bassano to digest the amazing meal we had. The guys stopped for a minute to goof around on a swing-set, and as I stood there watching and taking pictures, I realized that no matter how serious classes get, there is always room for acting like a kid. That night was perfect. And it was just what we needed to gear up for the last leg of classes and exams before winter break. It’s nights like these that really make our time here at CIMBA special.

Rogue Wave

I've been obsessed with this song recently. Enjoy!

Sometimes...

...I wonder what I'm doing here.

Don't get me wrong. I am very happy. I am doing very well in school (as far as I know). I love the people I've met. I know that this is exactly what I should be doing. But part of me feels unsettled.

Let me explain. It's just that I'm getting impatient. I'm dying to know more about my future, and all of this basically has to wait to be figured out until once I'm done with this program. That is when I'll know where I'm going to get a job, therefore where I'm going to be settling down for awhile (with all of MY things). With settling down comes meeting people. I'm ready to meet people. I'm ready start a new relationship and see where it goes. No more of this going-nowhere-dating. I'm sick of that. And most likely no one I'm really going to take into account because they will most likely be Italian and want to stay here. As much as I love Italy, I would like to be closer to my family. Anyway, I'm kind of just rambling. Maybe tomorrow I'll feel a little different.

Skype

So I'm trying to call mom and dad on Skype and start having a ton of problems. First, my laptop in my room doesn't have a strong enough signal to get onto Skype. I then moved myself downstairs to the computer lab. After plugging directly in with the cord, it still didn't work. Next I tried one of the computers in the lab. On my end it seemed to work just fine, but they could not hear me. So, I moved to the next computer, which didn't have Skype. Then I tried another. Got online again, managed to call, but still mom couldn't hear me. I could hear her just fine, but she could not hear me. Running out of options, I then decided to try calling her cell phone. That worked just fine and we were talking for awhile when we decided that we should all (mom, dad and me) be on the line.

Before hanging up and calling her computer, I said, "wait". When I had originally called her computer and had it not work, I could hear her perfectly, but she could not hear me. A thought then occurred to me. If she could hear me on her cell, but not on her computer, maybe it was her computer's fault. I then asked her if her computer was on mute. She said she didn't even know where the mute button was. I told her and she told me to try calling. Sure enough, that was the problem. Now mom knows where mute is. And just so everyone knows, she thinks it's dad's fault because supposedly he's "always playing with the sound". Goodnight.

Blog for School

We are all taking turns updating a blog that CIMBA has. It is my turn right now, so I thought I would share my first entry. Enjoy!

Having been at CIMBA for several months now, I'm learning to just go with whatever is thrown my way. First, it was LIFE (Leadership Initiative For Excellence), a program that helps prepare your mind to thinking like a leader. Next was the high ropes course in Slovenia, two days of adrenaline-filled experiences eight meters up in the air. After that we started our classes and were immediately being challenged to do well in school all while learning how to act as a team outside of class.



For me, someone who has one undergraduate degree in French and one in International Studies, every single class I encounter is brand new. Before the first statistics class I had a small anxiety attack thinking that there was no way I would ever be able to do the class. Luckily, some of my teammates calmed me down saying that learning statistics is just like learning another language. They told me if I could learn French and Italian, I could definitely learn statistics. Having already completed and received our first statistics test I can tell you that they were exactly right. Not only did I learn a whole lot, I did extremely well! With every curve ball thrown my way, I take that same rush I got from receiving my first grade in statistics and use it to remind myself that if I put my mind to something, I can do it.



This brings me to our consulting project. My group is the first group to get their assignment for one of the two consulting projects we do throughout the year. We already had one meeting, for which I was extremely nervous. I survived and actually feel that I did a very good job in that meeting. Tomorrow two of the five group members are traveling to Trieste (where our company is located) to have a second meeting. I am one of those two people. Up until about one hour ago, I thought the meeting was going to be with the same man with whom we met last time. We are, indeed, meeting with him, but thanks to an email I just received, I found out that we are also having a conference call with the head of this project. Had it been two months ago, or even one month ago, I would not have had a clue how to handle meeting with such an important man. I probably would have asked one of the other group members to go in my place. But now, thanks to all the preparation this program has already given me, I'm surprisngly calm about this turn of events. In fact, I am almost excited about it. Not only will I be able to prove to myself that I can handle this, I will be able to prove to my group that I am flexible and ready for anything this project presents to us. Considering we are barely a third of the way through the program and I already feel prepared to take on anything, I cannot wait to see how I feel at the end of these eleven months. I have a feeling it's going to be quite the experience.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

(I was going to try to upload a picture from Thanksgiving to this, but it is taking way too long. Maybe next time!)

Just a quick update:

Have taken 2 more tests since my stats final. Am in the middle of Production and Operations Management, Human Resources Management, a consulting project (that's going to take me almost all year), about to start our Six Sigma green belt training, and I have to read about 1,800 pages before next week or something. Yay! This is why I haven't been updating very frequently. I'm going to try to do shorter, but more frequent posts. Let's see how this works out! Also, don't forget to check my twitter account.

More stats

About to take a stats final. Wish me luck! For those of you who are like, "why isn't Jennifer updating this more frequently?", please take advantage of this. Maybe that will help satisfy your desire to learn about what's going on in my day. Right now this is easier for me to update, since it requires you to be less than 140 characters.

Rain, rain go away

This week was our fall break. One would think that maybe I would have updated this since I had an entire week without classes. Of course I didn't, though, because the week completely escaped me. It was full of shopping, and sleeping, and relaxing, and having fun with friends, and going to the gym (that is a blog all to itself). I just wanted to write a quick post explaining something I learned this week.

Tuesday night Claire, Javier, Jay and me wanted to go out to eat. We had planned on this with some of the other people who were still here, all of whom were Italian. It happened to be raining that night. When Claire went to ask if they wanted to join us, as originally planned, and they all responded like this: "What?! Go out?! But, it's raining!" I'm not joking. So the 4 of us went out and they thought we were crazy. Then, the next day, one of the other Italians who hadn't been there the night before asked what we had done the previous night. When I told him we'd gone out to dinner, he also responded with, "But it was raining last night!" I don't get it. Also, everything seems to shut down when it rains. As if it isn't hard enough already to plan your trips to the store when they are actually open, you throw rain into the mix and it is impossible. God, I love this rain-fearing country.

Spider

You know those times when you have a very lucid dream? The one where you wake up, and actually see a spider the size of your hand on your bed? And when you scream and fling your covers away, the spider goes flying into the wall? Then you turn on the lights, stand in the middle of the room, and search for the spider that you are 100% sure you saw smash into the light fixture on the wall? The same spider that you never find because you are obviously just losing your mind? Yeah, that happened to me last night. Needless to say, I went back to bed with the covers over my head. Oh, and I'm crazy. I blame stats.

Stats Exam

Today was our stats test. It was 38 pages and we had 4 hours. And I wish I'd had a little bit more time. Both my head and hand are pretty much close to dead. I don't even know where those 4 hours went, but they are over, and I'm done with that test, so I'm happy. We decided to go out and celebrate with some spritz and dinner and dancing at club CIMBA. Perfect end to a crazy few weeks of studying. Time for bed.

Italy

Today is one of those days where I just wish there was a Target. Or that I had my own car. We have to rely on those who have cars to take us to the grocery stores. For starters the grocery stores (like all stores) are closed from noon until 3:30 or so. That's fine. But apparently, after attempting to go yesterday afternoon, they are only open Wednesday mornings. Again, fine. Irritating, but fine.

We absolutely had to go today, since our group had absolutely no food. First I had to wait until Gigi was available to go. This wasn't until about 3:30. I would have preferred going earlier in the day, but it wasn't up to me. Before leaving, I asked Tommaso if they took credit cards (our bill is usually a big amount that one person pays and then we all split). He said they only take ATM cards. I said "That's fine because I have an ATM card."

Fast-forward to Bingo!, the grocery store we go to. After dealing with a packed store, and the line that took just as long as the grocery shopping, we finish bagging our groceries and I hand the cashier my ATM card. She tries to run it and asks me if it's an ATM card. I said yes. She tries again and it doesn't work. Then she asks if it's both ATM and credit card, and I said yes. She then said that they only take cards that are only ATM. (Who even has cards that are ONLY ATM anymore?!)

I then look at the 2 guys with me. One American and one Italian. Out of the 2, the American only had his American Express, which is hard to use anywhere here, and the Italian had left his ATM card at home. (I'm not even going to say something about him leaving his card at home when he knew we were going grocery shopping.) Between the 3 of us, we did not have enough cash. Luckily, the cashier was really nice and let us leave the cart completely packed with the already-bagged groceries, go get cash, come back, cut in front of the entire line, and pay. Frustrating, to say the least. Now I'm going to go study. Oh, and yes, I dreamt about stats AGAIN last night. NOT. COOL.

Stats

Let's see. Starting on Saturday I've had 3 8-hour classes of Statistics. In the "free-time" (I use quotes because it's not even remotely close to free) we have between the end of class at about 5:30 or 6 and bedtime, I study. We have covered 9 chapters (almost 400 pages) of stats in those 3 days of class. It's no wonder I was dreaming about statistics last night. Probably will again tonight. This is also my way of saying: "Sorry I haven't updated anything about my life, but my life is consumed with the wonderful world of statistics right now."

I'm now going to go to bed. What do you want to guess the margin of error is of me falling asleep before I even hit the bed? I'm so funny.

My last 2 weekends

Wow. I don't even know where to begin. I guess I'll just go in chronological order.

Last weekend my classmates and I went through a program here called LIFE (Leadership Initiative For Excellence). I'm not going to write about it here because it wouldn't do it justice. I will say that it was life-changing (no pun intended) and that the group of people I will be with for the next ten months now is more bonded than I ever thought we would be. These people are great and I am so happy that we went through this experience together. One last thing about LIFE is that everyone came out of it with a hoarse voice, and hurting hands. The voice was gone from all of the yelling we did, and the hands hurt from hours and hours straight of clapping for each other.

This past weekend was spent in Slovenia. At Adrenalinski Park, to be exact. This was more bonding for the group. It was a low and high ropes course. I've done low ropes before in elementary school and through girl scouts, but never high ropes. The high ropes were amazing. First of all, I will be sending pictures out (if my connection ever actually lasts long enough for my pictures to upload (I'm trying for the 5th time right now)). If you are interested in getting these pictures, and you don't already, send me an email and I'll add your name to the list.

OK, the first element I did on high ropes was climbing a pole, basically a telephone pole, that was 8 meters high (about 26 feet). By the way, during all of the high ropes elements I was harnessed in and attached to a rope that would save my life if I fell. Once on top of the pole, we had to stand up on it, turn about half way around, and then jump off. I don't really have a fear of heights, but I do hate, with a passion, the feeling of my stomach dropping. As I was standing on the top of this pole, which was furiously shaking, thanks to my trembling legs, I had to convince myself to jump off. So there I am, standing 8 meters in the air, on the top of a pole that is not even big enough for both of my shoes. And, I'm shaking because I realize the only way for me to come down is by jumping off. I don't even remember if I counted to myself, but somehow I found the strength to do it. I free-fell for about one second and then my the rope tightened and caught me. What a rush that was. And that was the first of about 5 million rushes for that day. The next event was something called the "Career Ladder". This was a bunch of wooden slabs that were hanging by ropes. I think there were maybe 8 or 9 in a row. The object was to get on one step (slab), have your teammates raise you to the next one (only one meter at a time was allowed), and work your way up to a platform so you can ring a bell. I was elected stunt-woman for this element. I believe it's because I was one of the smaller ones of the group, and not scared of heights. This was a very taxing element. We did it over and over and over (I think I did it 4 times) so that we could try to beat the other teams record. Our best time, which did beat the other team, was 57 seconds.

At the career ladder, I had a high ropes instructor belaying me the entire time. The first time I got to the platform, he instructed me to turn with my back towards the open air, and just sit down into nothing-ness. He then lowered me down very quickly. Too quickly. And I yelled at him for it. He basically called me a wimp, but I told him how much I hated when my stomach dropped. The next time around, he lowered me insanely slowly, so I told him he could go a bit faster, and of course it scared the hell out of me. After the second time, he introduced himself to me. His name is Marko, and I kind of fell in love with him. (Probably just because my life was in his beautiful hands for about half a day, but still.) Throughout the day he basically just enjoyed torturing me. I think the best thing he made me do was what I'm about to explain.

The second to last activity we did for the day was climb up to the top of the high ropes and do as many elements (walk across a log that is 8 meters high, cross tires that are just a bit too far apart, walk a tight rope etc.) as we wanted to (or could) do. I walked across the log, then crossed some ropes that were hanging so you could step into them, walked on a tight rope (with ropes to hold onto), did the tires, and crossed three logs that were suspended separately. The tires completely wore me out. It took me awhile to figure out how to do it, and with a little coaching from Marko, I finally made it across. Basically, you had to get one foot in the tire, swing a little bit so that you could grab the next hanging tire with your hand and then stick your free foot in it. The point is to keep two feet in two separate tires at all times. This keeps you from spinning in circles on one tire. It was insanely hard, and when I finished I realized how exhausted I was.

So I went back to the initial platform and told Marko I was done. He smiled and said that he was going to let me get down from the top of the high ropes in a fun way. I asked him how, and after he told me I told him I hated him. Marko wanted me to stand a few feet back from the edge of the platform, get a running start, and jump off of the platform into nothing-ness. I could tell that he was not going to go easy on me, and to be completely honest, I kind of liked being pushed to my limits. So, there I was, standing 26 feet up in the air, trying to make myself jump off of the platform. After some encouragement, Marko decided to count to 3. Once he got to 3, I don't know where I found the courage, but I did it. And it was awesome. I free-fell again, but this time for a bit longer. Probably twice as far as when I jumped off the pole. What a rush.

The last element was something called the "Giant Swing". This works by you being strapped into a lot of ropes, having your teammates run holding one of the ropes that hoists you up into the air, probably right around 30 feet. Once at the top, the instructor (in this case Marko again) tells you to pull the cord that will release you and let you fall into a giant pendulum motion. Once again there is a horrible free fall, but then it is awesome. I actually let go, but did not lean back like they told me to. Maybe next time I'll be brave enough for that. Needless to say, it was an amazing weekend.

*The picture I've included shows the platform that I jumped off of (the one with the people standing on it on the left). It also shows on the lower right corner, the Career Ladder. About halfway up the picture on the right is the other platform that I was supposed to be raised to during the Career Ladder. You can also see the 3 suspended logs that I crossed, but not the log, or the tight rope, or the tires.

Cimba Place?

As I was walking from one side of the courtyard to the other tonight, I had a strange feeling that I was on a t.v. show. And not just any t.v. show, but Melrose Place. I never really watched it when I was younger, but do remember that a lot of the show focused on this nice apartment complex, where everyone seemed to always be hanging out in the center of all the buildings. That's similar to how Cimba is. There is a courtyard where (after class today, for example) many of us were hanging out and talking, with others coming and going. Some of the guys were playing with a soccer ball, some others were smoking, some of us were just talking, but we were all in the courtyard. What makes it even more like Melrose Place is that many of the bedroom windows/balconies look down onto the courtyard, so those in their rooms can come hang out and participate from the 2nd level. This is not the best picture (it was raining when I took it), but you can get the idea:




Alright, I must go back to my primetime soap opera life.

Grocery shopping

Today we had a group meeting (those of us living on campus) about group dinners. The past few nights we have just been going out to eat because we haven't really had groceries, nor have been brave enough to use the industrial kitchen that we have at our disposal. We decided to split up into 3 groups of 6; plan our meals for the week, go shopping, split the cost, some of us cook and some of us clean. My group is 3 Italians (Gianluigi, Tomasso, Alessandro) and 3 Americans (Josh, Claire and me).

After we broke off into our small groups, we made a shopping list, made our meal plan and decided to go shopping. Well, I decided I definitely wanted to go because it would mean leaving Asolo, in a car, with Italians who knew where they were going. It was pretty uneventful, but I had a lot of fun. I got to speak tons of Italian, and listen to even more. They speak really fast and with some slang that I don't get. Also, they have some different ways of saying things that people in Florence don't say.

Anyway, we drove about fifteen minutes from Asolo to the cheapest grocery store they knew of. I basically let the guys take control, since they are more familiar with brands etc. It turned out to be really funny watching the guys discuss whether they should get the extra virgin olive oil, or just the regular one or which gnocchi has the best flavor.

Overall, it's experiences like those that I want to have here. I want to feel like this is my home, like jumping into a car with a few Italians and going to a grocery store is completely normal for me. It seems like I'm on my way, now all I have to do is stay on course.

Weekend update

Yesterday we had a class about the neuroscience of many different things. It was very interesting. I'm not going to try to describe it for you, because I think I would butcher it. After class we grabbed something to eat and then went to the mall in Castelfranco, which is about a 30 minute bus ride away. They have the equivalent of a Target there, so all of us stocked up on some bare necessities (toilet paper, school supplies, some food, etc.). After that, we came back to CIMBA and relaxed until dinner. We had decided to all go out (minus the Italians, since most of them aren't actually staying with us yet). We ended up at a restaurant (1 of the 5 restaurants in Asolo) that was very yummy. The owner and one of the guys in the program (the Brazilian) have already become friends, so he was bringing us all sorts of drinks. We all got a little drunk because we knew it was one of our last nights for awhile to do so. Ended up having a great time.

Today we all woke up late. I went for a jog and then did some of the really lame weight machines that are in our "exercise room". After that I kicked around the soccer ball with some of the guys and then got ready for dinner. Today was the birthday of one of the girls, so we all went out to a nice dinner. It was also very yummy. After that we came back to CIMBA, and now I'm going to bed. This is kind of a boring entry and I think it's because I'm tired, so please pardon me. More soon!

Orientation

Today was the first day where everyone was together. It seems that there are about 7 or 8 Americans, 1 Canadian, 1 Indian, 1 Brazilian and 8 or so Italians. I'm pretty sure there are 19 people in this program all together. When things get going, and I know everyone's name better, I will be able to give a more exact headcount of where people are from.

I was able to speak a ton of Italian today, which was awesome. Of course, none of the Italians are scared about speaking up when I say something wrong. This is definitely fine with me, because how else would I improve? I honestly don't know how much Italian I'm going to be able to speak because a lot of our classwork is as a team, and half of the people here don't speak Italian. Hopefully I'll get some one-on-one time so I can practice my Italian.

Orientation was intense. Doctor Al (the guy who created the program) seems incredibly intense and scary, but I suppose that's a good thing since this program is supposed to be demanding. Anyway, during orientation, the Doc said that in 11 months we are going to spend more time in a classroom than people who are in 2 year MBA programs do. EEK! He made a good point though, that this program is not for patient people. Perfect for me!

Tonight we all had a welcome dinner at a restaurant in town. It was good food, and a very good time getting to know everyone. I sat in front of the guy from India, the Brazilian was next to him, with an American on the other side, and next to me was an Italian. Great conversations. Interesting trying to translate the Italians' english for some of the Americans, and the Indian's english for the Italians. Reminds me of Stacie and Enrico. Sigh.

Tomorrow we are actually going to a store that has food and supplies! This town is teeny tiny with very limited shopping(food-wise). Will write more soon. Haven't taken any pictures yet, but hope to do so soon.

Sleeping with the window closed tonight

Was about to go to bed with my window open so I could get some fresh Dolomite air until I saw the praying mantis on the inside of what one might call a "screen". Yes, a praying mantis much like Zorak from Space Ghost Coast to Coast, only not animated. He would have been much cuter (maybe) if he had been. By the way, anyone know if they can hurt humans?

I'm here!

After 3 plane rides, 1 crazy car ride through winding backstreets (roads that look like they are only wide enough for 1 car, but surprisingly fit both a car and a truck, thank god), a small bout of illness (bad cold or flu or plane germs?), and a day of lugging my suitcases up a big hill (where am I, on KU's campus again?!), I am finally in my room! And I have wifi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't describe to you how happy I am to have internet. I mean, this tiny little town doesn't even have an internet cafe. In fact, I am pretty sure that the store where I bought my apple yesterday, the one that was 5' x 7', is probably the only grocery store in town.

Just wanted to give a quick update. I'll be taking pictures soon and will most likely be uploading them soon after that. Hope everyone is doing well!

In the words of one C.A.G. "Chow Mein!" (haha, get it?)

Losing my mind

First of all, it's 57 degrees outside. I really hate the whole 30-degree-drop-in-one-day thing that Kansas loves to do. Not quite ready for cold weather yet.

Second, this morning I went into the kitchen to enjoy a nice, yummy, bowl of cereal. I ripped the bag open (destroying the bag in the process), poured the banana-flax-almond cereal into a bowl, added some milk, grabbed a utensil and started eating. The first bite I didn't really pay attention to, but noticed that something wasn't quite right. The second bite caught my attention a little more, but still not enough. It was the third bite when I realized that I wasn't getting any milk and the utensil wasn't quite shaped like a spoon. That's right, I decided to try to eat my cereal with a fork. Sometimes I amaze myself.

Third, I leave in 4 days and I haven't started packing. Wish me luck.

Catching up

OK. I have had a few things on my "Blogs to write about" list. I was planning on dedicating a blog each to all of them, but realize now that that is just not going to happen. I probably could make it all more entertaining, but just don't feel like it, you know? So, here are some quasi-entertaining things that have happened to me over the past couple months.

#1 I had to take my car in to the dealership, and instead of waiting around I hitched a ride home with the Toyota guy who was stuck driving everyone around town. While in the car (van, actually) with one other woman and two guys, the driver and the guys were talking about an expressway that is supposed to be built in Lawrence. People have been protesting this expressway because it will destroy Lawrence's wetlands. So the guys are all talking about whether or not they think it's going to happen, if it would be good, why it should not happen, why the Native Americans are pissed and the driver decides to bring up something that would have been a good point, had he not misspoke.

He was planning to say "eminent domain" (the state or government taking your land, for just compensation, if it will benefit the city or state) (I learned that in Business Law last semester). But instead of "eminent domain", this is what he said:

"Yeah, well, I guess the land owners should be worried because the state could always use the inseminate domain law."

I really had to bite my lip to keep from laughing after he said that.

#2 While driving through my parking lot one day, I was passing some guys with my windows rolled down. Normally I listen to my ipod through my tape adapter, but that day it was a short drive so I decided to just listen to the radio. Many times when I switch from "tape" to "FM", I forget to adjust the volume that is usually blaring. I forgot that day, and right as I was passing these guys, I hit the "FM" button and (with my windows rolled down) "It's A Small World After All" came blaring out of my car's speakers. Pretty sure they were laughing as I drove away.

#3 One night I was at a favorite hangout with a friend. While enjoying the beautiful night on the front patio, we saw a spectacular thing happen. It was pretty late, and basically out of nowhere came this woman. She was pretty big, had curlers in her hair, and was obviously in pajamas including some sweet, fuzzy slippers. She was walking in such a determined fashion that my friend and I were both a little scared to laugh at her and her awesome outfit. It was apparent that she was on the hunt for a cheating boyfriend or something, and that she wasn't going to let anything get in her way.

I've finally updated! Woo hoo! I feel better. And now that I've done this, I promise I will keep up with it. By the way, I leave in less than 2 weeks!!!!!!!!!

Oh yeah, if your last name rhymes with Schmargrave, will you send me a text with your email address? Thanks!

Yesterday was my birthday...

...so you can't be mad at me for not updating this blog. That works, right? The truth is, I don't have internet at my place of residence right now, so doing anything online has been a pain in the ass. Luckily, I quit my job, so after Monday I will have all the time in the world (until I leave the country) to update this blog.

Until then...

Lost Helmet

I saw this flier right outside the coffee shop I frequent. I am not making this up. Happy weekend!



By the way, the writing surrounding the picture says, "LOST HELMET. My fellow Lawrencians- Have you seen this helmet? Please respond with any relevant information. This is an EMERGENCY. I need my helmet immediately for my next live action role play guild gathering. Last seen early morning June 29th near Maine St."

64 hours in

Physically, I've had a slight, lingering headache the past day or so and have felt a little worn out. I don't know if the lack of energy has to do with this cleanse or with the hot and humid weather we're having. Or with the fact that our apartment is a black hole and when Stacie and I are there we can't make ourselves do anything (except watch Dexter) or gather the willpower to leave.

Tonight I'm going to a BBQ and I'm going to bring myself a veggie burger. I'm going to another BBQ on Friday and will be doing the same thing. Oh yeah, and then there is 4th of July. Apparently, I did not do a good job planning this out. Oh well. If I had waited until all of those things had passed, it would have been "Well I can't do it now because Meghann's wedding is soon" then "Well I can't do it now because my birthday is coming up" and then "Well not now because I'm leaving for Italy". I'm glad that I chose to just do it, with the help of my roommate. She has also decided to not drink while I'm on this cleanse.

The only issues I'm having so far are that I don't think I'm completely grasping this. I am eating only the things allowed, but I think I might be eating too much, as in all day long. Maybe that was just yesterday, because today has been OK. I had breakfast (2 pieces of gluten free bread with avocado on them and half of a mango) and that has held me over pretty well. I'm just now starting to get hungry, so I think I'll have a snack before the BBQ and then have my veggie burger. My biggest problem is my nighttime eating. Whenever I'm watching t.v. after work (usually 10pm or later) I get a little hungry and I start eating whatever is in the kitchen. I don't need to be eating, I could just go to bed and wait until the next morning, but usually I can't stop myself. It was the same last night, only everything I was eating followed the strict diet of the cleanse. Anyone have any advice as to how to avoid this nighttime eating? And don't suggest giving me a time to not eat after, because I've tried that and it just doesn't work with my schedule. Work puts me on strange eating habits.

Alright, that's all for now! I'm going to go have some falafel and hummus. Ciao!

Day 1

I made it one day. Actually I've made it 23 hours and 49 minutes. Yes, I was tempted by EVERYTHING IN MY KITCHEN. Yes, I was tempted by all of the crackers and chips I normally munch on at work. But, I hope that this will help me stop that bad habit I was starting. So far, I feel fine. I mean, it's only been one day, so I didn't really think I would see/feel too much difference. I am exhausted, so I will be going to bed now. Buona notte!

21 days left

I've decided to do a 21 day cleanse. My favorite blogger is doing this, and it made me feel like I should do it. I've been pretty good recently: eating fairly healthily, exercising fairly regularly and eating ice cream way too regularly. Also, I've been drinking more than enough. Last summer I went 2 months without drinking thanks to a medication I was on. I figure that 21 days will not be too hard, except for the fact that this time I'm giving up other things in addition to alcohol. Sugar, caffeine, gluten and animal products are also on the list. Even typing the list makes me doubt my decision. Am I crazy?! But, then I think about it, and remember that it is only 21 days, and it will probably make me feel awesome. So, I'm copying Heather and writing it down so that everyone who reads this (i.e. Jonathon, Stacie and Diana) can help encourage me or remind me that I'm supposed to be doing this. Also, if you see me out and about, don't offer me a drink! I might just take it.

Alarm clock

This morning I awoke from my slumber to an extremely annoying noise. I sleep with my window open, and everything that happens on the walkway between my building and the building across from my window is amplified thanks to the echo. Well, our neighbors are getting their A/C fixed and one of the guys working on it has to clear his throat every five minutes or so. The horrible thing about this is the way he clears his throat. Instead of the typical "ahem", this guy has a piercing half-clearing/half-screaming noise that he makes. I don't understand how the screaming helps his throat. It seems like it would make it light years worse. Either way, it was a horrible thing to wake up to. And it's still going on.

Kraft

Macaroni and cheese crackers seems like the weirdest idea ever.

TV shows

I like a lot of shows on tv. The usual suspects include Boston Legal, Dexter, Weeds and 24. Some new favorite shows that I have, really intrigue me. One is How It's Made, which takes every possible thing you could think of and shows you how it's made (duh). One of my favorite episodes is the one that shows how records are made. Another show that I've recently gotten into is Ice Road Truckers. It's insane. Basically, truckers have a short period of time to drive across some road in Canada. This "road" is actually just a river that has frozen enough to support the weight of their semis and whatever they're carrying. Not only do they drive up this frozen river, their trips can include crossing ice covered seas. Apparently this season, the ice road is longer and thinner than wherever last season's "Ice Road Truckers" took place.

Part of why I love this show is because they scare the hell out of you by saying things like, "This truck is carrying the heaviest load by far and will be testing the strength of the road" and "If this happens,the truck will then plummet straight into the ocean below." (Oh yeah, and if they do end up in the water, they have less than a minute before they freeze to death.) And of course, the things that the trucks are carrying are vital to, oh I don't know, THE ENTIRE WORLD.

Every little thing has to be considered when it comes to the ice: how much the truck weighs, how fast the truck is going (vibrations from the waves caused by driving to fast can cause cracks in the ice), how slow the truck is going, cracks in the ice, the fresh water from the river mixing with the salt water from the sea, etc. Every once in awhile they casually mention the temperature, and it's usually -40 or so. Did I mention that this is also a race against time? Yeah, they try to get as many loads across the ice road before the ice melts and the road disappears. Wow. That's all I can say. Wow.

Update: No Walk of Shame

Awhile ago, I wrote a blog about a walk of shame, even though I had done nothing to be shameful about. A friend (Ross) responded to my post in an email, and I liked it so much I decided to write another blog sharing his response. You should read all of the comments on that blog to get other people's bits of advice.

Anyway, a few days ago, almost a year to the date of my original post, Ross wrote me an email sharing a video with me. Apparently he thought of me when he saw this commercial. I can't imagine why. I wanted to share it with all of you. It's worth the watch. Enjoy!

Macchiato and lingerie

Monday afternoon Mom and I met to do a little bridal shower shopping for my friend Meghann, whose shower is this Saturday. I had been up pretty late the night before and was kind of dragging. (Un?)luckily, we were in an area of southern OP with lots of shopping and restaurants and therefore a Barnes and Noble which houses a Starbucks. Gross, I know, but it is caffeine, and that's what I desperately needed. I'm going to describe for you my conversation with the "barista" who was working. I don't think I even need to describe how much this frustrated me. I'm sure it will be obvious just by my responses to her.

Jennifer: Hello. My mom would like a nonfat latte, and I would like a macchiato.

Barista: OK. A nonfat latte and a caramel macchiato.

J: No. A latte and a regular macchiato. Just a double shot with some milk.

B: Do you want to try our espresso on ice?

J: Can you describe that for me?

B: It is a double shot, shaken over ice with a shot of milk.

J: That sounds pretty good.

(Barista grabs a 12 oz. cup)

J: Uh, what's that for?

B: That's for the espresso on ice.

J: But why is it such a big cup?

B: Because it's a double shot plus milk.

J: So, it's basically an iced latte?

B: No. It's shaken on ice first.

J: OK. (pause) No. (pause) That's not what I want. I just want something that comes in a small cup. A double shot with a little bit of milk on top. That's it.

B: (Barista grabs the 12 oz. cup again) So you want this with milk on top?

J: (at this point, I'm having to pause and take many deep breathes) No. Do you have any cups smaller than that? Do you have a cup just for espresso?

B: Yes, we have this. (pulls out an espresso cup.)

J: Perfect! I want that cup. I want a double shot in there, with a little bit of milk on top.

B: But is that big enough?

J: Yes. I don't want anything bigger than that.


When I go to pay, I try to use the Starbucks gift card that I was given at Christmas. I thought, perfect! I can finally use this card! I pull it out to give it to her and she says, "We don't take those cards. We're not really Starbucks, we're Barnes and Noble and we use Starbucks coffee." I started pointing to the Starbucks logo on the cup, but decided not to argue and just paid so I could get the hell out of there.

By the way, this entire conversation took so long that my mom was able to walk across the entire Barnes and Noble, go to the bathroom, walk back, and I was just then starting to pay for the drinks which took me so long to order. When mom came up to me, she asked if I wanted to sit down and enjoy the coffee, but I looked at her, said, "No. I need to get out of here." She responded with, "Oh no. What happened and what did you say?" She knows me so well. Though, I would like to point out that I was polite the entire time. Mainly just astonished that I was having such a conversation.

Cut to the next store we were in: Victoria's Secret.

I'm dragging mom around the store trying to find something for the bachelorette party. As I'm trying to explain to my mom what this present was for, a saleswoman, better yet, a salesgirl comes up to us. I'm holding what I've chosen already, am in the middle of telling mom what lingerie is for, when this girl comes up and (interrupting me) says, "Are you looking for a strapless bra?"

I was a bit confused, thinking that maybe she was talking to whomever might be on the other end of her headphone, so I said, "Are you talking to me?"

She said, "Yes."

I said, "No. I'm not. This is what I want." (holding up the piece I'd found.)

She said, "OK. Well, if you want any strapless bras they're over here, and if you want we also have these pieces over here."

Me: "Thanks, but we've already looked around and this is what I want."

I really don't like being mean, so I'm just going to be honest here. This girl was an idiot. There is no better word to describe her. I left feeling completely astonished with how stupid she seemed. I really don't think any amount of schooling would help her. She is just screwed, and I'm so thankful that I'm not her. At the end of these two experiences, I left feeling like I wasn't communicating very well, and that maybe my English was failing me. Later on that night, I went downtown where my desire for a vodka soda was immediately understood. I now think it's just southern OP that is the cause of my difficulties. That's fine with me, I don't really like it down there anyway.

Language barrier.

Every time I hang out with Stacie and Enrico (he's Italian), I am constantly stuck translating for the two of them. Not Italian to English or English to Italian, as you might think; but Stacie's English to Enrico's English and vice versus. Most of the time Enrico misinterprets something Stacie has said. When he looks confused, she repeats it in the exact same way, usually with him still not understanding what she has said. After a few rounds of this, I step in and say the same word or sentence and almost inevitably he goes, "Ahhhhh... squirrel (or whatever I repeated for Stacie)."

As I said before, the miscommunication usually comes from Enrico not understanding Stacie. Well, last night, Stacie did not understand Enrico and it was one of the funniest exchanges I've heard between them. Enrico was talking about some Italian composers/singers and at one point he said, "Giovanelli" (referring to an Italian composer from the 16th century) (and yes, I had to look that up).

Stacie looks confused for a second and said, questioningly, "Juggernaut?" And this is what I pictured. Priceless.

At the gym

Today, while at the gym, I saw something very, well, gross. I'm going to do my best to describe it for you. You're welcome.

So, after finishing my cardio on the elliptical, I went over to the mats for some ab workout. The way the mats are set up is like this: a mat on the left, walkway in the center leading to the bathroom, and two mats on the right. So if you're working out on one mat, you are directly across from the other mats. Today, I sat down and across from me were two girls. They decided to start their sit-up routine right when I sat down to do a little stretching. I watch as they both lay down, and lift their legs straight up in the air. Neither are that skinny, but one weighs a little more than the other. Both are wearing shorts made for 8 year olds. The bigger one, the one on the left, has obviously been fake baking. Something that was made even more apparent the second she lifted her legs. With her legs straight up I see, close to the bottom of her butt, white marks that are not exposed to the UV rays due to her butt creating a fold in her skin. Since it is very hard to explain, I drew you a picture.



Needless to say, it was not attractive. And with that, I leave you. Sweet dreams of weird fake-bake tan lines!

Summer's here

It was brought to my attention the other night, by one Mr. Hargrave, that I am very bad at updating this blog. My apologies. To say that the last few weeks/months have been busy/emotional would be a bit of an understatement.

I'm not going to talk about my future plans yet, mainly because I STILL DON'T KNOW. I don't know anything. I do know that it is completely out of my hands now. I did absolutely everything they asked of me. This includes the MBA application (including the GMAT) and MBA essays, one interview for the job I've applied for, one interview for the program, and 8 essay questions for the job. Probably more, but I can't remember right now and that's where I'm leaving it. Please, if you see me, don't ask me about Italy. I'm getting extremely frustrated with not having an answer, and I am reminded of it every single time someone asks me if I've heard yet. Thank you, in advance, for refraining to ask. I promise you all, I will be shouting it from the rooftops when I do here. Even if I'm not going. I will tell everyone just so I can avoid ever hearing the question "Have you heard yet?" again.

What else? I have a new job, which I love so far. The people are cool, the food is awesome and half priced! How can you go wrong? School is over, I did pretty well in both of my classes. I'm proud of myself. I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed both accounting and business law. It made me feel smart again. I guess I enjoy learning. So far summer in Lawrence has been fun. The past couple days have reminded me what hot summers in Lawrence are like. And it hasn't even been that hot! Maybe all of the eating I've been doing will be counteracted by the sweating I'm going to be doing very soon. Fingers crossed!

Today marks the 2 year anniversary of Caleb's death. I haven't thought about it too much yet, but I'm wondering what's going to happen when I stop distracting myself. I still think about him every single day. Seriously, not one day goes by when I don't think about him. I miss him and can't believe it's been two years.

Sorry to end on a somber note, but I don't really have anything else to say right now. Actually, I thought about something the other day to write about, but I can't remember it right now so I'll have to just keep you in suspense. I'm pretty sure I'll remember it because it was on my mind for a few days straight. Anyway, hope everyone had a great Memorial Day! I promise I'll be better about updating this during the summer. Now if only we can get Diana to start updating hers again! I'm so evil.

Question

Is it bad that I keep almost washing off my apples with 409 instead of Veggie Wash?

My asbsentmindedness

I'm frequently absentminded. Almost every single day I get to my car, or outside of my apartment building and remember something I've forgotten. Usually it happens before I've gotten too far from home. Yesterday, though, was a different story.

I woke up, prepared some cereal and realized we were extremely low on milk. I enjoyed my cereal, and then got ready to go workout. Oftentimes I read my homework while elliptical-ing. I got my notebook ready, put it next to my keys, my towel, and my water-bottle. Then I changed into my workout clothes. After changing, I came back into the living room, moved my notebook so I could grab my keys, towel and water-bottle. Then I left. The first sign that this was going to be an absentminded day was when I turned out of my parking lot. Instead of going towards the gym, I went the other way. And then I turned again, even more in the opposite direction. About a half mile later I realized that I was not at all going the right way. That's also when I realized I'd forgotten my notebook. So, I turned around, went home, grabbed my notebook, and started towards the gym (again). This time I went the right way. So I get to the gym, start working out, and 3 minutes into my workout the fire alarm goes off. Instead of hanging around to see how long it would take for us to get back in, I decided to go for a run. There is a trail kind of close to the rec center, so I drove my car to that, parked and went running.

While running I thought about things I needed to do, homework, groceries etc. I remembered that we needed milk, so I decided to go to Target after my run. I got to Target, was proud of myself for remembering the reusable bag I'd bought for grocery trips, and started wandering Target remembering other things I needed to get. Bread, turkey, broccoli, salad, bubble wrap etc. Then I checked out. About 45 seconds before I arrived home, I realized that I'd forgotten to get milk: the only reason I'd gone to Target in the first place.

Checking the weather

Is it bad that, after having already put my laptop away, I pulled it back out of my bag, opened it up, waited for firefox to load, went to weather.com, and found out what it was like outside when I could have (probably much quicker) just opened the balcony door and stepped outside?

Chipotle

I had some Chipotle a few days ago and thought it tasted funny. A little sweeter than normal. My theory was that the boric acid that Stacie and her mom put all over our apartment (we have creepy cockroaches) was somehow screwing with my taste buds to make the Chipotle taste weird. I told Stacie about it and that was it. Then today, I get home from studying and Stacie says to me that she had Chipotle for dinner and she, too, thought it tasted weird. She believes they put nutmeg in the beans. I'm going to start doing research. If anyone knows what the change in taste might be, let me know.

Starting the day off on the wrong foot.

I came out into the living room this morning to tell Stacie about my night, not noticing the outdoors. As I'm in the middle of the story, I stop because I finally look outside. And see that it is SNOWING. SCREW THIS.

Oh yeah, and last night at work I kept getting a foot cramp in front of my tables. This dropped me to the ground, grabbing my foot, in front of my tables. Grabbing foot + serving food = horrible customer service. Needless to say, I ended up going home early. I just kept picturing myself falling down the stairs, with a try full of hot plates, due to a foot cramp. Let's hope tonight is better.

Hot Sauce

Stacie introduced me to this amazing hot sauce when we moved in together. I was a die-hard Tabasco fan until this. It is amazing. I crave it, much like I used to crave Tabasco. I try to think of things to put it on. The latest thing is crackers. Crackers + hot sauce = yummy!

Anyway, today I went to Chipotle. After receiving Frank's Red Hot Chile Lime Sauce today from UPS (it was NOWHERE to be found in this city), I decided Chipotle would be perfect for it. I had to eat in the restaurant though, because I was on my way to work, so I decided to bring my hot sauce with me. I feel like I just aged 50 years by doing this. Although, if I was my grandma, I would steal everything Chipotle had to offer.

Seriously

Where are my stamps?!

A few things

1) I think I may have accidentally sent out my new sheet of stamps with my energy bill. Yes, I still pay my energy bill by check. Shut up.

2) If I'm hungover and want a bagel toasted well with cream cheese: TOAST IT WELL AND PUT ENOUGH CREAM CHEESE ON IT TO COVER THE SURFACE. Is it really that hard? Apparently so.

3) I'm so sick of Lawrence.

4) I can't wait to have a baby and spend all day feeding him/her different types of food just to see the reaction.

5) I hate being in limbo. There is one trait I recently read of Leos that says they hate change. Man, do I fit that to a T.

By the way...

Who's idea was it for girls to wear white-button-down-long-sleeved-shirt-with-ties? It is extremely unflattering. I loathe wearing this fucking tie.

More vodka.

Real Housewives...

Yes, I've been watching this show. It makes me feel better about myself. These women are IN. SANE. Insane in the membrane.

And yes, I'm drinking.

I'm ready to go crazy.

There are multiple reasons for this. The first is that today is the first day I might find out about my MBA program. (Haven't yet, by the way.)

The second is that I haven't gone shopping in a long, long, long, long, long time. I cannot emphasize this enough. I haven't been shopping due to a lack of a job for, oh, I don't know, TEN MONTHS. Now, if you talk to my parents, they will say, "Your job was studying for the GMAT, and you did that, and you did well! You shouldn't feel badly about that." Yeah, my response to that is: MY BOOKS DIDN'T PAY ME. Oh, and you know something else? I can't study in my apartment, or at my parent's house (where I lived while studying for the GMAT). I have to be in a public, not-quiet, place that has caffeine. This usually means a coffee shop. Seriously, I hate libraries. I need stuff to be going on around me. I have come to the realization that this is due to the open-classroom elementary school I attended. (It was built in the 70s, what can I say?) Anyway, my point is, the places I usually ended up were coffee shops. And coffee is not free. So, those many months whilst studying, I was charging coffee onto my credit card. Oh, and food and drinks, because seriously, I needed a break every other night. And those breaks usually included vodka. (Just realized that perhaps the contrast of caffeine and alcohol may have made my studying take so long.) Oh well.

Anyway, now I have a job. YAY! So far it's not that good. I'm a waitress, and I know that when you're new, you have to deal with the crappy shifts for awhile, but come on. If this lasts too much longer, I'll need a different job. Even though the shifts have been crappy, I've still been making more money than I did while not working. This means I have almost completely paid off my credit card. YAY! This is relieving for a few reasons. 1) Mom and Dad won't be disappointed in me for actually having a balance on my credit card. 2) My mom's mom was Jewish, which means I'm technically Jewish. Because of this, I become extremely anxious whenever I have a balance on my credit card. I HATE not being able to pay it all off at the end of the month. Interest is stupid and I hate myself for having had to pay it. Anyway, I'm almost balance-free, and once I am, look out. Mama's goin' shoppin' with some of her hard-earned-interest-free-cash.

John Legend

I have a gigantic crush on John Legend. Stacie sent me this link the other day, and I cannot stop watching this. I really love two things about it: 1) the black jeans Stephen Colbert is wearing and 2) the look that John gives Stephen at the end when saying "Don't wast your time". He really looks pissed. It is hilarious.

I need one.

And so does Stacie. Why didn't I think of this?! Amazing.

Cadillac commercials

Cadillac, I love you. Would you like to know why? Because you use awesome music in your commercials. First, you used Hum. I love Hum. The song you chose is an amazing one. Then, as I recently found out, you decided to use Justice. Good for you, Cadillac. If I had money, I might actually use the music you have in your commercials to help sway my opinion as to which car to buy. That's awesome. And so are your commercials.

Ice.

I'm sick. And I'm sick of this F-ing weather. I was so happy the other night because I looked around and didn't see any snow. The next day, after waking up and walking into the living room, I greeted Stacie with "What the hell?!" (having seen the freshly fallen snow. It made me angry. On top of that, the temperatures keep going from warm, to cold enough for there to be snow, to a little warmer so it starts melting, to really cold so that the snow that started to melt instantly turns to ice. For the past 5 weeks, I've been walking to school (or should I say skating) constantly having to navigate ice. This is a picture taken with my phone of ice. Basically our entire parking lot is covered in ice. Several inches thick of ice.



SCREW THIS WEATHER. There really is no reason for me to be living in weather like this for the rest of my life. I believe I may have to move to a warmer climate.

OK. That's all.

I remember now.

Do you know how (in my last post) I said I thought there was something I wanted to say? Well, the instant I signed off and left the apartment I remembered. Do you want to know how I remembered? Well, I got in my car, turned it on, and listened to the radio. On the radio was a certain band called Radiohead. Don't know if you've heard of them. Anyway, the second I heard the song, I remembered that that was what I had forgotten to write about. So here it is:

Radiohead is coming to St. Louis! I believe that is the closest show to KC. Anyway, they play on May 14th. From KC, it is about a 4 hour drive. I was extremely excited when I found out, because that is actually a pretty close show, considered to where I've driven before for Radiohead. Yay! So all was well in my world. And then I thought, "Hey! I should make sure that I don't have any finals, because the show is during finals week." I have only one (1) final because my other class does not have a final. This final is from 7:30 -10:00pm. I imagine that you've already figured out what I am going to say. Yes. You're right. My one and only final is the exact night of the only Radiohead concert remotely close to where I live. I'm so upset about it that I haven't even let myself think too much about it yet. The end.

My 100th post!

Yay for me! This is my 100th post. (Not counting all the posts I wrote while on diaryland.com.) Anyway, I think I may throw a party in celebration for myself tonight with a bottle of vodka and a boy named Kenn. Or maybe I'll do homework.

OK, the other night, around 2 30am, I was getting into the shower and found the 2nd cockroach I've found in this apartment. The first was found during the initial cleaning of the apartment before Stacie and I moved in. It was in one of the kitchen drawers and was stuck on its back. (Sucka! That's what you get for being gross.) Anyway, I vacuumed it up, and hoped that I would not see anymore.

You need some background. I've lived basically my entire life surrounded by recluses. For some reason, this doesn't bother me at all. I've woken up with them crawling on me, I've taken baths with them, and I've drank from the same glass (i.e., it was dead in the glass that I was drinking out of). Whenever I find one, I put a cup over it, slide a piece of paper under it, and take it outside. I never kill them, because I believe that I shouldn't. Well, this theory apparently does not apply to cockroaches or house centipedes. Only a small part of me felt bad the other night, when I pulled out the vacuum cleaner once again to suck up that gross (GIGANTIC) cockroach that was in my shower. I don't know why I'm not bothered by something that can poison me, but I am bothered by harmless bugs. EWWW.

I thought there was something else I was going to say, but Stacie and I had a long conversation while I was in the middle of this, and I have since forgot. Happy weekend!!!

Heavy sleeper

Many of you have probably heard about how heavy a sleeper I am. I was also quite aware of it, but had thought having a puppy a few years ago ruined my ability to sleep through anything. Well, last night, that opinion changed.

I went to bed around 1:00 am, thinking I was going to wake up around 8:30ish for school. Instead of waking up to my alarm, I woke up to two sets of knocking. One sounded far away, like on the front door to the apartment, and another sounded closer, like on the door to my room. I'm a little delirious, but I realize that it is all kind of bizarre. I think I rolled over and fell back asleep though. Then I heard more knocking, and I heard Stacie say, "Jennifer. Wake up. It's an emergency." I freaked out. At this point, I thought she was somehow talking through the wall that separates our rooms, trying to warn me that someone was in the hall. I bolted out of bed, threw some clothes on (thinking to myself I need to sleep in more than what I normally do so I can be prepared for things like this), and realized that she was outside my bedroom door. I opened the door, and she says, "Someone has been knocking at our front door for a long time, and I can't tell who it is because he's sitting on the ground. Could it be Kenn?" The second she said that, I thought maybe I should check my phone. Look at my phone and there are about 12 missed calls. Mostly from Kenn, some from Stacie.

At this point you have all stopped panicking and probably have realized it was Kenn. I take my phone and call him as I'm looking out the peep hole. I hear his ring outside, and open the door. Little did he know he was going to be welcomed by two girls who were completely freaked out, one who was wearing curlers (me). So, after he comes inside, and Stacie tells him she had thought about calling the police, he asks why I didn't answer my phone. I said that I turn it to silent when I go to bed. Then he says he had been knocking for probably two hours or so. I tell him that both Stacie (who happens to be half deaf in one ear) and I are heavy sleepers. He has decided never to do that again.

The story is not over though.

After we all calm down, Stacie says something about a fire alarm. She says that a fire alarm was going off for an hour. At first I thought she said it was in a neighboring building, then I realize she said it was in our hallway (of the building, not of our apartment).

Moral of the story: I can sleep through anything. Last night there was some type of noise going on for at least 3 hours straight, and I slept straight through it. Luckily for me and Kenn, Stacie heard it. (I doubt she would have heard the knocking, had she not already been awaken by the fire alarm, by the way.)

Hopefully, I'll be living with someone if ever a fire alarm goes off and I really do need to wake up and escape.

Blah.

I just checked the 10 day weather forecast, and it says we're going to have snow showers 7 out of the next 10 days. Sad. And yesterday it was 70! This does not make me happy.

And this is why I read the Wall Street Journal

The article I read today, "New Dealer, Same Deal" by Rob Cox made me crack up at one point. About a little more than half way through the article he says, "When things really hit the fan in the markets, chillax."

Chillax.


Awesome.

Random things

1) I checked the temperature before walking to school on Thursday of last week and it said it was -4. As a visual for how cold it was, here is a picture of my car door tied shut. It was so cold that the latch was frozen open on my door, keeping it from closing.



2) Overheard on campus: (sorority girl to another) "He said the only thing he hadn't done in a sorority was throw up."

3) Stacie's response to a commercial showing children trying to make orange juice with fresh (un-cut) oranges and a manual juicer: "Are these kids idiots? You have to fucking cut it in half first."

iPod

Well, I'm having some issues with my shuffle that I've only had for a few months. A week after I got it, I tried connecting it to switch out some of the songs I had on there, and it just stopped syncing altogether. I went to the Genius Bar, and they told me to do things I had already done. I decided to let it just sit for awhile and not be bothered, which seems to have worked. For the most part. Now it syncs, but not the newer songs that I've imported within, oh 3 or 4 months. Anyway, a friend told me to check out the forums on Apple.com and while doing so tonight, I found this one:

"Went swimming with iPod Shuffle in pocket
Posted: Jan 6, 2008 12:30 PM

Appeared to be history. Let it dry for 4 days. Initiated charge; light came on. After an hour on the charger it was the moment of truth. Green light and works like new. Wish I could same for past experience with cell phone."

I <3 Apple.

Maybe I should start going to church

One of my favorite blogs is dooce.com. Today, I had my eyes opened to the wonderful world of church. You must check this out. It is worth it, I promise.

She's smiling, can't you see?

Well, thanks to all this wonderful, warm, 60+ degree weather we've been having, I was able to wash my car today! She (yes I call her "she") is so happy and sparkling. If you look closely*, you can see a pile of gross snow in the background that has yet to melt. Unfortunately, I believe it is supposed to snow tonight, so my clean car won't last that long. That's OK though, because for now, she's happy. And pretty.

* This picture was taken with my phone, thus the not-so-great quality.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

Stacie and I just burst out laughing while watching the news because of this. Too bad my ribs are killing me from all the coughing I've been doing...

And in case you're confused, we were laughing at the one, named Kumari, on the left.

Larryville

Well, Stacie and I have gone back in time. We have decided to move to Lawrence together for the next 8 months. She needs to take some pre-reqs for her Masters in Nutrition, and I decided to take some business courses to prepare myself for the MBA program that I am currently applying for. And when I say currently, I mean as I type this, I actually have my word application open with one of the four essays I have to write. Yippee. Who's jealous? Didn't think so.

Hmm, so update:

-Met a boy and really like him. (Of course this happens as I plan my move to Italy, right?) Grandma Glory is also very happy. I talked to her today and she said she's glad I finally have a boyfriend again. And I said, "Grandma Glory, he's not my boyfriend, we're just dating." And she said, "Dating means he's your boyfriend." We went through this a few more times and then I gave up.

-Went to Daytona with my parents, the Jones's and Lee. Got to drive a fast car. Got to watch lots of fast cars being driven.


-My friend Peter came to visit for a week. Always fun hanging out with him. Had a great night of dancing one night.

-Went to DC to help Stacie pack her belongings and move back to KS. Packed the truck. On our drive west, we stopped for a night at my aunt and uncle's new place in Columbus. Very convenient, very well decorated, very yummy food, very fun bunnies to play with! Thanks again, guys! Also, Stacie pointed out some similarities between mom and Aunt Laine that I hadn't noticed before. I have a feeling I will one day be doing the same things Stacie pointed out.

-Stacie's truck arrived. Unpacked it one day. The next day, I got many of my things that are in storage. Loaded a rented truck for said things, drove to Lawrence, unloaded truck. I think my body is still recovering from all of the moving I've done this month.

-Managed to throw a couple parties and go to a lot of bars in between all of these activities.



I actually feel like things are kind of starting to calm down. But, I desperatly need a job. And I need to sign up for classes. And finish my application. And... And... And...

Like You Stole It?

My updates have been lame recently. My apologies.

For some entertainment, check out this pair of underwear I found while in Florida last weekend. Any ideas what exactly the quote means?

Kiwi

Jonathon sent me this link. I almost started crying. It is extremely bittersweet.

Thanks Roxie!

While preparing to study today, Roxie sent me a gmat chat message that had this link. And all she said was, "you must go to this, I promise you will enjoy".

So I did, and started laughing like a lunatic. Seriously, the people in this coffee shop probably think I'm crazy and belong in a psych ward because of how hard I was laughing. And I haven't even gone through the whole page yet. I decided I had to instantly share this wonderful site. Enjoy! Be prepared to look like a lunatic.




Have you bought In Rainbows yet? If you haven't, you're not my friend anymore.

I don't want to be your friend...

...I just want to be your lover.

This is a lyric from Radiohead's 8th song, House of Cards, on In Rainbows. I feel like I should write a proper blog about this cd since last night I was a bit delirious when I posted.

Ok, so I bought the discbox about a week ago. And had been waiting patiently for my email from w.a.s.t.e which was to give me the code or whatever it was I needed to get the newest album. I was with a friend last night who, when he found out I was waiting for said email, insisted we find wireless internet so we could access the new music. We ended up at Latte Land.

So there we were, sitting in my car, outside Latte Land at about 2 in the morning. I was hoping that the now-failing battery on my laptop would last, and that there wouldn't be any problems with the download. Amazingly so, everything went perfectly. In fact, when the little thing that popped up on my screen, right before the last song started, that said, "Your batter is low and will go into sleep mode to preserve battery", I kept saying to myself, "Please last 4 minutes and 40 seconds. Please last 4 minutes and 40 seconds." It did. I heart my laptop.

The second the first song came on, my jaw dropped. This was what I have been waiting for. This album is awesome. Absolutely perfect. I couldn't have asked for it to be any better than what it is. And with every song after, I felt the exact same way. The last song is a perfect ending to an album. I believe I teared up a little bit. (Don't tell...)

What I'm trying to say is, Radiohead is the best band in the entire world. Go buy their download. And don't be skimpy with how much you pay.

In Rainbows

In Rainbows is the newest Radiohead album. I'm just starting my second listen through of it. It is amazing. Buy it now.

I Heart Radiohead.

First of all, if you haven't heard, Radiohead have decided to release a new album without a label. They are awesome. You get to choose how much, or how little, you want to pay for the downloads. I have already bought the discbox, of course.

Secondly, while reading Sunday's comics, I ran across this comic. Good ole Get Fuzzy. Enjoy! Check out the guy's shirt*. Radiohead love is everywhere.



*After adding the comic, I see how small it is. The shirt has a picture of one of Stanley Donwood's bears he created for Radiohead.

Hello

This is an exchange that Stacie and I had today, which I thought was really (realy?) funny. I hope you all enjoy it. (I had asked if she listened to LCD Soundsystem much.)


Stacie: not realy
realy
really
why do i hvae so much trouble
typing really?
realy
realy
i swear i'm hitting the l twice
realy
me: hahahahahahaha
Stacie: really
really
me: this is reallllllly funny to watch
Stacie: realy
me: really
Stacie: i think my keyboard is messed up
me: that word is starting to look really weird
Stacie: i refuse to blame myself.
me: is there really an "a" in really?
the more i stare at it, the weirder it looks
Stacie: don't you hate it when that happens?
there is really
an a
in really
I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want
yo tell me what you want
what you really really want
i wanna
i wanna
i wanna
i wanna
me: now tell me what you want what you really really want
Stacie: i really really realy wanna zig a zag ahh
me: if you wanna be my lovah
Stacie: you've got to get with my friends
(which makes no sense)
silly brits
me: i don't know anymore to that song



The End.

Amazing

Best video ever. Especially if you like Daft Punk as much as I do.

Martha and Usher

Does anyone else think it's weird that Martha Stewart and Usher are in a commercial together?

Ahhh old people

Yesterday, my mom asked me to bring some fruit (a musk melon (blech) and some grapes) over to our neighbor's house. Our neighbors are Joe (92) and Martha (85). When I knocked on the door, Martha answered with yellow stuff all over her fingers. I didn't question, just followed her to the kitchen where Joe was sitting. Apparently they were fixing a broom. Now, for those of you who don't know, Joe recently, last week, had a stroke. On top of that, he can barely see, and can only recently hear because of a fancy hearing aid he just got. I kept forgetting that he could hear me now, and continued my yelling at him. "LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE DOING A GOOD JOB WITH THAT BROOM!" Stuff like that.

Anyway, watching them work on this broom was awesome. Joe was sitting. Martha was standing. Joe was holding the broom, but Martha would basically set him up with everything. She put the screw in the hole, lined the screwdriver up into the screw, and then let Joe start his attempt at screwing in the screw. Every so often, the screwdriver would slip out of the screw, and Martha would have to put it back. About every 5 seconds Joe would ask, "Is it working?". Martha would respond with "Yes, it is. Slowly." Seriously, they said those exact sentences 15 times.

The entire time I had to keep myself from laughing, because I kept thinking about what I would do if I had a broken broom. I would throw the old one away and go buy a new one. I think most people under the age of 80 would do that. It's kind of sad, I guess, but true.

Oh yeah, in case you're wondering: the yellow stuff on Martha's fingers was carpenter's glue that they had used to glue the broom head back into the thingy, so that it could then be screwed in place.

Did you know...

...if you text your name and birthday to 52 52 52, you'll find out who your one true love is?

Stupid people (part 2)

This is ridiculous.

Why on earth does someone need, or even want, 17 kids? I mean, it's not like it's a long time ago, when people needed a gazillion kids to help with the farming and butchering of animals. And they're not done yet? Come on. I cannot even begin to imagine being pregnant for 10 years of my life. To top it all off, they are home schooled. Weirdos.

Cutest boy in the entire world

I'm studying on a Saturday. Good for me. Anyway, I'm at one of the several coffee shops I frequent and there is a little boy in here, who is dressed so f-ing cute. He's, I don't know, 4? (I'm terrible at guessing ages.) The first things I noticed about him were his cowboy boots. It's pretty hot outside today, which means I wouldn't even dream of wearing my cowboy boots. That, apparently, was not a consideration when this little boy was getting dressed today and decided to put on his boots. In addition to his brown and black cowboy boots, he's got on camouflage shorts. For his shirt, he's wearing a white polo and a black vest. The vest, which is not buttoned, has a quilted front and satin-y back. In the middle of his chest, just below the buttons on his polo, there is a gigantic sunflower sticker. To top it all off, he is wearing a paper crown on his head, that I believe he just made. And this is no crappy paper crown. Instead of the typical "decorate your crown with crayons", this crown has designs made out of that weird foam stuff. These pieces were then glued onto the crown. He's adorable. And he keeps dancing. Not to any music. Just dancing to the beats in his head.

Best quote of last week

"Being single is not synonymous with being mentally impaired."

Locker room gossip

After working out the other day, I stopped in the locker room to pick up my purse and whatever else was in my locker. As I walked in, I noticed a woman, probably in her late 40s early 50s, fanning herself with the locker. She caught my eye and we shared a chuckle. She said, "God I hate these. Hot flashes are awful." I said something like, "Yeah, I'm not looking forward to them."

Lucky for me, I was wearing my beloved IHSB t shirt. If you haven't seen this shirt (of which Stacie and Lee are the proud creators) it has two big "X"s on the back. The woman says to me (referring to my shirt), "Were you in a sorority?" I said, "Oh no... This is a shirt my friends made up. The two "X"s on the back stand for the female chromosomes, and the letters on the front stand for I Hate Stupid Bastards." She looked at me with a little confusion, but then proceeded to talk about her daughter who was in a sorority at Oregon State. Over the next 20 minutes I learned that:

-her daughter just got married
-she graduated 2 years ago
-she married someone who works for Microsoft
-her husband took a new job which moved them to Seattle
-his income alone is more than this woman and her husband make, combined
-her daughter and son in-law didn't think about cost of living in Seattle vs. Oregon, so they are actually losing money even though he got a huge pay increase
-she's an only child
-being in a sorority cost a ton of money
-the parents paid for everything for her


I think I learned more about their family, but I can't remember now. I was thinking though, that if I was a stalker, I could easily find this girl. I don't know, I almost felt bad for this woman. It was completely obvious that she really wanted someone to talk to. So, I feel this was my good deed for that day. I'm just shocked at how much she told me, and I didn't even give you all the details about her menopause. Perhaps that'll be another blog. Only if you're lucky.

p.s. The lead singer from the New Pornographers needs to get his teeth fixed.

Happy early birthday to me! (and Stacie!)

In college, Stacie, Amanda, Paul and I took a class by Dr. Dennis Dailey called Human Sexuality in Everyday Life. It was amazing. So informative. Well, Stacie called me tonight and said, "I have something very important to tell you: Dr. Dailey has a blog!"

Needless to say, I screamed. I've always wanted to retake his course. Or at least be able to get advice from him. This will be so great!!! I suggest everyone read this blog and learn. Start from the beginning and it will all make sense.

FYI

I started 2 entries a few days ago, finished one yesterday and one today. Unfortunately, they don't show up as new entries. What I'm saying is, scroll down and you will find them. One is "You do the crossword too" and the other is "I like Lenexa".

Danke.

How NOT to get a date

Last night I went with my friend Lauren to see one of her friend's bands play. I had been in Larryville all day helping Meghann pack up her apartment. It was 96 degrees or so, I had been running up and down stairs all day, and was just altogether gross and tired. Needless to say, I wasn't feeling too hot. I had to go directly from Lawrence to the show, so there was no time to change.

So I pick Lauren up, and we head to the bar. We walk in as the band is starting and there are about 15 people there. I sit down at a table while Lauren goes to talk to some people she recognizes. As I'm sitting at the table, I look to my right, and as I turn back towards facing straight ahead, I realize that someone is standing at my table right next to me. I jump a little, because I wasn't expecting it. The guy laughs and says he didn't mean to scare me. I said it was okay. Then he starts talking to me. (not my type, by the way.) Fault #1: He's smoking, and because of the way the air is flowing, it is blowing directly into my face. I keep moving, rather dramatically, to get away from it, and after about a minute or so, he catches on and moves his cigarette. Fault #2: He is a close-talker. For those of you who don't know, close-talkers are those who get right in your face, uncomfortably close, when talking to you. I don't think anyone likes a close-talker. And seriously, the music wasn't that loud. And if it is, I don't want you talking directly into my face; talk into MY EAR. While doing the close-talking, I realized fault #3: Halitosis. Seriously. If you're going to be talking inches from my face, especially if you're trying to impress me, PUT IN A MINT BEFORE APPROACHING.

Obviously, things were not going well for this poor chap. He was kind of nice, I will give him that. But "kind of nice" is not going to cut it. At this point Lauren realizes what's been going on and comes over. He goes to get another PBR and she says, "I'm going to stand really close so that he can't stand there anymore." This was a good plan, but it left my right side open. I can actually handle that. I have no problem turning my back on someone and completely ignoring them. In a polite way, of course. Unfortunately, the skinny bastard didn't get the clue, because when he came back, he squeezed his way back in between us! Some of you may be saying, "Jennifer, that's a fault!" but, I give him credit for his persistence. I mean, I can see myself doing something like that. (Although usually I'm welcome to squeeze in between people.) Okay, fault #4: after his squeezing back in, he was doing more small talk and said, "So, do you live with Jennifer?" (he was talking about Lauren) I said, "I am Jennifer. Her name is Lauren." He then proceeded to get really apologetic about it. I told him not to worry about it, that it happens, but seriously. If you think you like someone, and you are planning on asking them out, do your best to REMEMBER THEIR NAME.

Hmmm, so let's see. Lauren (after checking with me, like any good friend would do) left me alone with him again, and I knew what was coming. He instantly leans on the table, does his bad-breath-close-talking and says, "So, I think we should hang out." Before being able to stop myself I said, "You do?" and he said yes. I said, "Well, I'm not dating right now." And he said, "Well, we could still go out." And I said, "I'm leaving the country, so I'm not dating right now." As I'm sure you can all tell, I'm trying (kind of) to be nice about rejecting him. But he does not stop. Fault #5 comes during this conversation: he says, "Well, I'm not looking for a serious relationship." (As if I had suggested that I had wanted one.)

Okay, here is why I believe this is a fault. I have absolutely no problem with people not wanting to be serious. But, in this situation, it was as if he had blatantly said, "I really just want to see if I'm going to get any action from you." Not okay to admit right away. I mean, who, when meeting someone at a bar and possibly exchanging numbers, thinks, "This guy seems nice. Let's go straight from not knowing each other, to having a serious relationship!" In addition, I had said, "I'm not dating right now." In my book, and I believe most of my friend's books, dating does not mean serious relationship. It means, going out every once in awhile, but possibly with multiple people, and definitely not anything exclusive. Therefore, his response was completely wrong for what I had been saying.

Finally, Lauren comes back. And he goes to drink his sorrows away. But we're not done with his faults yet! A little while later, he comes over to talk to some friends. During their conversation, of which I'm obviously within earshot, I hear them talking about boners. Fault #6. Without a doubt. Guys, here is a bit of advice for you: DON'T TALK ABOUT BONERS WITH YOUR FRIENDS IN FRONT OF A GIRL YOU JUST MET, WHO YOU ALSO WANT TO IMPRESS. Granted, at this point, I think he'd figured out that I wasn't going to go out with him, so maybe he didn't care.

I think that was about it. But wow. Come on. This may turn into my own version of What Not To Wear. But with guys. And dating.

You do the crossword too!

One of my all-time favorite movies is Kicking and Screaming. My wonderful brother and sister-in-law bought me the DVD for Christmas. Before that, I had been watching a tape that Jonathon had copied a long time ago. If I remember correctly, the lighting and sound on it keeps fading in and out. I believe it was a way to deter people from copying tapes. It didn't work for us, of course.

Anyway, Kicking and Screaming is a very quotable movie. I find myself quoting it pretty close to a daily basis. Luckily, most of my friends have seen it and understand what I'm saying. (If you get my meaning.) Of course, there are the times when I'll offer to pay a friend for a boring story I've just told, realize they haven't seen the movie, and then explain to them why I'm offering to pay. I usually just end up saying, "You just have to see the movie."

Recently, I've been doing the New York Times crossword. I did the crossword a lot in college, usually during a really boring class. For awhile I stopped, and then when I worked at the salon in Denver, I was bored for most of the day and would do the crossword online. Anyway, here in KC the paper is delivered every day, so I actually get my pen out and do it. I was having a tougher time with one recently, and was stuck on the one section. There was one that I thought I should know. It was 4 letters, and the clue was "Gutter Site". I couldn't get it for the longest time. I must have been thinking too hard about it. Then, I got one of the words perpendicular to it, which gave me the 3rd letter of the answer to "Gutter Site": "V". The instant I saw that, I knew what the answer was. Of course, this was thanks to my many, many viewings of Kicking and Screaming.

There is one scene where Max and Kate are on their first date. It's the end of the date and Max and Kate are standing on the sidewalk, in front of her door. Things seem fairly awkward, like neither of them know what to do next, or even if they want to do anything next. Then Max says, "You've got nice eaves." Kate, looking elated and shocked, says, "You do the crossword too!" This was all they needed, because then they both loosened up and made out.

Needless to say, the word I was looking for in my crossword was "eave". It made me so happy. This is the first time I have ever actually had that in any of my crosswords. To top it off, Sunday's crossword had it again. Only this time, the clue was "Places where leaves gather". I instantly knew, thanks to my love of Kicking and Screaming.

I like Lenexa

Here in KC, people who are proud of the area they are from like to put stickers on their cars proclaiming which area that is. For example people from Brookside have "BKS" stickers on their cars. I've always thought it was a little weird, but never really cared too much.

Well, the other day, I was driving home from a coffee shop that I've been frequenting in Lenexa. I pulled up behind this tan Toyota Camry and waited for the light to change. As I was sitting there, I couldn't help but notice this big, red bumper sticker. It was placed, of course, on the bumper. The lower, right hand corner. This was the only bumper sticker on the car, so it was very prominent. Also, it was not even close to level. It was like someone had taken the backing off of the sticker, closed their eyes, and just smacked it right onto the bumper, leaving it where it landed. In this case, at a severe angle. The wording on the sticker?:

"I LIKE LENEXA"

It was perfect. Kind of like a big "F You" to everyone from Brookside.

The Kill Point

Everyone must watch the new show on Spike TV called "The Kill Point". It premiered this past Sunday. The reason everyone must watch this is because a friend from Ohio is in it!

Her name is Laurel Johnson, and she plays the wife of Donnie Wahlberg's character. Yes, she is the wife of a former New Kids on the Block member. Well, kind of. But man am I jealous. I would have given anything to have been a girlfriend of one of the NKOTB, let alone a wife!

A quick background of how we know the Johnsons. Mom and Amy (Laurel's mom) met in lamaze class when Mom was pregnant with Jonathon and Amy with Laurel. A few years later Simon was born (Laurel's brother) and then I came. We have been friends since age 0. Simon sent this email out giving all the info about the show: (Hopefully you're okay with this, Simon...)


"Premiering this Sunday, July 22 at 9 PM (EST), The Kill Point, on SpikeTV.

My sister, Laurel Johnson, plays the wife of the character played by Donnie Walhberg.

Her episodes air on August 12 and August 26, but feel free to watch the entire series to know what is going on.

Now that I've finished my sister's dirty work, all y'all can go on enjoying your day!

Thanks,

Simon"


So, everyone watch!

Crazy Punjabis

Jonathon was in town this weekend for his friend Ashish's engagement party. I ended up meeting up with the whole crew at the Levee. The group included: Me, Jonathon, Shaun, Lisa, Ashish, his fiance, his brother Neil, and about 15 other Indians. After a few hours at the Levee, we decided, at the insistence of Julia (one of Ashish's friends), that it was time for Joe's Pizza in Westport. So, we started the process of gathering a caravan and working our way to Westport.

40 minutes and a 1/2 mile later, the caravan arrived at the Blockbuster parking lot. It was close to closing time, so there was no time to mess around. Everyone (at this point Jonathon and I were the only whiteys) got out of the cars, and Jonathon and I started walking. The parking lot was around the corner from where we needed to be going, so Jonathon and I started walking. About a block later, Jonathon and I realize that he and I are the only ones walking towards Joe's Pizza. We turn around and go back to the parking lot. Just before we get there, Jonathon says, "I bet they're all standing there in a big group, just waiting."

Sure enough, we stick our heads around the corner, and that was exactly what they were doing. After fully rounding the corner, the Indians saw us, and instantly started coming towards us. We turned back around, and started once again towards Joe's. Jonathon and I cracked up, comparing them to lemmings. All they needed was a tiny glimpse of us, and they were on their way.

Hmmmm...

I opened up this page to write a new entry, but have been staring at it with nothing to say. Oh well. Guess I'll go to bed. Buona notte!

Cuz we're the Young Ones

Anyone remember this show?

Jonathon and I used to watch it a lot. I believe one of my Christmas presents to Jonathon was a set of videos of the tv show.

I don't know what made me think about it. But it was funny.

Good story.

Blech

Random facts because I don't feel like studying:

-I'm now on the DVD section of my GMAT studying. The actors in it are really weird. It seems like they have been told to mess up from time to time, because it happens a lot. More than if they were just improv-ing, I believe.


-Meghann sent me this link and this one, which are both really funny. You should check them out.


-This weekend is Megan's wedding. I'm going to risk drinking while on my medicine. (Technically the doc said it was semi-safe.)


-Still no job.


-Oh, my god. A guy just walked into this coffee shop in a pair of overalls. They are only buckled on one side, leaving the other side hanging down. Also, he is wearing nothing underneath. Luckily, I'm not close enough to see if he's got underwear on. Ew.


That's all for now. Ciao!

I don't care what you think

Tonight I went to dinner and a movie with Bucho. At dinner, while alone at the table, the waitress came up and asked if we were done. I said yes because we were catching a movie. She asked which movie and I told her. (Ocean's 13, for those of you curious.) Anyway, she said that she hadn't seen it yet, but that she wanted to. Then she asked if I'd seen Knocked Up yet. I said yes, and she said, "Oh good. I thought it was great." She then walked away to get the check. While she was gone, the guy sitting nearby (who had obviously overheard our conversation) asked, "You're going to see Ocean's 13?" I responded yes, confirming what he already knew. Then he proceeded to give me his opinion on the movie: "Ah. Well, I thought it was alright. It started off kind of slow, but the ending made up for it." To keep him from spoiling it for me I said, "Don't ruin it!" And he said, "Oh, I won't. Just wanted you to know it was alright but not as action packed as the one before it." Me: "Oh. Okay." What I was thinking: I don't care what you think. Don't give me your opinion. Whether or not you liked the movie is not going to change my decision to see/not see it. But thanks anyway for your unwanted advice.

Stupid people

I have to vent about this stupid woman I saw yesterday. I was going into a bookstore that has one set of double doors, a vestibule, and then another set of double doors. After having already entered the first set of doors, I was about to enter the second set of doors on the right side, like we do in America. As I was opening the door, I saw a woman on the inside of the store, waiting to come out the door I was entering. There were several people behind me, and no one behind her. I watched her waiting patiently, as I walk through the door. I kept watching her (seriously as soon as I entered, I stepped to the side, and watched her with a dumbfounded look on my face), asking myself why in the hell she wouldn't use the door to her right instead of waiting for the door on her left, that many people were using to enter the store. She kept waiting and waiting. Finally, another person who wanted to leave the store stepped around her, also looking at her with confusion, opened the door to the right, and walked out while she still waited. I don't get it.

Withdrawal

I'm having withdrawal... from Jack Bauer. I don't know what to do. And watching the previous seasons only helps so much. Every time I look at an elliptical, I think of Jack. Every time I think about who's going to save me in case sentox is released in a store/ restaurant I'm in, I think of Jack. Until next season, this picture will have to hold me over:


(and yes, I just spent about 2 hours figuring out photoshop)

Bikers and reggae?

Tonight my friend Lauren and I went to see The Sex Police play at a place in south OP called Fuel. This place is obviously a biker bar when they are not having a reggae band play on their outdoor stage. Needless to say, it was an interesting crowd. The waitresses were scantily clad and looked underage. The bikers were all wearing leather. There were people who had just come to eat, and then ended up getting a live concert. There were a handful of people who appeared to be there on purpose. And then there were the weirdos.

I think my favorite part of the night was when the guitarist said, "The next song is a sad one: all you emo kids pull up the hoods of your sweatshirts and be sad." Then he proceeded to mime doing so and made a really funny "I'm vulnerable" face. That's the best I can describe it. It was really funny.

By the way, today I saved my second box turtle of the summer from the middle of the road. (This is a fairly regular occurrence during the summer since we live near some woods.) The first one I saved was a few weeks ago. He (or she) was not on a very busy road, but I figured he should still be moved to a safe spot on the grass. This one, though, was on a very busy street near my house. I pulled up to the stop sign, made a stop and looked at what I originally thought was a rock or some debris in the road. The reason I didn't think it was a turtle right away is because it was tiny! Seriously, his shell was probably 2 inches in diameter. Anyway, I stopped and stared for a second (from my car) trying to figure out what it was, then I realized it was a teeny, tiny turtle! I jumped out of my car, picked him up (hoping he hadn't already been run over) and put him in my car. I decided the best thing for him would be to bring him down near our house, and put him in the clearing by the woods. At this point, I still wasn't sure if he had been injured or not, so I tried looking in his shell. I could see his little eyes and his head and feet tucked far in, so I assumed he was just scared. Anyway, I put him down and watched him for awhile, with no movement. I decided to leave, and continue my day. When I came back from being gone for several hours, I went to the spot where I'd left him to see if he was still there, hoping he wasn't. If he was I figured that would mean he had been run over and was dead. Well, when I went to the spot, he was gone! Yea for the turtle! (If anyone ruins this for me and says, "it was probably eaten by a hawk" or something, I will be very sad, so please don't. (Do hawks even eat turtles?))

High schoolers

I've been going to several coffee shops recently to do my studying for the GMAT. One of them is located in Lenexa, and is infested with high school students. It is so bizarre listening to their conversations. And seeing how they dress. Maybe it's just been a long time since I've been in high school, but it seems like there aren't any clicks anymore. It seems to me that there is just one big group now. Every single person ranging from 14-18 dresses the exact same. The guys wear tight jeans, with tight tee shirts. And they all have long hair that is combed perfectly to cover their eyes. I even heard one of the little fellows ask his friend, "Dude, where'd you get your jeans? I am going to take them from you." Seriously. And they aren't gay. I can't even come close to imagining my guy friends in high school saying something like that.

The girls all dress like they're trying to look either worse than the others, or just more out-there. I think the guys may actually be trying harder than the girls. I think everyone buys everything they wear on their top haves at thrift stores. (I really don't have any problem with a little thrift-store-shopping, but for every shirt you own? Come on.) And the jeans they wear on their bottom haves are probably $150 a pair. Very interesting. Don't get me started on the girl's hairstyles. It's as if they purposely miss chunks of their hair when cutting it. It looks odd, and I don't like it. But, I'm not the one who chooses to have it, and I'm sure they don't care about my opinion. Anyway, I'm rambling, and I'm sure you all understand what I'm talking about. I feel old.

Moolah

I need money. I would like to find a 9-5 M-F job that I don't absolutely hate. It would be nice if I used some of the languages I know, or one of the degrees I have, but not necessary. In fact, I assume that's not going to happen. This job is only for a year, so I really just want anything that will help build my resume un peu. Also, since my main goal would be saving money for Italy, I would like to find something that pays more than minimum wage. Any suggestions? Anyone want to hire me?

Oklahoma City

This past weekend I went to Oklahoma City for my friend Megan's bachelorette party. For those of you who don't know, I have 4 friends from elementary school with whom I'm still very good friends. (The picture shows Amy, me, Megan, Christina and Natalie. From left to right.) Christina was married last August, Amy is engaged, and Megan is getting married in a few weeks. (Natalie and I are in a race for last one married.)

Anyway, we (Natalie and I) arrived in OKC on Thursday night. Christina lives in OKC so she picked us up at the airport and let us stay at her apartment with her. Friday the three of us went to the pool and then got ready for dinner with Megan, her fiance, her cousins and two other friends who had come down for the party from KC. Friday night was an early night because we knew that Saturday night was going to be cr-a-zee.

Saturday we picked Amy up from the airport just in time to go home and get ready for the evening events. We met at Megan's cousin's house, ate dinner, opened presents, and then jumped into the Excursion limo to take us to the bars. I alone drank wine, champagne, beer, vodka and shots. Needless to say, it was a crazy night. I have decided that the best bachelorette parties are the ones that end up with the bachelorette passed out in the limo on the way home. This one ended that way.

It was a great time, and I'm so happy I went. Now it is back to studying for the GMAT. Yippee.

Air Guitar Nation

Since mom was in Columbus for the last week, Dad and I had some nice bonding time this weekend. Saturday we went to see Air Guitar Nation, which was pretty amazing. It is a documentary about the national air guitar competition, and the world air guitar championship. Very entertaining. Leave it to my dad to know about a movie like this.

Anyway, after the movie, we decided to go to Lill's, a tiny bistro about a block up from the movie theater. Since the weather was gorgeous, we sat outside on their patio. To enter the restaurant, you have to go through an iron gate, up a flight of stairs which lands you on their brick patio. Then if you want to dine inside, you can enter the restaurant. So basically, where we were sitting was a level above the street. (I have a reason for telling you this.) While trying to choose a wine, the owner came out to tell us that the one we had chosen was not available. Just as she was about to suggest a new bottle, we all heard this very loud, clanking noise. It kind of sounded like a truck or car dragging something, like a fire hydrant. And it was coming down the street, towards us. Of course, it had all of our attention, so as we were trying to figure out, we saw the culprit. A small to medium sized dog was running down the middle of the street with a table attached to it's leash. And from the sounds of it, it was an iron table. Apparently, the owner had taken his dog to a coffee shop, tied it to a table, and gone inside for a minute. The dog started running, with the table following it, and kept on going. It seems that the noise was scaring the dog so he was running to get away from it, but in doing so, the noise kept following him, meaning he kept running. It was just very bizarre. Instead of suggesting a wine, the woman went running after the dog, eventually calming it down enough to stop it. Moral of the story: make sure you tie your dog to a secure object. Oh, and go see Air Guitar Nation.

I've made a decision

And hopefully, I will stick with this one for awhile.

I, JSN, found what I believe is the perfect job for me. I have never in my life said that sentence seriously. Except about being a rock star. But, I always knew that was a little far fetched.

This is a full time position and a part time MBA program in Asolo, Italy. (about an hour and a half away from Venice.) The position is as Campus Life Coordinator for the undergraduate students studying abroad. I would basically be expected to plan events, make schedules, advise students, and work with faculty. (yes, I copy and pasted some of that.) Then on the weekends I would be doing my MBA classes. I am so excited about this. Never before have I had an answer when someone has asked me what I want to do. This is my answer. It will be a 2 year contract. One small problem with this is that the position has been filled for this year. :(

Next year, however, is a different story. I went to KU to visit with the program coordinator, and she seemed very enthusiastic about me trying for this for next year. So, this means that I will be staying in KC for a year, with a job, saving moolah for my time in Italy. I decided that New York can be put on hold for a little bit while I spend some time in Italy. Probably easier for me to do Italy now, rather than later. When I come back I can go to NYC, assuming I'll still want to...

Okay, so that's the update for now. Hopefully I'll have something else exciting to write about soon.

F@#$ all that noise

I'm sure most of you have heard about the girl who was taken from the Target parking lot near Oak Park Mall. If not, read this.

She just graduated from Shawnee Mission West, mine and my brother's high school. The Target she was at is a Target that my mom and I go to all the time. Usually alone. This happened to her while it was still daylight.

It makes me sick to my stomach thinking about it. Normally, these things really bother me, but then you make it this close to home, and it just makes it that much more scary.

I'd like to think that I am a very aware person; of myself and of my surroundings. And that, if someone was going to try and attack me, I would put up a damn good fight. But, unfortunately, you NEVER KNOW. And this scares the hell out of me. I mean, is it going to get to the point where we (and I'm probably just talking about women here) can't go anywhere alone, ever again? Even during the middle of the fucking day? In one of the safest places in the country? (don't know if that last statement is entirely correct, but I imagine it's close.)

Anyway, I guess my point is that everyone needs to watch each other's backs. This really can happen to anyone. But, I think if people become more proactive about it, and help anyone who looks like they're in need, we really can make a difference. I'm going to go buy some more pepper spray and look for another self defense class to take. Maybe mom and I will finally go to the shooting range, like we've been talking about doing.

Advice

Well, I just got some excellent advice in response to my last entry. I would try to paraphrase, but I think I may just copy and paste what he said:


"I would argue the 'shame' is only imputed by two conditions: 1) there is something to be shameful about (a subjective state of mind of the 'walk'-er), and 2) someone you know sees you (why care what a stranger imagines?). Unless you look guilty for a reason AND someone you know catches you, any spectator is only guessing. One could have just as likely had an amazing adventure that happened to leave them cruising home under those conditions. Walk with confidence and let the church-goer live their dull life while you get a cup of coffee..."

Isn't that awesome?! I agree with this advice %100. (yes, this advice comes from a lawyer; and no, it is not my brother.)

Question

Is it still the "walk of shame" if you didn't get any action?

I ask because of my weekend. My friend Natalie and I went out on the plaza and then I spent the night at her house. There was a 3rd person at her house as well, so when I woke up in the morning at 7:00 am, I decided to just walk several blocks to my car so as to avoid waking them.

Anyway, I was basically wearing the same clothes from the night before, sans my high heels (I borrowed Natalie's flip flops). Did not have any sunglasses to hide my "last night's makeup" face. Had my going out purse, and was carrying my shoes. Had I been wearing my shoes (or carrying them and walking barefoot), it would have been a full fledged walk of shame.

And then there is the question that I have. The walk of shame, for those who don't know, is usually reserved for people who have spent the night at someone's place without any toiletries or clothes for the next day. It's usually not planned. Which means the next morning, when walking to the car, or to your own place, people around you can normally tell what happened the night before.

I was wondering this as I was walking to my car on Sunday morning. Did all the people passing me think that I had gotten wasted, made a bad decision by ending up at some random guy's place, and then was making an early escape at 7 in the morning? I wanted to tell everyone that it had been planned, and that I had just never gotten around to getting my pajamas from my car. They were probably all church go-ers too. Great. I can just hear the parents taking complete advantage of that scene: "See little Amy? This is why we go to church on Sundays. So we can avoid looking like that harlot who is obviously wearing last night's clothes. God save her."

So, any opinions? Answers? I really am curious what other people think.

Tight(er) jeans

I have a confession to make. I love the fact that guys are wearing tighter jeans. And I am not talking about the manorexics (thank you Jonathon and Andrea for teaching me that word) who wear women's skinny jeans. I am talking about jeans like the ones Diesel has. They are pretty tight around the butt and then get looser as they go down the leg. But, they are never at any point too loose. Capisci? Anyway, I have caught myself staring at lots of butts recently. In fact, several people have caught me staring. I really couldn't care less. It's about time, I say. Girls like to look too!

My brother...

...has a music blog. Everyone should check it out. He actually sounds like a real music critic! And really, who wouldn't trust this guy's opinion?

What Not To Wear update!!!

Recently I have been going to a ton of concerts here in KC. I have many friends in bands, and I love supporting them. My concert schedule has been pretty full. I've seen most of these bands multiple times since coming home in April:
The Roseline, The Belles, Olympic Size, Dirtnap, OK Jones, Roman Numerals, The Republic Tigers, Moire, The Life and Times, The Sex Police
...and probably more that I can't remember right now.

It has been a blast seeing everyone play again. I think it's pretty amusing, but awesome, how intertwined all of these bands are. For example, let's take the band Dirtnap. From this band, we get members of The Stella Link, Roman Numerals, Olympic Size, and The Sex Police. It's really neat how supportive all the local bands are of each other.

Anyway, my whole point of this is about Sunday night at Fred P. Otts. I went, with 7 of Caleb's friends*, to see Dirtnap and Roman Numerals play. They were very good performances by both bands. Apparently the drummer, Pete, is moving soon, so all the bands are trying to get in a few more shows before he's gone. Being a long weekend, and two great bands, the tiny bar and grill was packed. I was upstairs for most of it but ventured down to say a quick hello to the band members I know. While downstairs I believe I had my first sighting of a subject from What Not To Wear! I can't remember her name, and I tried finding it online, but couldn't. I just kept staring at her. She had the same hair that they did when she was on the show. And now she has a wedding or engagement ring. Perhaps she should thank the show for helping her find a mate. Wow. I feel like I built that up a little more than I should have. Anyway. Good night.

*Sunday, May 27, was the year anniversary of Caleb's death. I went to Wichita to be with his friends and family. It was extremely bittersweet, with an emphasis on the bitter. I met many of his friends for the first time. Several of them live in KC, so I invited them to the show at Fred P. Otts. Very surreal hanging out with all of his friends. Many of them are very like him. I kept semi-thinking he was going to walk in the room. God, do I miss him. :(

How odd

So I just saw a commercial for something called Cube World. It is really weird. Apparently these stick figures, when attached to each other, interact with other stick figures. The commercial showed one stacked on top of several others. And the one on top lifts his leg and something (I imagine pee (?)) falls from between his legs, and I believe goes into the cubes below him. The kid in the commercial sees this happening and says, "Gross!". My thoughts exactly.

Coachella

Okay. Now that I've had several weeks to decompress from 3 packed days of music, I am ready to share with all of you.

Day 1: We showed up in time for a little bit of Silversun Pickups. Watched a little bit of them, and then walked around the festival area to check out the layout and get some dinner. We then caught a little bit of Arctic Monkeys. Once they finished, we checked out Peaches for a little bit. Then we went back to the main stage to set up for the rest of the night. A certain friend of mine known as Coach :) told me that we had to see the Jesus and Mary Chain, so that's who we saw next. They were really good. Although at one point a girl joined them onstage to sing. Both Andrea and I thought her voice sounded not so good. When we got home later that night, we realized that it was Scarlett Johansson. I believe after that we just hung out and waited for Interpol. They were, of course, awesome. I've heard from some people, maybe just one moron, that they are awful live, but this is not the case at all. They were great. It was a perfect set up for Bjork. Bjork is tiny. Probably right around my size. But for some reason, she managed to make more noise than I possibly imagined she would make. Now, I understand that she's technically not making all of the noise during the concert. But she is the one who created it. And when it's all put together, it is L-O-U-D.

Day 2: We were walking into the festival as Peter Bjorn and John were finishing. I heard them play "Young Folks" which was enough for me. Then Andrea and I split off from Jonathon, Josh and Kevin so we could watch the Decemberists. After a little bit of them, we went to get some food and heard Andrew Bird on the way. As we were eating, we listened to !!!. Then we met up with most of the crowd for the Arcade Fire. They were awesome to watch because they all, especially this one girl, looked like they were having a great time performing. I love that; when bands look like they are still having fun making music for people. Okay, so then we saw some Blonde Redhead, and then went to set up for Red Hot Chili Peppers. Anthony Kiedis is in amazing shape. I liked his body, but I didn't like his molester-stash. Overall, I was not terribly thrilled with them. They seemed to stay away from their older songs. I understand the whole, "we have a new album, so we want to play songs from it" but come on. I will give them credit for playing Under the Bridge. That was pretty f-ing awesome. Hmmm... So, next was the Black Keys for a bit. Then was home.

Day 3: We arrived in time to hear Willie Nelson. Then we heard a little bit of Placebo. Next was Air, which was a pretty big let down. They were about a half hour late getting started, and then they just didn't sound that good. So we took off to get some dinner. While eating, there was a band nearby that sounded pretty good, but we weren't sure who it was. So we went to check it out, and it was a Swedish band called the Teddybears. They were awesome. Tons of energy, and there were people onstage with teddy bear heads. Then was Rage Against the Machine, and last was the Lemonheads.

Overall it was a great time. As Jonathon said, you have to remember that the reason you miss some really great performances is because you are already seeing other really great performances.

Okay. Enough of Coachella.

Mother's Day Makeovers?

Nebraska Furniture Mart is giving away Mother's Day Makeovers. You can either get your hair cut, get it styled or get a makeup touch-up. Or go buy a couch.

Do you know what mom would do if I took her there? 1) She would probably laugh hysterically, assuming I was playing a mean joke on her. 2) She would kill me once she realized I was actually going to let someone at NEBRASKA FURNITURE MART do her hair. I am almost very tempted to take her there, just to see what would happen.

But seriously, who thinks of that? Employee of NFM, "Hey! Here's an idea! On mother's day, in addition to selling furniture and appliances, let's do makeup! I'm sure they won't end up looking like clowns."

What Not To Wear

Anyone seen the show? I've only seen a few episodes, thanks to my new-found cable, but I love it. I wish I could be on it. No, no, no... Not as a guest, but as one of the hosts. They are so mean. And it's awesome. They very often bring the guests to tears. And they really aren't trying to be that mean, they are just being honest. It reminds me a lot of my mom. For example, I was trying to go out to dinner with mom and dad the other night. I was all dressed and ready to go, and mom said, "Honey, those shoes make you look like a hooker." So I took them off and will never wear them thanks to the fact that every time I look at them I will hear, "...you look like a hooker". I'm taking them to Arizona Trading Co. that soonest chance that I have.

Anyway, back to What Not To Wear. Here are a few quotes from Ms. London:

"Whatever you are trying to hide by wearing a feed sack only looks worse than it actually is."

"That is not a good look. You don't need a second set of butt cheeks on your clothes."

"The girls can't be supported by a thin piece of fabric."

"You gotta be kidding me with the velcro."

"Is that a pillowcase?" (when referring to someone's top)

"We're getting some mixed feelings here. It's either 'I dress like a pre-teen, or I dress like I'm 80'."


She is awesome. And necessary. Clinton is amazing too. And only in my re-watching of some shows as research for this blog did I realize he has just as many catty remarks. His are just much more under the radar. If you haven't seen it, watch it. I think we should all be as honest as them.

WEIRD.

So I never, ever, ever have watched the O.C. Today, though, I was flipping through channels and decided to stop on it (for some unknown reason). Anyway, the scene that I saw (seriously I only watched like 1 1/2 minutes) was of a high school boy walking into a room where a woman was setting the table as an older man was making a salad. This was what I saw:

-boy enters room and says, "Hi Mr. Nichol."

-woman says, "You should really call him Caleb."

Yes, there is a character in the show, of which I've only seen 2 minutes, named Caleb Nichol. Wow.

La la land

I just spent a week in LA and Palm Springs/Indio, California. It was a blast!!! I got to hang out with my brother and sister in law. Allow me to describe my visit:

Saturday: arrive in LA, bachelorette party with Andrea, sighting of one of the judges from American Idol (Randy)

Sunday: went to the Getty and saw an amazing installation by Tim Hawkinson called the Uberorgan, dinner at Pane e Vino where we saw Quentin Tarantino

Monday: took Andrea to the hospital for a minor surgery on her ear, went to the Grove shopping center, had a great lunch, saw Jenna Elfman, went to Melrose, shopped with Hilary Swank at Marc Jacobs,

Tuesday: went to the Beverly Center with Andrea, met Jonathon for lunch, went back to the Beverly Center, saw Tara Reid at MAC, dinner with Kyle and Erin in Silverlake

Wednesday: had a wonderful 4 hour session at the spa with Andrea, met Jonathon and Bill for dinner at Cobras and Matadors (or Cobras and Dragons, as I like to call it), Michelle Rodgriguez was eating with us (not really, but at the same time as us...)

Thursday: did a little more shopping (first at the Grove and then on Rodeo), saw Dita Von Teese at Anthropologie, had lunch on Rodeo, saw C-Low, brought Jonathon pinkberry at his office, had dinner with Nicci (a girl I met while living in Italy), Daria (Nicci's friend), Kevin (Jonathon's friend), Jonathon and Andrea at Luna Park

Friday: left for COACHELLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, Saturday and Sunday: days of poolside drinking, music listening and lots of eating

Monday: left for LAX, had lunch at El Cholo, saw a friend of mine on the plane ride home from Denver to KC

Basically, my trip was full of lots of eating, drinking, shopping and being merry. I will probably tell more details in other blogs, but that is an update for now.

:(

I miss Caleb. Being in Lawrence, like I have been the past few days, doesn't help. Everywhere I go, I have so many memories with Caleb. This is hard.

By the way...

...anyone watch 24 tonight?!?!?!?! Jack is unstoppable. Why isn't he real?

West Side Story in Overland Park

Something interesting happened today as mom and I were walking Nick to his car.

Nick was in town because I invited him up to have Easter Brunch with us. We had a good time hanging out Saturday night with Lee, then Sunday brunch was fun (with me suffering a bit from bad shrimp from the night before). After brunch we were both exhausted from having only slept a few hours, so we watched the Formula 1 race in Malaysia and relaxed on the couch with Chili Pepper (his chiauau). Instead of driving home on Sunday, he stayed another night and went home today.

Mom and I were just about to leave for some shoe shopping, but before doing so we decided to help Nick carry all of his things to his car. Before even opening the door, I heard some loud bass coming from a car that I figured was just driving by. I was wrong. For those of you who don't know, my parents live on a dead end. Well, after stepping outside, we realized that about 5 cars had stopped at the end of this dead end. Not a usual occurrence. These cars had formed as much of a circle as the space allowed. Out of each car came at least 2 people. They formed a circle and two guys came to the middle of the circle. Now, at this point mom, Nick and I were all discussing whether or not they had guns and were going to start shooting each other or just fighting. Unlike my title suggests, there was no dancing. Only two guys read to fight. They started fighting while we were still outside, but we went back in and did what any normal person would do: we ran to the office so we could get a better view without being seen. It was a good fight. They ended up on the ground a few times and both got some good punches in, but other than that the fight didn't last much longer. And it was very apparent who won. The loser was patted on the back by his friend, and seemed to keep his pride by insisting on driving his own car away.

I'm guessing it was gang related because they were all mexican and looked too old to be in high school. Ahhh, good old northern jo co.

Why is it?

I'm leaving Denver in 2 days. One of those days, I am packing up the truck etc... Now, I have no problem with that. My problem is, out of the past month or so, it has been absolutely GORGEOUS weather, and it decides to start snowing TODAY?!?!?! Not only today, but tomorrow and saturday are also supposed to get snow. Those are the only 3 days that Meghann is going to be here, and it's going to be colder than it has been recently, all while snowing. Sunday, on the other hand, is supposed to be f-ing 60. WTF?

Moving

Well, I have 3 full days left in Denver. And man are they busy.
Tomorrow: work from 8:30 to 7. Then drinks with the girls from work, then a
date, then more packing.

Thursday: my last wax from Alex! (sniff), more packing, Meghann arrives!,
shopping?, eating, go out.

Friday: hopefully not too hung over, breakfast, get truck, fill up truck,
dinner, out with Meghann and other girls.

Saturday: hopefully not too hung over part 2, breakfast, go get car carrier to
attach to truck so that we can both be in the same vehicle on the way to KS,
attach car to truck, start drive to KS, start crying(?).

And throughout all of that, I'm going to try to see as many people as I can. It's interesting how things have been working out. People I didn't think I was going to see have just randomly been running into me. Sometimes good, other times not so good. Per esempio: saw the ex the other day for the first time in awhile. It was very bizarre, and at first it made me angry, but then (after some help from friends and brother) I realized it was pretty good closure. Hopefully, it will be left at that. As another example, I saw Charles last night. I worked with him at Tuscany Coffee. We have been missing each other for the past several months, but then he sent out a message saying he had a show last night. Luckily it worked out that I could go! While there a girl I know randomly showed up. I think there are other examples, but I can't remember.

Rich is out of the loft. It's so much fun coming home to an empty place. I'm trying to enjoy the space while I can, since I know I'm not going to have it in NY.

Today after work, it really hit home that I was moving. I had to say goodbye to 2 girls that aren't working tomorrow. It sucked. I hate saying goodbye. Okay. I'm going to bed now.

Denver

Since I'm getting to the home stretch of my time here, I'm starting to really question my decision to leave. I'm not surprised about that because I think it's a fairly natural thing to do. Plus, I know that I hate change, and moving to the east coast is going to be quite a change. Right now I have tons of unanswered questions: Where am I going to live? What kind of job am I going to have? Will anyone actually hire me? Will I be happy? Will I have friends?

I think I'm worried because I feel like I'm just now starting to make really good friends here, as I've said before. I think I'm going to be much more proactive once I move, so I don't think it will take as long as it did here. Before Denver I always had school to help me out. But when I first moved here, I didn't. And the job that I had, initially, consisted of younger coworkers. This meant that we didn't really hang out outside of work. Anyway, it just took me awhile to make friends here. And I'm hoping it doesn't take this long in my new city.

And, the more I look at the mountains, the more I know I'm going to miss them. Why the hell did it take me so long to go snowboarding? What the hell is wrong with me? I never felt like I took advantage of the mountains, because I still just stop and stare at them; but I am now realizing that maybe I did since I didn't actually hike them all the time. I guess the east coast has mountains too. And I can always come back here to go boarding or something.

I guess that is it for now. I'm going to go watch the KU game.

tequila = bad

i'm still in bed, typing with one hand, because i'm laying on the other one. i just wanted to share my night. *usually* i do alright holding my own when i go out. but when someone throws in a tequila shot, or five, things start to go downhill.

nothing bad happened or anything, but i feel like crap right now. stupid tequila. and i woke up with a box of cheerios next to my head. i think i'm going to go throw up.

Blind people

I'm going to do my best not to sound like an evil person, but I have to tell you what just happened as I was walking to lunch.

I'm minding my own business, on my phone with Mixmasta Meghann, when all of the sudden I found myself trapped in the middle of a gaggle of blind people. I'm not joking when I say either of the words "gaggle" or "trapped". There were probably about 15 of them. All with those dangerous sticks they use to help them walk. I was trapped because every time I tried get out from the middle of them, there was a stick trying to trip me. And of course, none of them were facing the same direction, so I wasn't safe with any way I chose.

It was so strange. I was seriously stuck for a good 20 seconds, wondering what the hell I was going to do. Once I got out, with some fancy footwork on my part, I stood back just to watch in awe for a minute. It seems like they should have all been going to the same place, but there were some people walking across California, while others were walking across 16th. And still others were just going the complete opposite direction as the group. Maybe I'm just a fool, and they all knew exactly what they were doing/ where they were going, but it was just so bizarre. I was at a loss for words. I did my best to explain to Meghann what had just happened, but I think she thought I was making it up.

Blowtorch

9:45am: The stairs next to our salon are being repaired today and probably will be for the next few days. The guys doing the repairing are pretty scary looking. Guy #1 has crazy hair, is missing teeth, and has a handlebar mustache. Guy #2 doesn't look as deranged as Guy #1, but has holes all over his clothes. Guy #1 is using a blowtorch and some sort of saw that is cutting through the metal on the stairs. This saw is creating tons of sparks, which does not phase this guy at all. He has on a pair of protective glasses, but that is it. These sparks are flying directly into his crazy hair, face, bare hands, and open mouth. Perhaps the missing teeth are a direct correlation of sparks flying into his mouth for the past 35 years. Since I am no dentist, I cannot be sure. Maybe he never brushes. Though, you'd think that the sparks would kill any bacteria in his mouth.

10:15am: I think they have run into a problem. Allow me to describe the steps to you. They are framed in metal. Each step has a metal front, bottom and back, which is then filled with tile. It seems that someone forgot to measure the steps width because as I was watching them try to put the first new step into place, I saw them stop, take out the new step, and then measure. This was then followed by scratching of heads, and then banging of metal (I assume to make it fit into place).

10:31am: EWWWWWWWWW! Plumber butt. PULL YOUR PANTS UP!

10:33am: He is now using a blow torch. Now he has on the full helmet thingy. I'm wondering if I should have goggles on too.

10:42am: Stair number one is in. Almost.

Hopefully I won't be blind by the end of this day.

Lonely Brunch

One of my favorite things to do on a weekend is go to brunch. I love almost any kind of breakfast food you put in front of me. Unfortunately, brunch is the one meal I hate eating alone. I couldn't care less about eating lunch or even dinner alone. I love to people watch, and I really enjoy my alone time. Brunch is a different story.

Today, for example, I wanted nothing more than to know that someone would be joining me for breakfast. That's one thing I miss about KC. I have several people that I am absolutely certain would drop anything to eat breakfast with me. Meghann and I were talking about that when I called her today. Breakfast is a new level with friends. When you can almost count on eating at least one weekend breakfast with a friend, you know you have a very solid friendship.

As I was scrolling through my phone today, I realized that the only "breakfast" people I have are in KC or DC. I believe Alex would be a breakfast friend, but she works most weekends. Sabina would too, but she's married and busy with school. Other than that, I didn't have anyone else. :( I didn't let that stop me, though. I went into Snooze and sat at the bar. Didn't really feel like reading the paper, so I just did some people watching. I was surprised at myself at how jealous I was of everyone in there. I was the only person alone. It didn't matter whether it was a couple who had obviously spent their morning lounging in bed, then finally deciding to go get breakfast, or just a few friends who wanted to talk about their night. I was jealous. Actually, I was more jealous of the couples. This is the first time in almost a year that I've been jealous of a couple. I suppose I should take that as a sign that maybe I'm getting close to ready for serious dating again. It just sucks, you know? I'm having a blast in Denver with my friends and a boy, and I'm leaving in a little over a month. Why does it always work that way? Right before you move is when you start meeting really cool people and having a great time. It figures, huh?

I don't understand people

So I was sitting at a coffee shop today, outside, in the wonderful sun. It was so nice that I was completely fine sitting in just my tee shirt. Anyway, I was having a nice time, doing things that needed to be done, when I noticed 3 jack asses walk into the coffee shop. They were all dressed in Triumph motorcycle gear. They sat down and drank their espressos for awhile, finally getting up to leave.

I doubt I would have noticed them leaving had they not started their motorcycles and revved them for freaking ever. Seriously, my respect for them went way up once they demonstrated their masculinity through the revving. Anyway, as they were driving off, I saw one of them spit on the Boxster parked in front of the coffee shop. I don't get it. It made me so mad at the bastard, yet sad for the owner of the Boxster. What did that do for the jack ass? How on earth does spitting on someone else's belongings actually make you feel better?! "Oh man, I totally just hawked a big loogy on that porsche. I feel awesome!" Obviously he is a loser, but still. I wish I'd had a bat with me.

2 for 1 CHIPOTLE!

If you order online today, you can get 2 for 1 burritos!!!

Last night's makeup

I always know I had a great time, when I wake up and realize I still have on the previous night's makeup. I always take off my makeup before I go to bed, unless I've been drinking. It's actually kind of nice, because then I don't have to spend time putting on fresh makeup for the day.

As much fun as I tend to have when I go out with my girlfriends, my nights always end up strangely. I really don't know what I do when I get home, but things always disappear. And magically, there is always a plate of half eaten nachos next to my bed. Yes, healthy, I know. But apparently this is what I crave when I've been drinking.

Let's take this morning as an example. First of all, last night was a bit crazy. Sara and I met at Tryst for a drink (or two). Then we went to meet Summer, Summer's mom, Summer's mom's partner, Jacque and Robbie at Jax. Jax closed at 10, so we went to some place called the Cruise Bar or something. I had never heard of this place before, and it was seriously like stepping into another era. You know in The Shining when Jack goes into the bar and suddenly it's full of people, even though there is really no one there? Well, that's how this bar felt to me. Then we went to my beloved Herb's. Finally, we ended the night, just me, Sara and Summer, at Spill. Keep in mind, I had to be at work at 8 30 this morning.

Okay, so I woke up around 6 30 for the first time, realizing I should do some hangover prevention. I drank 2 large glasses of water and had some advil, then fell back asleep for another hour or so. Eventually, I dragged myself out of bed. Was still unsure as to how I would be feeling, but I knew that a coffee and a breakfast burrito from the coffee cart near my salon would do the trick. Realizing I had succeeded in basically avoiding the bad parts of a hangover, I quickly got dressed and tried to leave. Unfortunately, I ran into a few problems.
1) Plate of mostly eaten nachos next to my bed. (not really a problem, but I hate eating unhealthy things right before sleeping)
2) Could not find purse. After a quick search of the loft, I found it cleverly hidden on a random chair in the corner of my living room. Unfortunately, my keys were not with the purse.
3) Could not find keys. I made myself stop and think for a second. Normally, I throw my keys onto my bed. But, since I had slept in that bed, I assumed that I had kicked the keys off of the bed and onto the floor, along with my big comforter. I then found the keys wrapped up in the comforter.
4) Then came the hard one: my jacket.

Sometimes, when I'm a little drunk, I am very careful with my clothes. I put my shoes back in their boxes and I hang up my pants and jacket. Other nights, I am extremely careless with my clothes. I kick my shoes off as I'm walking in, probably leaving them right in place for Rich to trip on. Take my clothes off as I'm stumbling towards my bed, leaving them wherever I happen to be when it comes off. Last night, I was a bit confused. The shoes had made it to their box. But a bra was on my printer. My pants were hung up, though, yet the purse was in a random spot. So, had I hung up the jacket? Or just thrown it somewhere? I looked in closet #1 and no jacket. Closet #2, also no jacket. Then, I looked in the living room, assuming it was on the couch. (I like to leave it there.) Still no jacket. Finally, I returned to my room and looked around again. I saw it sticking out from under my desk. God knows how it ended up there.

Luckily, my scarf was right next to my jacket, so I was finally able to leave and get my coffee and breakfast burrito. Today was chorizo! Yummy.

Steamboat Springs

After a very scary drive on Rabbit Ears Pass, I arrived last Thursday in Steamboat Springs. Nissa and Ryan were already there with Sullivan and a whole group of people. Friday was my second snowboard lesson ever. I actually did pretty well, even had a few runs after my lesson ended. After my lesson that day, Nissa and I hung out in the hot tub for a little bit. Then was dinner with the whole group. After dinner, 6 of us decided to go to the hot springs. It was absolutely gorgeous. There are several different pools ranging from hot to ice cold. At one point, I braved the ice cold pool, just so I could say I did it. I think that's part of the whole hot springs experience.

So then Saturday rolled around. A man that was with the group, Bob, insisted on giving me a snowboard lesson too. He is probably in his mid 50s or so and seems really good at snowboarding. Anyway, he took me down some blues, which I thought I'd never try. It was actually a lot of fun, aside from the really hard falls that I had. Something I learned: the steeper the hill, the harder the fall. I was really happy that he made me go down the blues, but at the end of my lesson with him, I was done. My legs were like rubber. I've always kind of scoffed at people that say, "my legs are on fire", but that day my legs really were on fire. And I'm pretty much in good shape, but snowboarding is just a whole different story.

Anyway, on Saturday Ryan wanted to take Nissa to the hot springs, so I told them I would watch Sullie. First of all, I can't even remember the last time I babysat, let alone an 8 month old baby. But I wanted to since they were letting me crash with them for free. I started having crazy fears right before they left, like, what if she chokes on something? I don't know baby CPR. I used to, but I need a refresher course. What if she cries the entire time? What do I do?!?!?! I tried not to let on that I was a little nervous, because I didn't want them to worry. After they left, Sullie and I played for about a half hour, then she started crying. I could tell she was really tired, so I had her lay down next to me in this big arm chair. After a few minutes she fell asleep in my arm, holding one of my fingers. It was pretty freaking cute. She slept like that for an hour, and of course during this hour, my phone rang several times. I refused to move though, for fear of waking her. Needless to say, I survived, and Sullie was basically happy.

I left on Sunday, and luckily the roads were completely dry. I was so excited to come home, and get in the hot tub at 24 hour fitness so I could help out my sore muscles and joints. When I arrived though, there was a sign saying "Sauna is broken". I asked if the hot tub was working, and she said yes. But she was wrong. I got in the hot tub, it was lukewarm at best, but I stayed in it hoping that it just needed a little bit of time to warm up. In no time, I was shivering in the hot tub. I was so mad. So, I just stood in their shower for a really long time, hoping that the hot water wouldn't run out like it does at my place.

Today and yesterday I am/was insanely sore, which I'm blaming on the broken hot tub. And, I guess, the blue hills. But man, was it worth it.

By the way, the picture at the top was our meeting spot for lunch on Saturday. (Bob is the one in the bright yellow jacket, and I'm in front in the purple jacket (the only one smiling at the camera)). Apparently they do this every year. Pack their lunch and wine, and bring it to these 2 picnic tables that are probably at about 9,000 feet.

7 lbs of cookie dough

As I've said before, this weekend I'm going to meet Nissa and Ryan in Steamboat. As a thank you, I decided to bake them my chocolate chip cookies. I figured while I was at it, I may as well make a double batch so I can keep some for myself and also give some out. When I finished making the dough, (yes, I make them from scratch) I realized that the bowl was really heavy. Being really curious about how much it weighed, I went to the scale in the bathroom and weighed my cookie dough. I'm sure you've already guessed from my title that the dough weighed 7 lbs. Can you believe that? That's crazy. And, I believe that Rich's scale is actually a little off, so the dough probably weighed a little bit more than 7 lbs.

Good story. I'll give everyone that asks a quarter for their time. Maybe not a quarter. I'll give you a nickel. How about that? A nickel from a Nicol. I crack myself up.

Rough morning

As I suspected, I had a hard time falling asleep last night. Which made me oversleep today. I haven't overslept in a very long time. For starters, my cell went off once, I pushed snooze, and then it didn't go off again even though it was still in alarm mode. Then, my backup alarm didn't go off. Unless I was so out of it that I shut it off in my sleep. Very possible.

So I wake up at 8 32. I'm supposed to be at work at 8 30. Great. Rich was taking a shower, so I couldn't even grab my makeup. Luckily, we keep toothpaste at the salon, so I did a little finger brushing this morning. Yuck, I know.

Normally there are so many mall ride buses that you have to choose which one to get on. Seriously, if I were to decide to walk on a normal day, at least 10 buses would pass me in the process. Today, of course, there was only 1 and I had just missed it. I felt like laughing at my luck, but only for a little bit. I had to walk the entire way, which isn't far, but considering the start to my morning, it did not help. Not one bus passed me during my walk. Grrrr.

I don't know how I did it, but I got to work at 8 44. Only one technician and the laundry guys were waiting for me. (I'm the only one with a key.) Being 14 minutes late isn't the end of the world, but I really hate being late.

On top of that, I have to go back to the grocery store today because stupid King Soopers didn't put my eggs and vanilla in my bag! And of course, it's on the receipt. I was so excited to make cookies last night, and because of them, I couldn't. DAMN IT.

Just one of those nights

I've been thinking about Caleb a lot today. A few weeks ago, I received a phone call from his phone number that made my heart stop. Unfortunately, I missed the call, but a message was left. It was his mom just wanting to talk to me for a little bit. I should really change it from his name to either his mom's or dad's name, but I probably won't.

He made me a mix tape a long time ago that I love. When he made it, instead of writing the real titles down for each song, he made up titles for them. They were inside jokes that he and I shared. It made me and still makes me crack up every time I read them. I can't even remember what some of them were about, which makes me really wish I could ask him and also really angry for not remembering. These aren't the things I can ask other people.

The last time we talked, which I believe was just a few days before he died, I asked him if he could remember what songs he put on the tape so I could know the actual titles. He just laughed saying something about how he should have put both the real and fun titles on there. I'm sure I responded with something like, "don't worry about it, we can figure it out later." I also asked him for another tape, since I was wearing out the original one. I'm in the process of trying to transfer it from tape to CD, but I am so paranoid that the tape is going to break in the process. That would break my heart.

I don't know what else to say. I'm so tired, but I know I'm not going to be able to fall asleep tonight for awhile. Or maybe writing this is exactly what I need and it will, in fact, help me fall asleep.

A note I was just handed

A deaf guy just came into the salon, asked for a piece of paper and this is what he wrote (word for word):

"My car got broken into & stole my credit cards. I'm trying to find help w/ gas to go to the hospital at FT Collins. My girlfriend had a miscarriage this morning & I filed a police report so they are looking for the person."

Jennifer vs. Snowboarding

I did it. After having lived here for 2 years, I finally went snowboarding. I decided to go last Thursday. So, in order to force myself to go, I signed up for a lesson on Monday. In doing so, I had no way out. I was extremely nervous because I've never done any sort of sport on snow before, but I was determined.

I arrived about an hour before my lesson, which was nice because then I could relax and get myself psyched up for it. Right before I got on the gondola that took us up to the base of the mountain, I asked a guy a question about where I should get my pass, and this was his response, "Hey, you know, you're making the wave, I'm just riding it." That cracked me up, because he was completely serious. I didn't think people actually talked like that. Anyway, I took this stoner-sentence as a good sign that I was going to have a good day. When lesson time came, I joined the others at the meeting spot and waited. All of my girlfriends kept saying, "if nothing else, you're going to have a hot snowboard instructor!" and they were right. Dustin was pretty cute, but he seemed really young, which means our relationship started and stopped with the lesson. Plus, he lives in Florida for 6 months of the year, and if I haven't said this before, I hate Florida.

The lesson started with learning how to strap into the board, and how to look cool while carrying your board. Then we got on the lesson hill, where you stand up for the first time on your board and try to go down the hill. I actually surprsied myself and did pretty well at that part. Then, they chose about 5 people who were feeling pretty good at this point, to actually go up on the lift and try the easiest of the hills. I was included in this group.

Dustin taught us about a few certain kind of turns. I was doing pretty well, not hurting myself too much, until this one jack-ass from our group ran smack into me. I landed directly on my tail bone and it hurt like hell. At this point, I was tired, my tail bone hurt, and I was frustrated because I wasn't quite getting the hang of the last turn. For those of you who don't know me that well, I can sometimes get an attitude. (This may be why, when growing up, my nickname from my mom was "Mouth". I guess I talked back a lot...) Anyway, after this I got a little lippy with Dustin.

He kept telling me to do things with my feet that were supposed to help me succeed in doing this one turn. At one point I told him to just stop instructing me. Luckily, he laughed at that. Nothing was working, I wasn't getting this stupid turn. Then he came over and fixed something on my bindings and noticed that one of my boots should be tighter. I made him tighten it, which made him start complaining about going from a snowboard instructor to a boot tightener. Anyway, with my bindings fixed, and my boots tight, and no instruction from Dustin, I nailed the turn without falling! Unfortunately, that was my last run down the mountain and I had to go. Overall, I had a great time and am really excited to go again.

In fact, this weekend I'm going to Steamboat with some friends of mine from Ohio, Nissa and Ryan. Hopefully, I'll be able to stay up a lot more than I did during my first attempt at snowboarding.

Oh yeah, on my drive home I passed a tow truck with a U-haul on the back! Stupid U-haul.

Bucho's fault

*This was from myspace, but since I'm sure some of you who read my blog aren't on myspace, I figured you may enjoy it too.*

The rules of this game are: once you've been tagged, you have to write a blog with 6 weird facts/things/habits about yourself. Finish by choosing 7 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says "you are tagged" in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

1. I've never been baptized, confirmed or had my bat mitzvah.

2. I keep all of my shoes in their shoe boxes.

3. I love the song Poison by Bell Biv Devo.

4. I think it should be a rule that everyone has to start dancing when Al Green comes on.

5. I talk and sometimes walk in my sleep. (I've woken up with forks in my bed; I'll tell you the story if you ask.)

6. I'm somewhat superstitious. (I throw salt over my shoulder if I spill it. Things like that.)



I tag Stacie, Lee-Bee, Jonathon, Ags, Francisco!, and Adam.

Reminder calls

Here is one more thing that I hate: People who choose to have a song playing on their cell phone in lieu of having a regular boop.... boop when I'm calling to remind them of their appointments.

Seriously, I don't want to listen to the god-awful song that you have chosen. It is always way too loud, distorted, and just a bad song all together. And the worst part about it, is that I have to listen to it, because I have to leave a message or actually speak with someone about their upcoming appointment. This is torture.

Now, if it was my friends choosing songs for my "listening enjoyment while my party is reached", I would not be venting. You know why? Because they have great taste in music, and would not choose the latest Justin Timberlake song. Except maybe Stacie. She loves that song.

Pet peeves I have

I have many pet peeves, but this blog will focus on the ones I have that are related to my job.

I am a "Salon Coordinator", which is what they want us to refer to ourselves as. But really, I am a receptionist. I work at a waxing salon. That is all we do here; just rip out people's unwanted hair.

Here are some sample conversations that I have daily:

Scene 1.

ME: Thank you for calling {insert name of salon here}, this is Jennifer, how can I help you?

STUPID CUSTOMER 1: I'd like to make an appointment for a wax.

ME: Okay, what service are you looking for?

S.C.1: A wax.

ME: (pause) Yes, but what kind of wax?

S.C.1: Face.

ME: (pause) Any particular spot on your face?

S.C.1: uh... yeah.... my eyebrows. (this is usually followed by a frustrated exhale, in a way that suggests I've been asking stupid questions.)

Scene 2.

ME: Thank you for calling {insert name of salon here}, this is Jennifer, how can I help you?

S.C.2: Ohmygod, HI! I'd like to schedule an appointment for a brazilian.

ME: Okay, do you have any particular time in mind?

S.C.2: Yeah, I need um, something, um, at either, I don't know, 4 or after?

ME: (Excited because I found the one appointment long enough for what she wants, and it just happens to be exactly at 4.) Oh great, we have a 4:00 for you.

S.C.2: That's not going to work. Is there anything later?


Right about there is where I really need to hold back, and not say something like, "If that actually will NOT work for you, why did you just say 4:00 would work?!?!?!?!?!?!"

I'm not joking when I say that I have these conversations daily. It's probably even multiple times a day. For those of you who know me, you are probably laughing at me. I tend to have little patience in general, and with stupid people it's far worse. The fact that this happens as often as it does is either doing wonders for my patience, or it is creating a blood clot in my brain that will rupture the next time I am asked the question, "well, does it hurt?" "OF COURSE IT HURTS!!! YOU'RE GETTING YOUR HAIR RIPPED OUT, IN A SENSITIVE AREA, WITH HOT.... (gasp) (gurgle) (sound of me falling to the floor from my chair)."

They should change the name to "U- Fix n' Haul and We laugh"

In case you can't tell from my title, U-haul blows.

I, when renting for myself, have had decent luck with them. The one truck I rented from them worked fine and got me to Denver. Unfortunately, that is not going to make up for the hassle that we went through this weekend. Or the hassle that my friends Joseph and Sabina went through when they were moving to Denver.

We'll start with them. Long story short, their truck broke down 4 times. Each time, U-haul sent out "U-haul approved" guys to "fix" the problem. And each time, the man fixing the problem would say that they were good to drive again. After the fourth time, Joseph hired some guys to move their things from the U-haul truck to the Penske (or Ryder, I can't remember) truck. He left the U-haul carcass where it was, and does not know what happened to it. They decided to file against U-haul and ended up getting reimbursed for everything.

I heard this story from them about a year or so ago. Needless to say, when I showed up on Thursday morning to help Kristina and her husband, Andy, move to Minnesota, I was not thrilled to see a really crappy looking U-haul sitting in front of their house. I tried to stay positive and kept telling myself the only reason I was thinking bad things about this U-haul was because of Joseph and Sabina's drama, and not because it was a 95 and had 220,000 miles on it. Then we were just about to get in the car to start the drive, when I heard, "Ahh... Shit" from Andy. And then I heard it from Kevin. Kristina and I went over to the truck and there was a pile of green liquid sitting under the truck. Apparently the hose that does something with the coolant had fallen out. I guess it was a quick fix, but it was problem number one.

The driving went surprisingly well. Extremely slow, but well. Kristina and I were in Andy's Volvo following the truck that Andy and Kevin were driving. We made it to Council Bluffs, Iowa around 10 pm or so. It had been pretty windy, but we decided to keep going a little bit further, hoping to make it to Des Moines. We were on the road for about 10 more miles, when mine and Kristina's hearts almost fell out of our chests. The wind caught the truck (which also had Kristina's car on a tow trailer behind it) and the trailer and just shook it back and forth several times. I think we both thought it was going to fall over completely. Luckily, it did not. But, that made us decide to stop at the next exit, which was in Underwood, Iowa.

At this exit there was a gas station and a motel that had a lounge. We got a couple of rooms, brought the dog and the fish inside, and went to get some dinner at the I-80 Lounge that was part of this motel.

You know in movies when the record scratches to a stop when a stranger walks into a place? Well, that exactly what it felt like when we walked in. It was me and Kristina and Kevin. Andy had stayed in the room with Niko. I opened the door and saw that the bar was right in front of the door and was packed. Right as we walked in, every single person sitting at the bar stopped what they were doing, turned to look at us and just stared for several seconds. It was very strange. What was even weirder was the contrast between the lack of people outside and the very lively inside of this bar. We assumed that this was the place to go in Underwood.

Okay. So we got some dinner, ate, and crashed. The next day, we started again. We were going for about an hour or so when we saw, what we originally thought, was a ton of snow coming out from under the truck. Then we realized that the truck was smoking. We were about a mile from an exit, so Andy just kept driving it to the exit and managed to make it to a gas station. Once again, we lucked out because this gas station also had the Valley Country Cafe, where we ate breakfast while waiting for U-haul approved guys to come fix the truck.

I'm not exactly sure what happened, but once again it had something to do with the radiator. All in all, it took only a few hours to take care of that. I was pleased with that, since I kept thinking we'd be stuck in the middle of Iowa forever. And we all got to eat a good breakfast.

That was actually the last problem we had with the truck. We made it to Minnesota, finally, and did our unloading of the truck on Saturday. By the way, a little bit of advice: Don't move to Minnesota in the middle of the winter. It was -17 degrees while we were unloading their possessions. That's just insane.

My point of this rant is to warn everyone to never use U-haul. These are not the only stories I've heard. If you know of, or have your own U-haul story, write it in a comment. U-haul just doesn't care about the trucks they give out to people. Penske, on the other hand, replaces their fleet every 2 years. They may cost a little bit more, but in the long run it is definitely worth it.

I was so tired this morning...

...that I couldn't put my shirt on. I'm not joking.

The first try involved me getting stuck. This shirt has a few layers, so I thought maybe it was tangled. I took it off and saw that it was. After thinking I had fixed the problem, I tried for the second time to put it on. Once again, it didn't work. I decided to carefully examine the shirt this time. I turned on my lights, laid the shirt on the bed, and decided on my plan of attack. It was to put my head in, one arm, and then the next. Well, I got my head in, and my right arm in, but the left sleeve magically got tangled AGAIN. For those of you who don't know me, I hate, and I do mean hate, having to do things more than once. At this point I was ready to throw the shirt away. But, I calmed down, remembering that I used to wear this shirt all the time when I catered. I never had a problem before, what was it now? I decided it was because I was tired. So, I tried one last time. If I hadn't succeeded that time, I had decided I was going to donate it to someone smart enough to wear it. But alas, I won the fight and succeeded in putting my shirt on. Thanks to my incredible patience, I am wearing clothes today.

USPS sucks.

I am extremely fed up with the f-ing postal service. For my brother's birthday in October I got him the best "brother" birthday card ever. Since Kyle is my surrogate brother, I decided to get him the same one. Unfortunately, it has been quite the ordeal.

First, I went back to the Target where I bought Jonathon's. They were out of it. Then, I had Jonathon tell me the website on the card. This card was not one of the many I found on the website. My third step was checking the Target in Boulder. I thought "different Target, different clientele." They did not have it either. I was beginning to give up on it, when a little thing called fate stepped in. Do you remember when my friend Adam drove in from Minnesota and I met him at a truck stop? Well, I had some time to kill while waiting for him. I had noticed a Target on the way to the truck stop, so I tried to find it.

Finding this target was a mission all to itself. I kept seeing it from the highway, but every time I got off to look for it, the oasis that is Target, seemed to disappear. Finally, thanks to my wonderful navigation skills, I found the Target.

My whole reason for going to this Target was just to kill time and look around while waiting for Adam. Then, of course, I started finding things to buy. At one point, I ended up in the card aisle because I had to find my mom a birthday card. All of the sudden, it hit me that I should look for the card that I wanted for Kyle. Almost exactly as I realized that, I spotted the card! I am now kicking myself for not buying 2. Needless to say, I was thrilled that I would be able to send Kyle this card that I had searched long and hard for.

Cut to the 23rd (Kyle's birthday). And fyi, I sent his card on the 8th of January from the post office. Here's, roughly, how our conversation went on gmail chat:
ME: Happy Birthday Kyle!
KYLE: Thanks!
ME: How did you like your card?
KYLE: Jennifer, I hardly have the heart to tell you this, but it hasn't arrived.
ME: WHAT?!?!?!?!?! Are you kidding me?
KYLE: No. It never arrived.

After all of my hard work, not to mention the aligning of the stars, for me to find this card, the fucking postal service had to LOSE IT!

Now this is not the first time that I have been directly affected by the USPS. And I'm sure not the last. Another recent example was when Stacie sent me a present for my birthday which never arrived. Also, I sent her a package when she was living in France, that never arrived. That one didn't surprise me too much since you know how Europeans are. I'm sure they couldn't care less about getting mail to and from people in their countries. I mean, isn't that why it takes so freaking long?

Anyway, that's my story. And that's why the USPS sucks.

Ankle boots

I, Jennifer Suzanne, have bought a pair of ankle boots. The link I've provided is a picture of them. You have to click on the brown suede ones, and then you'll see a picture of mine (except mine are black). Before you know it, I'm going to be wearing neon clothes again. But never, ever, will I wear leggings again. Especially not the ones that go around the heel or the ones that are capri length. The capri ones only look good on really skinny people; bulimics and anorexics are basically the only ones who fall into that category.

Along with shoulder pads, feel free to slap me silly if you ever see me wearing capri-length leggings. One of the last times I was in Lawrence, I was with Meghann, Amanda and some others at The Jackpot, listening to Amanda's husband's band play. I could not stop commenting on all of the really awful outfits I kept seeing. It was like all of the girls at the Jackpot had done their shopping at their grandma's thrift stores, and then threw leggings on underneath EVERYTHING. Nothing fit these girls well at all, everything clashed, yet they all thought they were smoking hot. Meghann thought it was funny how much this was bothering me. Little did she know that a week after that night in Lawrence, she would be sending me updates through text messages about how many legging sightings she had for the day. So happy I could open her eyes to the leggings that were slowly taking over Lawrence.

Ahhhh, fashion. I am aware how dangerous it is for me to be putting this in writing. I'm sure a few years from now I'm going to be decked out in hot pink leggings, wearing a shirt that has shoulder pads sewn into it, my hair in a side ponytail saying "I can't believe I ever wore boot cut jeans. What was I thinking?!" The dangerous part will be when one of my friends brings a copy of this entry saying, "Remember when you said I should slap you silly...?"

Working out

I love working out... once I get started. I usually just need something to distract me while I'm doing it. If I forget a towel, which I use to cover the time on the machine, I have the worst work out. And it usually lasts about 10 minutes.

Well, I found something to distract me on Monday. In case I haven't mentioned this before, I love 24. And unfortunately, Rich and I don't get Fox at our place. This has been torture for me since the new season started recently. I know there is the possibility of buying the first several episodes on DVD, but I just don't want to buy them, you know? I mean, it's on a basic network channel. I should be able to watch it for free. Right? Anyway, back to the gym. I got there around 7:45 and started my usual workout on the elliptical. Then, about 15 minutes later, I look up and see Jack on the screen. I freak out, and try to find an elliptical with a jack for the tvs. I found one, plugged in and continued my workout, knowing that it was going to be extra long that night. First of all, the only way to listen to the tv, is by being plugged into one of these jacks that they have on the bikes, ellipticals and treadmills. Other than that, there is no other way to hear it. Second problem was, each cardio machine has a 20 minute limit, which they are pretty good at enforcing. Third problem, the only way for me to see the entire show was for me to do an HOUR of cardio.

I never, ever do an hour of cardio. I make myself do 20 minutes, because I believe that is the minimum one can do in order to make it worth it. I want it to be worth it, but I don't want to do more.

So Monday night, I did over 20 minutes on the elliptical, 20 minutes on the treadmill, and about 10 on the bike, but I got bored and went back to the elliptical.

This is going to be great incentive for me to work out on Mondays now. I get to see 24, my hour of cardio flys by and I get a smoking hot body in the process. Although, there is the possibility of me thinking to myself, "Hey, I just did an hour of cardio, I deserve to eat this entire cherry pie!" Hopefully I will be able to prevent myself from doing that. We shall see.

I am definitely not adopted

Here is why:

First, you need a little background. While in Florida, my mom and I did the shopping for my grandma several times. She only buys things that she sees on sale in the discount booklet they give out. And when something that she likes is on sale, she buys many of that single item.

Okay, so last night I went to Whole Foods after working out. Stacie had recommended these particular frozen enchiladas, which I have tried before and enjoyed. So I'm walking through the aisles, not really knowing what to get, and I see Amy's frozen low-sodium enchiladas on sale. Before I can even think about what I'm doing, I'm grabbing 3 of them. Now, I don't love these or anything; it's just a "these are not bad, so I'll eat them sometimes" kind of relationship. But when I realized what I was doing, I could not stop myself. It was that Nicol gene, saying "buy them all before they aren't on sale anymore. You will eat them someday!"

I believe this is a great argument for the "nature vs. nurture" study. Unless the week that I spent with my grandma made me do this (which I don't think it did, because I've caught myself doing this before), I believe this falls under "nature". My grandma and I have spent about 3 months together, if I were to combine all the visits we've had. Over 24 years, that is not a lot. My dad's mom is insane about this whole "must buy things that are on sale", and she always has been. My dad and mom aren't really like this, at least not to the extent that my grandma is.

Anyway, I think just seeing this in action with my grandma for a week, and then coming home and catching myself doing it, really made this apparent to me. I've done this a lot, but never really thought about it until now. I am definitely a Nicol. She is definitely my grandma. Thankfully, I believe I did not get the "I must save EVERYTHING gene." Please, if you are ever at my place and you see a huge container holding hundreds of shoulder pads, give me an intervention. Not only for the fact that I am saving them, but for the fact that I have them. I don't care if they ever come back in style. They are fugly. Sidenote: I just taught mom that word, and she loves it! I can't wait to hear her use it.

I am now going to go eat my enchiladas. And don't laugh, because I saved $2.80 on them!

Ciao a tutti!

Ok. I have decided, with the help of my father, that my laptop has a cold. I'm taking it in on Thursday to be checked out. Probably much better that I don't even try to use it the next few days, because if I do, I may smash it to pieces. No bueno.

For the time being, I will use the computer provided to me at work. In between checking in clients at this busy downtown location, I will (hopefully) write a decent blog today.

Of course, now that I have time to write, and a computer that isn't going to shut down on me, I can't really think of anything to say. Figures.

Well, I'm finally back in Denver for awhile. It's actually very nice. I feel like I have basically been traveling, on and off, since last May. This is the first time in awhile that I'm actually going to be here for several months in a row. Although, I am definitely going to Coachella this year with my brother, Andrea, Kyle and Erin. Anyone want to join? Not quite sure about the list of bands yet this year, but you should check it out.

Hmmm, what else... Well, I was proposed to on New Year's Eve. ;) His name is Jarred. It's actually quite amazing, we went from not knowing each other at all to engaged! Unfortunately, I missed the wedding because I was on a flight back to Denver. I have a feeling though, that the only reason he wants to marry me is so that he can have, what he thinks, a claim to my dad's cars. Little does he know... Anyway, I'll keep everyone posted.

As I said in a previous post, I am now working at the very busy, downtown, location of the salon. My days are very long. 10 1/2 hours each day! But they go much faster than they did at the Tech Center location. There is really only so much surfing on the internet one can do. It's very entertaining working down here. We are garden level, so we are down a flight of stairs from the street level. I can still watch as people walk by though, so it keeps things interesting. Also, it's only 7 blocks from my place, so I can walk. Much better for my health to have a 15 minute walk, than a 25 minute drive where I'm very angry at all the stupid drivers on the road.

Ok. I believe that is all for now. I shall write more later.

My laptop has hours to live

I'm going to smash it very soon. This is my 3rd attempt at this post. I'm so mad. I'm going to bed. I'll write more when I'm not close to taking a sledge hammer to my laptop.

GRRRRR

Well, I had a blog written but the stupid connection in this cafe in Florida sucks and kicked me off. Therefore, I lost my blog. Basically I was just writing to explain why I haven't been writing for a few days. Mom and I are in Florida visiting my grandma and this is the only place with internet within probably 100 square miles. Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but I doubt it.

Anyway, I'll write more soon hopefully. Unless I don't make it out of Port Charlotte. Wish me luck.

I'm hungry

It's one of those nights where absolutely nothing sounds appetizing for me. Except Chipotle. But I refuse to eat it 2 days in a row. That's one of my New Year's resolutions. Actually, I should say I refuse to buy it 2 days in a row, because I usually buy it once, cut it in half, and eat the other half the next day. Now that I think about it, the resolution should probably be "I won't buy Chipotle more than 2 times a month." Whew. Glad I got that figured out.

Mom is coming here tomorrow. We are going to hang out here in Denver for a few days before heading off to Port Charlotte, Florida to visit my grandma. It's been awhile since anyone in my immediate family has visited her, so mom and I decided to do it. I will also, most likely, be out of contact with the internet for this entire week that I'm in Florida.

Man, today at work was crazy busy. They have moved me to the downtown location because I rock. It is much busier than the tech center location and, lucky me, today was filled with many problems:

1. Still trying to get clients in who had their appointments canceled due to the blizzards.
2. One technician was sick so I also had to find new appointments, preferably on the same day at the same time, with other technicians.
3. Clients are stupid.
4. Computers are stupid.
1. Multiple schedules of the girls, were screwed up because of the computer (I know because I fixed this problem about a month ago. And I KNOW that I did it. And that I did it right. Trust me. I was extremely anal about it.)
2. Had to fix these schedules; one by one, day by day, for 6 months. This took the ENTIRE DAY. (I'm still not done.)
3. While fixing the schedule problem, I found several other smaller problems within the program we use. (I won't go into them, since I assume I've already bored all of you.)

Oh, I have some pictures from christmas, mom's birthday and the snowstorm. If you want to see them, message me and I will send you the link (if I know you). To hold you over, here is a picture of a car I saw on my way to the airport the Saturday after the snowstorm. The photo is not clear because of the extremely dirty windows on the bus, but you get the picture.

Back in Denver

I'm watching my love right now. Ahhhhhh Jack. He's getting ready to sacrifice himself (again) in Season 2. And I had Chipotle for dinner. Jack and Chipotle; what a wonderful night.

Hmm, I realize now that I don't have much to write today. I must do laundry and prepare for my mom's visit.

Caleb

I found out today, while in my doctor's waiting room, that my friend Caleb has passed away. Caleb and I met in an Italian class my senior year at KU. We sat next to each other and had a hard time making it through a class without laughing. Needless to say, we quickly became friends. I can't remember going out, during my last bit of college, without him. After Adam and I broke up, Caleb and I dated for a little bit. Nothing serious, but always a lot of fun.

I just can't believe it.

His dad answered the phone when I called today. I've been trying to get ahold of Caleb since May, the last time I spoke with him. He hadn't returned my phone calls, or any of my emails, so I was a little worried. Anyway, my doc was running late so I decided to make some phone calls. Figured I would try Caleb again. Then his dad answered. After he figured out who I was, he told me that Caleb had died. I, of course, started bawling in the middle of the suddenly extremely quiet waiting room. His dad spent most of the time telling me how sorry he was. I didn't understand. I told him how sorry I was. I mean, it was his son. Anyway, the really screwed up part about it, is that he died in May. It has been 7 months, and I just found out. Over the past several months while trying to get ahold of him, I had considered calling some of his friends. Unfortunately, I only knew their first names, and didn't have their numbers. 7 months. And I just found out. That makes me feel like a terrible friend. I know it shouldn't, but it does.

2006 has probably been one of the hardest years of my life. I am beyond ready for 2007. Fuck dying. I'm so sad...

Caleb, I will never forget the time we had together. Who else would watch a movie about shape shifting with me? I miss you.

Firetrucks as cabs

I feel like I'm turning into Stacie. I haven't written a blog in a few days, and I feel like if I don't now, it'll turn into 2 months like Stacie! Don't worry, that won't happen. I promise.

I have a lot to write. First of all, I'm sure many of you now know that there was a rather large snow storm in Denver. I was supposed to leave on Thursday morning at 8 am. Wednesday night, 8 or so inches into it, I saw that my flight was canceled. I did what every normal person would do: starting drinking wine with 2 friends at my apartment, made dinner, baked cookies, and sat on hold with United for ONE HOUR. The actual conversation with a united agent took about 2 minutes. Luckily I got on the next earliest flight which was Saturday at 8 30 pm. Once I had my flight figured out I was ready to enjoy the snow storm. Alex and Sara and I had finished 3 bottles of wine and were well into the wonderful stock of yummy vodka that I have when we decided that we would go out and find the one bar that was open. Unfortunately it was my least favorite bar, Spill. Luckily, the main reason that I hate it, all the stupid people that go there, wasn't a problem. Most normal people decided to actually stay home. Since I live downtown, we didn't see any problem with suiting up in our snow gear and walking a few blocks to Spill. And we weren't alone. There were probably 30 or so people there. It was actually a lot of fun. Since there was about 1/16th of the normal amount of people, I wasn't busy being mad at everyone bumping into me. The mixture of wine/ vodka/ lots of snow may have helped too.

Ok, so eventually we decided to walk back home. At this point it was just me, Alex and her boy, Michael. They were going to walk me home and then go back to his place. On our way we saw this stupid girl in a jeep who had decided to drive DIRECTLY into a 4 foot drift. I assume her line of thinking went something like this, "OHMYGOD, I'm sooooooo glad I have a Jeep Wrangler. Even though it's like, a blizzard with, like, a ton of snow, my Jeep will not be stopped!" Well, needless to say, she was wrong. She was completely stuck and asked for our help. I really don't know what she thought we were going to do for her, since shovels were necessary. But, being a bit drunk, we thought we could help. We started by kicking the snow. Thank god Michael used to play soccer. Alex and I were not really much help. Fortunately for Michael a firetruck was driving by in the middle of our rescue. They slowed down, obviously debating about whether or not we could handle this ourselves. After seeing us falling down in the snow, and laughing about our poor attempt to help, they decided to stop.

Four firemen got out of the truck, with shovels, and decided to help. Alex and I decided we were cold and she asked if we could sit in the truck. They let us! I had to keep Alex from putting their headphones on. After they finished, we got out and thanked them. Instead of walking me home, Alex asked the firemen if they would take me. They agreed. So I got into the firetruck and got a free ride home, down 16th street mall nonetheless (only emergency vehicles are allowed on this street, so that was thrilling enough). During my ride home, we chatted about all the people they have been having to dig out of the snow. It was a short ride, so we didn't talk about much. Once we arrived, one of the firemen climbed down and then stopped with his back blocking me from exiting. I was confused for a second, until he said, "hop on." I said, "Are you kidding me?". He said no and that he wanted to help me over the several feet of snow that had been plowed, blocking my way to my entrance. I did what any normal girl would have done; I hopped on and got carried to my apartment front door by a fireman! After telling this story to several people, I heard from 2 people in particular (Brian and Stacie) say, "Glad to see our tax dollars at work."

This brings us up to Thursday morning. Surprisingly so, I did not have a headache. Alex came over again and we decided to go find some lunch. We went to the Rialto, which seemed to be the only restaurant open. After lunch, we walked around downtown, waiting for snow that was on awnings to fall onto people. It almost happened to us a few times, and we saw many other near misses with other people. (See picture on left.) Alex and I ended up spending the entire day together, having dinner at Two Fisted Mario's and then just going to bed early.

Friday I went to breakfast by myself at Snooze. Then hung out by myself all day. Peter and I went to Forest Room 5 but then I went to bed after that. This brings us to the wonderful day at Denver International Airport. I decided to arrive about 6 hours early since I wasn't sure how long it would take. Even though the line for security went all the way through the airport, I don't think 6 hours ahead of time was a necessity. Oh well.

Now I'm in KC. I've had a lot of fun with friends. I am not in the mood to write more, so I'm going to end it here. Maybe tomorrow I'll be more specific as to what I did in KC.

TA truck stop

A friend of mine that I met while living in Italy happened to be driving through Denver, from Minnesota, on his way to Copper Mountain. Since he, his name is Adam by the way, was with 13 people, our meeting was extremely brief and was at a TA truck stop/ gas station. Kind of crazy thinking that the last time we saw each other we were in a famous piazza in Florence. It's really strange meeting someone in a foreign country, never seeing them in the native country, and then one day, out of the blue, meeting up at a truck stop. Strange, but awesome!

I don't really have much else to report. I have to clean my room. And pack for KC. And wake up early so as to avoid the bad weather that I know I will be forced to drive through tomorrow morning. Tscheuss!

What a night

Last night I helped my friend Summer throw a Christmas party at her place. I made my famous homemade chocolate chip cookies. They were a big hit, people even took them home with them. The guests at her party were me, Alex, Summer, Summer's brother Jordan, his date Rachel, Jacque (Alex and Summer's personal trainer), Robbie, Jimmy and Matt. This picture from left to right is me, Jimmy, Jacque, Summer, Robbie and Alex.

After Summer's house we went to two other Christmas parties, and then a bar called Spill. The first party was one of Jimmy's friends. It was pretty lame. We walked in and there were about 5 people and they were all sitting on the couch watching their children play video games. Needless to say, we left after about 4.8 minutes. Then we went to Robbie's friend's party. This one was the polar opposite of the previous party. It was hosted by 2 gay men and the house was amazing. The house was full of extremely well dressed, attractive men. Unfortunately, they were all gay. We didn't stay long at this party either. Then was Spill. I really don't like Spill, but I enjoy hanging out with all of them, so I sucked it up and went. Overall it was a fun night.

Today I met Peter for breakfast at the Village Coffee Shop in Boulder. It was a wonderfully relaxing day. Full of food and coffee. Now I am ending my weekend with Chipotle and Jack. Jack Bauer, that is, not Jack Daniels. In case some of you don't know about my newest obsession, it is with 24. I truly believe that I will marry Jack. Not Keifer. But Jack. And don't try to tell me that he is a "fictional character", because I won't believe you. Ok, I'm going to end here and enjoy my Jack.

Fashion

I'm talking to my Grandma Glory right now. We've been talking about cut glass for the last 40 minutes. Ask me a question and I will probably know the answer. Seriously,if you think Waterford is the best, you are wrong.

Anyway, my idea for this blog came from me doing a little online window shopping while talking to Grandma Glory. One of my favorite sites is bluefly.com. It has designer apparel and accessories for a discounted price. For example, Tod's has a small kelly green leather shoulder bag. On this site you can get it for 20% below the retail price. The current price, with the 20% discount, is $1,040. Seriously. Sometimes I really don't understand fashion. Do not get me wrong, I love fashion. Some may call me a bit obsessed with shoes. I have accepted this and live my life knowing I am a shoe addict. That being said, I still don't understand why the F someone would pay One Thousand Dollars for a purse. Come on. If anyone is ever considering buying me a purse that costs $1,040, don't. Buy me a different purse for, say, $60 and cut me a check for the difference.

By the way, I just told Grandma Glory about going to Italy and her response was, "Whatever." Nice. And now she just said, "Now that Jonathon's wedding is over, it's your turn next." Yippee. Whew, that conversation was 1 H 20 M 53 S.

Ok, I must go now. I'm helping a friend throw a Christmas party tonight. I baked my famous chocolate chip cookies. Yummy. And I got a tummy ache last night because of them. :( All better now though, and ready for more! Hope everyone has a great weekend.

I love coffee

MMmmmmmmm....... coffee.......

Right now I am at a coffee shop in Denver called Common Grounds. I woke up at a decent time today, because I decided I was going to spend my entire day looking for a job in Italy. Yay!!! I can't wait to get there.

So here are the main points of my day: I woke up, I packaged up Andrea's Christmas presents and something for Stacie, I went to the post office, sent said packages and a letter and bought 5 2cent stamps, then went to visit Amanda at Tuscany Coffee (where I used to work), gave her a book she had loaned me, then started walking to this coffee shop. (Here is where the highlight of my day comes into play...) On my way, I completely tripped on NOTHING right in front of some guy who was outside smoking. You know how sometimes, people try to act like they didn't see anything? Well, not him. He completely started cracking up, which in turn made me laugh too. It always happens that way, right when I'm feeling classy or really confident, I do something like trip or fall asleep on toblerone candy bars that then melt in my pocket. (Anyone remember that?) Oh well, I'm glad I could brighten his day.

Ok, that's all for now. I must actually do some work. Guten tag!

Meh (my mood right now)

I have been Christmas shopping all day, got everything done, was in a great mood, and now that I'm home I'm in a funk. I don't know what it is, but I am. And I don't like it. :(

Needless to say, I don't really have much else to say. Oh yeah, if you want to leave me a comment, please let me know who you are. I'm going to leave it so that you can leave one anonymously, to avoid the hassle of having to create an account just to leave me comments. But please, in your message, let me know who you are. Otherwise, I may delete your comment, like I did earlier. Thanks.

Update

Nevermind. It looks like the comment option is working now. And to that, I challenge you, Mom...

I wish I spoke Asian

The title of this blog is my quote for the day. "I wish I spoke Asian." This was spoken by a girl who works here. Wow.

Ok. Enough being mean. (Not really, I'm sure.)

For those of you who are trying to comment on my blogs and are having problems, you are not alone. Mom, you're not the only one. Apparently, right now the "commenting" option on blogspot.com is really jacked up. Many people are having problems with it. So if you want to send me a comment, just send it to me in an email.

I don't really have anything else to say right now. Except for this: Yesterday when I was talking to mom and asking if she had read my blog she said, "Yes I have, honey. And Jennifer, I hope you aren't planning on cursing a lot. Bad language is not classy." Though, you didn't seem to mind when I was teaching you how to curse in Italian... Does that mean it's classier in Italian than in English? I love speaking Italian, but I really wish I spoke Asian.

Single!

Well, I am hard at work answering phones, scheduling appointments, checking my email, writing in my new blog and making plane reservations. I'm amazed I get paid to do this. Granted, it's not much, but still. I'm getting paid to update my mySpace page and look for other jobs.

In case there are some of you with whom I have not spoken in quite some time, I shall fill you in on my current plan for my life. (btw, I think it's really funny that as I'm writing this I'm hearing people in the next room getting hair ripped out of them.) Since I am single, and have absolutely no attachments to the states right now; ie: no kids, fiance, husband, real job, I have decided to move back to Italy. I believe I will probably be teaching english somewhere in Northern Italy. For about 1/2 a second I thought about looking into a job for a consulate but then instantly realized that it would be a gigantic pain in the ass to try and get a job through them. And since I am all about instant gratification, I am going to stick with the route that gets me there quickest.

That being said, I have absolutely no solid plans right now. So don't ask. I will keep you posted. I promise.

Quick side note: A few weeks ago Stacie and I were talking about mySpace. For those of you who aren't familiar with mySpace, there is a section where you can check whether or not you are single, in a relationship, or married. I decided that I wished there was an option people who are "single!". This, I believe, would be great for those of us, like me and Stacie, who are single and proud. They should definitely keep the option of "single" without an exclamation point for those who don't really want to be single but are. But for those of us who are thrilled about it, they should definitely add a "single!" option.

Oh yeah, I wanted to mention that on this blog you can see to the right that I have a section for friend's blogs. One is my best friend Stacie who lives in DC (move to Italy with me). She and I have had many interesting, yet very entertaining, times together. Her blogs are always entertaining, whether they are talking about what Halloween costume she should wear, or what celebrity is shooting a movie outside of her window, they are always good.

Another blog I have listed on here is called the middleCoast. This is put together by several people. I think there are at least 5 contributors to this blog. They are all extremely talented. One contributor in particular is a guy named Jason Schrowe who went to my high school. He was a senior my freshman year, and actually had lunch at the same time as me and most of my friends. Our lunch table, mainly consisting of people who were in band, was divided on whether or not we thought Jason was hot. Meghann, Stacie and I were the smart ones who thought he was gorgeous. Anyway, my freshman year of college he ended up being my boyfriend's (Tyler's)roommate. At the time, he was known as JJJ (Triple J) or Johnny Jean Jacket, because he was always wearing a jean jacket. That summer in Lawrence I learned that Jason had an amazing sense of humor and a desire to write.

Apparently "the middleCoast" was his and some of his friend's idea for a zine that they wanted to circulate. I guess they never quite got around to the hard copy version, but this blog is their attempt at keeping the middleCoast alive. Anyway, Jason passed away about a month ago very unexpectedly. I think everyone should read at least one of his contributions to the middleCoast blog. He would love it. His name that he wrote under on this blog is "OtherJason". (At the end of each entry it says who posted it.) One of my favorite of his entries is called "Hey Mickey you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind! Hey Mickey!". It was written on September 5th. (You have to go to the September 2006 archive link.) I also really like one of his last entries about Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors. Anyway, I wanted to put that out there so everyone could remember him and his wonderful ability to make everyone laugh.

Benvenuto

Well, I have decided to give this whole blog-thing another shot. I blame Stacie. I don't know why, but I do.

Anyway, to begin with I will explain my blog's title. As most of you probably know, I have a love for Italy, which is where my title comes from. In Italy when you want to wish someone "good luck" they normally don't use the literal translation. Instead, they say "in bocca al lupo" which, when literally translated, means "in the wolf's mouth." I like it. I think I may start saying that in english when people need to be wished luck. For example, say Stacie and I are talking about her trying to find a new dress for a party.
Stacie, "Hey Jen, I have to go because I am trying to find a new dress for a party."
Jennifer, "Ok Stacie. Have fun with that. In the wolf's mouth!"
I actually think it makes a lot of sense. Though, I believe the response for that in Italian is "Crepi" which means something along the lines of "Die" or "Crack". I still don't know why that is the response. I'll keep you posted.

In addition to explaining my title, I think I need to add some disclaimers. I am going to give my parents access to this account. Since this particular blog allows you to leave comments, please watch your language. That being said, I don't plan on censoring myself. So, mom and dad, please enjoy this unique view you are going to get into my life. And I apologize in advance for any bad words I may say. And FYI: I have a feeling that most of my friends who have blogs Stacie probably aren't giving their parents the same privilege that I am giving you. I'm such a good daughter. By the way, mom, feel free to correct my grammar whenever you want. As long as you can figure out how to post it as a comment...

I don't really think I have any other disclaimers. Except for the usual, "I'm probably going to be mean on occasion" blah blah blah "I'm probably going to reveal some stupid things I do in my day to day life" so please don't use this against me, and "my grammar WILL be wrong from time to time" (my english has gone way downhill since learning other languages). Anyway, I'm sure there are many more, but I can't think of them right now. The disclaimer section may be updated regularly.

For those of you that read my blog when I lived in Italy, this probably won't be written in quite the same style. That one was more of an update on my day to day life whilst in Italy. (Yes, I just used the word "whilst".) This one (since my life is not as eventful right now) will probably be more of a "here's what I'm feeling today". Or not. I really don't know. We can all figure it out together.

Ok. I must go to bed so I can prepare for my gruelling day as Salon Coordinator at my place of employment. Good night!