Friday, December 29, 2006

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.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

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.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

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!

Sunday, December 17, 2006

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.

Saturday, December 16, 2006

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.

Friday, December 15, 2006

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!

Thursday, December 14, 2006

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.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

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.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

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.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

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!