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!