So it's been a while...

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Now that I write for a living, keeping up with my personal blog loses a little of its appeal. I don't need this outlet as much as I used to, but for the sake of my personal history, I should do a better job. I mean, to this day I hate the fact that right before I graduated from high school, I stopped writing in my diary. What happened after that? What was going through my head? Which crush did I miss the most? What did I think about college? All these questions never to be answered... Sad.

Since January, well..... a whole lotta nothing has happened. Blogspot changed - woot woot. That's exciting. In life? Not much. Still working, still writing, still not shooting as much as I'd like to.

Let's go back to at least the beginning of May...my birthday weekend was in Tahoe, as usual. (I was going to write "the youjjjjj" but I have no idea how to spell the abbreviated version of "the usual." If someone can enlighten me, please leave a comment. I've always wondered.)

Anyway, back to Tahoe. A good time was had by all, as usual. Came home at dawn both nights, as usual. This time, we stayed in a killer suite with 2 bedrooms & 3 bathrooms - perfect for 6 girls! Especially since a couple of us don't shower every day necessarily. And by a couple of us, I mean me of course. We met some fine folks, as usual. Very fun long weekend - can't wait to go back, say it with me, as usual. I really should buy a place there!

On Tuesday, I left for a solo trip to Cabo. Yep, solo again. I planned on going to San Jose del Cabo because it's more low-key, less party central and I thought that by going there, I wouldn't feel like as much of a loser because I wouldn't see or hear all the big groups of friends. Well, I planned wrong. Instead of the relaxing, non-partying week, I was bored out of my mind. At least if I had stayed in Cabo San Lucas, I would have had the chance to meet some people my age at the swim up bar or by the pool. Instead, it was me, 5 books in 3 days and a whole lotta thinking. I'm pretty sure by Day 3 I was talking to myself. Out loud. (And now that I recall, Day 3 was the magic number last summer too.)

Let me give you a glimpse into a day in the life in San Jose del Cabo...

9:17am: Wake up. The bed was wonderful, the room was extremely nice, so waking up was a leisurely activity.

9:42am: Make coffee
9:45am: Enjoy coffee on my amazing balcony with an amazing view. Watch the early pool birds.

10:13am: Still enjoying coffee & the view.
10:15am: Bored. Open a book.
10:28am: Coffee is cold. Time for the pool.
10:46am: Suit is on. Sunscreen is on. Flip flops are on. Head to the big pool.
11:01am: Lounge chair chosen. Book opened.

12:34pm: Hungry! Head over to buffet or restaurant for some food.
12:44pm: Done with lunch. Eating is just a bare necessity when you're solo.
12:48pm: Back to the lounge chair. Book opened again.
1:35pm: Bored. Hot. Go for a dip in the chilly pool. Float near the infinity edge because, well, it's an infinity edge and the view of the water is fantastic. Back to chair.
2:39pm: Bored again. Look around for anyone new at the pool. Maybe a group of people who are close to my age. Nothing. Back to the book.
3:41pm: Hot. Consider going for a dip. Decide to move to Adult Only pool to dip there.
3:45pm: Lounge chair at Adult Only pool selected. New faces to stare at when I pretend to read my book.
5:32pm: Hot again. Dogear the page. Scope out the pool. Still just couples. Nothing new here.
5:35pm: Hungry again. Head to buffet for a blue hair special early bird dinner. I'll be sure to get a seat.
5:45pm: Head back to my room.
5:50pm: Take a shower in the rain shower. Contemplate another whirlpool tub bath. Stick with just the rain shower with two shower heads. So fancy.
6:08pm: Get into bed. Turn on TV. Out of 57 channels, 4 have a show on in English with Spanish subtitles. Think I score on a fifth English channel, but there was no talking. Pretty Woman is dubbed in Spanish. Cannot understand.
6:31pm: Still flipping between my 4 channels. One of them is golf.
6:59pm: Settle in on episode number 14 of CSI Miami. It's the only thing on in English. I continue to read the Spanish subtitles for some reason. Maybe I'll pick something up.
7:42pm: During Spanish commercials, I find Monsters, Inc. If I can watch Beauty & the Beast in French in high school and know what they're saying, I should definitely be able to watch a kids movie I've seen 100 times dubbed in Spanish. I'll probably learn Spanish - it's low level right? Wrong. I have no idea what they're saying. Even Boo. And she just screams.
8:19pm: Consider going out for a drink that I already paid for in my all-inclusive package.
9:19pm: Still considering.
9:45pm: Get up. Get dressed. Go to the martini bar. Ask for a not-too-sweet cocktail. They make me a bubblegum martini. Too sweet.
10:05pm: Wander around like I'm waiting for someone. Never stay in one place too long.
10:15pm: Bored. Go back to the room. Watch more CSI Miami.
11:30pm: CSI Miami is really the same show over & over. Not sure what I expected to be different.
11:37pm: It's been a long day. I'm pooped.

All in all, it was gorgeous. GORGEOUS. The weather was amazing, the people are always so nice, the pool was amazing, the beach was amazing, I got a bit of a tan. That said, it was nice to be away, but I think next time, I'll go to Australia.

Craigslist

I posted a bunch of stuff (again) to Craigslist because I really need some furniture gone. Because people keep getting murdered & I keep getting bombarded with spam from people who say "Your thank you for this item. Should now sell please call me." I have added this to my posts:

"Please include "HAM SANDWICH" in the subject line when you email me because I keep getting bombarded with spam."

Now, I have 5 emails sitting in my inbox that say Ham Sandwich. It's really, really entertaining.

(In other news, I hope I don't get murdered.)

This makes me so happy.

New Year's Resolutions 2012

Can I do any of these? Well, I'll try.

1. Drink more water.
2. Take one photo per day with my iPhone. More if I use a real camera.
3. Go to the gym that I pay for. Once a week, twice a month, four times a week, doesn't matter. Just go.
4. Blog more. 
5. Don't let work dictate my creative outlets.
6. Stop the negativity! I promise I'm not going all The Secret & crap on you (because I think that's hogwash) but I don't have to get sucked into the negative thought process so often. All it does is make me feel icky. I don't wanna feel icky.
7. Accept me for me. This will not be a 2012 goal - it will be a life goal. Just a clarification.
8. Accept that some days, sitting on the couch is really all I've got in me.
9. Figure out the next step.

Homemade Sushi!

My brothers & dad have started a tradition - they have sushi for dinner then watch some sort of zombie/horror movie or a movie & its remake. Earlier this week, my mom & I were asked to join as a send off for my brother who was going back to Oregon.

Honored, I accepted, given that my sushi experience is limited & my tastes have only been for Ahi. I was only allowed to join if I ate halibut. Raw halibut. I agreed.

Instead of heading out for sushi, we made it at home! It was such a cool experience and much harder than I expected. We did SIMPLE rolls - seaweed, fish and rice. I made a poke salad but other than that, there was nothing else but fish & rice.

For Christmas, I gave one of my brothers a sushi set - sushi rice, sushi rice vinegar, wasabi, pickled ginger and two rolling mats. He got a fancy-dancy, super-super sharp knife from his girlfriend for Christmas, so besides the fact that we didn't have avocado or cucumber, we were ready to rock n' roll. (Get it? Roll? Ha.)

Honestly, we did a killer job. The fish was fresh (ahi, halibut & salmon), the rice was uber sticky, and the Sapporo was cold. The key to rolling is to make sure your hands are always wet - seriously, that rice is SO sticky - move slowly but deliberately, and slice with a purpose.

1. Lay out seaweed on rolling mat
2. Add a thin but solid layer of sticky rice (sushi rice with some sushi rice vinegar on it), leaving one 1/2 inch edge free of rice
3. Add your fish (avocado, cucumber, etc) in the middle of the rice
4. Roll the seaweed over the rice & fish
5. Continue rolling until you get to the free end. The water and rice will allow it to stick to itself. Make sure you don't roll the mat into the sushi roll. It's easy to do.
6. Slice the roll into 1" pieces with an extremely sharp knife. Start at the bottom of the blade and, applying barely any pressure, slice towards you. You should be able to get through the roll in one slice but if not, repeat.
7. Dip in soy sauce (mixed with wasabi if you're not a baby like me) and enjoy!

It's not a cheap dinner per se - each fish was about $25/lb. There were seven of us, we had 3 lbs of fish and 1 lb of shrimp tempura so when all was said and done, it was probably about $125 (not including the Sapporo of course) which is not too bad for seven people!

More than anything, it was a fun experience with my family and I highly recommend it!

Business Idea #74384242

I need to start a gym where the classes aren't classes at all. They're in those little rooms with the wood floors but there's just awesome music playing & you just go in there and dance for as long as you want. I'm pretty sure this would work. I HATE the gym but I love to shake it like a Polaroid picture so why not put both together and have a dance gym. Not Zumba or Jazzercise, just like a club but everyone is in gym clothes. You know you'd kill for this when at real clubs you're wearing shoes you can't even walk in, let alone dance in. At my gym, you'll be in tennies! And if you get sweaty, that's ok! It's the point! No need to worry about lookin' good because you're just there to work out.

I think I'd call it Dance-Off. Only $29 a month, no contract or sign up fee. 

I was also thinking that this gym would have Wiis & Kinects all over and you could just play those too. But no just sitting there. If Just Dance is on, you have to get up and move. If you're playing tennis, you have to get up and play. If you're playing Rock Band, you have to rock out as if you're really on tour. Boxing is always up & ready to go. How fun would this gym be!

Sad Day in My Career

Dear Mr. Microsoft Mouse,

You're approximately 8 years old so I should have assumed that your days were numbered. I didn't though, so today is a sad realization that we must part ways.

You came to me back in 2003 when I asked my company to get me a mouse with a scrolly wheel. Bonus: you also came with a side button which I could click, and you would take me back a page on the internet. Clearly ahead of your time. We spent the next three years at that company, coding, project managing, marketing & communicating all the day long.





When I left that company and moved on to the next, you were by my side the whole way. We set up shop together at a new desk, with new people & new projects. Almost five years later, we're still together, but today is the day I must say goodbye.




Your silver coating has worn off, your feet are worn down and your wheel is almost bare, but every day your light shines bright, preparing me for the day. You have started clicking on things that I didn't click on and for that, you must go. It has been an incredible journey, one that I will cherish for the rest of my career.


Please don't be offended if I choose a mouse that has a big red ball or more bells & whistles than you have. It's just how it is, and it doesn't mean I love you less. I will really miss you, little silver Microsoft mouse.









Until we meet again,
Your proud owner.

What? I have a blog?

Yeah. It's been a while. My job consists of writing all day and thinking about writing anytime I'm not writing. By the time I get home, the last thing I want to do is write here. But it's been too long. I was just reading an interesting blog and on the list of things never to say to single people, this was by far my favorite:

5. Please don’t assume that we’ll sleep on the couch. It’s Christmas or Thanksgiving and there are a dozen people staying at the same house, and yeah, we get it. You need the bed more than we do (go ahead and rub it in). If you ask us, we’ll let you have it. But don’t just assume. It’s humiliating.

I couldn't have said it any better. I actually didn't realize until now that what I have felt in the past was humiliation. That's exactly what it is. Hm. Thank you, Modern Reject bloggers.

The rest of the list has some gems too. I guess I'm just hitting my breaking point on being single, hence reading blogs & articles like this. I'm tired of this area, tired of the attitudes, tired of my routine, ready for a change. I'm not a huge fan of the saying "something's gotta give" (it just reminds me of that movie with Diane Keaton) but it really hits home right now...

Fakebook

There are so many - SO many - people who are really good at marketing themselves on the interwebs. They appear to have perfect lives in the perfect house, the perfect hobbies, perfect kids, perfect spouses. The content people post out there rides a fine line between "I'm perfect! Lookatme!" and "My life sucks. Lookatme!" I'm not sure which is worse...fake optimism or negative nelly. Really, it's this image that sums it up:

You know who you are.

Just a Saturday.

I'm sitting here, watching The Office, trying to get some (un)important online shopping done. I considered working on my website, but honestly, I just really haven't felt up to it. That's a big project! In other news, my dishwasher is in the process of being installed! The baby dishwasher that I bought months ago, the one that's been sitting in my kitchen, watching me wash dishes by hand, laughing at me. I can't believe it's about to be installed...truly a dream come true.

I'm still trying to figure out life. Part of me feels like I'm wasting time. Part of me feels like I should enjoy my weekends and time off not doing much because I need the rest. Not sure if I'm having a third-life crisis or what, but what the heck am I doing with my life? Should I start joining MeetUps and do a ton of new things? Should I go gung ho with my photography and get myself set up to really consider opening a studio in the future? Should I take it easy and relax, enjoying the sights? I just don't know! I guess I'm just ready for the next episode.

Why isn't Jim Halpert real? I heart him.