Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Safeway won't let me forget that V Day is soon!

I would give up coffee to recieve these on Valentines Day. And if you could arrange Lloyd/John (same person right!? right!) to bring them to me, that would be fantastic, thanks!

It was like anti-karma. With a KICK.

People have always said that the stars are aligned for me. And I agree. Sometimes things just happen to me, that are so completely awesome, out of nowhere, and unearned. I am very grateful for these occurrences, and am always pleasantly reminded of such when they do happen. What I didnt expect this time, were the repercussions....

MONDAY: amazing offer (now, being wed, its almost void, but thats beside the point) to housesit for a college mentor professor, with a little bit of adolescent nudging on the side (note: I know these people, he was my project advisor, and I traveled with them on summer study abroad summer 06 etc etc), and most importantly – am getting paid mucho! Possibly even enough to pay for August trip to my program in South Africa, which I previously didn’t think I could afford.

(also worthy of a shout out was the very catholic deans banquet after work, and what catholic gathering would be complete without a free open bar. white wine. check!)

TUESDAY: the “lets fuck with Claire” campaign begins

Am late waking up, probably because I spent half the night kicking the cat, who meows like a dying baby, out of my room

Hair has incredibly bad day, put product on so I can attempt to leave it “curly”, which ends in me giving up, blow drying it and putting it up into a greasy ball of a ponytail. Fuck that!

Run and sweat to the bus station where my bus DOESN’T COME. Making me later for work (and of course making all my rushing and non-lunch making totally a waste!), also leaving me standing in the rain longer while the ring of water slowly rises up my pant leg. More silent FUCKS.

Show up and run to three different campus classrooms looking for the class I’m supposed to present in. finally find it, and give an out of breath presentation. Embarassing.

Return to my desk, to a ton of shit that needs to be done, and of course run into problem in the test scanner room. We have a mutually spiteful relationship so I wasnt surpised, but still.

A few minutes later, think “hmmm something kind of smells"....realize minutes later that it’s MY zip up that IM WEARING. The roommates cat (see above crimes) PEED ON IT....almost scream out loud WHY ME. WHY ME WHY ME.

Proceed to cry in the bathroom.

Acknowledge that bad mood is not going to let up. Get more coffee.

More swearing under my breath as annoying students beg for things I can’t do for them. Go talk to your professor. I am not your mom.

More crying. This time in front of my boss and the deans assistant. ALL. BEFORE. NOON.


Apparently this is what I get. Stars needing to balance out their fortune scale. But please tell me why it has to include CAT PEE?

(*NOTE: all of this has been figured out as sadly cliche yet very real pmsing yet was still worth a woe is me blog)

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Shame on You

After receiving this amazing tshirt in the mail from ALI BROWN for christmas, I was all smiles.....



but seeing this sad excuse for a person comment on the tragic death of Heath Ledger I realized how annoyingly awful Fox News truly is. Drink away liberals!



I. CAN. NOT. BELIEVE. THIS. and that people actually call this journalism.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Check it out Yo!

My dear friend Lauren and I have created a blog project together. It is a photo blog that will feature 3 photos a week, based on our own interpretations of a chosen theme. We will not discuss these themes between us, and will simply attempt to see them in our every day lives and activities. It is simultaneously a peek into our lives, but also a representation of our ever thinking minds. We are not pretending to be excellent photographers or worldly philosophers, simply people who are attempting to capture concepts with humor, honesty, and unique perspectives. The blog will be updated with photos each monday, thursday, and saturday, my photo is first, then lauren's. An explanation of sorts will be featured on mondays, by the 'theme picker' of the week. Please enjoy our new Photo Blog Project Titled "Coupled Perceptions".

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Oh look! A baby!

As Ali and I were out and about this weekend, (another one of our extravaganzas), I swear there was a higher percentage of CHILDREN than normal, everywhere we went. Maybe because it wasnt raining or maybe I just don't get out enough. But they are everywhere and it made me realize how much I miss being around children! They are so uniquely funny, and they dont even know it! How is it possibly to be so cute and so entertaining all at once? What's their secret!? And if you, like me, lack this awesome presence in your lives, take a look at this video and get your child-sponsored laughs for the day!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Just so you're updated

little things about this week that I am thankful for........

watching a movie in bed, then drifting off to sleep

real, nonpowder, freaking glorious half and half in my coffee. and not having the grounds come from a can. and most importantly having secured a monopoly on said cream. mwahaha.

gchat. enough said.

talking on the phone for almost two hours with lauren and having it feel like we're hanging out. and she's right next to me in bed. a girl can dream right!?

tights!

my wednesdays only routine of buying a 36 cent dognut at safeway. fuck yeah.

Being thoroughly and consistently engaged and impressed by this woman and this man, as oped writers for the NYTimes. Well Done. Snap Snap.

watching a 12 year old boy completely solve a rubics cube on the bus. who says the bus is just a bum wagon!?

finally having the lung capacity to handle the gym after 5 days of coughing up my black lung

knowing that soon my little sister will get to have the same amazing highschool experience that I did. And reveling in the fact that she too will have to sing and clap to the hazing ritual that is thunderation.

rediscovering the genius of Beck and blasting this song every change I get.

episodes of brothers and sisters online. politics and family and hot men. yes please.

getting tiny moments of pleasure out of ordering things on staples with someone else's money

the "ask claire if she wants these leftovers" mentality at work. and having that mantra spill over into some unwanted shelves from a faculty office that almost look like they could be on display at anthropologie. they're so pretty!

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

A little Dem on Dem Action



As much as I dislike the scratching and bitching going on currently between democratic candidates (and republicans at that), I do appreciate a good debate, a fair chance to point out one's superior qualitities, and what exactly the other candidate is missing. It's the presidency people, not a baking contest at a county fair! Some see that as counter-productive, especially considering how similar the leading Dems truely are, but it's pretty much the only action I've seen in months. So go ahead.... Show me whatcha GOT! And my favorite politic website happens to agree.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Non Alone Time

After a week of hell last week, or what we tried to spin positively as "Spring Semester 2008 Launch!", I anticipated needing some major alone time going in to last weekend. I was planning and looking forward to a lot of this



and a lot of this



so as my weekend suprisingly filled up with quasi plans with similarly back in town people, I was so-so about it. But my adventures turned out to be splendid and more needed than I realized. Although I did still manage to get in plenty of the above pictured tea, book, and brandi carlisle time (on record bitches!), my time with my former housemates was heart-warmingly refreshing. I obviously needed a LOT of this



Their impressive sillyness and wine drinking abilities are just the tip of the iceberg of why I keep them around :) As the dean was saying during the new student orientation today, take a moment to reflect on who and what has gotten you to this point, the energy that has been rooting for you to be exactly where you are right now. Thank you farmhouse ladies. I love you. And thats enough to get me through this week, if not the rest of the semester, seeing as the following feeling just WONT leave me alone.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Anne Ghena

"I think you became very independent very fast, and a young age, emotionally independent. And I think thats where your confidence comes from. And as you get older, and get away from your instable family, and now that you've created a life for yourself that is solid and good, your confidence and hope just grow and grow, and I see that in you, that hope"
-Anne

Anne said this in the car to me tonight on the way home from a movie, and I cried just a little bit the rest of the way home. I think I was a little bit sad, but mostly profoundly touched, and I'm sure I was blushing. To hear something like that is nothing short of magical. To know that someone sees in you what you are always trying to be. I will be forever thankful for her frankness tonight, and for that unique way in which she was a mirror for me, reflecting what I often fail to see. And damnit that was a well spent 8 bucks.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

CUNT

Every since I can remember, our family watched Tom Brokaw on NBC Nightly News regularly. His voice makes me feel 6 years old and watching Clinton win the presidency. He was like God. He even had the voice down! He is the only newscaster (or tv journalist if you're trying to be pc) that makes me nostalgic. We even saw him once, driving down interlaken in seattle, and my mother and I proceeded to point and scream with all of our might "that was tom brokaw! we just saw tom brokaw!". And don't deny that you sang along to the NBC nightly news jingle. So considering how formative and memorable his nightly newstalks were to me, I was suprised how funny this was to me. A man I once considered even more serious and wordly than my own father, has his bad days too.



Dun dun da da ddun dun dunnnnnn.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Tight

I have never considered myself bad with money. But recently I am beginning to realize that I am far behind my peers when it comes to saving. It's going to be tight untill the next paycheck. And I don't mean "not go to a movie and only have one beer", I mean no money to be spent for T minus 12 days. For about one day I officially freaked out. Many moments of tears and frantically checking my fridge, ending with me hiding in bed with season 8 of friends. Eeek. I have since managed to get my head around the drowning feeling and am attempting to see this as a damn good challenge. A real DAMN good excuse to see how clever I can be. And hopefully these tactics will last longer than the wait time, since my future goals require much much self-reliance and unfortunately a lot of money. So I have stocked up on the things I can afford. Bread. Peanut butter. And string cheese. Plus the remains of my cupboard/fridge from pre-seattle. I almost positive that idea of this situation appears more daunting than it actually will turn out to be, but since I am a runner up to Lauren queen of anxiety, that still puts me at considerable risk. I actually sat down earlier this evening and wrote down all the things I could do for free. And yes of course that made me more depressed, so I abandoned that and went to the gym. Things like the 'library' and 'taking pictures' arent nearly as productive as people watching, walking on a treadmill, and getting my daily dose of CNN. Which I guess proves that its not too bad of a predicament after all. Although tips and/or clues for this challenge are still welcome.

I wonder if anyone finds this as tragically funny as I do?

We are fucked!




Evolutionarily speaking.....

Monday, January 7, 2008

My Life Changing Wardrobe Addition

Ali warned me that the purchase or gift of awesome riding boots would equal some pretty drastic contentedness. Luckily, she was damn right. They are by far the best present I recived this past christmas season. My mother never fails to impress me with her style. They magically turn any oufit into pure classy atire. These boots, combined with the best 11 bucks I have ever spent, tights!



....equals a magical solution to skirts in winter, as well as blister avoidance while pairing jeans and boots. And I won't even go into the marvels of, yet embarassing to confess, control top aspect. I truly am a grown up now. Shit!

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Cue Law and Order Music Now

Email from Boss today reads:

"Our lawyers will be contacting you for a meeting. They are thinking that they may need to allow you to talk to the dept of labor regarding ____, but want to assess what you know first. I am sorry you are being pulled into this. They will be contacting you soon"

I am officially involved in a lawsuit. It's messy and frankly just really surreal. To see your name on a real life legal document. Something that actually means a great deal, emotionally and financially, to someone. I'm sure I will be a huge ball of anxiety the day I actually have to do this.

But at the same time, my "I would love to be a lawyer" personality is thinking.....this is REALLY COOL. I want to see how this works! bring it on! HA! And I really don't think that makes me a bad person.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Holidays 2007/2008 - A Novel

Ok. So, my intention was to go home for two weeks and fill my blog with lots of insightful and hilarious tidbits about my life, my family, the holidays, excursions, etc. But as it turned out, I failed! I don't know if I needed the break, or if it was my way of not dealing with the real stuff, that can be so easily shrugged off through its portrayal as the humurous happenings of my life. Either way, I am happy to report that my holiday break was monumental, happy, hard, and hilarious. Although hindsight makes it easier for my to see it with wisdom and light amusement, not to mention my alliteration in the previous sentence which rocks!

It started with some needed sleeping in, which was basically just one day, and then started the MAD DASH TO SEE EVERYONE I LOVE IN SEATTLE MULTIPLE TIMES extravaganza. So there were old neighborhood christmas parties, out for drinks with middle school peeps, and church on christmas eve that results in seeing everyone from your past that you want to see (huge smile) coupled of course with everyone you don't (awkward anxiety slash confidence cause I know I looked better than you! Neener!)

Then came Christmas 2007. And the theme, this year at least and only in my head, was East meets West. Its a continual struggle, more of a challenge that I have grown to enjoy, for me to balance the old school and new school mentalities of my 20 plus holiday gatherings. The preparation of the food/table/decorations/drinks by the women only, gasp, but no suprise in that world. The shuffling around of seeing and talking with everyone and presenting my life in portland as adult and appropriate (as well as the continual saga of keeping my boobs inside my dress). Attending to my alzheimer champion of a great grandmother, even if it requires me to pull out my social work notes from undergrad. All the while really being inspired by the yearly explanation of our East meets West partnership of my Polish Protestant Great grandfather and my Slovak Catholic Great grandmother (shocking for those panties in a twist people of the 1930's) - which resulted in our weird christmas eve feast. How many peices of pickled herring have you had so far kids!? Eat! Eat! And could you please pass the Braunschweiger and Havarti plate :)

Next on the agenda was Girls Christmas 2007! We dressed up, amaazingly classy but unique in each of our "oh that is so you" kind of ways, and enjoyed the equally classy Nutcracker. And in order to not let those skinny plum fairies show us up on the flexibility and grace scale, we partook in multiple games of equally pilates-esque activities, TWISTER with Champagne! 8 rounds, I do belive, of sheer picture taking, head up someone's ass, falling over in pajamas bliss!

In order to resurrect the Jesse - Taylor vacation tradition, we rented a cabin near plain washington! But plain it was not! Bad pun I know. Our three days there was corny and heartwearming yet practically an insane asylum at times. Vacationing with your divorced parents all the while trying to trudge through 3 feet of snow with no waterproof clothes whatsoever! Fun. Wet. and Plenty of excuses to drink hot chocolate and not exercise! Pictures, especially of our body suit fashions on snowmobiles, to come!

New Years was especially AWESOME. Lauren and I avoided the 'lets get wasted and yell over the ridiculous noise' outing choice, and opted for fun dinner and drinks and some major talk time on her bed. It ended in a fireworks show that was viewed through her condo window and the ridiculous procrastination talents of the TV version hosts, as the show did not go as planned. Way to let me down space needle! Jeez!

On a more serious note, I also feel as if this time of year lends itself towards "ending of an era" type notions, of which I try not to get sucked into too much since I'm wary of umbrella type comments and emotional proclamations (resolutions working out for everyone so far eh?), but it so happens that I am ending a 'thing' or a confusion or whatever. It's been an anxiety filled few days of true vulnerability, but I am proud to say that I have the answers I need. I can say truthfully that I was not the crazy one, and that really awesome people can pull of some impressively jerky behavior. C'est la vie I suppose. Unfortunately it really really hurts. Regardless of how silly I feel about it all.

And to put it all into perpsective, at least THIS is not my life. Hoorah!. A sign of this sometimes hard to grasp sanity comes in the form of really really being reading to go back to my life and job in portland, and finally putting the right nuts in the right recipes! Look ma, I'm all grown up!