Monday, June 30, 2003
awww...the washingtonians are gone. some of rick's friends from back home were visiting, and now they are gone. life back to normal now. the weekend was spent pretty much hanging out w/ them. friday we went to a show at the roxy, then tried to sneak greg (who's only 20) into saddle ranch. we failed, of course. oh well. it was an interesting night, tho. oh, tim robbins did a song w/ trainwreck, only he was supposed to be "slim ribbons." it was pretty cool. saturday i showed the kids around santa monica, then went to see finding nemo later that night (it was great!!!). and yesterday, i hung out w/ them for a bit in the late afternoon-ish, after i'd run a bunch of errands (amongst them...buying alcohol for my birthday!). they were there for the bowling fun on wednesday, too. they were here since late last sunday, actually, and they left this morning. i said goodbye to them all last night. all in all it was fun. i like those boys.

anyway, yes...it's that time again. another year has gone by and i am approaching another birthday. this sunday i turn 23. and due to the roaring success of my birthday festivities last year, i am once again taking things into my own hands and planning my own celebration! =P this year, i decided on a small get-together at my place (BYOB, of course...like i wrote on my invite...it's MY birthday, and i'm not gonna go spend money on OTHERS. heck no!), followed by some drunk fun at this karaoke bar near my place. don't know how much i'll get into it, but i read up on this place and it sounds rowdy and fun. something new to try, at least, since i've never been karaoke-ing. yay! i'm excited! especially since i also get friday off cuz it's the 4th of july. a bunch of us are going to the dodger game that night. should be fun, especially w/ the big fireworks display they always have. oh, good weekend to come! =)

posted at 10:51 PM

Wednesday, June 25, 2003

bowling tonight. i finally(!!) have my usc interview scheduled (it's not for a couple more weeks, but still...yay!). i found free books on the sidewalk yesterday, and the sun's finally out! good times! =)

posted at 8:01 PM

Sunday, June 22, 2003

ok, so change of plans. this weekend was just not beach weather, so emily and i did not go as planned. =( oh well. it just better start feeling like summer soon, cuz this dreariness is not cutting it! hopefully we'll get a chance to go soon, if the weather ever gets nice again. plans to hang out w/ bob also went astray. we decided instead of hiking today, we were gonna go to a party one of his friends was throwing last night. only i had told him i would meet him there cuz i didn't know how long i would wanna stay, being as he woulda been the only person i would've known there (not counting rick, who i was bringing along). so he was supposed to call me when he got there so i would know when it would be safe to go, cuz i wasn't about to show up to some stranger's party w/out the person who invited me even there! but he never called me, and since bob has no cell (see!! this is why people NEED cell phones!!), i couldn't call him. i tried calling the number on the invite, but i got no answer. so that was that. oh well to that, too.

despite those setbacks, it was an alright weekend. friday night, i went w/ rick to his friend christina's poker party, which was a lot of fun. i even won a couple games, which was cool, cuz i don't even know how to play poker!! hehe, what did the trick was that not many other people knew how to play, either. and even though i was down $2 at the end of the night (playing w/ nickles and dimes is the best!), it was fun. good food, too! after that, we stopped by asa's party for a bit, which was alright. it was chill, which was cool, and good cheesy 80's music going, but i didn't really know many people, which was a little awkward. hehe, the funniest part was when me and rick were sitting on the couch, and then the dog comes and sits on the other end of it, and then farts!! it was a foul smell, but provided some laughs afterwards. then saturday, since the deal w/ bob was off, i just went over to rick's and hung out w/ everyone for a bit, watched emily put the finishing touches on her "wall", and then me and rick watched dog day afternoon. it was pretty interesting, except i fell asleep during some parts cuz i was so comfy in his bed! hehe. then today i went over to hang out w/ my family for a bit, did laundry, bought a few things at rite aid and kmart, and that was about it. and now i was gonna do some more job searching online, but our internet's being really slow. =( oh well, i'll have to find something else to occupy myself with.

posted at 8:58 PM

Thursday, June 19, 2003

damn, radiohead is sooo fucking good. listening to their new cd right now. yeah, that's the stuff. i hope we're able to get tickets for when they come to l.a.! that'd be cool, cuz i've never been to one of their concerts before. so i'm looking forward to that.

man, i'm tired. stayed up way too late last night. but it's ok, it'll make tonight's sleep all the better. went bowling last night. it was pretty fun. but man, i don't know what's happening to me. i used to be pretty good. consistently over a hundred. but now...eesh. i don't know what happened. it's hit and miss, really. i've lost my consistency!!! oh well, it's still fun when you go w/ the right crowd.

hehe, jordan discovered my blog! he was checking something on my computer last night and it was up on the screen and he asked me about it. i'm actually surprised he hasn't found it before, cuz he uses my computer a lot. but anyway, then i got all excited when he told me he had one, too. but then not so much when he said that he never updates it cuz i guess he just started it for a school project. but still...it's pretty cool. oh, and i showed him that one page where that guy was talking all academically about my blog. hehe, i still get a kick out of it. oh, and then he's like, "wow, your a web superstar! maybe i should start updating mine again!" haha, that jordan.

i felt pretty good today, in terms of some internal issues i've been dealing with. i think it made a big difference to get some things off my chest. cuz really, the situation is pretty much exactly the same. but i guess just letting it out instead of keeping it all inside offers some sort of relief. i wasn't thinking (ie: agonizing) about it today as much as i have been recently. i still feel like there's a ways to go before i get to that ok zone, but, you know...baby steps.

posted at 8:18 PM

Wednesday, June 18, 2003

so i got a fifty cent raise at work. whoop-dee-doo. but it's something, i suppose. oh well, hopefully i won't have to be there too much longer, anyway. i'm really hoping this usc job comes through. i know i'm qualified, and i know i would do a good job. and i know my interviewers will like me, cuz most likely it will be people i've interviewed w/ before to get my orientation advisor job and to get my job at the advising office. so it's just a matter of getting into that interview! i'm a little nervous cuz they still haven't called me back to actually schedule it, and i'm not sure when the best time would be to call. cuz i don't wanna be a pest, or worse yet, seem desperate, but i do wanna show that i'm interested in this job, and am being proactive and a go-getter and such. and she did say that they're pretty busy right now cuz of orientations going on. so i dunno... i'm thinking monday will be safe to call, though. hopefully, they'll get to me before then, but if not, i'll be ready to follow-up!

posted at 8:59 PM

Tuesday, June 17, 2003

i'm listening to the citizen cope cd right now. not bad. there are a couple of songs that i've really liked so far. the rest is kinda whatever. but we'll see. i'll play it a few more times to see if it grows on me. and if not, eh...a dollar!! and who knows, maybe one of my friends will like it.

oh, and poor tom got another parking ticket yesterday!! ayyyy. i can't remember if the new roommate will be here this week or next week. jordan decided to rent out his side of the room, too, for the summer, cuz he's not really using it. he's just living at home cuz it's closer to his job. but yeah, don't know much about her at all, so i'm curious.

anyway, i should leave soon to pick up mrickulous from the airport.

posted at 7:28 PM

Sunday, June 15, 2003

ok, so change of plans. i actually went home (parents' home) yesterday, cuz my mom told me she wasn't gonna be around today. so i did that, and that was pretty much it. i came home and was gonna possibly hang out w/ jen and emily, who were gonna go to a bar w/ adam and his friends (although, i guess they didn't end up going), but then i kinda didn't feel like it anymore. so i just stayed home and watched about a boy. =) good stuff. i went to bed pretty early and ended up getting up early, too. so i decided to do some of the errands i was gonna do yesterday but didn't, cuz i was home. so i went to amoeba to sell off those cd's, and they gave me 60 bucks in credit!!! i was so happy!! i bought the new radiohead (special edition, too. just cuz, hell, it's free!), and i bought the about a boy soundtrack, which i've been wanting for a while, and watching the movie last night, i got reminded of how damn good that soundtrack was. i also bought a used copy of the avalanches' since i left you, and this citizen cope cd that was only a dollar! i don't really know anything about citizen cope, just that the name sounded vaguely familiar, but heck, a dollar! why not? oh, and the best part was that after buying four cd's, i opted to get the remainder of my store credit in cash, and i still got $13 back! damn, i love amoeba!! =)

after that, i did my grocery shopping, came home, and had lunch. then i went to pick up emily, cuz we had made plans to go to the beach. she wanted to go yesterday, but i was at my parents' house when she called me, so we decided to go today. and even though i coulda gone hiking w/ bob as planned, i had already called him to postpone when i was thinking i was gonna spend sunday at home, and since i really had the hankerin' to go to the beach, i told emily i would go w/ her today. so we went to venice. it wasn't as hot as we hoped it would be, so we didn't go in the water, just sunned for like an hour, then walked around a bit to look around, and then came home. unfortunately, i don't think either of us tanned much, cuz we weren't there for very long, and we're both so damn pale! so we want to go again next week, which is cool, cuz i never go to the beach as much as i want to. i only went to the beach once last summer! oh wait, twice. still, tho... so i figure i can do that on saturday (and we need to get there earlier this time, emily!), and then go hiking w/ bob on sunday. so another full weekend to look forward to. cool!

oh, and as i type, my sheets are in the dryer, and i'm about to finish editing a couple cover letters for some jobs. damn productive weekend, if i do say so myself. go me!

posted at 9:39 PM

Saturday, June 14, 2003

ouch. my credit card bill hurts this month. i decided i better start controlling my spending before it gets out of hand. so from now on, i will only be charging my groceries and gas. for everything else, i'll pay w/ cash or my check card. if i don't have the funds, then i just won't buy it. simple as that. which means that i probably won't be buying any fun stuff for a while...cd's, concert tickets, clothes, etc. but i just wanna make sure that i'm doing more saving than spending. i gotta get myself to europe next summer somehow!!

anyway, looks like this weekend will be a busy one. gotta take rick to the airport in a little bit cuz he's going to seattle for his friend's graduation. then i'll probably go to amoeba to sell my last batch of cd's so i can hopefully get the new radiohead album w/ whatever they give me. which would be cool cuz then i wouldn't be spending any money, and would therefore be sticking to my no frivolous spending plan. yay! then i'll probably go grocery shopping, maybe wash my sheets. it's been a while, so it's probably time. let's see, what else? i told bob i would go on his sunday hike this weekend, but i just remembered it's father's day tomorrow, so i'll have to call him up and put it off another week. so yeah, go home tomorrow for a bit to spend some time w/ my dad. and of course, all throughout the weekend, as much job hunting and applying that i can. oh, and hopefully watch about a boy, cuz jordan just bought it, and i like that movie a lot! =)

posted at 11:31 AM

Friday, June 13, 2003

damn carpal tunnel!!! my right wrist and arm hurt a LOT today!! =( i hope it doesn't get worse.

anyway, because of that preceding statement, i should get off soon. but funny story before i go. so the new roommate is here, the one that's replacing dianne. his name is tom and he comes from boston. he just graduated w/ a degree in film and came out here to try to make it in the movies, just like everyone else who comes to l.a. but anyway, he got here like on tuesday, i think. and the very next day, he gets his first parking ticket!! sad. hehe, to quote jordan, "welcome to l.a."

posted at 7:59 PM

Thursday, June 12, 2003

who's got an interview at usc?!?!?! yeah, that's right...I RULE!!! =) (now everyone wish me luck)

posted at 9:45 PM

Wednesday, June 11, 2003

woo-hoo!! done and done!! my blog is all nicely set up now. yay!! i even figured out the yaccs thing. oh, how pretty everything looks! i spent way too much time on everything, of course, but i am happy. =) i should get to bed soon, though. but regular blog programming will resume tomorrow!

posted at 10:53 PM

hmmm...everytime i try to add the yaccs commenting thingie, it fucks up my blog. i'll deal w/ that later, i suppose. the rest is coming along nicely, though. yay!!

posted at 9:15 PM

YAY!!!!! words cannot express the joy i feel now that my archives are back!!!! now to try to get this baby to look pretty!

posted at 7:48 PM

in an effort to try to get my archives back, i decided to try changing my template. i've been wanting to change it for a long time, anyway. let's hope this works!!

posted at 7:46 PM

Tuesday, June 10, 2003

damn, this past weekend went by really fast. it was a good one, though. friday, rick picked me up from work cuz he’s temping someplace near me now, and we went over to his place and hung out for a bit. emily and adam were there, and then rick discovered this mystery meat in the freezer. it seriously just looked like a ball of meat. and so everyone was all, wtf? so, w/ some egging on by emily, rick decided to cook it on the lean mean grilling machine. and it turned out to be one of lawrence’s steak wrapped in bacon thingies that his mom sends him. so that was a source of amusement for a while. then adam and emily took off to go eat somewhere, and then james came over, and him, me, rick, and michael were just chillin’. i had fun rolling myself along on their wheelchair. taking full advantage of their hardwood floors and all. then james took off, and michael was leaving, too, and then rick’s friend, bobby came over, and so we three (rick, me, bobby) went to the temple bar in santa monica to see mystic, who was really really good. i didn’t know much about her, i’d only heard one song of hers, really, and i think that was the case for rick and bobby, too, so it ended up being a good chance that we took. mostly due to rick, who was really gung ho about going, wheras i was just whatever about it. but i’m glad i went, cuz not only was mystic awesome, but her opener, kim hill, was really good, too. so it was a good show, good crowd, and a really good night over all.

then saturday, rick and i went to his friend, linda’s, wedding. and that was a lot of fun, too. the only other wedding i’ve ever been to was when i was really young, and i didn’t even go to the actual wedding, just to the reception, and i don’t really remember much about it. so i guess this saturday was my first wedding. but yeah, it was good times. the wedding part was short and sweet, there were even some good jokes thrown in. the only church associations i have (from the handful of times i’ve ever even been in a church, all when i was quite young) are long and boring catholic sermons, so i was pleased that it wasn’t boring at all. the only thing, though, was afterwards, we were waiting around trying to figure out if there was gonna be any big send-off…you know, confetti and cans tied to the car and such. but there wasn’t, so it was a bit anti-climactic. but then the reception part was cool. once we found the right one, that is. hehe. actually, it was pretty funny being at the wrong one. what happened was we got to the hotel, and right by the parking lot we were in there was this big tent called “the wedding tent,” so we assumed that’s where the reception was going to be. but before we went in the tent, we both had to go to the bathroom, which were outside the tent. then, after that, we decided to go to the bar to get drinks, which was also outside the tent. so we get our drinks and finally go in, and realize we don’t recognize anyone. then we see this girl in a wedding dress, and we’re like, “whoa, that’s not linda.” haha, so that’s a wedding and a prom that i’ve crashed w/ rick! so we finished our drinks and then made our way to the right reception. and like i said, it was a lot of fun. everyone at our table was cool, rick knew mostly everyone, i think. the food was good, and we danced a lot. we stayed til the end, which was still only like 11pm (i was surprised how early everyone cleared out), but it was good. then when we were saying goodbye, linda gave me a centerpiece to take home, which i probably wouldn’t have taken if it wasn’t for the vase, which was in the shape of a fishbowl, which i thought might come in handy some day. hehe, so we shall see.

then sunday, i had my lunch w/ chris, which was cool. we went to the farmer’s market and had some good food. i hadn’t realized until right then how long it’d been since i’ve seen him. like six months! so it was cool catching up. he’s doing well, working hard trying to make it in the movies. he says he’s actually getting paid for it these days, although it’s still kinda sporadic. but still…good for him! oh, and this time, he did actually ask if me and rick were still together. but he seems cool w/ things now. which makes sense, it’s been almost a year now. but i’m glad that he still wants to be my friend. yay!

so we were at the farmer’s market for a couple hours, then he dropped me off at home. then rick and i decided to go to the cuban festival in echo park, so i picked him up and we went to that, which was pretty fun. we were only there for a little bit, we pretty much just went, ate, watched a bit of the cuban band that was playing, and left. but i had a good time. it was just nice lazy sunday fare. the only sad thing was that i got a parking ticket!! it was kinda bogus, there were two conflicting signs, and plus all these cars were parked where i was parked, so we all got tickets. but oh well…whatreyougonnado? and rick, being the ever-so-sweet boyfriend, offered to pay for half of it. so that made it not so bad. so then i drove him home, chilled for a bit, ended up napping together for like 2 hours, and then i came home. and that was that.

and now i can’t believe it’s tuesday already. but yesterday was good, too. if only for the reason that i got an e-mail from my old boss at the usc advising office telling me she wants me to submit my resume cuz there are two positions open! woo-hoo! everyone cross their fingers for me!! ohhh…a full time job w/ benefits, just like i’ve always wanted!! and it would fit in quite nicely w/ The Plan!!! so i sent off my resume and cover letter for that already…i just hope good things come of it!

posted at 10:03 PM

Wednesday, June 04, 2003

grrrross!!! i have a zit the size of montana on my face. i am not even kidding you. yuck!! right smack in the middle of my cheek, for all the world to try politely not to stare at. and of course, i have a wedding to go to THIS saturday. *sigh* well, at least it's not the prom. (speaking of proms...rick and i crashed one, like, a couple weeks ago i think. we had gone to the leammle downtown to see bruce almighty, and afterwards, i felt like going to ride the elevators at the bonaventure. so we went, had our fun on the elvators, and then noticed there was this prom going on. oh, and before we went in to check it out, we just heard this horrid singing. some guy was doing kareoke to "take on me," and the high notes were so deliciously bad!! aside from the cringing it was hilarious! but anyway, we went into it just as it was breaking up, and it was just a quick, walk in, take a look around type thing. but only w/ rick would i ever crash a prom!!!)

anyway, i was almost starting to get in a pissy mood cuz i thought chris blocked me from his aim again, cuz i realized that i haven't seen him online in a long time. but then i just saw him on today, and we chatted for a bit. =) we're gonna try to do lunch this weekend and catch up. we're going to farmer's market, so that'll be cool. i've been craving that awesome blackened chicken salad that i had when i went that one time w/ kyla, jason, and emily. oh, so good!!! yum!

and today i sent off my resume and cover letter to two places that i actually want to work for, not just that type of deal when you're like, "well, i guess i'll apply." so we'll see. i'm making myself get into the habit of constantly sending out resumes, so i can land myself a job SOON!! i wanna get this grand Plan of mine going. the first step: get a higher paying job w/ benefits (that i like). i'm on my way, baby!

posted at 7:23 PM

Tuesday, June 03, 2003

man, i sooo want to join the peace corps!! god, that would be so cool. i wish i would have gotten my act together earlier, figured out what i wanted to do w/ my life sooner so that i coulda done it at a more opportune time. but as things stand right now, i don’t think i could just up and go and give away two years of my life. i have too many commitments right now. well, i guess maybe not so many. but important ones nonetheless. what would have been ideal was if i’d gone through the application process before graduating, cuz i guess it takes like 3-6 months to go through it all. then after graduation, i coulda just chilled for a bit before my assignment started, and then shipped off. do some rewarding work for a couple years, then maybe travel for a month or two w/ some of the $6000 they give you upon completion of your assignment. then gone to grad school w/ some nice government funds that i would’ve been eligible for. then finish grad school, start work, get on w/ life…

damn, that woulda been such a good plan!!! why oh why didn’t i think of it before? i mean, i guess i had given some thought to the peace corps before, i always thought it’d be kinda cool. you know, the bleeding heart in me. but i never until now thought that it was something that i would for sure want to do. so what changed? i guess i’ve just learned a lot about myself over the last year, being out in the “real world” and all. career-wise, i mean. first of all, i’ve noticed that the types of jobs that interest me the most when i’m doing my job hunting aren’t really about music and entertainment anymore. i think what happened w/ that was that i realized that to get anywhere in that field (anywhere other than a reception/secretary/assistant job) you have to REALLY work your ass off. and i’m not willing to work all that hard for it. i’m just not motivated enough. cuz in the end, all the hype and glamour and excitement…it’s really not all that important to me. and another thing…i like that i’ll be able to keep music as just fun. i won’t have any work associations w/ it at all. and i won’t feel like a dumbass if i don’t know what the next big band is, or who this big producer is, or if i don’t know about that obscure b-side from whomever’s new album that will only be released in timbuktu or wherever. FUCK THAT! i won’t have to clutter my head w/ useless knowledge just to be on top of things. i can be free to just focus on the music that I like. and that feels damn liberating.

what IS getting me excited when i do my job hunting these days are the listings i find for non-profit organizations. yep, there’s that bleeding heart in me again. cuz like i said, glamour and excitement, and even money have never been all that important to me. doing something noble with my life would give me much more career fulfillment (personal fulfillment, too), than some entertainment job, however cool it may be. and, you know, it really would feel good to save the world. =P or, more realistically, to make it just a little bit better in some way. hehe, can you see now why i wanna join the peace corps? but alas, as we have established, now is not the time for the peace corps. maybe in my later years i’ll sign up. what’s cool about it is that there’s no upper-age limit to join. i read on their website that the oldest person to have done it was like 86!! if i still have the energy, i can do it when i’m retired. or maybe take a couple of years off of work sometime down the line. it’ll always be an option, which is nice.

so, i’m not gonna join the peace corps (at least not now), but that’s ok, cuz i think i’ve come up w/ a good alternate plan. ok, so like i said, i've been getting really excited about non-profit jobs, and on top of that, i've noticed that what gets me the MOST excited of these jobs, are ones that have to do w/ organizations for kids or students. there's this one organization i'm applying for that's called free arts for abused children, and this other one that i'll probably apply for called kids in sports. and there's also a bunch of high school college counselor positions that have caught my eye (unfortunately, i'm not qualified enough for those...sad). but what i've also noticed is that pretty much the only thing i'm qualified to do w/in these organizations is administrative type work, which is fine for now...but frankly a little disappointing. i know that i'd much rather work directly w/ the kids than work in some office. so, i'm sure you all can guess where i'm going w/ this by now...yep, i wanna teach! i've decided i wanna go to grad school to get my masters in education. and when i think about it, it all makes so much sense. i like kids, i wanna do something good and noble w/ my life, make some kind of difference in this world, and i want job security. teaching offers all that. and w/ a masters degree, i'd get more pay, too (don't know how much more, though, but i would guess a good amount). not to mention, i would get my summers off!! cuz another thing that's attractive to me about the peace corps is the travel aspect, and i was always afraid that once i settled down to a job, it would be hard to get away for some of the traveling that i've always wanted to do. but w/ teaching, i get like 3 months built in vacation time!! and if for whatever reason i didn't wanna travel one year, i could always teach summer school and make some extra money. so yeah, this is what i wanna do. and i can't believe it took me so long to figure it out, because i'm so excited thinking about all this right now!!! i finally know exactly what i want to do w/ my life. BOO-YAH!!! go me!!

so here's my plan, not that anyone's reading this massive entry anymore. but what i wanna do (and will do), is still look for a better job than i have now (ie:better pay and w/ benefits), and hopefully land something soon. then work at this job for the next year, saving up as much money as i can, meanwhile studying for the gre and researching and applying to grad schools, cuz i wanna start school in fall 2004. so then, by next spring, when all my grad school applying is done, and i know what school i'm going to, hopefully i'll have enough money saved up so i can quit my job and go to europe for a month or two. then when i get back, start looking for a part-time job i could have while going to school, and hopefully have something lined up by the time school started and i'd be doing the full-time student thing again. and then, I dunno, take it from there. i figure looking a year ahead is good enough for now.

so that's the ideal plan, although i guess i'm still thinking about possibly doing grad school part time while working full time. but i'm not really fully convinced on that, not only cuz it'd obviously take me longer to get through it that way, but because i'd just have so little time for me that way. i don't really think i want all that stress, although, i guess i could change my mind if i find that one perfect job that i wouldn't want to leave. as of right now, though, the only job i think i would change the plan for is if i got an 'sc job, cuz then i could go to grad school there and basically get my education for free, while also doing a job that i would actually enjoy (cuz i would be working w/ students). and if i did that, then i'd still wanna take my europe trip, although i'd probably have to shorten it to however long my vacation time was. but i'd definitely still go, cuz by that point, i don't think i would be able to wait any longer!!! especially since i wouldn't really know when my next opportunity would be...probably not til after grad school or something.

alright...whew! there it be. The Plan for the next year. and i'm actually REALLY excited about it all!!! cuz i FINALLY have some direction in my life. it's quite a relief, lemme tell you. =)

posted at 8:31 PM