Curious Notions

Speaking of skeletal social calendars and good people in my life, my friend Cindy is coming for a visit from Houston this weekend. I think I can afford a cupcake. I told her other than that I plan on staring at her pretty face for free. I’m going to introduce her to Polkadot Cupcakes after work today.

Yesterday’s VEDA topic was “somewhere you want to travel.”

I’m astounded that we’re already flirting with September. Wha?!?!? There’s so much to do still! I don’t think I’ll be getting out of the country as hoped in light of my pocketbook taking dips lately (other personal dips). I’m bummed about that.

I still don’t know what I want to do with my life but I feel optimistic and ready.

In this morning’s VEDA recording I talk movies and TV shows.

Just a random picture of a tower of boxes. I’ve been collecting boxes in my cave of an office at work for the boyfriend’s looming move.

“Oh, I want a tattoo of my boyfriend’s name.”

I almost pulled over. Instead I vehemently discouraged her. I’m like, “No, really, really, really don’t ever do this.”

“What?! But wwwhhhy?”

“Because, Little, I know you’ll meet someone and you’ll think you’ll be together forever, but the odds are against you. Really. They’re against you. Most likely you’ll break up – I’m sorry I’ve seen this and been through this. It’s what usually happens. And when you do break up, you’ll be that girl who just got broken up with with his NAME on whatever body party you tattooed it. Trust me, I’ve seen youtube videos of people trying to remove tattoos, it ain’t pretty.”

To which she huffs. “I’m not stupid. I wouldn’t do it unless I knew we’d be together forever.”

Face to palm. FACE to fricking PALM. My best friend suggested I take her to a tattoo parlor and let her talk to a tattoo artist. Ha. Too bad this conversation didn’t happen before I already discussed piercings and tattoos for VEDA.

While we’re on the topic of my crazy little. Here’s a self portrait she took of herself with my camera.

She thinks I’m a grandma or something because she started to quiz me on Internet speak. Used to be called AIM speak but I guess AIM is all outdated now. She asked, “Do you know what BRB means?”

Ha. I almost said, “Child, please!” (Yes, I’m channeling Chad Ochocinco.) “BRB was around before you were even BORN.” But I never belittle my little and was chill and answered her a plain, “Yeah, be right back.” She was shocked I knew. She then confirmed my level of competency by further quizzing me about LOL and TTYL. :) I’m glad I passed.

Current book: Eat, Pray, Love (Amazon affiliated link)

I was debating on posting this video. I cursed a lot. Bleep bleep bleep, bleep bleep bleep. But uh, cursing is what I do when I freak out. I freaked out because there was a lizard in my apartment. I videoed it under Brittany and Martin’s suggestion and because I was reminded fondly of Chitown’s insect video. This isn’t hardly as funny. So in case for some reason I find myself on the job market, I uploaded the video but it’s unlisted. If you’z friends of mine want to see a freak out of yours truly, you can ping me.

I cashed in a favor from Deesh and called him at 11pm for my reptilian emergency. Offering of course to treat him to lunch :). He was over in a jiffy and freed the imprisoned lizard (I trapped it in a shoebox against my wall). He hardly reads my blog (which is on par with most of my real life friends), but just in case he peeks in, thanks again, friend!

Because I ran out of takes and this will tie in neatly with take #1, here’s a picture of the miniature snow globes I have at work.

I haven’t danced or witness a dance circle since middle school. Dance circles were ALL the rage in middle school. Mainly because I went to a private Catholic school and the circle prevented the nuns from seeing the freaking going on in the middle of the circle. Not very wholesome, my middle school. However! I witnessed my first dance circle as an adult and it was pretty wholesome! I noted a fun phenomenon. If you build a decently sized dance circle, it will invite strangers to join your little dance party. If you build it, dancers will come. It’s true. Anyway, here’s my video proof. The preview screen shot is of my man, breaking it down.

Today is my third consecutive day of partaking in VEDA (Vlog Every Day in August), here’s my video for this morning. It was very very rushed. I did it in one take and did not bother editing even slightly. I talk about things I’m bad at.

I’m going to Houston for the weekend. I’m not quite sure how to pull off this VEDA thing without Internet access. I may rope Kim and Cindy into letting me use their Internet and also starring in a vlog! I haven’t told them yet…Hoping they won’t see this blog post til after I call them later today. I always love my weekends in Houston. Good food, good people, mommy hugs. Good for my soul. I also get to add to the 4 restaurants already backlogged for my food blog.

Current book: A Man without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut.

Random excerpt: “The biggest truth to face now – what is probably making me unfunny now for the remainder of my life – is that I don’t think people give a damn whether the planet goes on or not. It seems to me as if everyone is living as members of Alcoholics Anonymous do, day by day. And a few more days will be enough. I know of very little people who are dreaming of a world for their grandchildren.”

Two of my dear high school friends, Alex & Hillary are coming for the weekend. We’re going to camp out on my living room floor. On our agenda for sure: booty shaking. All else will be decided on whim. :) Cannotwait.

Here’s a pic of the three of us from November. I think this is the last time I saw either of them.

I liked this voice mail I got from my friend Davey. Mainly for the mumbled, “I like you.” Shared with permission.

I like him too. It’s not yet my birthday.

On the walk to my car one day this week, I saw a statue hold a balloon and it made me smile.

I’m on a SARK kick. Here’s my loot from the Austin Public Library.

Click for bigger picture

I don’t know if I buy that a squirrel waved at her. I also don’t know if I buy that another squirrel waved at her previously disbelieving brother. I will admit, I might start discreetly waving at the squirrels on campus just to test it out.

My little from Big Brothers & Big Sisters of America has a boyfriend. She tells me they have a lot in common. For instance, when people fall down, they both laugh. They also both like to “do pranks.”

Beef Stroganoff Fail

I made my first marinara sauce from scratch on Wednesday. It was decent. I wasn’t feeling confident with cooking because I royally screwed up my first attempt of beef stroganoff on Sunday. The recipe said to cover and simmer for an hour. I had no idea I was supposed to stir occasionally! The sweet thing is, Alan scraped off some off the top (the edible portion) and actually complimented it! Aww.

Throughout my life I’ve heard references to Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolfe? in pop culture. In TV shows, movies, and books, and each time I wondered, what is Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf? about? I received an email from the Harry Ransom Center (a museum on campus) and they’re screening (for free!) the film. So I invited Brittany, my movie buddy along to be my date last night. Neither of us did any research to see what we were in for. I knew that an emotionally abusive couple invites another couple over for drinks. Other than that, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The lady who sat next to me said she avoided watching this movie for years because she heard it was intense. Here, watch the trailer.

Needless to say, it quite a ride. The dialogue was biting and hilarious which is just as well since we needed the comic relief! I can see why it was such a sensation back in the day. I’m still processing the movie but for now, suffice to say it was pretty good and pretty disturbing.

A few hours after Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf? let out, I embarked on my second movie of the evening. The midnight showing of Inception. I won’t torment you by posting the trailer. If you haven’t seen the trailer, you must be living underneath a rock. The trailer has been out for what seems like a full year!

Thoughts and reactions: Alan said this may be the most fun he’s had at a movie ever, he didn’t want it to end, and he thinks everyone should see Inception at least twice. I on the other hand barely made it through. I agree it was pretty original, intricate, well woven, LAYERS, literally LAYERS of realities and fantasies happening at once. I liked the concept and the plot but the pacing was too slow for me. However, when reviewing Sci-fi and fantasy books and movies, you should know I have a hard time suspending disbelief and it’s usually not my genre. I walk in with my walls up. The other couple we went with both thoroughly enjoyed it.

2 movies. 1 night. 2.5 hours of sleep. Today will be a long work day.

I checked my mail for the first time this week yesterday night. Am pleased to have gotten 2 real letters! One from France from Ms. Brenda.

The second letter from Madison from Ms. Jen. This has now upped my letters owed to 4 letters. Writing these letters is on the weekend to do list! I’m guessing at this rate, I’ve either already reached and or will exceed one of my New Year’s Resolutions of sending out 15 letters.

I’m all unpacked and set up in my new one bedroom apartment. I built this bookshelf with my BARE HANDS. NO HELP FROM BOYS. I’m the least handy girl I know. Brandi (previous roommate) helped me screw in some screws and that’s about all the help I got. It took me three days but never mind that, I’m a (mostly) independent woman, what what? YEAH. Do you see the black things attaching the bookshelf to the wall (top shelves)? I actually used plastic anchors and screws. I’m most proud of that. I had no idea what plastic anchors were! They’re plastic screwy things that you push into your dry wall to help “anchor” your screws and not ruin your dry wall. Do you hear that? I actually have some sort of clue of what I’m talking about.

Okay. Calm. My point is, my apartment is now homey (I only have one box of shoes left) and I built a bookshelf.

I miss Houston. I miss the food and I miss the people. I think maybe in August I need to go down there. Plan a few good meals, eat some momma food… Replenish.

Weekend obligations/chores: hang out with the little from Big Bros Big Sis’s of America, grocery shopping for next week, return stupid Time Warner cable box, laundry, write zee letters, cook a meal, and crank out some blog entries.

Hopefully some fun and sleep will come my way too! Happy Friday peoples.

Brenda if you’re reading this and haven’t yet received my letter, don’t read take No. 7.

I’ve been getting a little soft around my belly. I’m not complaining. I know if I get big, it’s A. my own doing and B. been a long time coming. I hate working out. I used to have a 3-5 times a week work out buddy that made working out tolerable. If you throw in socializing and someone to share the misery with, I’m all about it! Yesterday, I stuffed my face at a churrascaria and a few hours later, had a midnight phone date with my college roommate while I ate warm chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate chip cookies at midnight.

I need to put on my big girl pants and start working out regularly again. Even if I have to do it without a buddy. (The horror!)

That midnight phone date was wonderful. With the majority of my closest friends being long distance, I try to schedule at least quarterly phone dates with them. It rejuvenates me to catch up with a friend who lives in a different city. Grounds me. I love that we’re off busy in our own life and daily routines, and yet they can recognize that I’m still essentially the same person they met 10 years ago and I can see they too are essentially the same. So comforting to know that despite time, growing pains, life’s dramas, we are basically still who we are. That’s some good shit.

Facebook has been suggesting friends I might know on the sidebar when I log in. Under the name of suggested possible friend is a tally of how many mutual friends we have. It tickles me when they suggest people with greater than 10 mutual acquaintances/friends. Right now I have Erica and Stephanie suggested to me and we have 23 and 20 mutual acquaintances. 23 and 20! I wonder if I ever rubbed elbows with some of these people and not know it. I love stumbling /finding these kind of coincidences on my own without the help of Facebook.

For instance, I once had a class buddy in college in my Medical Terminology class. We sat next to each other for almost a full semester before somehow figuring out that we literally sat by each other at a dinner party 2 years prior. Then there’s the story of Cindy. We didn’t meet til 2005. It wasn’t til maybe a year or two ago when it clicked that she was the lucky bitch who sat way on the other side of the auditorium of a class who got flowers delivered to her on Valentine’s day in 2002 while class was going on. Within in the last couple of years, I had a flashback to a time when we hadn’t even met, of her surprised face and flowers being delivered to her. Oi. Crazy!

Doesn’t it make you wonder how many times the people in your life have crossed paths with you before establishing significant presences? Do you have any relevant stories to share?

Blows my mind.

Another thing that blows my mind is this flower about to bloom in Houston. It’s called a corpse flower and only 28 have been known to bloom in the United States. Houston is about to give way to the 29th bloom. From my understanding, it stands at 10 ft tall, is in bloom for 12 hours? and finally, it smells like rotting flesh! If I didn’t have plans in Austin, I’d totally make a drive down to Houston and drag a Houston friend to go see it with me. Cindy? Kim? Go anyway? Here’s the link.

You need a phone. Google gives you an option to be anonymous. So go ahead. It’s safe. Tell me a joke.

Also, if you’re reading in a reader you won’t see the widget. :)

Life is good. I am happy.

I sent a letter out to France this week. Brenda‘ s off traveling Europe and I’m in Texas envious. It’s been over ten years since I’ve been overseas. Here’s a cellphone picture of the quote I scribbled on the back of the envelope.

I was at Epoch, a coffee shop in Austin with a couple of girlfriends discussing our book club book of June (Red Tent), when Selina and I noticed one of Epoch’s patrons brought her iMac desktop. Someone brought an entire desktop to a coffee shop. I was so stunned, I snuck a picture. We’ve tried to come up with some possible stories for her. For example, maybe the iMac was a gift and she didn’t want to trade it in for a MacBook in case she would insult the gifter. Moreover, she then had to cut her Internet (along with the cable TV because Internet is one of the last things to go). So she is forced to go to a coffee shop for free Wifi. Therefore, she had no other option but to pack an entire desktop to a coffee shop! Yes? No?!

I saw Anthony Bourdain on Monday. I already posted the two pictures I have with him on my food blog but I just wanted another excuse to gaze into his face and see mine inches away! Sighhhhh.

Bad: Opening night of Eclipse. I stood in line /sat in line since 8:30 pm for the midnight showing. Haters, please understand we Twilight fans know it’s bad writing. We know vampires are not supposed to sparkle. We also know the movies are crap. Relax! We know. It’s a guilty pleasure! I will gloat a little and say Eclipse got better ratings than Airbender.

It’s July. Time is sure passing quickly. This weekend, I will be celebrating the Fourth with Alan and his buddies. Next weekend, my parents are coming up for the first time in a couple of years. The weekend after, I’m planning on hosting a girl’s weekend for a couple of out of town girlfriends. And finally, I turn one year older (YUCK). All the weekends are already booked! I feel like I blinked and one moment it was March and now we’re already in July.

Customer Service: Now I’ve never really had a job where my main responsibility is customer service, but I must say I do love the customer service aspects of the jobs I’ve had. In my previous job (clinical research coordinator), it was rare a patient would be beside themselves in anger as the girls I worked with were stellar in making our patients feel cared for. However, every now and then, miscommunication or just patients being grumpy will cause a confrontation to brew. I had so much fun diffusing these sitations and felt so accomplished when we were able to cool the tension and come to a solution or compromise. I loved it. What’s more, it made future interactions smoother. I get really upset when I come across customer service where it just appears that the service providers hate their customers. Austin Timewarner, I’m looking at you.

That said, I also get really irritated when I see customers being arrogant assholes. The people who serve you, just because they’re serving you, does not make them less than. I was in line at a gas station when the cashier complimented a regular on how pretty she looked that day. The lady just blankly stared at the cashier, no doubt, pushing her to elaborate. “You look pretty every day, but you look especially well dressed today.” The lady coldly squinted at the fumbling cashier and said, “You should stop while you’re ahead.” She then cooly walked away. I saw the cashier blush and was visibly upset so I assured her that obviously, that lady had a stick up her ass and to not let it get to her. She composed herself and told me, “That’ll teach me to be nice to her again.”

It’s a cycle. So be nice. That’s a good cycle.

I got this voice mail yesterday from my old college roommate and high school classmate. It reminded me of the scene in He’s Just Not that Into You, where Drew Barrymore’s character says, “I had this guy leave me a voice mail at work, so I called him at home, and then he emailed me to my BlackBerry, and so I texted to his cell, and now you just have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies.”

Edit: Note about the sound clip: She’s one of three people who call me “Deese” shortened from “Lindisimo.”

Edit: If you’re reading in a reader, the sound clip can be seen if you go to the original post.

I babysat these boys that I’ve been babysitting since they were both born last night and this conversation absolutely tickled me.

I want to steal that verb tense for do. Yes I dooze.

I saw Anthony Bourdain not too long ago. He’s my main food squeeze. I bought tickets to see him again! He’s coming back June 28th. This time, I shall try to get a book signed. I like getting author autographs. My collection thus far: Frank Warren (not a true that author really is he?), Jaden Hair, Chuck Palahniuk, and Amy Tan.

This weekend is crunch time. Moving Sunday. I have tonight and tomorrow to get the hard bits of packing. Sunday is going to be hectic. The movers come and I also have tickets to my first ever baseball game! Going with my little to a Round Rock Express. I heard Will Farrell threw the first pitch at a Round Rock Express game not too long ago. I’m looking forward to eating a hot dog at a ball game :)

My 27th birthday is looming. Do I have to turn 27? Dooze I?

Brandi, my current roommate for another few days is moving to Dallas. Jessica, the other in our threesome is moving in August. It’s the end of an era and I’m feeling a bit sad. I told you before in 7 Quick Takes that I hate this part of growing up, the goodbyes. We’ve been thick as thieves since 2005. I always worry that friendships will frizzle once we physically move away from each other but right now most of my closest friends are long distance. My best friend in Boston. Kym, Jon, Will, and Thomas all are in New York, Dallas, and L freaking A. Kim, Cindy, Aishah in Houston. Nam floats around all over the US. So there is hope for Jessica, Brandi and me. :) We’re doing our goodbye outing Tuesday and kayaking at Town Lake. One of my irrational fears is kayaking. I’m afraid I’ll fall in the water and some little critter will crawl up my nose and then lay eggs in my brain and then I’ll find out three months later and then die. You think I’m joking.

Me, Brandi, Jessica

7.

Friendly reminder, Father’s Day is this Sunday. I’m not driving down to Houston to see daddy because I’m moving on Sunday. :(

Last night had date night with zee dude. Alan was pretty sweet and accommodating to go watch a documentary on babies (aptly entitled Babies) with me. The documentary followed 4 babies from different corners of the world, San Francisco, Namibia, Mongolia, and Tokyo. It’s ALL babies, the documentary. No narration, hardly any other dialogue save the gurgles, baby coos, and baby teary outrages for an hour and 20 minutes. We laughed out loud a few times and I enjoyed it but it was a little slower than I was hoping. My rating is 3/5 stars. See trailer below.

When we got home, Alan reattached his manly bits by watching first game of NBA championship series. ;)

Our fridge at work has pictures of current lab members. The photos have to be humorous and non-serious. I thought I could go unnoticed without a picture up but it has recently been threatened that if I don’t put a picture up, someone else will take one of me and post it. I value my autonomy so I cropped myself out of this photo taken from the weekend.

Photo courtesy of Jason’s facebook

I finished listening to Julia Child’s My Life in France (Ten fricking CDs). It inspired me to buy her first Mastering French Cooking book. I think I’m going to make my 2nd quiche from that book this coming week. If you don’t know how to read or speak French or even sound out French words, I recommend getting the audio book to listen to instead of the actual book to read. It’s fun to repeat after the reader and laugh at yourself as you drive to and from work.

Emboldened by my conquering the lasagna (and recently the quiche), I finally conquered my silly fear of cutting a pineapple. It’s not very hard. You cut off the top and bottom, and shave off the skin. Then cut in desired pieces. All that fear for nothing. The pineapple recipe I chose was from my Steamy Kitchen cook book. Involved grilling the pineapple, drizzling coconut rum chocolate sauce on the top and sprinkling coconut flakes on the chocolate. The combination was a hit or miss with our Memorial Day pot luck crowd. Brother hated it, Brittany loved it.

But it’s happening. I like flowers and leaves that are not delivered to me in a vase (those won’t ever get old, just to be clear :p).

cell phone picture from one of our walks

I always run out of things to share by 7. 2 of my closest friends turned 27 and 26 yesterday and today. So happy birthday Will and Jen T. My brother got accepted into a PhD program in San Antonio. Congrats to him.

Happy Friday to everyone who reads my dribble. Thanks for that by the way. Reading. Say hi or something :).