Heaven

Attention, Ladies and Gentlemen... I have an announcement to make. I have discovered Heaven... also known as San Diego. Who knew it was *right there* this whole time!!

I've been meaning to go to SD for like forever. I have some high school friends that live there and they've been trying to convince me to visit since they first stepped foot on the sandy beaches. I was finally lured down this weekend. The carrot? A Dave Matthews concert - predictable, no?

I left work early on Thursday, hopped on a plane, and arrived in San Diego at 3:30... We rolled into the parking lot for the Dave show around 5:30... Hour and a half pre-game and then on to the concert. The show was, of course, fantastic! Danced, sang, and drank beer the whole time. Perfect night. The only downside was that I was EXHAUSTED and running on fumes from Wednesday night - my friend Christine and I went to a fashion show in SF and then to a post party with the models at a place called Dolce... AWESOME time by the way - but that's another story - so much for not burning the candle at both ends, huh?

Anyway... after the concert, the parking lot was, well, a parking lot. I.e. we sat there for an HOUR trying to get out. But, being that we were in the chillest town known to man, no one seemed upset with the situation. Instead, we cranked the radio, opened the sunroof, sat on the roof of the car, and played frisbee with some of our fellow parking lot prisoners. It was so great!

So finally we get home and I crash. I heart sleep. Sleep and I should hang out more often. Seriously. But oh well. We wake up bright and early Friday morning to just another glorious day in paradise, quick walk to Jamba Juice for something *other* than pizza and beer - which is what I've been living on lately - and then it was off to the beach to do absolutely nothing. :) Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. We met another high school friend for lunch, caught up on old times, and then it was back to the beach for a swim. Yes, fellow bay areans (that's a word, right?) you can actually *swim* in the ocean there without being a card carrying member of the polar bear club. The ocean was like a refreshing swimming pool. I've never seen anything like it outside of Hawaii. Fantastic! Swam for a while, and then went home and got cleaned up for the horse races. YAY!

It was my first time at a horse track. SO MUCH FUN!!! And Del Mar is SOOOOOOO pretty!!! As luck would have it, I can't pick a winning horse to save my life, but that's ok! For $2 you can place a bet, cheer like crazy for your horse to win, and then not feel too bad when he doesn't. Plus the horses are gorgeous and you get to see them sorta up close before each race. (Cool!) I can't believe I've never been before. Lame. After the last race was over, there was a free concert (!) - apparently there's a free concert every Friday in the summertime at the track. (Have I mentioned that San Diego rules!) Blues Traveler played and it was the MOST amazing show!!! It was totally unexpected! I mean, I like Blues Traveler and all, but who knew that they were so much fun in concert! And the crowd was totally into it! Everyone was jumping around and singing and dancing. Blues Traveler even covered a few songs including Violent Femmes, Blister in the Sun, and Charlie Daniels Band, The Devil went Down to Georgia. It was a blast. I literally danced till I was drenched in sweat and my feet felt like they would fall off. If you ever have the opportunity to see them - GO!

After the show we went back to Pacific Beach and checked out the local bar scene. PB (as it is affectionately called) is a great town with a ton of bars - each one FULL of beautiful laid back beachy type 20 somethings. My friend Mike tried to tell me that I was in "Man Diego" - but he was wrong... and he has obviously NEVER been to Man Jose.

Saturday morning we woke up and went to the driving range at the Torrey Pines golf course in La Jolla. (Read: VERY posh) It was another first for me. I've never even held a real golf club before, let alone swung one... in public... at a fancy golf course... barefoot. :) My friend Mike was the best teacher though. So patient. And so obliging when I forced him to turn around and not watch me swing because it made me nervous. Turns out I'm not nearly as bad at golf as I am at softball (I've gone 0 for 26 in slow pitch softball batting cages.) I hit the ball just over 100 yards with a 5 wood. Not great for a golfing enthusiast, but EXCELLENT for me. :) I can't wait to go again!

After the driving range, we picked up some lunch and headed to the beach for rest of the afternoon before I had to hop on a 6:30 plane back to San Jose. As I soaked up the sunshine at the end of another perfect day, I asked Mike where on earth he went for vacation. His answer? "Here." And you know what, I have to agree. It's paradise without the plane ticket - at least for those lucky enough to live there.

So all and all not a bad weekend - 51 total hours spent in SD: Two concerts, horse races, golfing, bars, old friends, and two days on the beach - ahhh heaven.

Is It Wrong

Is it wrong that when people want to catch up with me I refer them to my blog???

Burning the Candle at Both Ends

I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. My body has been fantastically forgiving for all the partying I've been doing lately. For 2 weeks now I've been staying up late, getting up early, and washing everything down with a shot or two of vodka. It's been quite a trip. And all without a hangover! Every morning I wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed... ready to do it all again. (Way to rally, no?) And for this, I thank my body... because I really really REALLY needed it. Busy busy busy is the best way to deal with a broken heart, I've always said. But all good things must come to an end. Yesterday, I woke up deathly ill. Well, actually it was just a sore throat. But it was a sore throat to end all sore throats. :( I was not a happy camper.

Stayed home from work and slept ALL day. I hate being sick. It's such a waste!
On the up side, I got to make my famous chicken noodle soup (from scratch!)... On the down side I added WAY too many noodles and ended up with a something that resembled mushy noodle casserole. Oh well. It still seems to have done the trick - I am 98% better today! And that's good enough for government work... so I'm back in my cube!

I think I will put the matches away for a while and give the old candle some rest. At least till next weekend... when I will no doubt bring out the lighter fluid. Whatever doesn't kill me will make me stronger, right?

Totally Narcissistic

If you are interested, here are 90-some-odd pics of, well, me. :) They are from my birthday weekend-o-fun.
Enjoy!
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AbOGjhw5ZtmRR
(Note: no need to sign in... just click View Pictures)

25 Down, 78 To Go

I did it. I survived my 25th birthday. Barely. But I did survive. Whew. Glad I never have to go through that again. (If anyone tries to throw something rational out there like "What about your 26th birthday, won't that be worse?"... or "What about 30!!??" I *will* kill you. I'm working on one day at a time here, people! Please bear with me.)
Anyway, long (long long long) story short, my 25th birthday came in like a lion and went out like a lamb. Today I'm older, wiser, and thoroughly exhausted. To my friends who got me through it - thank you, thank you, thank you... don't know where I'd be without you. I never realized how much I love you all. The shirt off my back is yours if you ever need it. :)

Things I learned this week:
1. Breaking up is hard to do.
2. Polygraphs are crap.
3. Nothing beats a $2 cocktail in SF with your best girlfriends.
4. Boobs and $100 will get you front and center at a Dave Matthews concert.
5. Jumping on a bed (still) rules.
6. Cha Cha Cha's Sangria is both delicious and dangerous.
7. SOMA blocks are really really long.
8. Walking barefoot in a bar is a terrible idea.
9. Same goes for crying.
10. $200 champagne tastes just like $8 champagne.
11. Misery loves company.

And if anyone is wondering about the title, yes, I intend to live to be 103 years old. Why? Because when I was 6 or so, I decided that I would live to be 103. End of story. Can't argue with that.

Here's to another year!

T Minus 4 Days

It's coming... like a freight train... speeding steadily towards me... I stand frozen... blinded by the on-coming light... unable to move... I weigh the alternative - jumping from the track - but we're on a bridge, and it's a long way down... I take a deep breath... I brace for impact.
On Sunday I will be 25 years old.

I know, I know. I sound ridiculous. Here I am freaking out, when I have SOOO much life left before me. But while 25 is certainly not old, I'm having a difficult time trying to still consider it young. At 20 I could play off anything - I was just a dumb kid... but at 25, it's a bit harder to sell that story. I am no longer a young adult. I am just an adult. Blech.

I have a job, and a car, and responsibilities. When did all that happen???

On the upside, I have a job that I love, I can (finally) afford the car payments, and I think I'm handling my responsibilities quite nicely, thank you.

So all and all I think I'm doing ok. But still... 25. Sheesh. I'm no spring chicken.

My mom used to tell me that a person changes as much from 20 to 30 as they do from 10 to 20. That's an awful lot of change if you ask me. And to be honest, I don't think I've changed all that much since 20... so maybe I'm in for quite a ride over the next 5 years. Scary? Exciting? Mildly Overwhelming? Dunno. But I'll keep you posted.

It's Been One Week

Well, here we are, a week after I began my adventure into the wizarding world. I finally finished Book 6... and I am not pleased. I'll leave it at that so as not to spoil for the others who will no doubt be drawn into J.K.'s cleverly crafted web, only to be left there to die... tangled, sad, and alone. I am not a fan.

Stupid Stupid Stupid

Well, now I've done it. I've started reading Book 6. (Harry Potter, duh.) I didn't want to start reading it (not yet anyway)... I certainly don't have time to start reading it... I don't even OWN the book that I'm supposed to be reading for my book club. Not good. Not good at all.
I was stuck at work for EIGHTEEN hours yesterday running a test. Well, mostly I was just watching a test, occasionally adjusting some knobs and whatnot, you know, generally making sure that nothing catastrophic happened. Fun. So what does one do while staring at a test fixture for 18 hours??? One typically reads. Except that I forgot to bring a book. Doh. And there is only so much web surfing a person can do. Luckily, the other girl running the test with me did bring a book - she's so smart - and she let me borrow it - she's so nice - and it was Harry Potter - Damn her!

So now I'm hooked. Can't eat, can't sleep, certainly can't read other books. It'll be all I can do to keep up with reading blogs... and writing? Please!
So forgive me if I'm a bad blogger for a while.

Stupid J.K. Rowling and her stupid fabulous books. Grr.