Sunday, September 28, 2008

The Sunday before I hit the road

Days of work I have left -2
Boxes I have packed and/or moved -at least 20 (not all mine, mind you)
How many beers I have consumed whilst packing - not enough
Level of emotions experienced in all of this -it's off the scale

After crying from saying good-bye to friends, having a good girls evening with several glasses of wine with Katya and Jamie, Thanks girls. I had a fantastic time.) and being excited and nervous about moving in general, those have all taken a back seat to my new discovery. I'm now nervous that I won't be able to fit everything in the car. I've already sent many things home in the mail and will be sending at least two more boxes. But goodness, after all that I still have a lot of stuff. We'll make it fit, it has to. We can't come back and get it. Simple as that.

I'm reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig. It's good so far, a little slow moving but I'm not even 50 pages in. This book is in the Buddhism section at work and the quote on the cover says "The provocative, profound, and deeply affecting modern classic that has inspired millions." I'll let you know if I agree with that.

Friday, September 26, 2008

This is only going to get harder.

I just discovered how hard leaving is. I hate leaving my friends, no matter where I am living. It was such a quick goodbye that it ended up being unsatisfactory in my heart. I might have to remedy that. Like in the next 4 days. I need a big celebration of our friendship, not a quick hug and take care and then I'm out the door. I'm all stuffy from crying and like everyone else I look fabulous with puffy eyes.

One of my many lessons learned while in Las Cruces is that no matter where you live you can meet fantastic people. Which makes moving even harder.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

I am not messing around and he better not be either.

If McCain doesn't show up for the debate tomorrow I pray to all the Lords above that all of the good citizens who were Pro-McCain wake the F up and vote for Obama. I understand that there is a "financial crisis" right now, but not going to a very important moment for the American people because he needs to "discuss what to do" is ridiculous. When in all actuality we all know that nothing is going to get taken care of in that one night. (And don't even get me started on "saving the economy" when without the people there is now economy. Maybe they should put just as much effort and time discussing how they are going to help the working class and the less fortunate as they do discussing the economy crisis.)
Seriously, if McCain doesn't show up for this elections first presidential debate, what else is he not going to show up for? Another Katrina disaster? A large forest fire in California? A chance to speak at a college graduation?
He's really not the brightest crayon in the box right now. Among other things.

I'm old

You know those days or moments when you wish you could lay around and do nothing but watch crappy television and nothing sounds better at the time? Well it's a totally different story when you have to lay and do nothing. I hurt my back this morning and I'm in pain when I stand, walk or do anything besides lay on my back on the floor. I even called out at work and I never do that. I like my job too much and I have to be almost out of it to not go into work. Well I think this constitutes as one of those moments. And now that I have to lay and do nothing I'm going stir crazy. Grrrr.
There is nothing worth while on tv, I'm reading a bit, it's even hard to type with my laptop on my belly.
I just hope that my back is better for tomorrow so I can go back to work. Mostly because I don't want to spend another day on the floor.
Maybe I'll try to count the bumps on the ceiling, that could take some time.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

One week and counting

A week from today is my last day at work and a week from tomorrow is when I hit the road to travel home. It's exciting, scary, sad, nerve-wracking all at once. Some times I think it's not possible to feel so many feelings at one time. And then I go and pick up my life and all the emotions that come with it.

Here are some things I'm going to miss about Las Cruces (yes, believe it. I said it.) In no particular order...
1. My friends, but I really think that is a given. I don't think I'd have friends if I didn't miss them when I left. Or when they left, for that matter.
2. The mountains, they are quite pretty and calming and majestic to look at. We'll add White Sands and all the other nature hikes around here. I do like those.
3. Work. Even though I'm transferring with the company many of the people I work with are so much why I like working there.
4. High Desert, love the beer, love love the green chili cheese fries. Love the laid-back atmosphere. Love it.
5. Chopes, my favorite Mexican restaurant. They don't make Mexican like that in the homeland. In fact, I'm not even sure they make Mexican at all.
6. Coas, that place is a book-lovers dream.
7. Jake.

And here are some things I'm looking forward to whence I get home. (Yes, I said "whence")
1. My family and friends. Again, a given. But I'd be a total arse if I didn't put it down.
2. Caribou Coffee. In recently seeing some friends who don't live in Minnesota anymore either, I've found out that I'm not the only one who thinks Caribou is the best thing since sliced bread when it comes to coffee.
3. Premium Beer, Juicy Lucies, Uptown bar and Grill. Yummy yumminess.
4. The skyline. I think it's one of the prettiest things there is. I don't care if it's man-made.
5. Public Transportation. But more than that public transportation that runs quicker, smoother, and more often than here.
6. The lakes. Little pieces of serenity in the middle of a city.
7. The art, the theatre, all the possibilities for night life.

I think we all know that my Minnesota list could be much longer but in being fair, I'll keep the lists even.
Moving is hard. Packing sucks. And dealing with all the thoughts and emotions that can come with such a decision are really tough.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

1 negative 3 positives

First off, I've never met a bunch of people who insist on playing loud bass-bumping music after 10 or 11 pm more than the jerks that live below me. Seriously, do they have no respect or consideration for anyone else that live around here? We have a family with a newborn and a two year old and another family with two other children all living within hearing distance. It's unbelievably rude. One of the many reasons moving home is a good thing for me.

Now that that is off my chest... lets do some good things.
1. I spoke with the manager of the downtown Barnes and Noble today to touch base. And he has told me more than once that when I get in town and I'm settled to give him a call for an interview. I mentioned today that the only thing I have to do when I get home is get a job. And he told me that once again that I come very highly recommended and that I have a job they just need to figure out which position I will be put in. That was a great to hear, it eased my mind and reminded me that I deserve the positions that I'm being offered.
2. I am reading another Jennifer Lancaster book and man she's funny. This one is about her journey to loose weight. She's honest and real about how hard it can be and still hilarious. I'd love to meet her and laugh over cocktails.
3. I'm so thankful for my mother. She is a saving grace in so many ways. But right now shes is making it possible for me to get home. And I can't express how grateful I am for her and all she does. Thank you, Mom. I love you.

Tomorrow is my day off and it's a day of busy work and packing and laundry. Busy but not at all exciting. I'll make it fun. I'm good at that. :-)

Friday, September 19, 2008

This was a good thing

I just did something fantastic for the writer in me. I went to a writers group that my friend Christian invited me to. He gets together every Thursday with friends and they all bring a fresh piece of writing. The goal is to share, critique and communicate new ideas. It was so refreshing and insightful. I've felt a bit alone in my writing which isn't a bad thing. It was just really really nice to be around other writers. We only had time to review another fellas writing but still it was nice to know that there are other people nervous or unsure and still wanting to write. Thanks Christian and friends!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

A few more pics from NYC

 

 

 

 

So I haven't figured out how to put more than 4 photos in a blog. I wanted to add a few with my friends in them. Seriously, this trip was one of the best things I have done in months. Believe me, I'll go back there... someday
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NYC pictures

 

 

 

 

Here are a few samples of my pics from New York. The greenery ones are Central Park. And I was a total tourist atop the Rockefeller Center with the bionaculars. That city is so fantastic and it's even better when your friends live there!
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Monday, September 15, 2008

Back from NYC

OK OK OK I know I said I'd blog while in NYC but besides lack of immediate internet I was also too busy wandering the city to sit down and write. Sorry if you tuned in everyday for my big city update and thus were disappointed. Heres my tour of one of the best cities in the world in ten-yet-no-particular-order steps.
1. Went to the top of Rockefeller Center (Top Of The Rock, it's called) and that was spiritually awesome. I wanted to do the Empire State Building but my friends informed me that Rockefeller blocks Central Park. Well I didn't want that. Plus there were three levels on top of the Rockefeller. I was even a goofy tourist and put quarters in the binoculars and looked at the scenery up close.
2. I went into Barnes and Noble, one of them was 5 floors and the other one claims to be the biggest bookstore in the world. Knowing my little store here in LC, these two were HUGE! Literally so many books so little time.
3. I had one of the best cheese burgers EVER at a place called Five Napkin Burger. It's called that because you need that many napkins to eat it. It was juicy and big and so damn tasty that you almost hoped you wouldn't finish it so there would forever be more to eat. And fries that were the best kind of salty goodness I could imagine.
3. I saw Spamalot and it was hilarious!!! Witty, funny, quirky Broadway references. And so wonderfully performed that it reminded me that being an actor could be one of the best jobs on the planet. It was so funny!
4. I spent a nice afternoon in Central Park with Matt. It was sunny and fairly hot and we were a bit tired. But we wandered and talked and people watched. And when I say people watch I mean being in awe of the really pretty people running through the park and sunning themselves on the lawn. Central Park really is a little oasis, right in the heart of the city and yet it's so peaceful and quiet.
5. I was shown several things about New York that not many people don't get to see. All because I was walking around with New Yorkers and they showed me the non-tourist things.
6. As for celebrity sightings I only saw Perez Hilton and for those that don't know who this dirty man is, he's only famous because he blogs/gossips about actual famous people. And to top it off, I saw him twice in one day. It was very comical that that unattractive non-celebrity celebrity was my only celebrity sighting.
7. It was so great to be surrounded by culture and all sorts of people and places that never close. There was everything you could ever want at any time.
8. I went to the New York City Library, the one with the big lions out front from Ghostbusters. That was very grand and gorgeous. And calming. Quiet places tend to do that.
9. We took about an hour and sat in Bryant Park, what a lovely little place. And just talked and laughed and drank our Starbucks coffee.
10. And most important, my friends were so good to me. In more ways than one. I almost can't express how good it was to see some of my best friends and share old memories and create new ones. We laughed so much I think my stomach muscles hurt a bit. It was so so so great.
To my friends Thank You!

Now, I have downloaded my pictures I just haven't done anything more. I'll post a few good ones in my next entry.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

New York City! Heeeeyyy!

"New York City here I come!"
I am visiting NYC and some of my closest friends tomorrow and I am very excited!
Top 5 Reasons My Trip to NYC is Going to Rock
5. It's NYC. It almost doesn't get any better.
4. I'm seeing some of my best friends who I haven't seen in over a year. There was a time where we saw each other every day.
3. I'm bringing some fabulous shoes, a new purse and will look like a million bucks. As I should.
2. I'm not on a time schedule out there but we've already planned some uber fun things.
1. I'm getting out of this tiny, boring desert town and into a city where I feel I belong.

I'll try to post things once or twice while I'm there. Broadway, Empire State Building, shopping, drinking, friends, laughter, ohhhh I'm so excited! :-)

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Tuesday 9-9-08

I'm going to New York City in less than two days! I'm so stoked! I'm visiting some of my closest friends and I'm going to look fabulous doing it. There is no other way to look while in New York, I think.

Besides the upcoming cross-country adventure here are this moments good things.
1. I still really like my job, even though I'm moving. And it makes it even better that I get to stay with the company.
2. I'm watching Sex and the City, painted my toenails, and am drinking wine and truly enjoying my night.
3. For the first time in almost a week, I'm internally calm. Or at least calmer.

I'll blog about New York, promise. Stay tuned. A-woo-hoo!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Some of the people that come into my work

I saw some pretty odd things/people the past couple days at work that no one should ever see out in public let alone anywhere.
1. A girl no more than 20, probably 6 months pregnant with a pair of jeans on. But not maternity jeans. Regular jeans and the jeans were fully unbuttoned and unzipped, so much that I saw her underwear. Her leopard print underwear. Yep. Believe it. It happened. News flash, preggers - put on sweat pants!
2. The same day there was a fella with a fantastic old school Billy Ray Cyrus mullet. But that isn't the best part. He was kneeling down in the New Age section and almost had his whole ass hanging out of the back of his jeans. Hey Billy Ray, wear a belt! And can't he feel a draft?! C'mon!
3. On an up note I met a very sweet old woman who opened up a bit of her life to me. She comes in about once a week and flips through the country CDs. Her hair is styled the same every time, neat and pinned. And today she was dressed all in red with a big pin on that said "Red, White but not Blue!" and had a republican elephant on it. As we got to talking she told me how she was raised by her single mom because dad was in a VA hospital because he fought in World War I. She had three older brothers, all who were in WW II. And as a child she asked her mom if her brothers were going to come home. Here mother said "Oh absolutly." And they all did. She raised her children and was a stay-at-home mom. And she said that being a stay-at-home mom sometimes made her feel dumb because she wasn't working. But her when her son left for college he told her that she was the best and he was so thankful for all she did.
I think I saw her eyes get a little teary. But I don't think she was fully talking to me. I think she was remembering and taking herself back through her lovely life and I was lucky enough to get a glimpse of it.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Oh how witty...

John Stewart is currently doing his show from St Paul in honor of the RNC. And he was just quoted saying "St. Paul is so much cooler than Minneapolis." However I do not agree, but he's still funny. He also stated that if "They were actual Twin Cities than Minneapolis is the Danny DeVito to St. Paul's Arnold Schwarznegger." Hilarious!

Now, Steven Colbert is taking about the McCain/Palin ticket and he keeps putting up clips of Republicans saying that Palin has executive experience. That is the best they got? According to dictionary.com executive is
1. a person or group of persons having administrative or supervisory authority in an organization.
2. the person or persons in whom the supreme executive power of a government is vested.
3. the executive branch of a government.

I guess I have executive experience too. I have authority in my job over an organization. Oh and Cindy McCain was in a clip talking about Palin's foreign policy experience. And she said something like "Keep in mind, Alaska is the closest state to Russia..." Are you freaking kidding me?!

Thank god for humor and late night news shows, they make it all a bit more humorous. Although the repubs are doing a pretty good job all on their own.

Unbelievable!

There is no shame in my game in admitting this, I get sucked into the dumb shows on VH1 and MTV. Some people have their soap operas, I have my bad realty TV and gossip shows. But sometimes I get mad at what I'm watching and the feeling gets even worse when I don't shut it off.
Right now is a show called The Fabulous Life of... and it can range from world's richest kids to Hollywood superstars. And they even have a guy who sounds just like Robin Leach (I don't think it's the real guy. Isn't he dead? Anyway...) Today it's The Fabulous Life of Hollywood Babies. Really? I'm really watching this? Yes. Yes I am.
The Robin Leach voice is giving us the dollar amount of Christina Aguilara's nursery, or the 3 nurseries that Jennifer Lopez and Mark Anthony had created in each of their homes. Not just 1 home with 1 nursery, 3 homes with a nursery in each. Ridiculous!
Now I understand they have money to spend, but diamond encrusted cribs that the kid will out-grow in two years anyways? Is that really necessary? And I'm sure these people donate money to good causes, but why don't they spend $30,000 on a nursery and donate that other $10,000 to mom's who really need it? It's a baby; it doesn't give a rats ass if it sleeps in a room with an original mural done by an artist that the rest of the world has never heard of!
And don't get me started on selling baby pictures to magazines. They already make a gazillion dollars and now they are selling photos of their children. If they want the world to see the kid that badly just give the pictures away. Or donate the money, you rich snobs!
I think I'm mostly mad that I watch this crap in the first place. Damn cable.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Update, a la ME

I know, I know I'm slacking in the blogging department right now. But I've been saving up for mew things to write.
Last Saturday I closed at work and a couple came in who I think were on their first date. They both were dressed casual but nice, he had on khaki shorts and a pink polo (real men wear pink, you know) and she had on black capris and a green screen-print t-shirt and cute wedge shoes. They wandered into music and didn't really look at anything particular. He talked and talked and talked with his hands in his pockets and she had her arms crossed most of the time and nodded and giggled along. It was sweet to watch them stand just far enough away and sort of trail each other around the department. He talked a lot and I couldn't tell if her silence was because she was shy and nice or because she was counting the minutes until the date would be over. And I was trying to listen to see if his talking was a nervous talk (when they don't say anything of importance) or was he trying to impress her. I hope it works out for them. Once you get passed that awkward first date, the beginning is so much fun.

I found a book at work called Barguments. Basically it poses questions that are good enough yet simple enough to be discussed after three beers. My friend Joseph and I spent a good chunk of our work day flipping through and answering the questions. Here are some samples.
1. Who would win at an underwater race, Superman or Aquaman?
My answer... Superman. Simply because he's Super. Like my boss Steve says, if he can make the world spin in the other direction, he can beat Aquaman at a water race.
2. Top 3 guitar players in history.
My answer... Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and the third is up for debate... maybe Jimmy Page
3. After drinking a radioactive beer, you've developed a superpower. Pick from extraordinary hearing that lets you listen in whenever someone mentions your name or the ability to instantly detect lies told by strangers.
My answer.... the latter. I don't want to know everything people say about me. Plus what if I can listen in whenever someone says "Sarah" and it's not me they are talking about? That would get annoying. But working in customer service I get people who like to talk themselves up or simply just talk. And I like to see if the self-made millionaire really is rich and if they guy who owns three BMW's but I saw drive away in a rusty piece of crap is all that he says.

I'm reading a new book called Blackbird. It's a memoir about a woman's childhood, and she tells it from the eyes of a child. So far it's excellent and from what I've been told the drama hasn't even begun. It's written so well, she really embodies the voice of a child.

My friend Isaac said something very nice to me today. We were talking about my leaving Las Cruces and he wished for me that i continue to write. I let him read a piece that I had written about a friend of ours and he said he was amazed at my talent. He said my writing was relatable and he hopes I continue on the writing and story-telling path that I am on. That made me blush and felt very good to hear.

It's my day off tomorrow. I have no plans. Maybe I'll do a bit of everything...