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| Operation Save Sammy |
| 05.23.05 (8:33 pm) [edit] |
When I came home today, my mom gave me some really annoying news. Apparently, my next-door neighbor (whom my brother and sister and I like to call Flanders) complained to my mom about our pets. He told her that our two cats have been roaming in his yard and that he's especially close to getting rid of Sammy. He told my mom that there's some city ordinance about not allowing cats to be outside by themselves, and she totally bought it. Is that true? I found an affidavit about animals and it only mentioned dogs. My neighbor said that he doesn't want cats in his yard because he's trying to create a bird sanctuary. So now my mom is telling me we have to keep Sammy and Lucy inside the house 24-7. Come on. I think that's too much to ask for. Maybe I'm wrong - correct me if I am - but I think my neighbor is being a bit extreme. He's the only neighbor that has complained about Sammy; in fact, Sammy usually gets compliments for being cute and friendly. Heck, he even has his own blog! Poor little Sammy ... I have to keep extra tabs on him now ...
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| So much for the daily blog ... |
| 05.22.05 (7:32 pm) [edit] |
So I'm listening to Howie Day on my sister's iPod (and yes, I'm using my own earbuds) and trying to think of all the events that have happened since my last blog. Right now I'm feeling reminiscent and hopeful just because of how life is beautifully working itself out. The weather in Portland has been interesting, to say the least. I think the most popular small talk item for me is the weather, especially when it's clear and warm one moment, and a grey deluge of rain the next. Perhaps the old adage will soon change to "May showers, June flowers" ...
Updates, updates, updates - there are a few major ones. But first off, I have to say thank God I take the bus everyday. Drivers in the Pearl are some of the most impulsive people in this city. Perhaps their driving abilities are due to the fact they may be out of state visitors or loft-dwelling hopefuls; who knows, but you gotta keep your eyes on them. This lady almost backed into me twice trying to park her BMW; this was after she had a 2 minute conversation with a driver from on-coming traffic on 13th & Glisan. Fortunately, I caught my emotional reaction before it could turn into a spoiled-brat outburst, and just tried to calmly remind myself that I've probably committed the same annoying (yet terribly petty) act at least once in my life.
Tuesday, May 17th: One of my closest friends picked me up after work and took me out for dinner and lunch. When she arrived at my work, I gave her a brief tour of the office and then we headed to Saucebox for dinner. We ate delicious tuna rolls, green curry, tapioca chicken dumplings and chicken satay at this elegant little pan-Asian bistro on Broadway. Talk about a diamond in the rough! This venue is one of the swankiest places I've been to, with well-dressed clientele and modern art to match. How many places do you know that offer sparkling water to start off your evening? That was definitely a nice touch, although I did feel rather silly requesting "normal water" (a juxtaposition I never thought I'd utter) when the sparkling O2 seemed to aggravate the spicy curry in my mouth. The presentation was perfect and lovely and the food outstanding. Don't let the seemingly-small bowl of curry deter you from ordering it - it truly is enough to share. Here are some pictures of Saucebox that night:
Afterwards, we headed off to Pix Patisserie off of SE Division for dessert. Quaint and cute, this little dessert shop churns (no pun intended) out its own unique pastries in delectable, ladylike servings. My friend got hazelnut-flavored cake and I opted for pistachio and mixed fruit cake. I will definitely head back to Pix again!!
Wednesday, May 18th: Today I got my hair cut at Bella Tocca during my lunch break. I've always had this secret desire to get bangs, but have always shied away from the notion whenever it became close to materializing. Well, my best friend really wanted me to do something different, so she arranged for me to get it cut as a birthday present. This was my chance to finally do it and it actually turned out pretty well!! The ladies at work said they thought it was cute and looked good, but the best comment I got was more of a back-handed compliment. Someone asked me "Maria, did you change your hair?" to which I responded "Yes" and he said "Oh. It looks much better." I didn't know some people thought my hair looked that bad before!! LOL ...
Thursday, May 19th: Apparently, I didn't claim a certain exemption on my taxes, so I got a check for $151 from OR state. That was a nice gesture, considering the fact I had just purchased a digital camera from Circuit City for $200. You would think someone like me would have jumped on that band wagon a long time ago, but for some reason, digital cameras didn't entice me like notebook computers and flash drive devices. For the last several years I've relied on disposable cameras to capture those special moments, if I had a camera at all! Well, my upcoming trip to Waikiki in a couple months has suddenly changed my perspective on digital cameras so for the past week I had been online trying to find a cheap camera for under $150. My dad has won several gift certificates from Best Buy and offered $60 worth to me, which was very kind. I ended up getting a 512 memory card with his gift certificates and finding the camera of my dreams elsewhere. I got a Kodak LS543 - it's a 5 megapixel camera with a TON of features and an extremely easy user interface. I've already printed pictures and I must say I'm quite the happy camper. The only downside to this camera is that the rechargeable battery is so incredibly inefficient. Or, maybe it's just me. I just thought it would last longer than 2 days ...
Saturday, May 21st: I ran errands as usual, since every Saturday that's basically my routine. Then, I got lost trying to find my friend's graduation party in Vancouver. The directions told me to take I5 North, then take the WA 500/Orchards exit and turn left on NE Fourth Plain. Well, on SR 500 I haven't gone farther east than NE Andresen, so I freaked out and took that exit. From there I took Fourth Plain but noticed the building numbers were totally off. I tried to drive around as long as I could, because I have this little issue where I get too proud to stop and ask for directions, but eventually I just pulled into a Barnes & Noble parking lot and called the restaurant. The hostess said they were on 117th & Fourth Plain; I was on 77th & Fourth Plain. Well, I get to 117th, but the restaurant is no where in sight!! I couldn't believe it. So I'm driving around again, still trying to figure it out on my own, when my friend calls. She told me exactly where the restaurant was and fortunately everyone was still eating. It was really nice - her family and fellow colleagues from school were there. Her parents and other family members sang songs and danced the night away!! Sadly, there is no rythym in me, so all I could do when I was mercilessly pulled onto the dance floor was just stand there. You know how cats have a tendency to wander up to people who don't like cats? It's as if they can almost sense it and it attracts them. Well, there are also people who can just sense a young woman with no rythym, and their primal instinct is to start dancing with them - whether or not their leading is solicited! Yep. The singer grabbed my arm and basically started to twirl himself under my hand and do dance moves that would make Britney Spears blush. It was so hilarious!!! Afterwards, everyone got to take pictures with my friend before heading home. I can't describe how proud and happy I am for her and even just how giddy I am about the experiences she is about to embark upon. I feel like it's my own kid growing up and going off ...
So that's about it for now. Well, except for the occasional body aches. One of the corners on my upper right wisdom tooth is starting to protrude through my gum and it's killing me. Patience ... I'm just waiting for it to erupt so that I can have all 3 taken out at once. Getting my first wisdom tooth out was such an awful experience, I don't want to have to go back a third time! Speaking of, I should take some advil now. Until then ...
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| Aloha |
| 05.16.05 (9:04 pm) [edit] |
Guess what?? I'm going to Waikiki this summer!! I am soooo stoked - it's all I can think about in my spare time. =) I plan on getting plenty of beach time, but I also want to go to at least 1 luau, go sailing, hike Diamond Head and go kayaking. What's even cooler is that I'm going by myself and plan on taking the bus everywhere. This will not only be my first time going to Hawaii, but also on a trip outside of Oregon / Washington / California by myself. I'll gush more on that subject later ...
Hmm, so where did I leave off? Here's what's been happening since my last blog:
Friday, May 6th: My sister's 20th birthday. Woo hoo! I found the funniest card for my sister at World Market. On the front, it had a replica-Star Wars theme: "Once upon a time, in the universe long, long, long, ago ... " and the inside read "you were born. Happy Birthday!" I couldn't stop laughing. Fortunately, she wasn't offended.
Saturday, May 7th: I went to a reception for a girlfriend of mine who had recently returned from her honeymoon. She and her husband went to New Zealand for a couple weeks and now they're back to the wonderful world of reality. It was awesome seeing her. She gave out sunflower seed packets as wedding favors, which I thought was really cool. I also got to see pictures of their wedding day.
Sunday, May 8th: Mother's Day, of course. I ordered my mom this beautiful vase from teleflora.com; it actually won't arrive until Saturday, May 21st. Later in the evening, my sister and I went to see Keane. They were awesome. I haven't seen a keyboardist rock like that before, it was so tight. He rocked harder than any rock guitarist or drummer I've ever seen. Here are some pretty lame pictures I took of the lead singer Tom Chaplin:
When my sister and I were walking up to the Roseland, there were already people haggling us outside. This big, tall linebacker kind of guy asked my sister if she had any spare tickets, to which she firmly said "No". As we walked past him, he yelled to my sister "Oh yeah? Well can you sing an Alicia Keys song in falsetto?" and my sister and I were both like "What the heck is he talking about??" It was so hilarious ...
Wednesday, May 11th: My 25th birthday!! I have the most wonderful people in my life. I know this will be an awesome year - I'm so excited to just be here.
Friday, May 13th: Booked my 5-day trip to Waikiki in the morning. Hung out with my best friend today after work. She took me shopping, then we went to see Monster In Law after getting something to eat. Great time as always.
Saturday, May 14th: Ran errands all stinkin' day. That's usually how my Saturdays are. Then, I went to my friend's house and talked with her and her friend from L.A. until very late in the morning. Her friend was visiting from California for the weekend; it was so nice to meet him - he was a really intelligent and funny guy. I got to spend the night at my friend's house, which was really cool, because I hadn't done that before. We were up talking until 2:00 am and had to wake up a few hours after that. Suffice to say, I knocked out when I got home the next day.
Sunday, May 15th: Attended my friend's graduation. She got her MBA this day and I can't describe how proud I am of her!! Here are some random pics of Willamette:
After her graduation, I went with her and her family and we ate pho. It's been such a long time since I had pho! When I got home, I was so tired that I knocked out face down on my sister's bed for several hours. When I got up, it was 7:00 PM and I was supposed to go to church at 5:00. Right ... Well, that's about it for now, I'll blog some more later. =)
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| Time really does fly! |
| 05.03.05 (7:10 pm) [edit] |
So, what's been going on in my life the past couple of weeks? First of all, I am amazed at how fast time flies - I'm weirded out that it's May already. Let's see ... what has happened ...
Friday, April 22: I hung out w/my best friend after work this day. We actually broke out of our usual routine a bit (well, almost) and got Thai food for dinner and Coldstone for dessert. We went to this place called Thai BBQ off of Sunnyside Road and it was good! Of course I just had to have Thai iced tea - one of my favorite things to drink. When we got to Coldstone, I wrote down my recipe and handed it to one of the crew members. He looked at me funny and said "You want me to mix all of this together?" and I responded with "Oh, yeah!!" I don't think I posted my recipe yet, so I'll have to do it later. It involves cake batter and coffee ice cream. ;)
Sunday, April 24: I had small group this day and as always, it was a pleasure. I am sooo happy that I'm finally back in a small group!! I prayed for quite a while for God to open that door for me again. There was a time when I went solo for a while, but I had been yearning to get connected with other people my age in my church. Fellowship is a must ...
Friday, April 29: My co-worker invited me to hang out with her and her friend after work. I totally dig these gals, even though I'm obviously the baby of the group. We went to Gustav's by WA Square and ate such great food. Afterwards, we went to Barnes & Noble my co-worker and I were jesting each other with quips from the books we were looking at. I told her that she has to get "He's Just Not That Into You" because it sure liberated me in some regards! Sure, I haven't dated anyone in three years and the book is from a secular point of view, but it is so blunt that you can't help but admit all the times you settled for the wrong guys. I should probably give a more thorough $0.02 on that book later. Then we went to Cost Plus and just wandered around. All of a sudden, we found ourselves in the candy section and I just about fainted when I saw these giant-sized Lindor truffles:
Saturday, April 30th: This day I did a couple errands; I bought my May bus pass, got more stamps, put $15 worth of gas in my car, went to Trader Joe's and got lunch food and then went to Cost Plus to get some Izze sparkling pear pop. I also got my sister and cousin their birthday cards there. I have to tell you, there were some hilarious cards!! I was cracking up ... Then I went home and worked on my review. Yep, review time again.
Sunday, May 1st: This morning I went to church with my mom and brother. There was a reception afterwards but my brother and I knew my mom would be talking to people for a while. So we decided to walk to Red Robin on Grand. At first, we couldn't tell which direction Grand was, but fortunately MLK was right behind us. We were the second group of people that got to RR; it was 10:54 am when we showed up. We shared clucks & fries and called my sister. My brother and I got paranoid a couple times, because we speculated if my mom would ditch us. Fortunately, as we were walking back to the hall, she was ready to go! Talk about perfect timing.
And that's it, that's all for now ... I have some funny pictures to upload, so I'll try to put them up soon.
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