quotable 2007

these are quotes i have been collecting this year ... some i've seen on friends' blogs (thanks); others i've just run into. enjoy! if you have one to add, let me know.

• "we do not remember days, we remember moments." -- cesare pavese

• "it's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." -- eleanor roosevelt

• "we don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." -- anais nin

• "he who takes offense when none is intended is a fool, he who takes offense when offense is intended is a bigger fool."-- confucius

• "love is blind (and sometimes deaf and stupid)." -- anon.

i want it ...

my harp teacher informed me a couple weeks ago that she would be selling one of her harps. yes, the one that i fell in love with earlier this year:

i want it ...

happy birthday to me

spent the day driving from l.a. to ogden, utah, with my sister, her husband, and their 1½-year-old, where we had yummy spaghetti birthday dinner, sang happy birthday, and opened presents. then slept. :)

the clouds roll in

every once in a while the clouds part and the sun shines down. and i, through no fault or merit of my own, just happen to be standing *right* there where all the sunny goodness lands. (on other occasions, i just happen to be standing right there were the bird doo lands, too -- metaphorically and literally -- but we'll discuss that at a later date.)

so, as i bask in the warmth, enjoying the unanticipated sunlight, i wonder just how long it will last. because i know that soon enough the light begins to wane, the clouds roll in, and the sun disappears above them. and life returns to the one-foot-in-front-of-the-other process that it always has been.

the very same week that i met pharmacy boy, he had knee surgery. so since our chance meeting that was itself a frolic in a moment of sunshine, we haven't had much conversation other than random midnight texts and one email. okay, and one short phone call. hardly anything to blog about. but i feel this story needs closure.

a couple days ago, i got the following text message:

pharmacy boy: good morning. how r u? i am a little better. i was prescribed a sedative to help me sleep. i think i will be visiting family for the next month. i will leave friday. i hope you have a very happy holiday.

so, sometimes wonderful, exciting things happen, but the timing just isn't right. as "grown ups" we realize that's just the way life is, so we live with it. but i have to say, it would have been so much more fun to live with if pharmacy boy had taken me for a ride on his bike sometime before the sun hid itself behind the clouds.

a third

yes, there was one *more* work-related holiday party this year. we got a new office managing partner at our woodland hills office this year. and he is *all* team-woodland-hills-spirit. so ... since he came to our office, we've had office bowling events, happy hours, impromptu office lunches, one-on-one lunches/breakfasts, team-woodland-hills encouraging voicemail messages, go-get'em email messages ... he even got us a big flat-screen tv for our reception area and sent bakery-bought-homemade cookies to each employee's home for the holidays.

so, with the holidays upon us, he took advantage and organized a "woodland hills professional open house holiday reception for clients, prospects, networking colleagues and alumni". yes, that's what he actually called it. it was an opportunity to invite our clients and prospects to come visit our office (which is still fairly new) and network and meet new people.

as the date of the event was getting close, we received 3 emails from the office managing partner: (1) a general reminder about the event with a second request that all employees be present; (2) another reminder about the event with a special request that those planning to attend consider working from the office (instead of a client's office) for at least the last half of the day so that all will be prepared and calm when "our guests" arrived; and (3) a third reminder about the event with a special request that employees organize and clean their desks and bring personal effects/pictures/plants/etc. to make sure it looks like we work in our office. *that* one was hilarious.

on the day of the event, i did end up working a half-day from my office so i could be ready and organized and cleaned. however, i forgot to bring family pictures and other paraphernalia to home-ify my cubicle. oops.

the event was so well organized: we had florists and caterers showing up in the early afternoon; my harp teacher (the firm hired her to provide ambiance) arrived around 430; our people were filing in all afternoon; and clients and other guests started showing up around 6. the evening went until about 830 and was quite nice.

at first i felt a little like a seashell on a mountain peak since i didn't know many of the guests and wasn't high up enough on the totem pole to command the attention of, well, really anyone. but i soon figured out that i could just hang out in the reception area and when people arrived i'd introduce myself and ask them whom they were with and whom i could introduce them to. it turned out to be a great strategy: i met so many people and really just had a great time doing so.

one of the bankers i met was such a character. actually, most of the people from his bank were just fun. this guy, though, connected with me over chocolate. i was chatting with a few of his co-workers when he walked up and his first question was, pointing at the dessert tray, "so, which of these do you suppose has the most chocolate in the least amount of space?" now, *that* is a question i am more than happy to answer ... and to research! after trying a few of the goodies, i found the one and pointed it out to him. he quickly snatched it from the tray and ate it. and loved it.

as we continued talking and eating chocolate, i guess i got some chocolate on my lip, which i often do and so i have trained my tongue to clean me up pretty efficiently, but my new banker friend noticed it and turned to grab a napkin to help me out. i, quite honestly, didn't notice what he was doing. but before i knew it, he was turning back around and had a napkin pressed up to my lip. umm, he, uhh, wiped my mouth for me and then looked at the napkin, which was clean because i had already licked my lips. he then said, "oh, there's nothing on there". i must have had a look of bewilderment on my face as i tried to assess whether what just happened was okay because his next comment was, "don't worry i have kids". but i'm *still* thinking that wasn't okay. just really not sure it was okay. okay?

henna for the holidays

i hate shopping. and because i hate shopping so much, my preparations for our firm holiday party last year consisted of choosing between 2 dresses my sister happened to have hanging in her closet that fit me. which happened late in the afternoon on the day of the party. yeah.

but ... i would like to be better, improve, branch out, and generally be more "normal," so when i got the invitation for this year's holiday party, i thought i'd try shopping for a new dress.

one evening a couple weeks before the party, i headed over to the mall to see what i could see. i got there around 7. by 730, i had tried on 3 dresses that fit neither me nor my pocket book, tried on 1 blouse that would have worked with a skirt i already own if it had come in any size besides petite, and stopped myself from pulling out all my hair in frustration 4 times. i left the mall.

as i drove home feeling both frustrated and like a failure, i passed joann's fabric and craft ... after 30 minutes, i had found 2 patterns, 2 fabrics, and a new hope that perhaps i'd have a new dress for this year's party.

i started cutting and sewing on thursday night that week. and continued on sunday afternoon and evening: it was mostly done. but i needed to go up to my sister's to use her other sewing machine for the edges. the night before the party, i was at my sister's finishing the zipper and clasp; all that was left was the hem and the ribbon-belt. so at 1030 that night, i was pressing everything, trying to get it perfect since that's the type of perfectionist i am. one of the seams near the zipper was really thick. so i pressed on it hard with the iron. and as i lifted the iron ... umm ... the fabric was stuck to it: i had burned a hole in my dress! yeah-huh! (see photo at right.)

after a discussion with my sister of any and all alternatives to removing and replacing the singed piece of the dress, the next 2½ hours were spent removing and replacing the singed piece of the dress. and *then* i could work on finishing what was left. it was a long night. but i got 'er done. (see photo at left.)

the holiday party this year was themed, "rock the casbah" and was held down at the grove of anaheim, which was very nice. the firm had gone all out in decorating and preparing for this event. when cute guy and i arrived and even before entering the hall, we saw belly dancers, fire breathers, two huge camels, and even a monkey. cute monkey. famous monkey: she is the monkey from pirates of the caribbean: the curse of the black pearl.

the evening was a lot of fun, even after a very long drive (in the rain). i quickly found a few of my office friends and we all exchanged introductions. the rest of the evening was filled with good food, dancing, casino games, raffles, fortune telling, and henna painting. so many fun things. and it was fun to see my co-workers outside of the office and enjoying themselves.

seeing the fortune teller/tarot card reader was an interesting experience. i hadn't done that before. but she said some interesting things. she said that based on the cards i chose i'd be faced with some new contracts, which could be any kind of contract: whether business, or housing, or work, or relationship ... and when she said "relationship" she looked straight up at cute guy. umm, uncomfortable. anyway, and she said that when considering these contracts that there would be many people who would have an opinion on them but that i would be the one with the final say. (i would hope so.) she also said that i pulled the ___ ___ card (can't remember) that meant that i would have lots of money. i'm okay with that.

cute guy got some of the same cards, and some of the same description/reading. yes, she looked at me whenever she said anything relationship-y to him. heh. anyway. it was fun. and i ate some really good dark chocolate while we were waiting in line for our readings.

oh! and i *totally* forgot to get henna before the evening ended. i completely blew that one ... grrr.

holiday mixer

every year the owners of our office building put on a holiday mixer. i wasn't going to go, but then one of my co-workers returned from the mixer and told me that this year there was a special guest:

the dark side

before:

after:

let's just say that i am announcing my deep and abiding love for chocolate to the whole world ... without words.

(a friend suggested that the *other* way to accomplish this would be to give myself a swirly everyday instead. eeww, gross. i opted for dying my hair.)

fajita night

at byu my roommates and i decided we were cool. as such, we started pronouncing f.h.e. as if it were a word: "fa-hee".

one monday afternoon, as i was heading up to campus to drop something off, i called out to one of my roommates, "oh hey, are you going to 'fa-hee' tonight?" just then, one of our neighbors was passing by: "wait, what are you doing? what's 'fajita night'?" needless to say, we thought it was hilarious *and* we thought we were even more cool. so it's been fajita night ever since.

tonight i went to fajita night with my friend becky at the singles ward in my stake. the night's activities were (1) white elephant gift exchange and (2) sharing favorite Christmas treats.

while i was driving home from work kinda late tonight, i remembered that i, umm, i'm not a fan of white elephant gift exchanges. i already have too much junk and i am certain that no one wants the junk that i don't want -- pretty sure no one really wants the junk that i *do* want, either. plus, i didn't have time to worry about that: i had to make a favorite Christmas treat!

i stopped at the grocery store and then skeedaddled home to make ...

easy peppermint bark
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. bittersweet chocolate chips
10 - 12 peppermint candy canes

place candy canes in plastic bag and seal. crush candy canes to small pieces.

prepare a large plate by covering with waxed paper.

starting with the semi-sweet chocolate chips in a small dish, melt in the microwave by heating on medium power for 2 minutes. stir. continue heating for 30-second periods on medium-heat, stirring between each, until chocolate chips are fully melted. watch carefully and do not overheat as chocolate burns easily.

spread melted chocolate on waxed paper to a thickness of about ¼-inch. sprinkle crushed candy canes over melted semi-sweet chocolate. place in freezer to harden.

melt bittersweet chocolate chips in the same manner. once the bittersweet chocolate is melted, pour over previously prepared semi-sweet chocolate, creating a new layer. sprinkle the bittersweet chocolate layer with crushed candy canes.

once completely cooled/hardened, break into pieces. enjoy.

mmm. it was so good! it's super easy to make, *and* *it's* *chocolate*!! (no, i'm not drooling on my keyboard.)

watching airplanes - gary allan

sittin' out here on the hood of this truck looking up
at a caramel colored sunset sky
checkin' my watch doin' the math in my head
counting back words to when you said goodbye
well those runway lights are gettin' brighter

[chorus:]
i'm just sittin' out here watching airplanes
take off and fly
tryin' to figure out which one you might be on
and why you don't love me anymore
right now i'm sittin' out here watching airplanes

i would've lied, could've cried, should've tried harder
done anything to make you stay
i wonder what you'd do if you looked out your window
saw me runnin' down the runway just like i was crazy
that fence is too high, so am i

[chorus:]
so i'm just sittin' out here watching airplanes
take off and fly
tryin' to figure out which one you might be on
and why you don't love me anymore

by now i know you're thirty thousand feet above me
but a million miles away, a million miles away
by now i know i oughtta act like you don't love me

[chorus:]
but i'm just sittin' out here watching airplanes
take off and fly
i'm just sittin' out here watching airplanes
take off and fly
tryin' to figure out which one you might be on
and why you don't love me anymore

yeah, i'm just sittin' out here watching airplanes
go by, by, by
i'm just sittin' out here watching airplanes
baby bye, bye, bye

tay-has

my little sister inge and her husband jared just moved to the city of enchantment (aka, lake jackson, tx -- about an hour outside of houston). and what's a better housewarming gift than ... me!? yup. 4 fun-filled days with the coolest almost-cpa in southern california. what more could you want? no, really: what more could you want?

i was to arrive on november 7, wednesday evening, late, but this was the first time last month that i missed my flight. so instead, i arrived thursday morning, early. inge picked me up a little after 6 am and took me to her apartment where i slept. yeah. she had a doctor appointment or something, so i crashed on their guest bed while she was gone.

when she got back, we showered and got ready for the day. it was fun to just chat and catch up. we took a walk over to the sea center texas, which is like a small aquarium that has animals, etc., specifically local to the gulf coast area. (i was interested to learn that dow chemical is a supporter of the sea center.) at the sea center, inge introduced me to gordy. he's a jewfish. inge thinks it's funny that "jewfish" sounds like "doofus".

we came home from the sea center and ate tuna fish sandwiches, which sounded appropriate, and then we played games/chatted/hung out until jared *finally* got home from work. at which point we all changed clothes and went to the rec center! so much fun! "the recreation center-lake jackson is 65,500 square feet of family fun and fitness." and yeah, it is! we played racquetball for a while -- jared played with some friends that actually know how to play, and inge and i played with each other and pretended to know what we were doing. i think we had more fun. though jared got more sweaty. and then we went to the swimming pool to slide down the slide. *loved* that!

the next day was friday and jared doesn't have to work every other friday. so friday we drove out to galveston, after a lazy morning of waffles and wii tanks. we saw the seawall and went to the aquarium at moody gardens. i had a blast watching the sharks swim around in all those tanks. sharks are pretty cocky.

that night we watched stranger than fiction since i had just purchased it when i spent the night at the airport, but i think all of us fell asleep before the movie ended -- it was a long day.

saturday we lazed around again in the morning. i guess that's what vacation is for, isn't it? and then we headed out to brazos bend state park. on the way there, we stopped to take pictures of longhorns -- we were in texas, after all -- and we stopped to observe a memorial site for albert sydney johnston, confederate hero and texas patriot. this is a picture of me looking confederate, in honor of mr. johnston. this is also me looking unsuspecting as fire ants were eating my left foot.

back in the car, we continued the drive out to brazos bend state park while i complained and tried to weasel some fire-ant sympathy from the newly-native texans.

at the park, we saw an alligator! he swam up just after we arrived and posed for a few shots. if you look closely at that picture, you can see him in the background between inge and me. it was mesmerizing to watch him swim over, which i think is precisely what he intended. it's probably part of his attack plan: enchant them with my movements, then straight for the jugular!

after hanging at the swamp for a few minutes -- not too long because we quickly became aware of a covert mosquito operation to eat us alive -- we drove to the george observatory. we had a 15-minute "mini class" about the stars and constellations and then got to go look through the enormous telescopes to see some of the amazing things in the heavens. we saw a dumb-bell nebula, some other-cool-things-that-i-can't-remember, and lots of stars. we also saw the andromeda galaxy! oh, *that* was so cool.

sunday was church. i enjoyed visiting with inge and jared. their ward is nice. after church we played ticket to ride, a way fun game that i have mentioned in this blog before. inge and jared have the märklin version that has passengers, which makes the game a little more interesting. after the game, we went to the airport and i didn't miss my flight back to l.a.; so i'd say it was a productive day.

the results are in

as part of my annual physical last week, i had blood drawn for lab tests.

(and i got a nasty bruise from it, too, because the nurse poked the wrong vein. yes, i blame her. this picture isn't a very good representation of my bruise: i forgot to take a picture a couple days ago when it was in all its glory. but can you see how she poked the way wrong vein? it wasn't even in the center of my elbow pit.)

i got my lab results back today. here are the highlights:

triglycerides -- 97 mg/dL
cholesterol, total -- 215 mg/dL (should be less than 200)
hdl cholesterol -- 60 mg/dL
ldl cholesterol -- 136 mg/dL (should be less than 130)
glucose -- 80 mg/dL
sodium -- 138 mmol/L
potassium -- 4.0 mmol/L
white blood cell count -- 5.9 thousand/uL
red blood cell count -- 4.91 million/uL
hemoglobin -- 13.0 g/dL
hematocrit -- 38.4 %
platelet count -- 283 thousand/uL

bottom line: i'm healthy. my cholesterol is too high. i eat too much red meat. but i just love it so dang much!

prepositions

in grammar, a preposition is a part of speech that introduces a prepositional phrase. it is any member of a class of words found in many languages that are used before nouns, pronouns, or other substantives to form phrases functioning as modifiers of verbs, nouns, or adjectives, and that typically express a spatial, temporal, or other relationship. we use them all the time. "the cat is on the sofa." "the chipmunk ran around the tree." "i have the gift for her in my car." "i made a fool of myself on the phone with him."

last may i went to in-n-out burger on my way to my sister eden's house. as i was waiting in the drive-thru line, i was talking to my other sister inge on the phone. as they do when there is a long line at the drive-thru, an in-n-out employee was standing outside with a headset, taking orders and relaying them to the kitchen. i guess it's their way of committing you to wait in the long line: after all, you've already ordered your double-double, animal style, and chocolate shake. (what do you mean, "is that what you always order, christianna?"?)

so i was on the phone with inge, just chatting about the betterment of society as a whole and the real impact of nuclear testing facilities on our nation's rising generation (probably), minding my own business as i slowly crept forward in a line that seemed to be getting longer rather than shorter. at this particular in-n-out, there is an outdoor eating area right by the drive-thru line and it was a nice evening, so there were a few people enjoying their ground beef outside. as i pulled closer to the picnic-table area, inge and i were coming quite close to the singular root of the world's problems as a whole, but i noticed two guys sitting at one of the picnic tables and looking in my direction.

my window was open because i had just ordered my double-double, animal style, and chocolate shake (probably).

"so, what did you order?" the blond called out.
"a double-double, animal style. what about you guys?"
"4 x 4's for us: that's four meats, four cheeses."
"wow, i haven't tried that."

when the next line from the brunet guy started with a "so, do you live around here?" i knew that this conversation might get a little more involved, so i told inge i would talk to her later and pulled the earbud out of my ear. i can't remember much of the rest of the exchange (it was 7 months ago, after all), but it did end in me leaning out my window with a post-it with my number on it.

(an aside: as i pulled forward, eager to get my beef fix, i picked up my phone to call inge back only to realize that she had been on the phone the whole time and thought the whole getting-hit-on-in-the-drive-thru-at-in-n-out was hilarious.)

the brunet called me before i even got out of the in-n-out parking lot, but i was already on the phone with cute guy and this was back in the early days of that, so i didn't answer and in-n-out boy left a message. the next week, i met up with both of the in-n-out boys at a mexican place near where we originally met.

over the last 7 months, communication has been sparse. blond in-n-out boy moved up to seattle (*why* does everyone i know move up there!?), and brunet in-n-out boy moved to azusa, ca.

last week i was back at the in-n-out near my sister eden's, which made me think of the in-n-out boys, so i sent a quick text to both of them. we all caught up, shared news, etc., then brunet in-n-out boy suggested going to see a movie out in pasadena, and since i am *dying* to see beowulf ... we made plans to do so on thursday last week.

which introduces a whole new preposition to this story: up ... he stood me up. yup. i texted him thursday afternoon to find out the details of the show and stuff, which he didn't respond to. then i called him when i left work to see if he just hadn't received my text (which is happening *a lot* lately: so aggravating), and he didn't call back. and i haven't heard from him at all since then. yeah.

so, i guess the most appropriate response to him is also the most simple: i'm out!

(there you go, matti: that's the story of the in-n-out boys.)