Hello? Are you there? Can you hear me? It’s hard to tell with this screen separating us. The only way I can communicate with you is by tapping my fingers on this strange plank with small-lettered buttons, or on an even smaller screen using my thumbs. In the future humans will be known as a species that communicated using only their hands.
I’m sure you’re busy. You have a job, things to do, but I’m wondering if you have a second for me. I have something I want to tell you.
No? You’re too busy reading Dlisted? You have a meeting? You’re bidding on something on eBay? That’s okay, I’ll wait.
…
Hey! Do you have time for me now?
Can we talk about the important things? What do you mean what important things, the important things. Let’s talk about politics. You’re not political? What does that mean? I don’t want to get sanctimonious on you but it’s important, you know? You have to know what’s going on. You can’t just condemn your right-wing cousin in Arizona and not be a little concerned about where he is getting his information, or what other less sane people will do with it.
Have you seen the news? There was another shooting. No, not Aurora, I’m talking about Texas A&M. I know it’s tragic and I know your father believes in the 2nd amendment, but do you know the statistics show having a gun in the home is more likely to be used in a homicide, suicide, or unintentional shooting than to be used in self-defense? Do you really think you need to be able to have semi-automatic weapons to protect yourself? Does your Dad think he’s some sort of cowboy? He’s going to have a shoot-out at the O-K Corral?
I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said that about your Dad. Sure we can talk about something else. Did you see the new Batman movie? Every time I’ve gone to see a movie in the past month I’ve had a moment of panic where I think someone is going to come into the theater and start shooting people. I’m being serious. I think about what I would do if it happened. You know what I’d do? I’d climb on top of my husband and pretend to be dead. I’d try to hide under the seats. If I ran, I’d run in zigzags to make it harder for the gunman to shoot me. All of this would be for naught if he had a semi-automatic rifle, though. He could just spray the crowd and we’d all be dead. I think, if something happens to Boyan I want to die too. I wouldn't want to live without him.
I know. I’m sorry I’m back to that but I can’t help myself. I don’t understand why we can’t talk about this without you getting mad at me. Preachy? You think I’m preachy? I care. It’s important. I care. If that means I’m preachy I guess that’s what I am. I guess I am trying to convert you. You’re my friend and I know you’re smart and I just want you to care. This election is too important not to care.
You plan on voting for Romney? Why? I don’t understand. You know by voting for Romney you’re voting against your own best interests, right? You do? Okay.
Then I guess I don’t know what to say.
Judgmental? I don't want you think I'm judging you. I don't know, maybe I am. I'm sorry. Yea, we can talk about something else.
It has been really hot recently. Climate change, you know.
You gotta go? Alright. Are we still on for this weekend? You can't come? That's okay. Another time. We'll talk soon. I hope it's about something important.
I'm supposed to be writing right now--but I'm so filled with joy that I can't focus on my story.
When you have those moments in your life when you realize that you are happy, and blessed, you have to seize them, and appreciate everything that life has given you before the moment passes.
I can say quite soberly that I am happy. I have a wonderful husband who loves me and who I love with all my heart. I have family that loves me and supports me and believes in my dreams and aspirations. I have a great job where I get to use my brain. I have my writing, which is progressing, little by little everyday and which is getting better with every attempt. I am rewarded for my hard work which makes me work harder.
There are those times in your life when you feel like there's no way out of the quagmire of difficulties and despair. But then there are moments like this, and these are the moments that bring that ray of hope in those hard times and make you believe, like Barack Obama--si se puede. Yes we can. Yes I can.
On Friday I went to the Magic Castle with Ivelina, Nancy and Boyan. I don't have any photos except this one before we left as they don't allow photos inside the establishment.
We had a great time, and I got to participate in our first show (although the magician was kind of a perv. he also called me a "suburban brat" which isn't a way to win hearts and minds). I got well drunk and saw some fun magic. I can't wait to go back for dinner! Thanks Nancy for bringing us with you.
On Saturday Boyan, Heidi and I went down to Newport to visit the Moms and George, and on Sunday we saw Janea and Jon off before their flight back to the Big Apple.
On Sunday night Boyan and I watched the BEST MOVIE EVER MADE. I don't say this lightly, but honestly, Starter for 10 has to be the best movie I've seen in a long time. It was brilliant and cheesy and brilliantly cheesy. The British equivalent of a coming of age college movie. Amazing. I happened to catch it because I have "James McAvoy" as a keyword on my TiVo (I know you aren't surprised). And Catherine Tate is in it! Come on!
On Monday Boyan and I lazed about. I started re-reading Jane Eyre despite myself, and I got about 20 pages of editing done. I figure I'll do 10 pages a day, and it should only take me about eight days to finish editing the entire piece before I start writing again. Thank.God.
That's it. My update for now. I had to post something quickly after that last post about RPatz's abs. It was too embarrassing to pull up my blog and be confronted with a half-naked picture of Edward Cullen.
Until next time, here is some Regina Spektor and Beirut for you, because right now I'm not listening to anything else.
Well there it is. 2008 is gone and we're welcoming 2009 with open arms and the promise of change. But before we get too ahead of ourselves let us look back on what was promised to be an historic year.
January
It seems like it was only yesterday that Mariana came to visit. January was an up and down month. A month filled with family, fun, and heartbreak. Or maybe just...car break. My car was broken into on New Years Day, not a great start to 2008.
February
2008 was the much-anticipated election year, and February was when the election debates really started to heat up. I stirred up some controversy with friends and family by supporting Ron Paul, but other than that February was a relatively quiet month. Boyan started working at Newegg at the beginning of the month, and we enjoyed each other's company at lunch.
March March was the month we said goodbye to Bill Dotta. I can't say again how loved this man was. He is missed by many and forgotten by none.
We also said goodbye to Stephanie. She moved cross-country to tackle the Big Apple.
April April slugged by. Boyan celebrated his 25th birthday on the 18th. We had a bunch of Elysee people over and it was a lot of fun.
May In May a bunch of us girls traveled down to Temecula for a weekend of drinking and spa-ing for Ruth's Bachelorette Party!
June June was a very happy month. On June 8th Boyan and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary, and at the end of the month I left the god-forsaken offices of Newegg for the bright and shiny offices of Demand Media by the sea. It would mark the beginning of a daily 80 mile commute, but it was well worth it to get far away from the People's Republic of NE. Boyan and I invested in a little scooter, so Boyan could get to and from work without me and we looked towards July as a month that would start a new chapter in our lives.
July July went by quickly and painlessly. Boyan and I adjusted to our new schedules and we wished a Happy Birthday to Mom, George and Grandma. I prepared for my trip to Chicago in August and decided that I would cut off all my hair!
August
I had a blast visiting Chicago for the short amount of time I was there. Ruth was a beautiful bride, and it was fun having all us girls together!
August was also the month that I had to bid goodbye to my dear friend and fellow bibliophile Emily. It was a very very sad time indeed.
September In September was I blessed enough to stumble upon Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games. My appetite for books was as voracious as ever and I continued my spree by reading a total of six books in September alone.
October The month began in Las Vegas. Or rather, I began my month in Las Vegas for Stephanie's Bachelorette Party. We did what people do in Vegas, and generally had a good time.
I slipped into my 24th year of living rather quietly without fuss or frenzy. The friends that matter called me to wish me a happy one, those who forgot quite simply forgot and that's fine.
I decided to take some initiative with my writing and started taking a class at UCLA extension.
And finally I said goodbye to the rest of my hair. Dawning a new shorter do a la Michelle Williams.
Boyan and I went to New York to visit my dear friend Janea and her boyfriend Jon and we had a wonderful time despite New York being "filthy" as Boyan would call it. We walked more than six miles not including miles tracked inside museums, shops and the like in one day, but we had a blast.
October was also the month that Stephanie got married!
November I went to Louisiana to visit Emily and it was owesome!
We ate Benoits, and didn't care when we got powdered sugar all over everything.
We saw the Twilight Movie. Then bitched for the rest of the weekend about how god-awful it was.
We went to a plantation and desecrated the Slaves quarters.
I rang a really old bell...I don't think I was supposed to...EMILY MADE ME I SWEAR!
We went to Pat O's in New Orleans and got way drunk off of one Hurricane.
When I got back, I followed Britta's lead and cast my life as a movie.
December December was a great month. My short story, "The Second Time" was published in The Broadkill Review! I couldn't be happier. I finished my class and got ready for the holidays. Britta was up from San Diego so she accompanied me to my Holiday Party.
And finally the year came full circle on December 30th, when my car was broken into again. Instead of stealing my iPod, they stole my CD's and attempted to steal my stereo but failed. I'm grateful that they didn't break my windows again, but I'm starting to wonder if these thieves really like my taste in music or are just incredibly stupid. Either way, Boyan and I aren't going to stick around to find out.
2008 was a good year as I predicted it would be. Ups and downs and small achievements here and there. I lost about 25 pounds since the beginning of the year, got a new job, got published! And, not to brag but just for my own personal satisfaction, here is a list of all the books I read from January to December:
A Wrinkle in Time (re-read) Madeleine L'Engle The Secret Garden (re-read) Frances Hodgson Burnett I Wanted to Write Kenneth Roberts The Penguin Who Knew Too Much Donna Andrews Interview with the Vampire Anne Rice Old Man's War John Scalzi Murder Melts in Your Mouth Nancy Martin The Vampire Lestat Anne Rice The Ghost Brigades John Scalzi The Queen of the Damned Anne Rice Xenocide Orson Scott Card Children of the Mind Orson Scott Card The Last Colony John Scalzi Stranger in a Strange Land Robert A. Heinlein Middlemarch George Eliot The Seduction of the Crimson Rose Lauren Willig Twilight (x3) Stephenie Meyer Marked (re-read) Kristin Cast and PC Cast Betrayed (re-read) Kristin Cast and PC Cast Chosen (re-read) Kristin Cast and PC Cast New Moon (x2) Stephenie Meyer Eclipse (x2) Stephenie Meyer Breaking Dawn (x2) Stephenie Meyer The Gunslinger Stephen King The Drawing of the Three Stephen King The Host: A Novel Stephenie Meyer Hunger Games Suzanne Collins Battle Royale Koushun Takami Untamed Kristin Cast and PC Cast Uglies Scott Westerfeld Pretties Scott Westerfeld Specials Scott Westerfeld Extras Scott Westerfeld Revolutionary Road Richard Yates On Writing Stephen King
That's a whopping 35 for those of you keeping count. And thats not including the books I read more than once (which would bring it up to 40, an average of 3.5 books every month. That's about a book a week!).
2008 was a very successful year. I only hope 2009 is bigger and brighter.
Oh! And one last note. I just want to say...Happy Birthday Joanish! Happy 25th! And congrats on Law School, I'll be seeing you soon in San Diego. Love you.
Julie (Ruth's Maid of Honor) gathered together Ruth's closest friends from past and present to celebrate her impending wedding with a Spa weekend!
Tiffany, Olivia, Ruth and Julie in the Vineyards
Julie reserved two villas at the South Coast Winery in Temecula, and we made the trip down for a weekend of sun bathing, spa treatments and lots and lots of wine.
The venue was extremely picturesque--the winery thrives on the very profitable wedding industry resulting in 360 degrees of photo opportunities.
Like I said, the venue was manufactured to make money off the wedding industry. Everything ended up feeling very fake--disneylandesque if you will. The food, the spa treatments, the service was all below par. A few of us even got sick from our fancy dinner on Saturday night.
So last Friday Boyan and I made the trek all the way to Venice Beach to say goodbye to our dear friend Stephanie, who is moving cross country for bigger and better things in the big apple. Please note that makes 2 friends moving to NYC in one month. No, I'm not bitter. I'm happy for you guys. Really, I am...
We grabbed a drink at James Beach first (I had a Whiskey Highball with Bushmills yum...) and watched UCLA dominate USC in March Madness. Afterwards we headed over to C & O's for some dinner and light political debate (as is always the case with me and Steph). The night ended amicably enough, but Stephanie will be missed.
Now, I know you guys hate my candid photos, but screw you all I think they turned out well.
And Britta, I apologize in advance for the last pic. Love you guys!
Ugg. I take back my previous statement. Britta, could you photoshop my face so that it doesn't look like a pork chop? And maybe paint on a cuter outfit for me?
That's the last time I dress casually to a "dinner-drink" thing for friends. I look like a turd.
