It's So Hard to Say Goodbye...

but not really, because i'm just a hop, skip and a jump away...find me here
and change those readers and feeds my friends - i wouldn't want you to miss out on the fun

...i'm just saying

Holy Hell They Block G-Chat?!

i'm literally running out the door. it's 5:45am and my bus arrives, according to next muni, in 19 minutes. i don't want to be too early and i don't want to be too late. its a perfect balance that on day two i am trying hard to get better than day one.

yesterday was really good and if it wasn't so god for saking early i'd try to elaborate on what all that means. i'd tell you stories about being taken out to lunch, about the fact that when i have to drive somewhere for a work event they prefer i use a jcc van, about how i'm fairly sure i can wear jeans each and every day and maybe the possibility of sweatpants (okay, not for me, but i'm pretty sure i did see a girl wearing sweatpants).

but its early and i must go.

so until next time, which will hopefully take the form of later tonight...
i'm off to be a camp director - LOVE how that sounds
peace :)

If I Wasn't SO Awake, I'd Go Back to Bed

yes its true. i'm blogging early in the am, before i head off to work. just checking in - letting you know i settled on an outfit. THIS dress, with tights and flat boots. although its shown with a real belt it comes with a tie belt...which i don't really enjoy. but i learned, when working as a stylist (remember that?) to change out the belt to update a look (i love my accessories) so i'm wearing a wide black belt and i think its more me. i'm also wearing my FREE monogram cardigan because how can one not feel good when wearing that?! i look like me, but me me in muted colors. i want to leave my mark, but not too much of a mark on the first day...you know?

i'm eating strawberries that i sliced last night and i'm sipping coffee. i have my bus schedule printed out and NEXTMUNI bookmarked on my computer and on my phone so i feel good to go. i packed my lunch last night. we have siblings of friends crashing at our place the next few nights so i have san francisco books on the coffee table. i have an idea of what's for dinner (did i mention i have enough chicken from soup production, to feed a small army?).

it seems as if i have all my bases covered - i thought of everything...almost. see it didn't dawn on me (ha!) that when it stays light later in the day, the flip side is that it gets light later in the morning. so when my alarm went off at 6...it was dark...as in pitch black. and if i'm keeping to my plan and hitting the gym before work, that means the alarm has to go off at 5:40 which means, well it means a shock to the system.

and before i go, because i am all consumed by this - EVERYTHING smells like chicken soup. my sheets, my towels, my couch. me? do i smell as if i've dabbed a little ode to grandma's kitchen behind my ears? good thing i'm workin' for the jews...i should fit right in :)

My Brain is Filing Up with Bullet Points

i've been holding off posting because i thought i was going to be posting from my new home...but its just not ready yet and i feel like a ton has been going on and well, i'm getting overwhelmed by not writing it all down. so briefly...

• i made the roast chicken. i went organic rather than kosher - i was told that organic also had no innards. i was brave and shoved my hand in, up to my wrist (don't worry, i removed all rings) to put salt and pepper and lemons and a bay leaf all up in there and all felt hollow so i figured it was all good. until i started cutting up the cooked bird only to find out that in fact the innards were, in fact, in there. so i did what any other girl would do - i used a plastic grocery bag and picked them out - dog poop style. the chicken itself tasted yum and was really moist. it could have used more flavor but now i know for next time (and also...kosher all the way).
• i am now the owner of this. and it's the best thing that's ever happened to me
• friday night we went to services with a couple from our MARRIED PEOPLE CLASS (MPC) and the couple we stole from that god awful awkward shabbat dinner. we walked in and knew people and that felt good. services were less than stellar (there was this unfortunate incident with some girl singing amazing grace) but the people were good. drinks afterwards meant for a really good friday night.
• saturday we drove up to napa to pick up wine from our wine club. we stopped at TAYLOR'S for fish tacos (and sweet potato fries!) and then hit THE WINE GARAGE - where we met up with MPC who happened to be in the valley as well. we bought wine for our passover seders (did i mention we're having people over both nights?!) and tasted and tasted.
  
• today i made the chicken soup for passover. it was a pretty insane experience, i'm not going to lie. but it's done and my house smells amazing so that must mean something...right?

alright, time for a little work (of the part-time variety) because i find it calming and then a good night sleep before it gets all kind so of crazy tomorrow.

and don't worry, the new blog is coming...i'll keep you posted.

SPOILER ALERT!

basically my favorite time of the week is when AUSIELLO from entertainment weekly, posts his weekly spoilers on the website. at some point we back in 2008, when he was still at tv guide and i would skip my way to work an anticipation on wednesday mornings, smiling as i daydreamed about the latest hirings and firings, and what drama those crazy kids at GREYS were up to (this was back when we still cared about greys...today...BARF...but of course i still watch...i just don't...CARE...okay i just don't care AS MUCH) - he disappeared. with no explanation. i didn't understand why this little piece of heaven had been taken away from me. but i was also consumed by you know, packing up my life and moving across the country and so i simply sulked, felt wronged and and took it completely personally.

but fear not. as i began to settle into life in san francisco, with ample hours to scour the internet, i became reinvigorated. i would find my friend MICHAEL AUSIELLO (and yes, he's now totally my friend on facebook too!) and i would ask him to spoil the ending...please! turns out, dude wasn't hard to find. he was just working for the man (ie EW)...aren't we all? he now does his spoiling on THURSDAY mornings, which makes me confused but at he same time, is a nice way to begin to wrap up my week. i use his post as a reward. it's currently open on my tabs, but i'm saving it until i've checked things off my to do list (blog...check! SCORE!). no, i don't understand his obsession with the smurfs (growing up, my dad wouldn't let me watch the smurfs OR strawberry shortcake because in his opinion they were just too stupid...yet i still ended up being OBSESSED with the BACHELOR and all things REAL HOUSEWIVES so really he should have just let me be like everyone else...oh yeah, and play on a soccer team too...i hold no grudges), or snapple. but he's got all the secrets and so i love him. a lot.

as a side note, NBC is not loading on my tv. which is fine for now because it's 9am and i can't stand the 3rd hour of the TODAY SHOW (now 7am, that's another story). but i'm already anticipating that it won't work come 9pm when my dvr is set to record THE OFFICE. yes, i always assume the worst.

oh, and i'm making a roast chicken tonight. it's my first time. well, my first time since i was about 10 and scarred for life when i had to reach inside and pull out the innards. that's just nasty. but grandma told me that the kosher kind have the innards already removed. which sounds like a very good thing. i'll let you know how all that goes.

and one more thing...the new blog is just about ready. it's been a labor of love - mostly for ABN. he comes home after a long day and just goes at it. i have a hard time with change but i keep reminding myself its a good thing - and it is. i'm also updating my blog roll! stay tuned....

At 3pm I have to Give up my Seat in the Teen Section

as i'm down to my last few days of total freedom (before the big job starts and i have little time to breathe let alone blog) i'm taking full advantage of my lack of structure. after ABN left this morning - i went back to sleep. i haven't done that, not once, since moving to SF. and it felt so good. i haven't slept well the last couple of nights. i'm doing that mind racing thing and at the same time hording my ativan - i really need to get a doctor so i can refill my prescription - a bad combination. things currently on my mind include, but are clearly not limited to:

• switching blog hosts/title/layout - it feels like a hell of a lot of change. what if my readers don't make the transition?
• making sure ABN does our taxes
• prepping for passover - i'm making the chicken soup this weekend
• CURLY - we need a phone date asap
• taxes
• cancelling my gym membership - have mentioned my new job has a fancy gym? (i know, i know...)
• convincing ABN we are ready for a dog, by doing my part to research how much caring for a dog really costs, talking to my landlord, and sending him throughout the day photos of dogs that are up for adoption that are just too cute to resist. i fell head over heels with a certain mutt named astro yesterday - but i believe that loyal protector of his territory is code word for barker...so i've moved on

my plate is feeling pretty full and i haven't even begun to think about what i'm going to wear for my first day of work on friday (talk about stressful!). i'm also in need of a work bag - or at least, i would like to get a new bag for work. i have a pretty good idea of what i want but can't seem to find the right one anywhere. you know, big enough for a notebook but not SO big (SO BIG is usually my problem). something that falls perfectly in the crook of my arm. black. in case anyone is interested, i love everything on the cole haan website - but they are way out of my price range.

yeah, i think that covers it.

after my extra hour of sleep today i headed to BERNIE'S and then the gym and now i'm in the hot and noisy library (you'd think i'd learn). the library is not helping with my feelings of trying to keep my head above water. i finally finished THE ABSTINENCE TEACHER (blech...i have no idea what the point was. there was no resolution. and it was trashy. but without real sex. i hated it. but of course, i read it cover to cover anyway). i currently have four library books in my possession - one for book club, one that i picked up before my trip that i had reserved months ago that finally came in and then today - two more were ready. i also have PEOPLE OF THE BOOKsitting on my shelf, patiently waiting and waiting, endlessly waiting. and i need to find a book on dog adoption. and my VANITY FAIR still hasn't arrived and i don't know whether i should be grateful because i can't handle one more thing or annoyed because where the hell is it? (i feel equal parts of both).

Does Your Iphone Get Super Gross with Face Sweat...or is it Just Me?!

i am currently in a coffee shop that has gone to the trouble of covering up each and every outlet, thus limiting the time i can sit at my laptop and work. this is something i don't understand. why would the owners of said establishment make such a decision? the coffee shop is big, with ample seating, right in the heart of the mission so really the culture is laid back except for this one, uncharacteristically stalin-esque twist. and of course, the coffee is the best around. my life is so hard.

i'm enjoying my last few days as a member of the unemployed world - crossing things off my list at a rapid pace: schedule oil change - check! inquire about recalled air bags (sketchy) - check! send thank you/graduation gift to BOBBSEY TWIN for letting me crash at her pad during my trip to LA - check (well, i'm on my way there next). i love accomplishing the things on my list and the physical act of crossing item off the list - in equal parts. i'm also planning lunch with THE EXPERT and a shopping extravaganza (on a pre-determined budget) at PINEAPPLE NATION...after all, who knows when the discount could get cut off!

one big item on the agenda is to revamp this here blog. as i mentioned a couple of weeks ago - stay tuned for a new name (ohmygod its so good) and a new host as well as a new look. that's the part i'm currently having the most trouble with. i LOVE my current blog layout but as so many of you can sympathize - my blogging needs have gone above and beyond what i feel blogger can accommodate. so i'm making the change and thus, unless ABN can save the day, my layout will be a thing of the past. if you have ideas or suggestions of where a girl can turn to get the look i'm going for, PUHLEASE let me know...i'm already mourning the loss.

the rest of the trip to LA was mostly painless (except for the eyebrow wax - ow!). BOBBSEY TWIN wins best cousin of the year award for sure. we spent much quality time together, talking and even enjoying a drink (i find it nearly impossible to turn down malibu, lemonade and cranberry juice and i was proven right yet again!). after two nights with grandma and papa i am now the proud owner of a cheese slicer and a baking rack - i always know who to turn to when i am in need of the random kitchen supply. and saturday was filled with catching up with friends from my past which left me smiling rather than scratching (surprising i know!).