toast

i got grilled at work today, but in way you might not expect.

this morning, in a conversation that started out being about someone else, the ceo of the company i work for decided he wanted to ask me all sorts of things about my personal life.  this is normal behavior for john; i’m just not usually his question-ee.  and really, it doesn’t bother me that much because i know john quickly tires of hearing about my scandal-free life.

he was less than excited about my responses to his inquiries.  apparently he doesn’t want to hear that there’s not much going on as far as my love life is concerned.  really, he didn’t actually believe me when i told him this.  and then he went on to ask me about my ideal man in mostly superficial terms.  preferred age/career/hair color?  marine or fireman?  artsy or sporty?  and of course, he was also not satisfied when i told him that i’m not picking out a man from a checklist like that.  and i didn’t get the chance to explain that i’m not even really on this supreme quest for a man; i’m living my own life.  i was saved by a phone call from his brother.

still, it is a strange way to start the work week.

extravagant

it’s been a few more really good days since i last updated.  in some ways, it seems as though i’ve actually done very little.  in others, it seems as though life’s been kind of big and important.  i have no idea if i have the words for this tonight.  i haven’t had the words for much all weekend.  sometimes, i’d just rather do the listening, i think.

so on thursday night, i went to emmaus, which was good enough in and of itself.  afterwards, though, a bunch of us went over to lauren’s because she had lots of leftover dessert from a bridal shower she’d thrown earlier that night.  awesome.  i love pie! :)  and we ended up hanging out there for the rest of the night, just talking and whatever.  it was a good time.

friday was spent working hard all day, which is fine.  i had the music on my ipod loudly pumping through my headphones, and i just kept my head down and worked.  and i’d gotten a lot done by the end of the day, which is awesome.  my inbox, which tends to get out of control, is down to three messages, so i’m feeling pretty awesome about things. :)

friday night was quiet.  i was really tired, so i caught up on a little tv and tucked myself in early for some good sleep.

saturday morning, after a workout, i decided to go over to the movie theatre and see “rent.”  not the movie, but a recording of the broadway show.  it was like a special event sort of thing.  anyway, it was wonderful simply because i love that show.  it was filmed a little strangely, i thought, because you couldn’t see the whole stage the whole time, so it’s just a different experience than actually being in a theatre.  anyway, it will tide me over until i can see a proper stage production.  brilliant music, though.  “no day but today!”

then on my way home from there, i ended up completely turning around and meeting up with chris.  we went to see travis and his brother play music at a local festival, kind of like hometown days in san carlos (if you’re familiar).  basically, it was just a little local festival with food and contests for kids, and a little “stage” for performances and lots of people just hanging out.  so anyway, we hung out and listened to travis and had some lemonade.  it was just really chill, and it was a gorgeous day to be outside.  and then we kind of tooled around town and around the best buy talking about music and just hanging out.  and we found out some friends were having a movie night, so we picked up lots of sodas and headed over there for “the jerk” and “kung pao: enter the fist.”  lots of people were there, and it was good to see them.  and we took off early(ish), knowing we both had to be up really early this morning.  it was a fun night. :)

this morning, my alarm went off at 6.  that’s not awesome on a sunday (or really any day), but it was for a good reason.  lauren, lauren’s friend meredith, chris, and i met up and headed up to newport beach together to participate in a komen race for the cure 5k run/walk.  there were loads of people there, and after the real runners at the very start, the rest of the course was filled with a sea of slow-moving people.  it was so packed that it would have been hard to do much running, though we did attempt it for about the last 3/4 mile or so.  it just involved lots of weaving around people.  seriously, a sea of people filled the entire 3.1 miles.  anyway, it was still a good thing to get out and do, even if none of us worked as hard as we thought we might.

my afternoon was consumed by an unplanned nap, though i will admit i should have known it would happen when i laid down on the couch and put the football game on.   oops!  haha!  :)  anyway, my chiefs won this morning for the first time since last october, so that’s awesome!

and tonight, i went up to st. edwards for 5:30 mass, which was really good.  i like that mass a lot, even though i don’t go to it very often.  plus, i think i needed the time to think or pray or whatever.

and i’m just hanging out now.  i think i’ll watch the season premiere of “brothers and sisters,” one of my favorite shows, and then crash right away.  it’s been a good weekend, and i’m looking forward to another week.

radio waves

well, it’s been a good first half of the week. :)

first of all, we’ve been having the first slow week at work that we’ve seen in at least 3 months (though it’s probably more accurate to say 5).  we need it.  we’ve been working at full speed for way, way too long.  anyway, i am taking advantage of the time to pause and think about design.  so great!  it’ll pick up really quickly, i am certain, so i’m just enjoying the time while i have it.

monday was a total chore day.  i did a little grocery shopping and lots of laundry.  i needed to sort of catch up with myself, and i did actually get a lot done.  except the vacuuming.  there was none of that.  oh!  and my next door neighbors were having a crazy party!  like drinking, smoking, cussing, singing, dancing, video gaming, crazy party.  on a monday.  good thing i was pretty exhausted and slept right through most of it. :)

yesterday, i hung out with chris (from emmaus) after work/gym.  we had been talking about listening to the new eli young band album for nearly a week, but we finally made that happen.  we did dinner at el ranchito, which is always pretty delicious, and then came here and listened to lots of music.  it’s about time i know someone around here who likes country music, don’t you think? :)  anyway, that was a good time, and i’m more motivated to go back and listen to some older country guys i never spent much time with, like i did with hank williams tonight.

tonight, i met up with lauren right after work.  we went for a walk on this path out in the hills in san clemente right near where she works (which is actually quite close to where i work and live, as well).  it was a gorgeous evening (like 80 degrees), and i enjoyed just talking with her.  and then we went to have dinner at sonny’s.  i love that lauren wants italian food as often as i do, which is basically always.  :)  we’re enjoying our walks and dinners, and i think we’re going to continue to work our way through the whole menu at sonny’s.  it’s good! :)

and one more mildly interesting piece of news: i’m participating in a komen race for the cure 5k on sunday (thanks to the invite from lauren), so i wanted to know if i could actually run an entire 5k.  i mean, i just hadn’t in a long time.  i tend to do lots of intervals stuff.  anyway, on monday night, i figured i would just go for it and see what happened.  turns out i can totally run 3.1 miles, which is good to know. :)  i was pretty stoked on myself when i finished.  anyway, i’m not really a runner (much to the chagrin of my father, i think), but at least i know i can do that.

okay, i’m off for tonight, but more soon.

thank you for the lovely evening

tonight i am taking full advantage of the free wifi at the san jose airport. :)  might as well write while i’m waiting for my plane.  here goes…

after a decidedly un-busy day at work on friday, i went home, threw a bunch of stuff in a suitcase, and headed for the airport.  i had an empty, uneventful flight up here to san jose, where my parents picked me up and brought me home.  my mom commented (first thing upon seeing me) that i’m skinnier.  i saw her a month ago.  there’s no way i’m noticably skinnier than when i last saw her.  i’m just a bigger person in her head, i think, than i am in real life.  whatever.  it is sort of a backhanded compliment but a compliment nonetheless.  i’ll take it.

after a bit of sleep, i was up saturday morning.  strangely, mom decided that’d be the one day this year when she’d sleep in.  she never sleeps in.  ever.  but there i was awake and hanging out with dad while she slept.  it was all very odd.  anyway, she eventually got up and headed out.  we did a delicious lunch at chipotle (mmm!) and then wandered around best buy because i like to do that sometimes.  i picked up the newest george strait album, troubador.  haven’t listened yet.

after a quick stop home, we all headed down out again.  they’re looking for a new oven/stove/microwave, so they wanted to browse some store.  it was really not that interesting, but whatever.  this is how my parents buy things.  they look for a long, long time.  and then eventually choose.  anyway, the next stop was stanford shopping center, where i got to browse in my favorite store, j.crew, before meeting up with katherine.

katherine’s dad kind of randomly had two free tickets to the stanford-san jose state football game, so he gave them to us!  we walked to the stadium from the shopping center and met up with uncle ken, auntie lily, and a bunch of their friends, who were all tailgating.  by the way, if you ever want a rad place to tailgate, it’s at stanford stadium because the parking lot is dirt and all covered in old oak trees and stuff.  it’s rad.  anyway, uncle ken and company make a big deal of hanging out together at this game every year, so they had tons of food and stuff.  it was cool and nice of them to let us crash the party. :)  and then it was game time, so kath and i took our seats, which were pretty decent.  i hadn’t been to the stadium since they’d rebuilt it.  it’s really nice and makes more sense now, even if it’s lost a bit of the charm.  so we enjoyed the game and some awesome garlic fries and a chance to just catch up with each other.  and then the cardinal won!  that was like a super bonus!  anyhow, the game was a really good time, and i’m so glad we decided to go. :)

after the game, we headed to downtown palo alto a little cafe for desserts and coffee.  since meg lives a few blocks from there, i decided to give her a call and see where she was.  turned out she was walking right by but across the street!  sweet!  so we met up and said hi and such, but she was out with some other friends so she left.  kath and i hung out a while longer and just talked.  i really do think we just needed time to be with each other.  we go so long between visits.

this morning, mom, dad, and i went up to the city and picked up grandma for an early morning breakfast at ihop. we helped her with a few chores around the house, too, before taking off.

i met meg at her work (the apple store in downtown palo alto), and we did a delicious pizza lunch together.  we also needed some face time to catch up.  it’s just not quite the same over the phone, and we had plenty to talk about in our one hour.

this afternoon, i hung out with the parents around the house for a while.  and then dad and i went out for a walk.  it looked nice and sunny out.  it was actually quite blustry and the air was crisp, though.  but still, we walked up the hill and found great views of the bay and the mountains and everything.  it was really nice to do, even though the weather wasn’t awesome.  it’s just so us.  i loved it.

and then i got cleaned up and packed.  and now i’m back at the airport.  these weekend trips fly by so quickly.  anyway, i’m glad i took the time to come up here, even though i wasn’t needing it as badly as i am some other times.

tonight, i’ll get home pretty late but i’ll try to catch up on the emmys a bit and then crash.  i hope i have another good week ahead of me.  more soon…

i cry right along with the sky

you know, that’s a terrible title for a post tonight.  i mean, it’s not raining and i’m not crying.  i’m doing quite well.  but for some reason, that little portion of song is running through my head.  so there you have it.

this week has felt completely atypical and totally wonderful and just right.  i don’t know.  i’m just doing well.

first of all, just know i’ve been working my butt off all week.  we’ve been so busy, and it seems that all of us are putting in extra hours to try to get the projects under control.  i think we might have everything in order now, though.  finally.  but then again, who knows what tomorrow holds?  so i’ve been in the office a lot this week, and currently the entire top of my desk is covered in paper.

okay, and then there was fun stuff each day!  woot!

monday, i met up with roderick for lunch.  he wanted a little help with an invitation/flier for a wedding shower for some people at church.  i have the ability and resources, so i agreed.  plus, looking at something girly and totally different from my regular work is fun. :)  so anyway, we had lunch and discussed this little project and just chatted.  it was a great break in the middle of a long, hectic day.

tuesday night, after another long day of work and washing the car, i met up with chris (from emmaus, not work.  i need other nicknames for all the chrises) at golden spoon for dessert and a long talk.  it was somehow perfect–after all the busyness of the previous days–to sit still and just talk.

you know, a random trip to a frozen yogurt shop is totally something i’d do with my close friends from home or pepp or whatever.  i think it’s awesome that i’m now doing those sorts of things with some people here.  it’s been a long time coming, i know.  i’m moving in the right direction with several people i’ve met at emmaus, and i’m excited about that.

last night, nikki and i met up for dinner at mangia bene, which was so delicious!  plus, we got to talk a lot, which we needed.  we’d already discovered we have lots of things in common, but we needed time to chat and get to know each other better, and it was wonderful!  and after dinner, we weren’t done, so we went over to starbucks for more.  and then we went to target in search of light bulbs for nikki.  and we sat in her car talking some more and playing songs from our lives for one another.  so anyway, we hung out all night, and it was really lovely and we’ll do it again soon.

and tonight was my usual trip to emmaus, except that nothing about it was the usual.  first of all, i was on childcare duty, which meant that one other girl and i were in charge of watching 5 kids (the oldest of whom was 4 years old) while everyone else got to be in the service.  i figured i could handle one shift.  and it was pretty chaotic but we all survived the experience.  haha!  afterwards, i hung around a while catching up with some people and just talking.  and then i ended up staying while some boys tried to help a girl get her car started.  it was kind of an ordeal, but it did work eventually.  amazingly.  and then a group of us went up to in-n-out for some food and chatter before we called it a night.

and life’s just feeling right.  i don’t know what’s on the horizon, really, but i’m hopeful.

and tomorrow night, i am headed up to san carlos to visit the parents for the weekend.  i’m excited to see them and some other friends, and i think it’ll just be a good time.  and i’ll have my computer, so you can still find me.

and now it is the middle of the night, and i really should get to bed.  or at least attempt to fall asleep.  g’night.

i’ll just smile…

…with sweet contentment on my face. :)

on friday afternoon, i wasn’t sure how this weekend was going to go.  i found myself working later than i wanted to on a friday.  and it was just kind of just gray and dreary day.  plus, the office was so quiet.  but i wrapped up what i was working on and eventually went home.

and then everything picked up quite nicely. :)

after a good workout, i got cleaned up and headed over to the movie theatre in aliso.  i met up with chris, dana, jennifer, and tom (all friends from emmaus) to catch a late showing of “burn after reading.”  what a funny movie!  the coen brothers are crazy!  that movie was full all sorts of bizarre things, but still really, really funny.  plus, i really like those kids, so i’m glad i got to meet up with them for a movie.  the whole outing was just good.  i enjoyed myself. :)

saturday, i slept in a little because i’m sure i needed the rest.  and then i was up and going.  i had a bit of cleaning to do, and a lot of grocery shopping.  and then there was cooking and more cleaning, a workout, and more cooking.  it was all in preparation for a wonderful evening.  of course, i actually really enjoy the process of cooking, so i didn’t mind the work at all.

then in the evening, a bunch of emmaus friends came over for dinner and games.  joining me were chris, roderick, amy, hanssel, annajoy, and her son justin.  i had prepared a simple meal of salad, lasagna, bread, and cookies, which we enjoyed together.  and then we hung around, talked, and played some games.  last night’s selections were whoonu, scattergories, and apples to apples, all of which we enjoyed.  and no one got so competitive that it was uncomfortable.  also, i got to know a bit more about each of the people who attended, and i think they could say the same about me.  and we stayed up really way past our bedtimes just enjoying being with each other, wrapping up well past 1am.  chris even helped clean up (even though i insisted that was completely unnecessary) and took out my trash.  he wins because that’s my least favorite chore!  altogether, it was a really lovely evening, and i’m anxious to do it again soon.

even though i didn’t get to sleep until about 3 last night, i was awake at 9:30.  silly old lady body! ;)  anyway, i was off to 11am mass, which was really good.  and i’ve really just spent my afternoon hanging around the apartment relaxing.  it’s something i feel like i haven’t done much lately.  and soon, i’ll go for a long walk around here and get my blood moving and to do some thinking.

so what a great weekend!  i’m very thankful for these new people that have been put into my life.

also!  marke’s in london, and i heard from him earlier today.  i can hardly wait to be back in my city, and i hope he and matt are enjoying their time there.

church. convocation. congregation.

(i hope this makes some sort of sense.)

well, i’d sort of been meaning to write about emmaus and church and those sorts of things for awhile now.  i wasn’t putting it off for any particular reason, but i think somehow that tonight’s the right night to bring up the topic, at least briefly.

so as you might have noticed by now, i’ve been going to emmaus on thursday nights for a couple months.  it’s come to be an important part of my week and something i look forward to.  while i try to make sure that i am wholly living out a christian lifestyle, i still need to hear the word, as well as gather with like-minded people to worship or pray or just be in community with them.  plus, i’m certainly not perfect in my efforts to live as a christian, and dave’s messages each week have been affecting and led to real change for me.  also, my path to that place was strange and unforseen, but i’m really grateful that a long series of events led me there.  i know people reading this don’t all go to emmaus, but you can listen to the teachings on the emmaus website.  you might be surprised by what you hear.

of course, i have also met some really wonderful people at emmaus.  while it might sound sort of strange, or selfish even, that was part of my motivation in going the first time.  but i was also skeptical.  anyway, i really have met some good people there, and i’m glad to have those sorts around me in this life.  i haven’t ever known a ton of people in orange county, and i’m really thankful to feel like there are a few more mutually supportive people around me here.

and if you’ve known me very long, you might now be very confused.  i’m catholic.  yep.  still catholic despite going to emmaus at a totally different chruch once a week.  for me, i still love being catholic and love the mass and feel like it still speaks to me and helps me on my path.  but i have also come to really love worship, prayer, and learning in a totally different format.  and it’s all the same gospel.  we’re all striving for the same things.  and i’ve found that these two church events each week balance each other out nicely.  so here i am, going to both and feeling wonderful about it all.  i mean, how can i not purly amazed that i’ve come to know God?  so i’m at emmaus at zoe on thursdays and at st. edwards on sundays, and it’s all going really well.

it’s going so well that tonight my mom asked me if there’s an emmaus up in the bay area.  hehe!  so catholic!  anyway, i informed her that we’re just the one group but that i’m sure there are young adults gathering to study the gospel somewhere up there.  i just don’t know who or where.  the person who she wanted to tell about it will have to do a little research of his own.  but still, i am surprized and amazed that my mom was talking about emmaus with other people. :)

and so tonight, i think i’m off.  i’m focusing on not worrying so much about wanting things.  instead, i’ll try to have even more faith that my life will be okay.

a new life

this girl has been doing quite well, despite not being so good about updating here of late.  sorry about that.  but here i am, staying up late writing away.  i’ll try to catch you up. :)

work is keeping me busy, but i’m also enjoying it.  i’m even getting stuff done!  ;)

last weekend went well.  i took care of some errands and stuff, got to relax and a little bit, and even went to get lunch at chick-fil-a all the way up in irvine.  james and i had been talking about wanting/craving chick-fil-a for lunch for months, but the closest ones to san clemente are definitely too far to go for lunch during the week.  we’d certainly need more than an hour to get there, eat, and get back.  anyway, i finally found a chance to go up there.  mmm… my lunch was quite delicious!

also, last weekend, i attended my first beach bonfire.  if you’re from here, that is probably hard to believe, but it’s just not that common an activity in san carlos, where i grew up.  anyway, chris (from emmaus, not form work) had a big barbeque and bonfire in celebration of his birthday, so i went to that on saturday night.  there was good food and lots of cool people, and basically i just hung around on the beach all evening.  it was a really nice time.  i even got a great sunset, boys playing guitars, and s’mores.  do saturdays get better than that?  oh!  and chris let lauren and me in on a special recipe of sorts: the reese’s s’more.  replace the chocolate bars with reese’s peanut butter cups.  it’s definitely good news. :)  anyway, great party!

this evening, lauren and i went for a hike on a trail in the hills of san clemente, and it was a really fun time!  we worked pretty hard climbing all those hills, but it was great to get outside and enjoy the area.  and then, after we were worn out, we went for the dinner we felt we had definitely earned: some pasta at sonny’s.  we had a great time walking and talking and eating, and we’ll certainly do it again.

i’ve spent some time tonight thinking about london and my time living in europe.  marke’s off to europe for more than three weeks on friday, and i wnated to give him a few suggestions.  anyway, now i am missing that place as much as ever.  oh, london.  i love it.  i hope marke will enjoy it!

and so i guess i should get to bed soon.  i’ll try to update again in the near future.

monsoon watch

this girl is currently recovering from a wonderful weekend.  :)  sarah came to visit me, so we got to spend the weekend with each other, hanging out, shopping, and eating.  it was wonderful and sort of busier than planned and just fun.

friday night, i picked up sarah in long beach (got to love flying jet blue!), and then we headed down to costa mesa for a dinner we love so much: ravioli at maggiano’s.  mmm… delicious!  that place really is one of our favorites, and we always order very, very similar meals there.  anyway, this visit was definitely not a disappointment.  we headed home afterward very, very full. :)

saturday, we decided to cruise all around the o.c.  we had a great breakfast at the pacific whey cafe at crystal cove in newport, and from there we went over to balboa island.  sarah’d never been there before, and i hadn’t even spent much time there, so it was fun to sort of explore the island.  we walked all around and picked out the houses we wish we could afford.  and we even wandered around the little shops, though we didn’t have frozen bananas or balboa bars.  it was really just quiet and nice.  and next up was fashion island, where we did more wandering and a little shopping.  i found new jeans at martin + osa, so that’s rad.  and then we went over to sprinkles for cupcakes!  yay!  this was one thing sarah said she definitely wanted to do while visiting me.  it was delicious! :)  after resting for a few minutes back at my apartment, we decided on dinner at carbonara in san clemente (pretty good italian, but not the best ever), and then we went up to aliso to see “vicky cristina barcelona.”  what a funny, delightful movie! :)  i really enjoyed it, even if i am not so sure about the last 10 minutes or so.  still, i really did like it.

sunday was another busy day for sarah and me.  we decided to drive all the way out to the desert to cabazon to the big outlet mall there.  neither of us had been there, and it was kind of an adventure.  it didn’t take us too long (90 minutes) to get there, but it was packed when we arrived and we even had problems valet parking my car (after trying and failing miserably to just park it myself).  but anyway, we got that worked out eventually and then got to shopping.  there were tons of great outlets there, including my absolute, hands-down favorite, j.crew.  i love that store!  it’s the same as the regular j.crew stores but cheaper.  so great!  anyway, we both did just a little damage and had a fun time wandering all around and trying on zillions of things. :)  on our way back home, we took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up deciding to take the ortega highway all the way from the 215 out to the coast, which is like 30 miles on a crazy mountain road.  i’d never done that drive before, so i didn’t even know what i was getting us into.  but we took our time and made it safely back to san clemente.  i think it was actually kind of a fun bit of our adventure.  and then had a good mexican dinner on del mar in san clemente before crashing early like the old ladies that we are.

yesterday (monday), we slept in a little later than usual.  then we had a really good lunch at z pizza before doing a little more shopping at loehmann’s, the nordstrom rack, and dsw.  i didn’t find anything, but sarah found awesome shoes that i totally wish i could have.  also, we stopped by this new grocery store called fresh and easy to check it out (sarah’s into grocery stores because she works for one).  and then it was, sadly, time to take her back to the airport so she could get back to woodland.  i’m so glad she came to visit, and i had a great time hanging out with her.

after leaving sarah in long beach, i picked up some snacks and headed to lindsay’s house for a “gossip girl” night with her and her friend liz.  we hung around there eating junk food and enjoying 4 great episodes from the first season.  and then it was time for the season 2 premiere!  it was really fun to watch it all together!  :)  love that show!

and then today it was time to get back to reality and back to work.  and wow.  it turned out to be a bit of a crazy day, but i think i got enough done.

and i got to catch up with katherine tonight, though not under great circumstances.  still, it is good to hear her voice.

i think it’s time for me to get to bed already.  more soon…