It turns out that I may not be going to NY any more. It also turns out that I have way more emotional problems than was once thought. Why? Given the opportunity, I've reverted immediately back to 'What the fuck am I doing with my life?'-mode.
For those of you that have been reading since the beginning, you have some idea of the chaos that was my life at the beginning of this year. (Quitting school, peeing in bottles while driving, pooping myself, constant angst [go back to January and enjoy those posts]). On Wednesday, Annie got a call that was supposed to solidify our plans in moving back east. The call didn't go so well, and now it doesn't make sense for Annie to leave her current job. So, she's likely staying in the Bay Area.
I am trying to settle on the fact that I no longer want to not be with Annie and Angel, so I'm planning on giving up the job I was offered in Schenectady. It is not going to be easy, since it may complicate (or outright impede) any future attempts of getting a security clearance. Also, I signed something, though I can't find it, so I can't wait to hear what the stipulations are for backing out. Career search starts over, and now I return to the constant feeling of impending doom (at least I have a small income right now).
Why is being a real person so difficult and depressing? (Real person means not-a-student, though grad school in L.A. was certainly difficult and depressing.) I should just go back to UCLA and stick it out.
I can't go back to UCLA...
O.M.G.
~RoB
Showing posts with label Angel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Angel. Show all posts
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
~RoB Rides Ann Arbor
At one point in Ann Arbor, I had this dream of taking pictures of me 'riding' all of the statues I could find. I was even planning on including fountains (though I was going to climb on them after they were turned off for the season, and combine it with a picture of them running to make it look like I rode them while they were going). Anyway, in my head, the series of photos were called "Rob Rides Ann Arbor". In my laziness, I never got around to doing it, but I still think it was a great idea. So, picture me on top off all of these, in all of my glory:
Though I failed, Angel managed to pull off a photo sequence of his own, entitled Angel In The City.
Clockwise starting on the left, Angel gets his picture with the Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, the Bay Bridge, the Ferry Building & Financial District, and from the top of Twin Peaks.
He did most of the trip with his mother while I was getting my hair cut. I usually don't support the awkwardness of being crazy dog parents. However, does this make up for him biting people at family gatherings? Did I even tell you about how he bites people at family functions?
~RoB
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| It all started because I really wanted to get on this one! |
 |
| This lil' guy was #2 on my to-ride list. |
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| Even you, puma. Even you. |
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| Anybody not ride the cube while in Ann Arbor? |
Though I failed, Angel managed to pull off a photo sequence of his own, entitled Angel In The City.
Isn't he cute?
He did most of the trip with his mother while I was getting my hair cut. I usually don't support the awkwardness of being crazy dog parents. However, does this make up for him biting people at family gatherings? Did I even tell you about how he bites people at family functions?
~RoB
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Fu¢k Me.
I had a great time yesterday. I came home to a fixed sink. The plumber left the keys and we were able to find them. We went to a Michigan Alumni Association Happy Hour in San Francisco at a swanky wine bar. We met some really cool people, including a fairly recent grad who owns a sushi restaurant in the city, and he invited us to come check it out. We are really excited to do just that! (Everybody loves Annie and I.) Fittingly, the person who was in charge of cheese at the wine bar was also a UM grad, and a good friend of one of the people at the Happy Hour, but he didn't know the event was happening, and they didn't know that they lived in the same city. Long story short, we got a free, really cool cheese plate and he answered questions about everything.
We got home without getting rained on too hard. We picked up Angel from Doggy Day Care late, but they didn't charge us extra. We snagged a few slices from a delicious, local pizza place, watched gLee, and hit the sack. Then, the alarm rang this morning.
I knew when Annie's alarm went off that today was going to be rough. Something told me not to get out of bed (and it wasn't Annie, cuz she was damn near pushing me out). It was my day to take Angel out and feed him breakfast. This happens at 5:45am every morning, so we switch off like good parents. We then, usually, go back to bed for 30 minutes or so (cuz it's the best puppy snuggling time of the day).
Well, I locked myself out. Our roommate just returned from a trip to NYC to see her sister graduate from Columbia, and her mom was staying the night, and they got in really late, and she had to leave fairly early, so I felt bad ringing the doorbell to get Annie to come let me in. So, I walked out in the road, picked up some stones, and started chucking them at our bedroom window. It is impossible to throw stones at a girl's window without either of these going through your head: 1) "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." or 2) any random scene from the John Hughes/Brat Pack movies of the mid-80s.
She came down to let me in. Things were running smoothly (except the bathroom got all clogged up by the number of people in the apartment, as everyone was waking up). I ended up having to skip a much-needed shower. The real 'Fu¢k Me!' moment came when I went down to my car to drive Annie to work. It didn't start. My 2007 Dodge Caliber didn't fu¢king start. Grrrr.
Two weeks ago or so, it started making funny noises, right around the time that I got a huge crack in my windshield. I figured I'd just get all the fluids topped when I went to get my oil changed sometime soon. I also figured I'd let the windshield go until it started to look dangerous. I've been doing dramatically better with my money, but I just invested a fair bit into a super-secret self-improvement project. I'm trying to hold off on investing money into my car, which is still fairly new and a trooper.
I guess that changes now. I absolutely need my car by Saturday, for a fairly long trip. This means I'll have to find money to have it towed, and have it fixed, and they'll probably want to replace my windshield, and we might as well do the tires/oil/everything else now. Awesome.
I can't wait until we run out of oil, and I can bike to work every day,
~RoB
We got home without getting rained on too hard. We picked up Angel from Doggy Day Care late, but they didn't charge us extra. We snagged a few slices from a delicious, local pizza place, watched gLee, and hit the sack. Then, the alarm rang this morning.
I knew when Annie's alarm went off that today was going to be rough. Something told me not to get out of bed (and it wasn't Annie, cuz she was damn near pushing me out). It was my day to take Angel out and feed him breakfast. This happens at 5:45am every morning, so we switch off like good parents. We then, usually, go back to bed for 30 minutes or so (cuz it's the best puppy snuggling time of the day).
Well, I locked myself out. Our roommate just returned from a trip to NYC to see her sister graduate from Columbia, and her mom was staying the night, and they got in really late, and she had to leave fairly early, so I felt bad ringing the doorbell to get Annie to come let me in. So, I walked out in the road, picked up some stones, and started chucking them at our bedroom window. It is impossible to throw stones at a girl's window without either of these going through your head: 1) "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." or 2) any random scene from the John Hughes/Brat Pack movies of the mid-80s.
She came down to let me in. Things were running smoothly (except the bathroom got all clogged up by the number of people in the apartment, as everyone was waking up). I ended up having to skip a much-needed shower. The real 'Fu¢k Me!' moment came when I went down to my car to drive Annie to work. It didn't start. My 2007 Dodge Caliber didn't fu¢king start. Grrrr.
Two weeks ago or so, it started making funny noises, right around the time that I got a huge crack in my windshield. I figured I'd just get all the fluids topped when I went to get my oil changed sometime soon. I also figured I'd let the windshield go until it started to look dangerous. I've been doing dramatically better with my money, but I just invested a fair bit into a super-secret self-improvement project. I'm trying to hold off on investing money into my car, which is still fairly new and a trooper.
I guess that changes now. I absolutely need my car by Saturday, for a fairly long trip. This means I'll have to find money to have it towed, and have it fixed, and they'll probably want to replace my windshield, and we might as well do the tires/oil/everything else now. Awesome.
I can't wait until we run out of oil, and I can bike to work every day,
~RoB
Monday, April 18, 2011
Sonoma Valley Trip
On Friday, Annie and I got to experience our first pickup party as wine club members. It was fun, and I truly believe that we found one of the hidden gems of Napa/Sonoma Wine Country: Hook & Ladder Winery. Their wine is delicious, super reasonably priced, and their tasting room is the most welcoming environment I've found in all of my wine tasting travels. Friday, we showed up about 20 minutes before closing. It was jam packed full of people, and we were immediately nervous about who we check in with and where to stand and how everything works.
Five seconds after we were through the door, one of the ladies pouring yelled over for us to come join her while she found us 2 clean glasses. Every person I talk to there is more than willing to tell you everything they know and to make you feel as comfortable as possible. Then, when they gave me the total bill for this quarter's club shipment and all the extra wine we had bought there, it was about $50 less than I expected. We just kept adding bottles, since it felt that cheap! The worst part about it was that they had sold out of my favorite vintages of my favorite wines, but I can't really complain that they make good, popular wine for such a small winery!
We woke up Saturday morning and hit up the Healdsburg Downtown Bakery & Creamery to try their doughnut muffins (among other things) since they were featured on Best Thing I Ever Ate. They were good, but not nearly as good as their Pain au Chocolat or their Sticky Buns (we got both while they were warm)!!! Then we went to pick up our quarterly olive oil shipment from Dry Creek Olive Company. We're part of their olive oil club (just like a wine club, but cooler). The guy there remembered me, which always makes me feel like a VIP, and we tried some of their just-released, new oils. This place is always great, they have bocci ball on site, and we're seeing them pop up more and more in Norcal. I really wish they had a facebook or twitter page so I could hype them more!
Finally, we spent the rest of the day tasting at 5 other tasting rooms (3 of them at wineries) while driving south to head home.
Big Surprises
Kaz Winery. We went there because we have made friends with someone in the Bay Area with really close connections. Our friend got us a free tasting of their whole fleet of wines, and Kaz was happy to give us the 'friends' discount which was RIDICULOUS! We bought a 1/2 case of their wine. For those of you that know us, this is a TON of wine for one winery. We were worried that it wasn't going to be good, but that we would power through to save face with our friend. We were wrong. Their alicante blew my mind. We even did some port tasting, which is usually not one of Annie's things. She liked it so much that we bought one just for her! Heck, we even bought a bottle of their hot sauce!!
Also, we ate at Zazu, which is a restaurant adjacent to the farm that's providing most of the food. They make and sell their own bacon. The food wasn't spectacular, but their bacon-wrapped dates were superb. We bought a package of their bacon to take home. We ate the whole package Sunday morning.
Disappointments
In asking around for winery suggestions before going to Sonoma, we heard Benziger a few times. I even started to see it more at retailers (though I think that's because I always used to confuse it with Beringer). Their property is gigantic, and they were in the middle of a huge party for their wine club members. That wasn't a big deal, since it was separate and didn't really clog up the tasting room. Though nobody was rude or snobby, big places like that just don't have the same warm feeling that Sonoma does so well. You never feel like anybody cares rather or not you like their wine. 2 of their wines were absolutely amazing, but I couldn't afford a single bottle in their reserve tasting room. They did move us halfway through our tasting to an even cooler room (just us and one other couple tasting) because the first reserve room was filling up, but that didn't really make it any better. They also overcharged my card for an extra tasting, and the lady had the hardest time fixing it. She ended up giving me her card and saying, "In case you get charged for 2 extra, which may have happened at this point, feel free to call and give them my name." We got a free tasting for their sister winery, Imagery, and we're hoping we have a better time there. One other thing to mention is that they are a biodynamic winery, and if you have any interest in super-organic woo-woo farming, you should research what biodynamic means.
Annie and I live off Cline Ancient Vine Zinfandel. They sell it at Trader Joes and BevMo! and other wine retailers. So, we were enthusiastic to hear that the wines they pour at their winery aren't mass-produced or widely distributed. When we showed up, it was the end of a huge party (April in Carneros), so the property was filled with intoxicated people. We got to taste everything we wanted for free, but the environment wasn't that inviting. The kid pouring our wine couldn't have been more than 19, and he was pretty tied up by 3 drunken 19-yr-old-looking girls. At least he admitted "a few of these wines are cheaper at BevMo!" for those wines that they actually sell at BevMo! (not the wines we were tasting). I'll definitely be going back here once I can find an odd time where they'll be empty and able to treat me like the huge fan that I am.
Other places
Mutt Lynch, a dog winery that Angel was invited into and treated like the princess he is.
Deux Amis, a winery that shares a tasting room with Mutt Lynch, but I couldn't sip without my big nose being in the way of the shape of their small tasting glasses.
Glen Ellen Market, a gigantic deli with good food right next to Benziger.
One great moment of the day was at Mutt Lynch/Deux Amis when a group of 4 friends came in and tasted. As they were leaving, they told one of the pourers they were heading over to Napa Valley and asked if they had any recommendations. None of the 3 pourers in the room could think of a single place, since they all "hadn't been to Napa in years." It's so funny to think that they are so close, yet there is really no reason to go spend money in Napa when you're surrounded by amazing, cheap wine in Sonoma!!
If you are heading up to either Napa or Sonoma in the near future, I'd be happy to tag along or just offer advice,
~RoB
Five seconds after we were through the door, one of the ladies pouring yelled over for us to come join her while she found us 2 clean glasses. Every person I talk to there is more than willing to tell you everything they know and to make you feel as comfortable as possible. Then, when they gave me the total bill for this quarter's club shipment and all the extra wine we had bought there, it was about $50 less than I expected. We just kept adding bottles, since it felt that cheap! The worst part about it was that they had sold out of my favorite vintages of my favorite wines, but I can't really complain that they make good, popular wine for such a small winery!
We woke up Saturday morning and hit up the Healdsburg Downtown Bakery & Creamery to try their doughnut muffins (among other things) since they were featured on Best Thing I Ever Ate. They were good, but not nearly as good as their Pain au Chocolat or their Sticky Buns (we got both while they were warm)!!! Then we went to pick up our quarterly olive oil shipment from Dry Creek Olive Company. We're part of their olive oil club (just like a wine club, but cooler). The guy there remembered me, which always makes me feel like a VIP, and we tried some of their just-released, new oils. This place is always great, they have bocci ball on site, and we're seeing them pop up more and more in Norcal. I really wish they had a facebook or twitter page so I could hype them more!
Finally, we spent the rest of the day tasting at 5 other tasting rooms (3 of them at wineries) while driving south to head home.
Big Surprises
Kaz Winery. We went there because we have made friends with someone in the Bay Area with really close connections. Our friend got us a free tasting of their whole fleet of wines, and Kaz was happy to give us the 'friends' discount which was RIDICULOUS! We bought a 1/2 case of their wine. For those of you that know us, this is a TON of wine for one winery. We were worried that it wasn't going to be good, but that we would power through to save face with our friend. We were wrong. Their alicante blew my mind. We even did some port tasting, which is usually not one of Annie's things. She liked it so much that we bought one just for her! Heck, we even bought a bottle of their hot sauce!!
Also, we ate at Zazu, which is a restaurant adjacent to the farm that's providing most of the food. They make and sell their own bacon. The food wasn't spectacular, but their bacon-wrapped dates were superb. We bought a package of their bacon to take home. We ate the whole package Sunday morning.
Disappointments
In asking around for winery suggestions before going to Sonoma, we heard Benziger a few times. I even started to see it more at retailers (though I think that's because I always used to confuse it with Beringer). Their property is gigantic, and they were in the middle of a huge party for their wine club members. That wasn't a big deal, since it was separate and didn't really clog up the tasting room. Though nobody was rude or snobby, big places like that just don't have the same warm feeling that Sonoma does so well. You never feel like anybody cares rather or not you like their wine. 2 of their wines were absolutely amazing, but I couldn't afford a single bottle in their reserve tasting room. They did move us halfway through our tasting to an even cooler room (just us and one other couple tasting) because the first reserve room was filling up, but that didn't really make it any better. They also overcharged my card for an extra tasting, and the lady had the hardest time fixing it. She ended up giving me her card and saying, "In case you get charged for 2 extra, which may have happened at this point, feel free to call and give them my name." We got a free tasting for their sister winery, Imagery, and we're hoping we have a better time there. One other thing to mention is that they are a biodynamic winery, and if you have any interest in super-organic woo-woo farming, you should research what biodynamic means.
Annie and I live off Cline Ancient Vine Zinfandel. They sell it at Trader Joes and BevMo! and other wine retailers. So, we were enthusiastic to hear that the wines they pour at their winery aren't mass-produced or widely distributed. When we showed up, it was the end of a huge party (April in Carneros), so the property was filled with intoxicated people. We got to taste everything we wanted for free, but the environment wasn't that inviting. The kid pouring our wine couldn't have been more than 19, and he was pretty tied up by 3 drunken 19-yr-old-looking girls. At least he admitted "a few of these wines are cheaper at BevMo!" for those wines that they actually sell at BevMo! (not the wines we were tasting). I'll definitely be going back here once I can find an odd time where they'll be empty and able to treat me like the huge fan that I am.
Other places
Mutt Lynch, a dog winery that Angel was invited into and treated like the princess he is.
Deux Amis, a winery that shares a tasting room with Mutt Lynch, but I couldn't sip without my big nose being in the way of the shape of their small tasting glasses.
Glen Ellen Market, a gigantic deli with good food right next to Benziger.
One great moment of the day was at Mutt Lynch/Deux Amis when a group of 4 friends came in and tasted. As they were leaving, they told one of the pourers they were heading over to Napa Valley and asked if they had any recommendations. None of the 3 pourers in the room could think of a single place, since they all "hadn't been to Napa in years." It's so funny to think that they are so close, yet there is really no reason to go spend money in Napa when you're surrounded by amazing, cheap wine in Sonoma!!
If you are heading up to either Napa or Sonoma in the near future, I'd be happy to tag along or just offer advice,
~RoB
Pros & Cons of Dog Ownership
A few months ago I started working on a follow up about Angel describing all of the engineering Annie and I did to try and keep him in his kennel. I never got around to finishing it (I have something like 25 posts that I've worked on and haven't finished or decided not to publish). Sure, he had one day where he ate 3 Cadbury Creme Eggs and wouldn't throw up, and we had another incident where he tore through the trash to eat some Alfredo sauce, but, in general, he's been better lately. We bought a topper for his kennel that straps down and doesn't allow him to come out. So, the household is generally happier. Somebody needs to clip his nails though.
That happened when I came home the other day. He was falling off the bed, and in an attempt to steady himself, dragged one of his nails across the entire width of my arm. I don't want people to think that Angel is difficult. Actually, in the mornings, he is the best snuggle-buddy ever in the history of existence.
Annie's in Disneyland with the fam right now, so most of the time I'm home, Angel and I are snuggled up exactly like this. He'll definitely get all pretty (bathed, clipped, brushed) for this weekend's Easter activities, in hopes he doesn't bite any kids this time...
Be jealous,
~RoB
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He gets really excited if you come home and lay in bed. |
 |
| Yeah, that's right. He's covered up, snuggling, using Annie's pillow to sleep. |
Be jealous,
~RoB
Monday, March 28, 2011
Random Banana
Annie: "Why is there a banana on my nightstand?"
Rob: "I may, or may not, have just found it in the pillow..."
This induced a little-girl-sleepover-caliber giggle fest. Maybe you had to be there, at 11pm last night, after The King's Speech and a long bout of trying to get Angel to vomit up the 3 Cadbury Creme Eggs he ate while we were at the movie.
I had wanted to nap in Annie's car while at her soccer match on Sunday. I also wanted to eat a banana. I threw a banana in the pillow case and headed for the car. I never got to the nap (or the banana). I ended up taking Angel to a dog park instead. Fast forward 12 hours or so, and the pillow has made it back to the bed, forgotten banana and all. I laid down on it to call it a night, and I immediately wondered if my face just found Annie's hidden vibrator that I never knew about. Nope. Just my favorite radioactive fruit, waiting in there for tomorrow morning.
You don't have to be in elementary school to still appreciate the many available features of a pillow case,
~RoB
Rob: "I may, or may not, have just found it in the pillow..."
This induced a little-girl-sleepover-caliber giggle fest. Maybe you had to be there, at 11pm last night, after The King's Speech and a long bout of trying to get Angel to vomit up the 3 Cadbury Creme Eggs he ate while we were at the movie.
I had wanted to nap in Annie's car while at her soccer match on Sunday. I also wanted to eat a banana. I threw a banana in the pillow case and headed for the car. I never got to the nap (or the banana). I ended up taking Angel to a dog park instead. Fast forward 12 hours or so, and the pillow has made it back to the bed, forgotten banana and all. I laid down on it to call it a night, and I immediately wondered if my face just found Annie's hidden vibrator that I never knew about. Nope. Just my favorite radioactive fruit, waiting in there for tomorrow morning.
You don't have to be in elementary school to still appreciate the many available features of a pillow case,
~RoB
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Not an Angel
Angel's been a little out of control. Lately he's been tearing through the garbage or breaking into his food or eating shit off the counters/tables while we're gone. He even ate a whole batch of cupcakes off the table (wrapper, candles, and all)!
A few nights ago was the worst. We put him in his kennel (3' tall), and that was apparently not an obstacle for him. We came home, and he had eaten 2 CLIF Builder Bars (mint chocolate), several CLIF Bars (oatmeal raisin & blueberry crisp), a few yams, chewed up a wine cork, and who knows what else. For those without dogs, chocolate and raisins are bad for them. That much fiber and protein won't do great things to them either. We decided that for the first time, we weren't going to force him to throw it all up (hydrogen peroxide does wonders). It was time for him to finally pay for his compulsions!
The gas that emitted from him seemed ludicrous. Quietly we tried to lay around a few times, but he kept squeaking them out. You could hear them as he was walking around. Just like Granny, he tooted with each step. Speaking of Granny, she's finally home from the rehabilitation center. I talked to her this morning after she got settled. She sounds way better. I'm a little worried she might have stroke face, though. Lord knows I can't handle being that distracted when I'm talking to somebody.
UPDATE
We came home today to Angel laying on our bed, wiggling away. Problem? When we left, he was comfortably in his kennel. We had placed a blanket over the top of his kennel, in order to deter him from trying to jump out. Instead, he brilliantly found his way out, tore into some Advil Cold & Sinus, and ate one of Annie's headbands. I can't bitch too much the headband, it was hideous. That's one point for Angel, but things are still about to get real!
Naming a dog Angel: the opposite of self-fulfilling prophecy,
~RoB
A few nights ago was the worst. We put him in his kennel (3' tall), and that was apparently not an obstacle for him. We came home, and he had eaten 2 CLIF Builder Bars (mint chocolate), several CLIF Bars (oatmeal raisin & blueberry crisp), a few yams, chewed up a wine cork, and who knows what else. For those without dogs, chocolate and raisins are bad for them. That much fiber and protein won't do great things to them either. We decided that for the first time, we weren't going to force him to throw it all up (hydrogen peroxide does wonders). It was time for him to finally pay for his compulsions!
The gas that emitted from him seemed ludicrous. Quietly we tried to lay around a few times, but he kept squeaking them out. You could hear them as he was walking around. Just like Granny, he tooted with each step. Speaking of Granny, she's finally home from the rehabilitation center. I talked to her this morning after she got settled. She sounds way better. I'm a little worried she might have stroke face, though. Lord knows I can't handle being that distracted when I'm talking to somebody.
UPDATE
We came home today to Angel laying on our bed, wiggling away. Problem? When we left, he was comfortably in his kennel. We had placed a blanket over the top of his kennel, in order to deter him from trying to jump out. Instead, he brilliantly found his way out, tore into some Advil Cold & Sinus, and ate one of Annie's headbands. I can't bitch too much the headband, it was hideous. That's one point for Angel, but things are still about to get real!
 |
| Uh oh, pups, look up. Daddy rigged up your kennel. Try and get out now! |
Naming a dog Angel: the opposite of self-fulfilling prophecy,
~RoB
Friday, February 11, 2011
Birthday
It's that time of year again, and already things have been interesting.
I got my first birthday card yesterday. It was from my aunt. (I posted about my crazy family, but my aunt is the lone person that kept me this side of crazy as I grew up.) It has a bunch of stuffed monkeys on the cover hopping around yelling 'Yahoo!!' 'Whoopee!!' 'This is gonna be great!! I'm so excited!!' The last monkey exclaims "I can't wait!! I... I..." and the inside says "... I think I just pooped myself." She signed it: "(maybe I should stop reading your blog) haha." How perfect is that? The check inside made it even better! Thanks, Aunt! (I don't use people's names other than Annie [and Angel]).
Today, at work, I easily got off next Friday to go skiing with Annie and all of her friends. I told them it was for my birthday. I also scheduled a drug screening on my birthday, so things can get crazy that night!!
Then things made a turn for the worse. I came home, and Angel was in trouble. He had eaten one of my birthday presents! Chocolate covered Oreos that Annie had found in some fancy chocolate store. This is the same dog that ate our roommate's cupcakes that I made her for her birthday. Angel is the birthday ruiner (word?)! (Don't name a dog Angel; it's setting everyone up for failure.)
We brought it back a little with a birthday card from my mom. The front is a bunch of plastic flamingos and reads "If this is the first thing you see the morning after your birthday celebration, you may want to ask yourself these important questions:" inside "Am I naked? Is this my front yard? Who are these people...?" Mom doesn't read my blog, but she apparently knows me nonetheless. Only downer is that it came with a post-dated check. That makes me feel really guilty... like she felt obligated to send me money that she can't afford.
Similarly, I never got a/an Xmas present from my grandparents, and I don't know if they'll send me a birthday present. It's not really a big deal, but I wonder if they actually did send something and it was lost along the way. Considering the current granny situation, I'm not going to ask. Am I awful for caring rather or not they sent/are sending something?
Anyway, things are in full swing, and Annie is whisking me off to Napa for the weekend.
Hello, good wine, I've missed you,
~RoB
I got my first birthday card yesterday. It was from my aunt. (I posted about my crazy family, but my aunt is the lone person that kept me this side of crazy as I grew up.) It has a bunch of stuffed monkeys on the cover hopping around yelling 'Yahoo!!' 'Whoopee!!' 'This is gonna be great!! I'm so excited!!' The last monkey exclaims "I can't wait!! I... I..." and the inside says "... I think I just pooped myself." She signed it: "(maybe I should stop reading your blog) haha." How perfect is that? The check inside made it even better! Thanks, Aunt! (I don't use people's names other than Annie [and Angel]).
Today, at work, I easily got off next Friday to go skiing with Annie and all of her friends. I told them it was for my birthday. I also scheduled a drug screening on my birthday, so things can get crazy that night!!
Then things made a turn for the worse. I came home, and Angel was in trouble. He had eaten one of my birthday presents! Chocolate covered Oreos that Annie had found in some fancy chocolate store. This is the same dog that ate our roommate's cupcakes that I made her for her birthday. Angel is the birthday ruiner (word?)! (Don't name a dog Angel; it's setting everyone up for failure.)
We brought it back a little with a birthday card from my mom. The front is a bunch of plastic flamingos and reads "If this is the first thing you see the morning after your birthday celebration, you may want to ask yourself these important questions:" inside "Am I naked? Is this my front yard? Who are these people...?" Mom doesn't read my blog, but she apparently knows me nonetheless. Only downer is that it came with a post-dated check. That makes me feel really guilty... like she felt obligated to send me money that she can't afford.
Similarly, I never got a/an Xmas present from my grandparents, and I don't know if they'll send me a birthday present. It's not really a big deal, but I wonder if they actually did send something and it was lost along the way. Considering the current granny situation, I'm not going to ask. Am I awful for caring rather or not they sent/are sending something?
Anyway, things are in full swing, and Annie is whisking me off to Napa for the weekend.
Hello, good wine, I've missed you,
~RoB
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Raw Nipples
I just jogged Lake Merritt with Angel. It's our goal to be able to run the whole thing in consecutive days. I've ran 5Ks before, but never within the same week (or month, even).
When I came home and walked into my kitchen for water, I lifted up my shirt to wipe my sweaty face. It made me realize how raw my nipples were. I think it was a combination of them being hard from the cold and exercise, and the design of the high school tennis shirt I ran in.
DIETY...
Raw, painful nipples were a regular occurrence during my ballroom dance competitions. Tight, heavily starched shirts rubbing against sweaty, erect nipples makes for an irritating situation. On more than one occurrence I had to unbutton my shirt beside the dance floor and apply bandaids to my large, purple-y nipples. It was more awkward when I asked my ballroom coaches for advice. They recommended Body Glide. Rubbing vaseline on your nipples before putting a shirt on is almost worse than raw, painful nipples.
I feel like the lake is going to be inspiration for a lot of my best posts,
~RoB
When I came home and walked into my kitchen for water, I lifted up my shirt to wipe my sweaty face. It made me realize how raw my nipples were. I think it was a combination of them being hard from the cold and exercise, and the design of the high school tennis shirt I ran in.
DIETY...
Raw, painful nipples were a regular occurrence during my ballroom dance competitions. Tight, heavily starched shirts rubbing against sweaty, erect nipples makes for an irritating situation. On more than one occurrence I had to unbutton my shirt beside the dance floor and apply bandaids to my large, purple-y nipples. It was more awkward when I asked my ballroom coaches for advice. They recommended Body Glide. Rubbing vaseline on your nipples before putting a shirt on is almost worse than raw, painful nipples.
I feel like the lake is going to be inspiration for a lot of my best posts,
~RoB
Friday, January 21, 2011
Post #10: Finished I-5 Checklist & Last of the Potty Stories
There were 3 things that I had urges to do after driving I-5 from L.A. to S.F. and back so many times:
1) Eat at Andersen's Pea Soup
2) Eat at Taste of India
3) Stop at the Vista Point and see why it's there.
Today, I checked off the last of those. I stopped at the Vista Point on the way down. Honestly, not so spectacular. There's a little plaque there about the aqueduct, but, as I suspected, you can't see much more than you can see while driving. I think there's one more on the northbound side. Maybe I'll try it, too, on the way back. If you've ever driven I-5, you would understand the interest in both Andersen's and the sketch Indian place. Both were nothing special. Andersen's kinda sucked; it smelled like a Port-a-Potty.
I received a great comment in my email today referring to the post "Continue to Fall Apart". I have to share it:
A related story. Annie's birthday is just a few days before Christmas. Her sister just graduated college, so it turned out that only her father, her, and I were together for her actual birthday. I tried to make her a layered funfetti cake with glass pie plates (all I could find), and it turned out a mess. Skip forward a few weeks, and I decided to make fancy funfetti cupcakes with cute frosting and candles. I arranged them all cutesy on our little dining room table. It was technically for her roommate's birthday, but it was going to be my way of making up for the shitty birthday cake. While out for her roommate's birthday dinner (sushi!), Angel hopped up on the table and ate everything! Every single cupcake, all the wrappers, all the frosting, and all the candles. When we got home, he was laying on the floor moaning. He was the fattest I've ever seen him. We commenced to making him throw up (hydrogen peroxide ingestion) until there were huge piles of cake batter all over our lawn. It was the best smelling puke I'll ever clean up!
Starting to get phone calls about tutoring jobs in the bay. I'll return those tomorrow. Also posted a craigslist ad with a bunch of stuff I'd like to get rid of before returning to the Bay this weekend. If you're interested:
http://losangeles.craigslist.
http://losangeles.craigslist.
http://losangeles.craigslist.
http://losangeles.craigslist.
I managed to make it all the way to L.A. without peeing in a bottle, so let's hope that the potty stories are over for a while.
No promises,
~RoB
1) Eat at Andersen's Pea Soup
2) Eat at Taste of India
3) Stop at the Vista Point and see why it's there.
Today, I checked off the last of those. I stopped at the Vista Point on the way down. Honestly, not so spectacular. There's a little plaque there about the aqueduct, but, as I suspected, you can't see much more than you can see while driving. I think there's one more on the northbound side. Maybe I'll try it, too, on the way back. If you've ever driven I-5, you would understand the interest in both Andersen's and the sketch Indian place. Both were nothing special. Andersen's kinda sucked; it smelled like a Port-a-Potty.
I received a great comment in my email today referring to the post "Continue to Fall Apart". I have to share it:
the worst thing about shitting your pants is you never ever get over it. for the rest of your life you don't trust a single fart or a relaxation of the sphincter. it's like... oh damn did i just...? no.. ok, that one was safe, phew. Post Pantsshitting Stress disorder, i think it should be named.Hopefully, the following can be the last two disgusting stories for a while. Maybe it helps that they will involve a dog. First of all, Angel (our dog) took a poop yesterday and commenced to act really weird and bite at his butt. When I lifted up his butt fur and looked back there, he had grassy poop hanging out. I had to use the plastic bag that I would be cleaning the poop up with to pull it out of his ass. If this were a regular occurrence, I'd probably give him to the humane society.
A related story. Annie's birthday is just a few days before Christmas. Her sister just graduated college, so it turned out that only her father, her, and I were together for her actual birthday. I tried to make her a layered funfetti cake with glass pie plates (all I could find), and it turned out a mess. Skip forward a few weeks, and I decided to make fancy funfetti cupcakes with cute frosting and candles. I arranged them all cutesy on our little dining room table. It was technically for her roommate's birthday, but it was going to be my way of making up for the shitty birthday cake. While out for her roommate's birthday dinner (sushi!), Angel hopped up on the table and ate everything! Every single cupcake, all the wrappers, all the frosting, and all the candles. When we got home, he was laying on the floor moaning. He was the fattest I've ever seen him. We commenced to making him throw up (hydrogen peroxide ingestion) until there were huge piles of cake batter all over our lawn. It was the best smelling puke I'll ever clean up!
Starting to get phone calls about tutoring jobs in the bay. I'll return those tomorrow. Also posted a craigslist ad with a bunch of stuff I'd like to get rid of before returning to the Bay this weekend. If you're interested:
http://losangeles.craigslist.
http://losangeles.craigslist.
http://losangeles.craigslist.
http://losangeles.craigslist.
I managed to make it all the way to L.A. without peeing in a bottle, so let's hope that the potty stories are over for a while.
No promises,
~RoB
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