Went to the doctor yesterday - everything is good. Well, they are still using the word "excellent," which I'll take.
I went over to Mitch's last night and Keira almost cried because my red eyes scared her so badly. She ran over to see me when she got home, but once she saw my eyes she literally gasped, covered her mouth with both hands, jumped backwards and then hid behind Mitchell. The rest of the night she wouldn't be in the same room as me. SOOO funny. I cried I laughed so hard.
When I was at my doctor appointment yesterday I saw a thing on the wall that I hadn't read before. It gave the credentials for the doctor who does the surgery. Turns out he is the founder and president of Laser Eye Surgery (the nationwide company) and has done over 40,000 surgeries and received numerous awards. Pretty cool. I mentioned this to Mitchell yesterday and he kept saying that they just want me to think he did it, who knows if it was actually him. At first I had no idea what he meant, but then I realized he thought I was knocked out for the procedure. I told him I wasn't knocked out, that you can see them opening your eye up, peeling away and replacing layers of your eyeball, and the brushes they use to reseal and moisturize your eye after its open. Let's just say he had a very contorted face the entire time and was thoroughly disgusted. I, on the other hand, thought it was so cool to see this done to myself and wish I had it on videotape. Surgery and medicine are so fascinating.
Today it is 80 something degrees out and gorgeous. After work I am heading up to Tarzana again for Survivor and home made pizza (the best). I put this as my facebook status and Doris commented saying that it would be better if the whole family was with me, so I told her that she and everyone else just has to move out here now. After some back and forth about us moving home instead, she says how we should all come to Raleigh because of jobs with the Hurricanes (NHL team there). I texted Zach about it just kidding around and he is still texting me about moving there in the next week. I'm not that ready to leave California and I'm very surprised he is. I'll have to talk to him tonight to see how serious he is. Also, if I WAS to leave California, I don't think I could go straight to Raleigh. Right now there is still a lot I want to do here and I love being near the girls, M & D. Of course I seem to keep getting less and less hours at my job, which is a problem. He is renovating a mountain house he just bought so hes out of the office a lot. Annoying.
I hope not, but there's a chance our Thanksgiving trip will be one way..
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Ow, Ow, Ow, Awesome!
So I had my laser eye surgery yesterday. Good thing Zach was there because I definitely got more stressed as the appointment went on. I was primarily stressed about the financial aspect and the fact that I hadn't been prepping for this for a week since it was planned so quickly.
Everything went perfectly fine. Leading up to the surgery they redid the tests, which is all very easy. Zach was able to stay with me up until they sliced my eye open, so for about an hour. It all felt very fast after he left, though, which was good. They told me I'd be waiting for a few minutes after he left.. nope, he left and I got put in the first room, where the doctor immediately came in and started. It was much more uncomfortable than I expected. Looking back I am not surprised, because I literally went in expecting no pain whatsoever. I'm an idiot. The procedure itself had very little actual pain involved, but a good amount of pressure. They say don't confuse "pressure" with "pain." My response? Pressure on your eyeball is painful! It was not fun, but the whole time I kept thinking to myself.. "this is worth it."
After they opened up my eyeball (so fun saying that, and even more fun seeing your eye get opened up..) they walked me into the next room to do the correction part of the procedure. It goes pretty quickly but also is not the most comfortable thing in the world. As I laid down I almost had a panic attack because I didn't realize there were two different portions in two different rooms, so when the first part was done I thought I was done. I started thinking to myself that I probably should have taken the Xanex, but I was able to calm myself down within 5 seconds and according to the doctors I was excellent throughout the surgery. Because of my fair skin he was worried that the cutting my open part would be more difficult, but he said things went much better than expected. Relieving. Then they taped these bug eye things on my face and put sunglasses on my. Not as cool. Zach laughed out loud at me as I walked into the completely full waiting room. Thanks. He also refused to carry me to the car as I had been telling him all along he had to do (jokingly). Thanks again ;)
It wasn't until we were pulling into our apartment garage that I started not feeling so well. At first I thought it was just nausea from having my eyes closed the whole ride home since I get car sick anyways. By the time I got to the couch I realized I was in a lot of pain; I had a migraine, my stomach still hurt, my eyes were on fire to say the least. My mom had mentioned how she watched the ACC tournament after her surgery so I couldn't figure out why I wasn't even able to open my eyes and was in so much pain when she hadn't been, which was very scary. After a while I felt comfortable enough that I let Zach go to the store for some salad supplies and after I ate I took half the Vicodin. At that point the pain had already started to become more tolerable (I had also taken an extra strength Tylenol right after I got home) but the Vicodin really made it so I could function. I was able to open my eyes to the point where Zach started yelling at me for peaking at the TV for too long. He took very good care of me. I'm very fortunate that I had him help me through this, especially the part where I was so scared.
This morning I woke up and could see across the room. I can't even remember the last time I was able to do that. It is the most incredible feeling. My eyes are pretty red around where they cut them open (looks pretty funny - there is the blue and then a sliver of white and then a perfect line where the red starts) but I am feeling no pain whatsoever. Occasionally they will feel a little dry or abnormal, but I think a lot of that has to do with how much red there is. I have a followup appointment today (and like once a week for the next few months.. bleh) so we'll see what the deal with the red is, but I'm pretty confident that everything is okay. There isn't even any blurriness or anything. I can't say enough how great it is.
Everything went perfectly fine. Leading up to the surgery they redid the tests, which is all very easy. Zach was able to stay with me up until they sliced my eye open, so for about an hour. It all felt very fast after he left, though, which was good. They told me I'd be waiting for a few minutes after he left.. nope, he left and I got put in the first room, where the doctor immediately came in and started. It was much more uncomfortable than I expected. Looking back I am not surprised, because I literally went in expecting no pain whatsoever. I'm an idiot. The procedure itself had very little actual pain involved, but a good amount of pressure. They say don't confuse "pressure" with "pain." My response? Pressure on your eyeball is painful! It was not fun, but the whole time I kept thinking to myself.. "this is worth it."
After they opened up my eyeball (so fun saying that, and even more fun seeing your eye get opened up..) they walked me into the next room to do the correction part of the procedure. It goes pretty quickly but also is not the most comfortable thing in the world. As I laid down I almost had a panic attack because I didn't realize there were two different portions in two different rooms, so when the first part was done I thought I was done. I started thinking to myself that I probably should have taken the Xanex, but I was able to calm myself down within 5 seconds and according to the doctors I was excellent throughout the surgery. Because of my fair skin he was worried that the cutting my open part would be more difficult, but he said things went much better than expected. Relieving. Then they taped these bug eye things on my face and put sunglasses on my. Not as cool. Zach laughed out loud at me as I walked into the completely full waiting room. Thanks. He also refused to carry me to the car as I had been telling him all along he had to do (jokingly). Thanks again ;)
It wasn't until we were pulling into our apartment garage that I started not feeling so well. At first I thought it was just nausea from having my eyes closed the whole ride home since I get car sick anyways. By the time I got to the couch I realized I was in a lot of pain; I had a migraine, my stomach still hurt, my eyes were on fire to say the least. My mom had mentioned how she watched the ACC tournament after her surgery so I couldn't figure out why I wasn't even able to open my eyes and was in so much pain when she hadn't been, which was very scary. After a while I felt comfortable enough that I let Zach go to the store for some salad supplies and after I ate I took half the Vicodin. At that point the pain had already started to become more tolerable (I had also taken an extra strength Tylenol right after I got home) but the Vicodin really made it so I could function. I was able to open my eyes to the point where Zach started yelling at me for peaking at the TV for too long. He took very good care of me. I'm very fortunate that I had him help me through this, especially the part where I was so scared.
This morning I woke up and could see across the room. I can't even remember the last time I was able to do that. It is the most incredible feeling. My eyes are pretty red around where they cut them open (looks pretty funny - there is the blue and then a sliver of white and then a perfect line where the red starts) but I am feeling no pain whatsoever. Occasionally they will feel a little dry or abnormal, but I think a lot of that has to do with how much red there is. I have a followup appointment today (and like once a week for the next few months.. bleh) so we'll see what the deal with the red is, but I'm pretty confident that everything is okay. There isn't even any blurriness or anything. I can't say enough how great it is.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Laser Eye Surgery
So we had a really great weekend. On Friday we went to the pumpkin patch with Donna and the girls. We hadn't really planned on doing anything but errands and relaxing that day, but once I heard they were going to a pumpkin patch I, clearly, had to go. This place was awesome too; it had lots of rides, games and random areas set up for the kids. We had a lot of fun and then picked up some Chinese food on the way back to Mitchell. The slippery shrimp at the restaurant near them is to die for, so clearly we stayed for dinner.
On Saturday Zach and I finally ran our errands (helloooo Wal-mart) and I had a consultation for laser eye surgery. It ended up costing about what I expected it to, but more than I was HOPING it would. I decided to give myself a couple of days to think it through, especially because I couldn't get it that same day. (They offer it the same day, but I had to work at Lisa's birthday party). So after the consultation and then Wal-Mart we went to CPK for a quick dinner and went up to Lisa's.
Her set-up for the party was so gorgeous, it looked like she had a party planner come in and do everything. It wasn't even really like working because M&D were at the party and we know a few of their friends that were there as well, so I got to talk to them for a fair portion of the night. Plus Lisa just had us helping out essentially, which included taking pictures and stuff I would have been doing for her even if I wasn't getting paid. Pretty awesome. The party was crazy.. despite the fact that they were all older they definitely all thought it was a college party. It kind of was, just in a beautiful home with hired helpers, bartender and DJ. People were smoking weed in the front yard and Mitch said he and one of the guys used the lawn as a toilet. Hilarious. Most importantly, Mitchell wore jeans that I had picked out for him (skinny jeans from Levi's, but not super skinny) and got compliments. The women were veryyyy impressed. :) I left early because there was chaos down at Donna's house. Lisa's kids, her brother's kids and Donna's were all getting babysat at Donna's and the babysitters even came up to the party to let Donna know that it was too crazy and they couldn't handle it. Donna and Lisa's brother left the party for a good 30 minutes to try and diffuse the situation. Pretty funny. By the time I got there the other kids had been brought up to Lisa's and stuck in the bedrooms and Donna's kids were asleep, so I didn't have to do anything.
We get home that night completely exhausted.. I got to bed.. Zach gets in the shower, the usual. Until Zach gets out of the shower and wakes me up angrily asking why I left my glasses on the bed. I tell him I didn't, I left them on the nightstand. Turns out our lovely dog took them off the nightstand and continued to chew on them and completely destroy them. I was so asleep that I didn't even see them until the morning, which was when I realized that they were practically unwearable. So that laser eye surgery planned for next weekend is now scheduled for today, Monday. I am very excited, but also frustrated that the stupid dog made it so I have to miss work, etc. because I can't wear contacts before the surgery and I can now hardly wear glasses. Anyways, we essentially just relaxed yesterday. Zach went for a ride on his motorcycle and I watched some excellent TV since I couldn't really do much.. being blind and all. After fantastic naps we hiked up to the Hollywood sign as it was getting dark. It was misting when we left our house and by the time we got to the point we wanted to turn around the mist had gotten much harder. It was so foggy you could hardly see the lights of Hollywood and the mist was heavy enough that my hair was soaked and we had water dripping down our faces. It was pretty awesome. It felt very secluded and like we weren't in the center of a huge city. No one else was out there or anything.
So today I just have to sit through the next few hours at work and then I'm off to get my surgery. Zach took the day off so I won't have to sit there alone, which is very nice. I can't even imagine not having to worry about glasses or contacts or any of that anymore. SO awesome. Also, Zach and I contemplated just heading home this week so we could move back by the time Jon Stewart has his rally in DC this weekend. Both of us are so excited for Thanksgiving break... But maybe if we move back East it'll be to Raleigh instead of DC. Who knows!
On Saturday Zach and I finally ran our errands (helloooo Wal-mart) and I had a consultation for laser eye surgery. It ended up costing about what I expected it to, but more than I was HOPING it would. I decided to give myself a couple of days to think it through, especially because I couldn't get it that same day. (They offer it the same day, but I had to work at Lisa's birthday party). So after the consultation and then Wal-Mart we went to CPK for a quick dinner and went up to Lisa's.
Her set-up for the party was so gorgeous, it looked like she had a party planner come in and do everything. It wasn't even really like working because M&D were at the party and we know a few of their friends that were there as well, so I got to talk to them for a fair portion of the night. Plus Lisa just had us helping out essentially, which included taking pictures and stuff I would have been doing for her even if I wasn't getting paid. Pretty awesome. The party was crazy.. despite the fact that they were all older they definitely all thought it was a college party. It kind of was, just in a beautiful home with hired helpers, bartender and DJ. People were smoking weed in the front yard and Mitch said he and one of the guys used the lawn as a toilet. Hilarious. Most importantly, Mitchell wore jeans that I had picked out for him (skinny jeans from Levi's, but not super skinny) and got compliments. The women were veryyyy impressed. :) I left early because there was chaos down at Donna's house. Lisa's kids, her brother's kids and Donna's were all getting babysat at Donna's and the babysitters even came up to the party to let Donna know that it was too crazy and they couldn't handle it. Donna and Lisa's brother left the party for a good 30 minutes to try and diffuse the situation. Pretty funny. By the time I got there the other kids had been brought up to Lisa's and stuck in the bedrooms and Donna's kids were asleep, so I didn't have to do anything.
We get home that night completely exhausted.. I got to bed.. Zach gets in the shower, the usual. Until Zach gets out of the shower and wakes me up angrily asking why I left my glasses on the bed. I tell him I didn't, I left them on the nightstand. Turns out our lovely dog took them off the nightstand and continued to chew on them and completely destroy them. I was so asleep that I didn't even see them until the morning, which was when I realized that they were practically unwearable. So that laser eye surgery planned for next weekend is now scheduled for today, Monday. I am very excited, but also frustrated that the stupid dog made it so I have to miss work, etc. because I can't wear contacts before the surgery and I can now hardly wear glasses. Anyways, we essentially just relaxed yesterday. Zach went for a ride on his motorcycle and I watched some excellent TV since I couldn't really do much.. being blind and all. After fantastic naps we hiked up to the Hollywood sign as it was getting dark. It was misting when we left our house and by the time we got to the point we wanted to turn around the mist had gotten much harder. It was so foggy you could hardly see the lights of Hollywood and the mist was heavy enough that my hair was soaked and we had water dripping down our faces. It was pretty awesome. It felt very secluded and like we weren't in the center of a huge city. No one else was out there or anything.
So today I just have to sit through the next few hours at work and then I'm off to get my surgery. Zach took the day off so I won't have to sit there alone, which is very nice. I can't even imagine not having to worry about glasses or contacts or any of that anymore. SO awesome. Also, Zach and I contemplated just heading home this week so we could move back by the time Jon Stewart has his rally in DC this weekend. Both of us are so excited for Thanksgiving break... But maybe if we move back East it'll be to Raleigh instead of DC. Who knows!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Orange County
This weekend was really great - one of the best we've had in a while.
Friday night I got out of work and met Zach at the Beverly Center because I needed (yes, needed) an H&M trip. He was very nice and decided not to meet up with one of his motorcycle buddies and went shopping with me. It was a lot of fun and I got some stuff I really love, and I hardly ever go shopping for myself so it was great. When we got home we ran to the grocery store because I decided I needed cookies, plus we needed to buy stuff to make dinner. Zach started feeling sick that night so we got a mix for Snickerdoodle cookies, and they were so delicious. I couldn't believe how good they were and I am certainly making these non-stop for the foreseeable future.
Saturday we went down to Orange County with Kaos and had a really nice lunch in Costa Mesa. We were just driving down the road and looking to see what the area was like when Zach saw a Tiki bar, so clearly we turned around and went there immediately. It was an awesome restaurant; everyone seemed to know each other and it was clearly a neighborhood joint. We got the appetizer sampler (pupu platter) and it was so delicious. It was about 65 degrees that day so poor Kaos was freezing. Between the cold and our exhaustion we decided we had explored the area enough for that day and just drove up the coast to head home. It was really gorgeous and we decided that if we stay in California after this first year that there is a good chance we'll move down there next.
Sunday Zach woke up really sick so he had to call just about everyone in his family to have them tell him how to feel better. Pretty funny. I have a picture of that now posted on my Facebook. He was hoping to go riding that day but since he was so sick we stayed in to watch football and do some crockpot cooking for most of the day. We only went out to go to the grocery store, which convinced Zach and me that we had to buy lottery tickets (our savings that day was $7.77), and to see Jackass 3-D. First off, the crockpot dish was soooooo good. It was some Cajun shrimp dish that we served over biscuits. We have enough to feed a small army now. Second, movies are insanely expensive. We went to an Arclight theater, which we know now is more expensive, and we went to what is apparently a landmark theater. M&D told me this yesterday, I had no idea - its just the closest theater to our apartment. We almost went to the theater in Universal Studios but parking was so expensive I wouldn't stand for it. Its a matter of principles really. Anyways, the movie was HILARIOUS and the theater was incredibly comfortable with super fancy 3-D glasses and it even had real costumes from Alice in Wonderland in glass boxes in the lobby. However, I will not be spending $20 per movie ticket EVER again. Ugh. Everyone should go see Jackass though.
Yesterday I sat at work bored to death so I decided I need to start looking for other ideas out there. The possibility of moving home and then eventually to Raleigh with my family is still a real possibility so Mitch suggested I just do something fun and risky out here since it may be short term. He said he could get me a job as a Production Assistant on the movie he wrote which is currently in the early stages of being made, and I'm seriously considering doing that. I will feel bad leaving my boss because I know he would be hurt by it, so I am going to ask if there is even a slight chance you can be a PA part time. Who knows.. but it WOULD be awesome. More awesome if I could do both jobs at the same time though.
Zach was an idiot last night so I am still mad at him and almost just gave up and packed up my stuff to come home last night. The drinking situation is going to break us up, which I keep telling him because he makes incredibly poor decisions relating to alcohol, so we shall see where that one goes.
And lastly, today I set up an appointment for me to get a consultation for laser eye surgery. I can afford it if, but it would mean not putting nearly as much money.. if any.. into savings. Depends on the price they quote me, if I'm even eligible. I'm kind of scared for the appointment because I reallllly want it, and if they tell me I can't ever get it I'll be so disappointed. I'll find out Saturday.
It's raining until Thursday essentially, so besides Survivor tomorrow I see this be a slow and sleepy week. I'm alright with that though.
Friday night I got out of work and met Zach at the Beverly Center because I needed (yes, needed) an H&M trip. He was very nice and decided not to meet up with one of his motorcycle buddies and went shopping with me. It was a lot of fun and I got some stuff I really love, and I hardly ever go shopping for myself so it was great. When we got home we ran to the grocery store because I decided I needed cookies, plus we needed to buy stuff to make dinner. Zach started feeling sick that night so we got a mix for Snickerdoodle cookies, and they were so delicious. I couldn't believe how good they were and I am certainly making these non-stop for the foreseeable future.
Saturday we went down to Orange County with Kaos and had a really nice lunch in Costa Mesa. We were just driving down the road and looking to see what the area was like when Zach saw a Tiki bar, so clearly we turned around and went there immediately. It was an awesome restaurant; everyone seemed to know each other and it was clearly a neighborhood joint. We got the appetizer sampler (pupu platter) and it was so delicious. It was about 65 degrees that day so poor Kaos was freezing. Between the cold and our exhaustion we decided we had explored the area enough for that day and just drove up the coast to head home. It was really gorgeous and we decided that if we stay in California after this first year that there is a good chance we'll move down there next.
Sunday Zach woke up really sick so he had to call just about everyone in his family to have them tell him how to feel better. Pretty funny. I have a picture of that now posted on my Facebook. He was hoping to go riding that day but since he was so sick we stayed in to watch football and do some crockpot cooking for most of the day. We only went out to go to the grocery store, which convinced Zach and me that we had to buy lottery tickets (our savings that day was $7.77), and to see Jackass 3-D. First off, the crockpot dish was soooooo good. It was some Cajun shrimp dish that we served over biscuits. We have enough to feed a small army now. Second, movies are insanely expensive. We went to an Arclight theater, which we know now is more expensive, and we went to what is apparently a landmark theater. M&D told me this yesterday, I had no idea - its just the closest theater to our apartment. We almost went to the theater in Universal Studios but parking was so expensive I wouldn't stand for it. Its a matter of principles really. Anyways, the movie was HILARIOUS and the theater was incredibly comfortable with super fancy 3-D glasses and it even had real costumes from Alice in Wonderland in glass boxes in the lobby. However, I will not be spending $20 per movie ticket EVER again. Ugh. Everyone should go see Jackass though.
Yesterday I sat at work bored to death so I decided I need to start looking for other ideas out there. The possibility of moving home and then eventually to Raleigh with my family is still a real possibility so Mitch suggested I just do something fun and risky out here since it may be short term. He said he could get me a job as a Production Assistant on the movie he wrote which is currently in the early stages of being made, and I'm seriously considering doing that. I will feel bad leaving my boss because I know he would be hurt by it, so I am going to ask if there is even a slight chance you can be a PA part time. Who knows.. but it WOULD be awesome. More awesome if I could do both jobs at the same time though.
Zach was an idiot last night so I am still mad at him and almost just gave up and packed up my stuff to come home last night. The drinking situation is going to break us up, which I keep telling him because he makes incredibly poor decisions relating to alcohol, so we shall see where that one goes.
And lastly, today I set up an appointment for me to get a consultation for laser eye surgery. I can afford it if, but it would mean not putting nearly as much money.. if any.. into savings. Depends on the price they quote me, if I'm even eligible. I'm kind of scared for the appointment because I reallllly want it, and if they tell me I can't ever get it I'll be so disappointed. I'll find out Saturday.
It's raining until Thursday essentially, so besides Survivor tomorrow I see this be a slow and sleepy week. I'm alright with that though.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Finally Thursday!
So, I guess I'll just post a quick update. Not much has happened this week. I got to see Isabella and Dave for my lunch break yesterday, which was nice. Isabella got these super cute shoes for me as a bday present, so that was very exciting. We went to this little sushi place right off Santa Monica blvd for lunch. I had been there once before but this meal was better than last time; I decided to get tempura veggies and they were amazing. There were little bugs flying around the whole time though.. I think Isabella and Dave were a little grossed out.
Zach passed the written portion of his motorcycle test today so he is now licensed. We will pretend he hasn't been driving that thing for a couple weeks now.. He did have proof that he had passed the riding test though, so hopefully that would have been enough if he got pulled over.
Yesterday I went to Donna's to watch Survivor, which was very nice since I hadn't been up there since last week. I usually talk to them most days of the week and see them every couple of days at least, but since I was sick this weekend I kind of fell off the grid. We went and bought Nicholas (boy Zach babysits) some absurdly expensive Halloween decoration for their yard, along with all of the other ridic decorations they have, before getting to Survivor. The traffic was horrendous, which is awful with two kids in the car, but it was a fun trip anyways - especially because it ended at BJ's which has delicious food.
One of the ladies in my office brought in some homemade chicken enchiladas for me today! So awesome because I didn't realize I forgot the salad dressing for my salad from BJ's last night, so I was essentially lunchless. Made my day.
Today I get out of work early to go babysit for a few hours, and then tomorrow is Friday! Very excited for the weekend. Donna and the girls are going to some Halloween thing at Disneyland this weekend and staying overnight. Zach and I had planned on exploring Orange County this weekend before we even knew they would be down there, so now we will bring Mitch down with us to meet up with Donna and we'll all go explore. I figure that if Zach and I stay in Cali there is a good chance we won't stay right in the city, so maybe in a couple years we'll move down to Orange County. Seems to be more my speed anyways. So exploring it this weekend should be great.
This is the last weekend of all the heat. Supposedly on Sunday we are going to get cooler weather. Its only been in the 80s, but its felt even hotter for some reason. The mornings and evenings, however, are pretty darn cool and this morning in particular was really foggy. I love the fog, so except for the getting out of bed part it has been really nice to get fog so often.
Back to work!
Zach passed the written portion of his motorcycle test today so he is now licensed. We will pretend he hasn't been driving that thing for a couple weeks now.. He did have proof that he had passed the riding test though, so hopefully that would have been enough if he got pulled over.
Yesterday I went to Donna's to watch Survivor, which was very nice since I hadn't been up there since last week. I usually talk to them most days of the week and see them every couple of days at least, but since I was sick this weekend I kind of fell off the grid. We went and bought Nicholas (boy Zach babysits) some absurdly expensive Halloween decoration for their yard, along with all of the other ridic decorations they have, before getting to Survivor. The traffic was horrendous, which is awful with two kids in the car, but it was a fun trip anyways - especially because it ended at BJ's which has delicious food.
One of the ladies in my office brought in some homemade chicken enchiladas for me today! So awesome because I didn't realize I forgot the salad dressing for my salad from BJ's last night, so I was essentially lunchless. Made my day.
Today I get out of work early to go babysit for a few hours, and then tomorrow is Friday! Very excited for the weekend. Donna and the girls are going to some Halloween thing at Disneyland this weekend and staying overnight. Zach and I had planned on exploring Orange County this weekend before we even knew they would be down there, so now we will bring Mitch down with us to meet up with Donna and we'll all go explore. I figure that if Zach and I stay in Cali there is a good chance we won't stay right in the city, so maybe in a couple years we'll move down to Orange County. Seems to be more my speed anyways. So exploring it this weekend should be great.
This is the last weekend of all the heat. Supposedly on Sunday we are going to get cooler weather. Its only been in the 80s, but its felt even hotter for some reason. The mornings and evenings, however, are pretty darn cool and this morning in particular was really foggy. I love the fog, so except for the getting out of bed part it has been really nice to get fog so often.
Back to work!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Rough Day
Well, today is one of those days that I suppose is to be expected when you move across the country away from your parents and everything you've really ever known. Its weird to miss home at a time when things really are going pretty darn well out here. Its so gorgeous outside right now, I couldn't even believe that days like this existed as I walked into work today. But then I got to work, and realized that although I don't hate what I'm doing by any stretch of the imagination, I don't really love it either. Sure, its a job, and most people don't LOVE their job, but still. There are so many things I would love to do (come onnnn View co-host) that I don't want to sit around doing something just because I know it could pay off well in the end. And not amazingly well, mind you, there is certainly a cap on this particular position. Beyond that, half of the reason I was interested in this job was to see if I wanted to go to law school. I don't. I sooo don't. The cases are interesting and I know the hours can be reasonable depending what sector of law you go into, but still. I need to find something more active. Real estate agent, event coordinator, working on a TV show if I stay in California. This just isn't enough.
This morning as I was driving in the idea of staying in the hospitality business crossed my mind. I was thinking about how I wish someone had told me years ago that I should hold a job that can count as "experience" even during college, because it is really hard getting a good job without experience, even if you have a college degree. It could take years to get enough experience for you to get a job that pays any better than the job I held before this one. This got me thinking back to what my "experience" looks like, and this kind of thinking keeps bringing me back to CCF. That was a darn good job, and its hard to believe I left a job I liked so much AND that paid so well. I'm not going to find a job like that out here, plain and simple. No one is hiring, and if they are they certainly aren't paying a good wage. Not because you don't deserve it or because they don't want to pay you any more, but because they can't. I sit here and realize that Zach and I were both making more money at home (whether it be because of the hours we were working or the rate we were making) and that we had much less expenses there. I realize now why people move back to their parents after college. The house shows I've been watching has these young people buying homes at about 25, all because they lived at home and saved up. I'm not saying my parents would love this idea, but hey - maybe having someone helping them with the bills wouldn't suck. It could be beneficial for both of us in the end.
It seems like every time I write on here I'm thinking about going home. And that's probably because I do think about it a lot. I should mention that part of this probably has to do with the fact that Zach and I work very different schedules, so we don't see each other until about 8:30 or 9 at night, and since I work in the am I go to bed earlier than him. (Should I point out now that my 5.5 mile commute takes 30 minutes on a holiday aka no traffic, and on a regular day 45 mins to an hour?) This work schedule along with the type of work we're both doing is not conducive to a huge social life, whether its with other people or just ourselves. But back to what I was saying.. I'm not used to being away from my family. In fact I used to think people that moved away from their family this far were crazy. I still kind of think that, actually. But then whenever I think about realistically heading home after a year or two out here I realize that there is a great chance I would regret it. I'm not sure of this, and I think I'll have a better idea of it when I go home for Thanksgiving, but I do love a lot about this area. Every time I drive somewhere and hit major traffic (make that just "every time I drive..") I hit the detour button on my GPS and it brings me through a neighborhood or down a side street. The neighborhoods and communities I go through are so gorgeous and fun. They are just perfect, like out of a movie. Only problem? These amazing homes are smaller than mine at home but cost a couple million. But anyways.. I also have to admit that I don't miss a long winter. Sure, the idea of having a colder season seems great and I'm concerned it will stay too warm here all year, but I DON'T miss winter. I do miss fall. I don't miss summer's humidity. The proximity to the beach, the mountains, the desert, other nice cities like San Diego or heaven aka Santa Barbara is also amazing. This would be 100% the perfect place for me because of all of these things.. if it weren't for the fact that hardly any of my family is here, it wasn't so expensive to live, and the job market was much better.
My thoughts on this matter change daily. So long story short, today my thoughts were about going home to save money and finding a day job, going back to CCF for some extra money (and delicious food), and seeing where it goes from there. Heck, my parents are moving to Reston Town Center, that wouldn't suck. Or would it..
This morning as I was driving in the idea of staying in the hospitality business crossed my mind. I was thinking about how I wish someone had told me years ago that I should hold a job that can count as "experience" even during college, because it is really hard getting a good job without experience, even if you have a college degree. It could take years to get enough experience for you to get a job that pays any better than the job I held before this one. This got me thinking back to what my "experience" looks like, and this kind of thinking keeps bringing me back to CCF. That was a darn good job, and its hard to believe I left a job I liked so much AND that paid so well. I'm not going to find a job like that out here, plain and simple. No one is hiring, and if they are they certainly aren't paying a good wage. Not because you don't deserve it or because they don't want to pay you any more, but because they can't. I sit here and realize that Zach and I were both making more money at home (whether it be because of the hours we were working or the rate we were making) and that we had much less expenses there. I realize now why people move back to their parents after college. The house shows I've been watching has these young people buying homes at about 25, all because they lived at home and saved up. I'm not saying my parents would love this idea, but hey - maybe having someone helping them with the bills wouldn't suck. It could be beneficial for both of us in the end.
It seems like every time I write on here I'm thinking about going home. And that's probably because I do think about it a lot. I should mention that part of this probably has to do with the fact that Zach and I work very different schedules, so we don't see each other until about 8:30 or 9 at night, and since I work in the am I go to bed earlier than him. (Should I point out now that my 5.5 mile commute takes 30 minutes on a holiday aka no traffic, and on a regular day 45 mins to an hour?) This work schedule along with the type of work we're both doing is not conducive to a huge social life, whether its with other people or just ourselves. But back to what I was saying.. I'm not used to being away from my family. In fact I used to think people that moved away from their family this far were crazy. I still kind of think that, actually. But then whenever I think about realistically heading home after a year or two out here I realize that there is a great chance I would regret it. I'm not sure of this, and I think I'll have a better idea of it when I go home for Thanksgiving, but I do love a lot about this area. Every time I drive somewhere and hit major traffic (make that just "every time I drive..") I hit the detour button on my GPS and it brings me through a neighborhood or down a side street. The neighborhoods and communities I go through are so gorgeous and fun. They are just perfect, like out of a movie. Only problem? These amazing homes are smaller than mine at home but cost a couple million. But anyways.. I also have to admit that I don't miss a long winter. Sure, the idea of having a colder season seems great and I'm concerned it will stay too warm here all year, but I DON'T miss winter. I do miss fall. I don't miss summer's humidity. The proximity to the beach, the mountains, the desert, other nice cities like San Diego or heaven aka Santa Barbara is also amazing. This would be 100% the perfect place for me because of all of these things.. if it weren't for the fact that hardly any of my family is here, it wasn't so expensive to live, and the job market was much better.
My thoughts on this matter change daily. So long story short, today my thoughts were about going home to save money and finding a day job, going back to CCF for some extra money (and delicious food), and seeing where it goes from there. Heck, my parents are moving to Reston Town Center, that wouldn't suck. Or would it..
Friday, October 8, 2010
I was scurred
So this morning I went to work about 20 minutes later than normal, so I was rushing (kind of..) to my car. Since Zach got his motorcycle hes been parking it directly in front of my car so it is harder for people to see and steal. It is something we pay really close attention to because when we bought the bike the guy tried getting us to buy this extra insurance stuff for if your bike gets stolen, and their pitch to get you to buy this is telling you about how every single guy in the place has had a bike stolen, blah blah blah. So we were concerned about theft and bought a great lock and have been very careful. Anyways, I get to my car and when he moved it last night to put his bike in front he left it unlocked. I get in, look around, everything's fine, alright. As I look down to throw my car in reverse I think I see something moving behind the bike, like a flash of something tan. I figured I was going crazy, but I also knew I'd be wondering if I should have checked all day so that I might as well look. I was pretty sure I was just nuts because for someone to be where I thought I saw something they'd have to be crouching down behind the bike. So I open up my door and stand up and what do I see? A baseball hat! I immediately screamed, and I realllly mean screamed, "hey!" and then immediately was a little concerned because maybe I should have just gone to get Zach instead of dealing with this by myself. Too late for that, so I kept screaming like "what are you doing back there, get away from my boyfriends bike!" I notice there were two people back there and then finally one stands up and its like a 17 year old Hispanic boy. I was immediately slightly relieved. He looked so terrified. He was saying sorry and explained how he was just hiding there so he could smoke, and I knew that was true because I could smell weed as I was walking to my car. I felt so bad for scaring him, but I was still pretty scared myself so I asked them to go hide somewhere else because they really scared me because I thought someone was trying to steal his bike. They kept saying how much I scared them too and apologizing, eventually telling me to have a good day as they walked away from our parking spot. As I'm pulling out there was a cop that was right behind on me the street right outside our gate for our community and for a split second I thought about having the cop scare them away because I was worried that maybe they would steal our bicycles or something (which are right behind the motorcycle so they were sitting in between the bicycles and the motorcycle), but didn't want to get them in trouble because they seemed like good kids. So I started calling Zach so he could just go check and make sure they disappeared.. this happened at 8:30 and Zach didn't pick up til 11:00! He had been jogging the dog. He freaked out because before I could finish the end of the story with them walking away he gets off the phone and runs downstairs. Everything was fine, so he called me back to thank me for freaking him out and I got to finish the story. Anyways, all is good, but I can't believe I actually DID see something moving behind the bike, and it was a person. My heart was pounding for at least the next mile.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Boredom at Work
Well, to be honest I don't really have that much going on to update, but I have officially run out of websites to browse through to keep myself entertained at work, so here I am! My boss was out of the office Thursday through 2:00 Tuesday, and I left at 3:00 that day, soooo I haven't exactly been doing much. Yesterday he was working out of the office allllll day, which is okay because I came in late because I almost died from the world's worst stomach ache. Usually I recover from stomach aches or any kind of ache with just one pill or dose of medication since I rarely take meds, thanks to my pure hatred for them, but this time I had to take TWO super strong ones within 2 hours of each other to feel remotely better. It was terrible.
Work is getting much better because I feel like I've really learned a lot and can do much more than before, but it's still making me wonder if this is what I want to do the rest of my life.Maybe its just the field of law that I'm doing right now (I doubt it) but I'm still just not so sure. I certainly am going to start making moves towards other professions. First on the plate is looking into getting my real estate license since I could go through all of that while still holding this job. Since that's the kind of job you have to break into the field before you start making any money, it'll be perfect that I already have this job. Next couple of steps are following up on my absurd career ideas. Idea #1 - become a co-host on the View. Yes, that's right, I WILL be writing Barbara Walters and co. letters as to why they need me on the show. They desperately need a young voice that isn't a celebrity and certainly another blonde. That's where I enter. Next idea? Working on Survivor. I don't know what angle I'm going to use on that one, but they should still hire me.
It has been so rainy the past few days. Yesterday was actually a fairly heavy rain, whereas the previous few days were just cloudy with occasional sprinkles. Whereas fall is the best season back east, it is probably the worst season here. Still nice, don't get me wrong! Today it is in the lower 70's and by this weekend it'll be back in the 80's. Good thing too, I've already almost frozen to death. It was a nice reminder of what it is like to live somewhere cold. I keep thinking about whether or not I want to move back to the east coast in the next few years, and this has made me less interested in that idea and more interested in moving to a different park of California in a few years. I am, however, still very interested in moving to Europe for a year. A girl can dream, can't she? Or at least go for a few months and travel through all the cities. That I'm certainly doing at some point.
This weekend Isabella is coming back out to visit. I'll probably only get to see her Sunday but I'm still very excited. Between all the time I've spent working and then helping Donna with random projects we haven't gotten to meet many people yet. I'm actually quite content with this; my life is very fulfilled with just Zach, our pets, seeing my family out here and talking to my family at home. I didn't even think twice about any of this until Zach mentioned being excited to meet people on Sunday because he is doing a group motorcycle ride that the dealership he got his bike from does monthly. That kind of just shows me how content I have become with not being a typical 22 year old. I like it. Speaking of his motorcycle ride, I'm actually very excited for him. If I do get on the back of that thing anytime soon it will be so I can go on one of these rides with him. To me, that is the perk of having a motorcycle (that and getting through the atrocious LA traffic). Meeting up with a bunch of people and seeing the gorgeous scenery that Southern California, or any where for that matter, has to offer. They go up north for a while, grab something to eat, and then head back down. Sounds pretty great. Plus I wouldn't mind it if Zach was able to make a few friends, but like I said, it certainly isn't something I need yet.
I am starting to research easy, quick stops or things to see/places to eat on our way home for Thanksgiving. Should be some cool ghost towns or old diners that you wouldn't see in the rest of the country. I'm also hoping we'll be in Albuquerque quickly enough on the way home to go to this market I heard about where the Native Americans sell Turquoise. I have to look into it more, but I've really wanted to go there and didn't get to on the way out here. Speaking of which, I still have to ask my boss for time off for that whole week :/ kind of scared, even though I'm pretty sure he will say yes. I just feel bad being gone that long because I know he only takes of Thursday, and just recently did his assistant's start taking off the Friday after. I'm asking for the Friday before and that whole week off... yikes. I plan on just working extremely hard until then, especially because I need all the money I can get because I'd like to buy a new camera before doing another road trip.
I guess that is all for now. I'm pretty sure my boss is about to give me several more things to do, even though it is already 3:30 and I've just been sitting here the past 2 hours. That's how it works though. And honestly, I don't really mind because I get to do so much on the internet here that we haven't even bothered setting it up at home yet. When we do need the internet we just use Zach's iPhone. It's actually been quite nice.
Work is getting much better because I feel like I've really learned a lot and can do much more than before, but it's still making me wonder if this is what I want to do the rest of my life.Maybe its just the field of law that I'm doing right now (I doubt it) but I'm still just not so sure. I certainly am going to start making moves towards other professions. First on the plate is looking into getting my real estate license since I could go through all of that while still holding this job. Since that's the kind of job you have to break into the field before you start making any money, it'll be perfect that I already have this job. Next couple of steps are following up on my absurd career ideas. Idea #1 - become a co-host on the View. Yes, that's right, I WILL be writing Barbara Walters and co. letters as to why they need me on the show. They desperately need a young voice that isn't a celebrity and certainly another blonde. That's where I enter. Next idea? Working on Survivor. I don't know what angle I'm going to use on that one, but they should still hire me.
It has been so rainy the past few days. Yesterday was actually a fairly heavy rain, whereas the previous few days were just cloudy with occasional sprinkles. Whereas fall is the best season back east, it is probably the worst season here. Still nice, don't get me wrong! Today it is in the lower 70's and by this weekend it'll be back in the 80's. Good thing too, I've already almost frozen to death. It was a nice reminder of what it is like to live somewhere cold. I keep thinking about whether or not I want to move back to the east coast in the next few years, and this has made me less interested in that idea and more interested in moving to a different park of California in a few years. I am, however, still very interested in moving to Europe for a year. A girl can dream, can't she? Or at least go for a few months and travel through all the cities. That I'm certainly doing at some point.
This weekend Isabella is coming back out to visit. I'll probably only get to see her Sunday but I'm still very excited. Between all the time I've spent working and then helping Donna with random projects we haven't gotten to meet many people yet. I'm actually quite content with this; my life is very fulfilled with just Zach, our pets, seeing my family out here and talking to my family at home. I didn't even think twice about any of this until Zach mentioned being excited to meet people on Sunday because he is doing a group motorcycle ride that the dealership he got his bike from does monthly. That kind of just shows me how content I have become with not being a typical 22 year old. I like it. Speaking of his motorcycle ride, I'm actually very excited for him. If I do get on the back of that thing anytime soon it will be so I can go on one of these rides with him. To me, that is the perk of having a motorcycle (that and getting through the atrocious LA traffic). Meeting up with a bunch of people and seeing the gorgeous scenery that Southern California, or any where for that matter, has to offer. They go up north for a while, grab something to eat, and then head back down. Sounds pretty great. Plus I wouldn't mind it if Zach was able to make a few friends, but like I said, it certainly isn't something I need yet.
I am starting to research easy, quick stops or things to see/places to eat on our way home for Thanksgiving. Should be some cool ghost towns or old diners that you wouldn't see in the rest of the country. I'm also hoping we'll be in Albuquerque quickly enough on the way home to go to this market I heard about where the Native Americans sell Turquoise. I have to look into it more, but I've really wanted to go there and didn't get to on the way out here. Speaking of which, I still have to ask my boss for time off for that whole week :/ kind of scared, even though I'm pretty sure he will say yes. I just feel bad being gone that long because I know he only takes of Thursday, and just recently did his assistant's start taking off the Friday after. I'm asking for the Friday before and that whole week off... yikes. I plan on just working extremely hard until then, especially because I need all the money I can get because I'd like to buy a new camera before doing another road trip.
I guess that is all for now. I'm pretty sure my boss is about to give me several more things to do, even though it is already 3:30 and I've just been sitting here the past 2 hours. That's how it works though. And honestly, I don't really mind because I get to do so much on the internet here that we haven't even bothered setting it up at home yet. When we do need the internet we just use Zach's iPhone. It's actually been quite nice.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Dreams
The past couple weeks have been really great but also gotten both Zach and me thinking about the future. Zach finally accomplished one of his biggest dreams and took a motorcycle class and bought a motorcycle. That is now his main transportation and he really seems to be loving it. We can both be going to the same place yet he begs to take the motorcycle instead of riding in my super stylish Prius ;) To my family members who read this, NO I have not ridden on it. The first day he got to ride it was the day Los Angeles broke its record for hottest day.. not just in September but EVER. It was grossly and seriously hot.
Usually it is the hottest in the valley, so where Mitch and Donna live, and then cooler as you get downtown and the coolest at the beaches. Well, that Monday it was 113 downtown, 111 here at work in Bev Hills, 108 in Hollywood and only (only) 106 in the valley. First off, what the heck! One of the pluses of being down here instead of in the valley with M&D was the lack of heat. Just a few weeks in and it switches on us?? Second, a woman went hiking with her dog that morning and the heat caused her to pass out and she eventually died. She was hiking on a path that Zach and I actually took Kaos on last night for his nightly walk because it is so close to our house, and it goes right to the Hollywood Sign. Not only that, but a couple weeks before Mitchell had met her husband for a business brunch. Doesn't really know the guy, but still, another small world experience in this big city.
Another dream come true for us has been our new couch. It may sound like we're crazy, which I suppose we are, but we are seriously obsessed with our couch. I'll give you the whole story, because I know you want to hear it. I was watching Tori & Dean ages ago and saw that she had a couch that was so deep you could cuddle your whole body on it as if it were the long part of a sectional. I knew I had to have a couch like that, but figured you would have to spend gobs of money on it. This couch has constantly been on my mind when we look at couches as the "if only I were rich.." couch, the one I wished I could have but knew I couldn't. We had been looking around for couches and one night as I was babysitting I was flipping through a Crate & Barrel catalog that had yet another deep couch that just reminded me how much I wish I were rich. This one was slightly more affordable (like $2k) .. but not my kind of affordable for next, oh say, 20 years. It was like an evil joke, coming around to remind me of what I really wished I could have, but simply couldn't. So we continue our search and Donna mentions that Western Ave. like a street down from us, is known throughout LA as being THE furniture place because its filled with warehouses with inexpensive and nice looking furniture. So my boss was out for a Thursday and Friday so Zach and I took the opportunity to venture over there. We found the couches that looked identical to what we had narrowed in on online. We didn't want to spend a lot, around $500, so we knew we couldn't be that picky. The couches were right at our price point and we thought we knew what we were going to do. We went to one last place that I had seem online (thank youuuu yelp) and that I was very interested in because they custom made furniture at a great price. I had secretly planned all along to see what their price would be for my incredible couch dream, but figured it would be very expensive. We get in, see a couch that looks like the one we liked other places, and figured that would be what we got, but then the owner started explaining to another man that if you look through the catalogs he had sitting out and show him a couch you like in there he will do it for at least half off. What catalog is the man holding at that very moment?? That same Crate & Barrel catalog. As soon as he put it down I snatched it, showed it to Zach, he agreed, and we talked to the guy. I'll shorten this part of the story - they could do it! For a little more than we wanted to spend (but worth every penny) we got exactly what we wanted.. even better than in the catalog because we could alter things like arm width, fabric type, color, etc. It's gorgeous. We picked a chocolate brown fabric that is so incredibly soft you don't know what to do with yourself. It's so huge. Zach and I each get a cushion to ourselves and can really stretch out.
Heaven.
Anyways, looking back over the past almost 2 months I realize how lucky Zach and I are to be in the positions we are in. We had saved a lot of money to come out here, and since being employed we haven't really had to cut into our savings. Thanks to my incredible family we were able to stay somewhere until we both had jobs, so not only did we have to spend money we weren't yet earning, but we also got to choose where we lived based on both of our commutes. In this economy it isn't sensible to be picky about the place you work based on the commute, so I could have been stuck with at least an hour long commute. For example, had we gotten the first place we considered with Kyle I would have been. We are so happy to be in Hollywood and to be living just the two of us, and we really love our apartment, so I'm super glad things worked out the way they did. Plus, we certainly get along better without a third wheel. We are also both lucky to have jobs that are supporting us well enough to make our bills and have some left over money. Fortunately Donna knew people who needed a babysitter so that has been some extra income for me and it's nice to be able to leave work early for that occasionally. All in all, things have worked out really well. All the things that could have gone terribly wrong, didn't. Even the dog and the kittens are getting along much better than expected after this short of time.
...Just kidding, they really are:
Regardless of how great things are, Zach and I are still considering our options for the future. I've always had two dreams - own a house and become a real estate agent. There is this show "House Hunters" (and the even more dangerous "House Hunter Intl.") that have made my dream of home owning even bigger. I think Zach is infected too. One of the problems with this show, though, is that is shows us just how much more expensive LA is. Now, I understood all along LA was expensive, and that all of CA was. What I didn't realize is just how much more expensive, I didn't realize that in some place you could get a pretty nice home for under 300k. That doesn't really happen in Northern Virginia, so to see that there were homes in areas I could see myself being happy in a price range I could certainly afford in the next couple of years (only that long because you need a longer employment history to get the loan) has made me interested in other areas. That along with hearing the opinions of people who live here. Hearing some of their rich friends, and even M&D themselves, say how even though they make so much more money than people that live in smaller cities, they can't afford the vacation homes or lifestyle that their parents could afford. I don't know if I'm explaining that clearly, but essentially I see it as: they're working so hard and so successful yet they're not living a relaxing life. I don't care about designer labels or huge homes, I care about spending time with family and people I care about and living an enjoyable and relaxing life. It seems like I will be able to do that sooner and more easily if I live in smaller city. I still don't like the cold, and I still love California and living here, but it is certainly on my mind. Plus I can't tell how likely it is that my parents will come out here. The idea of living in a quaint little how within walking distance of some cute town with nice shops and restaurants seems pretty appealing right now, though. Zach, on the other hand, doesn't know if Los Angeles is where he wants to stay permanently, but is still planning on staying in California. I'm certainly considering the east coast so I guess we will just see.
I also don't know if law is still the path for me. It is certainly not conducive to the relaxing lifestyle. If I were to stay a legal assistant I would have more regular hours and be much less stressed, but with a smaller income. I could also become a real estate agent, but I know I still look too young for anyone to trust me. But maybe if I teamed up with Donna? I also know I really want to travel the world, so maybe I should be a college professor because that seems like the coolest job on the planet, plus you get summers off. But then I still have more schooling to go through, those jobs are reportedly hard to get, and you have to publish papers through your career? What? I don't know. Other ideas? Open a B&B in New England, wine country OR one of the islands. Then your life is a vacation, even though you don't really get to take any. Seems rocky and hard to start, though. I briefly considered being a flight attendant despite having an education, but it seems too demanding and like its not enough money, plus you don't always get to enjoy the places you visit. And I don't love flying anyways. Ugh. Adulthood.
On a lighter and much more exciting note.. Zach and I are coming home for Thanksgiving!! Make that.. driving home for Thanksgiving! I'm very excited, despite everyone's warnings of how exhausting it will be. I know it will be, and I'm fully ready for it. First off, its like a challenge. I will feel so accomplished once we've done it. Also, we will save so much money its sick. We could afford to fly home but that would probably mean using some of our saved money. Most of that went to getting here, so I'm trying to save the precious remains of that account in tact. It also sucked that the most expensive part of flying home would have been boarding the dog. I hate the idea of doing that in the first place, plus we wanted to come home for 8 days so it really added up. I really love road trips and had such a great time getting out here that I am actually excited for the opportunity to do it again. Kaos is so good in the car and you get to see some really interesting things. To get here we went an incredibly indirect route so this time, since we're essentially driving straight through with only rest stop naps, we will be going a route that is primarily different. We will only overlap between LA and Flagstaff and again between Nashville and home. The rest will be all new territory. My only regret is that we will not have time to see the sights. I could easily do another 2 weeks if time and money afforded it. Anyways, my family is going to New Jersey and NYC for Thanksgiving so that is one of many reasons I really felt compelled to go home for this holiday in particular. Not to mention that my parents will still be in our house before moving and I want to see their little puppy asap. I knew I'd go home for one of the holidays, and I'm very glad it is this one. Thanksgiving dinner in Chinatown, here I come!
Oh, and one last dream that got answered these past couple weeks?? I have been WANTING a thunderstorm so badly, but I know they are incredibly rare here. On my birthday I went to M&D's house for dinner because they offered to send Zach and I to a restaurant but Mitch cooks way too well for my health and it was Survivor night and I was already a week behind.. so we ate there. He let me pick the menu and everything, it was great (except this is the worst season of Survivor ever). Anyways, right after I get there I'm on the phone with Dana as I hear some strange rumbling noise. I even said to her how it sounded like thunder but since I'm in LA I wasn't going to get my hopes up. Guess what! It was thunder! And it kept going, along with a rainbow! Eventually it drizzled a little and we even had some lightening. Talk about a birthday present. Mitch said that this was considered earthquake weather, so of course I called my mom to slightly freak her out. It was just awesome.
Guess that's all for now. Back to this rainy, dreary day at work. Been a crazy month for weather though, right?
Usually it is the hottest in the valley, so where Mitch and Donna live, and then cooler as you get downtown and the coolest at the beaches. Well, that Monday it was 113 downtown, 111 here at work in Bev Hills, 108 in Hollywood and only (only) 106 in the valley. First off, what the heck! One of the pluses of being down here instead of in the valley with M&D was the lack of heat. Just a few weeks in and it switches on us?? Second, a woman went hiking with her dog that morning and the heat caused her to pass out and she eventually died. She was hiking on a path that Zach and I actually took Kaos on last night for his nightly walk because it is so close to our house, and it goes right to the Hollywood Sign. Not only that, but a couple weeks before Mitchell had met her husband for a business brunch. Doesn't really know the guy, but still, another small world experience in this big city.
Another dream come true for us has been our new couch. It may sound like we're crazy, which I suppose we are, but we are seriously obsessed with our couch. I'll give you the whole story, because I know you want to hear it. I was watching Tori & Dean ages ago and saw that she had a couch that was so deep you could cuddle your whole body on it as if it were the long part of a sectional. I knew I had to have a couch like that, but figured you would have to spend gobs of money on it. This couch has constantly been on my mind when we look at couches as the "if only I were rich.." couch, the one I wished I could have but knew I couldn't. We had been looking around for couches and one night as I was babysitting I was flipping through a Crate & Barrel catalog that had yet another deep couch that just reminded me how much I wish I were rich. This one was slightly more affordable (like $2k) .. but not my kind of affordable for next, oh say, 20 years. It was like an evil joke, coming around to remind me of what I really wished I could have, but simply couldn't. So we continue our search and Donna mentions that Western Ave. like a street down from us, is known throughout LA as being THE furniture place because its filled with warehouses with inexpensive and nice looking furniture. So my boss was out for a Thursday and Friday so Zach and I took the opportunity to venture over there. We found the couches that looked identical to what we had narrowed in on online. We didn't want to spend a lot, around $500, so we knew we couldn't be that picky. The couches were right at our price point and we thought we knew what we were going to do. We went to one last place that I had seem online (thank youuuu yelp) and that I was very interested in because they custom made furniture at a great price. I had secretly planned all along to see what their price would be for my incredible couch dream, but figured it would be very expensive. We get in, see a couch that looks like the one we liked other places, and figured that would be what we got, but then the owner started explaining to another man that if you look through the catalogs he had sitting out and show him a couch you like in there he will do it for at least half off. What catalog is the man holding at that very moment?? That same Crate & Barrel catalog. As soon as he put it down I snatched it, showed it to Zach, he agreed, and we talked to the guy. I'll shorten this part of the story - they could do it! For a little more than we wanted to spend (but worth every penny) we got exactly what we wanted.. even better than in the catalog because we could alter things like arm width, fabric type, color, etc. It's gorgeous. We picked a chocolate brown fabric that is so incredibly soft you don't know what to do with yourself. It's so huge. Zach and I each get a cushion to ourselves and can really stretch out.
Heaven.Anyways, looking back over the past almost 2 months I realize how lucky Zach and I are to be in the positions we are in. We had saved a lot of money to come out here, and since being employed we haven't really had to cut into our savings. Thanks to my incredible family we were able to stay somewhere until we both had jobs, so not only did we have to spend money we weren't yet earning, but we also got to choose where we lived based on both of our commutes. In this economy it isn't sensible to be picky about the place you work based on the commute, so I could have been stuck with at least an hour long commute. For example, had we gotten the first place we considered with Kyle I would have been. We are so happy to be in Hollywood and to be living just the two of us, and we really love our apartment, so I'm super glad things worked out the way they did. Plus, we certainly get along better without a third wheel. We are also both lucky to have jobs that are supporting us well enough to make our bills and have some left over money. Fortunately Donna knew people who needed a babysitter so that has been some extra income for me and it's nice to be able to leave work early for that occasionally. All in all, things have worked out really well. All the things that could have gone terribly wrong, didn't. Even the dog and the kittens are getting along much better than expected after this short of time.
...Just kidding, they really are:Regardless of how great things are, Zach and I are still considering our options for the future. I've always had two dreams - own a house and become a real estate agent. There is this show "House Hunters" (and the even more dangerous "House Hunter Intl.") that have made my dream of home owning even bigger. I think Zach is infected too. One of the problems with this show, though, is that is shows us just how much more expensive LA is. Now, I understood all along LA was expensive, and that all of CA was. What I didn't realize is just how much more expensive, I didn't realize that in some place you could get a pretty nice home for under 300k. That doesn't really happen in Northern Virginia, so to see that there were homes in areas I could see myself being happy in a price range I could certainly afford in the next couple of years (only that long because you need a longer employment history to get the loan) has made me interested in other areas. That along with hearing the opinions of people who live here. Hearing some of their rich friends, and even M&D themselves, say how even though they make so much more money than people that live in smaller cities, they can't afford the vacation homes or lifestyle that their parents could afford. I don't know if I'm explaining that clearly, but essentially I see it as: they're working so hard and so successful yet they're not living a relaxing life. I don't care about designer labels or huge homes, I care about spending time with family and people I care about and living an enjoyable and relaxing life. It seems like I will be able to do that sooner and more easily if I live in smaller city. I still don't like the cold, and I still love California and living here, but it is certainly on my mind. Plus I can't tell how likely it is that my parents will come out here. The idea of living in a quaint little how within walking distance of some cute town with nice shops and restaurants seems pretty appealing right now, though. Zach, on the other hand, doesn't know if Los Angeles is where he wants to stay permanently, but is still planning on staying in California. I'm certainly considering the east coast so I guess we will just see.
I also don't know if law is still the path for me. It is certainly not conducive to the relaxing lifestyle. If I were to stay a legal assistant I would have more regular hours and be much less stressed, but with a smaller income. I could also become a real estate agent, but I know I still look too young for anyone to trust me. But maybe if I teamed up with Donna? I also know I really want to travel the world, so maybe I should be a college professor because that seems like the coolest job on the planet, plus you get summers off. But then I still have more schooling to go through, those jobs are reportedly hard to get, and you have to publish papers through your career? What? I don't know. Other ideas? Open a B&B in New England, wine country OR one of the islands. Then your life is a vacation, even though you don't really get to take any. Seems rocky and hard to start, though. I briefly considered being a flight attendant despite having an education, but it seems too demanding and like its not enough money, plus you don't always get to enjoy the places you visit. And I don't love flying anyways. Ugh. Adulthood.
On a lighter and much more exciting note.. Zach and I are coming home for Thanksgiving!! Make that.. driving home for Thanksgiving! I'm very excited, despite everyone's warnings of how exhausting it will be. I know it will be, and I'm fully ready for it. First off, its like a challenge. I will feel so accomplished once we've done it. Also, we will save so much money its sick. We could afford to fly home but that would probably mean using some of our saved money. Most of that went to getting here, so I'm trying to save the precious remains of that account in tact. It also sucked that the most expensive part of flying home would have been boarding the dog. I hate the idea of doing that in the first place, plus we wanted to come home for 8 days so it really added up. I really love road trips and had such a great time getting out here that I am actually excited for the opportunity to do it again. Kaos is so good in the car and you get to see some really interesting things. To get here we went an incredibly indirect route so this time, since we're essentially driving straight through with only rest stop naps, we will be going a route that is primarily different. We will only overlap between LA and Flagstaff and again between Nashville and home. The rest will be all new territory. My only regret is that we will not have time to see the sights. I could easily do another 2 weeks if time and money afforded it. Anyways, my family is going to New Jersey and NYC for Thanksgiving so that is one of many reasons I really felt compelled to go home for this holiday in particular. Not to mention that my parents will still be in our house before moving and I want to see their little puppy asap. I knew I'd go home for one of the holidays, and I'm very glad it is this one. Thanksgiving dinner in Chinatown, here I come!
Oh, and one last dream that got answered these past couple weeks?? I have been WANTING a thunderstorm so badly, but I know they are incredibly rare here. On my birthday I went to M&D's house for dinner because they offered to send Zach and I to a restaurant but Mitch cooks way too well for my health and it was Survivor night and I was already a week behind.. so we ate there. He let me pick the menu and everything, it was great (except this is the worst season of Survivor ever). Anyways, right after I get there I'm on the phone with Dana as I hear some strange rumbling noise. I even said to her how it sounded like thunder but since I'm in LA I wasn't going to get my hopes up. Guess what! It was thunder! And it kept going, along with a rainbow! Eventually it drizzled a little and we even had some lightening. Talk about a birthday present. Mitch said that this was considered earthquake weather, so of course I called my mom to slightly freak her out. It was just awesome.
Guess that's all for now. Back to this rainy, dreary day at work. Been a crazy month for weather though, right?
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