My day at the Long Beach Aquarium

I haven't edited the pictures yet, but I DID upload the videos to Youtube, so I'm going to embed them here and do a proper update later.  Got a lot to do this morning, which I've been putting off because I'm sitting here mesmerized by the tv/Twitter coverage of Hurricane Sandy.  Hope everyone stays safe and doesn't get too wet and well...sandy...

















More later, hope you like them!

Clearance! Everything Must Go!

Hey all - here's a list of all the stuff I'm selling before I leave California.

Desk - $30
Lamp (X2) - $10 (each)
Side Table (X4) - $5 (each)
Table and 2 Chairs with cushions - $50
Fan - $15
Bookshelf - $15
Crock pot - $15
Microwave - $20
Scale - $10
Mini heater - $10

I also have a lot of small things that need to go - some old (well-loved) kitchen supplies I can part with for a couple of bucks each (couple of frying pans, a pot with its lid, tupperware, etc); unused school supplies, decorative items, a couple puzzles, water bottles, hammer, screwdrivers, some murder mysteries, bunch of random stuff I'll let for for a dollar or two.

I just really need some $$ to actually make it cross country since my savings are obliterated and the gasoline alone will probably hit the limit of my credit card.  Affording the hotels and food...well it's going to be tight!

Please facebook me and let me know if you're willing to buy any of it!

Also, I only have a car, so I can't deliver any of the big stuff, fyi.

Every Morning

It's getting COLDER!  I've had to put an extra blanket in my bed, change out my tank and shorts for the pajamas I got last Christmas, and wear socks just to be able to sleep.  Why do I hate the cold so much?  Why can't I be one of those weirdos who ENJOY being cold?
Taking a shower this morning was NOT fun.  I can't decide if it's me being a chicken, or if something has happened to the water heater, but normally I flinch when the water is on it's hottest and can't stand it, and today I was turning it all the way and it wasn't warm enough.

Made a ton of arrangements yesterday about the move, and Lidia has her plane ticket.  She offered to take a bus to Long Beach in case LAX was "too far" (kinda funny since we're driving cross-country which is a lot farther) and I replied, "Are you crazy?!  We might see a celebrity!"  She needs to get her priorities in order.

There are still a lot of things I want to do before I leave, but I feel so tired today I'm going to stay in and get some reading/thesis work done.  Maybe tomorrow I can go to Rodeo Drive or the Getty or whatever.

Judy's annual Halloween bash is this weekend.  I think I have a good costume figured out, but I want it to be a surprise so I'll just post pictures after the fact.

I need to figure out how to sell all of my stuff so I can have some $$ for the trip.  The bed and armchair are earmarked already, just need to get rid of the bookcase, the desk, the side tables, two lamps, table and chairs, the crock pot, the microwave and a ton of little stuff.  I guess I should do another post on facebook, maybe about 3 pm my time because everyone seems to be online around about then.

Oh well, that reading won't do itself!

Two Months to Go

My lovely cousin Jade Sheldon asked me tonight what I'd do if the Mayans were right and the world was actually going to end two months from now.  She posted her own thoughts here

http://printhebiggestlittlecity.blogspot.com/2012/10/what-if-mayans-are-right.html?spref=fb

and I thought I'd make my own post about what I'd do.

I'm already moving home in a few weeks (hallelujah!), so I'd dedicate what time I have out here to doing things I can't do back home.  For instance, I'd strut down Rodeo Drive like I owned it in my absolute favorite high heels.  I'd go back to LACMA and sit and stare at the Picassos for an hour.  And then I'd go sit in the Rodin room for an hour.
I'd go to the LA Zoo, and to the Getty (I plan on doing these things anyway...need to get on that!), and hike up to the Hollywood sign so I could see all of LA spread before me.  I'd go to the Long Beach Aquarium, and have dinner at the fancy South African restaurant across the street from it.

I'd go to the African Hut, buy proper British bangers (and meat pies!) and make myself a dinner of bangers and mash, with peas and a dessert of Mars bars.

The next day I'd eat nothing but biltong and South African candy - until dinnertime when I'd eat the rest of the bangers and mash, of course.

Then I'd drive across America and take so many pictures I'd have to buy another 4 gig card since my original one will be full.

Once I got home, I'd NOT go to the dentist (sorry doc, but with two months to go, I'd rather avoid the drills!), or my doctor, or my ophthalmologist.
I would cook all my favorite things for Mom so she wouldn't have to cook, and then make her cook them so I could taste them the way she does them.

I'd spend an entire day at the beach, in my teeniest bikini, and I'd punch anyone who gave me a dirty look for being fat.

I'd paint my nails every time I felt like it, and get a full body wax so I wouldn't have to shave ever again (oh what a blessed thought!).  I'd watch all of my favorite movies and have a cocktail every evening.

I would cuddle my kitties and pamper them hand and foot, so they'd know how much I love them and that I'm so sorry for staying away for so long.  (Actually, that's probably going to happen anyway.)

I'd call certain of my exes and tell them where they got off and that they were going to rot in hell for how they treated me and how they left me.
I'd call certain of my exes and thank them for treating me with respect, and trying to make it work, even when things got rough.

I'd cook something lovely whenever I wanted, and eat my favorite cheese buns, and talk to my best friends, and make caramel brownies and eat them with Edy's Double Fudge Brownie ice cream.  I'd wear my fanciest clothes to go clubbing, and my Make Up Forever #206 lipstick every day.

I'd paint my garden, and photograph a band one last time.  I'd wear as much jewelry as I could so all of it could see the light of day again at least once.

But  most of all, I'd make every moment memorable - and with my family, my friends.  Family and friends are what's important, when everything comes down.

Home

I'm going there.

Fuzzy

I don't know what I need to do to get my life in order.  My information was leaked in a security breach as a scholarship recipient at the University of Florida from 2006-2007, so I contacted Equifax so they could put an alert on my social security number, and I've asked my friends if I should sign up with a bureau so I can check my report for inaccuracies.

Today I found out that as a GS700 "student" I am NOT an official student and may have to start paying back my federal loans in the next six months (which I can't afford to do) - and what will happen when I finally start at TAMU?  I need more loans to get me through my first year there.  I'm going to call them in the morning and see if there is ANYTHING I can do.

Tomorrow is my interview at Tiffany's, I'm really hoping for good news from there.  Of course, if it's a good opportunity and I get offered the job and take it, I won't be home for Christmas, which is just about the worst thing that has ever happened to me, including the time I nearly died of a throat abscess and was stuck in hospital for a week with needles poking out of me everywhere.

The idea of sitting at home alone on Christmas night without my family, without my friends, without my kitties, without even a copy of 101 Dalmatians, and the Harvest of Holidays, both of which I have read (well the Christmas section of HoH, not the whole book) every single Christmas Eve for the past ten years...I literally well up with tears at the mere idea.

I was supposed to call the pharmacy today and forgot.  I had an appointment on campus and when I got home and contacted the FLDOE about the security breach I was just so tired it never even occurred to me.  I called Dad to ask about how to report to credit bureaus, and meant to follow up this afternoon but I fell asleep.  I guess it'll be another long night for me tonight...stupid insomnia.

My diet is not going well.  If only I could go running or jogging, it would make such a difference.

I guess I should go to bed.  Maybe "joy will come in the morning" after all.

Getting it done!

I've really knocked out a lot of stuff this morning - contacted Prime Mail (turns out my doc blocked my prescription because I'm 4 months late for my checkup, so I called my doc and she agreed to give me the prescription as long as I come in when I come home for Christmas - whew!), paid some bills, sent some important emails, marked my calendar for my week's appointments, made a folio of emails for one of my professors, and edited all my La Brea pictures.  Which is slightly ironic, because I haven't done the San Juan Capistrano Mission pictures yet...oh well.

I also finished a quest in the Sims Social, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't count as work...haha

Anyway, here is my Picasa account so you can see all the photos I've made public - shows I've photographed, places I've been, etc, etc:

 https://picasaweb.google.com/115080509668684714401

And here's the direct link to the La Brea album:
https://picasaweb.google.com/115080509668684714401/LaBreaTarpitsPageMuseum

The last five "images" are actually all videos.  I tried to upload them to here, but it's not working, so you'll have to go there.

Oh well, I've got to find an outfit for my interview later this week, and eat some lunch, and try and fit in a nice walk this evening to burn some calories.

Hooray!

I got a care package from my mom, and it's an AWESOME care package.  It's like she knew I was craving cookies!  There are a couple gift cards in there too that I think are from Fiona, I have to double-check so I can send a thank-you email.  There's also a John Bellairs I've been dying to read...

So, I have to buckle down and get some things done and then I can curl up with my book!  I'll post pictures of visiting La Brea later.

Chilly and bright

Four days ago it was so hot I was lying still with all my windows open, praying for a breath of air.  Today it's so chilly that I'm here in my dressing gown, with socks, with the windows closed (but blinds open).  The sky outside is fading to pastels you never see in summer, as if the brightness belongs to the summer, and autumn brings softness with change.

My ears are killing me, my back hurts, my head hurts, and my throat and lungs feel funny.  I hope I get better soon, I can't afford to get bronchitis a fourth time while I'm out here!

Autumn = Change

I awoke at 5:56 am this morning, with a curious feeling that something was fundamentally different about that moment.  It was quiet; cars hadn't yet begun rushing down the street towards the highway, my apartment was dark, and the complex lights were still shining through the gap between my ceiling and the top of my blinds.

Then, a sound made me leap out of bed, run to my door, and wrench it open to find that was RAINING!  Despite my shoeless and thinly-clad state I stepped out onto the balcony into the chilly downpour, reaching out to catch raindrops in my hands.

Unromantically, I began to sneeze and went inside.  But I think I slept a little better having seen some rain for the first time in probably ten months.

This morning I was good, got up when my alarm went off, took out the trash, checked the mail, etc etc.  I have an appointment for later today and then it's back to the grind.

When my alarm went off, I wrapped myself in my dressing gown and ventured to peek outside.  The air wasn't icy, but it had a crisp, chilly tang that makes me think it - and last night's rain - came down from the mountains instead of in over the sea.  The sky is bright, although there are still a lot of clouds on the horizon, and I could see the outlines of the mountains from my balcony.  All the colors seemed crisper and everything looked damp and freshly washed, the breeze so gentle the leaves on the trees barely fluttered.

I miss my family.

Pumpkin time

Progression of a pumpkin:

Original pumpkin.

 The inner workings.

 

Cut up into chunks.

 The cooked pieces.

 

Seeds for Mom.

 

Pretty yummy.

 

My dinner last Friday night.  It was so worth every calorie.

My life is still a shambles, hence why I haven't been posting.  Applied for three new jobs today.  Utterly desperate.