almost a horror film!

it is definitely pleasant this evening. i just returned from a walk down to the beach and back. of course, i did a good 15 - 20 min stare at the stars. i just wasn't going to take my chances and walk on the beach alone. i've seen enough scary movies to know i had too many key characteristics going on not taking my life into my own hands and ending up in a horror film.
1. i was wearing flip flops - which impedes my ability to run
2. wearing my NEW favorite shirt - always gets ripped in a struggle
3. i'm frightfully adorable so that ups my chances 10 fold.
4. i have in my hair a very point and long hair clip that the TSA shouldn't let me take on a plane - but i've flown with it more than i care to admit. anyway - this pointy hair clip which would count for me for defensive purposes - would eventually work against me.
5. i had a flashlight - which again would and should work for my survival but again - i just don't think it would work out... when i turn my flashlight in one direction to see 'what that noise was' i would get attacked from behind.

so i figured it best - to just walk briskly on my way back through 'the forest' and take my life in my hands. as it turns out - i'm apparently not quite as vulnerable as i thought. now normally i would be happy about this however, there is just something about being that cute vulnerable female that is appealing - for about a minute.
oh well. it is the holidays and the bad guys may have taken the night off.

or i might have jinxed it because i was thinking it would be the perfect setting for a horror film!

dang!

merry christmas - and to all a good night

so i am getting ready for bed and to close my eyes and fall asleep - closing another christmas. it was a small christmas by others standards but average sized for my family. we all (all of 5 people) met in Florida for a few days of sun, family time and gift-giving.

for as much as i love christmas - i am ok with it ending. not because of the "all good things must come to an end" kinda thing - but more - it's so good i look forward to doing it better / differently next year.

perhaps next year i'll be on a beach in mexico. or in my home for a change.

where will i be next year? who will be with me at christmas? friends? family?

i always get introspective at christmas - this year is no exception...

i hope everyone had a happy holiday!

somebody email me...

I AM BORED!!!

A christmas survey - courtesy of my friends...

Instead of subjecting everyone to this via email - I'm blogging it!

Merry Christmas...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? wrapping paper - usually with snowmen.

2. Real tree or artificial? i'm all about the fake tree - no muss, no fuss, no needles everywhere to be found 6 months later. also, my cat loves to eat the tree. ew.

3. When do you put up the tree? last possible minute usually

4. When do you take the tree down? first possible minute

5. Do you like eggnog? yes - especially with rum

6. Favorite gift received as a child? i think the 2 foot Hello Kitty I recieved

7. Do you have a nativity scene? no

8. Hardest person to buy for? anyone who doesn't collect or want crap - i do great crap

9. Easiest person to buy for? me

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail for sure. but email as well.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? no such thing is a worst gift...

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Trading Places with Eddie Murphy and Dan Ackroyd

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? i try to buy all year round

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yup.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? stuffing!

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? this year - white.

17. Favorite Christmas song? i'm dreaming of a white christmas - probably because i've really only done 1 white christmas in the last 10 years

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? call me rudolph the frequent traveller

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? is this an IQ test??

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? uh. nothing this year

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning ? christmas morning because if we opened on christmas eve there would be nothing to open the next day

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? the commercialism.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? this is WAY too complex for my simple tree.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? food. dessert. anything i don't have to cook/make/prepare

Friends help you move

real friends help you move bodies.
it amazes me that this statement is a fundamental truth among my friends. Now my nearest and dearest in college - we used to say this all the time. Mostly becuase some of us moved every year into our dorm and 9 months later out again and 3 months later back into a new dorm. yes, i was a dorm dweller. (the BESTEST, ever)
but even as an adult i meet and build strong friendships with others and yes - they understand and know this maxim as truth. even recently a co-worker/friend said to me as i was about to get into a story of woe - ok where are the bodies buried. she had no idea that i used to say this all the time.
but yet ...
she knew.

how is this possible. i guess among women (i can't comment about relationships between men as i'm not one) you just understand that sometimes - you gotta do what a woman's gotta do... and if it requires drycleaning - drinks are owed to all!

thank you my dearest friends for being there for me when i need you most. or when you are there and i don't need you.

i'll let you know when we need to move bodies.

smooches!

Olympic Sport Winner: Eavesdropping

Eavesdropping (aka listening in to someone else's conversation) is a hobby for me, or even a sport. i truly excel at listening to other people's conversation. Now at this point you are probably saying/thinking - how rude. but i don't care. i've really been able to kill the hours traveling, eating alone (sniff), or just general life stuff listening to what others say. the mall is a great place to do this. restaurants, bars are fantastic too.
well this evening i realized the difference between the content of older folks and your standard gen x/y isn't that great. admittedly there's more surgery and health conversation among the older - but let me tell you - in the end EVERYONE gets down to the gossip. now the gossip content might shift a little but in general it's the same. today i was eating alone and heard 2 couple tell stories tag-team style about cheating husbands, divorces and who the other woman was. that doesn't vary much from gossip i hear on BART. it's always about who is stooping who and where. although the younger crowd usually includes how and with what extra hardware.
anyway - i was greatly amuzed. and realized i deserve a gold medal in eavesdropping!

memory loss

the mind is a terrible thing to waste. and mine just seems to be leaking like a sieve. usually i can remember just about anything. though i think i'm running out of capacity for addresses and birthdays. i used to remember them so easily - now i can't tell you the birthday of my bestest friend. i can however tell you the birthday of 2 roommates from college and the astrological sign of another 2. bizarre. and don't get me started on the fact that i can remember the most irrelevant detail of a movie but can't tell you a single author i referenced in my dissertation...
anyway - a few weeks ago (nov 11) i blogged that i was going to do 2 things. something about not regretting things in life, blah blah blah. anyway, i have NO idea what i was referencing. i haven't a clue what 2 things i committed, ever so strongly, to do.
i hope they weren't things i needed to do before heading to FL.
oops.


Did i leave the gas on?

operator error

why does your heart say one thing but your mind something completely different??

christmas shopping - all wrapped up

well i'm done christmas shopping.

don't hate the player. hate the season!

i actually went to the mall and walked out with a birthday card. i would have walked out with more - but a store was out of what i wanted to get a friend for christmas. she will instead get a photo. i'm actually going to do a few presents after the new year. so technically it isn't all wrapped up - but almost. closer than most.
SO THERE! :P

women from songs - that i want to be

from cake's "short skirt, long jacket"... that girl. she uses a machete to cut through red tape. and she just sounds kick-butt fabulous! and she wears a long jacket - a favorite accessory. i can do a short skirt if necessary as long as i have FABULOUS knee high leather boots.

brown eyed girl... i may have green eyes but the glories of modern contacts can change the appearance of that.

lady in red - by chris de burgh. yes lame, but i always wanted someone to play that - dedicate that for me. oh a sappy sap at heart i know.

at the moment i can't think of any others. i'm sure there are plenty. but the one that does come to mind that i don't want to be...

ROXANNE! you don't have to turn on that red light... ROXANNE!
love the song however!

LOVE IT!

freudian slip

when you say one thing and mean your mother.

friends

i love my friends. i've had some friends in my life for quite some time. others are more recent additions to the optimist girl universe. but either way, i am grateful for those who i can and do share my life with.
gee that was sappy.
and hopefully received for as heartfelt as it was intended.

sadness

i just got an email from my mom - the husband of a friend, died of a heartattack. i've known her since i was a kid. I was at their wedding. He's too young to have died from a heartattack.
i can't believe it. she lives in australia; her mom in virginia. she has a daughter 8 and a son 4.
i just can't believe that i'm old enough to have friends who have husbands who are old enough to die from heart attacks.