Nothing and Everything

Update-a-rooni

2009-08-19T01:48:00.003-04:00

Hello all. I'm a terrible blogger aren't I? You don't have to answer that.

I think an update is in order since I've neglected you. I recently moved to Sacramento and have done close to nothing. I mean I've looked for a job and seen my grandparents and gotten school stuff in order and gone on some dates, but otherwise I haven't done much.

Since I got over to the opposite coast I've been meaning to write a post with my jumping pictures! They are exciting. But, I'm feeling frighteningly unmotivated to do that so I'll just post one:

I like this one because it's super colorful. This is outside of Jess and Alex's apartment in Redondo Beach. Lovely, isn't it? I think so.

In other news, there really is no other news. Maybe I'll post when something more exciting happens.

Jesus is in Effingham

2009-07-21T08:10:00.002-04:00

So far the road trip is going amazingly. We did 600 miles in 13 hours the first day. We got through Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York pretty quickly. Pennsylvania took a WHILE! Lots of hills and trees and nothingness. The day went by pretty quickly.
Yesterday we did 730 miles in 13 hours, but we also went back in time in Illinois. We borrowed a Delorian for awhile, that's how it was possible. We got through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and into Missouri. Most of it was pretty boring, but a lot less hills so we did a lot better on gas mileage. After St. Louis we were on the 'scenic route' which is pretty. Still, not much to look at.
We picked a random Best Western in St. Robert, MO and I guess our room is haunted. The light at the sink went on by itself last night and then this morning the shower was going crazy, like someone was twisting the nobs.

Now we're back on the road! Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona are left before California! Pictures to come later.

Three days away.

2009-07-15T23:19:00.005-04:00

It's strange how at the beginning of a countdown you think it will take forever to get to the end. Now that it's at the end you're scrambling and trying not to vomit.
I'm excited, I swear! I'm just a tad scared. I'm such a worry-wart when it comes to ... anything I guess. I always think the worst and I just can't help it. Like what if I can't find a job and then I have no money and have to drop out of grad school and move back home? I highly doubt that will happen but it's always in the back of my mind.

Anyway. I've been doing some packing. I got most non-completely-essential things out of the way, like books, movies, shoes (some, not all), pictures, etc. All of that stuff is in bins and boxes. My clothes I plan to just throw into a couple trash bags. I won't need them for a couple weeks so I'm not too concerned about how they'll be handled in the mean time. I mean, not ALL my clothes. I'll be packing a couple bags for the road trip and for my week in LA. A cute dress will definitely have to be packed.

Packing is hard though. I get distracted very easily. I want to pack one thing and then I think about something else I meant to pack and I go to do that and it's just a crazy cycle. My bookshelf is so sad and empty right now. I'm glad I'm taking it with me. My mom keeps reminding me that bookshelves are relatively cheap. But if I don't have to spend $20, I won't. Plus, it fits in my roof rack perfectly and the roof bag will fit nicely inside of it. If I can bring it with me, I might as well, right? Ross gave me the bookshelf, actually, so it's second-hand, but in damn good condition. The shelves slide right out so that's easy.

Today was my last day of work. I only worked a half day since I've got myself a lovely case of strep throat. I was sick all last week (I meant to post, then felt like shit, and my mind was full of nothing, really) and then felt better over the weekend, and Monday realized my throat felt TERRIBLE and I checked it out and, sure enough, it was strep. I got some meds and cough drops and all that. I'm passed the sickness part of it and now I just have a super itchy throat. Annoying.
Did I mention I get distracted easily?
So my last day of work. My boss offered to take me out to lunch, but frankly, she's pretty awkward, and while I love free food, at that point in time I still couldn't eat without my throat feeling like it was closing, so I politely declined. She did give me a card though with a $25 gift card to Border's in it (probably my favorite store) so that was exciting.
I promptly came home and napped after that. Had some pretty intense dreams. One involved being in a class, and then the class turned into a lecture/play type thing and two men sat next to me and one of them completely leaned into me, and he was Iranian, not sure what that had to do with anything or why it mattered, but I remember being severely perturbed that I was leaned into. I'm all about the personal space in public places. I like my bubble, thanks.

So over the next couple days I've got a lot more packing and planning to do, seeing a few more friends, and Sunday Nicole and I hit the open road. I'm hoping for no disasters. That's fair to ask for, right? I've got a spare tire and I know how to change it! (I've also got AAA in case anything actually does happen)

Tomorrow I'm taking Ollie for a tune-up, packing for the day, seeing a friend, then heading to pick up Calyn at the train and spending time with her and Tyler, seeing Emily for lunch as well on Friday, and definitely plan on having some pool and sunshine time. Should be a good couple days.

Onward! to new (and frightening) things...

Dead Halloween How-To! ... in July!

2009-07-01T13:39:00.004-04:00

Despite being a pretty up-beat person, I like being dead for Halloween. I've done this 2 years running now.

2007 - Zombietastic:

This costume was pretty easy to put together. Just took some old worn jeans, ripped 'em up a little more, did the same with a white t-shirt. The only things I had to buy were the blood, white and black make-up, and the fake wounds. All together I don't think I spent more than $20!

2008 - Dead 1986 Prom Queen:

This costume was a LOT more fun to do than the zombie one, although I did spend a tad bit more money. The dress I found at a Salvation Army and paid about $7 for. I also had to buy ribbon for the sash, iron-on letters, and a crown. Overall, less than $30, though, which still isn't bad for a rockin' Halloween costume. I hemmed the dress a little (okay, my mom hemmed it) with some hemming tape and I made the sash myself.

Halloween 2009: maybe a dead Harajuku girl? Or a dead school teacher? Who knows!

Office Etiquette

2009-07-01T09:18:00.002-04:00

I'm pretty damn laid back, but there has to be some office etiquette. The office I work in is full of disgusting, loud, obnoxious people. Almost daily I hear someone clipping their nails in their cubicle. You can't do that at home? Or at least in the bathroom? Your cubicle is where you work, not where you do your hygienic duties.

Also I don't think these employees understand that cubicles are not sound-proof. Please do not yell about someone not having sex with someone else; I don't care if you're talking about a public figure. There's a place for talk in the office, and that's the break room.

This makes me sound like a super tight-wad but I'm not. I love eavesdropping as much as the next gossip but while I'm at work I don't want to hear about your back pain or your visit to the doctor about that nasty rash you have. I understand some of your co-workers are also your friends, but there's a time and place. You shouldn't talk about your rash no matter where you work because that's just disgusting. And if you really feel the need, at least don't talk about it outside of my cubicle, because I might just vomit on you.

Monetary Value

2009-06-30T13:49:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I was super excited about moving to California... thinking of all the exciting things to come, seeing my best friends, going to a new school, meeting new people, SUNSHINE.
Today all I can think about is money. I need to get a AAA membership, which isn't a LOT of money, but it's enough that I don't want to pay it. I also need to buy a roof rack and the accessories to affix it to my tiny car. Along with that I need to pay my bills for the month of July, while only working for half the month. AND somehow manage to keep at least $1,000 in my savings for travel expenses and first/last months' rent.
Also, I've decided I need to consolidate my credit cards so I can stop paying three bills a month. Three bills is a little excessive.
Word of advice: don't get a Chase credit card. You know when you lose your purse or wallet and have to cancel all the cards? Well they don't just cancel your card, they cancel your ACCOUNT. So you can't even use the credit card anymore. I was vastly annoyed when I made this realization. I wish I didn't have the credit card in the first place, but sometimes you get into a crunch and you need something with better APR.

On the up side! I don't have to work Friday AND I get paid! So I'm going on a lady-date in Boston. Lunch at Wagamama (thoughts? I've heard good things!) and seeing The Proposal. Essentially I'm getting paid to carouse around Boston with one of my favorite females. I like it.

Off to eat an apple to get the pungent onion taste out of my mouth from my salad. Blech.

Dear You

2009-06-29T12:59:00.003-04:00

Dear Sweetamundo,

You are old, fat, and balding. Using words like "sweetamundo" and "shazzam" on a daily basis are not becoming. When you "beat box" it makes me want to shove pencils in my ears until my eardrums bleed.

Sincerely,

Tired of Your Antics

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Dear West Coast,

I know you are anxiously awaiting my arrival. Be patient! I'll be there soon. Only 20 days until I leave!

Forever Yours,

A California Girl

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Dear Tall Guy,

You really thought that one of my really good friends would make out with you to "make [me] jealous?" All that body and not an ounce of common sense. You are a moron. I have evicted you from my life!

Most Annoyed,

Unamused

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Dear Facebook,

You've become boring to me. I use you to post pictures for others to see, but that's really it. Maybe I'm getting old. I'm sorry, Facebook. You might have to go on without me.

A Once Loyal User,

paigessss

The final countdown

2009-06-29T10:52:00.002-04:00

In 20 days I'll be leaving the east coast. I'm moving to California! I got into Sac State so I'm going to grad school there for English Literature. I found a place to live with a few amazing girls. I've yet to find a job though.

Part of what I'm really excited for is getting to drive cross country. I did it once with my parents and a cat but I was 6 so I didn't really have much of an experience. Aside from 6 days in a backseat with a cat. Gross. I'm driving across with two awesome friends and we plan to take so many pictures that our Facebook friends will hate us. Nicole wants to keep a travel journal and I really like the idea. It will help when I go to put pictures in my scrapbook later on down the road.

We mapped out our route this weekend and I highlighted it in our Rand McNally atlas. We also have a mascot! Nicole made Tim a Yip Yip alien (you know, the ones from Sesame Street? Yiiip yip yip yip. Nooope nope nope).

I'm excited for driving and sing-alongs and picture ops and Chicago and Denver and San Francisco as possible side-stops. I'm excited for greasy food and lots of caffeine. I'm excited for sunsets and sunrises. I'm excited for heart-to-heart chats about life, love, and the opposite gender being stupid. I'm also especially excited to see Ross, whom I haven't seen since January. I'm excited to see his new house and meet his roommates. I'm also very excited to see Jessica. I'm excited at the possibility of new friends and learning new things.

If possible, I might try to blog from the road. I plan to have my laptop within reach and not packed away. Plus I'll need to check my Twitter...

A Quickie

2009-05-19T08:29:00.005-04:00

I’ve realized how little this world actually is. I’ve been looking at apartments in Sacramento (even though I won’t be moving there for more than 2 months) and I emailed a guy last night that had a room for rent with him and two other guys.
Side note: Despite being stereotypically messy, I think I might actually prefer to live with guys. They’re more laid back and there’s less drama. If I take the last beer no one is going to rip my head off.
Back to my story. Turns out the guy I emailed is actually a Red Sox fan. He seems like a really nice guy and said that they wouldn’t mind living with a girl as long as I didn’t take up the bathroom all the time. I like to pride myself on being a rather quick getting-readyer. I don’t take showers longer than 15 minutes or so and most of my getting ready does not involve being in the bathroom.

So in short, I think I might try to look for guy roommates. It will probably make a lot of things easier, as long as they clean up after themselves

'About Me' Type Thing

2009-05-19T08:29:00.003-04:00

I’ve been reading a blog on blogspot that I enjoy, and when I find a blog I like I tend to start at the beginning. So I stole this from a very old blog (very old meaning only a couple years) and I figured it would be fun to do. Here goes:
Accent: I don’t think I have an accent. I use typical Bostonian words like “wicked” and “market” and the like, but I’m not from the area and have grown up in very different parts of the country. So no accent, really.

I Don’t Drink: Southern Comfort. I’ve realized it makes me black out! Generally I drink a lot of water, coffee, and juice though. Oh, and the occasional Diet Coke

Chore I Hate: All of them? Hm. Specifically folding clothes from the dryer (except in the winter when it’s cold out and my clothes are warm). Or doing the dishes. I hate the way glass feels coming right out of the dishwasher.

Pets: I have three! One dog, she’s a belgium shepherd, named Lou. She’s adorable but sheds like a mother. I also have two cats, Phil and Foxy. Phil is your typical fat indoor cat that likes to go outside, nom on some grass, and then come back in and spit it up. Foxy is cute but strange.

Essential Electronic: My cell phone. I text a lot. I am also in love with my MacBook but I don’t use it as much as I did at school.

Perfume/Cologne: I like simple scents. My daily perfume is just pineapple from Bath & Body. But I also like to wear CK1 sometimes.

Insomnia: Only when I have a lot on my mind.

Job Title: Working through a temp agency right now at a state department. Starting in August I’ll be a student again

Kids: None, but I definitely want them. At least two, but no more than four because I think that’s too much, especially if they’re close in age. And I want at least one girl and one boy.

Religion: None. I consider myself agnostic despite being raised going to church.

Siblings: Just one. She’s your typical 14 year old.

Time I Wake Up: On weekdays usually around 6:45. On weekends anywhere from 8 to 10:30.

Unusual Talent/Skill: I don’t think I really have one.. hm. I make awesome mix CDs though

Vegetable I Refuse To Eat: I actually really enjoy vegetables. I suppose peas aren’t my favorite, but I’ll eat them. Are olives vegetables? If they are, I hate them.

Worst Habit: I play with my hair a lot.

My Favorite Meal: I enjoy a lot of types of food. A good homecooked meal is always the best though. Like a roaster with potatoes, or roasted chicken and fresh veggies and some mashed potatoes, or my mom’s chicken casserole. THAT is to die for. It’s the best winter-time pick-me-up type of meal. Also, I could eat sushi every day.

That’s all for today!

The End of an Era

2009-05-19T08:29:00.001-04:00

This weekend marks a major milestone in two of my best friends lives. Jess and Calyn are both graduating from college tomorrow, and both with honors. I’m so incredibly proud of them and all they’ve done. I want to take a few minutes to talk about each of them.

Jess I’ve known for most of my college years, at least longer than most other people I’m friends with. She’s one of the most talented people I know, and I’m not just saying that to be nice. She’s also super smart and engaged to an equally super smart and amazing guy (FYI: I introduced them, just wanted to add in that tid-bit ). Jess has always been really motivated and always knows what she wants. She’s moving to LA on June first and is starting an internship. She hates the winter and New England probably as much as I do.

Calyn, like I’ve said before, I haven’t known for very long. She’s my soul-mate though. We think alike and finish each other’s sentences and pull words right out of the other’s mouth. There have been so many times that I’ll say something and she’ll just be opening her mouth to say the EXACT same thing, or vice versa. She’s always willing to help and she gives the best bear hugs imaginable. After graduation, Calyn still has some credits to finish and is staying around her home area and also working for awhile. Her dad and stepmom are moving to AZ soon and I think she plans to follow eventually.

Now, I graduated from the same school as Jess and Calyn, but I graduated last year. It wasn’t really that big a deal to me, I think partly because I still had credits left to finish. I don’t think it really hit me that the college life was over until everyone went back to school. Things seemed to change drastically but I realize now that everything is going to change even more.

So my plans for the weekend include going to graduation to see these two beauties walk across the stage, then joining Jess’ family for lunch back in Worcester. That night I’m staying at Jess’ place, maybe having a low-key night, maybe not, we do need to celebrate after all and then Sunday we’re heading into Boston to meet up with Calyn and Nicole for some lady-lunching and town-carousing. Boston is such a good city to do such things in. So many tasty places to eat and stores to window-shop in. Maybe I’ll find a cute dress somewhere for cheap.
My weekend doesn’t end here though… A good friend of mine from high school that I haven’t regularly hung out with for a few years now is moving back home! She graduates Sunday and then is having a party (plus keg!) at her house. So I’ll be stopping by that shindig after my Boston adventure. Her house was like my second home for awhile in high school so I’m also excited to see her family.

It seems like all my friends are growing up and moving on now… probably because they are. We’re adults now, and I still can’t wrap my head around it… even if I have had a 9 – 5 type job for the past 9 months.
All that being said, I’m excited. The future looks promising

Few Random Things

2009-05-19T08:28:00.005-04:00

Two posts in one day? Maybe I’ll start getting some readers.. or maybe I’ll just tell my friends to read it

I looked over my past entries and realized it had been awhile since I posted, so I’ll update you on some things.

I met another cute guy a few weekends ago. We’ll call him Jeeves, because I think it’s funny. I met him through a friend, and he seemed awesome. Like seriously great. We had a ton of the same interests (tattoos, sushi, ya know, important things). So we ended up making out in his car before I went back with Calyn.
Turns out Jeeves has a girlfriend. Apparently he thought I was awesome though. But then didn’t talk to me again because he felt super guilty. Good, you should.
So two of my friends, R and Mama K, came up with a list of questions I need to ask boys before shoving my tongue down their throats. I think that’s a good idea. I could get myself in real trouble someday. Knowing whether or not a guy has an attachment is a good thing, but it’s not my fault if I don’t know that. I’d look like a lunatic if I asked every attractive guy I met if he was already with someone.

In other news, I’m having a great hair week. Very Helena Bonham Carter-esque. Curly and crazy but not in a bad way. I like it. But I guarantee next week I’ll hate my hair. I guess that’s just how my life goes.

Paging Dr. Paige!

2009-05-19T08:28:00.003-04:00

Last week I found out I got into grad school. In high school, when I applied for colleges I don’t really remember worrying; I remember thinking, “I applied to a few schools, I’ll get in to at least one.” But this time was different, since I’m dumb and waited too long to apply to more than one grad school. So I worried for 10 weeks and checked the mail thoroughly and wondered, “What if I don’t get in?” And then I got an e-mail congratulating me. Really? I mean I’m all for eliminating paper waste but I woke up with a hangover and was checking my email while sitting next to my best friend’s brother who was 100% more hungover than I was. It was just strange.

So since I found out I’ve moved on to worrying about bigger and better things. Like financial aid. And finding a job. And finding an apartment. And whether or not I’ll be able to pay for grad school or if I’ll just end up with $14,000 more in loans. I think I’m just a worrier.

I’ve also started getting bills for my undergrad loans. Those total roughly $18,600. Thank goodness for being an RA for two years because it would have been more like $30,000 otherwise.

Aside from all the worrying, I’m super excited to move back to California. I was born there and lived there until I was almost 7, until my dad started moving us around the country and I was officially a military brat.
I’m excited for warm weather all the time, the ability to sit by a pool for hours on end, not being so pale all year round. There are so many things I just can’t cram them all into one thought.
Although there is a boy that I’ve been dying to meet. We’ve been friends since high school but never had the chance to meet. Sometimes I feel like he’s perfect for me. But it’s hard to tell these things when you haven’t even met someone. So we’ll see come August!

In other news, I (impulse) bought this last night:

Isn’t it beauuutiful? I love poppies. I have two California poppies tattooed on my body. They’re my favorite flowers (even though I’m super allergic to anything that grows in dirt). So a silk bobby pin is perfect, no?

I should probably get “back to work” (I haven’t done anything yet today so I can’t really go back to doing it, I guess). Good day.

College Times

2009-05-19T08:28:00.001-04:00

So I don’t think I have the most interesting life, and I also don’t think I post here enough for people to actually read my musings, so I think I’ll write about college.

I’m one of those people that actually enjoys school. I might have complained about the course load or a teacher occasionally, but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed college. I made my way through a few different social groups, but I knew probably 1/3 (maybe even 1/2) of the people on campus, including faculty and staff. I could attribute part of that to being an RA, another thing I loved.

One thing in particular I want to talk about is the very last college class that I took. To make a long story short, I got screwed over by an old advisor and ended up with 6 credits left in my last semester of college. Three of them I finished before graduation and the last three I finished in summer.

Let me just say, thank goodness for Calyn’s family. My parents’ house is about 45 minutes from where I went to school. Calyn’s house was only 20, so I stayed there usually Monday through Thursday for 5 weeks last summer.

This class was probably one of my favorite classes. The teacher, who I’ll just call J, is a very laid back guy. I was actually good friends with his son before I even took any of his classes. This was the second class I had with him but by far the better one.

It was a really small class, I think only 12 of us, and I knew almost everyone in the class. A friend and I would get coffee before each meeting from my favorite coffee place EVER. The class met Tuesdays and Thursdays for 3 hours. That seems like a long time, but J liked to talk and get off-topic a lot. Our first meeting he said, “I don’t believe in tests in the summer. I do, however, believe in popsicles.” No popsicles ever happened, but neither did tests.

There were only 10 meetings and J was actually in China for 3 of them so my friend Steph was the TA and took over.

Oh, the class was a human communications class, by the way. It was a really good time, even the learning part. We did a role-playing exercise where I got to be the daughter of wealthy parentage and the hot football player in the class played my dad. A little strange, but fun.

I also won a pink sparkly pencil for never missing a class meeting. If that’s not a mark of a great teacher I don’t know what is.

I guess thinking about how much I loved college is getting me excited for grad school. I know it’s a lot more work and the work is way more concentrated, but I’m happy to do it if it improves my mind and life.

And now back to reading about other’s lives!

Last Couple Weeks

2009-05-19T08:27:00.005-04:00

So I haven’t posted since I met that nerdy cute guy at B&N. Not much has happened, actually.

I realized (again, I guess) how much I really hate my job. I do things and then I wonder, “could I get fired for this?” and instantly think, “who freaking cares.” Because… well, I don’t.

Sooo I got online and looked for jobs for awhile. I couldn’t find anything that was near me / I was qualified for / actually seemed decent. Except for a host position at Uno’s. I’d be okay with that. Calyn asked if I cared if I made less money, and I said, “I don’t know.” I think I would care, but not enough that I would stay at a job that is slowly sucking my soul out of me. At least at Uno’s I could talk to people and interact and have fun and not sit in a cubicle looking at paper’s that are older than me all day long. Plus, I’d be able to sleep in. I don’t mind working late because I like nighttime. I do not like morningtime. We’ll see if I get a call back.

Also, update on nerdy cute guy: nothin’. I also haven’t been around his area so I had no reason to text him. Whatever.

Update on California: July 21st! I have a passenger, and it is Nicole, and I am happy. 3 months 3 months 3 MONTHS!

Now, I will go back to pretending I’m doing work. Or not pretending at all and just playing Tetris. Yeah.

Who Pooed On the Scrabble Board?

2009-05-19T08:27:00.003-04:00

As I’ve said in the past, I rarely meet cute guys. Apparently the stars aligned this weekend and decided to send a cute nerdy/lanky/hilarious guy into the Barnes & Noble I was sitting in.

Calyn and I felt that going to B&N and playing Scabble for close to 5 hours was a good windy-day activity (after buying jeans and a shirt-dress, respectively). While playing Scrabble for about the 4th time, I said, “Why can’t any cute, nerdy guys come in here?” since we had been seeing mostly older men and women. The gods of awesomeness must have heard my plea and in walked Caleb.

“Calyn, that boy is really cute.”
“Paige, he looks about 17.”
Pointing to myself, “He could be 23, for all we know. I mean come on, I look 17 and I’m 22.”
“Very true.”

So while playing Scrabble (5th game? 18th game? who knows), we pretended not to notice him and his cuteness. He sat nearby us with an architecture magazine and later sat a little further away (but still in view, of course).

Eventually Rob and Luke, two friends from school, showed up. Calyn and I were jonesin’ for a four-player game but Luke wasn’t interested.

Jokingly, “Hey, Rob, go ask that cute guy in the red sweater if he wants to play.”
“Okay.” Rob walks away, Paige and Calyn turn roughly the color of a tomato.

So Rob and our new friend Caleb came back to the table and we played two rousing games of Scrabble in which some of the words put down were:
POO
REELZ
KITTENSS (pronounced kittens-zeez)
It was probably one of the funnest afternoons of my life.

Here are a few facts that we know about Caleb so far: he’s 24, he was a carpenter but recently lost his job, Slaughterhouse Five is the first Vonnegut book he’s read (or was reading when we interrupted him), he lives in the city I’m usually in on weekends, and wants to go to school for architecture. He also has an engaging smile and beautiful blue eyes that he kept mostly on me during any conversation. He has a cynical sense of humor, not unlike myself.

I had invited him out for drinks later that night but he couldn’t make it after he said he had an interest in going. Here are some reasons why we think he might have bailed last minute: he had diarrhea, he had invited a friend so he didn’t feel awkward and that friend bailed, or he really was just exhausted, like he said. Hopefully it’s one of those, and he doesn’t have a girlfriend (or boyfriend?) because that would make me sad. He does have an interest in hanging out sometime though, and karaoke was discussed. I’ll try not to embarrass myself too badly if and when this happens.

Walking Dating Site Confessional

2009-05-19T08:27:00.001-04:00

Stories about dating are fun, right?

I don’t have the most interesting love life but I’ve dated some losers. The last guy I dated was around May of 2008. Here’s a backstory:

Every year on the last day of classes at the college I attended, most of the student body gets drunk. When I was a freshman the college would plan things like stupid games and bands on the quad. As the years went on they realized people were abusing what they had and now the college is just riddled with drunk kids and cops.

So last year (my senior year), being an RA, I didn’t have the option to get drunk and carouse about. I had to work most of the day and wear my staff shirt and be an upstanding student. I went to the dining hall during one of my breaks and met up with Calyn. We sat with a few friends and a few guys I didn’t know. I met one of the tallest guys I’ve ever seen, and for this reason we shall call him Tall. He was about 6′7″ and close to being drop-dead gorgeous (or so I thought).

We started talking and he told me he was a firefighter which I thought was pretty rad since that’s what my dad does. He wanted me to come out and party once we left the dining hall but I had to work. We ended up talking and hanging out more often after this and while I was staying at Calyn’s over the summer, he would come pick me up and we’d go on dates.

These were probably some of the most boring dates I’ve ever been on. He was one of those guys that needs to talk all the time, and if you’re not talking, clearly something is wrong.

Now Tall, while endearing and nice, talked like a walking dating-site about-me:
Tall: So what do you like to do for fun? Sometimes, if I’m bored, I might just stop at your house and pick you up. That’s just how I am.
Ooookay…? He would say this as if it was the most thoughtful and spontaneous thing ever. Firstly, I lived an hour away from him. Secondly, no. You need to call me first.

Like I said, he was attractive. He was built, had tattoos, and was straight up that tall-dark-handsome kind of guy. Plus, his mom owned a bakery. I mean come on, free baked goods? Sign me up. But – he had this thing where he liked to look at himself, and pretend he wasn’t doing it. The first time I noticed it was on one of our mundane dinner-dates. It was at this crapshack little place in the middle of his crapshack town. So while sitting and talking, he would “stretch” and “inadvertently” check out his own biceps.

Every once and again he would do this, which was a little strange to me. The weirdest time he did it though, was while we were making out. COME ON. I’m the one you’re supposed to be staring at. After I realized how boring and self-absorbed he was I dropped him… after he got me a discount on getting my car fixed.

I like Irish oatmeal from Ireland

2009-05-19T08:26:00.003-04:00

Since my endeavor into the blogosphere started while I was at work, I thought I’d talk about work people.

I work for a state department in Massachusetts. The part of the company I work for deals with spills. I sit nearby some guys who work for the Emergency Response team. There are 6 of them, if I am correct. Five of them aren’t bad, and one is downright annoyingly moronic. This man (on an everyday basis, but not to his face), I call Sweetamundo.
Guess why!
That’s one of his favorite things to say. He’s so amazingly stupid I can’t even comprehend half of the things he says. Sometimes he sings the word… “sweeeet-amundooooo” and I want to crack my skull on my desk that’s older than my grandfather.

Here’s a physical description: about 5′8″, slightly overweight (okay, he’s got a nice gut going on), bald. He once referred to himself as “a gentle giant” and I almost spewed my Diet Coke all over my cube.

Enough about Sweetamundo though, because I’m sure there will be more posts dedicated to his cliche-riddled speech later.

Let’s talk about Stinky. She works in the same department as I do, doing the same job. She’s only worked there for about 3 months longer than I have but somehow thinks she is above me. On a good day she smells like urine and men’s cologne. On a bad day, mix those with some old fish. She’s also whiskery.
Now, it’d be one thing if she was a sweet older lady who just smelled a little bad. It’s another thing when she’s constantly talking down, and “accidentally” getting in my way or what have you. I once asked her for a file and reached for it (only a couple feet away from her) and she seriously put it on the desk right next to my open hand. This woman is a righteous bitch.

These people are only a fraction of the numbskulls I have daily interactions with. I probably shouldn’t about them on weeknights since I have to listen to their lame banter all day Monday through Friday.

Definitely expect more Sweetamundo-isms in the future though.

101 (or probably a lot less) Facts about Paige

2009-05-19T08:26:00.001-04:00

Here’s an easy get-to-know-me post:

1. I’ve lived all over the US. My dad was active duty Air Force for most of my life so I’m a bona fide military brat (I would argue that the brat part isn’t true… but it probably is).

2. I think this is what has inspired my love/want/NEED to travel. I haven’t done much, but not for lack of trying. I’ve been to many random pieces of the country, and also some parts of Canada.

3. My top 3 destinations to visit would be: Japan, Spain, and the Swiss Alps. I hate the cold but I would LOVE to take a beautiful train ride up a snowy mountain while sipping spiked hot chocolate.

4. Sometimes when I drink, I get too drunk and do stupid things. Sometimes meaning most times.

5. I love to bake, but I rarely go out of the conventional chocochip cookie and buttercream frosted cupcakes realm. I need to work on this.

6. I love to bake things for others. Generally when I bake, I rarely eat more than one or two of the offerings I have so lovingly crafted.

7. I also love to make mix CDs for my friends. They’re tailor-made and usually have some sort of theme.

8. I rarely do work at work. This is what happens when you get a job through a temp agency that has nothing to do with what you have your degree in.

9. My friends are amazing and I don’t tell them how much I appreciate them often enough. I need to work on this.

10. I don’t want this list becoming a list of short-comings. Change: now.

11. I am short and I love it. Not certified-little-person status, but short enough that guys tell me how cute it is that I’m short and I revel in this.

12. Where did my cursor go? It disappeared as I was spell-checking…

13. Sometimes I’m absent-minded. I’m okay with this.

14. I’m also easily confusable. Most times people don’t take advantage of this, which is good.

15. I’m very clumsy and have a self-diagnosed short-term memory problem. The other day I opened a cabinet door, bent down to clean something off of the floor, stood up and proceeded to slam my head into the door. Things like this happen often and I usually have at least a couple bruises or scrapes somewhere on my person.

16. Sometimes I get crushes on boys that I shouldn’t. Such as: boys who live very far away, boys who already have girls, boys who are stupid but I pretend aren’t. Generally I obsess over it for a week or two, longer depending on the amount of interactions, and then get over it. Rarely something comes from one of these crushes. It’s cool.

17. In college I was a make-out slut. A good friend and coworker actually dubbed me the Make-Out Monster, to which he had an alarming facial/hand gesture to accompany. Making out is fun, and I’m okay with the number of people I’ve played tonsil hockey with.

18. I could handle alcohol very well in college. I don’t know if I’ve just lost my tolerance or if I really am just getting old. I could down half a bottle of rum when I was 18 and be ready and rarin’ to go the next morning at 10:30 for brunch. Now I have 3 Sams and I’m in bed until noon with a bottle of Gatorade glued to my hand.

19. Subsequently, my taste in alcohol has greatly changed since college. It might just be because large bottles of 80 proof rum were easier to get in a dorm building than a case of beer. In any case, I enjoy beer, which I did not in college, as well as wine. My favorite is Yellow Tail’s Pinot Grigio. I have many favorite beers. Maybe I’ll dedicate a post to that.

20. Pinot Grigio is fun to type, because when I type it I say in my head, “Pee-not gree-gee-oh.” Sometimes I’m silly.

21. A lot of times I say things that don’t make sense. Be assured, they made sense in my head.

22. I don’t go on dates – real dates I mean. I think the last date I went on was in May of 2008. That was 10 months ago. This is partially due to the fact that I haven’t really met anyone. I work for a state department and consequentially work around a bunch of older men and women. By older I mean, they have kids and houses and are not datable, even if they were single.

23. Dating is a hassle anyway.

24. And why would I want to date someone when I’m moving 3,000 miles in a few short months? A fling might be nice, but refer back to #22.

25. I’m a little obsessive-compulsive about the number 3. Things have to be done in threes. Such as: ice cubes in my cup, the number of times I press an elevator button, etc.

26. I like to think I have a really great sense of humor. When I was 13 my dad told me, “When you get older, you’ll either have a great sense of humor, or need to see a shrink.” Thankfully, the former is the case.

27. I love stupid jokes. I just can’t help myself.

28. I love sushi. I love trying different kinds of sushi. I tried sashimi once and I do not like sashimi. I like veggies and sauces on my raw fish. I will try anything once though.

29. And that goes for most things.

30. Growing up in my household we had a rule that you had to try things once (regarding food on the table). This rule applied to any friend that came over for dinner as well.

31. I adore reading. I adore books. I adore characters in books. I could not imagine my life without books. I just recently started going to the library again and I’m so happy. I’ve devoured 2 books (one of a very substantial length) in the past two weeks. I can’t wait to go back.

32. By the way, my cursor came back. I guess it just went on hiatus for a few.

33. Halloween is, by far, my favorite holiday. Nothing compares. No, not even Christmas.

34. This is partly because I’ve just never had a great Christmas. My dad is in the military and is also a firefighter, so Christmases have rarely been spent with him.

35. I like to make lists.

36. I have a very over-active imagination. I think that’s why I’m so zany sometimes. I concoct ridiculous situations in my head even though I know they won’t play out that way. I just like to imagine the different ways things could go or could have gone.

37. Sometimes I seriously worry about the future. It scares me.

38. I miss those old merry-go-rounds they had at playgrounds. Those were some serious fun.

39. I’m addicted to Twitter. I post random things that probably don’t mean much to most people. Sometimes I just like to have my thoughts heard.

40. I wish I had the money to put more of an edge into my fashion style. I like to think I have a great sense of fashion, but I have a hard time executing it.

41. I just realized the space bar squeaks on the new computer my work just gave me. Annoying.

42. I have roughly 30 pairs of shoes. Every couple of years I go through and purge, but I usually have far too many pairs of shoes than any one person should own.

43. I hate saying hello to people at work. I’m sure they’re mostly good-hearted, hard-working people – but there is no reason I should have to feel awkward and stare at the floor and pretend not to see you until you’re right in front of me STARING at me and then saying hello. I don’t know you, nor do I want to know you.

44. When I worked for AE, this was different. It was my job to say hello to people. I liked it there.

45. From reading other blogs, I think I need to start tracking my money. I mean, I see the statements on my bank account online, but I don’t see “This week: $35 on coffee/cafe foods,” and I think I need that. I’ve saved up a good chunk, but I need to save up a whole lot more if I want to move to CA.

46. Oh hey, I want to move back to California.

47. I hate winter. I like snow before Christmas, but after that I hate it. I hate cold; I hate being bundled up; I hate wearing boots; I hate needing something hot to eat for lunch (key word: needing).

48. I’m not sure how long it will take me to completely figure out how this wordpress stuff works. Hopefully not long.

49. I thoroughly revel in my weekends. My weekdays suck so much that I like to make my weekends count something fierce.

50. I have alarmingly unreal dreams. 95% of the time they make zero sense. I’ve been told I should compile a book about them. The problem is that I would come off as a complete wing-nut.

I guess 101 facts was a little much. 50 works for me.

The Cast and Crew

2009-05-19T08:25:00.002-04:00

So as not to rile anybody up, I’m going to list my friends and tell you about them in alphabetically order. Away we go!

Calyn: She is one of the most kind-hearted, endearing, loving people I have ever met. We became friends when she was going through a break-up and I was her RA. We sat and talked in the lounge for hours and quickly became close friends. It’s been almost a year since that fateful night.
She’s usually the one I’m with when getting way-too wasted so most drunk stories will probably involve us being together. She likes to fall asleep when drinking and I like to talk to her and sit on her and pretend she’s not actually asleep.

Jess: We became friends through the random happenstance that we both had the same slippers and a mutual friend. We later realized we had very similar shoe taste. She’s intelligent and beautiful and one of the most talented photographers I know. She is one of those friends that I can go a couple weeks without talking to and we’ll pick up right back where we left off. I couldn’t even think of my life without her. As long as she doesn’t try to shake my babies (whenever I might have those).

Nicole: She is one of my longest-standing friends. We became friends through her roommate my freshman year of college. She’s a great friend and always has fun stories to tell and neat places to go and is super awesomely creative.Â She also has an awe-inspiring collection of shoes.

Ross: Ross and I were acquaintances for awhile before we actually met. He had an apartment off campus that I ended up partying at and over time we got pretty close. Ross is goofy and weird and an awesome friend. Even though he’s lived across the country for awhile now, we’re still damn good friends and talk on a regular basis.

Now for the family! They’re the really crazy ones.

My mom: I will also refer to her Mama, Momster, or Pam (you know, her name). She looks just like me but 25 years older. People have actually confused us in the past, and I often am called Pam by people who know us. She’s kind of crazy, but I guess that’s what happens when you start to get old.

My dad: My dad is one of the most incredible people I know. He was in the Air Force active duty for years, then transferred over to the Army Reserves, and is now special forces (you know, crazy secret stuff). He’s also a paramedic, one of the ones that can give people drugs and stick needles into them. His full-time job though is being a firefighter. He’s actually a fourth generation Lawrence firefighter. Our name is amongst the big-dogs in our area. Most people know either my dad, one of his brothers, his sister, or another one of our relatives.
In any case, my dad has one of the funniest senses of humor I’ve ever come across. His sense of humor is based around his want to laugh at others. He’s pretty hilarious. I shall call him Dad or Daddio or Big Daddy.

Emily: This gem is my sister. She’s 14, in 8th grade, and she’s got a pretty crummy attitude sometimes. Over the years we’ve gotten closer; we didn’t really get along growing up considering we’re 8 years apart. It’s getting easier though.

The R Family: These are my neighbors: Karin, Derik and their children, K1, K2, and K3. They’re just as close as family in that way that no one knocks, everyone just walks in, and there are always baked goods or huge plates of chicken catchatori (is that even spelled remotely correct?) or beers going back and forth. These three boys are the cutest little toe-heads anyone’s ever created. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of stories about them.

These are just the major players, I’m sure I’ll talk more about others and explain as I go.

First ever blog post

2009-05-14T18:18:00.001-04:00

I've noticed that there are a lot more blogs that I enjoy reading on blogspot compared to wordpress. So I'm transferring all of my posts here. Enjoy!

Upon reading a few creative, hilarious, insightful blogs, I decided to create my own! I've decided that the reason behind this is that I have been stagnant in my life as of late - incredibly stagnant. My second two years in college I was a Resident Assistant. This job allowed me creative control over many things - door tags, programming opportunities, posters - and I loved it. Upon graduating, I moved back home (last thing I wanted to do) and got a job I have come to hate. This is all in the meantime, though. I've applied to a school in California to get my Masters in English Literature (same as my BS, but I could actually get a real job with this).

So that's the why. What about the what? I want to write about my life, daily happenings, my (lack of a) love life, what I want to do with my life, my crazy (wonderful, beautiful, lovely) friends, and I'm sure a few drunken nights thrown in.

In my next few posts, plan to expect:

A list of random facts about me
A list of my friends, who they are, and why I love them

I think that's all I've got for now. Hopefully this blog helps inspire some creative flow out to come out of my noggin and will be more witty, fun, and interesting than I'm expecting it will be.