Greatest Hits: 2008

The Loot (Part Two)

Well, the second round wasn't as much fun as the first round. I mostly got clothes... that I didn't really care for too much... after I'd just gone through all my other clothes and sacrificed some to the Goodwill gods to make room for a whole bunch of new stuff I got last month. And now I have no where to put these new clothes... except for straight into the laundry basket.

Such is life when you live in an apartment with lots of people and little closets and don't quite have enough room for yourself.

This may change next month. I may get my own room. Me. My own room. For the first time ever in my life. It's an exciting aspect.

And then I'll have somewhere to store this loot.

The Loot (Part One)

Round One: The Roomies


Brittany received the book Wicked and, erm, another present I don't know if I should disclose here.

Jenna received a rockin' scarf , an Audrey Hepburn shirt complete with bling, and 27 Dresses the DVD.

And I received an awesome lavendar scented Bath and Body Works warm up heating pad, and the accessory missing from my wardrobe for the last two months- Urban Outfitters armwarmers (in black)!


Pause. Background on the armwarmers.

It all started with these kids, you see. And these kids are called the amazing tour cast of Spring Awakening. You may have read about them once or twice on this blog.

(Really? More than twice?)

Anyway, they've got this video. It's about armwarmers. And their mission to make armwarmers a new fad. And they had me in the first minute, because we all know I'm a sucker for layers, and these are freaking removable layers that also keep your arms toasty and your fingers free to go about your day in a normal manner.

They're amazing.

But I told my poor economy-crunched self that I would have to wait until after Christmas to take stock of my leftover money and make that trip to Urban Outfitters in Fashion Valley Mall. In the meantime, I got a cheap knock off pair at Target. I told Jenna about my armwarmer plans about a month and a half ago. She was supportive. And ever since, any time I've come home with, "Jenna, guess what?!" she promptly answers "You got your armwarmers!" And then I have to tell her no, and roll my eyes at her, and remind her I have the self control to wait until after Christmas, because clearly she thought I would crack any moment and carry myself off to Urban Outfitters for a little pre-Christmas splurging.

No way. I'm stronger than that.

So I went on my merry little Target-arm-wearing way, until Monday, when I began to sadly wonder if Urban Outfitters armwarmers (in black!) were really a good use of my money. Sigh. And just when I started to really get down about it, the thought suddenly struck me that it hadn't once occurred to me that most likely someone in my life knew I wanted these armwarmers, knew how much I talked about getting them for myself, and thought, "Hmmmm... that's a sure way to get her a gift I know she'll love!"

Yeah, it took me all the way up to three days before Christmas to figure that one out. I blame Urban Outfitters Armwarmer Tunnel Vision.

Also, Brittany told me there were like three of them who thought of getting me those armwarmers. Do I really talk about them that much?

Anyway, please take note of my awesome armwarmers in every picture from here until the end of this post (except for the pictures I'm not in, of course).



Next pic: During roomie presents, we also opened the gifts Aaron so kindly left for us. Here we are enjoying our presents, Aaron! A picture just for you! Oh, by the way, the universal remote works splendidly-- what a great, practical gift! (Which are the exact kind of gifts I'm most fond of.)


Round Two: Ryan, Brittany, Jordan presents



Ryan received a cologne set and a desktop picture frame thingamajig complete with various pics from our Spring Awakening adventures. (Are you sensing the theme in this Christmas?)
Brittany got a really cute sweater, that is so totally her and, um, another thing maybe I shouldn't mention without her permission. She can post a comment if she wants to reveal her "mystery" presents.And I got, da da da DA! My very own copy of the Spring Awakening official companion, so now I don't have to bum Ryan's off him. LOVE IT. And my awesome armwarmers, of course, are here.

Peace Out, Girl Scout

I'm off for some Christmas Eve Light Seein' Fun with the 'rents. Be back soon!

101 Ways to Wear a Pink Scarf

As demonstrated by Jenna.

Things I've Forgotten to Post

Brittany's birthday and acquisition of the Best.Game.Ever: The Office Trivia game, complete with That's What She Said tokens and a Fun Run Race for the Cure bracelet, sported by Andy in this picture.

Sea World with Ryan and Andy. I had a pass. They both had a pass. We decided to go. It was fun.

December Nights, which was pretty lame, but the fun science stuff museum was cool.

Christmas decorating!

Working hard at getting those glass ornaments ready for a hangin'.

Roommate Christmas card!
And last, but not least, pie date night, round three, with Mandy and her new man, Katie, Kalani, and Dan. We got to Marie Calendar's twenty minutes before closing, so we grabbed our pies and moved the party back to Katie and Kalani's place. With the pie, hot chocolate, sparkling Christmas tree, and sitting cross legged on the floor, it really felt so Christmas gathering-ish. :)

Feliz Navidad from Houston's airport

After an endliss list of news pieces that just make your heart sink lower and lower as you think, "where exactly is this crummy world headed?" it's nice to know that this kind of thing is still out there.

I think humanity just might make it after all.

Baby, it's cold inside.

Dudes. It's freaking cold. December has hit with a vengeance this week. Although it has had a hard time making up it's mind. Monday = rainy day from hell. Tuesday= not a cloud in the sky. Wednesday= the hurricane wasn't so bad from inside my heater-filled office all day. Thursday= clear as a bell all day. Friday= cold on the outside, but somehow not cold enough that my car didn't need a few minutes of air conditioning every time I got in it.

And now it's practically penguin weather out there. (Which I hear is very cold. Thanks, Sea World.)

(Oh, and I just remembered my Sea World pass officially expires today.)

(But this is off subject.)

On subject: this frakkin' cold weather. When I'm not de-chillin' in front of my space heater, this is what you can find in our house:

(I've got my uggs on, too, but you can't see them here.)

Brittany's not quite as bundled, but you get the picture. It's COLD!

Whatever happened to the sunny San Diego Christmases of yore?


See us winter walking,
after a storm

Yesterday

Went to work late. (Because I stayed up way too late.)
Did work. (In the warm, warm office.)
Left work. (Trying to avoid the main streets during rush hour.)
Rescued Jenna. (Her car went and died on Grossmont Blvd in rush hour.)
Stopped at Dominos. (They did not have $3.99 pizzas like the rumor said.)
Had spontaneous movie night with Jenna. (Wall-E + pizza + coke + roommate bonding time.)
Played more switcheroo. (We have a fourth roommate coming soon. Must be prepared.)
Worked on my blog book. (Almost through summer 2005!)
Stayed up way too late. (From the coca cola high.)

And repeat.



May not be cool
but it's so where I live.

Just another rainy Monday

It is raining ridiculously outside. All day long. Hasn't let up. As someone who forgot both an umbrella and jacket at home, and then had at least three errands to run today for work, I can vouch that the rain has been merciless today.

But now the errands are over, the heater's cranked up to 85, and I'm inside listening to the newfound, but most of all complete, soundtrack of the tour cast's performance in LA on November 22, courtesy of Ryan's mad googling skills.

~ All shall know the wonder of purple summer.

Update, update

Well, let's see.

I think one of the days last week (probably Monday) decided, "Hey, there's absolutely no way we're going to be able to top last Saturday, so let's not even try!" And all the other days said, "Here, here!"

And that's all I'll say about last week.

Saturday was okay, though. We held Christmas movie night, with Ryan, Aaron, and new AGO acquaintance Slade. We were going for How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but had to settle for the Muppet Christmas Movie, which I actually expected to be better than it was, but don't tell the guys that because they LOVED it. Apparently the Muppets are of the male type of humor. But at least afterwards we all just kind of hung out and watched Spring Awakening videos on youtube, including the current favorite: the cast of Spring Awakening auditions for Grease in a parody of themselves!

Today was cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. And switcheroo. Brittany moved to the 'office' to clear space for our newest roommate who should be bringing stuff in any day now. I'm tired after re-organizing and vaccuuming and laundry up to wazoo, so now I'm sprawled out on the couch, warming my feet with my wonderful little heater, and watching Harry Potter, which seems to me more Christmasy than those Muppets. (I think it's all the snow in this movie.)

... their song still seems to find you...

Sigh. The tour cast is gone. No more trips to Hollywood. No more sitting in seats G45, G46, and miscellaneous surrounding seats. No more gearing up in anticipation for the show to start, knowing that at that moment the Belly Mamba warm-ups are going on backstage. No more intermissions wondering what song the cast is currently conducting their half time dance party to. No more stage door antics.

No more Shingledecker. No more Mientus. No more all of them.

Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.

So here's our Saturday misadventure in Hollywood story.

We were supposed to leave at noon. Things happened. We were supposed to leave at one. More things happened. Three of us left at 1:30. Skip ahead, skip ahead (if anyone can tell me what musical song that's from, I will give you five dollars). Long story short, car #2 ended up in Hollywood before car #1, but no one got there before 5:30. Car #1 met up with everyone at 6:15, leaving precisely one half hour to hang out in Hollywood before heading back down the 101 to the Ahmanson theater. So much for our day of touristing Hollywood.

The night was not completely lost, however, as we came this close to seeing David Archuletta up close and personal. Here we are waiting for lil' David to come out and brighten our day with a song.

So close to seeing him! So close!

The first of many posed pics of the night:
Finally we gave up on David and went to find food in our last ten minutes at the Highland Mall. The Highland Mall is very fancy. This is what one of their sleezy bathroom hallways looks like (hallway modeled by Ryan Prades):

The group, part one, with food and waning patience for David.

The group, part two. (Can you spot the difference?)

So finally we officially gave up on David and headed to our true destination: Spring Awakening! With awesome tour cast! We loves them!

But first we had to get to them.

Fact: Trying to get through Hollywood on a Saturday evening is a nightmare. I have never been so stressed before in a car ride, considering the theater was very clear that if you didn't make it by the time they closed the doors, you didn't get in until intermission. Very sad business.

In the end, at 7:56pm, when we were stuck in the line of cars just outside the parking structure, right outside the theater, I couldn't take it anymore. I basically ditched Brittany and Ryan on the street and ran mine and Colleen's tickets upstairs, justifying to myself that it was better for 4 out of 6 of us to see the show then just 2 of us.

Don't get between me and my tour cast.

Luckily, we all made it before the doors closed. But then it didn't matter anyway, because they totally let a whole ton of people in after each of the first three numbers. (Why do they threaten us like that? I was totally thinking we'd be stuck in the lobby, watching the show from the tiny TVs.)

After that the night was magical.

The show was amazing (as per usual). The cast was amazing. I got goosebumps at all the right times. And best of all, Andy, Aaron, Britt, and Colleen all loved the show, too. So Ryan and I sighed in relief that we weren't just weird freaks who get way too into some things. (Well... no more than we thought anyway.)

Afterwards we went down to the stage door of course. I had two people specifically I wanted to talk to: Lucas Wells, who is in the ensemble, and Matt Shingledecker, who plays Georg. Out of the whole cast, they were really the only two that I hadn't gotten autographs, or pictures, or a quick chat with.

Ryan and I mug for the camera outside stage door.

This is Blake Bashoff, who really does justice to his character (a character who's a bit eccentric, as you can tell from the hair) for someone who actually seems very calm and laid back in real life.

And here's Andy Mientus, whose faithful videographing has allowed us to get a glimpse of tour life, intermission dance parties, and cast confessionals.

Here's Sarah Hunt, who is so incredibly sweet. She was the first to do the happy birthday!/come see Spring Awakening! video for Brittany, and when we introduced Brittany to her, Sarah gave her a big welcoming hug. Awwww....

And then there was Matt Shingledecker.

Oh, Matt Shingledecker.

He's my favorite. Which I told him. When he came up the stairs and then headed over to us for a chat.

So here's the scoop on Shingledecker.

The first time we went to see the show, I had no idea who he was. Didn't get his autograph, didn't get his picture, heck, I don't even remember seeing him there at the stage door in San Diego.

Then we went the second time, and I was more aware of who everyone was. And I started noticing all these little quirks his character has that you wouldn't ordinarly notice unless you were looking. And by then we'd seen the videos, and discovered that this Shingledecker kid was hilarious. Here, here, and here, are the proof. (But the best is the Hairspray Danger Zone.)

Also, his last name is so much fun to say.

Sadly, round two was such a rushed stage door exit that we didn't get to catch up with him. So all my hopes and dreams were riding on this, the final L.A. night. And Matt Shingledecker did not disappoint.

He signed our programs, posed for an awesome picture, and then stuck around and chatted for about five minutes. That was cool, considering a lot of the time the cast is sort of shuffled through the crowd, pausing a few seconds here and there for pictures and signing. But he genuinely kept the conversation going, telling us about how much fun it is for them to make the videos that go online, and how the tour might come back through L.A. in a year or so, and how it was actually his friend who came up with the "Listerine" song, and even though he sings it, he's got to give credit where it's due.

Overall, he was just mostly awesome.

Thanks for being awesome, Matt Shingledecker.

After that we grabbed a quick picture with Steffi D, who was one of the top 4 in Canadian Idol a few seasons ago. She's super sweet, and refused to be rushed while she autographed our programs, even when almost the entire cast, who had begun congregating across the street, were yelling at her and Kyle to get a move on or they would be left behind. (Aw, that's a pun only a few will get....)

And here's Kyle Riabko, who is the male lead, and also was on Brittany's birthday video. He's pretty ridiculously funny. And likes to stage Nerf wars before shows.

And, though I didn't get a picture with him, I did get my Lucas autograph. He seemed surprised that I knew his name, I guess because he's an ensemble/understudy character, but he was still so sweet. When I said we'd been watching the blog videos, he mentioned that he's got a personal blog he'll be updating soon, and I found that earlier today. He seems like such a sweetheart, one of those kids who managed to make it to Broadway in what can only be described as a whirlwind fairy tale. I'll definitely be following that blog.

And we got a picture with the gigantic banner this time around.

So much wonderful fun! We'll really miss knowing the show (and $20 tickets) are only a couple hours away.

Sigh.

Days 4, 5, and most of all, 6

On the 4th day of Christmas, December gave to me:

1) A stomachache

2) A trip to the library

3) A brand new Hoffman kiddo! The little Gavin guy was born around 9:30pm, and looks absolutely perfect. Congratulations to Neil and Heathers!

On the 5th day of Christmas, December gave to me:

1) A long day at work finishing up another draft of the newest book

2) A forty-five minute search for parking in downtown San Diego

3) A twenty minute walk to Balboa Park for December Nights

4) A new friend named Nick/Melee from AGO

5) A little bit of disappointment in December Nights, but a fun outing with three friends

On the 6th day of Christmas, December gave to me:

MATT SHINGLEDECKER!

December 3

On the third day of Christmas, December gave to me...

1) The proof copy of our sixth book, which looks amazing if I may say so myself.
2) An unanticipated movie night with my roomie- that Nancy Drew flick is kind of scary at 11pm. And 2008 Ned is kind of a pansy.
3) Help with my font embedding problem from an unexpected source... and a great solution to try out tomorrow.

On the second day of Christmas, December gave to me...

1) The inability to even get on my street, courtesy of those awful construction workers who forgot to take down those stupid cones.

2) An ANT INFESTATION!!! All over the kitchen! But you know what? Rather than dealing with it in one fell swoop, I decided to just 409 those suckers and have some dinner with a side of Smirnoff while I wait for them to drown in kitchen cleaner. Then I'll go wipe their carcasses off the counter tops and garbage disposal them to kingdom come.

Merry Christmas!


EDITED AT 9:15pm:
Just got a call from Jenafer and Justin... they're going to have a kiddo!!! Little Zach or Zoe will be here in August by their calculations. So this day turned out awesome in the end. Go, you guys!

On the first day of Christmas, December gave to me...

(Both the good and the bad:)

1) A full tank of gas for only $22. I know. It's like a Christmas miracle.

2) A $20 check from what I thought was a scam, but ended up being not so much a scam, and instead more like $20 in my bank account.

3) The inability to park in our parking spots because those darn construction guys are blocking off our driveway.

4) Sylar killing off Elle in Heroes. Seeing as how I originally started watching Heroes because Kristen Bell was going to be in it, and the only reason I still tolerate it is to see Kristen Bell, I will probably stop watching Heroes now. If that show gets a season four I'll be amazed. Thanks a lot, Sylar.

Update:

The first annual Thanksgiving Overnighter and Subsequent Black Friday of Awesomeness is so far going splendidly. It's 1:40am, and energy is still high. We've played two rounds of The Office trivia, and we're back to the second set for Rock Band. Ryan and I are pouring through the Thursday paper, making our lists and checking them twice. Soon we'll be forming our plan of attack for 4am. So far it looks like Old Navy and the free MP3 player are going to win the race for first store.

It's all so exciting!

Thanksgiving 2008

Just some things I'm thankful for currently:

~Down blankets

~Dennison's hot and chunky chili

~Ultimate frisbee on Thursday nights

~A job that challenges me in a field that I actually want to get into

~A holiday dinner with the family that went off perfectly (my family must be growing up!)

~Extra cash just in time for holiday shopping

~Old roommates who just today got engaged and are super excited... and due over here any minute now to tell the story

~A rad little sister that likes to hang out with me

~Awesome friends willing to be guinea pigs for the first annual Thanksgiving Overnighter and Subsequent Black Friday of Awesomeness.

~Stormy days that offer so much inspiration

November 22, In which we scavenger hunt it up at the mall

There was a scavenger hunt to commemorate Jared's 25th birthday. Three teams of four were set loose in Grossmont Center, armed with cell phones, cameras, and a couple dollars each, in the hopes of being the first team back to Shakey's with everything on the list. 

It was awesome. Except Jared is a dirty cheater. And that's all I'll say on the matter. 

Team Jordan: Girl Jordan, Liz, Dan Blair, Emo, and Boy Jordan

The girls at Shakey's

The security guards at Target were great at playing along with the instructions to, "Get an on-duty Target security guard to sign your bicep."

This guy was great for telling us what Jared's team ordered for the task, "Buy Jared's favorite Grossmont Center dessert."

A-G-O

"Dress up in crazy clothes."

"Challenge a stranger to a race." After Boy Jordan beat this little girl, he pumped his fists into the air, and when we questioned why he didn't let her win, his response was, "I can't let a girl beat me!"

"Pose with a manequin."

"Build a pyramid in a grassy knoll."

Good times with those camp people, I tell you. Good times.