Puerto Vallarta

I went to Puerto Vallarta last week with the family. Very relaxing vacation except for the vendors on the beach asking you to buy a bolero every 5 minutes...but those aside, a true trip of peace.
Here is a photo diary of the time spent there because I'm too lazy to describe and nothing really horribly interesting occured either.


This is us on the bus to the airport....you can see the excitment in the air between me and my little brother.



Doesn't Jason (my brother) look like he belongs on the beach? You might notice that I'm not in a lot of pics...it is the fate of the camerawoman.


Wait!! Here I am...unfortunately not the most flattering picture since I had to take it of myself but at least that proves that I'm there!!


Here's the family at dinner one night...awww what a beautiful sunset....and multiple sunburns...The food was wonderful at the resort. We ate so much good food however I got to have a reminder of the food from Mexico all this past week. Lets just say that I've spent more time in the bathroom than I care to admit. So I didn't injure my self in Mexico this time..I just came down with a case of food poisoning!


On our last night in Puerto Vallarta, a sea turtle came onto the beach to lay its eggs. It was a pretty cool thing. I got to touch an egg. It looks like a ping pong ball and its hard like a normal chicken egg. This is an illegal picture by the way because supposedly you are not allowed to use flash photography while they lay their eggs....oops! How else do you take a picture of a sea turtle at night?

What's up you ask?

Yeah I know I haven't posted in awhile but my excuse is that I've been packing and moving for what seems like forever. Yes friends, for those of you who don't know, Jeff and I have moved in together in a totally kickass apartment. Despite an old and cranky downstairs neighbor, this place totally rocks. Gorgeous pool that is constantly populated by beautiful people, huge apartment, good locations, its the perfect apartment...so far. Jeff bought a projector and made a big screen for the wall so needless to say there will be many movie nights over here at the apartment. And! there is a second bedroom and bathroom, so nice comfy place for all those out of town friends to stay.

I've been unemployed now for 2 1/2 weeks. I'm not sure if I'm adjusting so well to it. I'm used to being busy all day long or at least not having a lot of free time but now I have all this time to do things. I can't seem to get that through my head and so I've been pushing myself with a grueling moving schedule. Oh well! Everything is moved from one place into the other...now comes the task of unpacking. Another drawback about not having a job is the lack of income. Its a little disconcerning to see my bank account getting smaller and smaller and no income coming into it. Yikes!

Spent a really fun, lokey night last Friday at Renee & Ryan's house. It was a potluck dinner so everyone brought food and there was a ton of alcohol and it was all muy bueno. Then we pulled out the Battle of Sexes game. We discovered that our guys can be very gay. The night ended with Jeff passing out and having everyone write on his legs with marker and paint his toe nails. It was a learning lesson...don't fall asleep in a room full of drunk people who have markers. Anyway, we decided to do a potluck at a different person's house/apartment every month. Next month its ours. Should be a lot of fun. We can put that projector to use.

Everything else is pretty boring. I unpack all day, play on the computer, go to the gym and eat....not a real exciting day. However! On Thursday I leave to go to Puerto Vallerta with my family. It is going to be my parents, brother, sister and my sister's boyfriend. While not my ideal situation, no one can really complain about a free vacation to a tropical beach resort. I plan on getting really tan and making my brother learn salsa with me. He's almost as tall as I am now. Hopefully, I'll have lots and lots of pictures to post when I get back.

So, maybe since I have a lot more time on my hands, I might post more. Of course now that I'm not doing anything, I really don't have much to talk about.

Faye's Wedding & a 4th to Sleep on

So this past weekend I headed down to that bustling coastal town known as Port Lavaca. No offense to all you Port Lavaca fans and lovers out there but your town is awful. I guess in my years of living in large cities has tainted my taste for small towns but I just don't know if I could ever enjoy a place where the biggest news was that the SuperWalmart just opened up. Despite my enthusiasm for the place, I can see its appeal. I thought it was kinda neat that everyone knows everyone. People are more relaxed and laid back and not so anxious and crazy as they are in a big city. I just think you could make a small town a little more attractive and still have the friendly atmosphere.

Anyway! On to Faye's Wedding.... Jeff and I got to PL around 3:30 for the 4pm rehearsal at the church. Jeff discovered that we forgot to pack his shoes and all he had with him were flip flops so while I was learning how to correctly walk down the aisle and bow at the alter, he went on a search for dress shoes (this is where that new super Walmart comes in handy!!). We finished up with minimal complications (we were short a bridesmaid and a couple of groomsmen)and headed over to the rehearsal dinner. Dinner was a nice arrangement of fried shrimp and fish with some sides...not a great way to stay on your diet but hey its your good friends wedding so you eat! We finished up there and then a bunch of the bridesmaids (Jeff and me included) headed over to the super Walmart to check things out (hey! this is small town america!). Then we went to the local bar & grill (?) to have a couple of beers before calling it a night. The place was totally hopping...no not really. It closed at 10pm but we kept it open to 11pm....oohhh. I really didn't mind b/c I was tired and I had to get up early to get my hair done for the wedding.

The wedding: Faye looked beautiful and it was really touching to see her and Danny together. I know that they will be good for each other. The wedding went really smoothly and the pictures didn't take long at all. We all went over to the reception after that. Food was served and then the music started. They began the dancing with something called the "Grand March". Now, I've been to many a Texas wedding and a few of them were quite country/old school but I have never heard of the Grand March. What it ended up being was kind of a line of couples that follows each other until in the end it forms a circle around the wedding couple. I thought it was a great way to get the dancing started but I don't think I would necessarily put it in my wedding. Anyway dancing and a ton of cake eating ensued followed by the couple leaving around 10:30. Jeff and I headed out and went to an after party at one of the bridesmaids in-laws house. Drinking, socializing, etc. Jeff and I left PL early the next morning so that we could go out on the lake that afternoon.

The lake was fun except for the incredibly crazy girls that were on the boat. They were high, drunk and insane. If I had been not so tired...I probably would have tolerated them more. I was glad when we finally moored at around 7pm.

The 4th of July was pretty uneventful. I didn't even go and watch fireworks. We did go see War of the Worlds which I liked but Jeff didn't care that much for it. Then we went to a party for a couple of hours. We headed home and just kinda hung out for the rest of the night....a relaxing way to celebrate the aging of our country.

Jeffer's B-day Party and other events.

So Sunday was Jeff's 23rd Birthday. Yes, I am older BUT I at least look younger and still get carded at every place we go. Anyway, being the amazing girlfriend that I am I decided to throw him a big birthday party. So, I sent out the evites, planned the party, bought and cooked a ton of food, and ordered a keg. I was going crazy all weekend making sure all the plans were in order. I wanted to make sure that Jeff's birthday was a totally success since for the past 10 months I've been hearing how his last birthday sucked.

Well the party was a success! Even though NXNW gave us the wrong keg of beer and several people who said they were coming didn't, the party was still a lot of fun and Jeff got really trashed. I would just like to tell all the single girls who were invited to the party but didn't show up...you missed out on a big sausage fest of single guys. Your loss, my fun!! I like having all the guy attention on me I've decided. The party lasted out by the pool until around 10:30 when the big fat rent-a-cop told us we had to move so that people wouldn't complain about noise. Now I know why cars keep on getting broken into at my complex. The fat rent-a-cop is too busy policing parties and not paying attention to the cars(What he is paid to do!!!).

So the party moved to my apartment and keg out onto the porch. I think that we annoyed the upstairs neighbor but thats ok because her dogs peed on my herbs! We might have annoyed the downstairs neighbor when Tony's friend Mike puked off the railing but I'm not sure the neighbor noticed till the next day. Then around 1:30 everyone started passing out and I ended up with 4 guys passed out in my living room. At least they were too drunk to notice how uncomfortable they were. I'm just glad that I didn't wake up to one of them jumping in bed with me and Jeff like the last time one of his friend's stayed over.

Overall the party was a ton of fun. On Sunday after cleaning mounds of dishes Jeff and I went to meet his family in Giddings. We ate at a pizza joint named Reba's. It had pretty good pizza and his family is so sweet and cute. All his little sisters made gifts to give him. On our way back we picked up my gift to Jeff which was a monogramed flask and shot glass. I unfortunately was unable to give him my original gift which was getting his amp and subwoofer installed due to complications. Oh well! I think he liked it anyway. Then I took him to Austin Land & Cattle Co. for dinner. It was muy bueno. So I think that Jeff had a good birthday.

I also decided to stay an extra week at The Castilian because then I can get a paid holiday for the 4th of July. I figured I could use the extra money. I still haven't bought a ticket for europe. I'm kinda nervous about having enough money to go there and then live on until I receive financial aid. Also, I'll be moving right before I go so there are additional expenses before I go. I don't know!!! ARRRGGHH...I'm talking myself out of it once again I think.


Jeff and Tony water wrestling


Me and the Birthday boy


Some of the party people!!

This doesn't quite do our Vegas hotel room justice. But believe me...it was totally cool!!!

Vegas Baby!!!

So last week was a ton of fun. Jeff and I went to Vegas Monday night and stayed through till Wednesday night. I booked us a room at the MGM Grand and the room totally rocked! It was uber-modern and streamlined. It looked really cool. I'll try to remember to post a pic later. Anyway we did a lot of gambling and a whole hell of a lot of walking. I think I can be dubbed the walking Nazi after forcing Jeff to walk miles and miles in flipflops. His toes are still bruised. I guess all those torturous shoes I've worn for years have deadened all the feeling in my feet....oops.

While we didn't win any money, I have discovered an enjoyment in gambling. Before it scared the bejesus out of me and I would cringe at the thought of loosing my hard earned money. Jeff, however, described in a way that made me feel better about it. If you are playing at the low stakes tables or at the cheap slots, you are putting in $20 for an hour or two of entertainment. You pay the same thing for going to see a movie and the movie doesn't provide you with free drinks!!!

We also tried out the new monorail system. Ehh....I guess if you are going really long distances like from one end of the strip to the other it works well. But, if you are going a couple of casinos down, you walk just as much through the casinos to get to the monorail and in the same time you could have walked down the blvd. to the next one. And you have to wait anywhere from 5 min to 9 min. depending on the time of day you are traveling.

For all those Food Network fans out there, we ate lunch Wednesday at Bobby Flay's restaurant. Our meals were good but my plate was the perfect example of an upscale restaurant dining. Jeff had a nice filling pork tenderloin sandwich with seasoned fries. My meal of crab/cod cakes however, consisted of two 1 1/2 inch diamater cakes with about a 1/8 of a cup of red cabbage slaw. It was good but definitely not filling. I think that the most filling meal I had the entire trip was my breakfast at Denny's! Oh well!

We also went to Studio 54 Tuesday night. It was a lot of fun but we were already super exhausted to really get our boogie on. I do want to say that I wish that there was a law against certain people dancing. It really is frightening what some people will do when drunk and in Vegas.

I came back to work on Thursday...snore. But Saturday we went toobing. It was a blast but towards the end it got really cold because the sun had gone behind the trees. I realized while floating down the river that I was supposed to be somewhere either on Saturday and Sunday. When I got home from toobing I looked and found out that I missed one of Faye's Bridal Showers....eeks!!! I feel so horrible. I need to start putting a reminder on my phone for all these events! I need to call now and offer all of my apologies. I'm a horrible bridesmaid!

So now its Sunday and I'm back to work. June 30th can't come fast enough!

Fun in the sun!!!!

Well this weekend was definitely busy and a ton of fun.

Friday I went and had lunch with Jeff at this Japanese restaurant. Lunch came in benzo boxes and it was soo yummy and delish! I ate way too much and had to be rolled to the grocery store in order to shop for Faye's party on Saturday. After shopping and buying waaaaayyyy toooo much food, I met up with Lisa and Kelly for a going away/birthday drinks/dinner at El Mercado. I must admit that their big ass magarita is muy bueno. Then I went over to Hickory Street Bar and Cafe to meet Jeff to have drinks for Tony's birthday. I held off because I knew that I'd be spending the rest of the night cooking....although $2 ritas and beer is sooooo tempting! Went home and started making food for Saturday night.

Saturday I got up early and started cooking. I made penis shaped cookies for the party and a frozen white chocolate raspberry torte. It was delicious. Then I met Jeff and his mom and little sister Erica at Manuels for lunch. Then I went back home to cook some more. I made the mexican seafood cocktail and the cheese platter and veggie tray. More cooking and chopping and then Jeff and the fam came over to swim. Took a little break from slaving over the stove for a little relaxation. Then shower and more cooking. The girls started arriving at 7:00pm for the lingerie/"slumberparty". The lady who did the demonstrations was a little disappointing but everyone had a lot of fun and the penis cookies were a big hit!! Lots of food was eaten but it you know me...I had more food than 10 girls could eat and there was tons leftover. When the party was done and purchases had been made, we headed downtown. Lots of drinking ensued and I did not get to bed until 4am.

Before I say anything about Sunday....I have to give credit to my friend F for introducing me to some of her friends in Austin. So, even though she's moved away and living large in Rome, some of them still keep in contact with me. On Friday afternoon, I talked to Philip of Scotland online and he invited me to join in on his wild weekend. Mainly they were partying all weekend going tubing and then boating on sunday. Well of course I couldn't do anything Friday or Saturday but Sunday seemed tempting. So, I ended up calling *cough, cough* sick to work and Jeff, Emily and I went boating with Phil and like 20 of his other closest friends. It was such a blast. Even though we waited at Carlos & Charlies for like 2hrs before the boats arrived, it was still a ton of fun and EVERYONE was sooooo great and nice. We all had a ton of fun and it kicked ass! Then one of the boat owners ended up paying for everyone's dinner. I couldn't believe it...he plopped down his boat, time, and gas money and then went and paid for dinner!!! Well we didn't get home until 10:30 or so and it was a bitch to get up for work the next day. Ohh! and God got me back for lying and calling in sick. I now have oddly splotched sunburns on my hands and 2 spots on my face. The burns on my hands are really bad and painful and have blisters. The ones on my face are dry and itchy. Payback sucks! and sunblock can be misleading!

By Popular Demand....

So I guess everyone is wondering what has happened since the last post....well I guess I've kept you in suspense long enough.

I found out last week on Wednesday after contacting the professor in charge of the historic preservation department at UT that I am admitted. Basically, they had recently changed directors and my application and notice fell between the cracks. So, now I had decisions to make...

Friday morning before my flight to D.C. and visit to NYC, I decided upon reviewing the cost of one year at Pratt (45,000), that UT might be a more economical and more prudent decision. With that decision made I took off to visit the school I will not be attending!! Travel was an all day affair. Got off the plane and took a train to meet Kate in downtown DC. Ate yummy dumplings in Chinatown, saw the White House, and as Kate so nicely put it - George Washington's Penis! We headed back to her place in Virginia so we could make the 7:30 am bus to New York. I must admit that the subway is a nice and convenient way to travel and despite some slight turn arounds, Kate know's how to navigate quite well.

Saturday morning we get up and catch the 8:30 bus to NYC after missing the 7:30 and the 8am was too full. The 3 1/2 hr drive turned into over 5 hrs because of traffic. I think I would have gone crazy had it not been for Kate and I making fun of everyone on the bus. Once off the bus, we took the subway to Brooklyn and walked over to Pratt. It is a really small campus but really cool b/c they have outdoor sculptures done by students everywhere! We snooped around but pretty much everything was closed and under construction. It would be cool to go there but not worth the money needed.

Spent the rest of the day walking around the sights and sounds of NYC. Saw Central Park and Times Square and then walked down 5th Avenue. Stopped in the infamous H&M...I'm now in love and will be deprived of the store till my next East Coast adventure. OHHH!!! I forgot to mention that it is raining the entire time we are in NYC. Kate and I luckily brought umbrellas but our pants are drenched from the calves down.

We decided to take the 7:30 bus back to Washington. Got in around 12:30 but had no energy to do anything else but shower and sleep b/c I had to get up at the buttcrack of dawn to catch my plane.

So on Sunday mornings, the metro/train/subway system does not work early enough for me to catch my flight so I had to take a taxi from Kate's place in Virginia to BWI. It was an $80 cab fare. This did not sit pretty with me. Flight was long and uncomfortable and I was so tired from drunk boyfriend calling at 3am and waking me up. Got back into Austin to pay a $27 parking lot fee and make it in time for work.

Overall the trip was fun but too fast paced to really absorb and enjoy. I wish I had more time and a cheaper cab ride....it kinda ruined my last day. So yea!! I'm going to UT in the fall...again.

On a more current note...Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone! Any suggestions of how to celebrate?

Still Waiting...

So still no word from UT. I was told to contact the professor in charge of the program since he refuses to give any information to the graduate coordinator. Yes my friends, a big pile of suckage! I leave on Friday to go to NYC. This might become my home for 2 years if I don't get any answer from UT. Arrrrggggghhhh!!!!

Anyway, Jeff and I went camping last weekend. It was a lot of fun if no slightly uncomfortable at night. Did you know that you have to reserve campsites at least a week in advance in order to get a site where you want? I found that out. I eventually reserved a site at Palmetto State Park outside of Gonzalez. Its supposed to be about an hour outside of Austin on 183 but....Jeff and I took the long way around and made it an 1 1/2 hr drive...ooops. The park was nice but very manicured and extremely family oriented with tons of playgrounds and paddle boats. It was nice but I usually prefer campsites in parks with trails that are longer than a mile and a quarter. Next time though!!! We ended up eating in Shiner on Saturday night. We thought we could visit the brewery and maybe sample some beer but it was closed. Instead we went to one of the only restaurants open... Werner's Steak and Seafood. From my understanding, they really don't get many strangers in the restaurant. I think we were the youngest of the clients but we were treated with great service. The food was really good and very reasonable too!! Don't worry we did the campfire food too!! S'mores were made and the next day Jeff grilled hamburgers and baked potatoes over the fire for lunch...it was muy bueno!!! The weather was kinda crappy on Sunday so we left by 1pm and headed back to Austin. Overall, a good weekend.

This week seems dragging but hopefully it'll pick up. I know its b/c I'm stressed about UT. OOOHHH and Jeff and I bought tickets to go to Vegas. We are staying at MGM in one of their fun new suites. It should be a blast.

I need to throw a party...Jeff bought a ton of alcohol yesterday and now it barely fits on my drink cart. Hmmm...keep your ears open!!

Still Waiting....

So, I still haven't heard from UT and the graduate school coordinator that I've been talking to basically told me to stop bothering her and that she will notify me if there is a decision. This is absolutely ridiculous. I did buy my ticket to go visit NY at the end of the month. Actually I fly to DC to pick up Kate and then we'll both take the train up to NYC to visit the school. I need to call and arrange for us to stay overnight there.

Much more exciting news though....Renee got engaged on Friday night. Her ring totaled 2 karats in diamonds. Damn!!! Ryan proposed to her at Mt. Bonnell and took her to Jeffrey's for dinner and then rented the corner suite of the Driskell hotel on the 4th floor. Their room looked out onto 6th street. It rocked. So congrats to her! And the wedding is being planned for November.

Jeff and I are planning on going camping this weekend. I hope it doesn't rain. I guess I need to make reservations at a camp site. Any suggestions for local camping? I can't wait to break open the yummy s'mores.

Other than that just doing the daily grind. Work, gym, eat, sleep and the occasional downtown excursion. I think I'm going to drag Jeff to salsa dancing on Wednesday. If anyone is interested let me know! Its a Speakeasy and they give lessons at 8 for $5. Then its free dance after that. Fun times!!

Anticipation

So I've known for almost 2 weeks now about Pratt. UT on the other hand has been stringing me along. First, the say its still in review. Then they say they never received my writing sample. Well duh! They never told me to submit a freakin' writing sample. So, I turned in the sample and now my app is back in review. They told me I would know by Friday or at the latest Monday. Here it is Tuesday afternoon and I still have no clue. How am I supposed to make my decision by May 1st if I don't even know if I got into UT?

Do you think it'll hurt my chances if I call or email everyday until they tell me?

Bright Lights...Big City

Whats up in my life you ask?!?...well maybe you don't ask but I'm gonna tell you anyway!

So, Thursday I found out that I was accepted to Pratt Institute in New York. I'm super excited about it because I just figured that it was a shot in the dark applying to an architecture graduate program without having an undergraduate degree in architecture. Now, I'm trying to find out about UT. I called this morning and they said that they would call me back and of course this is the morning that I forgot my cell phone. I guess I just need to visit New York and get accepted into UT and then the hard part comes...making my decision.

This weekend was absolutely beautiful! I got off early on Thursday (everyone knows and envies that my weekends start on Thursday) and went to the gym and laid out by the pool. It was muy bueno...don't think I got any sun though. Friday was a bit chilly to lay out but it was still pretty. I went to the new Whole Foods off of 6th st. I was slightly disappointed as of having heard that there was a chocolate fountain and I didn't see any chocolate fountain. They did have a cool escalator for shopping carts and bag pick up where someone loads your car for you. Pretty cool but damn them for the lack of a chocolate fountain!

Had an early dinner Friday night with Jeff (artichokes and quiche) and then met up with Renee for a margarita or two at Chuy's. Gave her her b-day present (month and a half late). Then left and met up with Jeff and Mell downtown. We partied it up 4th street style....meaing expensive drinks but a nice posh and comfortable environment. Started out at Oslo's and then ended up at Cuba Libre sippin' on Mojitos. Met up with Jeff's friend Sicily and her guy friend....very enjoyable evening.

Saturday I had full intentions of going on a hike but ended up instead washing my car, laying out by the pool and throwing an impromptu bbq. Oh and my car got keyed in the HEB parking lot b/c I inadvertently stole someone's space...well I actually did know that there were 3 other people trying to get the same spot but I just got there first. The bbq was fun and very yummy. Jeff did the grillin' and I did all the running back and forth between my apt. and the grill...doesn't seem too bad except there are at least 3 flights of stairs between the two spots. I got talked into going downtown again Saturday night...I didn't mind though b/c I got to spend time with Faye. I told her that I wanted to throw her a naughty "tupperware" bridal shower.... and she's totally crazy about the idea.

Sunday, breakfast with Jeff and Manny Hattan's and then off to work. I met Jeff for Frisbee golf afterwork (I just watched). Went home and made dinner, watched a movie, slept and then it was off to work again to start another week! I'll keep everyone posted as to the status of UT...till I write again!

The Ice Cream Man

There was an ice cream truck parked out in front of the Castilian this morning at 8:30 giving free samples. It left by 9:30am. I'm all for free ice cream but not at 9am. I need coffee more than ice cold milk products.

This past weekend was crazy. We went downtown and braved the SXSW crowds Thur, Fri, & Sat. nights. Thursday night, Jeff, me and F started out at a St. Patrick's day party with some of Jeff's ex-coworkers. We played beer pong....Jeff and I lost....F won. I was a very drunk girl heading out downtown. We also met a guy who got set on fire b/c he wanted to see if lighter fluid would evaporate....not the brightest crayon out of the box. Went downtown and drank more...got home really late and poor Jeff had to be at work early in the morning.

F and I chilled Friday. We went and had lunch with Jeff and then went and shopped at some shee-shee stores at Davenport village. It was fun times. Linds came into town and so did Kat and we all went to Manuel's for some extremely yummy Mexican food. Their ceviche, although they do not use shrimp, is really really good. Rolled my self home to get ready to go out to 4th st. We went out and met up with big Tim at Cuba Libre. I got hit on by a group of old guys who were into "International Commodities". Sure. The other one used the excuse that he was a hair dresser to mess with my hair....I wasn't amused...lets try creeped out. Otherwise, it was a fun night.

Saturday entailed lunch at Hula Hut and then off to have pedi's by highland. Jeff even got a pedi..but he didn't get his nails painted...it was a pitty. It did help his poor hurt toe which he claimed was the reason he got the pedicure in the first place. Dinner was a combo of leftovers from all the other nights out to dinner and PF Changs. Out again but this time we headed to 6th st. sans Linds who stayed behind with Tim. We ended the night in the hot tub with a couple of F's friends from college. I konked out soon after while they hung out some more.

Sunday went to work, came home and made dinner. Dinner was yummy and very healthy. I thought we might have needed something on the healthy side after all the take out and greasy mexican. Then I made a kickass chocolate soufflee for dessert. Jeff had already gone to bed so F and I enjoyed is lighter than air yumminess.

Overall a very successful weekend followed by an extremely busy week so far. Can't complain too much....although I always find a way to!!!

Dum..de...dum...

Location: The freezing cold planes of The Castilian Leasing Office

Temperature: FREEZING

Mood: Did you not read clearly before? FUCKIN' FREEZIN'!!!!!!!

I'm tired of working. I want to be supported by my parents again so that I can lounge around and still have money to shop and go out to eat. I think my mood is based upon the sub-zero temperatures that I have been forced to endure the past week. Right now I'm wearing a thick turtleneck sweater and shirt underneath, pants, wool socks, and boots and I'm still a popsicle. How can they expect us to work in this environment?!? I'm dreaming of the tropics right now and the beach.....ohhh summer cannot come soon enough...neither can a nice long vacation.

So, what's up in my life you ask? I'll tell you.

Last Thursday, Jeff, his roommate, and me go to see the YinYang twins at Paradox. (If you are like me and dont' know who they are...think of the song "Shake it like a salt shaker...") Anyway, we get there at 8:30 b/c the group is supposedly supposed to go on soon after that and the price bumps up to $20 after a certain time. Well after waiting in line for 30minutes...we get to the door and end up havign to pay $20 anyway...suckage. That is when we find out that they don't go on till 12:30 in the morning. Let me give you a little time line from this point on so that you can get an idea of the evening.

8:55pm: Get into the doors - immediately order 3 drinks apiece since it is $1 wells till 9 pm.

9:15pm: We have all finished our 3 drinks and are on the hunt for more alcohol to make the wait more bearable. Order two more drinks apiece for $2 each. Down those quickly and have now gained liquid courage to join the sluty 18 yr olds out on the dance floor.

10:00pm: Have tired of the dance floor - we are in desparate need of the sobering effects of water. Down several bottles.

10:30pm: Find a table and sit down at it...5minutes later Jeff's roommate's head is down on the table as she seems to have had more drinks while our back was turned.

10:45pm: Leave the club without having seen the Yinyang twins b/c we are all too drunk to wait another hour to see the group.

11:30pm: In bed and the group still hasn't gone on stage yet.

Friday: I decided that I wanted a quiet night in. I know this doesn't sound like me but for some reason in my drunken stooper I asked Jeff if we could play Friday lowkey....ooops...kinda regretted it by Friday evening but it was still nice.

Saturday: Went out downtown. Met up with Erin at Barcelona. My guys were already drunk so the evening ended around 1am. Jeff passed out in the seat next to me. At the traffic light a taxi full of guys pulled up next to me. One rolled down the window and started saying stuff to me. I tried to ignor him for a while thinking doesn't he see the guy sitting next to me? When I eventually rolled down my window, he merely shouted..."I like your antenna!"...Ok.

Sunday: Work

Monday: Work and then met Jeff at Tony's apt. The guys were playing Kings with Hooters playing cards. Joined in with them with my newly acquired mojito (yum yum)! Mel, passed out and got a penis drawn on his cheek. Drove Jeff home. Slept and work the next day.

This weekend, the girls are coming into town. I'm extremely excited as it should be full of fun and adventure....watch out Austin!

Sniffle, Cough, Sneeze!!!

So the girl who never gets sick has a cold. Of course it's all Jeff's fault. He works in an office with a ton of people...its like working in a day care center! If one person gets sick, everyone gets sick. So he brought it home to me. But thats ok because I'm sharing the wealth with people at work too! Both Lisa and Erin mentioned signs of sore throats (my first symptom). Oh well tis the season right?!?

I'm so excited about next weekend. F, Linds, & Kat are coming into town. It is going to be a hella crazy weekend. I'm going to catch up on all my sleep the week before so that I can party party party! I'm also going to see if I can get Renee to come in from Dallas too so then I get to hang with everyone! Whoop! I miss my girls...I just hang out with all Jeff's guy friends now. Not that anything is wrong with that but they aren't really any good for advice on whether a outfit looks good or my makeup is too heavy. They only notice my attire when my boobs are hanging out....Guys... So look forward to fun and interesting posts after next weekend. Hopefully there will be plenty of stories to tell.

Jeff heard back from the AmericaWest people. The are offering us a $25-$100 coupon on our next AmericaWest flight...the amount varies depending on how expensive the flight is. Total Suckage! That is assuming that we would ever want to fly AmericaWest again. ERRRGGG. We are still waiting to hear back from Orbits. They better have a better answer/solution. This has caused so much hassle and craziness.

Despite the trail of bad luck Jeff and I have experienced with vacations, I'm attempting to plan another one. I want to go where it is warm, sunny, and with lots of beaches. I'm thinking an all-inclusive resort in Mexico. Does anyone have any suggestions or deals? I was originally thinking about doing a cruise but in the end it would be 3 days at sea and 1 or 2 days at a destination. That kinda blows....so I thought a resort would be more fun. I don't want to spend too much because I'm saving for gradschool and hopefully a brief trip to Europe (not looking likely though).

Anyway, thats whats up in my life.

Busted...

For those of you who talked to me last week. It looked like it was going to be "OK or Bust" last week for Jeff. But yesterday he busted. He was denied the position in Oklahoma because of lack of tenure. It totally sucks for him because that means he is stuck in the same job for another 4 months with no hope of promotion and his boss is dumb a**. But, on the other hand, it is great news for us! The big decision of what is going to happen was made for us or at least postponed till I find out about grad school. I feel bad for feeling happy for myself but I really do feel horrible that he didn't get the job. Anyway, thats the latest scoop!

Skiing??...Ha! and other tales from the week...

So from previous posts, you might have ascertained that I planned on going skiing this past weekend. Well....I didn't. Here's the story.

We drove to Dallas Thursday night and spent the night at my parents house. We got up at the butt-crack of dawn to drive to DFW airport to make our flight. We get there and of course there is a horrible line and we were running a little late due to traffic. So Jeff and I stood there and made fun of all the old people who were scared to use the electronic check-in thing. Of course then as soon as we get up there, it doesn't work for us...so we've just become the people that we were making fun of in line. A lady behind the counter helps us and then checks our bags for us and we continue to security check.

At this point in time, we are kind of in a rush to get to the terminal because we were in a crunch and Jeff wanted to get breakfast before we left. So, of course I get stopped and my carry-on gets searched. I ALWAYS GET SEARCHED!!! I swear I must look so middle class, suburbanite that I must be a terrorist. We cross security to hear that our flight has been delayed due to bad weather in phoenix (where our connecting flight was). Perfect! We went and ate breakfast, took our time, talked about the issues, etc. Finally, we go and hang out at the gate and wait while they start boarding. To avoid all the lines, we just waited till one of the last boarding calls to get in line.

Jeff goes to the ticket lady and she lets him through and then she looks at my ticket and she stops me and says, "Where is your paper ticket?"

I was like huh? paper ticket? I have my flight itinerary? She then continued, "You are going to have to go to the counter and talk to that guy about getting a paper ticket. You do not have an e-ticket..see no E. You just have a boarding pass."

Jeff comes back and tells her that he has the same ticket. She gives him back his stub and sends us back to the counter with minutes before the plane is supposed to depart.

We go and talk to the guy and yes we were supposed to have paper tickets with us and should not have been issued boarding passes without them. And no, we could not purchase new paper tickets or work out a deal that would prove that we belonged on the plane. And to top it off, no the tickets were non-refundable at that point and could not be used to purchase a seat on a later plane.

What had happened was we bought the tickets and forgot that the confirmation said that we would be receiving paper tickets because everyone does e-tickets now. My apartment complex signed for the fed-ex package and fed-ex did not notify me that I had received anything. So the tickets that we needed while in Dallas had been sitting in my apartment complex leasing office for over 2 weeks in Austin. We couldn't' even claim a lost ticket because everyone knew exactly where they were.

Oops indeed! And worse yet, our bags ended up on the flight. So, my bag went to California and I stayed in Texas....does this seem fair to you?!? I at least got mine back on Sunday. Jeff didn't get his back until Wednesday.

Needless to say, I was very disappointed with the lack of vacation. We ended up spending the day in Dallas and visiting with the family. I ended up calling work and asking for my vacation days back which I was able to do. Jeff on the other hand had to take his vacation days because of how the system works at Dell. So the ski trip ended up being a waste of time and money. Never use AmericaWest and now I have serious reservations about Orbitz too!! I want my money back but I don't know how to go about placing the blame in order to get it done!

So I said other news from the week would be included...but I'm fatigued and I'm sure this is a fair weighty chunk of blogging to ingest in one sitting. I'll try and post later today with more news.

Hmmm...

Ok. So I figured I might finally update. Nothing much has been going on.

Saw the Real World people at a new bar called BarCelona downtown. I wasn't too impressed. The bar is cool though.

Enjoyed Valentine's Day with Jeffrey. He gave me a photo album with pictures of us and comments beside each picture. It was super sweet and almost made me cry. I made him a nice dinner with chocolate fondue as dessert and champagne. It was a nice Valentines...definitely not commercial.

Still waiting to find out about whether I get into UT and Pratt. I'm nervous but at least it is out of my hands now. I going to try and meet up with Kate in early April to visit Pratt's Brooklyn campus where my program would be.

Going to California tomorrow with Jeff. We are meeting his dad and grandparents and also going skiing. I'm a bit nervous about skiing. I haven't been since I was eight...so basically I've never done it. I just researched Big Bear where we are going to be and there is absolutely nothing to do besides ski. This wouldn't be a problem except that last night Jeff informed me that we will not be skiing on Saturday, only Sunday and Monday. He talked to his dad who informed him that it will be too crowded on the slopes. So, I'm kind of freaking out as to what we will be doing on Saturday seeing as there is really nothing to do. I'm not used to doing nothing while on vacation unless I'm at the beach. Eeeks...I'm nervous.... Of course if I don't like skiing then I'll be doing nothing all weekend ... I need to talk to Jeff. I'm used to going on vacations that are either all planned for me or in an area that has a bijillion things to do. I'm freaking out a bit right now if you can't tell.

Ok, well I'll let all know what happens when I come back on Tuesday...lets just hope I don't come back with a broken leg!!

Pinned

Things I learned while in Dallas celebrating my sister's birthday....

1. Wrestling is a scary looking sport. Especially when its your little brother out there on the mat while some other kid is trying to contort his body and force him to say "uncle".

2. No one needs to see fat kids in a lycra/spandex combo outfit. *shudder*

3. Ft. Worth is f**king far away from Lancaster...especially at 6:30am on a Saturday.

4. My family can be a bit embarrassing when en mass and under the influence of wine and other spirits. (I knew this already but I always seem to forget)

5. My parents are oblivious to what goes on in their house at night.

6. Gotsta love beers from all over the world.

7. Green Tea ice cream cake is absolutely delish!!!

8. If I still lived at home, I would weigh 59086929385048 million pounds

I learned a lot of other things but I figure that is enough for right now. Off to start my week of torture.... I mean week of work.

90,000 Staples

Did you know that we have at least 90,000 staples at The Castilian Dormitory Leasing Office? Unfortunately, I now do!

We have had to spend the better part of today doing inventory on every piece of paper, office supply, etc. I just spent the last two hours compiling the list only to realize that I forgot someone's desk and half of the back office.

This is my life......