Went today to help Dave's uncle move in Glendale, CA. Dave's from Glendale Heights, IL, which is VERY different from the California Glendale. For one thing, it's a lot warmer. For another thing, it's on a mountain. There are no mountains in Glendale Heights! It was a lot of hard moving, but he had a company doing most of the hard stuff, we just had to move around a couple boxes. Most of the time was spent hanging outside in the garage talking with Dave's cousins. It's good to know that Dave has family out here, and that his cousins are pretty cool and fun.

Went to the mall and got this AWESOME pair of jogging pants from the Gap. They're so comfy I can live in them. I'm wearing them as we speak.

I realized that the radio stations here are WAY better than the ones in Chicago. Why don't we have a good hip hop station in Chi-Town? Me and Dave were jammin' to 'The Beat' while cruisin' home on the 405. Car dancing is always a good time.

I think I'm starting to warm up to this place!

But I'm still unpacking....

Here's my wedding pic of the day....my dad was really excited to ride in the Escalade limo, so here's my dad with the ladies on the way to the church:

We went grocery shopping yesterday. Here's a little sample of our conversations:

Him: Ohh! Coconut cookies...
Her: Eww. I hate coconut. Ohh....Fudge Stripes!
Him: Those are so fattening....Do you like oatmeal raisin cookies?
Her: Yuck! No way!
Him: Uh, I don't know if this is gonna work out...

I was beginning to get concerned, but when we found the Cap'n Crunch Choco Donuts, we both agreed, we had to get them!!!

Unfortunately, when we tried them, they weren't as good as our Cocoa Puffs. Well, at least we tried!

In other news, I had Jack in the Box for the first time yesterday. All my life I've heard about it, but we don't have it in Chicago. And when we were driving along PCH, I saw like 50 of them. So when Rod and I went for a quick lunch break yesterday, we had the gourmet sensation known as Jack in the Box. Pretty good, I must say. Doesn't hold a candle to White Castle, but I'll definitely go there again!

This is weird. Dave reads over my shoulder now when I post. I feel....pressure. FYI - Dave has only read my blog once or twice. He finds this whole blogging thing really weird. Oh well, welcome to my world, Dave!

I haven't told a story here in a while...

We had a lot of relatives come into town for the wedding. One of these relatives was Dave's grandmother. In Tagalog, 'grandmother' is 'lola', so that's what I'll use, since it's less letters.

Anyway, we're hanging around Dave's house and chatting with Lola and Dave's aunt and uncle from the Philippines. Dave's aunt asks if I've met their daughter Cathy, who now lives in California. I said yes, I had first met her several years ago when she had come to Chicago to visit from the Philippines.

Then Dave's lola says, "Oh, I know about Cathy's visit to Chicago! You made her drive you all home when you all got drunk!!!"

I look at her appalled.

Dave looks at her appalled.

"Um, I don't remember that..." Because really, I don't. Nor does Dave. We look at his grandmother like she had just sprouted wings and grown a third eye.

"Don't try to hide it," she laughs, "I got it from a reliable source. She was visiting from the Philippines, she didn't have a license, she had never driven in the city or on the highway before, but no one else could drive, so she had to drive you all homel. Then she slept at your house because she didn't know how to get home!" She wags her finger at us.

"Are you sure? I don't remember that at all, Lola," Dave says. By now, everyone is intrigued.

"Yes! You all went to the disco and stayed out late. You took her out all the time, but this time no one could drive home."

"Maybe you don't remember because you were all DRUNK!" Cathy's mom pipes in.

Me and Dave sincerely don't remember. I remember hanging out with Cathy on the fourth of July, but nothing else. Dave's mom tells Lola that maybe she's mistaken.

"Believe what you want. I know it's the truth. I didn't hear it from the two of you, and I didn't hear it from Cathy, but it's a good source. I'm not lying."

Later on, I'm talking to my friend Jen, and I tell her about it. She laughs and says that Lola was telling the truth, and she coincidentally was recounting it to her boyfriend the other day. After she had enlightened me, it all came back in a mad, post-drunken rush.

Way back, when Cathy visited, it was during my old clubbing days. We'd go out to the clubs starting on Thursday, drink, stay out late, and do it again the next weekend. We had taken Cathy out, and we were dancing on the platforms. Cathy had told us that in the Philippines, it was usually the easy girls or the prostitutes that danced on the platforms. That made us laugh and we made her dance up there with us.

And yeah, I guess we were drinking. And she had to drive us home. And we all passed out. And they went home the next morning.

It all comes back now....in little bits and pieces.

So yeah, Lola was right.

Damn, what else does she know from her 'reliable source'? Grandmothers just know these things. It's spooky.

1. Are you going to school this year?
Thank God, no!

2. If yes, where are you going (high school, college, etc.)? If no, when did you graduate?
I graduated way back when in 1997.

3. What are/were your favorite school subjects?
Band. Art. Asian Studies. Classic Civilization. Geology. Anthropology. Oh, and my major....Psychology.

4. What are/were your least favorite school subjects?
Math. Chemistry. Religion.

5. Have you ever had a favorite teacher? Why was he/she a favorite?
My band teacher, Mr. K. Ever watch Mr. Holland's Opus? Kinda like that. He loved us like his own kids, and the school hated the band program because I went to an all girls school, and the band program joined my school and our brother school. Neither school liked having people of the opposite sex frolicking around during practice. He faught so hard for us and he usually got kicked in the ass by our schools. And we gave him a lot of shit, too, but he always took it, and he never let us push him around. I credit him for helping me become the person that I was today, pulling me out of my shy little shell of shyness, helping me become a leader and giving me a voice.

Finally got my lan line connected, so at least I can connect with a slow-ass dial-up. I think my AOL is messed up on my computer, but what's new! Still cleaning up the new pad and unpacking the 10,000 things I brought that I really don't need.

And what was I thinking only packing 5 pairs of shorts? I'm in California, dammit! Where was my head?

Gotta sleep now, just wanted to check in...

But here's a pic from the wedding....I'll be posting 'em all week....

Greetings from Long Beach, California!!!!

We don't have a phone line or a DSL yet, so I'm sitting at an internet cafe typing this up. (And working, too, since today is my first day back at work)

Got into Long Beach yesterday at around 1pm. Went cruising with my dad up and down Pacific Coast Highway while waiting for Dave to finish up with work. Did some essential shopping at Target and other places (when I looked in the fridge, it was pizza, Coke and beer) to get my new pad up to speed. Spent most of the night getting things organized, but made a quick stop by Rusty's to say 'Hey neighbor, happy birthday, nice car, ok later, Dave has work tomorrow'. Must schedule more meeting times with the rest of my Long Beach peoples sometime this week. Or at least within the next 10 months. Yes Rod, Lanie, Rick, Paula and Peter, that means you. And also the other LA area peeps, like Sarah, Soo, Raven, ST Sarah and Sam! And whoever else!

I'll have a report on my wedding and the roadtrip later on....still have a lot of cleaning to do!

Oh, and there's no honeymoon, guys....the next 10 months counts as an extended honeymoon for us right now!

You know I can't help but check in during my road trip to Cali. Well, I left 2 hours later than I wanted to, so I didn't make it to Denver, which was my target stop to stay at. Right now I'm in the middle of Nowhere, Nebraska, which is also known as North Platte, Nebraska. No phone service. It sucks. To all the people that I said I would call tonight....SORRY!

And a happy birthday to Rod today. He turns 56. One step closer to retirement, my friend!!!

Tomorrow's target stop - VEGAS, BABY! VEGAS!

Thanks for all the warm wedding wishes! Love you guys!

My first post as Mrs. David Estacio!

It was a good day. Thank God for giving us perfect weather.

Although not everything went smoothly, it was an unforgettable and perfect day and night. I wouldn't change it for the world!

Tomorrow, I leave for Long Beach. Wish me luck! Don't know when I'll be able to post. My target date is early on August 27th.

So with that, I leave you with these images of our wonderful wedding. There are a lot more, and people are sending some that they've taken, so I should have a pretty good gallery done by next week...

OK, got some pics for you...2 hours and counting...not nervous...just wanting this business over with....and excited, too...

The boys at the rehearsal dinner

The girl cousins on bed

Getting makeup done

OK....picture time for me!

13 hours til I get married,

I know what you're thinking...."what the hell is she doing online?" Well, throw me a high speed internet connection in a hotel room and I'm on it! Me and my 8 bridesmaids and cousin are just chillin' in my room. Fatima is plucking my non-existent eyebrows.

Rehearsal went well. The priest is pretty strict and told us to 'save the jokes for later'. Hahaha...OK. We'll just drink up at the reception, then!

Now Jaygee is going to massage my feet.

It's good to be the bride!

I'm off to the rehearsal. Don't know if I'll be back again.

Considering that I'm bringing my laptop with me, it's likely.

Had my second ever manicure today. Don't think I like French manicures.

Running around with a chicken with its head off.

Without the spraying blood all over the place part.

But there's still time for that.

Just kidding.

OK! Later!

Tomorrow I'm getting married!

Whoo hoo!

Pimple Update - Because I know you guys are on pins and needles wondering about it...The pimple emergency has been downgraded to a mere Green Alert. With the help of some Neutrogena Persegel, the pimple should be a mere memory tomorrow.

So much to do! So much to do!

By the way, it was Claudine's birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday sister...not that I forgot it, because I DID call her yesterday, I just forgot to mention it here.

SHIT!

I'm moving at a million miles a second right now, so much to do.

Got our wedding license this morning, which was a surprisingly painless process.

The most painful thing in the last day to do was the seating chart. UGH! NEVER give people a choice for food, it makes things 10x harder. I knew that, but I gave in to pressure to give people a choice of food. DON'T DO IT! And our count was off about about 4 people for our final numbers. I'm not going to deal with that - I sent Dave over to the hall to battle it out! He should be able to handle it, he has his bachelor party today!

And it's going to be BAD. I know the guys throwing it. And they know their bachelor parties. It's going to be smutty, sinful, dirty, and many bad things will happen.

Am I scared?

Not really.

After Saturday, he's mine. All mine. FOREVER. So says DuPage County.

Anyway, my bachelorette party was a pretty smutty time, anyway. We'll be even after this. Well, his will probably be worse, but that's ok. Just as long as he makes it to the church on time, I'm all good.

I must go and get my trial hair done.

Hope you all are doing well!

Well, yesterday was my last day of working at the office. It wasn't quite what I had expected it to be. I was expecting long farewell speeches, taking a long and lavish lunch break, cleaning out my desk all day, hugs and tears as I left the building early. You know, the usual stuff. But I was on a conference call pretty much all day, had time to run, eat lunch, then run back, went back on the conference call, missed all the rest of my coworkers leaving because I was on the phone, stayed at the office til 6:30, on a conference call , then quickly shoving all the stuff in my desk in plastic bags, and hugging the last two people left in the office goodbye. I didn't expect to work so hard my last day, or to be treated the way I was by some people. Well, at least some people came by when I was on the conference call to say goodbye. And I still have a job.

You know, if I had time, I would have gotten really nostalgic and weepy. I've pretty much grown up working at --Systems. I've been there since right after I graduated college, answering phones and logging in calls. I consider a couple people there to be close family. I consider the guys to be brothers, and I'll really miss the camraderie and support of Amy. Who will give Amy hugs when I'm gone? Life won't be the same without having someone linger around my desk, hovering at my window and getting me into conversation. Or without the singing of forgotten 80's tunes with the lyrics changed. Or group trips to Jewel for lunch and M&M cookies. Or happy hour(s) at Mother Hubbard's. My favorite waitress will forget about my Jack and Cokes! And without Tony around, who will eat my leftovers? Without Don, who am I going to have the pleasure of waking up when I catch him sleeping? And no one talks about ass or bodily functions like Bryan. And who is Sammy going to tell his secrets to, or ask advice about life or if his outfit is coordinated? And how I'll miss Jerry's one liners and begging me to stay for one more beer. And now Dan's jokes about what he does with my sister at night will no longer be as effective without me there.

I'm going to miss working with people. Bryan suggested that we hook up a webcam and just have it on all the time, and I'll be on speakerphone the whole day, so it's like I'm still there. I love working for this company almost as much as I hate it sometimes. And the people there that I adore far outweighs the people there that I could live without ever seeing again.

I heard this song on the radio after I left the office....it was then that I actually got kinda misty...

Green Day
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)

So goodbye for now, --Systems. I've got a lot of memories to take with me. Good times, dude. Good times.

To balance out Monday's great day, Tuesday's was a mad rush of panic and stress.

First thing, I passed out in the living room the night before. Woke up an hour after I usually leave for work. Got to work at 10:00, an hour and a half late. Open up my mail, and the first email I have is the president asking me to come meet with him. He then tells me that I need to make a report for him of all the things I have worked on with clients in the last couple of weeks, so when I'm out, they'll be prepared if these people call.

The rest of the day I'm trying to tie loose ends with clients, suffering through painful conference calls, and trying to clean out my desk some more.

And throughout the day, my cell is ringing off the hook. First, my banquet hall calls and tells me that they need a final count and that the money is due, paid in full today. I give her the count, and she say's she'll call back with the amount I have to pay. She calls back, and says that she can't find last year's menu, and she doesn't have the prices. So I call Dave and ask him what the prices are. I call her back and tell her, and she says 'You're wrong, those aren't the prices. Call me back with the real prices, or fax me the sheets.' Argh. So I call Dave back. He's out shopping by that time, and will go home later and fax it over to her.

Then my cake people call. The money is due today.

Then my flower people call. I need to pay them ASAP for them to start the order.

I have NO idea when I thought I was going to pay these people. For some reason, I thought all the money was due the day of the wedding. I messed up majorly.

Then my photographer calls. She never got the fax that I sent her of the timetable for Saturday. Unfortunately, Dave has the papers. She's fine with getting an email from me.

Dave calls and we squabble about the numbers. How many beef, how many chicken. I knew giving people a choice would be the death of me. And I don't have a list on me, so I have no idea what the numbers are. I'm on my way home, I don't have time to call home and check the numbers.

I get home, a bit frazzled. I call Dave and he says he's faxed over the information. I call the hall, and she gives me a price. And it's more than $10,000 more than I had originally calculated. I'm stunned. She says it's due by 8pm. It's 7pm. I don't think I even have that much money in my account. I sit and calculate and recalculate the costs. I can't figure out how I miscalculated so badly. Then I realize that we had some last minute cancellations that were included with the final numbers. I call her back, she says she'll call back with a new number.

She calls back, and apologizes becuase she had miscalculated the first time. The number she gives me is $100 less then what I had originally calculated. *wipes sweat from brow* Ahh....good.

So I run to the bank, get a cashier's check, and run to the hall. She then tells me that the seating cards are due on Thursday, as is a seating chart. That's easier said than done with my mom doing the seating arrangements as well as Dave's mom. Those chicas need to haul some ass and get it done.

I seriously made about 20 million calls today.

And I was THIS close to losing it, but luckily we had a killer sunset which calmed me down a bit....

One more day of work!
3 more days til the wedding!

Joanna has some new pics up from way back in February at the World Cup Short Track in Salt Lake City. You can check them out at her site: Apolo Anton Ohno Portal.

Here's my favorite:

What an intense stare. Yowzas. Thanks for pointing me out to the pics, Joanna!

2 more days of work.
5 more days til the wedding.

Many people in my position would be freaking right now, but I'm as calm as can be.

Why?

Because today was a good day. Ice Cube would be proud.

It started out with an e-card from a great group of ladies. You know who you are, and thank you. Also, thank you to all the people that have been sending me cards of encouragement. You guys rock!

I have been fretting over places to take pictures after the ceremony. Me and Fatima went to the Morton Arboratum yesterday, and it just wasn't a wedding picture type place. I was going to have Fatima and Dave scout up the Botanical Gardens up in Winnetka. But today, I was making some calls to some other places, one place in particular. It was a place that I had tried before, but they had never called me back. And I was thinking that getting this place would be next to impossible, anyway: Wrigley Field. I mean, how awesome would that be? To take pics in the outfield against the ivy? Dave loves the place...he used to live right by there when he was little, and he LOVES the Cubs.

So I called. And I asked if it was possible that I can take my wedding pictures there. And the lady said sadly, 'Ohh...I don't think so. Sorry...' and I was just about to hang up when she said, 'Let me transfer you to someone who could maybe help you'. So she transfers me to a man. And I ask if I could have my wedding pictures taken at Wrigley. He asks me when the wedding is. I say Saturday. 'Ohh, you're cutting it close' he replies. Yes, I know I am. He asks me how many people are in the bridal party. I say 18. He sighs, 'Wow, that's a lot of people'. Tell me about it, I say. He then tells me that they run tours on Saturdays when there isn't a game. I'm disheartened. He asks me the time, and I tell him around 3:30. Then he says, 'Well, I can't guarantee that you'll be let on the field, but I'll give your name to security.'

I'm ready to hang up the phone in disgust...

'Wait, we can do it?'
'Yeah, but I'll see if they can let you on the field. We can let you in the park. That won't be a problem!'

OMG. How cool is that? So I told Dave that I found a place to take pictures, but it was totally out of the way. He said that we shouldn't bother, and so I said 'OK, I guess you don't want Wrigley Field'. And he was like 'WHAT?!?!?! Yes! Can we take pictures next to the ivy? Can I have a picture on home plate? Do you think I should bring my glove? Awesome! Cool! That is so great! Awesome!'

Yes. I think Dave rather likes the idea.

And, after that, my office threw a surprise Bridal Shower for me! Isn't that so awesome?!?! I'm really going to miss that place. I even got a little misty. We all sat around the conference room table eating lunch together, and they even got me tiramisu! And afterwards, my old co-worker Abie came by and dropped off a card. It was so awesome to see him again, I've missed him so much!

Later on in the day, Sammy and Isabella brought over little Max. He was adorable, and I'm surprised the Isabella was up and walking after having the baby. Max was SO COMPLETELY ADORABLE. I could hear my biological clock pounding in my ears. And it was so sweet to see Sammy with the baby. He'll be a good loving dad. He brought Max over because he knew I was leaving, and he wanted Max to see his Tita Christine before she left. (Tita = Aunt) I was touched.

After work, I headed out to the church to pick out music for the ceremony. Me and Dave sat there (Dave's home now, yippee!) and listened to the musician play different tunes. We were sitting in the empty church, right next to the piano. And I admit, when he played the entrance song for the bride, I got a little misty.

And I looked over at Dave. I know I don't talk about him much here, but I'm so excited to be his wife. Sometimes, when I look at him, and think of how much he means to me, I could just cry. He is such a wonderful, beautiful person, inside and out, and I love him so much.

And he's pretty hot, too.

And so ends my good day. Days like today make bad times like the last couple weeks worth it.

2 days of work.
4 days left.

So I'll recap my night on Saturday, well, as much as I can tell, anyway. It's been a pretty busy weekend.

First of all, let me say that although I don't have a ton of female friends, the ones that I have I wouldn't trade for the world. These gals worked so hard to try and give me an unforgettable night, and I love them for it. They rock.

So I had no idea what was going on Saturday, but we had a room at the Crown Plaza and we partied there. Then later on we went to Rush and Division and partied some more at the bars.

OK. That's all I can tell you about the night. Thanks for listening.

Fine! I'll tell you more. You squeezed it outta me. I'll just give passing thoughts on the weekend, as much as I can relay, anyway...

- Whoever was staying on the 4th floor of the Crown Plaza and complained to management about us - I'm going to find you and kick your ass. The whole hotel knew we were having a party there, and NO ONE calls to complain about loud music and thumping at 8 in the evening.

- Rosen's makes some pretty interestingly shaped cakes.

- Pin the Macho on the Man. Oh, and what a man!

- Mother's on Division will never be the same. And I am SO sorry to all the people who had to listen to me sing 'I Will Survive' on karaoke. I've never performed in front of people before. They made me do it.

- My girls gave me various tasks to do during the night. I would like to thank all of the eager volunteers who helped me in accomplishing those tasks - Abraham, Rudy, Burly Guy, Beau, Brandon, Tall Guy, MILF, Tall Guy's Friends, Boots, the US Marshall and others.

- I would also like to thank the person who gave me a dollar in appreciation for my mad dancing skills.

- I'm happy to say that I remembered most aspects of the night. OK, maybe the last parts are a bit foggy. I drank a lot, but I tried to mindful of when I would hit that brink of 'I'm so wasted I'm going to the bathroom and throw up and subsequently fall asleep in the stall.' Uh, not like that has ever happened before. Anyway, I felt good all night.

- I never knew that so many people would be open letting a strange girl with red highlights, a tiara and a veil stick a penis wand in their ear. I think some people even enjoyed it.

- There's a camraderie that happens between bachelorettes that are out with their parties. Many times when passing by a fellow bachelorette, my gaze was met with the same 'Hi and yes, these girls are torturing me too, but I'm so drunk I'm thinking that the humiliation is fun. Oh wait, it IS fun. Oh, nice penis wand!' look that I gave to them.

- Whip cream is pretty hard to wash off your pants.

- My legs are sore. I think I pulled a muscle. I can't run or walk down stairs. I'm fine with walking and going UP stairs. The injury was due to a incident involving a pole, a stool and "White Horse" playing in the background.

Yeah, so that's about all I can let out. Let your imagination work wonders.14 hours of fun. Thanks to all the girls that came out, to all the ones that couldn't, we missed ya.

Here's a pic that we had taken early on in the night...the rest, well, heh, the rest may never see the light of day.

Busy day today, but just wanted to stop by and say HI.

Had my bachelorette yesterday, and I'll give an almost-full recap of that later tonight, but I just wanted to comment on how sore my leg is right now. I think I pulled a muscle. Doing what? you ask? *evil grin*

6 days! 6 days!

Today I had to meet with my photographer to talk about the game plan for next week. My appointment was for 6:30. I was still fighting traffic on I-55 at 6:35. I called and said I'd be late, she said that she had another appointment coming in at 7pm. So I exit. And there's construction. And I take a wrong turn, because I'm in Bumblefuck, Egypt. A small suburb of it.

So I'm driving like a madwoman. Calculate that I can make a turn that should take me to my destination. End up in a wooded area. See signs that say 'Wildlife Crossing'. Damn. No racoon or opossum is gonna stop me from meeting my photographer. So I'm flying over a hill, and there she is. Bambi. Right smack in the middle of the road. I'm in shock. I've never seen a deer in the road in Chicago before, or any suburbs I've been in. I've seen them in the forest preserves, but not in the street. I brake, hard. I stop. Bambi glares at me. I glare at Bambi. I mouth to her, 'Get outta my way, bitch.' OK. I didn't. She was so pretty. But I did the international sign for 'Get out of my path because I'm late for my photographer and I still need to go to the church to get my baptismal certificate'. Luckily, Bambi understood and trotted away. I recovered quickly and met with the photog.

On my way to the church afterwards, I took Lake Shore Drive over. I took my time, and let it sink in that I wouldn't be driving Lake Shore Drive again for a long time. I got kinda misty over it. I'll really miss this town. Even when I passed that horrible architectural monstrosity known as Soldier Field (*weeps for the old field*), I was a little emotional. I love this city. To me, it's the most beautiful city in the whole world. From the museum campus, where you can see the skyline of Chicago, to the harbor with all the ships, to the beach with people walking alongside, to just the beautiful view of the ferris wheel at Navy Pier against the lake. No matter what, my heart will always love Chicago.

As some of you may not know, I'm a packrat. Not only at home, but also at work. And in my 6 years at work, I've accumlated a lot of crap. And most of the time, I never use the stuff that I save. It all just piles up here in my shelf and in my drawers. So I'll document for you all the interesting things I've found...
- a mini bottle of Jamaican rum
- black play-doh

**ok, midway through this post I had a pretty strong margarita for lunch. whoo hoo! i love liquid lunches.***

- a cereal bowl
- an afro
- lotsa CD's
- nail polish
- wooden parrot
- lotions
- toothbrush
- old business cards
- toothpaste
- mini eiffel tower
- disney genie beanie doll
- Tylenol Cold
- 1 cent stamps
- DayQuil
- mini calculator
- sand from cancun
- puffy paint
- body spray
- tonka truck
- body spray
- shot glasses
- a kazoo
- dental floss
- Kentucky blue grass
- Powerpuff Girl Tattoos
- bills bills bills
- nail polish remover
- a halloween skeleton
- unfrozen Italian Ice bars
- golf ball
- pictures
- mini telescope
- stuffed parrot
- blue plastic whale

So I threw a lot of it away. Some of it I gave away. Some of it I'm just going to leave here for the vultures to salvage. Kinda getting nostalgic going through all these things...it's the end of an era....

3 more days and I'm outta here!
YIPEEE!!!

Happy Birthday to the guy who beats the elderly, Pledge Jones. May your day be filled with big asses, rainbows, KY jelly and rabbits making sweet monkey love to stuffed animals.

Now stop bugging me!

reading pleasures

'Le Marriage'

Just started 'Le Marriage'. Haven't really gotten too far into it...seems pretty OK so far.

song stuck in my head

Thoia Thoing by r. kelly

For being a creepy prepubescent girl-lover, r. kelly has got some damn catchy tunes. i have no idea what he's saying in this song, or what the hell thoia thoing is, but i just gotta move to it.

at the movies

shrek

i don't know the last time I went to see a movie. Which is why lately I've just been hitting up my DVD collection. And Shrek is one of my faves. That scene with the gingerbread man has be laughing every time. "Do you know the muffin man?"

comic you should be reading

Y The Last Man by Vertigo

I had read a little snippet on it in Wizard a couple months ago. When I was at my comic shop, my comic book dude (I never know their names, but they know mine. They need name tags) told me I should pick it up. Since I spend money like water at the comic shop, I figured why the hell not. And I just DEVOURED the book on my way home from work. It's a great read about what would happen if there someone was the last man on earth...literally. All the men die except for one. The women are in control. It's a fucking good read.

yummy for my tummy

lean christine

OK, OK, it's really 'Lean Cuisine', but at the office, I make the 'u' into a 'hr' and stick a 't' between the 's' and 'i' to make the package say 'Lean Christine'. Just so people don't be eatin' my salisbury steak. Last week I bought a whole bunch, because I always stock up when they're on sale. However, since I haven't been in town, and I really only have about 4 days of work left, there's a surplus of Lean Christine in the office freezer. And I've heard that people have been eyeing them for their own. The highest bidder wins the Lean Christine, guys...

addiction

wedding!!!

'nuff said!

1. How much time do you spend online each day?
Truthfully? Uh...more than I'd like to say. Let's say more than 12 hours...

2. What is your browser homepage set to?
At work, our company site. At home, it's AO-HELL.

3. Do you use any instant messaging programs? If so, which one(s)?
Yeah, pretty much just AIM, but I have MSN and Yahoo, too, but most of the people I chat with are AIM anyway.

4. Where was your first webpage located?
On a free server in Urbana, IL, called prairienet.org. The web address was http://www.prairienet.org/~bibingka. You can see old archives of it here. It sucks, because most of the graphics don't show up.

5. How long have you had your current website?
Geez, since the fall of 1994. That was like 9 years ago. Next year, we'll have a 10 year anniversay party. Mike got me into it, and mine was one of the first homepages out there - "Christine's Purple Passion". It consisted of graphics made in Adobe Photoshop 2.3 or something like that. I scanned my pictures at a community scanner in one of the buildings at school. I miss that site. I've got a backup of it somewhere, I've gotta upload it. That would be a trip!

Just wanted to give a big happy day-after-your-actual-birth-day to little Maximilliano Joseph Fisher. I'm the proudest 'girl-that-sits-next-to-yo'-daddy' there can be. Hopefully I get to see him before I leave. You don't really get to know a person when you're just looking at pictures of their ultrasounds.

Max Fisher, your whole life is ahead of you, and with that name, I predict that you will be an international man of mystery. Or a chess champion. Any way it goes, little one, you can be whatever you want to be, and know that you are loved by many people.

Well, my stay in LA has been much more uneventful than the previous ones, just for the fact that I've been working most of the time I've been here. I'm actually working TWO clients at once, because when I while I work on my LA clients stuff, I'm also emailing and talking on the phone with my Denver client, so in a way, instead of working 9 hours yesterday, it was more like 18. Just send me to Denver already! After hours, I'm in my hotel room, still working working working. Ack! Well, it's a good thing I'm not too stressed about it. Just grumpy.

Yesterday, I went to Engine Co # 28 Restaurant with what I consider to be the main part of what will be my family in the west coast - The Cajudo clan (Rod, Rick, Lanie, Rocena) and my friend Sam. The place was pretty nice, the food was good. But I was expecting firemen to be serving my food, since this was an old firehouse. Shirtless, buff firemen. Well oiled firemen with names like Biff, Rocko, and Ace. Sliding down the firepole with my dinner. But no, they had normal waiters. Hmph. But it was still a good meal.

It was nice to have everyone get together, and I was happy that they all get along. One thing I know I don't have to worry about while I'm living here in LA is making friends. I've got a pretty good set of friends here already!

It was great talking to everyone, and once again, we closed out the restaurant. Seems to be the theme for me when I go out with friends in different cities. Go out with Christine, be the last ones in the restaurant.

So I'm really looking forward to hanging out with everyone once I move here. I promise to bug Rod and Rick about finishing the movie, to go with Lanie and Rocena to the spa, and to take Sam clubbing with the gals.

Oh, and I can't WAIT until my West Coast un-bachelorette party, because as I say, the bachelorette parties don't have to end once you're married. *wink*

Speaking of...9 days! Eek!

Good vibes and prayers go to my coworker, friend, playmate and pseudo brother Sammy, who's wife Isabella is going to have their baby today! It's hard to believe that he's going to be a daddy, but I know that baby's going to be loved, spoiled to death, and VERY good looking! Congrats, my friend! Where's the cigars?!!?

OK, haven't had a chance to fix up the rest of my pics from the con, but Fata scanned the sketches that we got and sent them over to me. Here they are:

This is Psylocke drawn by Deadpool artist, Mark Brooks. He was a really cool guy to talk to and hang out with while he was drawing. You can see his picture down below. He hates drawing robots and also does a kick ass Morrigan.

'Sonambula' by Rafael Navarro. He draws the comic called 'Sonambulo' about a masked Mexican wrestler turned detective. I thought it would be a challenge to ask him to draw a female masked wrestler, but as you can see, he was up to it!

This is 'Scalpel' from Tone Rodriguez' Violent Messiahs. Tone had already done a Psylocke for me last year, so I wanted one of his characters. He was a lot of fun to talk to while he was sketching. Me and Fatima laughed a lot. And as said before, a great hugger!

Since we were working at the booth, and it seemed like Talent had a little free time, we asked him for a sketch of Psylocke. I thought it would be a quick little thing, but he put a good amount of time into it, which you can definitely tell by the picture. I didn't get to watch him the whole time he was sketching, so it was a nice surprise to have it look so good when I got my book back!

Thanks for all the sketches, guys! I didn't get as many sketches this year, but the one I did get are GREAT!

Just an FYI, just so it's out, it's my fault that Speed Reading isn't out. I bit onto a project that was bigger than I could fit into my schedule, and I've totally been slacking. I thought I could format the magazine and get it out in time, but I got sidetracked. I was gung ho about it at first, but too many things were going on in my life, and it was hard enough for me to manage the projects that I was already getting my sweaty little fingers on. Because as some of you may know, I've got my grubby little hands working on a lot of different sites and managing not only my own schedule, but other people's schedules as well.

So I put SpeedReading on the backburner, off and on. I know it wasn't fair to the people expecting the magazine.

But it's good. Trust me. Well, it will be good. And I will try my darndest to get it out before the wedding. I know that I have so much more to worry about than this, but I will get it done. I'm not going to give up on this magazine. I said I'd do it, and I will.

Still in LA, but most of my free time has been consumed with office work, which is additional to my LA work. So not much happening here!

As I said before, me and Fatima went to the comic con together. To tell the truth, I've been so busy lately I haven't had tons of time to catch up with comics. But Fatima's been pretty good about it, so she's kept me up to date with what's going on. She's just as big of a fan as I am, which is why I love going with her to the con.

So what we usually do when we're at the con is plan our day, try to get to the booths when artists are doing sketches so we can add on to me 'Can you draw Psylocke for me?'sketchbook. We also try to catch some of the panels and hang around the dealer area looking for comics we're missing, posters, toys, etc. When we're not doing those things, we're just walking around. Checking out the sites. Taking pictures.

We do a lot of walking around. I'll be in front, Fatima will be behind. Since I'm the big sister, and I paid for the ticket, Fatima has to carry the bag of comics and posters. Being the big sister has its perks. So I'll turn around, and ask her what she wants to do. Sometimes I'll turn to my left, and she's not there, and I'll turn to my right, and she is. She's a sneaky lil bugger back there behind me. And when I say, 'What do you want to do?' She'll always answer with 'I don't know...whatever.' So we end up just walking around again, until I think of something exciting to do.

So during this con, I was tired of playing the leader, and of stopping abruptly and having Fata bump into me. I told her that she gets to be leader. She got to decide our route. She said she was fine with me leading, and she didn't want to be in front. I told her that I didn't want to lead anymore. She was the leader. So we stood in the middle of the con arguing about this. So finally I said, 'Five minutes. That's all I ask. You be the leader.'

So she agreed. And we started walking around. Fata walks fast, I realized. I was getting out of breath. We didn't stop anywhere. Just walked. Like the wind. We cruised around the con maybe 3 times in those 5 minutes. I finaly said, "Ok, fine, I'll be the leader now." She turned around, looked at me sadly, and said "Good. It's really lonely up here!"

Duh, how do you think I feel? But that's ok, I'm fine with being a leader, just as long as she knows what it's like up there. Sure, it may be lonely, but I know that she'll always be behind me. Even if I can't see her.

I love that song by the BoDeans.

Last week was a pretty shitty week for me. Well, the last few weeks have been pretty awful. But I realized today, that I'm happy. I've got a smile on my face. My heart feels light. I can breathe freely again.

I had a great weekend. A comic book geeks dream. Well, close to it, anyway.

And I saw Dave yesterday, and saw our new apartment in Long Beach. Finally, I'm excited about getting married. Gil and Mark were in town, too, and Gil kept on asking me to touch Dave's feet. So I did, and he said, "Can you feel how cold they are?" Dork! "Forever, Dave! For the rest of your life!" he kept on chanting when we hung out. We all laughed a lot. Laughing is good.

Life is good.

Good things fall like sunlight on me.

Here I am, on a plane to LA. I'll keep on typing 'til my battery dies. I don't want to make this too long of a story (not like the epic 'Memoirs of a Ex-Short Track Stalker" from February) but I'll try to get in as much stuff as I can on my way to LA. I know these story won't appeal as much to my core readership (well, what I think my core readership is, although I know you comic book lurkers are out there, too) but let me tell you gals, these guys are sweet, friendly, and mighty good lookin'.

So, to start things off, I go to the Chicago Comic Convention every year, this is maybe my 5th or 6th year going. I was going even before it was called Wizard World Chicago. I dunno what possessed me to go that first year, maybe it was the promise of getting FREE comic book stuff. At first, I just went for one day, but when I discovered you can get sketches done and that there were panel discussions, I started going for all three days. And every time I told someone I was going to the con, I would get that 'You read comic books?' or 'Are you crazy?' look. Basically, because I'm a girl who reads comic books. Also, who could stand to be at a convention for 3 days?

But it's a lot of fun. Me and Fatima go every year. She is the Robin to my Batman. The Lilo to my Stitch. The Tonto to my Lone Ranger. The Silent Bob to my Jay. You get the picture!

So this year, we had bought tickets to go and were really psyched about seeing Jim Lee and Sean Astin. And I have a friend, and I don't know if he wants to remain nameless, but I'll let him be nameless for now, who asked me if I was going to the con, to which I said I was. And then he asked 'Well, if they need help at the Aspen booth, do you want to help out?'

HELL YEAH!

Aspen MLT, as I might have mentioned before, is the company started by my favorite artist, Michael Turner (see the 'art' section for some of his art - yeah, I know the section sucks right now...I'll fix it in time!). There's only a few of them in the company right now, and I guess they weren't sure if they needed help at the booth. So of course, me and Fatima jumped at the chance to help out. We were as giddy as schoolgirls.

So we stopped by the booth on Friday morning, and they told us that they were ok, but to check with them later on in the day. We got to do some cruising around the 'con, and came back, and they said they were OK with help for the day, but might need us for the next day.

The next day, we came by in the afternoon to see if they needed help. By then we were thinking that they would be OK with help for the rest of the 'con. But since Michael and crew had a panel to do in the afternoon, it would only be Liz working the booth, as well as two Wizard volunteers. (Sorry I forgot your names, guys!)

So me and Fatima got to be Booth Bitches for the rest of the afternoon, and although it was a lot of work selling the art and comics, and answering questions, we had TONS of fun. It was interesting to see what it was like behind the table, and to actually see how much stuff these companies sell at comic cons. It was a LOT. It was pretty amazing how much people were shelling out for the posters and comics. But if I had the money, I would have bought all the prints. But we had a lot of limited edition stuff to sell, and the prints we had were GORGEOUS. Me and Fatima were drooling over them the whole time. Michael, Talent, Peter & Co had some really great stuff. We were in heaven selling this kick ass art to other people who loved the art, and chatting with them and joking around. These people loved the art as much as we did. It was REALLY cool!

So we worked there Sunday, too, and were really sad to have to leave early. Everyone at Aspen was SO cool to us, and we have to especially thank Liz Brizzi for being so patient with us when we were learning the ropes and for taking in the questions we couldn't answer for people. And also Frank Mastromauro for letting us work there, and for getting us sloppy joes on Sunday. We knew that he was busy already, and he took the time out to get us something to eat. He rocks! And to Peter, who could be a bit intimidating at first, since he's the size of most skyscrapers in Chicago, but who is cool as hell. And to Talent, for being a really cute guy, and for taking the time out to make a SPECTACULAR sketch of Psylocke for me in my sketchbook (I'll scan in later). And to Mike Turner, for looking eerily like Noah Wyle and creating this cool company that for a brief moment in time we pretended that we were affiliated to. Thank you so much, Aspen!

So, here's some other highlights from the weekend:

- Got a sketch done by Mark Brooks, who will be doing the upcoming series of Deadpool. He was an AWESOME guy who took a lot of time to work on the sketch of Psylocke that he did for me. He was cool, friendly and funny. I promise Mark, when Deadpool comes out I will definitely buy it and preach to my other comic book friends to buy it because 'Mark is such a neat guy.' And no, I will not be selling your sketch on EBAY! But I stole one of your pencils and it should be up for sale as we speak. Just kidding.

- Also got a sketch from Tone Rodriguez, who did a Psylocke sketch for me last year, but I enjoyed talking to him so much when he was sketching for me last year that I went back for more this year. He's such a funny guy, he had me and Fatima laughing the whole time. And he gave me a hug! He's a hugger! I love hugs from big burly comic book artists! He's the best. He's someone I will definitely be looking up when I try to infiltrate the comic book world in LA. Note to all the comic book girls out there: Tone's a huggable guy.

- Saw what I'd like to call 'my old friend' the Chief, Mike Wellman, who did Mac Afro with Luke Lizalde. Remember that comic that I was in? Yeah, that one. And he assured me that yes, that was me in the comic. Wheee!!! It was great to see him again, and he's got a new comic out called 'Gone South' which I will definitely buying once I have the funds.

- Got a picture taken with a man dressed in a 'Predator' outfit. The first time I was rubbing his belly. Then I went back for a picture because he was such a damn cute alien, and I asked him for a hug, which he gladly gave me. Note to self: Do not accidentally stick your hand in the armpit of a man who has spent all day dressed up as the Predator, because your hand will be moist and smelly. But I thank him for the picture.

- George R. R. Martin, I will be cursing your name! He's one of my favorite authors, and he was supposed to be at the 'con, but since he had to finish his book (which I have been waiting for forever) he was not able to make it. He is SO lucky that I didn't lug my big hardcover books to the 'con to get signed. I apologize to the guys working the booth, who I think I scared by taking my books and slamming them onto the table and damning them all to hell. I didn't mean it guys, it was the heat of the moment. But George, I'm over it now. I will just curse your name every once in a while. Just finish the book, ok?

- Funny exchange #1: at the Aspen booth

Dude, just how old do you think Mike IS? He's only a couple years older than me!

- Sorry to our 'little brothers' that were helping out at the booth with us for being so old. I know they were a little disappointed when they found out I was 28, a mere 12 years older than them and much to old to hit on. Well, they tried. It was cute.

- Rafael was the most easy going and sweetest person I met at the 'con. He just had this melodic quality to his voice which just showed that he was a gentle and kind soul. He drew me a female Mexican masked wrestler. I thought it would be a challenge, but I guess it wasn't! Watch out for Somnabula, everyone!

- Me and Fatima were hanging out at the Jay's Comics table, when the older woman there said she liked my shirt. I smiled and said 'thanks' and she looked at me, and replied, 'Have you been here before?' I said 'yes' and she proclaimed, 'I know you girls! You come here every year! Oh my, you both are so grown up now!' She was so sweet it was like seeing an old auntie. Then she saw my ring, and she said, "Oh my! And you're getting married, too!" To which I said, "Yeah, we grow up, then we get married!". She was such a darling. The next day, I was at the booth again, and her son came up to me and said " My mom was telling me about you yesterday, and she said 'There were these two girls there today and you would recognize them if you saw them!' and I saw you, and immediately knew it was you. Congratulations on the wedding!'. It was so cool, to be recognized by these people, it's like coming to visit old friends!

- Life as a comic book artist isn't easy. We didn't get to talk to Mike Turner too much because we saw how incredibly busy he was, doing signings, sketching for people, being part of panels and such. Poor guy was just packed with stuff all the time. There was one instance where he was doing a signing and sketches, and he really had to go to the bathroom, but he kept on getting interrupted on his way to the bathroom. I wanted to just say, 'Let the man pee!'

- Pet peeve of the con: People who get more than one sketch. Yes, I know you paid to get into the con, yes, I know that you waited in line to get a sketch, but spread the wealth, yo! There's a bunch of people behind you who've driven really far, just to get ONE sketch. Be courteous to your fellow geeks (i say the word affectionately, being one myself) and let someone else have the joy have having a sketch done. I had see too many people with the look of disappointment when the line was capped for sketches.

- There were so many great books there that I wanted to pick up, but didn't have the money. Hopefully once I settle down, I can grab some new titles. I'll definitely be picking up 'The Ultimates', 'Gone South', 'Violent Messiahs', 'Red Star' and 'Kabuki'.

- There were a lot of characters walking around, and one of them was Darth Vader. I watched as people took picture with him, some asking for poses where he was choking them or doing the jedi mind trick. I asked him if I could take a picture with him, and he said, in a low menacing voice, 'YES'. Then I asked if I could get a hug, because, well, even evil ex-jedi's need hugs, too. SO he said yes, and I took a picture with him. Then after Fatima took the picture, he reached behind him, pulled out a camera, and said "Can I have one, too?" Uh, yeah, sure Vader, as I could say no to you! So we took a hugging picture with his camera, too. Who knew that Anakin Skywalker had a Canon CoolPix? Not I!

- On Saturday I was wearing a 'Girl's Rule' t-shirt. Lots of comments on it, lots of men challenging the fact that girl's rule. But we do, so they all lost the arguments.

- A suggestion to my fellow geeks - try out soap. It helps. Sorry, but some people there just STANK.

- Talent Caldwell's mom is the cutest thing, and it's even cuter to see Talent with her.

- Although I liked to call us Booth Bitches, because we were doing the behind the scenes work at the booth, I would not go as far to call us "Booth Babes". Which brings to mind the Evil-Lynn that was there, or the Vampirella that was there two years ago, or any other scantilly clad lasses that adorn a booth. We were far from that! Guys would line up to take pictures of these girls. But to tell the truth, it made me and Fatima laugh really hard when guys would ask us if they could take our pictures. I mean, we're not babes. Just volunteer bitches. Nonetheless, it was cool that they wanted our picture.

- Funny Exchange #2 - At the DC area, taking a picture with Batman and Wonderwoman

- A couple people thought I actually worked for Aspen. I said no, I was just a lucky girl who got a break. I was also asked which character was based on me. I said none...yet. *wink* Then one person pointed at Aspen Matthews and said, 'She looks like you!' Nice try, guy! I said, 'Thanks, I wish! Sometimes when I read the book, I pretend she's me, but nope, it's not!'.

- Have I told you guys that Sam Campos is just about the coolest human being on the face of the earth? I just wanted to say that. Thank you.

- Although we were quite excited to see Sean Astin before the con, I think the excitement of working the booth took over. We waited in line to see Sean for a while, and saw him come in. He's really cute, and has lost a lot of weight since the movie. He's almost in 'Toy Soldiers' form. We knew that the wait would be long and tedious, so we stuck around for a bit, got bored of waiting, said 'fuck it', and left to check out the rest of the con. Another day, Samwise Gamgee. We shall meet another day!

Damn, didn't know this would be this long! Thanks for sticking around long enough to read it. Wait! I'm not done! There's more fun!

- Phrase that I can live the rest of my life without ever saying again (well, until next year anyway): "We've got limited edition prints here. They're hand numbered and each one is already signed by the artists. $35 for one, $60 for two, and if you get four or more, it's only $25 each, which saves you $40! Get them soon, because they're selling out fast!"

- More Aspen ass-kissing: Peter just oozes coolness, there's just something about him. Frank has the nicest smile, it's nice and big. Talent has gorgeous eyes, and he's just CUTE. I love Mike's voice, it's got a Disney stud quality to it. Liz has an awesome French accent, and as one guy said at the booth - 'It's really hot!' Aspen is DEFINITELY a good looking company.

- I got to see Jim Lee again. He's SO cool. Wow. No sketch, though, but SOMEDAY. SOMEDAY I will get a sketch from you, Mr. Lee!

- I saw this huge line at the back of the con, and I had no idea what it was for. Then I saw that Rob Liefeld was in the house. Wow. Haven't heard from him in a while. I guess people still care! And he was doing sketches, too! Damn!

- Best Fatima quote of the 'con: "When Mike was heading out to the bathroom, he looked at me and nudged me with his hand. Can you believe it? Michael Turner's magical, gifted hands touched me! I'm so happy!"

- Humberto Ramos looked at me. He gave me 'the nod', I swear. I don't know if it's because he recognized me as the girl who was stalking him two years ago and asked for a picture of Psylocke, or if he thought that he knew me because I was working the Aspen booth. Nonetheless, it was cool.

- Best pickup line of the 'con:

- Comic book kids are just about the most polite kids on earth. Just about every one that we gave a free sticker to politely said "thank you". It was so much fun to see the wonder and joy in their eyes when we offered to give them 2 stickers. "Two stickers? Really? Gee, thanks!" Ahh, to be young again!

- We were so happy to have Liz around. If we didn't, we would have been lost sheep. She was like our mother hen and we were her chickees. She was SO cool, and so nice. At first I was a little intimidated by her, but she was so easy to get along with, and we really grew attached to her.

- Best way to end off the day: We were sad to leave early, but I had to catch a plane to LA for work at 6pm. I'm sitting at the airport talking on the phone and reading my comics, when who saunters over to the gate but Mike Turner! So I sneak up to him and ask him to sign my book. He looks up, surprised, and laughs. He invites me to sit and chill with him before the flight. It was kinda weird sitting next to him while I was reading the book that he drew. And I don't know if my hands were shaking because I was sitting next to him, or because I had my first coffee in a month. I think it was the coffee. It was still pretty cool to sit with him. I didn't want to bother him much, though, because I knew he was SO exhausted from the 'con. I was content just being within spitting distance. *smile* Then again, he never DID sign my book. *evil grin*

OK, I think that's all. More will probably come to me later on, but I'll let you guys off the hook for now. I had a TON of fun, and once I get the pics formatted, I'll post them up. I might even have to make a seperate gallery for my Wizard World Chicago pictures, there's so many!

Thanks to all of you who made it this far. I'm thinking that only the geeks got to the bottom, but maybe you ST girls made it this far, too. Thanks to everyone at the 'con for making it such a fun time for me. Looking forward to the LA con in March! Don't know if I'll be working the booth, but I'll definitely be there!

I am definitely a lucky girl, and in no way will I take this experience for granted.

Two weeks to go. If you had told me this three days ago, I might have freaked.

But going to this comic book convention was the best decision I ever made. It's like a mini vacation from all the stress. It's awesome. And me and Fatima are having a lot of fun! I'll tell you just how much fun tomorrow after I upload all my pictures. That's my project for the flight into LA.

Oh, did I mention I was going to LA this weekend? Sarah? Raven? Soo? Mel? Rod? Sam? Anyone up for another 'spokes of Christine's wheel' dinner? We can go somewhere cheaper this time!

Anyway, the con is a blast. Thank you to my 'hook-up' for getting me the gig at the Aspen booth. Being a volunteer has never been so much fun.

But there's two more weeks til the wedding. I can't believe it's so close. You know, I'll be happy just to see Dave again. I miss him a lot! I'm kinda excited for the wedding, kinda nervous, but all in all, I just want it over with!!!

Here's a picture that Dave gave to me...I think it sums up our relationship.

The little girl is outgoing and affectionate, and just a wee bit taller with her shoes on. The little boy is shy, and quiet, always having a little surprise for his little girlfriend. Even though their personalities are so different, they are so perfect together.

Man...I can't wait!

Photo Friday Topic: Sleep

This is my adorable little cousin Jillian, a week or so after her birth in November. She was the cutest thing, and every day since then she's gotten cuter and cuter. She's our first baby in the family for my generation, so she's spoiled rotten by everyone, but she's such a sweetheart it doesn't matter!

...to those who wait.

I think I've bitched enough on my blog for the powers that be to give me a break, well, a couple.

I just finished an AMAZING dinner with Fatima, Mel, and Trully, my cousin from Brazil. As always, we laughed a lot.

Before dinner, I had gotten the final fitting for my dress. It fits beautifully, though my chest isn't ample enough to fill out the top, they gave me a nice set of fake boobs to help me out. Just wanna make that straight to y'all who are going to be at the wedding - no, those boobs aren't mine. Instead of throwing the bouquet, I'll be throwing the pads in my dress. Trully got to see the dress, and she LOVED it!

Before that, I talked to a friend of mine who said that there was a small chance that I might be able to work at the Aspen booth during the comic convention tomorrow. Even knowing that there was a CHANCE that I could be a comic book ho for a day got me and Fatima all giddy. It probably won't happen, but it blew our minds thinking that we could possibly have a chance to be Mike Turner's comic book booth wenches. I mean, WOW.

And to cap off the night, as me and Fatima sort out what comics we're going to bring to get signed tomorrow, I was going through my mail and found a nice silver letter from United Airlines. I'm back on the Premier List, baby! I'm back on top!

So yeah, this makes up for the tough morning I had. Most definitely!

OK, I'm doing it a day early....

1. What's the last place you traveled to, outside your own home state/country?
Country: Vancouver, Canada, May of 2002. It was gorgeous out there, and everyone was really cool.
State: Uh, lets see, I think it was Washington DC, but I could be wrong!

2. What's the most bizarre/unusual thing that's ever happened to you while traveling?
There's just too many things to count. My most bizarre client was at a military place where they put down chemical/biological weapons and I had to carry around an oxygen tank with me.

3. If you could take off to anywhere, money and time being no object, where would you go?
I've always wanted to go to Greece. I've loved Greek mythology all my life, and I had always wanted to see the ruins out there.

4. Do you prefer traveling by plane, train or car?
By car if it's a group of people. Roadtrips are the best!

5. What's the next place on your list to visit?
I'm going to LA on Sunday. Oh yeah - HEY LA PEOPLE! I'M GOING TO LA ON SUNDAY! WHO WANTS TO HANG?!!?

Getting my dress fitted again today.

After that, I'm going out with my cousins for sushi.

Just what my soul needs.

I'm subbing a class for someone today, and teaching the latest version of the product. I spent most of my free time yesterday going over the lesson plan. Didn't bother checking out the machines 'til before I went home.

And the main module that everyone is looking forward to doesn't work. At all. Error messages all over the place. I was assured yesterday that everything worked.

You know, I could panic right now. Because that doesn't work. Because I really haven't even SEEN the new product yet. Because I was supposed to do come consulting work today, too.

But you know what?

I met Jim Lee yesterday.

And I found an old CD that I made a long time ago with the BoDeans' "Good Things", Ben Harper's "Steal My Kisses", Live's "Lightning Crashes", Sublime's "Santeria" and a whole bunch of other kick ass old songs. Listened to it on my way to work and it made me feel ready for anything.

We'll see how I am at the end of the day!

To every cloud there is a silver lining, and my silver lining's name is Jim Lee.

I snuck outta work for a bit today and went over to the downtown Graham Crackers Comics, and went to get my copy of Wizard Zero signed by the one and only Jim Lee. As I had said before, he's the reason I got into comics. I love his art. Its awesome. And no way am I going to miss a chance to meet him!

So I got to Graham Crackers, and there was a long line outside. I was pretty worried, because I was missing a bit of work. It was a bunch of your stereotypical comic book geeks (said with affection), with a spattering of gals, too. I met up with my fellow fan Andrew, and we suffered through the line together. At first I had thought that I forgot my Wizard Zero at home, but I looked in my bag, and the gods were good to me - it mysteriously appeared in there.

So I got in the store and saw him. He was there with Wizard Magazine president, Gareb Shamus (who was pretty cute!) Now I had seen him once before, but it was far away, and I didn't even get close. But this time, I got to see him, shake his hand, and ask him for his autograph. I also asked if I could have a picture with him, and I was going to do the handshake across the table pic that the other fanboys were doing, but he suggested that I come around the table. Whoo hoo!

jim lee, me, and gareb shamus

me and andrew

So that totally made my day. Thank you Jim!!!

Friday, I can't wait til you come!

"Keep pushing on, things are gonna get better, it won't take long, keep on pushing 'til the top"

*must*---*sing*---*mantra*---*to*---*self*

Yesterday was a crappy day. I think you can tell by the previous post.

To clarify, I love Noelle Neu in a strictly platonic way, so Noelle, please stop calling me and asking me out.

Today had the potential to be even crappier. And upon reflection and my present state of mind, IT IS.

I started out oversleeping, which seems to be a regular thing for me now. The president of the company told me to meet him at 8am. I drove on the highway close to the speed of light and made it into the office at 7:59. I had a presentation for our user forum to do that I had not started yet, because I needed help from the president. Waited 'til 8:15, he's not there. My presentation is at 9. I have nothing. So I call the hotel where we're having our forum. Turns out he's there. I pack up my laptop, run over there, and he says that he'd been waiting there since 8. HMPH. It's now 8:25. He tells me he has nothing. That I should just teach something generic about our product. WTF! So I run back to the office to print out the presentation I did last year. And of course, it's on my laptop which I had left at the hotel.

To shorten the story, I made up a 45 minute class. I had no idea what I was doing, and I felt like a moron because I wasn't prepared. I don't think the clients really noticed the difference, but I'm sure they were upset that I wasn't teaching what was on the agenda.

That was the start of my day. Over the past two days, I've had to avoid clients that I've had bad experiences with, clients giving me creepy looks, and staying out the whole day and night.

I've gotten an average of about 3 hours of sleep a night over the past week. That's counting the weekend, too. Over the last two days we've had the conference and been taking out the clients. I've been getting home at about 11:30 each night.

And I got home today to more drama. Drama surrounds me everywhere I look nowadays. I've become a magnet for it.

My life is pulling me in a million and one different directions.

I know I said I was done with complaining, so this isn't complaining. This is relaying the facts.

The only saving grace of the day was that we played Whirlyball. And the team that I coached kicked ass. And the teams that I played on kicked ass. I was 5-1 for the night. And I was able to let out some aggression, but not enough. But my voice is gone from coaching.

I'm so tired. Mentally. Physically. Emotionally.

C'mon powers that be. Throw me another one tomorrow. Let's see how much you can pile on me 'til I crack.

Friday can't come soon enough.

And worst of all...
I miss Dave. :(

"Keep pushing on, things are gonna get better, it won't take long, keep on pushing 'til the top"

You know, I don't usually post in the heat of anger, but considering that lately I really haven't given a fuck about what people think, you know, I'll just shoot out my piehole for a bit and vent. Chances are, I'm not actually upset about this subject and am just displacing my anger, stress, and neuroticism onto the first thing that pisses me off.

Anyway, I love a girl named Noe11e. Why? Hmm...let's go over it...

- With the amazing Todd she updates the OhnoZone as much as she can. Sure, it's not every day. Sure, it's not everything that's sent to her. Sure, she posts stuff that isn't Apolo related. But shit, show me another fan site that is updated more often than the OZ and I'll eat my words. Show me another BLOG that is updated more than the OZ (other than mine). If you have a blog, you know it's not an easy thing to update it every day, especially when it comes to having actual content. Unless you have a lot of free time on your hands, or if you don't sleep at night. (see timestamp below to see which category I'm in) But I know that Noe11e has a job, and it's a tough ass job that's just as stressful as my own. In a way, she's got two jobs.

- She has to play referee between so many different groups of people. I graduated highschool 10 years ago, but sometimes, I feel like I'm right back into it again. As some of you may know, I LOATHED highschool. She tries to be diplomatic. She tries not to take anything personally. But sometimes, she gets trounced on by everyone for taking sides. She's not taking sides. She's just trying to maintain sanity.

- She doesn't let the bad things bother her. I see all this shit written about her, whispered about her, and she knows that it's all going down, but she makes it seem like it doesn't bother her. But I'm sure a little of it does. But she keeps a cool head when I would have just flamed people about it. I admire her for that. But I don't understand what she had done to get the animosity that I have so often seen directed towards her. Maybe I'm making a big deal of things, but I don't think that I am.

- Noe11e is not a mean person. She is not a selfish person. She is not a scheming person. She is not planning on taking over the short track world (that's MY plan, DUH). She takes the high road. She has a good heart. She has a tough exterior, but she's still has feelings. Words still hurt.

- Noe11e LOVES short track. Now there's nothing wrong with having a favorite skater. I have one. Or two. Or three. But I also love the sport. And I love talking about the sport. Noe11e is one of the few people who I can talk about the sport with. The skaters, the competitions, the future. Though our political views about short track may differ, she accepts my position, and it hasn't affected our friendship. Political views aside, it's short track that counts.

- People love to kiss Noe11e's ass on the OZ. Outside of that, well, it's another story. Makes me wonder if people know if Yuki visits the site...

- There are so many people who through Noe11e's efforts were able to meet Apolo, either by her posting an appearance on the OZ, or by being at an Apolo appearance and getting him to do group pictures.

The girl works hard. And sometimes, people expect so much from her. They fail to realize that like the rest of us, she has a life. She has stresses, she has drama in her own life, she has things to do, she has priorities.

I mentioned to Noe11e that I was going to post something, and she told me not to because I'll regret it later. I might. But I think it just needs to be aired what Noe11e does for our community.

She's gotten a lot of beating lately, in a lot of different ways.

You know, come to think of it, I may not know what the hell I'm talking about. It's two o'clock in the morning, and I haven't had any sleep over the last week, so I could be delirious. I could be making this up all in my head. This isn't a slam on anyone - it's more of a way for me to show you all that she does without asking for anything in return. That even though the last couple weeks have been tough, her hard work has been appreciated. That all the stress is worth something. That there are, and always will be, people out there that will care about her and love her.

Thanks for being my friend, Noe11e.

Ok, so he didn't say it. But I know he's read it!

Anyway, a question I submitted to Apolo Anton Ohno' website was answered by him on his last week. I'm not squealing for joy, but I do feel pretty darn special. OK, maybe a little squeal for joy. Why me? Why that question? Why not the "So, was that Filipino chick doing interviews in Salt Lake City crazy whack or what?" question, or the "Do you sometimes ask Rusty Smith to tuck you in at night?" question? Well, he had a great answer to my question, you all should check it out. Click on the "From Apolo" link on the site to see it.

The link above provides the non-club Apolo intro link. I like techno in the clubs, not on my websites. *evil grin* But if you want the "Club Apolo Link", click here.

Just wanted to post a little something more upbeat for a Monday morning.

Well, I complained a bit the other day, but I think I'm done with complaining for a bit. I think I'm pretty exhausted with just about everything right now. Mentally, physically, emotionally, I'm burnt out.

I would have to say that yesterday was the hardest day I've had in a long time. I'm not talking months, I'm talking years. And this time, it really had nothing to do with work, or with the wedding, or with any drama on the 'net. Life, life just bit me in the ass yesterday and threw me a curve ball. Even thinking about it now, just brings me to tears.

Normally, I'd be free to talk about whatever dramas are going on in my life, but not this time. Too many people are affected. But my emotions are drained, and I'm cursed with a feeling of duty: the duty to make everyone around me happy. To make right the things that are wrong in other people's lives, especially of those that I love. I know I can't, it's not possible, but still, I worry and I fret and I work my hardest to make everyone happy.

And it kills me when people aren't. It kills me when I find a problem I can't fix, or when I see people I love in pain. My eyes have been closed for a long time now, and I learned to open them yesterday.

Wedding? That's one day. Work? That's just money. The love of the people you have around you and ensuring that those people are safe, happy, and that they know they are loved is a million times more important.

Sorry for being so vague, but I know you guys understand that I can't put up all my dirty laundry on the 'net.

So if you can, say a little prayer for the people I love. I need all the help I can get on this one.

Well, I've finished the first week of my two part "Hell Weeks" for work. I've worked an average of about 11 and a half hours each day this week, working with the president of the company on getting some websites done. It's not as easy as putting pictures up and coding in HTML. These are traiing websites that connect with databases to provide training information which is sortable and filterable based on the 30,000 tables that we have. Blah. Ick.

Anyway, I got a lot of abuse. I was worked really hard. I was yelled at more than several times. Work work work. Didn't get to laugh much at work this week. Didn't get to talk. Or take long walks to enjoy the weather.

Next week could be worse. The reason I'm doing all this work is because we have our annual user forum this year. We've got a deadline to fix all this stuff up before the forum starts on Monday. And on Tuesday, I have a class on something that I have never seen. Oh, and when I asked how I should teach it, I was told "Why are you teaching that? It's not even working yet. It's broken. There's no way you can teach it. You're in big trouble. Hope you can think of something to entertain them for 45 minutes because you have nothing else." WTF?!?! So I'm going to be sitting in my class on Tuesday, showing my class an interpretive dance to "Pour Some Sugar On Me". Because I have nothing else to fucking do!

So yeah, my stress level is pretty high. There's a lot of projects coming up. And I just talked to the VP of the company about what my future in the company is going to be once I get married. Although I had spoken to everyone else about it, including the president, she was under the impression that I would be quitting after the wedding. Once again, I shout WTF!!!!?!!??! I had talked to her about it weeks ago, but rumor around the office was that she didn't think I would be staying.

But I got that all ironed out. I'll get a DSL in Long Beach and a phone line for work. I'll be doing site building, support, consulting, training and customizations. Which I have been doing anyway.

I won't have as much daily stress or have to deal with office politics as much, nor will I have to be worried about being yelled at - in person. But I'll also miss all my friends at work, the joking around, the walks, the singing, sharing food.

I think I'm starting to miss the place, and I haven't even left!

1. What time do you wake up on weekday mornings?
Lately, around 7am. Five minutes after I'm supposed to have left for work.

2. Do you sleep in on the weekends? How late?
Yes yes yes yes. 'Til about 11 if I can.

3. Aside from waking up, what is the first thing you do in the morning?
Snooze.

4. How long does it take to get ready for your day?
15 minutes, 30 minutes if I haven't showered the night before.

5. When possible, what is your favorite place to go for breakfast?
Once a while I treat myself to a steak bagel at the Mcdonalds I pass by on my way to work.

Sorry for not posting regularly, guys. I am on what is looking like my 5th 11+ hour workday in a row.

My body is tired, my mind is tired, and I'm sick of the mental abuse.

But it just makes me stronger.

More complaining and lamenting later, though I don't know when.