i swear the extra hour this weekend only aided in making it feel longer. that and halloween is always packed with fun. and chaos. last minute costume making is essential in my world it seems. but i pulled it off. or i should say, alex and i pulled it off. we went as lego people and we didn't fall shy of the mark. are costumes were great and EVERYONE loved them. so many random compliments. it made me feel great. our costumes were a success and they made people happy at the parties. WOO! take a look:

while at shaun's party i ran into a coworker. but not a coworker from my office. a guy from the IT dept who i always never knew much about. is he shy outside of work? is he nerdy as a stereotypical IT guy would be? does he party? well i guess he does party and i guess he's cool cuz he's roommates with shaun's friend fink and he was at shaun's party. that's good enough for me. haha it was soooo random to see him there. world's colliding. SO strange! and fun. oh good times. i also saw the dude that danced with at last year's halloween shindig. the guy who was my 80's alterego basically. i remember thinking at the time if i wasn't with andrew i'd have found out his name and more about him. maybe even asked for a number. well this year i am with alex and again, know nothing more about him other than that he's still as skinny as he was last year. he remembered me cuz i heard him tell his friends, "i remember that girl. i danced with her last year." at least i'm unforgettable...

the rest of the weekend was filled with random activities including looking for clothes for iceland and working towards getting my website up and running. the girl i'm having make it is super fast and really damn attentive to my needs. i'm so excited. i think the site will be done tonight save my work that i have for it. ie, formatting all the images and thumbnails. but man i'm excited. it's exactly how i wanted it to be. simple and clean and more functional than ever. WOO!!

i also saw marie antoinnette and i loved it. i know a lot of people don't like it and all i can say is that it delivered exactly what i wanted. youthful decadence of pretty costumes, gorgeous jewelry, outlandish wigs, and images of yummy food, all set to awesome music. the story was what it was. history. history of a reign gone wrong. what can ya do? i actually thought we were gonna get to see it all. til the bitter deadly end. but i guess coppola wanted to spare us the nasty details. after all it's not really pretty or fun to watch people dying. anyway, i recommend this movie. it's not amazing overall but i'm a sucker for visuals and its got plenty of those.

i'm really excited!! so i made a template of how i'd want my new website to work. i've been working on this for ages trying to find the way to code it in flash and whatnot. i just couldn't figure it all out. so i finally said alright, i'm gonna make a template, post it on this forum, and see what response i get. well sure enough, this girl went on there and saw my post and said she'd code it all up for $400!! i mean holy hell, that's a great deal. she said it would be cheap cuz i already designed it and i just need coding. then i can plug in what i want on the backend XML file. i'm SOOOO excited about this. i think i've got to have this girl do this for me. cuz shit, then i wouldn't have to worry about the coding and whatnot. and then it will exactly how i want it. now how i want to try and make it but can't make it quite right so i settle for second best. here is a jpg of how i want it to look give or take. it's not very different than what i have now. but it will be flash and it will function MUCH better! and yes yes yes i work with a bunch of designers and i know people who can code but you know how it is when you ask for favors from friends. it takes a lot longer to complete and whatnot. she said she could do this in like a week! oh man, i have to get my shit together and make it happen.

so i met the parents. i finally met the parents. and to sum it up, they love me!!! i mean *i* know i'm a great person. and i was pretty certain they'd like me. but they love me! at least this is what alex tells me. but i felt it too. i mean i saw them three times this weekend and i felt like it all went really well. when i first met them friday night it was easy-going from the start because alex was like "don't hug her when you first see her mom..." and then both mom and i knew this so it was funny. and we brought it up. cuz neither of us cared! haha but dinner was great. his dad was fairly quiet relative to his mom who asked me a lot of questions. a lot about what i do. my future. etc. and i just talked talked talked. so much that i barely got to eat. and boy was the food good. ravioli appetizer is TASTY! cantonese style duck. YUM! so yea. spago = good (expensive) food. anyway, then we went back to their (nice ass $800/per night) hotel room and hung out. then alex and i went home. the next day i went shopping with them for alex. because his mom loved the jeans i chose for him and just how i was dressing him in general and so they wanted to take him shopping. i went to work and just took charge choosing jeans and all that. in the end alex got two pairs of designer jeans and some other necessities like a button down shirt, belt, etc. the bill was hefty but i knew they could handle it. then we broke off and reconvened for dinner at A.O.C. which is this tapas place on 3rd street. not to be confused with spanish tapas. tasty all around though. it was me, the fam, and two friends. so tasty. this dinner the pressure was off me but his mom still loved how i was taking charge with the menu and ordering since there were so many plates to order. so all in all, a good meeting of the parents. they loved me, i loved them. it was great!

it was a bit awkward though knowing how rich they are. i mean not KNOWing but knowing. and knowing that my parents are no where near that level and should i take alex to meet them, it would not be the same. but i mean, i'm pretty sure that alex is aware of that so it wouldn't be terrible. it's just a bit weird. me dating these boys from wealthy families. it's a lot of pressure sometimes. bah. oh well.

rick's birthday shindig is tonight. happy birthday rick!!!

happy birthday! to aberdeen, stacey, and rick's mom.

haha yes it's aberdeen's birthday today. and he is 15. what a lovely old bear he is. been with me through thick and thin. =)

today the power at work crapped out and we got to leave early. but then when i got home i was sleepy so i took a nap. so basically i gained no time. oh well. c'est la vie.

last night was the season finale of project runway. the show i hate to admit i love. haha jeffrey won!!!! i was happy about that. *i* thought he deserved to win but many others didn't. and yes i loved michael's stuff the whole season but his collection was just not good. he is young and needs guidance. i'm sure he'll be a great designer in a few years.

ok time to do some work and eat and go wish stacey a happy birthday!

mr. bear has a friend! grizzley bear!! alex got him in the mail today. we have yet to name him. maybe cinnamon. not sure yet. isn't he cute? he's like mr. bear's alterego! haha

i HATE knott's scary farm. i'm never going again. EVER. my thoughts of knott's are tainted from this terrible experience. i remember when i used to love that place. i went a lot as a kid. but it's been years and it has changed. all these rollercoasters. EEEEHHHH. but nevermind that. the experience of waiting forever for everything was INSANE. it took 3 hours to get from alex's house to the park. that is uncalled for. SOOO much traffic. just awful. when we finally got off the freeway i hopped out of the car and walked down the road towards the pizza hut. i was going to order a pizza so that by the time the car made it down there, it would be ready. because i could walk faster than the cars. ridiculous!!!!we opted for KFC which happened to be on our side of the street so my efforts of leaving the car were in vain. but whatever. when we got to the park it was a clusterfuck of people and we didn't know where to go. good god. the lines for the rides were insane. 2 hours for the log ride? i don't think so!!! so in the end we went on 2 rides and through one maze. LAME. i was ready to kill someone. i wanted to take one of the monster's chainsaws and chop someone's head off with it. i swear to god.

anyway....this week i plan to work more on my website and plan more of iceland. if i realized how hard it would be to plan shit for iceland i would have opted for a different place. but our tickets are nonrefundable so we're going! and we're gonna make it work goddamnit.

NO MORE JURY DUTY!!!!

woo!!!!!!!

i also found out that my "brother" just got off jury duty this week as well. we both did it by being smart and not being "sheep." here is what happened....

so i had to start calling last week. sunday thru thursday. so i called and called. nothing. then on thursday they said to come in. so friday i went in and sat around waiting to get called to a jury. so i finally did and it was a case that was going to take like 10 days. they had been doing jury selection for 3 days with still no luck. they had 12 jurors but no alternates. so we were going to be the pool to take from. so we went in and the judge was SUPER nice. let most of us go because the case was longer than the norm and a lot of our companies don't pay more than 5 days. so i got off and went back to wait to get called again. around 4pm (mind you the place closes at 5) i got called onto a jury pool along with like 60 other people. it was so late in the day that they had no time to do anything. so we were told to come back on wednesday. UGH. lame!!!

so i went in yesterday and we began the jury selection process. we were told the case was a drug case that could last 10 days or more. we were handed a paper with 21 questions to read. if we had any "yes" answers to the questions we had to bring that up with the judge when we were called on. they were generic questions like have you been a victim of a crime? do u know any lawyers? etc. pretty much anyone would have a yes answer to at least one. so they called 18 prospective jurors and one by one the judge asked for the area you live, occupation, marital status, occupation of your spouse, and if you had prior jury experience. then he entertained comments regarding financial hardship to which he usually replied "too bad. this is your civil duty." even if you said you'd be broke after not being paid for 10 days or whatever, he didn't care. he was not a very nice judge. he also asked about the questionaire. then the defense got to ask questions. over and over and over in rephrased form he basically asked "do you believe it's possible for the police to frame people? do police ever do that? do they tamper with evidence?" setting it up for the idea that he was going to try and get his client off on a framing aligation. anyway, then the DA got on and asked questions. and man did he ask them FAST. i swear to god people were just being sheep and saying yes and true and agreeing. but one question struck me as funny which i thought i would bring up if i was called to the box. so anyway, they dismissed like 8 or so people and called more. i was on one of that "more" group and so today i had to come back and answer questions.

so today i got up there and the judge asked me all the questions. then the defense got on about his framing thing. then the DA got on and because he only had 5 min he said "do u guys rememebr what i asked the jurors yesterday?" and people replied "yes." he said, "ok. is there anytihng i should know aboutyour answers to those questions?" no on replied. so i spoke up and said, "well actually i had a question about one of your questions. you asked if you proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendent is guilty and don't call all the witnesses you have to the stand, can we give a verdict of guilty. correct?" and he said, "yes." and i said, "ok well i have a problem with that. because i think i need to hear from all the witnesses because what if a witness you dont call gives up information which changes my mind about the verdict?" so then he gets all like, "well, if ive proved it beyond reasonable doubt, that should be all you need." and i said, "no i dont agree." so then the judge stepped in and sort of said like, "well if he proves it beyond reasonable doubt, it's the law that you have to say guilty. who cares about 'what if's' regarding the other witnesses you didn't get to hear from. who cares what they say? the DA proved it." and i said, "well, i think i need to hear from everyone." so then the DA asks if anyone else agrees with this and one other woman did. so then she gets into it with them. and then the DA says, "ok so let's say hypothetically that a guy runs a red light. and somehow 16 cops see it. and i bring in 2 who testify that yes the man ran the red light. is that enough for you to give a verdict of guilty? if i've proven it beyond a reasonable doubt? will you have to hear from all 16?" and the woman says "yes. yes i would." so then the DA says, "ok so say we bring in 15 of the 16 cops but one is on vacation so we can't bring him in. and the rest all say the man ran the red. will u still need to hear from the 16th cop? we can't get him because he's on vacation." and the woman says, "yes. i probably would need to hear from that 16th cop. it's not MY problem that he's on vacation." which is so fucking true. u make us come here to the court then you make the cop! wtf??!?! so at that point i think the DA got exhausted with us. he asked his final questions and then the judge and lawyers went to sidebar to decide who got dismissed. and both me and the woman were dismissed as well as some others. but i'm certain we were dismissed because of that.

i mean seriously. i don't get it. are people not listening? HOW can you not want to hear from everyone else? all the witnesses? if u dont hear from them all i feel like u are getting a slanted view. being shown what they want u to show. wtf?!?! anyway, i'm done with that shit. at least for one year....

OH CRAPOLA! i forgot to blog these past few days. eep!! i guess the highlight (or lowlight) of the past few days would be jury duty. i got called in for friday. goddamn. had to get there at 7:45am. i swear to god i was going to fall asleep in the chair. in fact i think i did for a bit. i got there and waited around the assembly room with all the other potential jurors while we listened to instructions and waited for our names to be called. i didn't get called for awhile but then i got called onto a case that was going to be like 10 days. i got excused from it along with other people who claimed "hardship" for serving that many days past the amount our companies would pay for. so i was off the hook. but then around 4pm i got called onto another panel for a case that was also 10 days. i was amongst like 60 people and they didn't get to the selection process. they just swore us in and told us to come back on wednesday. so that's where i'm at. going back tomorrow and HOPING AND PRAYING i don't have to serve. ugh. cross your fingers for me.

meanwhile, the weekend was jam-packed. a lot of spending occured. me and the girls woke up bright and early saturday AM to go to a designer denim sale. oh yes. i got 2 pairs and they are awesome. fit so well. have to get them hemmed tomorrow AM. i also got a super cute dress at urban which i am now waiting for the slip that i ordered to arrive in the mail so that i can wear it because it's so sheer i need a slip for it. i also went to the rose bowl swap meet for the first time ever with alex. didn't buy anything but looked around. that place is MADNESS!!! but fun. alex and i also went to my old coworker cynthia's bday party saturday night. it was at this morrocan restaurant with a set menu. in the end it cost a LOT of money. ugh. but i felt bad saying i couldn't go to her. cuz i haven't seen her in ages. i changed gyms so now alex and i go to the same gym which is good cuz it thelps motivate me to go. plus there is a brand spanking new LA fitness in hollywood and it's really nice. i like it there. so i've been hitting the gym again recently and i feel good about that. so that's pretty much what's been going on since i last blogged. tonight a few of us are going to see the departed. i don't really know what it's about but i heard it's good so i'm willing to give it a go.

you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the facts of life. the facts of life.

oh i could sing the whole song but i won't. haha so i just came back from taking my car to the mechanic where they quickly installed my new rear window wiper arm (not blade, ARM...don't want to sound like i can't change a wiper blade). someone bent it back and broke it a few months back and i finally got around to fixing it. i took my car to jen's mechanic and they charged me just for the cost of the parts. so yea. good stuff. best mechanic experience EVER!

meanwhile work sucks. projects are trying my nerves and that's about all i'll say.

last night i went to the troub with alex and his friend peter to see the band lambchop. byron was gonna be rick's +1 but then rick's tickets fell through so they didn't stick around. good for them cuz the show was a total snoozer. at least for me. but see, i should have known better. actually i did. i was pretty sure i wasn't going to like it. but being that it was the day after alex's bday and he really loves lambchop, i felt obliged to go. but it was such a waste on me. $20 for a show i was nearly falling asleep at. ugh. i mean don't get me wrong. the lead singer has a great deep voice. but the songs are SOOO boring. they have one song i like. ONE. and they didn't play it. such a fucking shame.

but at least the weekend was good. friday we went to the roost for alex's bday. that was fun. then saturday was his big day. cuz we celebrated his bday on saturday. we went to see science of sleep at the vista theater which is probably the best deal in all of LA as far as theaters go. IF they happen to be playing your movie (they change it up like every two weeks) then i suggest going there. because it's an old theater with a crapload of leg room. it's not a multiplex so what you see is what you get. it's cheap too! if you see a matinee like we did it's $5. regular price is $8 i think. it's seriously amazing. anyway, the movie was great. except for the ending i loved it. it's just really cute and whimsical. slice of life movie. i don't want to ruin it even though i'm not sure i could. i mean it doesn't really have a plot. it's like stream of consciousness acted out almost. it's worth checking out if u like michel gondry's work. it's definitely a particular style. one i love.

after that alex and i went to the standard downtown where i got us a room for the night. the hotel seemed empty. which was good. i hate all the people there. goddamn. we had dinner at this place called little door. SOOOO good. oh man. very expensive though. but the food was amazing and the atmosphere is very romantic. it's good for a birthday or some special occasion. the mozzarella we had was SOOO good. after that we went back to the hotel. alex opened his gifts and ate his cupcake i got him. peanut butter and chocolate. his favorite flavor combination. then we went upstairs to the rooftop bar and got some drinks. it wasn't super crowded which was awesome. hung out there for a bit. then went back and got our stuffed friends and took these photobooth photos:

cute huh? we are crazy. the last set of photos were free. and we didn't realize it at first which is why our expressions are so funny. we didn't realize it was going off til the first flash. then we were like huh? is that a free set of photos? i think it is! what's going on? that's basically the series of events. great photos i think.

the next day we woke up and went to brunch to celebrate the beginning of the month of champions. we went with lawrence, rick, stacey, amanda, and zach. had mimosas and all. then got some work done. i went to the bev center to look at denim and boots. then alex and i reconvened and got some cheesecake and snacks at the cheesecake factory. and that was that. the end of a great weekend.

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