6:18pm (reykjavik time)

i didn't write yesterday because we got back to the hotel late after the bars and i was too tired. but overall yesterday and today have been quite relaxing and fun. yesterday we woke up leisurely and went into town. first we went back to the record shops. as i said yesterday, 12 tonar is AWESOME. if you ever go to iceland and want to go to a music shop, that is the place to go. the guys that work there are so friendly and while you sit and listen to the music in the store on discmen near the couch, they offer you coffee and pastry. it's fucking great. as a result we were there much longer than we expected previewing all sorts of icelandic bands. in the end alex bought two cds. one from a band called ulpa, and another from a band called the apparat organ quartet. the former being a little atmospheric sounding and the later being really quirky and strange with four organs (of course) and electronic vocals. i also found a band that i wanted to pursue further called trabant. but their music can be found via amazon.uk so i'll buy it from there since cds in iceland cost around $30 each (of course). after our lovely visit to 12 tonar we went to the other record shop where alex bought a rare sigur ros album. it's remixes of their first album and it was from the record label was started by that record shop. so of course it can't be found in america unless at some random used section.

after the music spree we had lunch. it was really goddamn good. i have to say, i haven't had a bad meal yet here in iceland. surely it's cost me a pretty penny, but all was so good. the fish is just so fresh. it might just convert me to a fish-eater! even the fucking dominos was better than american dominos. so yea. for lunch we had this pumpkin soup and haddock (type of fish like cod) au gratin. SO GOOD. i love when shit is coupled with cheese. just love it.

then we tried to go to the flea market only to find it was closed this weekend due to the holiday. OF COURSE. this goddamn non-capitalist society. clearly they aren't out to get your buck or else things would be readily open on holiday type days when people have time off and money to burn. but no....i was sad. i love flea markets. but at least i didn't spend anymore money. i can go a bit crazy with flea markets. so with our extra time we decided to go to the national museum of iceland which is really close to our hotel. i was getting drowsy since i took some meds but the museum was really nice even in my half-awake state. it's very modern looking and the way everything is displayed is really easy to follow and contemporary. probably the best museum we've been to in iceland. i enjoyed it despite my lack of appreciation for artifacts anytime before the 1600's or so. i just really have a hard time getting into artifacts.

once we finished with the museum we went back to the hotel where i took a nap. i could barely keep my eyes open so i had to sleep. when i woke up we decided to forego our trip to the local thermal pool and put it off til the following morning (ie, today). so we lounged around the hotel a bit before grabbing dinner in town and hitting up some bars. we ate at a cafe/bar/restaurant where again, our food was downright delicious. i had the salmon. yummy! while we were there, the drunkards started pouring in and this man came up to our table and asked to sit there. i thought he meant to take the extra seat but he really meant to sit there. and so he did and started talking to us in his slurred, not-very-good, english. he was a good laugh for a few minutes before we slipped out of his sight and went to some other bars. we hit up this one in particular called sirkus which we meant to go to the night before but couldn't because it was too crowded. we didn't drink too much since had already had some alchie in our hotel room (we bought a bunch duty free since it's way cheaper that way!).

and all yesterday we randomly heard a ton of fireworks going off throughout the city. people really love their fireworks here. i can only imagine what tonight will be like!!!! i think it will be insane. even the drunken man promised us a crazy time. hahaha

today we woke up early to get to the thermal pool in time before it closed at 12:30. since, once again, it's pre-holiday and things close early. but unlike pre-christmas, way more things are open today and way more people are out and about. and like yesterday, the fireworks are in full effect all day. i know it sounds crazy but this is iceland.

the thermal pool was not too far but definitely a busride away. it was in another part of the city we had never been. so that was cool to get to see other stuff along the way. this is a thermal pool where the locals go. i think one of the main things that icelanders like to do is go to thermal pools. all year round. and this one is the biggest one in the city. it has an outdoor lap pool (swimming is the national sport of iceland), outdoor kiddie pool complete with water slide, outdoor hot tub type pools, and an indoor lap pool. on the other side of the facilities is a spa and gym. needless to say, the place is quite large. i found that it's hard to stay in the hot water for too long. it's really nice having half your body in the freezing cold (it was literally down to freezing temps today) and half in the nearly 100F water. but i can only take so much before my body just says, either start hardcore swimming, or get out. and i didn't feel like doing laps. so out we went. we left the pool around 12:15 and went into town to get some lunch. we stopped at this sandwich place that we had passed by many times. it was open so we got our grub. it was about $12 for a really large (and really tasty...this ain't no quiznos here) sandwich and soda. that's a good deal here in iceland, the 3rd most expensive city in the world (according to reports i found on various websites). my sandwich was downright delicious. so was alex's.

after that we took some photos of the mountain by the harbor. today, as luck would have it, is a gorgeous day. it's about 0C (it's been about 6C consistently while we have been here) and it's clear as a bell out there. which means....they are probably going to run the goddamn NORTHERN LIGHTS TOUR tonight!!!!! motherfucker. of course we can't go on the tour since its new year's eve and we have to be in town!!! blah. it's so goddamn clear out today and it's cold. it's fucking perfect. i'm so sad.... the only way this can be redeemed is if new year's eve is as fucking INSANE as they say it is. which i'm sure it will be, for as i type this, fireworks are going off in all directions outside and it's not even dinnertime!!! also, it is sometimes possible to see the northern lights from the city if the night is right. so maybe, JUST MAYBE, we could see them tonight from the city. now THAT would be amazing. but i ain't holding my breath....

the next entry will be tomorrow morning when i am hungover from an amazing new years. or so i hope. :)

2:21am (reykjavik time)

so we FINALLY saw the city in it's real state. people out everywhere. stores open. bars open. it was a good time. and now it's 2am and we are back in the hotel and i'm watching cnn as alex sleeps. part of me wants to stay awake because saddam is supposed to be executed in less than an hour. that's fucking insane. i mean i dont like saddam, but this is insane. if he is actually killed this is monumental. i remember when they finally found him and captured him. that was monumental. and then he was on trial and he looked like a civil person. a normal person. not a former dictator. and he might be hung to death! i mean this is crazy!!!

anyway....so today alex and i had a relaxing day and walked a lot throughout the city. we walked in areas we had never walked to before. we started off going to the mall not far from our hotel. we thought since we had some extra time we'd check out what an icelandic mall looked like. it's normal of course but we saw a few fun stores. all too pricey. we ate in the food court and all they had were mcdonalds, subway, dominos, sbarro, and like two other things. so we got to see the prices at mcdonalds (we didnt eat there though) and the big mac meal was about $12. so there you have it.

after the mall we walked to the perlan. the perlan is this huge structure that sits up on a hill in the city. it can be seen from probably anywhere in the city. it's got a big glass dome that is supported by steel frames and has 6 aluminum water tanks on the side that can hold 4 million liters of water each at a temperature of about 185F. i could care less what the reason of the structure is, but i think it's really interesting looking from an architectural sense. i've never seen a building like it. and i like how it's lit up with red and green at night due to the xmas season. it's just a really awesome building. so we walked to it and took a bunch of photos of it and then went to the observation deck and got an amazing view of the city. better than the church we went to the other day. cuz you can see everything from the perlan in one fell swoop. with the church you have to walk to the different pillar cutouts to see the different sections of the city.

after the perlan it was a long, brisk walk to the city center. once we got there we walked to the two music stores we wanted to go to. 12 tonar and smekklysa. both are record shops and small icelandic record labels. i liked the first impression look of smekklysa better because it's next to a vintage clothing store and looks really hip. but 12 tonar, which looks sorta drab and boring at first glance, is way more awesome cuz the guy that works there is so fucking nice. really friendly and helpful. u can listen to the cds before u buy them and he offers all the patrons coffee as they are in there! i mean how awesome is that?!?! we didn't buy anything in the stores but alex was stewing over some stuff and he has decided to get a few things when we go back to that area tomorrow for the weekend flea market which i'm really excited for because i love flea markets in the US and i love them even more in foreign countries. you really get to see the people and the flavor that way. after the music stores i FINALLY got to go to this jewelry store that has been closed everytime i pass buy. it had some really cute and odd stuff in the window and when i went in i ended up buying some really neat earrings for a gift. i saw some rings i wanted but wasn't in the mood to be making a big time jewelry purchase for myself. but the woman in there was super nice. at the time i went in, fireworks were going off in the city center and i had NO idea why. i mean new year's isn't for 2 days. so i asked her why and she said that iceland buys a LOT of fireworks every year because they love to celebrate in reykjavik and also because the rescue workers who volunteer all year round to help find lost people throughout the country are the people who sell the fireworks. so as support for them, the country purchases an assload of fireworks from them and since they have so many, they like to set them off ahead of time as a sort of precurser to the massive event for new year's eve. so i am 100% certain that new year's eve will be completely insane. it's legal for people to make bonfires and set off their own fireworks and they do. apparently the entire city goes off. fireworks and crazy drinking til 5am. i am actually slightly worried about all the drunken debauchery. i don't want to get in the way of a stupid popper or something. but it should be very interestng and maybe one of the more impressive new years' i've ever experienced.

we went back to our hotel around 7pm and once again no northern lights tour. we only have one more day before the chance is over to see the damn aurora borealis. i am not very hopeful and a bit sad. i didn't really care about missing the snowmobiling because i can do that in a lot of places. and i'm not too sad about missing out on this glacier lagoon located in the southeastern part of iceland because while it's super fucking cool looking in the photos and was used in one of the james bond movies (and totally frozen over now, therefore unreachable), i have been to antarctica and saw the most insane ice formations i'll probably ever see. so i could take it or leave it and not be upset. but the aurora borealis!!! ugh. this goddamn global warming is killing me. the reason we can't see the northern lights is because it's a bit overcast but mainly it's not cold enough. it must be at least 0C and it hasn't been that cold at all. except on xmas. so therefore we can't see the damn lights. i'm so sad. and yes u can see it in canada and stuff, but still goddamnit. i'm crossing my fingers for tomorrow night.

after taking a quick nap in the hotel, alex and i headed out for dinner around 10pm. we had fish and chips at this corner shop. it was cheap and really good. we learned that at least half of the cod used in fish and chips in the UK is icelandic cod. so there u have it. that might be why the fish and chips we had tonight was really good.

after dinner we hit the bars in the city center. it's really awesome how many there are in such a small space. i mean there are a shitload. like at least 20 or more. we went to a few. one called kaffibarinn which is rumored to be part owned by damon alburn. it's a cool coffee shop by day, bar by night. the clientele are rather hip and once the night gets going it's hard to get into due to space limitations. most of the bars around that area are like that. they are small and crowded as the night goes on. apparently some bars are open til like 4 or 5am!!! we didn't stay out that late but we probably will on new year's eve. it will be INSANE.

1:16am (reykjavik time)

today was very up and down. good grief. the weather was all over the place and it affected all sorts of things. we set out for the south coast of iceland tour at around 9am and it was dark as hell. i know i say that over and over but it's true. and it's so damned true it's like a hammer over my head. every morning i go out early and i feel like it's the dead of night. it's THAT dark. and it doesn't get light for like 2 or 3 hours. so it's really disconcerting. anyway, we set out on the trip in this van type 4x4 vehicle. i've seen 4x4 SUV type cars but never van type ones. it was weird. and cool. it allowed us to go over the "rugged" terrain of iceland. we first stopped at the skogafoss waterfall. it was nice but small. not as impressive as the waterfall we saw the other day. then we continued on toward vik village. vik is a small area in the southern part of iceland that has a black sand beach. in the summer it's a popular area for people to getaway to. alex and i read about it in the national geographic traveller mag so that's how we knew we wanted to check it out. it was WINDY as hell there but very cool. the black sand and rocks along with the overcast monochromatic sky and whitecapped water that broke really close to the sand made for some "cool" (pun both intended and not) photos. in order to reach that area our 4x4 had to cross over this water-drunched area. we got a photo of the car and it looked funny slightly submerged in water. again i say, iceland has NO trains and no other means of getting anywhere other than hiring excursions or renting vehicles and doing it yourself. it's just a bit risky during the unpredictable winter months. and if we had rented a car, we wouldn't have been able to climb the mountain and get a better aerial shot of the beach and volcano reminents (there is an active volcano in iceland near the beach that does erupt every 10 yrs or so and throws huge rock size materials into the beach where they stick in the water for years). it was super windy but really awesome looking. our photos don't do this beach justice. but when the wind is so fierce it causes your photos to be blurry, there isn't much you can do except chalk up the bad photos as a realistic depiction of just what you went through.

after climbing the mountain, we went to the actual village of vik which is very tiny. i wanted to compare it to brighton, uk (where i studied and lived for 6 months during college), but u can't. i mean brighton may be a seaside town that the british travel to during the summer just the way iclanders travel to vik during the summer, but brighton is an actual city with buses, malls, stores, colleges, nightclubs, etc and vik is a little tiny town that i think i saw the whole of just lookng out the car. there are probably a few hundred people living there at most. (i just googled and i read there are about 500 living there.)

on the way back to reykjavik, we stopped at a glacier. i dont know the name of it but it was raining pretty badly and by the time i got to the glacier (it was about a 10 minute hike) i was soaking wet from my jacket down and the goddamn glacier wasn't even impressive. i KNEW i should have stayed in the car. i mean what was i thinking? i've been to antarctica. i've seen glaciers like a motherfucker. bah! to boot, alex's camera got a bit fucked. i swear to fucking god, digital cameras kill me. in the end we determined that his camera is like 98% ok. all functions work and take photos but the lcd screen seems a bit funky. either there was a bit of water that leaked into it or the condensation is getting the better of it. i dont know. every time we look at it, it seems to look different. the "water leak" shifts around so we cant tell if it's going to get better or just change around. at least the damn camera works and we can see the screen and all that. my lcd screen is straight up cracked and broken....

after the glacier we stopped at another waterfall. at this point it was raining REALLY hard and super windy so a few of us stayed behind in the car, myself included. i couldn't bring myself to get even more wet. i mean the waterfall looked the same. u could walk behind this waterfall but that would mean walking like 10 min to the waterfall and 10 min back. all in the rain. and then of course get the spray from the waterfall as u go behind it. ummm....no thanks.

we got back to the hotel around 6pm and i was happy i went on the trip today cuz it was a different part of iceland that i hadn't seen, but i was none to happy to be wet as hell. right away i knew we weren't going to see the northern lights yet again because of the weather. i'm starting to worry it might not happen. we have 2 more nights to cross our fingers for because dec 31st is NOT an option since we have to party it up with the locals in the streets. and of course that being said, the night will probably be crystal clear. but that would be good for the fireworks, so i wouldn't complain about that. i'm just really hoping the weather gets better, the wind from today/tonight blows away all the crap, and we can see the northern lights possibly saturday night. that would rock.

another thing we learned was that our tour for tomorrow was cancelled/altered. we were set to go on a "winter adventure" tour meaning we'd go around the southern area and go to this glacier where we'd snowmobile for an hour. well, apparently they can't go to that glacier due to weather or lack of snow or something, so they were going to put us on this other tour that they will attach snowmobiling to by going to this other glacier that has enough snow and whatnot. BUT the problem was that the first part of the tour was exactly where we went on tour the other day. the "golden circle" tour just with the glacier/snowmobiling added on. sure we'd get more for our money in a sense cuz we paid less for our tour than this one would cost but then we'd have to waste 9 hrs seeing the same shit we already saw. so we decided it wasn't worth it even though we REALLY wanted to go snowmobiling. i mean u can do that in other places but we wanted to do it on a glacier in iceland. it just seems so cool. but we couldn't justify this alteration so we cancelled the tour. this means tomorrow we had to figure out what to do. but we pulled some shit out of our asses and we figured out how to fill another day. considering we will have been in this city for a total of 8.5 days by the time we leave, it's hard to think of new things to do that weren't already on the list. but we found some stuff so we are good. and this way we saved some money from not snowmobiling. so that's good i guess.

we took a taxi into the city centre for dinner. we normally walk but the wind was too crazy and it was rainy. the cab was like $10 for the two of us which is completely acceptable for a cab except that the distance we travelled and the time it took would not normally cost $10 in america. but so be it. we didn't want to get totally drenched. we had a lovely (yet pricey) indian dinner. we read that this indian restaurant was really good so we wanted to check it out. and yep, it was good. better than most indian i have had in LA i have to say. and we had a little twist of a dish. normally the tandoor dishes are chicken, lamb, and the like. we got salmon. it was really really good. alex and i had a little fight in the restaurant over money and food which was frustrating but all is well now. i think i was just frustrated over not being able to snowmobile and everything being so damned expensive that i started to lash out. then he lashed out. then it got ugly for a second. then all was well.

so that was that. today is down to a close. the wind is blowing and i'm looking fwd to tomorrow. we FINALLY get to see the pearl which is this really neat structure on the hill in the city. and we have some other random plans. so i hope the rain lets up and the wind dies down.

11:03pm (reykjavik time)

we woke up late! we heard the alarm but then we slept through it and woke up like an hour later than we wanted to. terrible...but luckily it was our free day so we didn't miss any tour bus or anything. we went to town and first went to the national art gallery. now first up, i realized i forgot to mention that we went to the harbour house art museum. reykjavik has 3 art museums but only one of them seemed interesting so we went to that one yesterday. i forgot to mention it because it wasn't very impressive. in fact none of the museums in this city are impressive. probably because they are all so small. jeez louise. but we made the most of it. the harbour house was a very modern art museum with a few cool pieces. but overall i've seen better. i mean i know this ain't no NY moma but when rick and i went to the kiasma in helsinki we were blown away. and that's a fellow nordic country. so i think reykjavik just doesn't put enough into its art museums. oh well. anyway, so we went to the national art gallery today as our first activity for the day and it was a huge disappointment. i mean at least with the harbour house i found some cool pieces. but the national art gallery was ALL french art. all matisse style french art. i think we were there for 15 min and looked at every piece.

after the art gallery we got some coffee before heading to lunch. on the way we decided to look at quiznos and subway to see how the prices compared. subway wasn't too bad. a small sandwich was about $7 and a large was about $12. in iceland, that's not too bad. but quiznos was INSANE. $10 for a small sandwich and $22 for the largest one. i mean wtf is going on here? are they literally importing everything for the sandwich from america?? at those prices it sure seems that way. anyway, we went to lunch which was expensive but phenomenal. we decided that we would go to seafood for lunch rather than dinner to save a bit of money but still get to experience the fantastic icelandic seafood. and it was sooooo good. it was this asian fusion sort of restaurant and everything about it was great (except the price). we had softshell crab in this tempura batter for the appetizer and then cod and halibut for the main course. they brought out the complimentary bread first which was just whatever but the olive oil was the best olive oil i've ever had. it was this mango, banana olive oil concotion that was the chef's creation. i wish i could bottle that shit and take it home with me. it was like liquid gold i tell ya. people would eat that shit up in america. or at least i would. anyway, in the end the meal was $35 per person which is reasonable for a meal of that sort. we had dinner-like portions and it was very good quality. so i was perfectly happy to splurge this one time.

after lunch we went to the museum of photography which was the top floor of the library. as a result it was one room of photos and it was pathetic. at least the photos were of greenland. it's a bit closer to iceland than say, france. so we were there only a few minutes. luckily the two museums we went to today were free. after that we went to the shopping streets. i was so excited because there were like 5 stores i wanted to see on the street. ok well apparently since today is the day after the 3 national holidays, the independent shops got to decide if they wanted to take the day off and at least half of them decided to take that extra day. UGGGGHHHHH wtf? so we just sorta went down the street and made our way to the famous church in the city. it looks funky and has this elevator that goes to the top where u can get a really good view of the city from all angles. so we did that. it was pretty awesome. got some good aerial shots of the little city of reykjavik. the two museums near the church that we had considered checking out were both closed so we just headed back to the hotel. we were so pumped for our free day and so defeated. sigh. at least we have another day and half of free time coming up. by then the few stores we want to see will be open. we hope...

once back at the hotel we went to the gym for a bit. we decided to order dominos because we could just pick up the phone, press 4, order, and have it delivered to our room. PLUS it was only like $10 a person for dinner!!!! it was $10 for a personal pan pizza but hey, it's filling and it's cheaper than the other alternatives. hahaha we found out that we couldn't go on the northern lights tour again because the weather wasn't good enough. it was very overcast today and a bit drizzley. it was fine for walking around but not good enough to see the beautiful colors in the sky. so we will try again tomorrow after our day excursion. we are going to the far south of iceland. it's a long way down so it'll take like 2 hrs to get there i think. i'm stoked. i think it will be a good trip.

1:02am (reykjavik time)

today was a more relaxing day simply due to the fact that a lot of it we were on our own. we started off the day early as fuck getting on the bus at 9am to go to the blue lagoon. once again it was dark as hell and looked like it was 10 at night. but we are starting to get used to this. it took about an hour to get the blue lagoon which is a manmade thermal pool. it is situated outside the city near the airport and is btwn 6 active volcanoes. there is literally nothing out there except for this refinery looking thing. it's really weird. basically awhile back people realized there was all this hot water sitting under the land. it was unearthed and found to be boiling hot. so they found a way to regulate the temperature (100F) and created this lagoon thing. it's basically a spa with a huge, outdoor pool made from geothermal water. the water is changed out every 40 hours and is like 75% saltwater mixed with minerals and silica mud. they found that the mud had healing properties for people who have skin problems such as excema and psoriasis.

anyway, we got to the place around 10am and were in the water by 10:30. it's pretty fucking weird swimming in 100 degree saltwater with lava residue under your feet in nearly complete darkness. as we were in the water it started to get lighter, and by the time we left it was "daylight." but yea it was fucking weird. the photos we took actually do it justice. they really give a sense of how dark it was when we first got there and how light it was when we left (we took two sets of photos). the water felt like being in a HUGE hot tub. oh it was fantastic and weird all at once.

once we left we went back to the hotel to take proper showers and rinse off all the saltwater. then we went into town for lunch. today is boxing day, which is the 3rd national holiday in a row (yes xmas eve, xmas, and boxing day are ALL national holidays....). it was about a 50/50 split for things being open. no stores were open. none have been open (other than the supermarket) for the past 3 days. iceland is definitely not like the rest of the world. this is the time of the year when stores typically cash in on the holiday season with last minute xmas shopping and after xmas sales. but not here in iceland. no siree. everything is closed. but a lot of restaurants were open so we got to finally eat some proper meals at "reasonable" prices. for lunch we each spent about $12 each. that was a "good deal." after that we roamed the streets looking for things to do tomorrow with our planned free day in the city. then we went back to the hotel where we found out that our excursion to see the northern lights was cancelled. the weather wasn't right so we will have to try to go tomorrow. so then we went back into town later for dinner. we had a lovely dinner at this cafe/bar where we had $20 pasta. it was quite tasty so i felt that that overpricing was justified. then we walked around to kill time before going to the bars. but then we realized that being that it was tuesday, boxing day, and 10pm, no one was really out and about at the bars. so we went back to the hotel. as it turns out, people don't party like everyone says they do, until friday and saturday. so we'll hit the bars then. and of course on new year's eve. so that was that for today. very chill. i look fwd to tomorrow when all hours will return to normal and everything will be open!

12:03am (reykjavik time)

today i got to experience the entire dark to light back to dark thing. yesterday we flew in right on the cusp of daylight so it wasn't a good assessment, but today we really got to see it. oh shit, and while i'm at it, MERRY CHRISTMAS!! this has definitely been the most unconventional xmas ever for me. aside from the magic growth xmas tree i got from urban outfitters and brought with me on this trip, there hasn't been too much else to indicate it's xmas, other than a few people saying "merry christmas" here and there, nothing being open in town, and us dodging a $100 a head xmas dinner at the hotel (because NOTHING is open in town) by eating at the hotel bar where i had a $20 burger. yes, $20 burger. and no it wasn't special at all.

anyway, on this xmas day it snowed. thank god. white xmas for the first time ever. wow. come to think of it, that's pretty special. haha how funny. it only snowed in the morning when it was cold enough but at least it didn't rain later on. we got on the tour bus at 8:30 and headed out at 9am for the "golden circle tour." this tour consists of seeing a crater, a waterfall (gulfoss), some hot springs/geysers, and the (p)ingvellir national park (i can't get the first character of the word to appear because it's a character not in the english language...but it looks like a P sort of). we got on the bus at 8:30 and it looked like it was 10pm at night. i swear to god. it was trippy as hell. as we started out it was still dark for many hours. we were going past wastelands of nothingness. i mean at some points there was literally NOTHING out there other than a mountain or some open, barren fields. we took photos to document the light progression. we got to the first stop at around 10:15am -- the crater. the crater was frozen over with cracks in it. it was still very dark out. but with a tinge of light. the crater was cool. they said that some bands play shows down there on rare occasions. that's pretty fucking rad.

after the crater we continued on to the gulfoss waterfall ("foss" means waterfall in icelandic) which was quite impressive. i wondered how a waterfall could really look in the dead of winter, but surprisingly it looks rather neat. it's like all this mild temperature water just rushing down amidst all this ice on the ground. it's very weird. and very cool. at the waterfall we stopped for some lunch. alex has traditional icelandic lamb soup and i had the soup of the day which was a sort of cream of mushroom. both were quite tasty. and good thing they were because they were about $10 a piece.

following the gulfoss stop, we moved on to the hot springs/geysers. those were cool. i've actually never seen a hot spring before. there were a bunch there and this was the peak of our sunlight. in fact the sun was so bright and on the setting side that it made for some brilliant photos. the water was really hot i was told. alex touched it for a second and so did some of the other people on the bus. one of the geysers spouted up 3 separate times. that was fun to watch.

the last stop on the tour was the (p)ingvellir national park. it's more a historic park. it's where the old parliament (930 A.D.) was. now what remains is a beautiful area that is grassy in the summer and covered in snow in the winter. again, you might think it would be dull, but it's actually quite beautiful. there are some little houses there in the distance. i think they are not related to the parliament. i mean how could they be. 930 A.D....

we got back to the hotel around 4:30 just as the sun was going down. it was definitely dusk lighting. so goddamn weird i tell ya. the tour was good. thankfully, because we booked a couple others with this company. why book tours and not just do it on our own? well once you see the photos of everything, you'll understand. basically EVERYTHING is really hard to get to. there are no trains in the country, only buses. and everything is so damned remote. if you don't take a tour or rent a car (which i was too worried about driving in a foreign land in the dead of winter), you ain't getting there. i found out that iceland has a population of 300,000 and more than half of the people live in the southwest region which is where reykjavik is. the rest live primarily in the northeast region in a city called akureyi. the middle of iceland is all uninhabited and unreachable during the winter. so i mean that's pretty goddamn remote.

back at the hotel we planned out tomorrow. we're going to the blue lagoon which this manmade thermal pool. the most famous one in reykjavik. it looks really awesome. then we are going to the national museum if time permits, and then hopefully off to see the northern lights (aurora borealis) if the weather conditions are good enough.

one thing i realized so far is that in our hotel we think the water is hot springs water. it smells like rotten eggs (ie, sulfur). so we think it might be hot springs water. that's pretty cool. though VERY smelly.

i can't wait for the city to pick up again. by wednesday, people should be out and about and stuff will be open. tomorrow is considered a holiday because it's "boxing day."

finally, i've decided not to write a real journal to save time since i can type faster. so maybe i will update this daily. or every other day. since that's what i'd normally do with a written journal. we shall see. once the city is alive, that might change everything.

8:41pm [reykjavik time]

alex is konked out. i mean OUT for the count. but with good reason. he slept about 3 hrs in the past like 36 hrs or something. the travel to reykjavik has been, of course, not easy. is any trip easy? eh, well, some are. but most have some road bumps. one bump i seem to keep hitting in the camera one. yes yes yes i broke my camera AGAIN. only this time it still works. BUT the lcd screen is fucked. so i have to use the viewfinder. and i can't see if the picture came out well because the screen is fucked. but at least i can take photos. at least alex has his cam which is better than mine. but i literally cried over the fact that i broke the bastard thing again. i'm SUCH a klutz... =( when i get home i'll see if it's worth fixing AGAIN since it's been less than half a year since the last break. if not i'll get a new camera, maybe buy one of those protection plans, AND i'll get a really really good padded case. cuz this time i was just going to put it in the safe and the fucking thing fell out of my hands ever so slightly and dropped. and since it dropped in the case the only thing that got fucked was the sensitive lcd screen. but anyway....enough of that.

so we got to LAX at 6:45am yesterday morning thanks to stacey who graciously offered to take us. (oh btw, i will not be updating this thing regularly. it's just that i'm not tired, alex is sleeping, it's xmas eve so nothing is open, and we have free internet at our hotel.) LAX was SOOOO crowded i swear we barely had enough time to get on the plane. and we got there 2.5 hrs before our flight. but we got on and all was well. we made it to baltimore on time AND they checked our bags all the way through to reykjavik even though we flew two different airlines. so that was great. alex was worried we wouldn't have enough time once we landed at BWI to get our bags, re-check in and go through security. well.....

BWI is a small airport. 5 terminals all very small in size. the international wing being the smallest. our flight to iceland was delayed 4 hrs due to bad weather over here so the flight that was coming from reykjavik to baltimore was delayed and therefore our flight was delayed since it's just the same plane going back and forth. so we had to kill nearly 6 hrs in a dead airport. i mean nothing was crowded. NOTHING. we went to the internatonal terminal security check point where there wasn't a single person in line. the staff was happy to see us and greeted us warmly. this is a first for TSA. they warned us that there was nothing in the terminal to do. and that it would be advised to eat in another terminal or in the concourse. so we did. we walked the entire airport and killed some time. read some magazines. did madlibs. the whole nine yards. we ate this restaurant where the service was slow but the waitress was super friendly. again, a first for airport staff i swear. we got back to the international terminal just before 9pm when duty free was going to close. we had to get some alchie to take with us cuz we read that alcohol was EXPENSIVE in iceland. so we wanted to take our own and buy mixers here to cut down on cost. thank the lord we did. cuz not only is alcohol expensive, but just about every fucking thing else you can imagine. but i'll get to that.

finally we boarded the plane at midnight and we were on our way. the flight was smoothe and effortless. i thought it would be bad cuz of the bad weather but it seems as though the weather in iceland is as volatile as they say in the guidebooks. cuz when we got here it was totally fine. and not that cold. i keep checking bbc weather and i swear the forecast changes every damn day. before it said it was going to rain tomorrow. now it says sunny. who the hell knows! anyway, we arrived at 10:30am and it was still fairly dark out. it's a fuckin trip this whole lack of sun thing. i mean seriously. it gets "light out" at like 11:45am and by 4pm it's definitely dusk. by 5pm it's like fully dark. it's very weird. makes u think it's late as hell. i know it's only like 9 right now but it feels like it's midnight.

the reykjavik airport is small but nice and modern. i'll take photos on the return. cuz it's got some cool architecture inside. what's weird is we had to go through security when we exited the plane and right before immigration and customs. really really weird. but whatever. we got on a bus to take us into town and to our hotel. our hotel is not quite in the city centre but it's totally walkable. it probably took us 15 min to walk to the city centre. everything was shut down but we figured out the lay of the land. at least that area. we have yet to figure out where the particlar museums we want to see are and how to get to the beautifully famous church and this weird round building off in the distance. but we'll get it all sorted. we have like 8 more days. we did, however, figure out that everything is astromically expensive. i swear it's more expensive here than japan or england. i'll have to confirm that through internet research later. but like a typical restaurant main course with no meat is like $22. we found some places for like $18. if you want a meat dish it's at least $30. i mean maybe we didn't find the really cheapie places. but i can still see them being pricey. we went to the supermarket (it actually was open) and unless it's made right here in iceland, it's going to cost at least 2x the price. and since they don't make EVERYTHING here, it's just how it goes. and yes it's xmas eve and unlike america and other capitalistic, money-hungry countries, stores are not open late here. in fact most aren't even open. they take their xmas seriously. literally everything shuts down minus the hotels and the restaurants inside the hotels. consequently we had to eat expensive hotel food for dinner. it sucks. tomorrow night we're going to eat (relatively) less expensive hotel bar food for dinner. cuz if we had the nice xmas dinner they have planned for the night, it'd cost $100 a head for a 4 course meal. i shit you not. iceland is seriously THE MOST EXPENSIVE PLACE I'VE EVER BEEN. at least our hotel wasn't expensive and our excursions were normal price. and we already paid for all of that. so basically all we are paying for on this trip is food, some transport, and museum costs. luckily they have this tourist card that you buy per day and it gives you unlimited access to buses and musuems all day. pre-paid. so u don't have to pay any additional costs.

i have yet to find out how much it costs to send a postcard. if it's anymore than $1 per card no one is getting cards. sorry folks but with the amount i'm spending just to stay alive (ie, eating) i can't afford luxuries like post cards or souvenirs. not that there are any great souvenirs here it seems. that is still a bit TBD but methinks it's mostly knits and jewelry.

anyhow, that's the news for now. tomorrow we go on our first excursion to the "golden circle" which are 3 spots all near each other. a geyser, waterfall, and historical park, if i'm not mistaken. we set out (not so) bright and early at 9am and return by 5pm (just in time for the sun to fully be set).

merry xmas to all in advance. i'll be spending this xmas walking around in the dark half the day and eat bar food at night. good, strange times.

alright. i'm going to retract my statement of "no i won't be making any top 10 lists the way many bloggers do." i am SO bored at work that i decided i would make a year end list after all. BUT it will be 15 albums AND it will not be done from best to worst 1 to 15. it will be in alpha order because of these top 15 albums i can't really decide which was the best for me. basically i came into work today and byron asked me what my top 10 albums of the year were. i said, "i don't do top 10 lists..." but then i got bored and decided to give it a go. i wrote down all the albums i really liked from the year and there turned out to be 17. but 17 is such an awkward number visually and categorically. so i cut two off the list to round it out to 15. one being the guillemots EP that they released in lieu of a proper album which came out a few months later. half the songs on the EP overlap with the LP so i figured the EP could be cut. the other was the union of knives album which was good but not as good as the singles off of it. so without further adieu....

jen's 15 favorite albums of 2006 (in alpha order)

01. asobi seksu - citrus
shoegaze. a genre of music i never really got into. i had heard asobi's previous self-titled album and didn't really like it except for one song. but then citruscame along and i was hooked. lead singer, yuki's voice is just brilliant. high-pitched and sensual, it really shines through the often noisey music it's laid over. i love it. standout tracks are "thursday" and "red sea."

02. beck - the information
when i first heard beck was coming out with a new album this year i didn't even care what the damn thing was going to be like. all preliminary reports said that the cd was going to come with a dvd of music videos for every song on the album and that the entire packaging was going to be DIY. each cd was to come with a blank canvas and a packet of stickers so you could make your own design. i mean what more could i ask for? oh right, some good music. well luckily this album had that too. i will be the first to admit that this is not beck's strongest album but that doesn't mean it's not good. there are some definite standout tracks -- "nausea" and "elevator music." also, i would say the album trails on a bit too long. the last few tracks could be cut off and i wouldn't even care. but i still think the album is solid. if i were to numerically value this list, it would definitely be toward the bottom but i still love you beck. and the puppet show rocked my fucking socks.

03. belle & sebastian - the life pursuit
alright, i LOVE this album. this album not only got me through a very hard break up, but it renewed my love for b&s as a whole. i used to feel like their albums all blended together and i didn't want to take the time to listen to all of them. but once this album came out, it changed my whole view of b&s. and now i am in love with them as a band. this album has its highs and lows which is probably why i love it so much. albums that rock from beginning to end or continually drown on can be alright but are never as good as albums with a good mix. i mean you've got bubbly songs like "another sunny day," "we are the sleepyheads," and "for the price of a cup of tea." then you have slower songs like "dress up in you" and "mornington crescent." altogether a magnificent package.

04. goldfrapp - supernature
this is a sexy album. all the synthy sounds and alison's slinky voice. holy shit it makes my head spin and my hips gyrate. pop this baby in and everyone will be dancing instantly. and then by the end they might all be making out. i mean seriously, if ever there was an album that epitomized sex this year, this is it. standout tracks include "ooh la la," "lovely 2 c u," and "fly me away."

05. guillemots - through the windowpane
the guillemots might never make it big, but i will always love them. they are a bit jam-band-y at times, but through and through they have some good songs. and this being their first full length proper album, they took a little bit from column A and little bit from column B. some old and some new. this album is all over the map. from the opening track, "little bear" which has a minute and a half musical intro and never really picks up in tempo to "trains to brazil" which seems to have more instruments and sounds crammed into it than i can count on my fingers and maybe even my toes. lead singer, fife has a very interesting voice that sometimes sounds like it's about to crack because he's so emotionally invested in every song. this is probably why i can put up with all the jamming. it all seems to come from the heart. the songs are very beautiful and i hope to see more from this band in the coming year.

06. the knife - silent shout
this was the sleeper album of the year for me. i think i actually first heard it back in 2005 when it leaked if i am not mistaken. and when i first heard it i thought it had a few good tracks but i didn't like it for the most part. so i put it to rest and moved on. months later i decided to give it another go. everyone was raving about it and said i hadn't given it a proper fighting chance. so i decided to have another go at it. and maybe my sinuses cleared and my ears popped, but i swear i heard a totally different album. one that is much more dynamic than i first realized. this brother and sister duo really know how to do a number. karin sings all the vocals through various synthesizers which makes for some interesting sounds at times. standout tracks include "marble house" and "forest families." to boot, their live show is an amazing digital projection spectacle that any person with an artistic bone in their body should see.

07. the long blondes - someone to drive you home
i think was my most anticipated album this year behind tvotr's. i've been listening to the long blondes' singles for over a year now and was just itching to get my hands on a proper LP. i hyped it up so much in my head i was really worried it would disappoint. but it didn't. i was, however, disappointed that they "polished" up a few of the tracks. "giddy stratospheres" sounds much better in it's single form. not as it stands on the album. but whatever. the album is still good. it's really just some good girl rock. loud and in your face hormonal indie rock.

08. mew - and the glass handed kites
this album is an amalgamation of sounds from various bands in the past. something like that can either go horribly wrong or gleefully right. lucky for us, the latter is the case with this album. it's really hard to pinpoint why i like this album. it's really easy on the ears for me. standout tracks include "why are you looking grave" and "the zookeeper's boy."

09. mstrkrft - the looks
everyone needs some good dance albums in their life and for me, this is one of them. it's a bit short with only 8 tracks but it's solid all the way through. every track is a dance off waiting to happen. as the lyrics say in "street justice"....this is the killing on the dance floor. i can't even say what the standout tracks are because they are all amazing. if you really wanna shake your ass, get this album, NOW.

10. muse - black holes and revelations
i have to laugh about this album because it was probably the least likely to appear on any top 10,15, or whatever list of mine for 2006. when the first single, "supermassive black hole" leaked, i thought i was listening to some mislabled mp3. HOW could this be my muse? when did they turn into a pop band? WHAT is going on??? but i couldn't let that deter me. when the album came out, i was going to give it another chance. i couldn't let one single prejudice my views. and thank the lord i didn't. the rest of the album isn't nearly as poppy as track 3. we can all breathe a sigh of relief. and what's more. if you actually listen to the album in proper order, "supermassive black hole" fits in rather nicely actually. yes it's a bit over-the-top poppy but it's grown on me. this muse album is just as good as it's predecessors. standout tracks include "starlight" and "map of the problematique."

11. ratatat - classics
you know why i like this album? because there aren't any vocals to fuck it up. i have said time and time again, if hot chip's album had no lyrics (save "over and over" and "boy from school"), the album would be awesome because the music is cool. ratatat masterfully weave their way through a musical journey which i am on board from start to finish. i can't really say more than it's nice and refreshing to hear an album with no vocals. it makes for good reading music, working music, working out music, and just about anything else. it's not in-your-face the way some albums can be. standout tracks include "nostrand" (i LOVE how it builds and then breaks down) and "lex."

12. the strokes - first impressions of earth
i nearly forgot about this album. not because it's boring and easily overlooked, but because it came out on january 3rd and i first heard it well before that. to me this is an album from 2005 but technically it's not, so here we go. the strokes are back at it again. using their tried and true formula, they have successfully pumped out another winner. i don't care if they are rich white boys from NY who learned how to make catchy songs. i like catchy songs. and i bet you all secretly do too. standout tracks include "razorblade" and "fear of sleep."

13. justin timberlake - futuresex/lovesounds
alright mr. former boy band member. why do you have to be so good? why do i have to lower my street cred just that much because i can't help but love your album...and your dance moves? oh why oh why? i don't care if it's a mix btwn prince and MJ, this album is gold. timbaland knew what he was doing when he worked his magic on this puppy. and if you don't believe me, just listen to "my love." i'm sure you've already heard it and i'm sure you love it (secretly or not so secretly).

14. tv on the radio - return to cookie mountain
i never liked tvotr. they were just too weird for me. their first album...i couldn't digest it. but then i heard the leaked version of this album back in 2005 and it was ROUGH AS HELL, yet i could see hope. it sounded really good, even its raw state. fast forward to august 24, 2006. i'm in london with less than 24 hrs to get all my shopping done. frantically searching around for all the albums i NEED to get before i return to the states. in my hands, return to cookie mountain. but not for me! for my friend james. i was being a purest. i waited for it's release in the US a few weeks later. and i wasn't going to listen to a single track off of any leaked version til i heard the proper album. fast forward 2 days later. i'm standing in the tent listening to lead singer, tunde belt out "wolf like me." i amazingness of the song was hitting me in the face. i NEEDED to get this album. or my life wouldn't be complete. and that's all i have to say about that.

15. thom yorke - the eraser
ok ok. i might be a little biased because radiohead is like my favorite band. but irregardless, this solo effort from the frontman himself is really quite good. it's just as weird and quirky as the album art would imply. i mean it is thom yorke and all. i really wouldn't expect anything less to be honest. the album is a bit short with only 9 tracks, but i think that's a good length for a side project album. after all, we don't really want thom to waste all his energies on this and leave radiohead behind in the dust. that would be such a shame. standout tracks include "the eraser" and "harrowdown hill."

holy mother of god i'm done. wow, that took a long time. i'm nearly out of this joint. woo! next stop, bliss for my waxing appt. then i'll just finish packing and call it an early night. tomorrow, alex and i have to wake up really early to catch the first of our 2 flights to ICELAND!!!! WOO!!!

so, the year is coming to an end and no i won't be making any top 10 lists the way many bloggers do. yes i have some fave albums and songs from this past year. but i can't really categorize them numerically. if you want that, go to pitchfork. they do a mean top of 2006 list. i don't completely agree with them, but hey, it's fun to read. i also won't recount all my best concert-going experiences because it's hard for me to even remember them all. but i will say that reading fest was a truly amazing and unique experience that i'm glad i got to share with my fellow concert freak, stacey. and i will also say that daft punk at coachella was THE best show i've seen in my life. not just of the year. but with all of this music in mind, i will like to share a random bit of information. i decided early on in the year that i would tally my musical expenses for the year since early on i could tell it was going to be a doozy. so many big (and little) concerts add up. and i swear i've bought more cds this year than any other. i kept a tally of everything i paid for. free concerts and cds didn't count. only things i spent my own money on. and i also deducted any credit i got for selling cds back to amoeba. of course the numbers aren't precise due to foreign currency exchanges being off and me not remembering exactly how much ticketmaster raped me for. but in the end, the grand totals were:

cds: $1060
concerts: $1090
total: $2150

so what did $2150 get me? well, apparently i bought 89 cd and paid to go see 16 shows and 2 festivals. i guess that's not TOO bad right? i don't know. it seems like an awful lot of money to be spending on music in one year. but hell, i LOVE music. as much as i love traveling. and i probably spent that same amount of money on each of my trips this year (spain and the upcoming iceland). ah now that would be a good one. tally up the complete cost of a trip. haha that's way too hard. i did a rough estimate once of how much my trip around europe for 5 wks with rick was. i think it was around like $4000 or so. maybe $5000. i can't remember. anyway, good times this 2006 has been. next year i'll keep track of my music again and see how it compares.

i'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bored right now. i have been for 2 days. i haven't done any work for 2 days and yet i have to come to work. this is fucking bullshit. to top it all off i'm somewhat sick and can't breathe well and with this stuffy ass office, i can't breathe at all!!! literally, i can't breathe through my nose at all. yet when i walk outside i can. this is fucking crap.

so how about that for ya? the bossman sold out. literally. he conference-called us last week warning of some BIG news. and there it is. BIG indeed. he said it was like ET phoning home and the messiah arriving. i dunno about that, but it is big enough to make me wonder what my future will hold. maybe they'll fire everyone for "restructuring" purposes and i'll get severance and unemployment. or maybe i'll jump ship before that. i don't really know. these stock options they speak of are enticing but maybe not enticing enough to wait for it since this could take up to 6 months. and i'll be damned if that's 6 months without a raise as well. OH, we got a bit of free clothes yesterday. nothing like last year but hey, it's something right? anyway....

so many things. let's see. coachella pool is done. i think joe's got a really good list. mine is really dancey. maybe it'll pull through. but i'm not holding my breathe. brian and james also have good safe bet lists. jessica went out on a limb a bit as did lawrence. and alex and stacey are going for broke. so it should be very interesting when it all plays out. i can't wait to see the results.

went to joe's new place last night. he had people over for drinks. he lives with his friend jones who bought a penthouse loft downtown. it's big. and will be nice once the reconstruction is done. yes, he's breaking down walls. building new ones. moving shit around. it's a big deal. they won't be able to live there for like 2 months! but it will be sweet ass when it's done.

i got the rest of my gifts from alex. he did really well. he got me some random smaller things like tea and books and whatnot. but then the behemoth came last night. it was a 3 part gift. first i got an r2-d2 light thing. i don't really know what it is or how it works. then i got an r2-d2 mr. potatohead.

and then i KNEW what was the big thing was. i mean it could only be one thing...a functional r2-d2.

i haven't played with it but it looks really rad. it's fairly large. like 2 feet tall. and it moves around and everything. from the description:

this amazing r2-d2 droid is ready to obey your commands, play games, follow you and assist you on your jedi missions! even though he is stubborn at times, you can trust this dependable droid to be your devoted helper and friend.

r2-d2 is on the move with infrared location sensors and sonar navigational technology. he can find you and follow you! he plays multiple games and will roll, spin and dance while playing music! heâ?(TM)ll guard and protect your room, and even remember and react to famous star wars characters! he even has a light beam, extendable utility arm and special â?oesecretâ?� features!

isn't that so cool?? like really. i fucking LOVE r2-d2 and now i have one that moves and functions and responds to me. god-fucking-damn.

on another final note. iceland. we leave this saturday. and get this...they said that the average temps for this time of year are btwn 25-35F. well currently (and for the 5-day forecast) the temps range from 35-50F with rain. i mean 50 during the day??? that's like SF weather. wtf? iceland has volatile weather due to it's location so anything can change. it could be 25 when i get there. who knows. but currently this is what we're looking at. strange huh?

the messiah is here and ET has phoned home...

i'll be back with thoughts later.

i don't want to hear about people's xmas parties and bonuses and crap. my company isn't giving us shit. no bonus. no gifts. no party. NOTHING. nada. zip. zilch. not even free clothes. nothing this year. and don't even get me started on me not getting the raise i deserve. i'll be bitching in january. every day. til i get that raise.

this weekend was surreal.

imagine me.
in the dessert.
with nothing but jews.
for 2 days.

yea that was my weekend....

alex's parents were in town starting friday night for a party. a party of epic proportions. please allow me to explain.

alex's parents, as i may have said before, are well off. they aren't super rich but they are lawyers who have made a good living for themselves. the whole family went to ivy league schools. alex went to brown for undergrad. his sister went to yale for undergrad and is going to u-penn for law school next year. his parents met at u-penn law school. his mom also went to u-penn for undergrad and his dad went to yale for undergrad. literally all of them went to ivy leagues. and now they are well off. i have to admit it's a bit daunting for me. having gone to usc (only) and my parents being working class folks who have made it to the upper middle class (only). i have no problem with this disparity but it's apparent to me and i think about it a decent amount. but his family is very nice and don't throw the money in anyone's face. they never admit to being well off and they don't dress extravagently. but we all know they are well off and that's just how it is. consequently, all of their friends are well off. lawyers, doctors, owners of businesses. all in a similar tax bracket. all very nice. but they have a couple friends who are EXTREMELY rich. and that is the reason they were out here in palm springs this weekend.

today is lois' 80s birthday. who is lois? lois is the mother of pam. and pam is the wife of tony. together pam and tony are friends with alex's parents and all the other folks i met this weekend. pam comes from money. a LOT of it. her parents owned tv stations and newspapers and various media outlets which garnered them such wealth that they were listed in fortune 500 one year as one of the richest families in the country. amidst all the hush hush and shh shh, i was privy to this knowledge that their family is tipping the billion dollar scales. i was floored. i've never met such wealthy people in my life. lois lives across the street from the father of a certain windows based operating system creator. and mr. windows himself is expected to be setting up a house in the area soon a well. there is a full golf course in the community and people there have these insanely nice golf carts. i swear to go they are worth more than my car!!!

anyway, lois turning 80 and she's having a huge black tie masquerade party tonight. and all the friends and family are in town to celebrate. so since all the parents were in town, all the kids (who just so happen to live in LA for the most part) came out to the dessert for the weekend. and that meant i was going with alex. we stayed in this nice resort and spa place and got couples' massages which were excellent and very relaxing. i met all the friends who were all very nice and liked me a lot. we had dinner together on saturday night at this italian place. there were 17 of us there and i think the bill came in around $1300. the next day (sunday) we went to the salton sea. it was alex, me, his parents, and one couple. we had a great time cuz that couple is hilarious. then we went to lois' house where they had a catered lunch and valet parking to boot! then alex and i got away for a bit to do some work in the hotel before going to another large dinner. this time at a mexican restaurant. we had to leave early to get back to LA before midnight but all in all the weekend was good. very surreal, but good. the families loved me and i was happy to meet them and get to talk with alex's parents more. it was just so weird. i mean, i learned that alex has flown to aspen on private jets with tony and pam. wtf?!?!?! private jets?!?!?! i'll be going to aspen with these people in feb which will be insane but at least i am prepared for the extravagent house with heated floors and all.

ummm, yea.

back to the real world today.
at work.
eating cookies.

yesterday was definitely one of those up and down rollercoaster days. it started off up. i went to get my eyebrows waxed for the first time ever and hot damn my brows look good. the woman was great and we started talking about jobs and she used to work at the old movie poster place i worked at!!! not at the same time that i worked there but she totally knew all the people i knew and were talking shit about it. she hated it there and when i told her i worked for the bosswoman she knew exactly why i quit. so that was good cuz i always thought maybe it was just me and i couldn't hack the old lady's ways. but no, she's just a bitch to all women it seems. we determined that if i had been hired under a different boss i still might be working there today. who knows. it's possible. that bosswoman made my life hell. i dreaded going to work because i dreaded her evil glares and condescending tone. anyway....

then i came home and watched the usc/ucla game with lawrence and that's when the day took a turn for the down. now i know that this is a transition year for usc. i've been saying that from the start. we aren't going to do as well and we have to reform and regroup. so i wasn't that concerned with our team making it to the BCS title game. i figured we had no shot at it. but then when everything fell into place, we were ranked #2 going into our final game yesterday and we really had a shot at the title game. all we had to do was beat ucla -- our hometown, cross-city rivals. considering our team is stronger and ranked higher than ucla, you'd think we would have won. well, we didn't. it was a pitiful, PITIFUL showing our part. we didn't deserve to win that game the way we played. good god it was bad. what the hell happened? before i went to usc, we hadn't beaten ucla in something like 9 years. and then the year i started going we won! it was a fucking miracle. i remember storming the field and it was a glorious moment in usc football history. we weren't even a good team that year. but goddamn we beat ucla. then the following year we beat them again. and again and again. we have beat them every year since i started going to usc, until yesterday. where we not only lost to a shitty team, but they are our RIVALS, and we aren't going to the championship game now. motherfucker...

so we had to bring the day to an upswing and we rang in shaun's 25th year of life with some pre-drinking at my house followed by some dancing at club bang! and boy was that an up night. i was completely trashed and loving the dancing. our group hasn't gone out dancing in AGES and finally we were out and about. albeit, an abbreviated group showing, but one nonetheless. could dance party be revived?!?

and then i made a stupid move and got one too many drinks. because i was drunk and my judgment was impaired. i thought, "i haven't had a drink in awhile and i've been dancing a lot, i think i need another to keep my buzz going." wrong move. or perhaps the wrong move was downing the drink in like 2 gulps so i could dance more without worrying about spilling. either way, buy 1:15 i was dragging alex with me to a cab to hurry home and puke up all the liquid i just injested. it was a very fast puking experience at least. i just did my business and then went right to bed. so the was very little pain in the matter. but still, i missed out on about 45min more of dancing. LAME.

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