I'm warning you now, I'm not feeling the humorous post tonight, so you're going to get something a little more contemplative from me today. A friend emailed this to me the other day and it hits surprisingly close to home. Maybe I'm having my quarter life crisis...
Being a 20something... They call it the "Quarter-life Crisis." It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn't know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now. YOU START REALIZING THAT PEOPLE ARE SELFISH AND THAT, MAYBE, THOSE FRIENDS THAT YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE SO CLOSE TO AREN'T EXACTLY THE GREATEST PEOPLE YOU HAVE EVER MET, AND THE PEOPLE YOU HAVE LOST TOUCH WITH ARE SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ONES. What you don't recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you. You look at your job... and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you. Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn't. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward. You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you know that you aren't a bad person. One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself..... and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender! What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.
Very interesting. I'll have to think some more on that one.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Sunday, July 9, 2006
Houseboating!
Wow, what a weekend! I went up to Lake Oroville with Brigitte's family to use their houseboat. Now, I've never been on a houseboat before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. For some reason I thought it would be more like camping and less like a house. Boy, was I wrong! It had everything you could want in a house, but on water! Electricity, running faucets, showers, toilets, etc. It was so much fun! We basically spent two days jetskiing, floating on fun little rafts and playing games. The Mitchells (Brig's family) had some friends that came out in their own boat, so they tied up next to us - there were like 20 people in all!
Friday night we got up there fairly late (But early enough for dinner - when Brig told me they don't eat until it gets dark, I got nervous. You know me with food. But it turns out that you lose all track of time and by the time it gets dark it's almost 9pm!), so we didn't get to play in the water. We all hung out that night and played board games with Brigitte's sisters, Amber and Kristine. Tons of fun! I kicked butt at liars dice!
Saturday began with this:
I know, it's a tough life I lead. We floated around on the rafts for a good four or five hours. We were almost attacked by a flock of wild geese (probably because we floated a little too close to their island) and had the best time. Brigitte and her mom made yummy Bahama Mama's, so later in the day we floated with a few of those! I am proud to say that I was the sunscreen Nazi and that I was the only one who didn't end up with a 3rd degree sun burn. I'm a little crispy, but nothing too serious.
After a few hours of floating Brigitte says "Let's take the jet ski out!". Sounded like a good idea. There were four of us, so we decided to go in twos. Amber and Kristine went out first while Brig and I paddled our little rafts out to the five mile an hour buoy to wait for the jet ski hand off. When they came back and we switched off, Brigitte asked if I minded if she drove first. I thought, "Ok, this is my best friend who generally isn't too wild or too crazy. Sure, why not let her drive?" Boy, was I wrong. I thought I was going to die pretty much the whole time we were out there. Amber had let it slip that she and Kristine had the jet ski up to 41 miles per hour on open water. Brigitte had that thing FLYING! We took turns driving and I too drove fast. I figured out that it just seemed a little more scary on the back because you had no control and every time you hit a wave (by the way, we were not dumb enough to hit waves that fast - Brig slowed down for those, thank God) you flew up just a little bit. We had the time of our lives! Here's Brig and I coming back in:
We took the jet ski out again a little later - this time with Brigitte, Amber and I on it. When we came back in the boys on the other houseboat had blown up tons of water balloons and were waiting with a sling shot. So we played about 1/2 an hour of "dodge the water balloons" all the while, collecting the ones that missed us so we could throw them back. It was so much fun!
Here's us post jet ski and post combating:
Now, one funny little story (of many from the weekend): while Brig and I were out floating, waiting for Amber and Kris to come back this boat comes hauling into the 5 mph zone and dumps their skier about 20 feet from us (you'd better believe we glared...). We paddled away only to hear the skiier say this: "Could you open that front locker and hand me my shampoo and conditioner"? She then proceeded to sit on the back of the boat and shampoo her hair. Never in my 12 years of boating have I seen this happen. First things first. I don't think you should really be getting shampoo and conditioner in the lake. I have a feeling the fish don't like it. Secondly, I'm not sure that it really gets your hair clean. Yes, the houseboat used lake water in the shower, but it just seemed really weird for this girl to do this in the middle of the lake. I actually looked over at Brigitte and asked if the girl was going to shave next.
Saturday night we had a feast: BBQ ribs, steak, noodles, rice, Texas toast all followed by Oreos. I fell asleep reading a magazine and when I woke up I had a tiny headache. I had figured that I had too much sun (or stress from fearing for my life) and got ready for bed. About 3am I woke up with a killer migrane. Not a fun way to end the trip. Eventually I went downstairs, took some Tylenol and fell asleep inside with a fan on me (we all slept outside on top of the boat because it was so beautiful out). I was feeling a little better this morning, but not much.
Anyways, the trip was a blast and I had the most fantastic time! Yeah for the Mitchells and their houseboat! Now I'm off to bed to combat this little headache of mine!
Friday night we got up there fairly late (But early enough for dinner - when Brig told me they don't eat until it gets dark, I got nervous. You know me with food. But it turns out that you lose all track of time and by the time it gets dark it's almost 9pm!), so we didn't get to play in the water. We all hung out that night and played board games with Brigitte's sisters, Amber and Kristine. Tons of fun! I kicked butt at liars dice!
Saturday began with this:
I know, it's a tough life I lead. We floated around on the rafts for a good four or five hours. We were almost attacked by a flock of wild geese (probably because we floated a little too close to their island) and had the best time. Brigitte and her mom made yummy Bahama Mama's, so later in the day we floated with a few of those! I am proud to say that I was the sunscreen Nazi and that I was the only one who didn't end up with a 3rd degree sun burn. I'm a little crispy, but nothing too serious.
After a few hours of floating Brigitte says "Let's take the jet ski out!". Sounded like a good idea. There were four of us, so we decided to go in twos. Amber and Kristine went out first while Brig and I paddled our little rafts out to the five mile an hour buoy to wait for the jet ski hand off. When they came back and we switched off, Brigitte asked if I minded if she drove first. I thought, "Ok, this is my best friend who generally isn't too wild or too crazy. Sure, why not let her drive?" Boy, was I wrong. I thought I was going to die pretty much the whole time we were out there. Amber had let it slip that she and Kristine had the jet ski up to 41 miles per hour on open water. Brigitte had that thing FLYING! We took turns driving and I too drove fast. I figured out that it just seemed a little more scary on the back because you had no control and every time you hit a wave (by the way, we were not dumb enough to hit waves that fast - Brig slowed down for those, thank God) you flew up just a little bit. We had the time of our lives! Here's Brig and I coming back in:
We took the jet ski out again a little later - this time with Brigitte, Amber and I on it. When we came back in the boys on the other houseboat had blown up tons of water balloons and were waiting with a sling shot. So we played about 1/2 an hour of "dodge the water balloons" all the while, collecting the ones that missed us so we could throw them back. It was so much fun!Here's us post jet ski and post combating:
Now, one funny little story (of many from the weekend): while Brig and I were out floating, waiting for Amber and Kris to come back this boat comes hauling into the 5 mph zone and dumps their skier about 20 feet from us (you'd better believe we glared...). We paddled away only to hear the skiier say this: "Could you open that front locker and hand me my shampoo and conditioner"? She then proceeded to sit on the back of the boat and shampoo her hair. Never in my 12 years of boating have I seen this happen. First things first. I don't think you should really be getting shampoo and conditioner in the lake. I have a feeling the fish don't like it. Secondly, I'm not sure that it really gets your hair clean. Yes, the houseboat used lake water in the shower, but it just seemed really weird for this girl to do this in the middle of the lake. I actually looked over at Brigitte and asked if the girl was going to shave next.
Saturday night we had a feast: BBQ ribs, steak, noodles, rice, Texas toast all followed by Oreos. I fell asleep reading a magazine and when I woke up I had a tiny headache. I had figured that I had too much sun (or stress from fearing for my life) and got ready for bed. About 3am I woke up with a killer migrane. Not a fun way to end the trip. Eventually I went downstairs, took some Tylenol and fell asleep inside with a fan on me (we all slept outside on top of the boat because it was so beautiful out). I was feeling a little better this morning, but not much.
Anyways, the trip was a blast and I had the most fantastic time! Yeah for the Mitchells and their houseboat! Now I'm off to bed to combat this little headache of mine!
Wednesday, July 5, 2006
Wanted: Sock Roller
Help Wanted/Laundry
Do you love doing laundry?
Do you have an uncanny knack for folding socks into those perfect little balls?
If so, this job is for you! Young woman seeking experienced sock roller to complete the most tedious part of laundry. Please inquire within.
Can you guess what I was doing tonight? You've got it - laundry! I know, fun and exciting, but it has to be done. In all seriousness, I really hate folding my socks. I always leave it for last because it's the worst part! First of all, I hate matching my socks up. Because somehow, within that 30 foot walk from the dryer to my room, socks magically go missing. I have no idea where they end up - maybe the dog eats them or something, but they're definitely gone. I have this mini-graveyard of loner socks in my sock drawer... it's really very sad. Once you have them all matched up you have to then fold one over the other and tuck it. Generally it's about this time that one of several things happen:
- I learn that my matching skills suck (or maybe it's my eyesight) and I've matched up the wrong socks.
- I learn that the socks aren't quite dry. At this point it's decision time. Do I drag out the process by tossing the semi-wet socks back in the dryer or do I fold them and hope they don't mold? These are the serious choices young people of America face...
- I learn that I have one of Mom or Dad's missing in action socks. This is very rare, but quite a surprise as I have small feet and Daddy's sock pretty much eats mine up.
And, dang it, comment people! It's very easy... click the little comment button, leave a little message and we'll all get a good giggle. And that way I know I'm talking to people other than myself, Eva and Matt. Not that we're not great people to talk to, but I like to think more than three people (gosh, two if I don't include myself) are interested in my little life...
Tuesday, July 4, 2006
Happy 4th of July!
Hi all!
Sorry for the late post - there was just too much fun being had!
First off, HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! I hope you've all had a very fun and very safe day! We had a little get together at my house today - a group of family friends. It was such a blast! Mom and Dad cooked up an amazing meal (BBQ chicken, BBQ corn, fresh fruit, baked potatoes and salad). We sat around and sang, did some swimming and just had an all around good time. After that I went out with Tim and his parents to watch a fireworks show in Lincoln. Honestly, it was probably the best show I've ever seen. It was around 50 minutes long and had three fake outs - where you thought they were going into the finale, but they didn't. The weather was perfect - it was warm and breezy. Couldn't have asked for a better night!
I'm sad to report that tomorrow is my first day back to work. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, it's just that it's so hard to go back after 10 days of vacation (yes Tim, I know, I lead a rough life...). I checked my email the other day and was up to 957... we'll see what it's at tomorrow morning. However, I do like the concept of a 3 day work week...
On that happy note, I'm off to bed!
Sorry for the late post - there was just too much fun being had!
First off, HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! I hope you've all had a very fun and very safe day! We had a little get together at my house today - a group of family friends. It was such a blast! Mom and Dad cooked up an amazing meal (BBQ chicken, BBQ corn, fresh fruit, baked potatoes and salad). We sat around and sang, did some swimming and just had an all around good time. After that I went out with Tim and his parents to watch a fireworks show in Lincoln. Honestly, it was probably the best show I've ever seen. It was around 50 minutes long and had three fake outs - where you thought they were going into the finale, but they didn't. The weather was perfect - it was warm and breezy. Couldn't have asked for a better night!
I'm sad to report that tomorrow is my first day back to work. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, it's just that it's so hard to go back after 10 days of vacation (yes Tim, I know, I lead a rough life...). I checked my email the other day and was up to 957... we'll see what it's at tomorrow morning. However, I do like the concept of a 3 day work week...
On that happy note, I'm off to bed!
Sunday, July 2, 2006
Happy Birthday Mom and Dad!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM AND DAD!
Yes, my parents were born on the same day. Kinda neat, huh? Makes present buying super easy for Kati and I! :)
Today we went to the Bay Area to celebrate their birthdays as well as my Grandma's 80th (it was on June 17th but she was traveling...). We had such a blast. First we went to Grandma's house and hung out for a while. It was so good to see her again and just sit and talk. She told us stories of how she and Grandpa met and about when they got married (they snuck off to Reno!). Here's a pic of Kati and I with her:
After that we picked Oma up and headed over to Adam and Eva's for our traditional family feast. Basically, any time we all get together we eat enough to feed a small army. Today it was South Carolina pulled pork sandwiches with Eva's "bean salad for people who don't like bean salad". It's that good. We had a blast. Eva just got certified as a Jazzercize instructor, so we made her lead the family in a mini class. She's AMAZING!
And finally, here's the family after getting our grub on...
Now I'm sad because Kati is packing all of her stuff up to leave tomorrow morning. It was so nice to have her back home and even to share a bathroom with her again! I'll definitely miss her when she leaves!
Tomorrow I have the day off (Tuesday as well... I love my work!) and I think we're taking the boat out. Woo hoo for more skiing on Folsom! :)
Oh, and by the way, I have blisters ON THE BALLS OF MY FEET from ballroom dancing. It's not so glamorous the next day!
I'm out.
Yes, my parents were born on the same day. Kinda neat, huh? Makes present buying super easy for Kati and I! :)
Today we went to the Bay Area to celebrate their birthdays as well as my Grandma's 80th (it was on June 17th but she was traveling...). We had such a blast. First we went to Grandma's house and hung out for a while. It was so good to see her again and just sit and talk. She told us stories of how she and Grandpa met and about when they got married (they snuck off to Reno!). Here's a pic of Kati and I with her:
After that we picked Oma up and headed over to Adam and Eva's for our traditional family feast. Basically, any time we all get together we eat enough to feed a small army. Today it was South Carolina pulled pork sandwiches with Eva's "bean salad for people who don't like bean salad". It's that good. We had a blast. Eva just got certified as a Jazzercize instructor, so we made her lead the family in a mini class. She's AMAZING!
And finally, here's the family after getting our grub on...
Now I'm sad because Kati is packing all of her stuff up to leave tomorrow morning. It was so nice to have her back home and even to share a bathroom with her again! I'll definitely miss her when she leaves!
Tomorrow I have the day off (Tuesday as well... I love my work!) and I think we're taking the boat out. Woo hoo for more skiing on Folsom! :)
Oh, and by the way, I have blisters ON THE BALLS OF MY FEET from ballroom dancing. It's not so glamorous the next day!
I'm out.
Saturday, July 1, 2006
Week of Bliss
Ahhhh....
So, to answer everyone's dying question, yes, I was off "doing stuff". We went on vacation to Lake Almanor for a week. :) No computers, hardly any TV, and no phones unless you were in the middle of the lake. It was wonderful! I didn't realize how completely uptight I had been until I got there and started relaxing! Here's a basic day at the lake:
5:00am - Wake up and get ready to go fishing.
5:30am - 9am ish - Fish/watch the sun rise
9:00am - one of Daddy's fantastic breakfast
10:00am - Nap
noon/1:00 ish - wake up and go skiing or tubing
2:00ish - read/nap/play Yahtzee
5:00 - dinner
7:00ish - head back out to go fishing / watch the sun set
Of course, the schedule varied from time to time. Sometimes I took my nap in the afternoon, sometimes I just couldn't make it that long after breakfast. We had a fantastic week as far as fishing went - the Smithson family pulled in a family record of 31 fish in 7 days! I had 14 of those 31 and am darn proud of it! Seriously, we were very lucky this week and had a wonderful time fishing. Kati kept one that she caught for her and Mom to eat, and we let the rest go.
Here's one of my fish:
The waterskiing was awesome this week - I'm finally doing a lot better outside the wake! About halfway through the week these beautiful thunderstorms rolled in in the afternoon. Now, I'm like a little kid when it comes to rain and thunder (honestly, I have a hard time sleeping because I'm fascinated by them - not because I'm scared), so I couldn't do much of anything besides listen to the thunder roll through the valley. Said thunder storms started a fire, so for a couple days we had some heavy smoke, but it led to one of the most amazing sunsets I've seen (and we all know how I feel about sunsets...): 
All in all, it was one of the best weeks in a long time. I definitely needed a break from things and some down time!
Tonight Kati took us out to ballroom dancing. She took the advanced lesson and Mom, Dad and I took the beginning. We learned to Cha Cha and East Coast Swing. It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be! Mom and Dad are dang good dancers!
On that happy note, I'm off to bed. It's been a long day, I'm a little sunburned and a lot tired. Night!
So, to answer everyone's dying question, yes, I was off "doing stuff". We went on vacation to Lake Almanor for a week. :) No computers, hardly any TV, and no phones unless you were in the middle of the lake. It was wonderful! I didn't realize how completely uptight I had been until I got there and started relaxing! Here's a basic day at the lake:
5:00am - Wake up and get ready to go fishing.
5:30am - 9am ish - Fish/watch the sun rise
9:00am - one of Daddy's fantastic breakfast
10:00am - Nap
noon/1:00 ish - wake up and go skiing or tubing
2:00ish - read/nap/play Yahtzee
5:00 - dinner
7:00ish - head back out to go fishing / watch the sun set
Of course, the schedule varied from time to time. Sometimes I took my nap in the afternoon, sometimes I just couldn't make it that long after breakfast. We had a fantastic week as far as fishing went - the Smithson family pulled in a family record of 31 fish in 7 days! I had 14 of those 31 and am darn proud of it! Seriously, we were very lucky this week and had a wonderful time fishing. Kati kept one that she caught for her and Mom to eat, and we let the rest go.
Here's one of my fish:
The waterskiing was awesome this week - I'm finally doing a lot better outside the wake! About halfway through the week these beautiful thunderstorms rolled in in the afternoon. Now, I'm like a little kid when it comes to rain and thunder (honestly, I have a hard time sleeping because I'm fascinated by them - not because I'm scared), so I couldn't do much of anything besides listen to the thunder roll through the valley. Said thunder storms started a fire, so for a couple days we had some heavy smoke, but it led to one of the most amazing sunsets I've seen (and we all know how I feel about sunsets...): 
All in all, it was one of the best weeks in a long time. I definitely needed a break from things and some down time!
Tonight Kati took us out to ballroom dancing. She took the advanced lesson and Mom, Dad and I took the beginning. We learned to Cha Cha and East Coast Swing. It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be! Mom and Dad are dang good dancers!
On that happy note, I'm off to bed. It's been a long day, I'm a little sunburned and a lot tired. Night!
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Airport Extravaganza
Oh. My. God.
Talk about an interesting day (I know, two in a row!). So Kati missed her flight this morning, so she was a little delayed. I went to go pick her up at 6pm today and ended up circling the airport for almost 2 hours. Literally circling. Because I had the dog with me (as a surprise) and couldn't park and go in. I got sick of doing left hand turns and ended up trying to find ways to do figure eights just so I could squeeze a few right turns in. Dad had left earlier today and so he left the van in the parking garage. We get all the way up to the top (I swear to God the dog was about to barf) only to find that he accidentally left the lights on and the battery was dead. I called airport security who said it would be another half an hour before we would get someone to jump the car. Half an hour in airport time actually equals 45 minutes. So I didn't eat dinner until 9:30ish (and we KNOW how I get when I'm hungry). I'm going to bed. Now. I'm sure this will be funny tomorrow, but right now I'm just plain cranky.
Talk about an interesting day (I know, two in a row!). So Kati missed her flight this morning, so she was a little delayed. I went to go pick her up at 6pm today and ended up circling the airport for almost 2 hours. Literally circling. Because I had the dog with me (as a surprise) and couldn't park and go in. I got sick of doing left hand turns and ended up trying to find ways to do figure eights just so I could squeeze a few right turns in. Dad had left earlier today and so he left the van in the parking garage. We get all the way up to the top (I swear to God the dog was about to barf) only to find that he accidentally left the lights on and the battery was dead. I called airport security who said it would be another half an hour before we would get someone to jump the car. Half an hour in airport time actually equals 45 minutes. So I didn't eat dinner until 9:30ish (and we KNOW how I get when I'm hungry). I'm going to bed. Now. I'm sure this will be funny tomorrow, but right now I'm just plain cranky.
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