Friday, July 31, 2009

happy friday.

tonight i went to the sf moma to see the richard avedon exhibit. this wasn't there, but he took it. and i like it.
and since it is friday, here is another hilarious video. the scooter one still has me tearing up. seriously.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

bullets

  • i love the big picture - and these pictures are awesome.
  • because you might like their taste in music as much as i do.
  • best of the bay, 2009 edition came out today.
  • i officially registered for this race today. yep - in athens, greece.
  • tonight i ate dinner at the house of nanking. the negative reviewers on yelp are insane.
  • earlier today i ate lunch here.
  • tomorrow i am eating lunch here.
  • as many of you have noticed, i have been on a cleaning binge. tonight i made some progress on the bathroom ceiling. and by progress i mean that if i never would have cleaned it, it probably would have looked better. i seriously am considering taking a mop to the ceiling.
  • i am making plans to hike this in less than a month with a group of friends. holy smokes. this is the part that makes me nervous.
  • this video is the funniest thing i have ever seen. i am not even kidding. i had tears after about two seconds. oh. my. gosh. uzi, that one goes out to you, specifically. and my mom. enjoy.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

i need to be validated...



i loved this. if you have a few minutes i hope you watch.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

goals.

day 6 of training is done. surprisingly, my run tonight was really good. for day 6, that is fabulous. also, i have made some goals for myself. one of the major ones is to keep my room clean. i have some very minor things to do to make that goal really work, but so far, so good. living in a mess only stresses me out and i want no more of it. i should make a goal to get to bed earlier, but sometimes it is easier said than done.

i said goodbye to another dear friend tonight here in san francisco. it seems like everyone is leaving lately. making new friends is fine, but keeping the old ones around is preferable. this is just one of those places i guess. not many stay for long.

i took a joy ride on sunday afternoon with a friend who recently got a convertible. we left behind san francisco, which was 55 degrees and very foggy, crossed the golden gate bridge, and enjoyed the sun in marin for a few hours. seriously, it was 95 degrees less than 20 miles away. yes, my mathematician friends, that would be a 40 degree difference. to celebrate the occasion, we stopped at 7-11 to get slurpees. yes it was sunday and yes, stop judging me. if you drove 20 miles and got a 40 degree difference for the better, you would get a slurpee too. we also found the swimming hole that i've been dreaming about since i went there 3 years ago with my friends mindy and katherine. pure bliss, that place. i need to find some friends who will go with me before the summer ends.

here is the view from the bridge that looks over it.

one of my goals for the future...

live someplace that has summer.

Monday, July 27, 2009

and now it is monday.

tonight my mother called from mallorca to check up on me. i was picking up my room when she called and she said to me 'what is with the cleaning up all the time?' ...

i don't know the answer to that question. do you?

on that note...
some things i found in my junk drawer today...

1. a movie stub - i save mine. do you save yours? from april 9th, 2005. yikes. the movie, sahara. the only good thing about the movie was matthew mcconaghey. can i have an amen?
2. 15 euros. saving that for greece.
3. 2 free plane tickets and a three night stay at a resort in mexico. i am not even kidding. and i have to use them all by march. maybe we need to discuss this in more depth.
4. dmv license renewal reminder. has it really been 5 years, california?
5. and these awesome safety glasses. you see, you get cool stuff like that when you work for a bunch of eye docs. please stop being jealous. also, aren't you glad that i put a shirt on for this picture? the first time, i didn't.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

oh, a moral dilemna.

my 10 year reunion is coming up in a little less than two months. i have my plane ticket and i'm ready to go. kind of.

when i was a sophomore in high school, the school district changed the boundaries for all the local high schools and i was set to go from providence high school to east mecklenburg high school. this would have been no big deal except for the fact that my sister was a junior when all of this happened. what this meant for her was that they didn't change the boundary for her class since it was their incoming senior year, but that would leave me going to a different high school than my sister. and then there was also the problem of seminary, which i went to every day before high school at 6am, thankyouverymuch. the short story is that i stayed with my sister and i didn't look back.

i had friends that were staying at my high school and i was heavily involved in the color guard and winter guard at the time, so it wasn't a big deal to me. of course i was a huge nerd in high school, but i had a fairly good time and enjoyed my experience, until now.

a few facebook groups have been created and i have been invited. these groups are for people who are invited to the upcoming 10 year reunion. one for the high school i went to, and one for the high school that i was supposed to attend, but didn't. the real problem that i've found since then is that when i stayed at providence high school instead of switching, most of the kids that i grew up with - since 2nd grade - changed schools. these are the kids that i sat with on the bus every day. we had quite the neighborhood posse - i'd say that there were about 20 of us kids who were all around the same age and our families all moved into the neighborhood around the same time. pretty much, we grew up together. i bought them christmas presents every year back in the day and have been delighted when they've added me as their friend on facebook so that i can sort of catch up on their lives.

i look at the photos listed on my high school's alumni website and i recognize the people. all the popular kids, at least. i know some of their names, but hardly any. heck - my senior year, i had no idea who the homecoming queen was until they announced her name, and i don't mean that the winner was a surprise. i mean that i had never even heard the girl's name until that moment. true story. her mom was also the swim team coach and word on the street was that she bribed her students to vote for her daughter. you be the judge.

anyway - what is making me sad about all of this is that i just checked the pictures on the-high-school-that-might-have-been's website and i know every person in every photo. for the most part though, i haven't seen any of these people since i was 15. these are the people i care about though. i want to know how they are and what they've been up to for the last 13 years. i'd say that 95 percent of the kids from my high school don't remember me and even more will never recognize me.

let's talk about this. go.

in france, a lot of this music is pronounced eep op.

steph's summer playlist

1. mad - ne-yo
2. she is love - parachute
3. fire burnin' - sean kingston
4. knock you down - keri hilson
5. closer to love - mat kearny
6. breathe - taylor swift
7. leavin' - jesse mccartney
8. say hey - spearhead
9. shake it - metro station
10. by your side - the black crowes
11. never say never - the fray



just thought you'd like to know.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

and a partridge in a pear tree

day 2 of 109. done and done. that means there are 107 days left until the marathon. ahck.

today i've been thinking a lot about what it means to be a friend. whoa, huge topic, i know. i honestly don't want to get into all the details, but i will say that i am truly grateful for those who have listened to me talk and talk...and cry the last few days. there are people who are your friends because of what you can offer them, but as i've learned in real ways, and as is the case in all meaninful relationships, both parties have to bring something to the table. you have to let yourself be vulnerable and that is sometimes the scariest thing of all.

letting go of relationships that have meant a lot over the years isn't an easy thing to do for multiple reasons. i've found myself talking myself into being friends with someone because i've known them for a long time and because there is history there. well that doesn't make much sense when the relationship isn't building me up and helping me grow into a better person. sometimes saying goodbye is the best thing for both parties. and there you go.

well all this fluff is making me feel a little gooey. time for bullet points --
  • i have taken it upon myself to clean out some of the kitchen cupboards tonight and i found 15 vases.
  • i am having a vase sale at my house tomorrow night at 6pm. come. cheap vases.
  • also, i will be selling mugs. and plastic water bottles. i think a picture is in order. that would be the previously mentioned 15 vases, 18 water bottles, 17 mugs, and 6 wine glasses....and we don't drink wine in this house. well...not that i know of at least. ha if i am getting left out of that party, i will be really ticked.
  • also, there are only 2 of us right now. this is a sure sign of some really hott girls who receive flowers on a regular basis and who are super athletic. as far as the mugs go, maybe rita has a collection that i was previously unaware of.

  • now i have to put them all back. have a good one.

dear diary,

day 1 of the marathon training has finished. today is the first day of the rest of my life. and in more ways than just training for a marathon.

i've been home alone this week since one of my roommates moved out last week and the other is off in cape cod for 'work'. i'm lonely and i feel no motivation to keep the house clean. what this says about my character, i'm not sure, but i have got to pull it together. i still have not gone grocery shopping but i did eat a delicious dinner tonight consisting of garbanzo beans and lamb. oh yum.

also, if you would like to see me any weekend before october, my weekends are filling up fast. just thought you should know.

love,
stephanie

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

lessons from today

1. pictures that you thought you had deleted from your computer can show up at any time, unexpectedly. take these for example. and yes, i had to share or else you'd all be emailing me asking me to send them to you anyway. so i blacked out the eyes. seriously - seeing these photos really did cause a gag reflex. not that the ex's gross me out, but i feel ill.

2. this lead me to wondering what happened to another ex of mine that i dated for a few years in college. i have looked him up on facebook for a long time now, but he has a very common name, so i never had much success. today, i entered as much information as i could about him into the google search box, and i hit stalker gold. he had entered a book review on amazon.com about a medieval weaponry book - or something very similar, and i knew that it was him. you see, he was a fencer and he was into that sort of stuff. i also noticed that on amazon.com, he had a wedding registry listed. after verifying with target.com, i found that he got married earlier this year in his very small hometown in a state that i don't live in. when i find the wedding pictures online, you know that i will post them here for you to see.

3. the below picture is why i'd rather not clean my house sometimes. i saw a dirty spot on the ceiling and when i went to clean it, i swear that i rubbed off over 100 years of dirt and now it looks worse than it did before. rachael, welcome home.


4. unless i go grocery shopping, i will not eat dinner for the third day in a row. which leads me to...

5. good friends are highly valuable. especially when they are supposed to be your date to your 10 year reunion in a few weeks. this is serious.


Tuesday, July 21, 2009

i didn't know i was looking for myself, but here we go.

in preparation for this wednesday, i took an evening off from any social calls and laid in bed and watched movies. wednesday is when the marathon training starts. so i just wanted to make you all aware that my social life pretty much is over starting on wednesday and i will be running for my life until november. i will be listening to this song a lot to get me motivated and out the door.

i just finished reading the book 'julie and julia' which as many of you know, has been made into a movie. i wasn't too impressed with the book - in fact, i pretty much hated the author throughout the entire thing. yes, julie powell, i am talking to you. i did like the idea though that you can throw yourself into something and in the process, find a piece of yourself that you didn't really know existed. how true is that. a few years ago, i threw myself into training for a half marathon when i could barely run down the street, and here i am two short years later, training for the real deal.

i still stumble over the words 'i am a runner' but i do enjoy it when people act surprised and i get to pretend that i, like celine dion, am the greatest in the world. in talking to a friend recently about her marathon running, we talked about how anticlimactic it was to run a marathon. you spend months training; you beat up your body; you have no social life; you cross the finish line, and then you...are really sore and tired.

i'm not sure about you, but i can't wait.

Monday, July 20, 2009

utah summers are friggin' hot. i had forgotten.

there's pretty much nowhere i'd rather be than with good friends on special occasions. saturday was no exception when ben and lanae were married in bountiful, utah. what a gorgeous couple. i am thrilled for them - describing them as happy would be an understatement.

i especially loved being there with this girl. i love me some brazilians. i can't wait for nade fest in a few weeks when we get to hang out again.

i also loved spending time with my tall friend. i am afraid that we are starting to look alike, kinda like those couples who have been married for 30 years. scary in more ways than you know.

utah, you brought your game face this weekend. i appreciate it.

Friday, July 17, 2009

a letter to my madre.

dear mom,

we have a few things to discuss.

1. tonight, i embroidered. aren't you proud of me? i saw these going on etsy for over 500 percent profit. i have to finish it all off and make it look presentable as part of a wedding gift still, but i am thinking about selling these now on etsy and competing with this person who is stealing money from honest people around the world.


2. i am addicted to gatorade. if i ever refer to my 'drinking problem', it is this, not anything else your imagination might come up with.
3. your grandchildren have a message they would like to share with you. funny how their personalities are just shining through in about 5 seconds worth of video.



love,

steph

Thursday, July 16, 2009

utah has perfect summer weather. i had forgotten.

a very good friend of mine moved away from san francisco today. in fact, a few good friends have moved away recently. some of the sweetest people i know, and it makes me sad to see them go.

my trip to utah was good - i spent some really, really great quality time with my sister's kids and i enjoyed every second of the wonderful summer weather. i learned some good lessons while i was in utah...
  • there is a reason that we should get married when we are younger and our bodies function better. that sounds very odd, but call me and i'll tell you a good story.
  • hatch's hot chocolate - really is the best hot chocolate that i've ever had.
  • if i'm really tired, an hour nap is a really bad idea.
  • arranging for someone to take you to the airport is the most reliable way to get there. or taking public transit. i had some awesome car drama. the good news is that all is well now.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

out of the office...and san francisco.

I'm in Utah until Wednesday. Although there is some pleasure involved, ironically, I'm here for work. Have a great week.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

these pictures hardly even capture the awesomeness.

on our way down to los angeles last thursday, i couldn't resist stopping at neverland, which is about 40 miles outside of santa barbara. if you are ever driving down the 101, you should stop by. obviously we picked an opportune time and there weren't as many people there as i expected there to be. the mood there was mixed for sure, but i'm glad we went and witnessed some of the spectacle. we even saw larry king ride by in a car.

and apparently my parents sent a poster. mom, you shouldn't have.

a coworker had tipped me off that there would be posters - not sure how she knew - but i took a marker. i wrote something to the effect of 'mj - thanks for the music. love, stephanie' if you ever see these posters somewhere in a museum, look for it.

we arrived in la by late thursday night and on friday did fun things like go to breakfast and shoot people we didn't know with nerf guns, eat pancake and egg foldyovers, get woken up with breadballs to the face, and see zach in the play he is currently in - thoroughly modern millie. if you are in the santa monica area, check it out and go see it. what an amazing show. i was thoroughly impressed with zach's performance of trevor graydon.

on july 4th, we slept in and played video games to our heart's content. here is a lovely picture of me and zach sitting in the bed that rachael and i made out of zach's couches.

my friend jessica asked me before we went to huntington beach for the 4th celebrations if she could bring her dog. i was hesitant at first, but i think everyone who was there that day in hb would say that they are all glad that we brought the dog. in fact, we named the dog, The Cat. dan loved The Cat so much that he just stuck him in his pocket on our way to the party. please tell me that the below picture is one of the cutest things you have ever seen.

our tune may have changed a bit later on in the evening when The Cat got diahrrea in the car, but overall, it was a pleasant experience. i had such a good time though hanging out with everyone in la. the sun, the laughs, the people; everything about the trip was wonderful. i wouldn't be lying if i told you that i almost teared up when we had to go back on sunday afternoon. and i also wouldn't be lying when i tell you that from now on, i'm flying to la instead of driving.

ps. i also saw a guy who looks just like dave thompson. weird.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

catching up.

It isn't that I forget about blogging. In fact, most of the time that I take pictures, it is so that I can share with the blogging world - and ultimately myself when I have forgotten what I did last week.

So in no particular order, here are some of the rad things I have done lately.

A few weeks ago, I went to see...Brandi Carlile again. Yep - good every time. I'd had a super long day and pretty much pulled a miracle in making it to this show on time, but I made it and she didn't disappoint. And neither did Tim or Phil. Oh Phil, stop teasing me with your sexiness.

Also, I recently hosted a bridal shower and I made Pavlova in honor of LaNae's fiance who is from Australia. It was delightful. Let me know if you want the recipe and I will email it to you. One of the easiest fancy foods I have ever made and it was also incredibly beautiful. Did I mention the deliciousness?

Then Uzi came to town and went to Tahoe and once there, we entered the Desolation Wilderness. It may have been at this point that I should have started questioning my friend who told me it would be a 3 mile hike. Was I surprised when it ended up being 10 miles? Maybe, maybe not.

We were so high up in the mountains by mile five that we walked past some snow. Not ice - but snow. It is a very odd thing to be comfortably in a bathing suit and standing in snow. I don't recommend it.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom was Marine World Africa, USA when I was a child and we went there to celebrate a friend's birthday a few weeks ago. Of course most of the park has changed, but there are some things that have stayed the same and in many ways, it was nice to go and just be there where I have so many memories as a child. I thought that maybe the rides would make me ill, but I loved the thrill just as much as I ever have.

After LaNae's bridal shower, I spent the evening with Silvia and LaNae - and it was wonderful being with them. LaNae is moving to London in two weeks and even though Silvia only lives 90 minutes away, it is far enough away that we don't get to see each other as often as we'd like. Oh how I love these ladies.

Work is becoming sane again, so I'm grateful for that and for the small reminders I get every day that I'm not alone in this world. There are millions of other things that I've done and haven't taken pictures of - like when I went to the Giants Game tonight with some good friends, or when I met up with my friend and roommate from 10 years ago when she was in town last week with her adorable family.
“There is a guiding hand above all things. Often when things happen, it’s not by accident. One day, when we look back at the seeming coincidences of our lives, we will realize that perhaps they weren’t so coincidental after all.”
- Thomas S. Monson
My weekend in LA was so amazing. More on that to come tomorrow.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

from the bottom of my stone cold heart

today i needed some love and i got it in abundance. to those who may have been involved in that, thank you. i mean it.

i'm going to LA for the weekend - don't act surprised. someone has to keep up this tan.

[me and uzi at tahoe]