Time Well Spent

I have just gotten back from my latest adventure. A week on the beach in Corolla. With wild Mustangs and even wilder friends.

Kerri turned forty last week. She is hating me right now for emphasizing this fact but alas, it is true. We have been friends for 24 years. TWENTY-FOUR. Yikes. Every year has gotten better and better. She is one of my most favorite people ever. I hope she knows that

The week started with Kerri, Suzanne, Summer, Anna, Lars, Stephen, Alicia and Melissa at the house. Mid-week Alicia, Mel and Stephen went home and my Sweet Pea and Alex joined us. It was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable trips I have taken in a long while (or at least a few months).

Coming home was a little tough. I love this group of people. I miss time with them. It makes me want to own a great big house and move them all in so we can hang out everyday drinking beer and lounging by the sea. Perhaps it is time to play the lottery?

Thank you Kerri, for such a lovely trip. And Happy Birthday Boo.

I Have Been Bad. Spank Me?

I have not written in over two months. What the hell have I been doing?

I turned 38 last month. How the hell did I get so old? I swear I was just 17 the other day. A cute little bleach blonde with no job and a stable of boyfriends. I kinda miss the stable thing.

I am leaving on vacation (yes again) tomorrow morning. One of my dearest friends, Kerri, is turning 40 on Saturday and she rented a house in Corolla for a group of us to join her in celebration. I will be meeting her in North Carolina and making the drive with her to Corolla. A week on the beach, sigh

I posted pics from my last trip and will add Corolla upon my return. With no internet connection in NC I guess you will all (does anyone read this anymore?) have to wait until I return for the details.

Juan et Juan Equals Two

K and S took me out to Chapel Hill last night to party party. We had a nice little Mexican dinner outside, drinking beer and eating cheesy steak tacos. It was raining a little and the temperature dropped to a reasonable 85 at ten at night.

After dinner Kerri took us to her favorite bar, The Cave. A very cool underground bar with live bands and a little pool table in back. Suzanne was so awed that I knew pool terminology she insisted that I play. I approached the two guys playing pool and asked if there was a list. Neither spoke much English but we worked it out to play doubles. Turns out their names were, you guessed it, Juan et Juan. Just two buddies hanging out picking up on chicks. Juan number one had a brilliant El DeBarge circa 1982 hairdo. Juan number two spoke not even one word of English but smiled at me a lot. Kerri and I held our own but Juan 1 was a pretty good shot and we ended up 2 to 2 in the end.

At one point I had to make a shot where my ass was in the face of three strangers. I warned them, they didn't move and then a tall blond guy pretended to hit my ass while I was shooting. When Juan 1 noticed he said to me " you bend like that in front of man he thing sweet luscious." Nice.

A few friends of K & S's joined us for a drink at the cave then convinced me I belonged in Hell. Yet another trip to an underground bar where you have to apply for a card (I am now a card carrying member of Hell) before they can serve you mixed drinks. Gotta love the ABC.

The place was dark, cool and smelly. Filled with wanna be goths, frat boys/girls and PBR at a buck fiddy. The jukebox was definitely one of the most interesting ones I have ever come across. The main bartender managed it and it felt like something you might find at CBGB's. It rocked. Unfortunately they were out of Stella so I didn't want to stay long.

At three AM we called it a night, errr morning and crashed out. For some reason sleep would not come over me until 5 AM so yours truly is a major mess at the moment and calling it an early night.

Tonight will be laying low and chillin' on the deck serving as a feast for the mosquitoes. Stella aplenty.

The Carolinas

Last Friday I jumped on a plane for North Carolina. I was met at the airport by Kerri and Suzanne. They moved out here a year ago and this is the first time I have been out to visit them in their beautiful new home. Their house is lovely; a large soft yellow exterior two story dwelling with three bedrooms on the second floor, a large living, dining, and den area and a sweet open kitchen and eating room. I accidentally left my card reader at home so pictures will be posted later

I spent Friday night in NC and on Saturday morning we drove two cars to Charleston (Kerri loaned me her BMW) so the three of us could hang out for a long night and day in SC. The drive was about four hours but it was so beautiful it just flew by. The three of us went out to diner at the Noisy Oyster in Downtown Charleston on Saturday and then spent Sunday milling about the area. It was so unbelievably hot there that whenever you walked into a store the sweat would just pour off of you. Not an attractive day for me.

Charleston is beautiful. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. The one eerie thing is in the middle of downtown there is a huge semi-enclosed market where vendors sell all sorts of junk (emphasis on the word junk). The market was previously used to sell slaves and it was difficult for me to ignore that. It made my skin crawl. Sometimes the South holds nothing but beauty for me, other times I can still feel the days gone, especially when confederate flags still wave on poles and as tattoos on the rednecks shoulders. Sigh.

Mid-afternoon I headed out to Edisto Island while the girls headed home. My family (dad and step-mom) had rented two houses on the beach for a family reunion. The family is my step-moms. A lively and large (20 plus) group of mostly southerners who eat, drink, chat and really know how to have a good time. The reunion was for several monumental birthdays; Grandma's 90th, my uncle Ned's 75th, and my aunt Judy's 60th. Cake every night, yum.

The house on the beach was amazing. A huge screened in porch overlooking the ocean that was never colder than 80 degrees. Dolphins swimming so close you could see their facial expressions (if they actually had any). Logger Head Turtle nests that would come to life late at night as the newborns tried to reach the ocean.

My cousins and brothers and I would sit on the porch late at night drinking beer and playing games. Well I would drink beer. Hunter and Jake, my brothers, 17 and 15, my cousins Lauren and Jordan, and Lauren's wife, Nancy all had drinks of their choosing (I was very stingy with my Stella). Sitting outside in shorts, feeling a breeze coming off of the ocean, stopping on Palmetto bugs and slamming back beers, life was good.

I spent five days hanging out with the family. On Tuesday we took a boat out into the Edisto Ocean/Lake area. For a good long while we were surrounded by dolphins, jumping in groups for show, bobbing their heads up and showing off their newborns. It had me awed. The captain of the boat stayed close to them for my benefit but the rest of the group wanted to get going so we headed out to look at the various islands and plantations on our 2 hour tour.

The remainder of the trip was spent lounging, beaching, drinking and eating to the point of silliness. I was able to read a book in two days, that's how lazy it was. Glorious and sloth-like, as vacations should be.

On Friday morning I headed back to NC. It took me six hours to arrive back at K and S's house where they greeted me with pizza and beer, thank the gods. Now I am sitting on their back deck in the heat watching the cats play in the yard and drinking coffee. I could live like this.

"I could spend a lifetime staring into those eyes."

The BEST bar pick-up line I have ever received. Hands down.

Happy Birthday Kiki

We had a big celebration for Kiki last night for her bday. She looked lovely. Rock on babe.

Out of Sight...

It is funny how you think you might not survive certain events in your life. How a situation may break your heart to the point of never feeling again. How a moment may leave you a shell of who you used to be. This actually never happens to me.

What I find happens, more often than not, is that I become a stronger person for the things in life that cause me to pause. I do tend to curl up and spend some time lingering in the emotions of it all but I always come out the other side feeling like I have accomplished something real.

I have spent the last year or so trying to figure out a strange relationship that has had me in a bit of a tailspin. I don't want to get into detail here but suffice to say it has finally found an end and I have mixed feelings on the matter. Some days I am pleased that we realized it wasn't right for us and other days, well, they suck.

After spending 12 years in very broken relationships I think I learned a little about cutting your losses. Some may say a year is a long time, but with this man, it was merely a blink. Every minute was wonderful, even the hard times. I will forever be thankful that he came into my life to make me laugh, hold my hand when I was sad and remind me daily that I am worth it all.

Perfect

I have eyed this beauty for a long time. Teresa Moore is a local San Francisco artist that I have been in love with for the last few years. Her prints are a little pricey but I broke down and bought myself this piece:

I can not tell you how happy I was to hang her on my wall tonight. She was just what I needed to make my room whole.

It is Possible that I am Insane

Yes I bought it, yes it is an S4, and yes I have issues.

Way Too Eighties

He loved me.

Just has to be Seen

These pictures are amazing. I had to share. More soon.

OCD

It only took four months but I am finally settled into my new home. Being a Virgo, normally my place would have been done in a week. It drives me crazy to not have everything in its place. But with my back being what it is these days I had to take my time and I think it made a difference in the overall look of my place. It feels very smooth, if that makes any sense. Like everything is where it is supposed to be. I am so happy here. Coming home feels like, well, coming home. The only downside is not seeing my mom all the time. I really miss her.

I reorganized my closet, specifically my shoes:

Yes, those are individual cases for each pair of shoes. I tossed a bunch of pairs I no longer wear and tried to keep it simple. Sadly, I am down to the basics. I think I need to shoe shop.

I have added a few more photos of my place. Some just to show my new artwork, others to show my fancy shoe alters. Yes, I know, displaying overpriced shoes in my hallway is silly, but I liked the idea more than watching them collect dust in the closet. Oh, right, that isn't a problem anymore. I will need to order more boxes.

A dear friend of mine gave me these on a whim:

French Tulips are my favorite. A loving gesture, thank you. They made me smile for a long time.

I am off to Philly this week. Taking Carmen on a mini-trip to NYC. She needs a break from everyday life and so do I. I can't think of anyone I would rather run away with.

And She is (a)Live

Let me get the niceties out of the way:

Happy Hanukkah
Merry Christmas
Happy New Year

There, I have been good. Now on to whatever the hellI feel like rambling about. Let me start with Comcast.

Every month I pay nearly $200 so that I can watch any channel on the planet, have a house phone no one will ever call cause I have been mobile for 6 years, but have to have so people can gain entry into my house, and finally, so that I can connect to the internet faster than you. However for the past month I have had to piggyback off of a neighbor to view my internet porn because something went awry with my internet connection. Some light wasn't blinking. Some wire wasn't connected, some THING wasn't working. Only I didn't really know this cause I was connected, sorta. I had access here and there thanks to Joe Smith who lives on my block. I spent over an hour on the phone with a Comcast monkey who had to put me on hold a dozen times to ask him superior which plug I should pull next. We did everything he could think of, although I had told him I had done it all before and was politely asking him just to send a person out to do my bidding. Finally I got an appointment. The tech came out, unplugged everything at once, pulled the battery and BAM, I have my internet back. Two minutes. He decided not to charge me, which was nice, because really, the monkey should have had me power cycle the damn thing in the first place. No wonder people are so mean to Customer Support. If I didn't have the best CS team ever I would think that companies only employ primates to answer customer calls.

My best friend, Carmelinda and her man Alex got engaged while visiting me over the holidays. Alex was very romantic about the whole thing. He proposed on one knee, under the Golden Gate Bridge. Carmen was so nervous she kept trying to get down there with him. She just didn't know what to make of the whole thing. When he opened the box with her ring inside, she jumped up and down like the 12 year old that she is. Now I have another wedding to plan (says me, that's who).

I took the last week of December off on holiday. I spent the first half with friends and family celebrating and really enjoying myself, and the second half flat on my back because I enjoyed myself to the point of throwing my back out. Oh yeah, New Years Eve in bed, on vicodin, watching Lost. Does life get anymore exciting? I shouldn't complain; on New Years day everyone else was so hungover they could barely move. I, on the other hand, could actually walk again. Just in time to return to work.

The week before I went on vacation a handful of people I work with threw me a thank you lunch at 21st Amendment. About 15 or so people. As usual we drank and ate too much. Our lunch turned into an all afternoon party. Sometime in the middle I was presented with a gift from the crew; $500 in Amex Gift Cards. I was floored. They packed it inside a copy of The Devil Wears Prada DVD, which was inside a hand-knit stocking made by my friend Soph. (Thank you lady). The idea behind the DVD was that I had been bitching about these beauuuuutiful Prada boots I wanted and they wanted me to buy them so I would shut up. Just dear god, close your trap and buy them already! So I did. They arrive, I drool, I strip my feet, I go to put them on and, FUCK, they are so narrow I lose all feeling in my toes within 4 minutes. Just long enough to trapse through the office, a six foot, 4 inch amazon babe, and show them off. Then right back in the box. They are now awaiting a trip to Ebay. Sigh. I guess I can't have it all.

If You Are Gonna Treat Me Like One...

On Tuesday night I needed to stop at the store on the way home after a nice evening of guzzling beer with the boys. I was out of creamer and kinda hungry so I went to a nice little boutique grocery store so I could grab my dinner.

As I was walking down the frozen food isle when I hear - "I like your tattoo." I turned around to smile at my ink admirer; a man dressed in a black suit, shirt, tie - one of those silly Bluetooth things in his ear.

“Thank you.”

"Don't you want to know which one?" he asked.

I turned around, grinned and said "I guess so".

He pointed to my Fleur de Lis, "Well first I saw that one, then" as he pointed to my star, "that one. But when you turned around I saw those." He pointed to my chest tattoos. "How many are there?"

"Ten or eleven I think."

His smile got bigger, "I would love to count them."

At that slick comment it was time for me to head to the check out.

Once at the counter I engaged the cashier and bagger, talking about nothing in particular when Mister Frozen Foods sets his purchases on the counter next to me and says “What kind of wine do you like?”

I gave him a sideways glance, “Australian Shiraz.”

“I thought so.” Beat one, beat two, “so is that what you want me to buy you?”

One more big smile at him “I think I have had enough to drink tonight but thank you.”

I walked out to my car, which was parked right out front and press the little auto-open button, go to pull open the driver-side door and BAM, the guy in the Armani suit had a hold of my door so I couldn’t open it. Damn. He had actually walked away from his purchases, left people waiting in line and followed me. I peaked around him to see the cashier and a security guard in the doorway watching us.

He looked at me, all serious now, “What is it gonna take to get you to spend some time with me?”

I blinked at him a few times, “About five hundred dollars but I am off the clock for the night”.

Ain't it the Truth

www.postsecret.com

X Amount of Words

Me & Pea

This holiday week has been non-stop since Tuesday night. Carmen and Alex flew in from Philly and Paulie and I picked them up. We picked up Kiki and went straight to Q for their annual Crab Feed. I love this event because it is a chance to hang out with people I don't see very often and shovel mass amounts of crab down our gullets. Paulie was the last man standing at the crab line, go figure.

On Wednesday Carmen pounced on me in bed at the ungodly hour of 8 something and refused to let me be cranky with her since it was her birthday. Damn her. I can hardly believe Pea turned 32. The first bday I spent with her was her 21st. I baked her a purple heart-shaped cake and she cried because it was the first time a friend had ever done that for her. I told her to toughen up cause the cake represented bravery damn-it.

We took her to Framer Brown's for her birthday dinner; a rocking little soul food place in a funky neighborhood. After dinner we shot an awkward game of pool before heading home. My sister kicked some ass.

Thursday being Thanksgiving everyone had to hustle to different houses to visit family before we all settled at Alicia's house for the actual meal. My sister hosted 18 of us, a motley crew at best, in her home in Marin. My mom, sister, her kids, my brother, his gf, Carmen, Alex, Paulie, Russell, his brother Daniel, Justin and me all cooking, eating, drinking, laughing, smoking, and generally behaving badly for a typical holiday meal together. It was awesome. We hung out at Alicia's until about 9 and then headed to Russell's place for some serious Guitar Hero action. Laugh if you must, I did at first, but this game ROCKS! My only regret is that I suck a whole lot, but that never stopped me. Before I knew what was happening it was two in the morning and my hand had a cramp in it that haunted me until morning.

Friday morning was spent being slugs. Oh the joy. Pea and I needed to do a little shopping (I had to buy a heavy blanket for my guests as they claim my house is an icebox and hadn't stopped complaining for three days) so we headed to Target to see Mary. Mare is an executive at Target so we used her as a personal shopper so we could spend some time with her. I just don't get to see that girl often enough, and now that she has purchased a house in Sacramento, I am afraid it will be even less. Sigh.

We made plans to have a bunch of people at my house Friday night. I think we all needed a little down-time, sans hair and make-up, just to relax. Lara, Mary, Debbie, Jake, (who brought the fix'ens for Mojito's, bless his soul), Russell, Daniel, Paulie, Carmen and I all sat around my living room having drinks and laughing. Cause that is what we do, we drink and laugh. No, really - THAT IS WHAT WE DO.

My sister came over on Saturday morning to make us stuffing omelets. Granted, I don't eat eggs, or stuffing for that matter, but the thought was nice. Around two we headed to Carmen's aunt's house for a double bday celebration with her family. A nice whacky bunch that I always enjoy hanging out with. We read a play her Gram had written; a nicely charged political piece where I not only played Inga's mother (Inga being Carmen's character) but a second role that stabs Inga to death. Funny they picked me for both of those roles.

We stayed at the party until about 9 then I headed home (I was beaten up by then) and everyone else went to play more Guitar Hero. I hear I missed out.

Tonight is the last celebration. A group of us are driving up to French Laundry for another double-bday (this time Mikey and Carmen) for a four hour, nine-course meal. Ummm, I think come Monday I may be done eating for the year. Photos and gossip to follow.

Sneak Preview

Although I am not done decorating, I thought I would post some pics from the new place. I have a few dozen more prints to put up and, as you can see, a bed to make. I am in love with this place.

I also picked up some of the art I had framed (see above). There is also a great map Anna did for a party that I stole and framed, I love her art.

More to come.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I am not sleeping. I am having trouble eating. Drinking seems to be going okay. Despite the fact that things are going really well in most parts of my life, somethings are just a mess. I am tired of fighting. I am sick of the struggle. I just want it to all go away - like it never happened.

Teach Me to do Laundry at My Parents House

So my new place has laundry in the garage. Coin-Op laundry. I have been spoiled over the last four years by having a washer/dryer in my home and now I find I will actually wear a pair of pants more than once before putting them in the dirty just to keep the hamper from encroaching on the ceiling.

That being said I waited nearly three weeks before I was forced into a corner when I ran out of clean white socks. Normally, a girl like me would just go shopping but I decided a trip to my dad and step-mom's for dinner was in order. So while there, why not do the college student thing and wash a load (or three). I did my whites first (needed those socks), then my darks and then colors. At about 8 PM it was apparent that the dryer wasn't going to comply with my time-table. My step-mom told me she would fold it all for me (the color load included a ton of underwear and towels, PJ's and my favorite jeans) and I could pick it the next day. She was nice enough to bag it and place it in the garage so I could grab it whenever.

Whenever became a week and two days later and I called her tonight on my way home to tell her that after my groceries were delivered I would be by to grab my clothes. A sudden silence met me on the other end of the phone. Then a gasp:

"Um Kim, didn't you grab your clothes earlier this week?"

"No mom or I wouldn't be calling to tell you I was on my way"

"Oh dear, I think the cleaning ladies, well, I think they gave your clothes away."

"Excuse me?"

"Well I had several bags of clothing and other things going to Goodwill and I think they must have grabbed your bag by mistake and, well, there aren't any bags in the garage."

"None?"

"Not a one. I am sick about this."

"I know how you feel."

"Well, get over here, I have new towels for you and I will write you a check for your clothes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, get over here now. I am just sick about this."

Click

It took me an hour, but I plowed through the $350 like it was nothing. New jeans, new pants, new undies, new sweater, new shirts. A totally unexpected shopping spree I had been itching for but avoiding since I am going on vacation at the end of the month.

Although I am sad about my loss I am very pleased with my new items. So the question becomes; do I continue to do laundry at the parents’ house or do I just send it out to the cleaners? I love having my laundry done for me, but what if next time she accidentally shrinks everything; maybe I can get the Porsche.

Upside Down

I have been remiss in writing. Things have been more than insane. I have moved back to the city into an amazing and beautiful flat. I haven't put all my art up yet so I won't post pics until it is complete. Suffice to say, it is wonderful. My cats are living with me, inside even. Everything is out of storage and it is really starting to look like my home.

I finally finished posting my pics of Spain. With over 400 photos it took me forever to get them all up. Two weeks there was not enough so next year we are looking at a month; two weeks in Spain and two weeks in Italy.

Work is killing me. I am in bed sick at 7:30 pm and I just finished working from home. I even had to run into the office for a short bit to sign off on some critical paperwork. I love my job, and I love the people I work with, but damn if I am not exhausted.

Most of the drama in my life is gone. Things for D are still a little uproarious but he is managing beautifully despite the fact that lies are still spread and there are people in this world willing to waste their time being vindictive. It makes me sad really; he is such an amazing person and deserves nothing but happiness. Too bad some people can't see past their spiteful noses to see what they are missing not knowing him

I know I have so much more to share, like I am off to NOLA again this month to see a two day concert and train at an HR convention, or that my LOVELY Pea is here visiting me, or that I miss my mom every day, but I am too low on energy to actually get to it all so this will have to do for now.

Much love