no tests = time for relaxing

Both of these Arizona venues are worth the admission, by the way.

Also, lately I have become obsessive about naps. At lunchtime, I go nap in my car. I even found out that there is a nap-room on the first floor of my building (that no one else knows about - and everyone finds it odd that they are learning these things from the new girl.)

So... that said: it is no small thing that on Sunday, I took a cot chair and a good book and took a nice nap in the sun in a park by the ocean. It was my idea of a perfect afternoon. (I finished the book, "Alice" and it was wonderland.)

hollywood is hot

Mark took this when the Hollywood hills were on fire while I was at the conference in Seattle. The smear is a helicopter fighting the fire. I heard about the fire at the conference when my friend said, "Is your house near the fire that is burning in Los Angeles?" Of course, I had flashbacks.

an update of the kids

Is 10-years old this fall! He is a lot milder ever since the fire, but he still can go crazy and chase Kira all over the place. He makes non-cat-lovers reconsider. Mark recently discovered that he has become ticklish under his armpits. Now Mark tickles him non-stop and Kazi hates it, but loves his pets, so he gets really torn about whether to put an end to it. Watching them reminds me of when McKay used to tickle me until I thought I would pee my pants.

Just turned five but she thinks she is still a kitten. In both of these photos she is playing in a shopping tote that makes her insanely happy. Mark picked it up and swung it like the carnival zipper while she was in it and I flipped out and he said, "No, no, she likes it, see." -- and put the bag down. She jumped out and jumped back in and meowed like, "Do it again!"

i guess i'm a girl afterall

I just love this dress; I need a reason for leaving the house in such a cute dress.

And this one, too. (Only make mine calf-length, because I am not daring anymore.)

we love peanut butter

chicken satay peanut sauce
melt in a saucepan for 3-5 minutes the following:
2 t creamy peanut butter
2 t soy sauce
1-2 minced or chopped garlic cloves
1/4 c water
1 t brown sugar
We drizzle it on herbed chicken kabobs and serve with rice, but you can put it on anything if you like it.

PB & Life Bars (i made this up)
toast some nuts. I used 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts and 1/3 c sliced almonds in butter flavored spray in a saute pan. Toss with
5 cups Life Cereal
1/2 cup broken preztels

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt:
1/8 c Light corn syrup
1 T honey
1/4 c fim packed brown sugar
4 T creamy peanut butter
1 t vanilla
1 package large marshmallows

Then mix the melted goo with the dry stuff and pressed into a well greased pan to set up overnight. A bar the size of a deck of cards is better for you than 1/3 of a candy bar.

If I had any chocolate in the house, I would have drizzled some on the top. But chocolate at my house is always a shortlived thing. I did have a snickers bar and thought heavily about chopping it into the recipe - and it would have been REALLY good, but I bought the candybar for Mark. So I ate half of it, and gave him the rest instead. That's how nice I am.

This is how domesticated I was today: I made a scrapbooking page, made dinner, did 9 loads of laundry, made marshmallow treats, washed the dishes, read 1/2 of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and grocery shopped. Plus, I bought and ate half of the candybar. Okay. I'm feeling guilty.

As you can see... Mona does not know what to do with herself when she doesn't have to study. This is new. Who knows? Maybe tomorrow I will pick up my messes all over the house.

i PASSED!

Here is the scrapbooking layout I made to commemorate today... one of the most gratifying days of my life: today, on my third attempt, I (preliminary result) passed exam P of the SOA certification series and am officially on the Actuary track.

This is huge for me. Not only does it qualify me to work in my field, but it also qualifies me for study programs which pay me to leave early for the day to study for the next exam, pays for my supplies and expenses, puts me on a program to "tour" every department in my company for a year at a time, gives me a one-time bonus, gives me a raise, and just in general lets me know that yes, I can do this.

This exam was harder than the first two attempts that I took (the questions are sampled at random from a large pool) and I thought I did terrible. I spent the full last 15 minutes randomly selecting answers to over half of the test that I either couldn't attempt or had not the time to try. I was ready to cry in defeat when I hit "end test" and the notice "Congratulations, you passed." popped up. I do not have anything in life to compare the emotions of that moment to. So much of my life went in to this that it was such an enormous thing... I completely broke down (I saved most of it for when I got to the car...) in wonderful, exhilarating tears of gratitude, relief, disbelief, freedom, self-determination, and many other emotions I can't describe.

Afterward, I had to go to the DMV and those people have probably never dealt with anyone of my today-cheerfulness in all of their lives.

Deep Thoughts by Marvin Minsky

Minsky has been a driver of research in Artificial Intelligence since the fifties. In an interview for the Jan 2007 issue of Discover magazine, this exchange really struck me as interesting:

Q: Usually AI refers to an exploration of the utilitarian uses of the brain, like understanding speech or solving problems. Yet so much of what humans do isn't clearly utilitarian, like watching TV, fantasizing, or joking. Why is all this behavior necessary?

Minsky: Watching sports is my favorite. Pleasure, like pain, is though of as being a sort of simple, absolute, innate, basic thing, but as far as I can see, pleasure is a piece of machinery for turning off various parts of the brain. It's like sleep. I suspect that pleasure is mainly used to turn off parts of the brain so you can keep fresh the memories of things you're trying to learn. It protects the short-term memory buffers. That's one theory of pleasure. However, it has a bug, which is, if you gain control of it, you'll keep doing it: If you can control your pleasure center, then you can turn off your brain. That's a very serious bug, and it causes addiction. That's what I think the football fans are doing - and the pop music fans and television watchers and so forth. They're supressing their regular goals and doing something else. It can be a very serious bug, as we're starting to see in the young people who play computer games until they get fat.

I think that there is some truth to that. I know that when I am really wrestling with learning new math, I feel very compelled to take frequent breaks to do things I really enjoy (like read Discover magazine and post to my blog.) And oddly, even though I spend more time in leisure than I do in study, it tends to be more productive than trying to sit still and just chug through study without breaks for long durations.

Important note #1: anything that brings with it pleasure has the potential of taking over the whole of your brain if it is endulged more than necessary to temporarily restore the mind.

Important note #2: the purpose of the brain is to learn.

too much

I kind of feel like throwing up for a number of reasons.

Reason #1: Conferences are catered and there is a big pile of food you never let yourself have available every hour. Tarts, brownies, chocolate chip walnut bread, muffins... and the meals are over the top, too. Oh, and I never thought you could have too much coffee. But, I changed my position on that. If it is stout Seattle coffee and you are mixing it with real cream, chocolate milk, whipped cream, and chocolate shavings, you really should stop at one. Don't, I repeat don't, have six.

Reason #2: Conferences are so... I feel like I am being constantly schmoozed and marketed to by slick networking individuals. This is normal to everyone else, but it feels very slimy to me and I am way outside my comfort zone.

Reason #3: I miss Mark and feeling like everything is going to be okay and all the comfort and security that has been missing since we made this big move to Los Angeles... and being away by myself has really brought home how instable and scary everything really is. I feel like the child in the back seat screaming, "I wanna go home." Only, we don't have a home yet.

mister, got any change?

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”

~Andy Warhol

****************************************************************************

This city is tough and the stakes are high. We're starting out with big hopes and taking big risks. It is very scary, but we're here and we're doing it. Right now, we are sort of asking ourselfs why, but that's another matter... and so it is what it is.

I got to have dinner with Dale and family from Utah last night. What a pleasant surprise to have them nearby. It makes me wish we were close enough to do that sort of thing all the time. One of the few things I really get homesick for is family dinner.

Off tomorrow to Seattle. First business trip ever. I'd be excited, but I can't take The Man, so walking around the city by myself doesn't hold the same allure as it would if we could afford to fly him up with me. I think I only like to travel because we have so much fun together. I guess I'll find out tomorrow if it is fun to do by yourself. (I guess if I found a cool scrapbooking store...)

Cutting makes me ☺!

Here is Xacto my idea of a few magical evenings:

TV

One of the last remaining investigative news programs, FRONTLINE, is running a two part segment on Mormon history and the exodus to Utah. Shows air Apr. 30, 2007 at 9pm and May. 1, 2007 at 9pm.

Also noteworthy is the HBO fictional series, BIG LOVE, about a prominant Utah businessman who is trying to hide the fact that he is a polygamist from the LDS majority and balance three families. I guess seeing the Utah culture is more exotic to me now that I am not in Utah, but it was interesting to see some familiar scenarios play out between the goodies and the jacks. (You Mormons who think the culture is not that different from main stream need to live outside of Utah for a period of time and associate more with nons. -- There's nothing wrong with being different. Embrace it.)

Also, keep in mind that these TV recommendations are coming from someone who does not get her TV from the box. (I don't even think it is hooked up.) Frontline episodes are often available streaming online and Big Love Season One is available on DVD, commercial free.

the waging debate

My cube-mates and I are trying to resolve the following dilemma. Am I a nerd or a geek.

So, here are the factors weighing in the respective categories... I'm tempted to give them a weight ratio, which probably falls into the nerd category.

Either:
I wear glasses.
I learn about science, technological developments, and study societal function
I listen to NPR, compusively - except for the Lake Wobegone bit.
I like sci-fi TV Shows, movies and mini-series.
I do not watch TV unless it is commercial free on DVD, and then very selectively. (Sorry Rachel... I gave up on SG-1 after I realized the obsurdity of either jeopardizing the human race and/or someone coming back from the dead in every single episode...too predictable. Let's have an episode where we meet a species that does neither of those things on at least one planet of the millions of permutations on the dial, and I'll watch it.)
I ♥ STNG

Nerd:
I ♥ math, and do problems for fun... often.
Belong to the Math Club
I ♥ logic puzzles.
I ♥ school and the process of learning.
I had a spiritual moment in Calc I.
I read Mark's subscription to Scientific American Mind.

Geek:
I ♥ paper and pens
I ♥ my $100+ calculator
I used to love to play Magic before my deck got lost.
I have common acquaintances who own swords.
I like the movies that everyone else hates and the music that no one listens to.
I think my knees are facing different directions, so my legs do not track along parallel lines.

Feel free to weigh in on this. Perhaps I have left off some glaringly obvious factor that casts the deciding vote?

new addition

We are calling the newest member of the family "The Mazda." She comes in at 2906 pounds, 177.6 inches and arrived at 8:20 P.M. on April 11, 2007. So far, she is quite a joy and seems to be a very happy car.

picture perfect day

egg-xactly

talented spouse

click to see my juggler large.

life cycle

SUCCESS:
At age 4 success is . . . not peeing in your pants.
At age 12 success is . . . having friends.
At age 17 success is . . . having a drivers license.
At age 35 success is . . . having money.
At age 50 success is . . . having money.
At age 70 success is . . . having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is . . . having friends.
At age 80 success is . . . not peeing in your pants.

Things at the new job are getting into a routine. I'm learning and learning. I'm so glad I went to college.

We had a nice weekend. Jennifer, Lindsey K, and Stephanie were here from Arizona for a quick turn around trip and we did all the nice things in quick succession... the beach, beverly hills, dinners, sitting on the roof, hanging out late talking...

A little egg hunt in Scott's garden was a fun highlight.

admissions of guilt

I'm really enjoying my life right now. It's not really that cool to admit that, because all the time, everyone is going through things... and it's taboo to admit a moment of good, because it comes across so badly to everyone who is mired in human tragedy. However, at the moment, in the heat of a transition of deep uncertainty... I can find a moment to say, in this craziness, I'm okay.

I am empowered with a lot of responsibility and the latitude to carry out said in any way I deem appropriate. Their expectations of me are a great compliment. On my end, I feel completely capable of meeting these grand demands. Which is why, in this craziness... I'm okay.

Not to mention a knock out new wardrobe. As they say, the suit makes the man.

The only thing that has really been hard is the mornings. Five AM comes very early, and tomorrow, Mark wants to drop me a few hours early so he can take the car... what does that mean? Three? (I set my own hours, but everyone in my department works 7am-4pm, so that has been my routine... in order to make use of their resources for my training.)

boys and girls

I just did some statistics on our family...

We are 80% entrepreneurs (running our own side gig for money part or full time - I didn't count McKay because I don't know if he does, and I didn't count me because I don't currently - although I have plans to.) But we are 100% fixers.

Business owner: crafts / fixer of household items, Business owner: heavy equipment operation / fixer of metal, Business owner: salvage and heavy equipment / fixer of all things mechanical, Business Administrator / Fixer of dead animals, Mechanic / fixer of cars and computers, Data Operator / fixer of computers, Police Officer, Accountant / Fixer of messes and maker of handmade gifts, Statistician / Fixer of numbers, Security Guard/Student Nurse / Fixer of Cars and motorbikes.

If we had a lawyer, a banker, and a financial consultant, we could start a multi industry business strategy consulting firm.

big day

Mark and I both had exciting days. His version of his day is on his blog, but it consisted of hanging out on the set at our apartment building with the film crew of a tv pilot. Here are some pictures he took. It sounded very exciting!


This is Jamie Kennedy, who Mark got to talk to and who has a new movie out next month.

This is Jamie and the Director, Paul Dinello. Mark said that where he was standing when he took this picture (below) was four or five feet from where Jamie came to stand between takes when he wasn't acting over by the doorway or on the grass.

This (below) is the view from our apartment window. They were setting things up last night and I kept hearing a guy yelling from where it sounded like he was standing on our fire escape.

(Below) is a good overview of what the whole street was like. There were cops and equipment trucks everywhere.
They were still working when I got home, so I got to see Jamie Kennedy, the director and a few other key players before they started packing up. (And suprisingly still got a decent parking place)

In other news, my second day at work was terriffic. I was able to sort of pin down what I am doing and get a deeper discrete idea of how to do it. I have come concrete tasks and some more arbitrary ones, but still, good solid goals and I am loving it. I created a spreadsheet report that filtered some data and drilled down to see some facts that may have actually been useful, had the report been real (it was an exercise... someone else had already completed it, I was just "redoing" it because it will be my job in the future.)

I got my loaner computer set up, some business cards on order, some special programs and a killer powerful laptop and desktop on order, some office supplies, some database training, and I got to sit down with the Chief Actuary.

work sick

I didn't realize how much I missed working.

I survived my first day. Barely. I woke up in the middle of the night sicker than a dog... but you just don't call in on your first day. So, I only got two hours of sleep and went in...

It was mostly human resources paperwork and reading risk management text books, so nothing too terrible. However, I doubt that [as miserable as I was] I made a delightful impression on my coworkers.

I love my job though. Great perks, great benefits, and it looks like I will have a lot of avenues there. I found out I get a bonus of roughly 15% of my salary every year... cool. I also do not feel in over my head, which is something I was worried about coming from a Math theory school to a real world application setting.

I hope I am not worse tomorrow, but I did give them a heads up that if I get worse, I will be calling in until I'm better... This is the most empowered I have ever been on a job.

me

Mark's latest photography experiment is a move toward portraits.

When I look at this picture, I can't even believe it is me...

peace

I've said this before, but scrapbooking really takes me to a stress-free and enjoyable place. I've spent a little time lately working on my 2006 book, and (despite promising not to bore the non-scrapbook appreciating readers of my blog) have some latest pics of my work.

(Graduation - above - using photoshop, I selected myself from the crowd as I am shaking hands and getting my diploma - lower left - and then turned up the saturation of colors on me, and turned down to almost black and white the saturation of colors of everyone else in the crowd to take a mediocre picture and make it awesome. I also included my "Yee-Haw" picture, upper right, which Mark hates because I am so animated I look like a vampire, but I love it because that is how I FELT... and I just love that the picture shows it.)

(The Disneyland layout - above - is done on black and greys with black and white patterned papers infused with bright colored paper to reflect the mix of the sad and happy of the trip. I didn't want it to be too upbeat and gawdy, because between our laughter we all had tears in our eyes that day.)

(This Christmas layout - above - is what I did today, and I am really proud of it. The design is a lot more streamlined and sophisticated than my usual stuff, and was inspired by this holly and argyle patterned paper. Also, my first attempt at hand stitching paper. I got a few design suggestions from Mark, who is always really honest and insightful with his artistic eye.)

the business

The Big White Van with many strangers staring at our building and "awww"-ing and then quickly getting on their cell phones. And then more vans. And more cell phones. It was weird. I actually took a picture. I heard one guy say "oh, yeah (pointing at the top of the building) that looks like it will just come right down" and for a minute there, I thought they were going to blow our building up.And then a van with a logo came and they started ripping out the base of a wall.

And then they called to tell us Buena Vista is filming in the apartment directly above us next week and give us a film crew schedule so that we wouldn't be alarmed. Just as long as there are no bombs going off...

got work

I just accepted a formal "Para-Actuary" job offer (Actuary in training).

I start on Monday.

Yee-Haww.

exotic

I made Indian Curry Pork for dinner.

Some exotic facts about me:

HOBBIES

• Yodeling, and learning to sing Jazz
• Trying to walk my cat on a leash
• Art, mostly involving photography
• Sewing Barbie Clothes and other pointless crafts

PLACES I'VE LIVED

• Utah
• North Carolina
• Arizona
• England
• California

PLACES I'VE TRAVELED

• Wales, Scotland, Germany, France, Amsterdam, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, England
• New York, Chicago, Idaho, Yellowstone, Florida, Maryland, Four Corners

THINGS I HAVE TRIED

• Bungee Jumping, Rock Climbing, Skateboarding, Rappelling, Sailing, Wind Surfing, Snorkeling, Flying a single engine plane,
• Guitar, Piano, Violin, Viola, Banjo, Harmonica, Flute, Saxaphone, Trumpet, Recorder, Bass
• Writing a Novel, Film Script, TV Pilot, Music, and Educational Text

THINGS I HAVE NEVER DONE

• Tattoo, Skydive, Scuba, Hang Gliding, Sewn my own clothes
• Anything I regret

nature day

Adventures of the still-currently-unemployed continues... this episode, in nature.

We went to the "Lake Shrine" which is a garden/lake open to the public for all-faith spiritual reflection. We walked around and sat for a while, enjoying the smells and sounds. We saw a little mouse in the flower bed. Here is a picture of me trying to look relaxed: We also went for an unplanned hike up Topanga Canyon. I usually don't go hiking in a skirt but, we were being spontaneous.
So now you know that we have nature in LA. (Also... of note, I think they filmed the opening sequence of M*A*S*H in these hills somewhere.)

santa monica pier

We went out to the beach over the weekend. We caught it at the perfect time, just an hour before sunset.

We walked around a little taking pictures and taking in the scene. At one point, I sat down and just enjoyed the waves rolling in.

This beach has a lot of vendors hawking crafts, talents, and wares. This guy was twirling stuff for tips. Another guy there was squatting the weight of two volunteers from the crowd in shopping carts. Another played a one-man-band. In the past, we have seen sword swallowers, guys who jump off chairs onto shards of glass, and all sorts of fun entertainers. Right on the end of the pier at sunset, a guy was playing the pan flute.

After dark, the arcade seemed like the place to be. We went on a ride on a historical carousel, with hand carved unique wooden horses. There are only a few of these old ones in existence, and they go around pretty darn fast.
The horses are very detailed.

When we got home, we ordered in some Thai food. I had Thai on the lunch with my interviewer for the first time in my life, and it was so good that I couldn't wait to have Mark try it. Now, we are hooked and have gotten it a few times. We'll have to learn how to cook it... but getting the ingredients sounds hard... and I might not like it so much if I know what's in it.

I like the Yellow Curry Chicken. It is like a soup with chicken and potatoes in a coconut milk creme based sweet and spicy sauce, served with white rice. It kind of reminds me of what would happen if you mixed Chinese food with Indian food.

a pro

This is me in my fancy outfit the day I went to my interview. I was pretty nervous when this was taken, but by the time I got up there early and killed an hour at Starbucks with my favorite latte treat, I was all smiles. I filled out paperwork today to facilitate getting an offer.... looks good.

around town

We went to the top of one of the hills in Hollywood to a place called Yamashiros, which is kind of a famous for it's view. It was a nice clear day, so you can see downtown.

Then we went to Hollywood Blvd to walk around and saw this TV film crew shooting something.

time flies

We've been here almost two weeks, now.

I just had a neat chat with Aunt Velora, and she made some profound remarks. She said, 'To go from taking the horse and buggy to man-on-the-moon and the ipod generation, it's the biggest transition mankind has ever had to make and for those of us that have lived through the whole thing, it's a lot of transition.'

I had my big interview yesterday. I think it went well and I really hope they make me an offer. I should hear back within a week or two. The job sounds really fun and dynamic and the commute would not be as bad as I thought.

I decided to buckle down and take advantage of this period of unemployment to try to get a breakthrough on my actuary exam studies so that I can see the mark of improvement necessary to get success in May.

connected

We're going stir crazy. I never thought I would say this, but we can't wait to go back to work. It is nice to have some free days to lounge around, take care of things, or go do something. But, when all that is done, what do you do?

Good news is, I have an 6 1/2 hour interview on Friday for the commute-70-miles-a-day job. It seems like a good opportunity, and I guess I will get a test drive on how that commute goes when I go up for the interview. I've always wanted to commute to work in a helicopter. I hear they are hard to fly, though...

Our internet is up and running (fast) now. Please write me an email. I'm so bored and I don't have anything left to alphabetize or organize.

beachy

Mark and I drove quite far up the coast yesterday to feel the ocean wind in our hair. We stopped off at this rocky cliff side beach area in Malibu where a lot of folks were digging clams and mussels.

When we lived here last time, we went to the beach nearly every weekend... with a book, our rollerblades, or just a blanket to sit on. I think this is a tradition we will have to renew. It was so nice.

I hear some people in the family went resort skiing on the same day. What a fun contrast!

see our place

Our edifice. The building is four stories and a basement. The laundry is in the basement. Here are some of the features I love, from left to right and top to bottom...
The window in the hall leading out to the fire escape is lovely and keeps the hallway from getting dank... we open it periodically. The metal work for the railings, stairs, fire escape, etc all appear to be hand crafted and have lots of swirly touches. The tile is pretty groovy... it's old and spattered with paint in places, but lovable. The door knobs and cabinet pulls are all these crystal glass antique style that we used to have a long time ago. Our entryway has these great marbled mirrors and art deco interior design. All the ceilings are rounded out by hand. There is a great little gap between the stairwells with light pouring down from a skylight high above in the hallway. Some (not all) of our light fixtures are antique candelabra deals. The elevator door is a gate that you pull to the side.

The kitchen has lots and lots of cabinets. There are two ovens and I love the glass case for the dishes. It finally got me to set aside the not matching dishes. No automatic dishwasher...
This little nook between the living room and bedroom is (according to Scott) a common feature in upscale urban neighborhoods... it is for dressing to the nines for social events. We are using it as an office nook. I will do my hair and makeup at the dressing table, though. Our view from the front living room is really pretty. The houses on the street are all very architecturally interesting and it is a well groomed and affluent neighborhood.
We took today off. It was nice not to play tetris with real objects in real space and not carry heavy stuff up the stairs... well we did get groceries, but we get to eat them, so it is worth it.

We drove out to Malibu and I sat on the beach for a while while Mark took pictures. It was very relaxing, and it is starting to set in that we are actually here.

I hope you called Evan.

simple life

Wow. We have parking permits. It took most of the day, but we don't have to take turns driving around in circles while the other person unpacks. We also picked up some matching bedside tables with drawers to accommodate our new space. While we were shopping, a casting director asked us to audition for the "simple life."

We are almost done unpacking. Another day, maybe.

I feel like I have gone, nonstop, for two months. We decided to take Saturday off and not do anything productive whatsoever. Sounds well deserved!

home again

I woke up in our new home for the first time this morning.

We drove out yesterday morning (leaving at 4am.) Scott and Evan helped us unload the truck in a phenomenal five hours (considering that it took three days to load it.)

We're still swimming in a sea of boxes and I can't find my clean pants or our food, but we're here, and we're pretty blown away.

Our place is a lot cooler than I remember. Plus, I didn't notice a lot of the more amazing features... there is 24 hour access to the roof... with a beautiful panoramic view that includes an entire panorama of the city, the hollywood sign, and downtown. We have an elevator with the gate door that you pull to the side, like you see in movies. (That gate is heavy, by the way.) Plus our place is pretty big.

We're trying to sort out how this place works a little. We need a parking pass, and fast. We already got a ticket... Our street is preferential parking only and without a permit, we have to move our car every two hours during the day and cannot park anywhere between 6 and 7 (both am and pm) which is tiring. We have to jump through some hoops... get our car registered and DL's in CA, a confirmation of utility bill as proof of address, and so on... lots to do.

And we pretty burned out. I just want to sleep for two days. (And hire a temp person to unpack in the meantime.)

Since I am piggybacking on some strangers' wireless connection to write this, I will wait to post pictures until our cable guy puts in our high speed internet connection tomorrow.

Things are going... moving along.

last az day

Today is the day we drive out to CA for keeps. The moving van is nearing capacity and our rooms are sparcely littered with only odds and ends around the perimeter, cleaning products, and trash bags.

It looks like a crack house.

Still plenty of work to do and now, just 24 hours to do it in.

The goodbyes have been harder than I expected.

contrasts

Our last move seemed a lot less complicated. I guess that life is accumulative, both with respect to the tangible and the intangible. This move has a lot more at stake.

It is surreal.

The house is looking pretty empty. Most everything has migrated to boxes stacked in the living room or is gone. We got rid of fantastic amounts of "stuff." If we haven't touched it in a year, it went. (Except nostalgia items, which we agreed had to fit inside a storage tub.) It was a difficult cleansing... but we are lighter for it, and prefer to be even lighter still. I think more will naturally go as we unpack and can't find places for everything.

Ever since our apartment burned, I like to remain unattached to our things, and remember that our stuff is not our life... our life is our life... that what we do is what matters, not what we have.

Also, I am reminded how awesome it is to have a partner who is in synch with me on the important things. I really appreciate Mark at times like these.

moving along

We are off work in 10 days, pick up our rental truck in 12, and move in 14. It is all very surreal and we are starting to realize that it is actually happenning.

This weekend we spend much time going through things and getting the apartment ready to turn in our keys. I spent most of today with cleaning gloves on. The stove is glistening. I love getting things done and working hard.

We have plenty to keep us busy next weekend, too. Our only caveat is that we really wanted to do a couple of fun things before we leave that we will miss, so fitting it all into next weekend will be our challenge.

I don't have any pictures of our apartment, yet. It is VERY quaint. I will give the whole gushing report when I can support it visually.

call

Farmers insurance wants a telephone interview with me :)

progress

Done and Done.

Done (1) We have the apartment we looked at yesterday. I looked around and as I suspected, nothing measured up to it, and when you are in love... love is happy. Now we just have to restrain ourselves from pimping the place out, as urges go when you have a cool place.

Done (2) Mark finished the process for his job-transfer, so one of us is working when we get here.

Still pending... my job... hire me, I'm extremely smart, talented and amazing and not at all egotistical!

Also all the tiny details that are involved with changing your entire life... I wish I could hire a personal assistant... smile.

Oh, and a BIG thanks to Kevin N. for getting me sick, since I really love cough drops and naps.

Oh, and if you owe me money... our move-in deposit is huge and cash only... so every little bit helps.

super

I watched the superbowl with nachos and bean dip and Mark and his brother. It was pretty fun. I was up for a ridiculous amount of hours beforehand so I fell asleep when I came to the sad realization that the Bears would need a miracle to recover.

However, on the way here, we stopped at an apartment Mark found last week that I had previously vetoed because it is a little higher in price. Mark knew if I saw it... all kinds of magical thoughts would begin, which was true. He suggested all the bugetary things he would be willing to give up to live there... and I could see sacrificing a little to live in such a pretty place.

We love it so much that it seems pointless to go out today and look for places that are cool and cheaper (because I'd be thinking the whole time... yeah, but for an extra $75, I can live in that one place.) I'm still going to look, because LA is just loaded with cool, tucked away places that are precious.

We HAVE to pick and make financial arrangements THIS WEEK so that all other things can fall into place afterwards. I will post the winner, soon.

good jeans

While I was job seeking, I came across ZAFU. They develop complex algorythms for determining what clothes will fit you best for mail/catalog items. I tried out their website and they recommended 37 different specific pairs of jeans that I should try and where to buy them. Data mining like this gives an educated guess to shortcut an otherwise random process of selection. The results are "suggestions" that narrow your search toward the most likely items, but not all of them will fit perfectly.

I particularly like the "wishlist" question, on which you place a checkmark on what you wish your jeans hid, such as "muffin top" and "saddle bags."

Off to LA again this weekend. Still no job, no apartment.