oh, monday

5 minutes ago: 

i'm standing outside of the studio blowing my nose, when i hear a familiar baritone quip: "i'm early!" to a few men standing about ten feet away from me. i have no choice but to continue filling my tissue with snot as Will Arnett walks past. "sorry," i mumble as i turn away bashfully. 

what a glamorous life i lead.

i think i'm leaving work early

Ever had one of those days that the floor sample perfume bottle shocks you by spraying wayyy too hard so you're plunged into such a musky, flower-saturated never ending haze of headache, coughing, sneezing and nausea that changing and showering tonight can't come soon enough...? 

oh totally yeah me neither.

how an elderly woman and some shiny unmentionables joined to make me question getting out of bed today

Gas station, waiting for my tank to fill up. 

Old lady pulls up to the pump in front of me, begins to back up. Old lady backs up into bumper, stops. Old lady backs up further into my bumper (crunching sound), stops. Old lady backs up AGAIN, at which point i'm all "HEY HEY STOP". Old lady opens door, dressed in her fancy Talbots best. "Are you okay?" i demand. "Yes." "Are you sure?" Old lady ignores me and looks at her bumper, which is scratched, then mine. I brush off some dirt. "That's not from my car" says the old lady rudely, then turns around and walks away.
Conversation over, i no longer exist. 
Not once did she look me in the eye. No "oh my goodness," or "I'm sorry".

i wish i had taken her license plate number because when she pulls out i see her weave in traffic. ugh.

Later i see a giant black truck with chrome covered balls. i commence asking the universe "why, why, why...?

ruby jewel for gwennie

Today i finally got something i've been hoping for for a long time...a ruby ring in memory of Gwen.

I've been on the lookout for one for about 3 years now...something sweet and one-of-a-kind. Something simple, understated and elegant...something that reminded me of her. 
I thought i had found one more than once.... particularly last year on Etsy. Sadly, the lovely little antique ring i ordered from a woman in Germany (click the link to visit her shop) got lost in the mail...never even made it out of Europe. Pippa (the woman's name) was so dear...she refunded my payment, and even offered to keep looking, as i had told her what the ring was for. I think it broke her heart a little bit, and we exchanged some very thoughtful messages about many things.
I occasionally continued searching on Etsy, ebay, through antique shops, on overstock sites, etc. once a month or so. But nothing "clicked".

grandma mary-jane's necklace

Back in november i went to a place called Anton's Jewelry Shop in Burbank, a tiny business run by a couple of the sweetest guys you'll ever meet, to have my grandma's antique necklace fixed for the wedding, and did a spectacular job. 

When i went back to pick it up, i told Steve i've been looking high and low for a ring like i described above, and asked if he had anything like it. 

Steve thought for a second, then brought out a box of lovely, thin solid gold bands set with sapphires that he had made himself 30 years ago that he just had "sitting in the back". 

They were so sweet and perfect my throat caught in excitement. He then found me a couple of teeny tiny rubies, told me which were of higher quality, etc...and long story short, he offered me an amazing deal on the little ruby ring of my dreams. I told him, at the time, with wedding expenses and everything, i couldn't afford even an extra $80 of anything...so i would try to come back another time in the future if i still felt like it was the ring for me. "No problem," he said. "These aren't goin' anywhere, i hardly ever take them out."

Yesterday i went by the shop and visited with Steve, and asked to see his little sapphire rings. He brought them out. Then he brought out the rubies, told me which were the most valuable/highest quality (the most "expensive" being $12 as opposed to $5, for instance, which....DUH i'm getting the best one!) So i picked the band that fitted best, and picked ruby i picked the one i wanted. He told me he's try to have it ready early next week, as the setting is so small and fragile he'll have to do it with extra care. I told him noooooooo problem!! I can wait a few more days!

5 hours later he called me and told me it was ready. Ha! But i was at work, so i told him i'd have to come by the next day. 

Well, as you see, this afternoon i got it. And adore it! 

I love that i waited until i found what felt particularly special. Particularly unique, and made with care. I love that i got it on Good Friday. 

Best part of all? It reminds me of her. 

It will always make me think of Gwen's preciousness, God's goodness in the littlest blessings, and Christ's sacrifice. How could such a tiny thing hold more sweetness than that? ~~

(Yesterday i wrote a Yelp review for Anton's Jewelry Shop. They've got some BEAUTIFUL jewelry there, rings, brooches, necklaces--new and antique--and i highly recommend going by their shop if you're looking for something special...big or small.)

an actual thought process i had recently...

hm, i feel like a drink. 

glass of wine, or glass of beer...?
wait a minute, i'm 30...i can have both!!

...i think i only had a beer in the end, but still.

qwik-e-wash

Sometimes in your rush to get things done efficiently, you find yourself stuck at a drive-thru car wash because the guy in front of you had his car break down inside of it, and then the car wash broke down because of it, and there are 3 cars in que behind you, the sky is growing dark, and the only person minding the whole gas station is a panicked, sweaty, obese little man with curly hair who can't get anything to work and looks like he's gonna cry.

morning.

sometimes...you sleep through your alarm...waking up right when you're supposed to be in front of a class full of students. and then you jump out of bed so fast and in such panic, you go into vasal shock and faint on your bathroom floor...coming to just as you hear your cell phone ringing and it's the school wondering where the heck you are, and you tell them you missed your alarm and then fainted and are feeling nauseous but NOT TO WORRY you're still coming, you're just going to miss the first class! "are you sure," they ask, "because we can call another sub"...and you assure them you will be there at 9:00 insisting you will be fine...so you get up to finish brushing your teeth, only to fall down on the floor with your ears ringing again. then, after finally grabbing a bagel even though you feel like you want to puke, you run down to your car, get inside, and put the key in the ignition...and nothing happens...then you notice the dome light has been left on for about 15 hours and the battery is dead...so you have to call the school and tell them the car won't start and you feel horrible and they'll just have to get another substitute that day and you sit in the seat and can't even cry from the shock of what the heck all just happened??

yep

at a friend's this evening a tender spot on my heel had increased to real noticeable soreness. i looked at it and saw a small dark line...thereby figuring it was a splinter and i would just pull it out when i got home. a few minutes ago in my bathroom, i bent my leg into an almost impossible shape over my hip, took a pair of tweezers...and proceeded to pull out a straight, stiff black hair that had wedged itself almost a half inch into my foot.

i think it was pip's.

whoooaaaaa

chad and i were walking through downtown clairemont yesterday, and a short distance ahead i saw some planters, people sitting on benches, and a wall covered in murals. there was a man standing in front of the mural examining it very closely...i thought it was funny and kind of weird...i even remarked about it out loud.

then as we passed him, we realized he was just peeing on it. chad started walking really fast and i began to laugh aloud. "DON'T JUDGE ME!!" he yelled in drunken amusement. "I KNOW YOU'RE JUDGING ME!!"
 i had to run to catch up with my very embarrassed boyfriend.

10-4

the best possible outcome to being woken up by the police and finding out your car was broken into and a bunch of stuff taken: having your things being found in a stolen car a half a block away. just ask amaris!
or the wisecracking middle-aged cop that helped us out...you can call him Mag.

cold

andrew and i are sitting outside of a starbucks drinking iced coffee, when a woman and a chatting little boy walk by. they are nearest just in time for us to hear her her say sweetly to him: "sometimes you talk about things that really aren't that interesting to me."
it takes a moment to sink in, but suddenly andrew and i are aghast in quiet, almost forced laughter, sharing whispered "oh my god"s as they pass us.
we are speechless for a few seconds, then andrew smirks and says, "i'm sure the kid feels the same way."

βράγχια

she inhaled and plunged under the surface of the pool, bubbles erupting from her nose and mouth until her lungs were empty...and everything grew silent. trying to float as motionlessly as possible, she waited for the sensation of the water to disappear, leaving her with a feeling of utter weightlessness. at that very moment, she drew breath.

super

lady behind me: "hey, wow, i really like your haircut!"

me: "oh, thanks"

lbm: "yeah, where did you get it done? cuz you know i'm so afraid of going somewhere and the person messing it up!"

me: "well actually i cut it myself"

lbm: "..."

apparently, people think cutting your own hair is really weird.

pueblo, nm

we drove slowly over the dirt roads, senses piqued for any movement or sound. the only signs of life we ever saw in that silent little town were a group of 4 bridled horses meandering in the dusty street, and 2 boys pushing an oversized tire through an empty lot. then the army helicopters arrived...

1.11.09.