Peppy's Dream Moving Adventure Blog

Neither Eric nor I have been sleeping well.  I woke up at 3:30am and I guess I fell back to sleep, but it takes me a while and it’s so annoying.  I went to bed before 11:00pm and Eric went outside to watch TV, so I could really sleep well.  He can sleep just fine with the TV going, but it really does interrupt my sleep, so I appreciated it.  I didn’t hear him come in, so I have no idea when he came to bed, but he told me this morning that he didn’t sleep well at all.\

I gave him my last SIMPLY SLEEP, so he could try to get some sleep this morning, and then I told him to go to the drug store today and buy us some TYLENOL PM.  Now we’ll both be poppin’ sleeping pills in order to get some shut eye!  We’re just both under a lot of stress, and it’s not unusal for it to affect your sleep.  It’s not like we can’t figure out why we’re not sleeping well!

So, I’m glad it’s Friday.  My big plans for the weekend include a pedicure and a cut and color tomorrow afternoon, and then I SWEAR I am going to decoupage that vase.  I want to finish it over the weekend and then I’ll get Eric to varnish it for me.  He’s really good at that stuff (better than me!).

I had a busy, yet not too stressful morning in KRM.  I went downstairs to get myself a decaf mocha latte to have this afternoon.  It’s my Friday treat to myself!  I had a NUTRISYSTEM ravioli lunch.  It comes in the tiniest cup and you microwave it for 45 seconds.

I had a big project in HR this afternoon.  I had to put together employee benefit packets for new hires – information and forms for medical, dental, life insurance, work/life, etc. There are about 20 different pieces of paper that go into each packet.  Some of the individual pieces are paper clipped together.  It’s a whole big process and it’s more busy work than anything else, but I know everyone else dreads doing it.  I don’t mind at all!  It is easy and I like getting them together.  I put together 15 packets and would have done more, but I need more copies of some of the forms and documents.  There are some I can copy or print myself, but others have to come from the companies themselves (like BC/BS or The Hartford).

Everyone in HR cuts out early on Fridays and we were no different.  We left at 4:30pm and I was home before 5:00pm.  Eric and I just relaxed and I worked on the computer until it was time to leave to go meet our new friends for dinner.  We met them at a place called the STUDIO DINER, off Balboa on Ruffin Road.

It’s fantastic!  I don’t know how we never heard of it before, since it’s only about 5 miles from our apartment!  Eric and I always complain about the lack of New York-style diners in San Diego – and this is the real McCoy, although it was built in the 90s.  It’s owned by Stu Segall Productions, which is the only Motion Picture and Television Studio located in San Diego County. The studio was created in 1991 when San Diego was chosen as the location for the hit television series "Silk Stalkings". Since that time the studio has grown to encompass over 22 acres. Over 800 hours of prime time, network quality television series, 7 feature films and 30 two hour telefilms have been produced at the studio.

They built the diner so that the employees would have a great place to eat that’s close by!  They have a wonderful menu.  I had the crab cake sandwich – blue crab cake with lettuce, tomato, onion and remoulade on a toasted bun.  It came with cole slaw.  It was SO good!

Eric had Stu’s B.L.T with hickory smoked bacon, lettuce and tomato on whole wheat with onion rings that came with a delicious ranch dip!

Marianne had the pot roast and Alan had the meatloaf.  Both came with mashed potatoes and veggies.

We all enjoyed the food and the atmosphere is a lot of fun.  The place was packed by the time we finished dinner.  We stayed and talked and then decided to get dessert.  Eric and I split the Lava cake with vanilla ice cream and tons of whipped cream.  Marianne and Alan split the warm Julian apple pie with vanilla ice cream.

I really enjoyed their company and it’s a shame they’ll only be here for 2 more weeks before heading back to New York.  They come out here 3-4 times a year, for 2-3 weeks each time.  They’ll be back in late September/October, but we already made plans to get together again before the leave on August 18th.

Marianne is a French/Italian middle-school teacher, but she just retired.  Alan is an accountant, so he needs to be in New York during the busy tax season.  They come out to their condo in San Diego as often as they can, and hope to retire here permanently in a few more years.

We got home a little before 9:00pm and I sat down at the computer to blog before we watched tonight’s new episode of MONK and PSYCH.  We have no plans for the weekend, but I’m getting a pedicure at 1:00pm and my cut and color at HAIRSPRAY at 3:00pm.

We had a lot of fun tonight.  It was great to get out with other people, socialize, eat a good meal in a fun environment and we really enjoyed ourselves.  We’re looking forward to seeing them again!

Last night we watched MONK and were SO surprised and happy to see our friend, Greg Jbara in a featured role!  He’s the guy whose house we went to in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve!  We first met Greg when we went to see DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS on Broadway.  He played the French “bodyguard/ assistant” Andre, the third male lead.  I knew of him, because in 1986 he starred in a campy musical our late friend, Dick Gallagher, wrote called “Have I Got A Girl For You! The Frankenstein Musical.”

Yes, there were several Frankenstein musicals before YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN.  It was really funny, too!  Greg played Frankenstein’s monster and he has always said it was the first big break he got and he was eternally grateful to Dick.

If you’d like to read more about how Mary Shelley’s character has inspired stage and musical versions, click here: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/111747.html

Anyway, Greg was great in MONK!  He’s also starring in a long commercial for some medication where he’s wearing a blue shirt and he dances with a woman.  I’m sure you’ve seen it – it’s for cholesterol medication, I think.

After MONK, we watched the rest of LAST COMIC STANDING to see which 5 would be at the finale next week.  I’ve been voting for ILIZA SCHLESINGER, because I thought she was really great, but all five of the comics really have something special.  MARCUS is great, because he does a lot of impressions, which really adds to his humor.  I also like his delivery.  Anyway, we’re looking forward to another big Reality TV Show Finale next week!

We started watching LENO, but we were both tired, so we shut off the TV.  I was really looking forward to sleeping in this morning, so you can imagine my disappointment when I woke up and it was only 6:00am.  I went to the bathroom and tried to fall back to sleep, but it was just impossible (as usual), so I got up and started reading my book, and then working on the computer.

I’m also working on another “arts and crafts” project for my ex-boss at the firm.  He likes the way I make labels for file folders and pendaflex for him and has asked me several times to do folders for his personal folders at home.  Now, he told me his partner likes them so much he’d like me to do them for him, too.  I really don’t mind.  He was very good to me at the end of my run there, because he spoke to HR to make sure they would keep me busy at the firm and I appreciated that.  It’s always nice to have a “big wig” in your corner!

At 8:00am I went back to bed.  Eric was not really sleeping, but was dozing on and off.  We both fell asleep for a while and then we woke up, had breakfast and watched a little TV until I jumped in the shower.

I left the house around noon and ran a few errands before hitting STARBUCKS and then HAPPY NAILS for my pedicure by Tina.  She’s adorable and does a great job.  After my pedicure I ran a few more errands and then drove to HILLCREST to get my cut and color by John.  I was out of there in an hour.  It’s a Hillcrest Miracle!  I think he had a long day and was exhausted so, for once, he did more coloring and cutting and less talking!

When I got home, Eric was out riding his bicycle, so I took a shower and read some of my book.  Then, I made a big salad and was just finishing when Eric got home.  We had a late lunch of salad and American cheese on Triscuit crackers!   Then, I took a nap while Eric watched TV in the living room.

When I got up he helped me set up the dining area for decoupage, which means putting drop cloths everywhere.  He had cut up a delicious ripe cantelope and that’s what I had for dinner – a bowl of cantelope.  I was pretty full from our salad anyway.  He told me he had a NUTRISYSTEM entrée while I was sleeping, so he had already eaten.

I finally worked on Laura’s vase.  She had asked for a theme of flowers and I brought in my folder filled with cuttings and let her pick out her favorites.  I used about half of what she choose (I always use much less than I think I’ll need) and it came out great.

While I was working, Eric brought in Conrad in his cage on the snack try and put it in the kitchen, so he could keep me company while I worked.  He seemed to be intrigued by what I was doing and was staring at me with his little beady eye.  Do you know when birds are really looking at you they look at you with one eye, rather than straight on?

Anyway, I wanted to talk more about Conrad, because I’ve had him almost two months now, and he’s the strangest bird I’ve ever seen.  He sleeps in a really strange position, which I’ve talked about before, and he never sings.  I mean I heard him sing ONCE – when a bird outside was chirping, he chirped a few times, too.  That’s it.  He doesn’t play.  In fact, he seems deathly afraid of the toy I bought him, which was a favorite of every other bird I ever had.  It’s different colored small plastic rings that hang from the top of the cage and have a bell at the bottom.

He will let me pet him.  He will come on my finger or on a perch I hold out.  He will come out of the cage and fly around if I let him, and fly back to his cage.  Other than that, he just kind of sits there, or moves from one perch to another, or eats.  That’s it.  No playing.  No singing.  Nothing.

I know he’s healthy, because he’s always preening and keeping his feathers looking beautiful, and he eats well (although all he’ll eat is seed – nothing else), but he seems depressed.  I told Eric maybe he’s unhappy because he hasn’t been in the most joyful environment in the world, but I always have a happy voice when I talk to him, which I do a lot, and it’s peaceful all day long with the windows open and the sun shining.  I just don’t get it!

Anyway, the vase is pretty much finished, but I always have to let it dry overnight and then look at it again with a different eye.  I think it looks great.  Eric and I will go buy a can of spray varnish tomorrow at MICHAEL’S and then he’ll do it for me during the week.

Eric’s better at varnishing than I am, because I tend to have a heavy hand.  He’s very patient and will do 10 light coats, whereas I tend to do 5 or 6 heavier coats, which really isn’t as good.  I’m just always impatient and want to get things done fast.  Sometimes, that’s not the best way!

The whole time I was working, Eric was watching TV in his chair.  He watched hours of SHARK ATTACKS, because it’s SHARK WEEK on the Discovery Channel. I don’t know why he likes that stuff – he won’t go in the water at ALL – but he likes to watch stories of other people getting attacked by sharks.  Go figure.

When I was finished, he took a shower and then watched TV in the bedroom while I blogged.  I was tempted to leave it for tomorrow, but we already have a lot to do tomorrow.  I want to clean Conrad’s cage completely.  I clean the bottom, because there’s a tray that pulls out.  I also clean his food and water dish daily, but I like to clean the whole cage and the only way to do that is to let him fly around a little while I do it.  He doesn’t seem to like the process, but I guess he just has to get used to it.  It’s not something I need to do every week, which is a good thing, because it seems to make him nervous.

We are also going food shopping tomorrow.  I like to wait until Sunday, if I have enough food for the weekend, because that way everything is fresher for the week.

Eric and I had a really nice weekend so far.  We had a great dinner at STUDIO DINER on Friday night with our new friends, Marianne and Allan, and a nice day today – with me running errands and getting things done, and Eric riding his bicycle down by the beach.  Then, we spent an enjoyable evening together and I got my decoupage project pretty much completed.  I hope tomorrow is as productive and pleasant!

I didn’t go to sleep until 2:00am last night.  It wasn’t that I was laying there watching TV.  Oh, no!  I was busy!

After I finished decoupaging, I sat down at the computer to blog.  It took me a long time, and then, when I was almost done I went to Greg Jbara’s website to download his picture (isn’t he a handsome boy?).  That’s when I saw that he will be starring in BILLY ELLIOT on Broadway this fall – as Billy’s father!  I had no idea!  It’s so funny, because when we saw him in MONK on Friday night, Eric said, “Don’t you think Greg will go back on Broadway again?” and I said I didn’t think so, because he has two school-age sons and I thought he was now pretty settled in L.A. and seemed to be getting a lot of work.  Boy, was I wrong!

I spent the next 45 minutes getting tickets.  The show goes into previews in October and opens in November.  We will be in NY in November – at Thanksgiving – to attend Jessica and Ken’s wedding.  I got two tickets for the Monday before Thanksgiving.  I figure we’ll see the show Monday night, see friends on Tuesday and probably go up to New Paltz on Wednesday to spend Thanksgiving with my sisters.  Then, we’ll come back down on Friday morning and the wedding is Friday night.

We had already planned to get to New York way before Thanksgiving, because we don’t want to deal with the craziness of travel at that time.  They say it is the worst time of the year to fly, so we figured we’d get there before and leave afterward.  Actually, now, we think we’ll drive to Charlotte after the wedding and fly home from Charlotte.  So, we’re working in a trip to NC along with the wedding!

Anyway, after I bought the tickets, I looked at the entire cast list and we actually know someone else in the show!  Merle Louise, who we ALSO befriended through Dick Gallagher!  What a small world!  Eric and I worked for Merle for a long time in the early 90s, because he and Billy did a lot of carpentry and painting work in her apartment and I did some faux painting and organizing for her.

We also babysat for her 5 ½ foot red-tailed boa constrictor for 18 months.  Those of you who remember us having a snake for a while may not have known to whom it belonged.  Well, it was Merle's!  She’s back on Broadway and we couldn’t be happier!

We saw her in KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN – she originated the role of Molina’s mother.  She was also in the original casts of LA CAGE AUX FAUX (Mme. Dindon), COMPANY (Susan), SWEENEY TODD (the Beggar Woman), and INTO THE WOODS (multiple roles).  She is one of those great actresses that you may never have heard of, but who has been working steadily in the theatre for the last 50 years!  She started on Broadway in 1959 in GYPSY, eventually moving up to play Dainty June.

Anyway, I could not be more thrilled to see BILLY ELLIOT, because I loved the movie, it’s Elton John’s music, and we know two people in the cast.  I want to see at least one other show when we’re there, but we’ll probably just go to TKTS!

So, by the time I was done with all that, it was after 1:00am and I watched the newest episode of PROJECT RUNWAY before going to sleep.  The good news is I actually managed to sleep until 9:30am this morning!  Eric and I both got up and took showers and got dressed, because we had someplace to go!  We had picked up a flyer on Friday night at the STUDIO DINER about the 2nd Annual Charity Chili Cookoff to benefit the San Diego Marine Corps League’s “Injured Marine Fund.”  It was being held right next door to the STUDIO DINER.  We had been to a chili cookoff about 20 years ago in New Paltz and we had a great time.

This one had 31 different chefs cooking up chili, but we were disappointed to find out that not only wasn’t there any vegetarian chili, but there was only beef and pork – no chicken chili or turkey chili.  When we were in New Paltz, they had chili made of everything – from deer to snake to turkey, along with vegetarian, but I think there were a lot more than 30 vendors.

At first, we were trying to eat more beans and less meat, but then we just gave up and tried each one.  They give you the tiniest cups in the world and you’re eating about a tablespoon of each one.  They gave us a green sheet with ten circles on it and each chef puts his booth number in one of the ten circles.  You’re supposed to get to taste only 10 for $5, but we were very sneaky.  We’d each go to different booths and taste each others (so we were only eating a tablespoon of each one), but we got to taste a lot more -- about 20 of the 31!

There were a few we really loved – they had a real kick to them – and others that were kind of watery, or tasted too much like ketchup!  After we tasted 20 (10 each on our sheets) we filled out our ballots with our 1st, 2nd and 3rd favorites and put them in the ballot box.  The winner only gets $100, but they also get bragging rights and get a great ribbon!

It was pretty hot out today and eating the spicy chili had us both sweating up a storm.  We bought a bottled water, but when that was gone and we had voted for our favorites, we walked next door to the STUDIO DINER to get something more refreshing.

The place was packed.  It’s definitely a gold mine!  We sat at the counter and each got a chocolate egg cream (haven’t had one of those in a while and it was so sweet and cold!) and we shared a piece of hot apple pie with ice cream.

The had a classic car show outside the diner, but they were mostly 1950s custom hotrods (they looked like trucks to me).  They were FORDS and CHEVYS.  There was also a CORVETTE and a MUSTANG, and that’s what Eric much prefers, so we spent some time looking at them.  I was SO mad at myself because, for a change, I forgot my camera!!!!!

We decided to drive down to MISSION BAY and lay out by the water under a tree for a while on a blanket.  There was such a nice breeze blowing and we watched all the people out on their waverunners and small motor boats.

When we got back to the apartment we immediately got the laundry together and put two loads in and walked to KEIL’S (prounounced “Kyle’s”) with the little cart.  We did a fast food shopping and were back with 15 minutes to spare before the laundry had to go in the dryer!

I put everything in the dryer for my “quick steam spin” and then Eric carried it all upstairs and we put it all on the line.  I then finished my book (FINALLY!) and then took a nap.  When I woke up at 6:30pm I cleaned out Conrad’s cage – finally.  Eric held him on his finger the whole time I was cleaning it and vacuuming.  I think he likes Eric better than me!

When that was done I started dinner.  We had corn dogs and a big salad.  Yummy!  I bought us a nice piece of Mahi Mahi today at KEIL’S, but Eric had a hankering for corn dogs and you know if he wants a vegetarian corn dog, I’m going to make him one!

My phone hasn’t been working since Saturday afternoon.  I couldn’t make or receive calls!  I tried charging it and I tried calling for assistance, but AT&T support is only available during the week!  Then, I emailed Jimmy and told him my phone was broken and he emailed back: “Did you try turning it off and on?”  Well, I hadn’t, but I did and it was fixed.  Yay, Jimmy!  He’s my genius!

Eric was watching some BEATLES tribute band called RAIN on TV and I watched GHOST WHISPERER and some other shows in the bedroom.  I finished up my file folder and pendaflex labels project during commercials.

Then, I watched the season finale of DESIGN STAR.  Jennifer, my favorite designer, won – she’s the next DESIGN STAR and will have her own HGTV design show in the fall.  The winners of season one and two – David Bromstead (COLOR SPLASH) and Kim Myles (MYLES OF STYLE) are both doing very well, so it seems like winning this contest really gets your TV design career started!

Some of the contestants were very snobby because they have a degree in design.  They mentioned that if you don’t have a degree in design you’re merely a decorator, rather than a designer.  I always thought of myself more as a decorator than a designer anyway, so I guess I was right!

I worked on my decoupaged vase a little more and it’s finally finished, although I’m not thrilled with the results.  When you do custom work you sometimes have to add something you might not have used if you were doing it all on your own.  My friend wanted some vines on the vase, which I had in my package of floral cuttings.  I wasn’t sure they would work, but you do what the client wants and – as Tim Gunn on PROJECT RUNWAY always says, “Make it work!”  I think the result if fine, and I just hope she’s happy!

Eric and I had a great weekend.  We did a lot of fun things, but also got everything accomplished that we wanted to – including cleaning Conrad’s cage, food shopping, laundry, and my decoupage project.  It’s a good feeling!

Its just another manic monday
I wish it was sunday
cause thats my funday
My I dont have to runday
Its just another manic monday

Remember that song, by the Bangles?  It was written by Prince and given to The Bangles who recorded it in 1984.  If you don’t remember it, or never even heard of it, click here.  This isn’t the original video, but it is the song they recorded way back when:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7B_6pE93es

Anyway, it was just another Monday at the office.  Mondays are so funny.  There’s more conversation amongst co-workers, because everyone’s asking, “Did you have a nice weekend?” or “What did you do this weekend?”  Everyone’s commenting about how they’re not ready for another week, how much they hate Mondays, or how tired they are.

I used to hate Mondays when I worked in the city, but when I owned the shop I loved Mondays, because that was my only day off!  Mondays were my Saturdays!  I also loved Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays!  When I owned the shop, every day was a good day.

Now, the only reason I hate Mondays is because I hate getting up early, but I really don’t mind going to work or being in the office.  It’s so completely pleasant!  I believe if Eric had been so lucky – if he had found a job he enjoyed, and made friends, and had someplace pleasant to go every day, he’s be so much happier here.  I really believe that.  It’s just a shame he hasn’t been able to do that.

So, the woman who’s been training me at my morning shift was on vacation today (and I had no idea until I got there!).  The guy on the team kept me busy with a few projects and then I went down to HR.  There was a lot for me to do down there and the afternoon just flew by.  We’re almost done with inputting all the resumes into the database.  Now, we just have to do all the resumes that come in, going forward.  It was a huge job, but we all pitched in and got it done in record time!

When I got home, Eric showed me the two bicycles he had packed up.  He’s packing up all but one of his bicycles.  The sad, frustrating thing is that he unpacked all the bicycles, because he wanted to take them in the RV back to NY, and now he’s just packing them back up.  He has one bicycle that he uses to ride around San Diego, and the rest are going back into boxes.

He came into the bedroom to take a nap while I watched TV and we both ended up falling asleep.  When we woke up I put the Mahi Mahi in the oven.  Eric had prepared it beautifully with crushed pecans, and some wasabi mustard and lemon.  All I had to do was pre-heat the oven and put it in.  I also made us some of that Uncle Ben’s 90 second rice and we were eating a delicious meal in 15 minutes!

After dinner we watched an episode of MONK that Eric had never seen before.  I am always surprised that he hasn’t seen them all by now, but there are still a few.  There’s nothing much on TV tonight, so I watched some shows I had recorded during the week.

Eric went to MICHAEL’S this afternoon and got two cans of varnish for me.  He already put a few light coats on the vase and it looks beautiful!  I told the woman today that it was finished and it just needed to be varnished and she was so excited.  I hope she loves it.  It felt good to do something creative again and I have to make sure I don’t let as much time go by before starting my next project!

I napped yesterday, so it was hard to fall asleep and I watched HEADLINES on Leno, which I haven’t watched in months and months.  I went to bed at midnight and I was so tired this morning, although once I’m in the shower, I'm fine.

I had a good morning at work.  I am really getting the hang of this job, but I still feel that I need to have my work reviewed before I send anything out.  I tend to forget little things, like cc’ing the right person, or attaching a document.  They’re little mistakes, but they would require me to resend a document, which is something I’d like to avoid!  Anyway, the two people I’ve been working with are SO great and I really like them, but I’d still like to work full time in HR.  The boss of KRM is coming back on Thursday and we’re supposed to sit down and discuss the situation, so I’ll see what she says.

When I got to HR I had a couple of projects to complete.  There’s always something to do, so I don’t get bored, but it’s not stressful at all, because there’s no pressure or deadlines.  In the afternoon all the girls went to a meeting, except for me and another woman who sits right next to me.  She’s the only one in the group who’s older than me.  I think she’s 52.  I’m second oldest.  The boss of the group just turned 50.  I think the next oldest is in her mid-40s, and then the rest are in their 20s and 30s.

While everyone was at the meeting, I took all their papers to be shredded and shredded two bags full.  I really enjoy that.  It’s gratifying to see it all get “eaten.”  This machine works great.  You can do a lot more pages than I ever could with my stupid little shredders from STAPLES.

I was emailing with Jimmy in San Francisco and he mentioned that they had Chinese for lunch.  I told him that we eat Japanese sushi all the time, and occasionally have Thai food, but we haven’t had Chinese since we first arrived in San Diego last November.  We went to a place in Pacific Beach and it was awful.  Just plain awful.  It was the worst cliché of Chinese food.  We’ve avoided Chinese ever since.  Until tonight!

Jim suggested I try YELP (Real People, Real Reviews), which would help me by letting me read reviews written on various restaurants in San Diego.  I found a couple, but then he also suggested I ask my co-workers.  I asked my ride and she told me about a block off Balboa called CONVOY, where there are tons of Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese restaurants.  That’s the block where I had taken Eric for Vietnamese on his birthday!

We just decided to drive over there and find a place.  We settled on a place that had Vietnamese AND Chinese, but we only got Chinese dishes.  We ordered Spring Rolls, Young Chow Fried Rice, and Shrimp in Black Bean Sauce.  Those are the dishes we used to order from TOFU, our favorite Japanese/Chinese restaurant in Bayside (there’s also one in Roslyn).

Everything was delicious.  The Young Chow Fried Rice was as good as in TOFU, and the shrimps were large and perfectly cooked in a spicy black bean sauce with onions and green pepper.  We brought home some and Eric and I will both have lunch for tomorrow!  I also brought home the leftover white rice for Conrad.  I really doubt that he’ll touch it, but they say white rice is good for birds, so I’m hoping he’ll have the guts to try it out.  He’s such a scaredy cat (I mean bird).  There’s definitely no adventure in THAT boy!

Eric wanted to go for gelato, but I felt guilty enough having all that food without going “all the way.”  So, we came home and had our WEIGHT WATCHERS desserts.  Our only stop on the way home was to fill up on gas -- $3.99 a gallon.  WOW!  That’s such a bargain here in San Diego!

We watched KITCHEN NIGHTMARES at 8:00pm.  This week it was about an Irish Pub in Westhampton, which was run by a father and his two sons.  This time, we were happy to learn that – 8 months after the show first aired, the restaurant is alive and well – thriving – thanks to Gordon Ramsey.

After that we watched AMERICA’S GOT TALENT.  We always enjoy the variety of acts they have and seeing someone’s dream come true as they perform in front of thousands and get a standing ovation.  It’s great television!

I took a lot of pictures of my vase last night, but I’m not happy with any of them, so I’ll have to have another photo session tomorrow.  Eric has already put about 4 coats of varnish on the vase, so it’s practically done.  I’ll let it dry and “cure” for a few more days and bring it to work on Friday.  I promise, I’ll have pictures of my latest creation on the blog by the weekend!

I had a pleasant but uneventful day at work today.  I worked on a big email project.  We had invited a lot of our sponsor firms to a conference and were disappointed with the responses we received, so today I sent out 49 individual emails asking them if they want to attend.  Someone else set up the email and all I had to do was send it 49 times adding the individual’s email address and putting their first name after “Dear.”  It took me about 2 hours, but part of the reason was that I kept noticing problems with the names and email addresses!

If I was the kind of employee who just did what I was told and didn’t give 110%, I would have just let the discrepancies go, but that’s not me.  So, I had to point out that someone’s email address had their name as “annmarie” but the person’s first name was listed as Anne Marie.  I knew there must not be an “e” at the end of Ann, so I researched it on two different databases and found out I was right.  I thought it was dumb to send an email to annmarie and then say Dear Ann Marie.

On another, there was a guy whose last name ended with a “t”, but the “t” was missing from the email address.  I know people’s names are always in their business email, and they wouldn’t leave a letter off, so I knew it must be wrong.  Of course, I was right.  Some were merely typos, and I fixed them for future use.  Others had the wrong email address, since the firm had merged with another and the email address had changeds, but the spreadsheet I was using for my information didn't reflect the new emails.

I know the woman who gave me the project really appreciated my tenacity in making sure it was perfect.  I knew I did a good job, because I didn’t get any “delivery failures.”  Now, I just have to wait for the responses and hope it raises attendance at this big event!

I had my leftover Young Chow Fried Rice for lunch, with a tiny container of cottage cheese.  It was just as good the second time around!  Eric ate the Shrimp in Black Bean Sauce with white rice for lunch, too.

In HR, I worked on several different projects and really got a lot done.  When I read my emails from HR this morning, I saw that one of the girls noticed her shredding box was empty and said she assumed I did it and thanked me “for all I do.”  It made me feel great to have her acknowledge something little like that.

When I got home, I changed and Eric and I went for a long walk.  We walked further down the hill than ever before.  When we turned around and walked back, it was as difficult as ever.  I asked Eric, “How many times do I have to walk up this hill before it gets easier?”  He just said, “It’s a really steep hill!”  I guess if I was walking on flatter ground I could walk further and it wouldn’t be as hard, but I think a short intense walk is just as effective.

When we got back I went right into the pool and did four laps.  I was exhausted.  When I got back upstairs I jumped in the shower and then Eric and I made one of our famous “big salads.”  Eric had a NUTRISYSTEM entrée, too, but I just had the salad.  It always satisfies!  We made enough so that I have lunch tomorrow, too.

We watched AMERICA’S GOT TALENT.  It was heart-wrenching tonight, because they brought 113 acts to Vegas and then eliminated 20 before they even had a chance to perform again.  I thought that was really mean, because those people had their hopes raised so high, and probably told everyone they knew that they were going to Vegas, maybe even quitting jobs to get there, and then they had to turn around and go home the next day!  Heartbreaking, I tell you!

Then, they had the 90 remaining acts perform in categories – like female singers, children, magic acts, dancers, etc., and then eliminated some and kept others.  There are now 60 acts and they have to eliminate 20 more acts before they go live before a Vegas audience.  It’s really exciting, and you fall in love with some people, and then they’re eliminated and it’s really sad.  Other great acts make it to the next round and you cheer right along with them!

Tomorrow the boss is back in KRM and I’m very nervous about it.  We’ve been working perfectly together – me, the girl and the guy in the group.  The boss has been on vacation since I started there, and I don’t know if it’s going to get better or worse with her back.  She wants me to work more on my own, and that makes me very nervous.  She set up a meeting tomorrow at 10:00am for us to discuss the situation.  I’m assuming she’ll get filled in by the guy and girl before I get there, so she’ll know what she wants to do and it’s just a matter of what I want to do.

I really enjoy working with the two other people on the team, and they’re so nice.  He looks like a kid, but his wife is pregnant with their third son.  The other woman is a few years younger than me and has a teenage son and daughter.  I took great pictures of her son at the WAVEHOUSE – riding Bruticus Maximus!  I saw him on the water and said, “I know that kid!” but I didn’t know how.  Then, I realized, I recognized him from his mother’s screen saver on her work computer!!!  I had looked at his face so many times and there he was – live and in person!

So, tomorrow should be interesting.  She may be so overwhelmed her first day back that she won’t have a chance to meet, which would be fine by me.  I can definitely put it off a few days.  I’m not going to worry about it.  I’m just happy I’m still working at this firm after six months!  I was supposed to be finished with this job on April 1st and now everyone is telling me how fabulous the holiday party is going to be!

At last!  It took me so long to get started, but I finished the vase over 2 days and Eric varnished it for a few days, and I’m finally ready to bring it to work tomorrow and give to my friend.  I hope she loves it.  Just between us, it’s not my best work, because when you make something custom for someone you have to do what they want and it might be something you wouldn’t necessarily do.

She wanted these vines on the vase, and I didn’t like how they looked and probably shouldn’t have used them and just told her, but I was afraid to disappoint her, so I used them and I don’t like how it came out.  It’s not horrible but, like I said, it’s not my best work.

Anyway, it’s a good thing it’s a gift, because if she was paying for it I’d be riddled with guilt!!  I worry so much about how someone will like something I’ve made, which I guess happens with every artist.  You always wonder how your audience will react, whether it’s a song, a photograph, a painting, or a vase.

Work today was fine.  My boss was back, but she got engaged over her vacation, so she was completely overjoyed and very distracted.  We had a 10-minute meeting and discussed the future, but when I left I really wasn’t sure where she stood.  I think she’s trying to get my job opened for a full-time on staff employee, and she knows I’m not interested, but I think she wants me to stay longer, until she hires someone.  I’m hoping I can leave by October, the latest, because two women in HR will be on sabbatical in October and I know they’ll need me full-time by then.

My friend Robyn sent me an email which had all my co-workers in hysterics today.  It’s called HOW TO STAY SANE AT WORK and it lists funny things to do at work, which would amuse you and make your co-workers thing you’re totally out of your mind.  The girls I work with in KRM were hysterical, and then the HR girls were screaming, too.  So, I’ve decided to include it, in its entirety, right here:

ONE-POINT OFFICE DARES:
• Run one lap around the office at top speed.
• Ignore the first five people who say 'good morning' to you.
• Phone someone in the office you barely know, leave your name and say, 'Just called to say I can't talk right now. Bye.'
• To signal the end of a conversation, clamp your hands over your ears and grimace.
• Leave your zipper open for one hour. If anyone points it out, say, 'Sorry, I really prefer it this way.'
• Walk sideways to the photocopier.
• While riding in an elevator, gasp dramatically every time the doors open.

THREE-POINT DARES
• Say to your boss, 'I like your style' and shoot him with double-barreled fingers.
• Babble incoherently at a fellow employee, and then ask, 'Did you get all that, I don't want to have to repeat it.'
• Page yourself over the intercom (do not disguise your voice).
• Kneel in front of the water cooler and drink directly from the nozzle (there must be a 'non-player' within sight).
• Shout random numbers while someone is counting.

FIVE POINT DARES
• At the end of a meeting, suggest that, for once, it would be nice to conclude with the singing of the national anthem (5 extra points if you actually launch into it yourself).
• Walk into a very busy person's office and while they watch you with growing irritation, turn the light switch on/off 10 times.
• For an hour, refer to everyone you speak to as 'Bob.'
• Announce to everyone in a meeting that you 'really have to go do a number two.'
• After every sentence, say 'Mon' in a really bad Jamaican accent. As in, 'The report's on your desk, Mon.' Keep this up for 1 hour.
• While an office mate is out, move their chair into the elevator.
• In a meeting or crowded situation, slap your forehead repeatedly and mutter, 'Shut up, all of you just shut up!'
• At lunchtime, get down on your knees and announce, 'As God as my witness, I'll never go hungry again.'
• In a colleague's DAY PLANNER, write in the 10am slot: 'See how I look in tights.' (5 extra points if it is a male, 5 more if he is your boss)
• Carry your keyboard over to your colleague and ask, 'You wanna trade?'
• Repeat the following conversation 10 times to the same person: 'Do you hear that?', 'What?', 'Never mind, it's gone now.'
• Come to work in army fatigues and when asked why, say, 'I can't talk about it.'
• Posing as a maitre d', call a colleague and tell him he's won a lunch for four at a local restaurant. Let him go.
• Speak with an accent (French, German, Porky Pig, etc) during a very important conference call.
• Find the vacuum and start vacuuming around your desk.
• Hang a 2′ long piece of toilet roll from the back of your pants and act genuinely surprised when someone points it out.
• Present meeting attendees with a cup of coffee and biscuits, smashing each biscuit with your fist.
• During the course of a meeting, slowly edge your chair towards the door.
• Arrange toy figures on the table to represent each meeting attendee, move them according to the movements of their real-life counterparts.

Thanks, Robyn!

So, I was wearing my black platform wedge espadrille mules today, but I always keep a pair of black kitten-heel mules under my desk in HR, in case I want to change shoes during the afternoon.  I had my shoes off and when I slid my feet into my shoes, I ended up with one of each.  I decided to add my own twist on the dares by walking around like that.

So, I walked over to one of the girls in HR.  Since one shoe was a platform and the other was not, I was uneven and it looked funny every time I took a step.  She looked at me and started laughing and, instead of laughing with her, I just stood there and said, “What?” like I had no idea what she was laughing about.  Then, I turned around and walked back to my cubicle.  I made sure every single girl in HR got a look at me before I went back to work.  They dared me to go up to the sixth floor like that, but of course I wouldn’t do it.  And THAT’S how I amuse myself at work!

Eric picked me up at 4:45pm and we went to the therapist.  She is really great (even Eric likes her!) and we both feel she is very helpful.  I’m so glad that Eric has agreed to go, because she helps us talk to each other without it becoming an argument.  It sounds like a cliché, but she’ll say something like, “Peppy, I hear Eric saying that he doesn’t like it in San Diego.”

When she says something, it just has more meaning and sounds better than when either of us say it!  I know it’s been very hard on Eric, because he’s so unhappy here, but it’s hard on me, too, even though I love it here, because – first of all – he’s unhappy, and – second of all – I know I’m going to have to leave here.   The longer I stay, obviously, the more I love it and the more attached to it I get.  I’m still willing to leave, but it’s not going to be easy.

After our session we went back to the STUDIO DINER for dinner.  I had a cheese quesadilla and Eric had macaroni and cheese.  It was a very cheesy dinner!  Then we came home and I started working on the computer right away, downloading my pictures of the vase and resizing them.  I had taken a lot, but it’s very hard to photograph because the varnish makes a reflection that ruins a lot of the shots.  I found a few I like and then started blogging.

We have the 2-night finale of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE on tonight, and I’d really like to get to bed early, so I’m going to close, but I’ll “talk” to you tomorrow!

Today is 8/8/8.  I love when dates are interesting – like 6/7/8, which just passed, or 10/9/8, which is still ahead.  But not only is 8/8/8 so great, but the Olympics opened today, which made it even more exciting!  As you may have noticed, I don’t put the zero in my year, and rarely do – either when writing it or typing it, because it doesn’t make sense to me.  If you don’t do it for the month and day, why do it for the year?  If you do it for one, do it for all.  08/08/08 wouldn’t bother me a bit, but 8/8/08 just seems silly.

I woke up this morning and was SO glad it was Friday, even though the week did fly by.  My morning work routine is to eat my breakfast at my desk with a cup of decaf coffee.  The firm serves coffee in two small kitchens on each floor, along with the cafeteria on the 4th floor, and a small setup on the 7th floor, right by the reception desk.  When I first started, I wandered around looking for decaf coffee and the only place they served it was on the 7th floor, by reception.

So, every morning I take my mug and go up to the 7th floor for my cup of decaf.  It’s definitely my morning routine, unless I treat myself to something from the coffee cart outside the building.

So, this morning I went up to reception and the receptionist (who is a temp and has only been there for a week) said, “Oh! Peppy!  I was going to call you!”  I looked at her and said, “Why?”  She said, “Look!” and pointed behind me.  I turned around and what do I see – nothing!  The coffee service is gone.  She said they decided not to have the coffee service in the reception area anymore.

Now, I would’nt care at all, except for the fact that there’s no decaf anywhere else in the building!  She had no idea why they stopped it.  I ended up going down to the coffee cart and paying $1.95 for a coffee!  When I complained to my coworkers, they told me I could make coffee in one of the kitchens on the 6th floor.  The coffee in those rooms is made by the employees.  Whoever wants coffee and gets in first makes the coffee.  I told them that I never make coffee – I don’t even own a coffee maker anymore, because I always buy my coffee at STARBUCKS!

I said I wouldn’t mind making the coffee, but then the others would get mad, because they don’t want decaf.  Plus, I get in much later (8:00am) than most of the people in my group and in my area.  The girls I spoke to said I could make my own pot of decaf, but I very rarely drink more than my one mug in the morning, so that would be wasteful.  Then, they suggested I make a pot and keep it in the fridge, heating it up every morning in the microwave.  I guess that would work, but it seems like too much trouble, so what I’m going to do is see if I can find some International Foods instant decaf flavored coffee that you just mix with water.  It’s not ideal, but it’ll have to do!

Once I had my decaf (and my breakfast bar) I got right to work.  I got a lot done and was really busy.  I had brought the decoupaged vase to work and put it on my desk and was trying to find the time to give it to my friend, when the girl who is training me noticed it.  She LOVED it!  She said I had to show it to the boss, and I did and she got so excited that she started asking me all about it and I told her I’d be happy to teach them and that I used to teach decoupage and love teaching it.

She went to my website and I was showing her a lot of my decoupage projects, and then she started looking at my jewelry mosaics and when I left her office to go back to work she said she wasn’t going to get any work done now, because she was going to be too busy looking at my website!

I finally got a chance to bring it to Laura and she really loved it.  Everyone was very complimentary and said they want to learn how to do it.  I don’t know where and I don’t know how, but I’m going to have to arrange a class!

At lunchtime I went down to HR.  It has been absolutely FREEZING in there the whole week.  I remember my ride telling me how cold it was in HR, but it hasn’t been for the last month – until now.  It is so cold that I have to wear a sweater or cardigan and my hands and feet are SO cold.  Everyone who walks through the door comments on how cold it is.  I think part of the reason is that it is completely enclosed (for reasons of privacy and security) and so the cold air doesn’t circulate as much as it does on the open parts of the building.  I guess it’s better than sitting and schvitzing, but I really don’t like it.

When I got home I changed clothes and then Eric and I took a ride to La Jolla to visit Gili at her shop.  I had given her some beautiful vintage jet beads that had once been a necklace, but had broken.  She made me a 3-strand bracelet with a rhinestone clasp.  It’s gorgeous!  She also had money for me, because she sold 2 pieces!  So, I got the bracelet made free, plus I got some cash, too!

Gili is such a doll, because she kept trying to make suggestions about ways that Eric could find work.  In the past, she has given Eric the names and numbers of people she knew who worked in construction, but nothing ever panned out.  You could see that she was worried about us, and that she wanted to help in some way.  I told her that we are working on a solution and that Eric is thinking about going back to New York again.

He felt overwhelmed with the RV, because he said he had no place to park it and no where to put his stuff.  He said he wants to go back and stay with one of his sisters and try to find work and then, if he does, he will get an apartment.  If things work out, I will go back to New York to be with him for a few years, and then we will move to North Carolina.  It’s certainly not the ideal situation, but we’re trying to figure out something that we can both live with.  Eric doesn’t want to go, I know he doesn’t, but he’s so dreadfully unhappy here and he just can’t see any way to make it better.

When we got home I made us a big salad.  I was yawning all afternoon, and almost fell asleep in the car ride home from La Jolla (which is just 15 minutes), so it is no wonder that I fell asleep right after dinner.  I just couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore.  I woke up again at 9:00pm.  I know that’s going to mess up my sleep tonight, but at least I don’t have to get up at 6:00am tomorrow!

We watched a lot of the Olympics opening ceremonies, including that amazing giant globe with the dancers wired and running all around it.  That was spectacular!  I enjoyed seeing the outfits that each country was wearing.  They had a challenge this week on PROJECT RUNWAY where the contestants had to design an Olympic Opening Ceremony look for the American teams and Apollo Ono was one of the judges.  He’s SO adorable!  Some of the looks were fabulous and appropriate, and some of them were totally bizarre.

Then, we watched MONK – my favorite show.  I just love the whole cast, the stories, and most of all – Monk!  That show just makes me happy!  No wonder I watch all the reruns, too!

Tomorrow morning Eric and I are going to Bob’s house, so Eric can check on work Bob had done, and we can take measurements of the rooms and pick out colors of paint.  I had asked Eric if he wanted to do some work for Bob, because I know the quality of Eric’s painting and handy-man skills.  He can fix anything, build anything, and he’s the best painter in the world.  Unfortunately, he didn’t want to do it, and Bob had someone that his realtor recommended, who is doing great work, so at least he’s got someone good.

I love picking out paint colors, so I’m excited about that part of the project.  I like to find out what colors people like, and then steer them in the right direction from there.  It’s amazing how wrong a color can be, if it’s too light or too dark.  You have to find the right shade for the right room, depending on the size, the natural and artificial light, and the purpose of the room.  I’m looking forward to having Eric see the house, because I think it’s adorable!

Eric and Bob really hit it off and I know Eric will have a lot of great ideas for Bob.  After that, we’ll probably go out to lunch!  Then, we’re going to come back to the apartment and I’m going to clean and organize.  Cousin Ilene is coming next Friday, and I want the place to look perfect!

Eric and I got up pretty early today.  We were out of the house and on the road by 10:00am, which is pretty early for us!  We went north 18 miles to Rancho Penesquitos, which is the neighborhood where Bob’s new house is.

Bob gave Eric the tour, and I got to see the work that’s been done since I saw the house last.  He had an epoxy floor put down in the garage, which is really cool.  He also had popcorn ceilings removed from the three bedrooms.  I don’t know who invented those popcorn ceilings, but they are the absolute WORST!  It looks so much better without them!

I took a lot of pictures and made some suggestions, as did Eric.  Bob loved all our ideas, and then we talked about wall colors.  I told Bob the best thing to do is go to the paint store and pick up a lot of chips, so off we went to HOME DEPOT, which was just about 2 miles from his house.

We looked at the RALPH LAUREN and BEHR paints.  He picked out a lot of neutral taupes, sands, and tans for the living room, dining room, office and hallway, a pale yellow for the guest room, and a nice sage green for the master bedroom.  We also had to pick out a brown for the beams that run across the ceiling in the living room.

We brought a bunch of chips back to Bob’s house and then walked around checking them against the floors and matching them up together to see how they would look.  It’s SO hard to tell with such a tiny chip, but Bob prefers more subtle colors, so there won’t be any big surprises when they’re up on the wall.  He was so relieved to have that taken care of, because – like a lot of people – he was totally intimidated by the whole process of picking paint and he was so happy to have someone like me (and Eric) steering him in the right direction.

The whole idea behind great decorating is not to tell people what to like, or what is good, but to find out what THEY like and steer them in the right direction.  Once I showed him the difference between a lot of tans and taupes (some were very green, some were very gray, some were very yellow), he was able to decide what he liked and what he didn’t like.

He ended up liking the RALPH LAUREN paints best, which are more expensive, but – hey – you go with what you like!

I wanted more flowers for the pots outside our apartment door and so we picked some up at HOME DEPOT.  When we got home, we brought the flowers upstairs and then headed out again to go to COSTCO.  We picked up a case of bottled water, and a few other things we needed and then headed home.

When we got home, we put everything away and then Eric planted the new plants in the pots.  It looks SO pretty!

Both our TVs were out, so I spent some time on the phone with the cable company until they finally figured out that there was a problem in the area.  It was so frustrating, because first they make you reboot, and do all kinds of stuff and then they transfer you to someone else and they inform you that everyone's cable is out!  It came back on about 2 hours later.

Meanwhile, I downloaded all the pictures I took of Bob’s house.  Then, I sent them to him in 5 emails.  They came out great.  Some will be useful for “before” and “after” pictures, and some just capture the best aspects of the house.

Then, Eric and I watched SHREK 2 on DVD, which my friend Elsa, who drives me to work, had loaned to me.  She said it was so good, but Eric and I really don’t appreciate that kind of animation.  I enjoyed it, and liked the actors who supplied the voices, but I didn’t love it at all.  So sue me!

We had a simple dinner of steamed broccoli, veggie corn dogs and Uncle Ben’s rice.  We watched the season finale of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE (my favorite – Joshua – won!) and then we watched the season finale of LAST COMIC STANDING (my favorite – Iliza – won!).  Then, we watched Friday’s episode of PSYCH, which guest-starred Steven Webber.  It was funny.

Tomorrow we are going to brunch with Elsa and her husband, Stephen.  We’re going back to THE WAVEHOUSE, where the company summer picnic was held.  We heard they have a great brunch on Sundays and I told Elsa that Eric and I love brunch, and she said she and Stephen do, too!  They live so close, so they’re going to pick us up at 11:00am.  I’m really looking forward to it!

I went to sleep late and woke up early.  After I finished blogging last night, I kept working on the computer.  I did some room planning for Bob by using some free online planners, which don’t really work that great.  The best thing to do is measure out 1 inch equals 1 foot on paper and plot out the room using good old paper and pencil!

The measurements of rooms and furniture can be exact online, down to the inch, but the pieces are hard to move and line up with your mouse, and the end result ends up looking just as rudimentary.  I did have fun trying it out and did his dining room, master bedroom, living room and TV room.  They also don’t have all the options you require, so you have to kind of fudge some of the furniture pieces.  Anyway, it was a fun learning experience, although sometimes very frustrating!

When I finally went to sleep, it took me a while to actually fall asleep.  Eric had been sleeping for a few hours already, and he was still sleeping when I woke up at 8:00am!

We were getting picked up for brunch at 11:00am, so I figured it would give me some time to do some stuff around the apartment.  I cleaned up my desk, which always seems to get a mess.  I never have a messy desk at work, and never had one in the shop either.  I don’t know why I let my home office get so messy with papers all over the place.  I need to get more organized!

I ordered to vintage-inspired dresses from NEWPORT NEWS which were both on sale for $30!  They are gorgeous and I love them, but both need altering, so I’m going to have to make the time to go to the dressmaker, who is in the shopping center 3 miles away.  She already did some work for me and does a great job at very reasonable prices.  I figured at $30 a dress I could afford to have them hemmed and fitted a little better.  I need more clothes for work, and these will also work for going out at night on the weekends, too!

When Eric got up I stripped the beds and got the laundry all together, so I could start the wash as soon as we got back this afternoon.  I put away some stuff in the bedroom and put all my decoupage supplies away, since I won’t be doing any projects this week.

Elsa and Stephen picked us up at 11:00am and we drove to THE WAVEHOUSE.  We parked in a big lot and walked along the boardwalk at Mission Beach going into THE WAVEHOUSE through the beach entrance.  A buffet brunch is served from 10am – 2pm, and there’s a guy playing Jimmy Buffet and other of the same style songs on the guitar with a machine that adds some extra instruments and some percussion.  He was pretty good!  The BRUTICUS MAXIMUS was open, so Eric got to see the pros, and some brave souls on the waves.  He thought it was pretty amazing!

The buffet was very extensive with lots of breakfast foods and then lots of lunch dishes.  There was an omelet station, bacon, sausage, ham, French toast, waffles, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, and home fries.  On another table there were crab legs and shrimp on ice with lemon and cocktail sauce and baked salmon with an orange glaze.

On another table there was cold macaroni salad, couscous, macaroni and cheese, chicken, enchiladas, and carne asada.  At the last table there was a coffee set-up (with decaf!), and lots of fruit, cookies and pastries.

We filled our plates and sat down on benches outside with a nice umbrella, so we were all sitting in the shade.  Eric immediately hit it off with Stephen and they had a lot to talk about.  Of course, Elsa and I always have a lot to talk about, which makes our rides to and from work so pleasant.  She’s such a doll and she's fun to be with and has an easy laugh.  I really feel lucky that I met her, that she lives so close, and that she has become a friend.  I didn’t mention it, because it would sound weird and might freak her out, but she’s my best friend in San Diego!  That’s not really saying much, because I hardly know anybody, but she’s been very kind to me and has really made my stay at the firm go smoothly.

Our brunch came with two free drinks, so Elsa and I had Mimosas and Eric and Stephen had Bloody Marys.  They each had a second drink, but Eric and I just had the one.  When we finished our first plates, we went back to try some other stuff we didn’t pick the first time around.  Elsa and I didn’t get much, and I had some little pastries and some fruit.  Eric and Stephen got another plate full of food and then went back for a third with dessert!

We were totally stuffed when we left.  It was a gorgeous day, with a beautiful breeze blowing, and it was so comfortable sitting outside.  The place was pretty empty when we arrived, but by the time we left it was pretty packed.

At 2:00pm a band sets up and the place becomes more of a bar and club, and less of a restaurant.  They have these individual cabanas that they set up with these cushioned wide benches and round ottomans, so everyone must be laying around.  They say it’s a very young crowd, and we didn’t stick around long after we were done eating.

They dropped us off back at the apartment and we came upstairs.  We wanted to go out right away, but we were so stuffed and so tired and so we decided to lie down for a while.  Big surprise!

We only took a fast nap and when we got up we were going to put the laundry in, but all four machines were being used, so Eric put the laundry back in the apartment while I walked with the cart to KEIL’S and then he met me inside the supermarket.  We did a fast shopping and then I did 3 loads of laundry and went back upstairs.

We had recorded MONEY TALKS a 1997 film starring CHRIS TUCKER and CHARLIE SHEEN.  It was pretty funny and I like both those actors.  We stopped watching so I could go down and throw everything in the dryer, do my “quick steam” and then bring everything back up to hang on the line.  Then, we finished the movie.

After that, we watched AMERICA’S GOT TALENT.  They narrowed it down from the top 60 to the top 40 and now the top 40 will to to Hollywood to compete live and America will vote.  The winner gets $1 million and a definite contract to perform in Las Vegas.  Not bad!

When we got hungry again I made a salad (not too big – just snap peas, spinach, cucumber, veggie shreds (fake cheese) walnuts, and cilantro and we cooked up more Mahi Mahi (since it tasted SO good last time).  We made it the same way – with the wasabi mayo, pecans, lemon juice and a little olive oil.  It came out great!

We watched the Olympics for a while.  I love watching the gymnasts, because they’re so talented and their bodies do such amazing things, but I can’t help feeling sorry for them, because I really feel like they don’t have a life.  The commentator spoke about one 20-year old Chinese female gymnast, saying she begged her parents to let her come home and not make her compete and, “We’re glad she’s here, because we got to see her great performance.”  I wanted to say, “What about what SHE wants?”  It’s amazing to me that these children are taken away from their families, training all day all their lives, and forced to compete to honor their country.  At least in the United States the children get to stay with their families, and I think they try to have a pretty normal life.  I really feel sorry for a lot of them.

We’ve got a busy week coming up.  Tomorrow night we’re having dinner with Marianne and Allan, because they’re heading back to NY next weekend.  On Wednesday I’m having dinner with my friend Robyn.  On Thursday we have our appointment and then usually go out to dinner.  Friday Ilene is coming and it will be a whirlwind weekend of fun and excitement – A Broadway show that’s come to San Diego on Saturday night (SPRING AWAKENING), an Art Festival in Laguna Beach on Sunday, and a lot of fun stuff inbetween!

Before I close, I want to tell you about these great videos my friend, Sergio, in New Orleans has been putting together.  He calls them "photo parade videos," and he takes a classic song and chooses pictures to go with the music.  He does a great job and they're really fun.

His latest (and I think greatest) is a tribute to Sophia Loren.  Below is what he sent me, with the link, so you can check it out.  If you like it, you can search for more going to www.youtube.com and typing in his online name -- Boopkid.  Enjoy!

Today is one year since we left our little house in Whitestone.  It seems like years.  I wish I could say that this was the best year of my life, and that we have no regrets, but I’m afraid that’s not the case.  This has probably been one of the worst years of my life – and definitely the worst that Eric has ever had.  He’s pretty much been on a downward spiral since we left Whitestone.

He misses New York – the greenery, the change in seasons, the beauty of the mountains the the trees.  He misses our house in Whitestone.  He misses all our friends and family.  He misses work.  As for me, I never really think about anything except friends and family – and occasionally Broadway.  Otherwise, there’s not much I miss.  I don’t miss our house, or my shop, even though I thought I would.  It’s not like I didn’t really love our house, or my shop – I had the happiest years of my life there.  It’s just that I was so ready to move here – had dreamed about it for so many years, that I had no regrets about leaving.

If I could see the writing on the wall, if anyone had warned me, if I had any notion of what was to come, just an inkling of what would happen, we never would have left – believe me.  It’s not like I was determined to leave, come hell or high water.  I just never dreamed, in a million years, that any of this would happen.  I never dreamed Eric would resist change and have such a hard time adjusting.  I never dreamed he would hate San Diego (how could I possibly dream that he would?).  I never believed we would have anything other than a beautiful life in paradise.  But, as John Lennon wrote, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

So, here we are.  One year later.  I have found San Diego to be everything I dreamed of – and more.  Eric thinks it is hell on earth.  He’ll tell you that summers in New York are better than summers in San Diego.  He’ll tell you it’s a barren desert and that he can’t imagine why anyone would want to live in “this dump.”  He’ll complain about the fact that the sun shines all the time and it never rains (it hasn’t rained in about 3 months).  He’ll tell you that the reason there are no bugs in San Diego is that nothing can survive here.  We look at the same view, but see totally different things.  It’s the saddest thing you can imagine to find a place to be so desirable, and have it be so repulsive to the one you love.

I try to appreciate every single day here, because I know I will not live here forever, which is what I really want.  I am willing to sacrifice, and to compromise, because Eric is my partner, my husband, my one true love, and we are a team.  My only request is that we do it on my terms.  Eric would love for me to quit my job (which I love), pack everything up (which overwhelms me, just thinking about it) and go back to NY (which depresses me, just thinking about it).  I have told him that I can’t do it.  I just can’t.  I have promised him – and I mean it (otherwise I’d never say it here in my blog, would I?) – if he goes back to New York and is happy there – really happy – I will join him, even though it’s not really what I want.

That’s because I believe I can be happy anywhere.  I’m much stronger than Eric, and much more adaptable.  I may not be able to work in the city and commute in the winter, but I would be willing to temp for the warmer months, and hibernate in the colder months.  I’d be thrilled to be back in NY, seeing my friends and family all the time again, going to all the Broadway musicals, and enjoying the great things New York has to offer.  But I will not be happy in the winter – that I know.  Yet I’m willing to go and deal with it – at least for a couple of years.

Then, we will move to North Carolina.  I know that is also not exactly what I want, but you can’t always get what you want, can you?  It’s buggy and muggy and colder in North Carolina than it is in San Diego, but it’s warmer than New York, and so I will go.  I will get a job, and make friends, and take yoga and do my crafting, and build a life there, just like I did here.  I am willing to do all this – but I am not willing to move back to the East Coast until Eric has proven to me that he will be happy -- that he can make it.  I need to know that he can find work, enjoy mountain biking, and be happy.

I’m just afraid that the problem is not San Diego, but Eric himself.  I think he had too much change too fast and he was unable to adjust.   Now, he’s just depressed and he blames it all on San Diego, but I know it’s not so bad here.  It’s just that he’s focusing all his frustration, unhappiness, and depression on a place, rather than on himself.  It’s easier to hate San Diego than to work on adjusting, work on fitting in, work on making it work.  Well, enough about that.

This morning I woke up at 4:40am and didn’t fall back to sleep.  I was tired and when I got to work there was so much to do.  I started to get flustered (it’s my ADHD and my current stress level), and just calmed myself down saying “Just do one thing at a time and you’ll be out of here in 4 hours.”

One of the girls who works at the reception desk emailed to let me know that there was decaf coffee upstairs.  I thought it was so sweet that they thought of me, because they knew I was looking for it on Friday.  I went upstairs and another woman told me that she also drinks decaf and was going to make it every morning.  Then she said, “If you get here before me, you can just make it instead of me.”  I told her I don’t make coffee – I don’t even own a coffee maker.  I told her that if I want coffee I get in my car and go to STARBUCKS – otherwise I’ll just drink a SNAPPLE.  The only reason I had coffee at work, is because someone else made it.

I told her that I bought FOLGERS DECAF INSTANT COFFEE this weekend at KEIL’S and that I brought it to work.  She offered me the decaf she made and told me the coffee was very weak and I tasted it and it tasted like dirty dish water and I spilled it out as soon as I got downstairs.

I then emailed the two of them and told them that I was going to stick with my decaf instant coffee.  I think they must have been insulted, because neither of them responded to my email, but what can I tell you?  I didn’t ask them to make it for me, and I didn’t volunteer to make coffee.  That means washing out the filter, and the pot, and I just don’t want to deal with it – especially without my rubber gloves.  It annoys me enough to wash out my Betty Boop mug and salad container every day!

Next, I find out that the woman who has been training me is going on vacation tomorrow and won’t be back until next Wednesday!  I’m really not confident and comfortable sending things out on my own, so I was pretty stressed out by that news.  The guy I work with will help me, but he’s SO busy that I hate to bother him.  Nancy sits about 5 feet from my cube and I bother her about 20-30 times in 4 hours.  I can’t do that to the guy, so I’m going to be more on my own, or I’ll have to ask the boss and she’s the one that wanted me working on my own, so I don’t know how big that’s going to go over with her.

At least she’s only going to be in tomorrow, because she’s away at a conference in Denver Wednesday through Friday.  I have a feeling I’m going to be bored, because the guy is so busy he won’t have time to help me much, and things will just build up until the woman comes back from vacation next Wednesday.  So, that was my morning.

Of course, my afternoon in HR was great – as always.  I always make the girls laugh, and they tell me the afternoons are so much better, because I’m there.  It just warms my heart!  They’re so sweet to me.  When the four of us were together at brunch on Sunday, Elsa told Eric that I fit right in and that everyone loves me.  It was so sweet of her to say, and made me feel great.

By the way, when I got in the car with her this morning, the first thing she said was that they had a great time, they were so happy to meet Eric, and they want to go out again really soon.  I was so happy!  They’re a great couple and Eric really liked them, too, so I hope we can go out again, because it was a fun afternoon.  I had to laugh, because she told me that she and Stephen took a nap as soon as they got home and I said, “We did, too!”

When I got home this afternoon, I just relaxed for a few minutes and read my mail and then we went out to meet Marianne and Allan for dinner.  First, I deposited my check from the agency, and then we drove to MISSION HILLS to CITY WOK.

We got a spot right in front of the restaurant on West Washington Street and went inside.  They weren’t there yet, so we got a table.  They gave us a bowl of noodles and duck sauce, which was a big mistake, because it was practically empty by the time they showed up!  We ordered a bowl to share of hot & sour soup, shrimp with garlic sauce, Kung Pao chicken and spicy tomato and basil chow fun.  Everything was really delicious and we had just enough food, but not too much.

There’s never a lull in the conversation and before we knew it, it was 8:30pm and I had to get home before I turned into a pumpkin!  When we left, they reminded us that they’d be back in San Diego at the end of September, and I started singing, “See you in September.”  Remember that song, by THE HAPPENINGS?  I had the album when I was a kid.  We got in the car to drive home and I sang it on the way and couldn’t believe I rembered every word.  If you’d like to take a trip down memory lane, click here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlkYqErYIyg

When we got home Eric watched TV and I just worked on the computer and listened to THE HAPPENINGS sing “See You In September” over and over again.  It made me happy!

Last night we went to bed late, because we wanted to watch HEADLINES on Leno.  At 11:35pm we turned on the channel and remembered the Olympics were on!  So, we shut the TV off and went right to sleep.  Unfortunately, we woke up a little after 1:00pm.  There were two idiots (a guy and a girl) in an apartment across the way screaming and laughing.  They must have been drunk – at 1:00am on a Monday night.  They kept screaming and laughing until finally I screamed out the window “SHUT UP!!”

We then closed our windows and eventually fell back to sleep, but we were up until almost 2:00am.  Fortunately, I did sleep this morning until the alarm went off, but I was exhausted.

The woman who has been training me is now on vacation until next Wednesday, but the guy and the boss were in.  I kept pretty busy and did as much as I could.  He came over a few times and answered a few questions, but I was pretty much on my own.

I went down to HR at noon and worked while I ate my lunch.  The building was having an “ice cream social” from 1-2 in the lobby and were also serving lemonade and had lots of gifts to be raffled off.

When I came into the department I said (using my best southern accent), “Who’s going to the Ice Cream Social?  There’ll be lemonade and ice cream, and raffles!  We just gotta go to the Ice Cream Social!  I just thought it was such an old-fashioned, small-town way to describe the event.  Who goes to a social anymore?

I kept that up until we actually went downstairs.  We were all laughing as we went down in the elevator.  They had two stations set up serving scoops of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream.  I got a scoop of chocolate (what else?).  Then, in the center of the lobby, they had crushed oreos, granola, nuts, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, and M&Ms.  You just piled on as much as you liked!  I had some crushed oreos, M&Ms and chocolate sauce.  Okay, so I like chocolate!

They had lots of great gifts to raffle off – mostly summer-type stuff – boogie boards, coolers, beach towels and beach chairs, but they also had an IPOD!  One of the girls was missing the social, because her family was visiting from out of town and she had left for the day.  So, I got a raffle ticket and told the girls it was for her.  When they all went back downstairs for the raffle, I gave them the ticket and stayed at my desk with a few of the others.  Unfortunately, none of us won anything.

In the afternoon, I got a call from the guy I work with upstairs.  Turns out there was a problem with a spreadsheet I have been maintaining.  On 7/14/08 (right after I started in this job) I accidentally made a mistake on the spreadsheet – and it’s a biggie.  It could get the firm in trouble with one of our sponsor firms, and could cost the firm money.  Oops!

I was horrified, and very apologetic.  The guy could not have been nicer, but I could see he was stressed.  I guess now they see that maybe I’m not the best person for the job (which could be a good thing), and maybe this will convince them to get someone else.  I know I expressed in the blog how stressful this job is.  The problem is that I try to be meticulous about everything, but it’s so complicated, and there are so many steps, that I’m really not surprised it happened.  I’m just wondering how many other times it’s happened that they haven’t discovered yet!  Yikes!

The good news is that Elsa came over to me this afternoon and said, “Peppy, why can’t all the temps be like you?  You’re so good and you’re so reliable!”  I told her I wasn’t THAT good and explained what happened.  She said it was just a mistake and it could happen to anyone and I shouldn’t worry about it.  Then, she explained that they were having problems with two temps and had to replace them.  It made me so happy when she said that, because she really does appreciate everything I do and likes having me around.  I keep hinting that I want to work in HR full time and I know she’ll do everything she can to make that happen – if it’s possible.

Right now, I’m working on organizing their files.  There was a guy who left HR right before I started and I’m now doing a lot of the things he used to do.  He was HORRIBLE at filing and obviously hated it.  I found a bunch of stuff just shoved into a cabinet and had to make folders for it, because they didn’t exist and he obviously didn’t want to deal with it.

He also didn’t alphabetize a lot of forms that are filled out by applicants, so if you want to find one you have to look through all the “L’s” instead of just looking through them alphabetically.  So, I have been taking all the piles and alphabetizing them.  I’m up to “M.”  It’s a huge job, but the files were SO messy and I’m neatening them up, too, so now they look better, they fit better, and everything will be so easy to find.

They’re going to be moving the file room to make another office, and when they do the job will be so much easier if the files are already organized.  I know that’s something that could keep me busy for months and nobody else wants to do it, but I really don’t mind at all.  I love making things neat and organized and look nice.  I much rather do that than maintain spreadsheets that are going to get me in big trouble!

When I got home I just jumped in the car and went to the dressmaker in the shopping center.  I tried on the two dresses and she pinned them so that they'll fit better.  They both also need a hem (big surprise).  She’s going to make them perfect for me and she’ll have both ready on Saturday!  I’m so excited, because I love these dresses.  They look vintage, but they’re new.  Both are sleeveless, floral prints (in pinks and oranges) and are fitted to the waist and then have full skirts.  I can wear them to work, or dress them up with some sparkly jewelry for a night on the town.  In fact, maybe I’ll wear one on Saturday night to go to the theatre with Ilene!

Ilene and I were emailing back and forth all day today.  We’re so excited about the weekend.  She’ll be coming in on the train from L.A. at 8:00pm on Friday night.  Eric and I will pick her up at the train and go out to eat.  Then, we’ll come home and hang out.  Saturday, we can do whatever Ilene likes – maybe go shopping, or just drive around and I'll show her some of my favorite spots.  Saturday night the three of us will go out to dinner and then Eric will drop us off downtown at the theatre to see SPRING AWAKENING.  Eric and I saw it on Broadway last year and we loved it.  I can’t wait for Ilene to experience it!

Sunday, Ilene and I are driving to Laguna Beach for the Festival of the Arts.  We’ll spend the day at the festival and then her husband, Kyle, will pick her up with the kids (they’re going to be spending the day at Disneyland).  Then, they’ll drive back to L.A. and I’ll drive back to S.D.  Sounds like a fabulous weekend, eh?

Tomorrow night I’m having dinner with Robyn.  We’re not sure where we’re going to go yet (I’m leaving it up to Robyn).  I’ll come home and jump in the car and drive north again to meet her.  She works about 10 miles north of here and lives another half hour further north.  I’m looking forward to dinner with her, but I’m going to be eating out SO much this week, and I’m feeling VERY guilty!!  I’ve gained back so much weight.  It’s just the stress and aggravation.  I’m an emotional eater, so I find myself snacking a lot, which I know is bad, but I can’t help myself.  Nothing that I eat is really bad, but they’re still calories and they always find their way to my waistline!

Tomorrow my “morning boss” will be away at a conference and the woman who trains me is on vacation, so it will just be me and the guy on the team.  He’s so nice, but he’s so busy that I hate to bother him, so I have a feeling I won’t be doing much the rest of the week – especially after what he found out today!

I went to bed nice and early last night – 10:00pm.  Eric went out to the living room to watch TV, and I fell asleep in 5 minutes.  Unfortunately, I woke up at 4:30am – as usual.  I started thinking about work – about my “big mistake” and I was so stressed.

When I got to work, I apologized profusely, and the guy was SO nice about it.  He said it was no big deal and it was already resolved, but I saw a whole chain of emails, so I know it caused some problems.  He also didn’t tell anyone that I made the mistake, but I was telling everyone!  I just felt bad about it, and wanted them to know that it was the senile temp and not the fabulous employees!

I spent a lot of the morning double-checking all my work for the past month, making sure I didn’t make any other big mistakes.  Thank goodness all was well.  I was kind of bored, because this guy is so busy he doesn’t have time to give me much work, but he did give me a few projects, and I also got some work through emails, so the morning passed pretty quickly.

When I was leaving, I apologized again.  He said I was the best and they were so happy I was there, and I shouldn’t worry about it anymore.  That made me feel better and I went downstairs happy and relieved.

When I got down to HR they all told me they spent the morning looking at my website!  They were talking about a picture I brought in yesterday – I forgot to write about it!  You see, one of the girls got a gift from APPLEONE – the temp agency -- a mouse pad with a pocket for a photo.  She gave it to me and I said I was going to put a picture in it and bring it to her.

Most of our pictures are still packed away in boxes, but I have my cabaret stuff in a file in our oak file cabinet, so I put the picture from my first flyer.  In case you never saw it, or don’t remember (and who could blame you), all I’m wearing is a leopard shirt, sitting with one leg kicking up in the air, holding a black feather boa.  It’s pretty racy!  I knew they’d freak when they saw it, and I was right.  First of all, I had much longer BROWN hair and looked MUCH younger.  The picture was taken in 1991.

So, they passed it around and were all talking about it.  Today, when I got downstairs, they wanted one of the girls (who was out yesterday afternoon) to see the picture, so I promised I would bring it back today.  They also told me that they spent much of the morning on my website!  Elsa had explained that I did crafts and had my own shop.  They said, “You’re so multi-talented!  You sing, you dance, you craft!”  They said they loved my website.  I was so happy!  They were all very complimentary.

I worked on a couple of different projects and the afternoon flew by.  I was meeting Robyn after work, so when Elsa dropped me off, I just got right in the car and headed back north.  We met at VILLA CAPRI – Family Style Trattoria.

It was about 17 miles from the apartment and I was there in about 20 minutes.  They had a really nice menu.  I decided to get a four-cheese pizza and Robyn got tortellini.  I was absolutely starving, because I only had a tiny container of cottage cheese and a little salad for lunch.  I knew I’d be starving, and I was right!  Even so, I brought Eric home 2 pieces of pizza (and he loved it!).

Robyn and I had a great time talking, filling each other in on what’s going on at work and at home, and enjoying the good food.  I really wish Melissa could come out here, because she and Robyn are best friends, and she could visit with me AND Robyn, so it would really be a worthwhile trip!  Unfortunately, she’s had so many health problems lately, so it’s really out of the question for a while.

When I got home, it was a little after 8:00pm.  I gave Eric the pizza and he ate it right up.  I opened the mail, and was thrilled to receive an adorable gift from Geri.  She knows how I love rhinestones – and she bought me the word “Fabulous” in rhinestones, which you can iron on anything.  She said in her note that “she has one word for me.” That really made my day!  I don’t think I’ve got the guts to put it on a t-shirt or a jacket.  Isn’t that too egotistical?  Maybe I’ll make a pillow!  Anyway, I love it!

There’s really nothing much on TV these days, except the Olympics.  I do enjoy it, but only a little at a time.  I just can’t watch it hour after hour.  So, Eric and I have been watching anything else we can find that amuses us, and it motivates me to go to bed early!  I’m hoping to get a full night’s sleep tonight – and actually sleep until the alarm goes off!

We both went to sleep pretty early last night – around 10:30pm, and I got a good night’s sleep, but Eric’s neck was bothering him, and he had a headache, so he slept less than usual – which isn’t much to begin with.

I got to work and kept pretty busy all morning with a couple of projects.  Then, around 10:30am, I finished up what I had to do and started helping this girl with her files.  She wanted to clean out some old stuff, send it to storage, and make room for other more up-to-date files to be moved into these drawers.  We had a lot of fun, talking while we were working, and it made the time pass quickly.

I went down to HR for lunch.  I had brought the last of the NUTRISYSTEM flat bread pizzas with me to make in the microwave.  When I showed my friend how it comes in three plastic bags – one with the flat bread, another with the sauce, and a third with the cheese, she though it was so funny.  I made the pizza and ate it while I worked.  It was pretty busy in HR today and I was busy working until Eric picked me up at 4:45pm.

We had a great session with the therapist and I think she is really helping.  Afterwards, we went to PAT & OSCAR’S for dinner.  The firm had given everyone two coupons for BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE and we decided to use them.

It’s kind of a fast-food place in that you go up to a counter, place your order, and then they give you silverware, a glass, and a food order number and you go get your own drink.  Then, you sit down, put the number on a stand, and wait for them to bring you your food.

I ordered the Chipotle Salad, which had corn, beans, avocado, and chips along with cucumber, lettuce and tomato.  It was really delicious.  Eric got the barbecue chicken with a Caesar salad and it comes with breadsticks.   It was fast, convenient and tasty, and I have another coupon – so we’ll definitely be back!

When we got home I cleaned out Conrad’s cage, which is a whole production.  First, Eric takes his cage and puts it on the table in the dining room.  Then, we move everything in the bedroom and vacuum all around.  Then, I take his cage apart and clean all the pieces, while Eric holds him on his finger.  He really seems to like Eric and will sit on his finger the whole time.  When the cage is all back together, we put him back in!

There wasn’t much on TV, so we watched a little of the Olympics and the Daily Show.  I want to get to bed early, because I have a big weekend ahead of me.  If I don’t blog on time, you’ll know it’s because I’m busy with Ilene.  I promise, you’ll hear all about our fabulous weekend together – with lots of pictures!  Eric’s really looking forward to it, too.  He loves Ilene, and he feels better when we’re out and about with people.  So, we’re both looking forward to it a lot!

 woke up this morning just knowing it was going to be a great day.  We were going out to lunch for someone’s last day at work, and Ilene was coming to town!  I got to work and did a few things for my boss.  He’s SO busy that he really has no time to spend with me, so I was pretty bored.  I was helping one of the girls yesterday with her files, and she was on vacation today, but I told her I would help her more and she should leave me instructions as to what needed to be done.

She needed two drawers of files moved from one place to another, and replaced with the two drawers of files that were currently there.  Confused?   I was a little, but I managed to get it all done with the help of a little cart.  I just piled all the files into the cart, moved them to the other side, and then replaced them with the correct files.  Then, I organized them and neatened them up.  When I was done, it was almost time to go to lunch.

We just walked across the parking lot to Tio Leo’s, a cute Mexican restaurant.  There were 9 of us, including the guest of honor.  I had the Fish Taco Special, which was one fish taco, with rice and beans.  It was SO good!  Most everyone had the Fish Taco Special.  We all chipped in to buy him an original framed watercolor of a surfer, because he surfs all the time and it’s his greatest passion.  He’s only leaving because he and his wife are moving back to the East Coast.

After a long lunch (1 ½ hours), I went to work in HR.  I was busy all afternoon and it just flew by.  When I got home, I just did a few last-minute things around the apartment and then we went to pick Ilene up at the Amtrak station.  She was taking the Pacific Surfliner from Los Angeles to San Diego and arrived a few minutes after 8:00pm.

We got in the car and drove to HILLCREST.  We were going to take Ilene to PICASSO TAPAS, but the place was packed and we didn’t feel like waiting, so we walked around the corner to TASTE OF THAI and had a delicious dinner.

We started with Shrimp Sa-Rong – marinated shrimp wrapped with egg noodles, golden fried and served with palm sauce and Fresh Spring Rolls – rice paper stuffed with lettuce, bean sprouts, mint, vermicelli noodles and shrimp (or tofu), served with a special house sauce.  Then, we shared two entrées: Scallops with Broccoli -- oriental broccoli, carrots, baby corn and mushrooms in oyster sauce and Pad Thai Noodles -- rice noodles, dried shrimp, bean sprouts, scallion, egg and ground peanuts.

Everything was so delicious and we enjoyed talking and catching up.  When we left, we walked back to the car and drove home.  Eric had another neckache (or maybe it’s the same one), so he went right to bed and Ilene and I stayed up and talked.

Tomorrow we’ll be running around all day, and then we’ll go see SPRING AWAKENING tomorrow night.  I can’t wait!  It’s so great to have Ilene here.  She’s so much fun and such good company!

Boy, we packed it in today.  I don't usually get as much accomplished in one day, and enjoy it as much as I did today!  We woke up at 8:00am and got right into the shower (not the three of us together!).  We were in the car by 8:45, on our way to THE BIG KITCHEN in South Park.  It’s one of our favorite breakfast places, and we wanted Ilene to experience it.  Eric drove and we kind of took the long way there, but we got to show Ilene a lot of South Park, and the mission style houses, so she enjoyed every minute.

Ilene and Betty outside THE BIG KITCHEN!

We were lucky, because we were seated immediately at THE BIG KITCHEN and that place can sometimes have a 45 minute wait.  I guess 9:00am is a good time to go, because the place was half-empty!  We got a great booth right at the front and right after we sat down Judy, “the Beauty on Duty” (the owner) arrived.  She’s so cute and full of personality.  I was so glad Ilene got to meet her.  All the staff is very friendly and helpful, and one young kid was telling us all about his New York friends.  I think people think that knowing someone from New York is VERY cool.  Well, we ARE!

Ilene’s been living in Los Angeles for 25 years, but I think she’s still a New Yorker.  I think if you’re born and raised in New York State it makes you a New Yorker for life – no matter where you end up living!

I got the Challah Bread French Toast – which comes with butter to dip it in (how healthy!).  Eric got the pancakes with blueberries and Ilene got eggs sunny-side up with biscuits and gravy.  They accidentally gave her a side of potatoes instead, so they brought her a big bowl of biscuits and gravy on the side, so we all got to try it.  Yummy!

After breakfast, as we walked around the corner to the car, we passed a little garage sale.  Ilene and I both love garage sales, yard sales, tag sales, estate sales – any sales!  We’re both experts at having them, and going to them!  I knew we’d be hitting a few this weekend!

Eric drove us back to the apartment.  He parked the car, I got my little black cart, and Ilene and I headed to the dry cleaner’s and KEIL’S (pronounced “Kyle’s” – just like Ilene’s husband!)  I did a fast food-shopping -- some grapes, some salad stuff, and some fresh fish.  I was lucky enough to snag a 12-pack of DIET LEMON SNAPPLE, so I’m definitely set for the week.  I told Ilene I drink two a day and she said, “You’re addicted!”  I know I am, but it’s zero calories, and I just figure how bad can all the Splenda be?  They never have the DIET LEMON out on display, but a few weeks ago I mentioned that they haven’t had it for a few weeks and one of the kids went in the back and brought one out.  Now, I ask every week and they always have it!  I don’t want to be mean, because they’re SO nice, but I don’t know why they’re not out there in the first place!

When we got back, we put everything away and then jumped in the car to go to the shopping center a few miles away, so I could pick up my two dresses from the dressmaker.  She wanted me to try them on to see if everything was perfect, but I was a little sweaty, and we were on a schedule, so I just told her if they weren’t perfect I’d come back, but I was sure they would be!

We drove over to the other side of the shopping center to STARBUCKS and I got a grande mocha frappucino light, but Ilene didn’t want anything, so she got a cup of ice water.  She’s not much of a coffee or tea drinker, because the caffeine bothers her and she doesn’t bother with decaf.  I am the same way about decaf (although I’ll have regular occasionally), but I LOVE coffee and tea and that’s really all I drink.  I never drink soda (which is good), or juice (which is bad) and very rarely drink water (which is pitiful, but I can’t help it!).

After STARBUCKS we were now ready to drive to HILLCREST and go for our massages.  I had an appointment at 12:30pm and Ilene had one for 1:00pm.  We were right on schedule, but suddenly we saw a sign for an ESTATE SALE.  An ESTATE SALE?  That’s not something we could pass up!  We followed the signs a few miles and found it.  Unfortunately, it was noon and we couldn’t find a spot.  I promised Ilene that we would go back after our massages, and off we went.

Everything at HOLISTIC HEALTH SPECIALISTS is very calming, including the beautiful roses and bamboo.

We got to Hillcrest and went to HOLISTIC HEALTH SPECIALISTS.  I had met Leah, my massage therapist, who is a Tuina Practitioner, when Eric and I first visited there last November.  It’s a different kind of massage, which I found very therapeutic.  At that time, Eric had a very bad neck ache and we passed by and decided to go in.  Eric and I each got a ½ hour massage and Leah worked on me.  She’s been calling me occasionally since then, to come back, but it just hasn’t been on my priority list of expenditures.  I love a massage more than I can say, but I consider it a luxury which, sometimes, I can’t afford!

Jessica (Ilene's masseuse), Bernadette (the manager) and Leah (my masseuse).

I thought it would be a brilliant idea for me and Ilene to get massages as part of our “weekend extravaganza” and she agreed!  We were supposed to have a ½ hour wait inbetween, but someone didn’t show up for their appointment, so we both went in at 12:30pm.

I thought it was fantastic.  She worked on my back for about half the hour, because that’s where I carry all my stress.  I was totally relaxed and almost asleep when it was over.  Ilene enjoyed hers, too, but she’s not as into the painful aspects as I am, so she was a little less enthusiastic about the experience.  She agreed that the result was great, but didn’t enjoy the process as much.

It’s funny, because I always tell people that I don’t mind if a massage is painful.  I always kind of think it has to hurt to really do some good.  Anyway, I think pain is very subjective.  If I was kidnapped by some foreign government and tortured for information, if they pressed on my back the same way that Leah did, I’d  tell them everything.  The fact that it’s for my benefit, and I know it’s going to make me feel SO much better helps me to endure the occasional painful pressure.  Most of it feels glorious and I can feel the tension just melt away.

I told Leah that if I won the lottery I’d have her move into my house (my mansion?) and give me a massage every day.  She said she’d love the job!  When Eric was massaged back in November, the therapist had used an infused oil on his neck and he said it really helped.  They had bottles for sale and Eric bought one.  He’s been using it ever since, whenever he has a stiff neck, and after eight months the bottle was finally empty.  He asked me to buy another bottle.  The stuff comes in a pretty little tin and there’s a small glass bottle inside.  The name of the oil is “Po Som On” which looks like a Chinese word, but when you say it, you realize it’s a funny way of spelling “Pour Some On.”  We always thought that was amusing.

When we asked about buying more, they said they didn’t have any in stock, but told us where we could go to find it.  It’s a little Chinese herbal shop in North Park called GIN MIN.  They gave us directions and we jumped in the car.

We headed onto University and saw a charity thrift shop.  Ilene said they had one of the same in L.A. and I told her it was supposed to be fabulous (it’s across the street from my salon – HAIRSPRAY – and the guy who does my hair raves about it.  We pulled over and got a spot immediately – with time on the meter!

We went in and walked around, but I was not impressed.  The only thing I found was a Country Decorating magazine.  We got back in the car and headed down University to GIN MIN.  We found it easily (it was a 10-minute drive) and we got a spot around the corner.  When we walked in, we saw that it was a small shop with floor-to-ceiling shelves on two walls.  The walls were filled with bottles, jars, tins and various other containers of herbs, seeds, pills, ointments, oils and pills.

There was an old Chinese man behind the counter, and a younger Chinese woman in a lab coat standing in the middle of the floor.  She looked at us and said, “What do you want?”  She was kind of accusatory, as if she didn’t think there was anything there we could possibly need.  I was kind of taken aback, so I just said, “Po Som On?” and she said, “How many?”  I just bought one, knowing where the store is and figuring I could always go back if he needed more.  We paid for it ($6.75 plus tax) and we headed out the door.

Ilene had to go to the bathroom, and she noticed a STARBUCKS down the block, so we walked there.  I was happy, because I can never visit too many STARBUCKS!  When we got inside, we realized we were hungry, and decided to get drinks and sandwiches of mozzarella, basil and tomato on foccaccia bread.  They warmed it up for us, so the cheese was melted and gooey and delicious.  We sat and relaxed for a few minutes and ate our sandwiches and drank our drinks.  Then, we walked across the street to the North Park SALVATION ARMY THRIFT SHOP to look around.  I had been there before, and it was kind of disappointing.

We got back in the car and started driving back to Clairemont.  We had a nap in mind, after we returned to the estate sale, but we ended up taking so much time getting Eric’s oil, eating and just running around.  When we got back to the estate sale, it was just about to close.  We walked through the entire house and each of us managed to find a few things to buy.  Ilene found some kind of fancy baking or cooking tool (I can’t remember what it was) and some fabric.  Ilene is an unbelievable cook and this gadget was mint in the box – never used – for $2.00.  She also found a beautiful vintage ceramic planter with a hand-painted scene on it.  We were thrilled to see there were no chips or cracks.  It was $1.00.  Her last purchase was a small plastic train case, which she can decoupage or decorate in some creative way to make it a great storage container.

I found bags and bags of giant beads, which I love to use as feet on my boxes.  If you take a plain cigar box, decoupage it and then add feet, it morphs into something fabulous!  I don’t know why, but adding feet just makes it special.  I always like to add feet to my boxes and these beads were the perfect size.  They were all wood and came in different colors, shapes and sizes.  I knew they’d serve me well for years to come.  There were about 30 in each big bag and I paid $1.50 per bag.  I also paid $1.00 for about 5 pairs of clip-on earrings, and she threw in some wrapping paper I could use for decoupage.  We were thrilled with our purchases and finally headed home.

We arrived at around 4:15pm and knew we had to shower at 5:00pm to head out to dinner at 6:00pm.  While we were running around all afternoon, Eric had gone for a bicycle ride and he saw that they had empty bicycle boxes at BICYCLE WAREHOUSE, so when we got back he told us he was going to drive over there and pick up two boxes, so he could pack up more of his bicycles.
Ilene said she was going to go down by the pool and read, and I decided to go for a swim.  I asked Ilene, but she didn’t feel like it.  I put on my suit and went down to the pool to join her.  She was reading under an umbrella, and my next-door-neighbors (a mother and her young daughter (around 12) were in the pool.  We’ve lived here 8 months, but we’ve never said more than “hello,” so I felt a little awkward.

As I approached, the mother was getting out of the pool to lie down on one of the lounges.  She’s a real sun worshiper and I often see her out there laying in the sun.  Sometimes her daughter is swimming while she suns.  When I approached I said, “Would you mind some company?” and the girl said, “Not at all.  I get bored in the pool by myself!”  I thought that was SO sweet and so considerate.  She really welcomed me, instead of just saying, “No.”

I dropped my towel (which I had wrapped around me) and as I got in she said, “Cute suit!  I love polka dots!”  My bathing suit is probably 10 years old, but it’s comfortable – and it still fits!  It’s black with multicolored polka dots all over it and the back has multiple straps that criss-cross the back in all the same colors as the polka dots.  When I got in, she said, “Your straps are twisted” and came over to adjust them for me.  Is she sweet, or what?  Ilene was on the other end, reading and talking on her cell phone, but the three of us started talking.

The girl was wearing goggles and flippers and I told her she was like a fish.  She said, “I prefer mermaid!”  I thought that was so cute!  She was swimming back and forth, so I started to do that, too, instead of my usual laps around the perimeter.  She saw that I only doggie paddle and she would go all the way across and be halfway back and I’d still be paddling along.  I didn’t mention that I do it for exercise, but I told her that I’m not much of a swimmer and it’s the best I can do.

She kept swimming back and forth with me, and then she said, “I’m going to take off my flippers, so I can stay with you and not swim so fast.”  I told her she didn’t have to do that, but it was like she felt sorry for me and didn’t want to “beat me.”   Again, her empathy and kindness touched me.  She started to tell me about how she was stung by a bee recently and now she’s kind of afraid.  She was nervous anytime a bee flew near us, and I told her she couldn’t be afraid, because it would make it less fun to be outdoors.  I told her they’re much smaller than us and they really don’t want to hurt us.  I also told her that by making noise and moving around quickly, you could agitate the bee, which might make it sting.

I explained that the best thing to do is just keep still and let it fly away, which it probably would want to do anyway!  We kept talking and swimming and it was really pleasant.  The mom was adding to the conversation, too.  When Eric came back with the boxes I got out of the pool.  I told Ilene that I hadn’t had a real conversation with them before and I was so happy, because it’s nice to know your neighbors, don’t you think?  We tend to leave the house at the same time each morning, and I always wave and say, “Hi!” but nothing more.

We all went back upstairs and I jumped in the shower.  Then Ilene and Eric showered (not together!) and we all got dressed.  I decided to wear one of my new dresses and it DID fit perfectly.  Anny does beautiful work!  The dress has many reds, oranges and pinks in an all-over floral pattern.  I wore red open-toe mules, a red, pink and orange vintage beaded 2-strand choker, and a pink, orange and red cuff bracelet.  I decided to carry my beige crochet cardigan and a beige straw and beaded vintage purse.

Ilene wore a gorgeous pair of pants that are stretchy black lace with a skin-colored lining that makes it look like you’re nude underneath.  She had on a flowing black chiffon top and a black pashmina shawl.  She looked gorgeous!  Eric wore jeans and a nice button-down shirt. We clean up real nice!

We knew the address of the BALBOA THEATRE downtown, so we went online and found a restaurant that sounded great and was right across the street.  It was called BOTTEGA DE LA STRADA on Fourth Avenue.  We figured that would be really convenient, because then Eric wouldn’t have to drop us off at the theatre.  He could just get back in the car and go home and we could go across the street to see SPRING AWAKENING.  We were so excited to see the show.  Eric and I had seen it in New York, when it first opened, and we loved it.  Ilene bought the tickets for us, and she had the cast album on her IPOD and had been listening to it a lot, so she knew the story and a lot of the songs.  That always makes it a better experience, because you’re not straining to listen to every word their singing, and you understand what’s happening.  Also, as everyone knows, the more you listen to an album, the more you love it, so familiarity helps you enjoy it more.

I had trepidation about eating downtown, because we’re not familiar with the area.  We went to the GASLAMP QUARTER when we first got to San Diego and were still in the RV.  We drove around for almost an hour and couldn’t find a place to park.  The lots wouldn’t let us in and the spaces were too small for the RV. In San Diego they have the spaces marked out, so you can’t extend too far into another space.  You’re only allowed so much room and our vehicle was too big. 
I got so frustrated by that experience that I haven’t been back much since.  We went into the city on Thanksgiving, but it was deserted, because most people were at home with their families.  That was nice, because it was easy to park and we got to walk around without the crowds.

When we were lucky enough to find a great restaurant right across the street from the theatre, I thought it would be fine, but it turned out that a window washer was stuck up at the top of a building and Broadway was closed to traffic.  We weren’t sure where we were going, and now we were forced to make a detour.  Our reservation was for 6:15pm and now it was almost 6:30pm.  I was freaking out, and Eric was stressed, too, but Ilene was the voice of reason.  She suggested that we get out and walk, since we knew it was just a few blocks, and Eric would find it and park.

We walked there and sat down inside.  They had an outside seating, but we decided to sit inside, because it was actually a little cool out and I was afraid I’d be chilly.  Also, the people outside were smoking, and Ilene and I definitely didn’t want to be around that.

We looked at their menu and saw that they have a $21.95 Prix fixe page.  You got Bruschetta (two pieces each), a nice Caesar salad, and your choice of about 6 dishes.

Ilene and Eric both chose Farfalline Pollo e Broccoli – Bowtie pasta, grilled chicken tenderloin slices, broccoli, sun dried tomatoes and shallots in a cream sauce.  I got the Penne alla Beatrice – Tube shaped pasta with tomato sauce, fresh chopped mozzarella cheese, basil and parmesan cheese.  It’s funny, because I remember now that it said “tube shaped pasta” but they actually gave me spaghetti!  I didn’t remember and the spaghetti was delicious.

The servings were so large that we all took home a large portion of our dinner.  They gave us a tiny square of lemon cake and a tiny square of cheese cake for dessert.  We were a little disappointed that it was so small, but we had already planned to take Ilene to PAPPALECCO GELATO LOUNGE in Little Italy after the show, so we figured it was a good thing!

At about 7:40pm we walked across the street and said goodbye to Eric.  He promised to come pick us up afterwards and I told him I’d call him during curtain calls and then we’d wait right outside.

We had great seats and enjoyed the show tremendously.  The cast was amazing.  One of the girls was right out of high school, and she was so great.  There was another girl who was one of the top finalists on CANADIAN IDOL.  They were all fantastic.

I tried to photograph the set, which is so interesting, but the lighting wasn't right.

It’s just such a great musical, with such unbelievable young talent.  It’s great rock music, and the story covers every theme of angst and heartbreak that a teenager experiences – no matter where and when.  The story actually takes place in the 1850s when most everyone was sexually repressed, yet they experienced the same problems as teens do today – which is why the show is such a hit with kids.  I really recommend it to one and all.  It’s great theatre!

When the show was over we went outside.  It was a gorgeous night and the city was hoppin’!  There were lots of young guys and girls walking around.  Unfortunately, a lot of the girls looked like they were “working” if you know what I mean.  Ilene and I were so shocked by the outfits.  There were two girls crossing the street that had on the highest heels and the shortest shorts we’ve ever seen.  Then, we saw three girls walk by and they were wearing the shortest dresses.  It seemed to me that if they reached up to fix their hair we’d all have a “free show.”

I couldn’t take my eyes off them – and I’m a straight woman!  As they were walking away we saw two guys coming towards us and they kept turning around to look.  When they approached us, Ilene and I both said, “We can’t blame you!”  And they started laughing and saying, “You can’t blame us!”  It was really funny and Ilene and I got a big laugh out of that.

It seemed like 5 minutes and Eric was there.  The streets weren’t as crowded with cars and traffic as they are after a show in Manhattan.  I don’t know why not, but it was nice!  We jumped in the car and used Betty to find Pappalecco.  Once again, we kind of took the long way around, but Ilene enjoyed the tour of Little Italy!

I thought it closed at midnight (that’s really GELATO VERO), but they close at 10:30pm.   It was 10:45pm, but luckily they were still open and serving.  We got our gelato to go and brought it home.  I got half Pappalecco, which is chocolate with amaretto, and half Mocha.  Eric got half Cocco, which he thought was cocoa, but is really coconut, and half banana.  I told him his combo was very tropical!  Ilene got half chocolate and half Stratiatella, which is a cream with stripes of chocolate.

Eric sat in his chair and watched TV, and Ilene and I sat at the table and enjoyed our gelato while we read magazines.  I read my decorating mag and Ilene read my latest issue of COSMO.  It was pretty late and I was too pooped to blog, so we called it a night and went to sleep.  We knew we had a big day in the morning at the FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS!

It was a LONG day and I cannot believe all the fun we had, the things we accomplished and the adventures we had.  Ilene is so much fun to be around.  Every outing is an adventure!

Before I regale you with the adventures we had at the FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS, I have to relate a story that happened last night.  We went to bed about midnight, and at about 3:00am Conrad started flying around his cage and wound up on the bottom.  It woke me up immediately and I saw him down there, and then he started climbing back up.  I figured he’d get back to his favorite spot – the swing – but a few minutes passed and he seemed to be stuck.  The next thing I know, he’s flying around again, causing a ruckus, and he’s back on the bottom of the cage.

I figured he needed a little help (I don’t know what his problem is – but he’s definitely got one), so I opened his cage and reached in with the perch.  He immediately climbed up and just at that moment Eric woke up and said, “What are you doing?”  I think he must have thought I was walking in my sleep (as I sometimes do) and decided to play with Conrad at that moment!  I explained what happened, put him back on his swing, and went back to sleep.  I don’t know what set him off – that’s the first time it’s ever happened – but it really scared me to hear that racket in the middle of the night!

Anyway, we got up at 8:00am again (I don’t know how Ilene does it, but she definitely motivates us!).  We all got ready and were, again, out the door before 9:00am.  This time we took Ilene to our second-favorite spot – THE WAFFLE SPOT – for their delicious waffle breakfast.  We were lucky, because – again – we got seated right away, but soon after there was a long line.  It’s in a motel complex and I guess everyone wants breakfast before they check out!

I had the California Baja omelette, which had avocado, cheese and salsa.  Ilene had Waffles Benedict, but it was so much food that she gave Eric one half.  Eric had the waffles with nuts.

After breakfast, we dropped Eric off at the apartment, and we were on our way!  We had already packed the car with Ilene’s stuff, because her family was going to meet us at Laguna Beach after spending the day at Disneyland. 

We headed north with Ilene holding Betty and navigating.  We listened to the cast album of MAMA MIA as we drove.  There’s never a lull in conversation with me and Ilene, so the time passed quickly and by the time we knew it, we were there.  We arrived just around noon.

I fell in love with the ceramics of Carol Tripp Martens -- www.lokapottery.com.  I thought of Geri and Larry, because I knew they'd have the best time at this Festival and would have loved everything, but especially the wonderful ceramics on display.

We got a meter spot right outside the Festival, but we didn’t have enough quarters, so we were begging for change on the street.  Luckily, we got enough.  The meters aren’t convenient for people who are spending the whole day there, because you can’t stay more than 3 hours, but since we were meeting the family at 3:00pm, it worked out perfectly!

In some cases I didn't catch an artist's name, but this woman took Asian objects and created 3-D collages.  I thought they were so beautiful, because I love anything Asian, and it's found objects, which is kind of like what I do!

This piece combined chop sticks, a small urn (I had the exact same one in my shop!), a drawer handle, buttons, and the board from inside a computer!  So clever!

Ilene had won 2 tickets, which we thought were for the day, but it turns out they’re good for the entire season.  Unfortunately, it’s over on August 30th, and neither of us thought we’d get a chance to return in the next few weekends.

These little ones were my favorites, combining mosaics and collage.

The festival had booth after booth of gorgeous, creative, and amazing art by so many talented artists.  Some of them were there, so you could discuss their talents with them, and compliment them, but others were absent.  There were signs everywhere that you weren’t allowed to take photographs, but of course I did anyway.  Ilene was horrified that I was breaking the rules, so I told her to just walk away and pretend she didn’t know me – which she did.  I understand why they don’t want you photographing their art – they’re afraid you’ll use it to make a profit somehow.  Fortunately, I just want to share it with all of you, so I really don’t see the harm!

An old silver metal tray was filled with ceramic acorns, tiny tiles, a cherub (with no head) and the metal sign from an "incinerator."  Somehow, it all just works!

At 1:00pm they had a cooking demonstration, so we wandered over to a big area they had set up with chairs under some trees.  There was a big crowd but we got two great seats.  The young man demonstrating – David Lawrence – has appeared on FOOD TV and other cooking channels, and has also written a new book called BOY EATS WORLD.   He was adorable and full of fun and personality.  He had me laughing so many times with his quick answers and self-deprecating style.  He’s completely self-taught, although he gives credit to his mother and also his Aunt Harriet – who was there helping him.  I told him I couldn't wait for him to have his own cooking show because, even though I don't cook, I'd watch anyway since he's so much fun!

Here's Ilene with Chef David Lawrence and his Aunt Harriet, whose delicious Macaroni Salad we learned to make!

They made a ribs with a barbecue sauce using Coca-Cola and a delicious Macaroni Salad.  They gave the recipes for both, so if anyone’s interested, just email me!

I didn't get the name of this artist (unfortunately), but these ceramic pieces of furniture were magnificent!

After relaxing for a while and eating ribs and macaroni salad (I just had to taste my rib, but I gave the rest to Ilene and I had two servings of macaroni) we were ready to stroll again.  We stopped for iced mocha drinks and enjoyed the rest of the festival.

There was a guy named Gavin Heath who created unbelievable sculptures made of glass.  There were mother and child giraffes, and crazy monkees.  The battery was dying on my camera by the time I found him, so check it out at: http://www.artglass.tv.

I thought this fish sculpture was pretty fabulous!

This is Bruce Burr who draws old cars.  Ilene and I spoke to him for a few minutes and he was really friendly.  It was interesting to get to watch him at work.  Check him out at www.bruceburrart.com.

At 3:00pm we walked down the block to the car and waited for Kyle and the kids to arrive.  I put a lot more money in the meter and we jumped in their car and drove a few blocks to the main strip – Forest Avenue – where all the great shops and restaurants are.  We walked around a bit and ate at JOHNNY ROCKETS, which is a fun diner. 

How about some glass cactus?

Tyler and I had grilled cheese and most everyone else had chicken strips and french fries, except for Kyle who had a turkey burger.  They also had some shakes, which looked really good, but I had an iced tea.

We had fun talking with the kids and getting filled in on their day at DISNEYLAND.  They’re lucky, because they have season passes and get to go all the time.  When I was a kid, that would have been the thrill of a lifetime!

This was in a display of young artists. I didn't notice how old the artist was, but I fell in love with it!

After our fast meal we walked across the street to the beach and walked along the boardwalk for a few minutes, watching people play volleyball, swim, and relax on the sand.

Here's more art from the young artists.  Do you believe that horse was drawn by a fifth grader?  My drawing skills at 50 are more like a first grader!

Then, we made our way back to the car and drove back to my car, so Ilene could get her stuff from the back.  Then, they headed north and I headed south.  I think it was a little before 5:00pm when I left and I got home a little after 6:00pm.  I really booked!

My only problem was when I got to the toll booth on the way back (on CA-73).  It was a $2.00 toll, but they only accepted change, $1 bills or $5.00 bills.  On the way up, there was someone to give you change, but I saw a sign that said, “Exact change needed” and knew I was in big trouble.  I only had a $10, a $20 and three quarters.  Hmmmm.  What should I do?  I waited a few minutes, to see if another car would pull up, but most were zipping by in the other lane, which is FASTRAK.  I saw a number for the tolls, so I called, but it was only open during business hours.  I decided to throw the 75 cents in and get the hell out of there.

This artist used printed paper to recreate quilt designs.

I went online today and it said you’d get a $47.50 invoice in the mail, which is the penalty for not paying.  I don’t know if it will be $6.75, since I DID pay 75 cents!  Anyway, there was nothing else I could do, short of backing all the way back and going a different way.

When I got home I was exhausted and Eric was already watching TV in bed, so he turned the TV off and we both took a nap.  When I woke up I started blogging, because I had a lot of catching up to do.  It was Sunday night and I hadn’t written or posted Saturday’s blog yet, nor had I downloaded and resized all the pictures I took.  At 10:00pm Eric and I watched the BOB SAGET ROAST on Comedy Central.  It was funny, but not hysterical.  It was more dirty and digusting than funny, actually, but it was great to see them make fun of Cloris Leachman!

We went to bed a little before midnight.  It was a fantastic weekend, filled with great adventures.  It’s not often that I can pack so much into just 2½ days and I was really happy Ilene came down.  We all enjoyed ourselves and made lots of great memories!

I waited until the very end of this blog entry to show you my absolute favorite artist of the day.  Her name is Lorene Ireland and she takes what I do to a WHOLE new level.  I think she's absolutely amazing. We didn't get to meet her, but I took a few photographs of her work.  Unfortunately, her website appears to be under construction, but it's www.loreneirelandart.com.

These are real manniquins, which she covers with seashells, separating the torso from the legs and adding shell-covered drawers in the middle, which create a "skirt".  Each mannequin was $9,000 -- and worth every penny!

After such a great weekend, it was really hard to get up this morning and go back to work, even though I love my job!  I started the day with an iced decaf vanilla mocha latte, and treated Elsa, too.  She had a really hard morning, and it seemed everything was going wrong.  I felt bad for her, so I figured a Café Americana (that’s what she loves) would cheer her right up – and I was right!

I worked in KRM all morning and it was pretty uneventful.  At noon I went downstairs to HR.  It’s been really busy – not stressful busy, but just enough work to keep me going all day without a break (unless I want to check my yahoo emails!).  One of the girls in HR had a meeting with my boss and they decided to try to get my morning job posted for a full-time employee to be hired and then I’d get to spend all my time in HR.  Wheeee!  It may not happen until October, but it’s sure something to look forward to!

When I got home I immediately turned around and Eric and I went down to the laundry room.  I started two loads with all my work clothes (I didn’t get a chance to do it this weekend) and some towels and bedding.  While that was washing I started blogging and at 6:00pm I had a “date” with my friend Stephen, who lives in Canada (I lovingly refer to him as “Canadian Stephen!”).  He emailed and said he wanted to call me, and I said it’s so hard to coordinate with people, because of the time difference, so we made a date, so I’d be sure to be near my phone and wouldn’t miss his call.

At 6:00pm the phone rang and it was Stephen.  We’ve been friends for about 4 or 5 years now (it’s hard for me to remember, because it seems like forever), and before we moved to San Diego I’d get to see him 3 or 4 times a year, because he visited New York a LOT.  He dog-sits for some friends who live in a building off Riverside Drive, which is the exterior shot of Will Truman’s apartment on Will & Grace!  Every time I dropped him off I expected to see Karen’s limo outside, or Grace coming out with Jack!

Stephen was my best Broadway buddy and we saw a lot of shows together -- SWEET CHARITY, CHITA -- A DANCER'S LIFE, A CHORUS LINE, SPELLING BEE, amongst others.  He’s more of a New Yorker than most New Yorkers, because he goes everywhere and sees everything.  There isn’t a borough he hasn’t investigated and there’s hardly an historic spot he hasn’t experienced.  He’s had many great adventures, and one of them was meeting me – and my niece, April – as we were waiting on line to see LYPSINKA in one of her fabulous shows.  It was “friends at first sight” and we started emailing soon after.  Since that time, every time Stephen came to NY we’d go out together, see a show, and enjoy each other’s company.

Stephen made a trip to Whitestone to see our house and meet Eric before we left NY.  It makes me sad to think he’s been to the city and I haven’t been there to share it with him!  Anyway, we had a great talk and I found out that he’s going to be in NY starting on December 1st.  We had planned to leave NY on the 29th or 30th of November (right after Jessica’s wedding), but we may just have to stick around until the 1st, so Stephen and I can take in a show!

After the laundry was done I made a big salad.  Ilene had brought some beautiful vegetables from her garden, and I used a giant heirloom tomato.  It was so sweet and juicy.  We also cooked a piece of fish and some asparagus I had bought at Keil’s on Saturday.  I made enough salad for me and Eric to both have some for lunch tomorrow.

While we ate we watched Friday night’s new episode of MONK.  He got trapped on a submarine, investigating a murder, and it was so funny.  He’s very claustrophobic, and it made for lots of great laughs.

After that I finished Sunday’s blog (sorry I’ve been behind!) and then started today’s.  I’m finally caught up, back on track, and feelin’ pretty good about it!

At 3:05am Conrad had another “midnight flight” and decided to go crazy in his cage.  He never did this before Saturday night and now he’s done it twice in 3 days.  Again, I had to take the perch and help him back up to his swing.  He jumps right on, grateful for the assistance, and then is quiet again.  I don’t know if I should take him out of the room at night, or cover him with a sheet, or just hope it doesn’t happen again.

I had a hard time falling back to sleep (naturally), so I lost at least an hour, but then slept right up to the alarm.  I had a great morning.  My boss asked me to fill out a “Requisition Justification” which is the form needed to prove another employee is necessary to be hired.  The others on the team had already filled it out, and I just added my thoughts.  I honestly believe this position needs to be held by a full-time employee who can devote eight hours a day.

Also, a full-time employee is much better than a temp, because the job has a lot of responsibility and I think that most temps (myself included) just don’t have the same devotion to the job as someone who’s actually on the payroll.  I hope it helps, because I REALLY want to work full time in HR.

Today is the last day before the woman who has been training me comes back from vacation.  I had a few emails to send out, but I was a little nervous to push the button without someone reviewing them, so I asked the guy on the team to come over.  He kept saying he would, but never did.  He has this big clear plastic orange cup from SAN DIEGO ANIMAL PARK with zebras and giraffes on it.  He’s always carrying this cup around and drinking water from it.  This morning he left it on a file cabinet near my desk, so I took it and hid it.  Then, I sent him an email telling him I was holding his cup for ransom and if he ever wanted to see it again he better come over and help me “or there’s no telling what I might do.”

He laughed so hard and came right over.  He helped me get the emails out, then I gave him back his cup and he laughed and said, “That’s the way to get me!”  It was funny, but at the same time – I got my work done!

When I got down to HR I got right to work as I ate my salad, plugging away on the database project.  I’m almost completely up-to-date.  The girls keep finding more and more older resumes in their offices, which need to be input, plus I’m inputting all the new resumes received daily.  It’s really a never-ending job, but the bulk of it is certainly finished.

I was so sleepy this afternoon.  I was working, but I think I did a few “head drops” where you fall asleep for an instant and then are awake again.  I got up and went to the Ladies’ Room, and was able to keep working, but I promised myself a nap when I got home!

Eric and I watched a little of Judge Judy and then he went out to watch CASH CAB (his new favorite show!) and I took a nap.  He woke me at 7:00pm and asked me if I wanted to get up, or sleep another half hour.  I said I’d just lay there and see if I fell back to sleep, and he was back in what seemed like 60 seconds saying it was 7:30pm!  I got up and he had dinner ready.  Steamed edamame (with Ilene’s gift of “Melissa’s  garden herb sea salt.”  You grind it fresh.  She also brought us “Melissa’s Organic Rainbow Peppercorns.”  Apparently, this Melissa knows a thing or two about herbs and spices!).

We used both of them last night on our asparagus and fish, but I forgot to mention it.  The spices are fresh-ground each time and delicious and really added a lot to everything, but especially the edamame, because you could really taste the difference from the ordinary sea salt.

We then each had ½ veggie latke and a corn dog.  Eric’s so sweet when he prepares dinner.  He really is a very creative cook and will always try to make everything special.

There isn’t much on TV these nights, due to the Olympics.  I guess the other stations know no one’s watching much else (except us!), so they don’t put anything new on.  Eric and I watched this silly show called WIPEOUT, where people go on these crazy obstacle courses with mud, foam, water, and many, many obstacles.  The contestant with the best time wins.  WIKIPEDIA says it’s the world’s largest obstacle course!  It’s fun to watch and is a lot like FEAR FACTOR, which was a favorite of mine.)

I worked on the computer for a while, paying bills, answering emails, and blogging.  I feel pretty tired, even though I had a nap, so I think I’ll be able to go to sleep at a decent hour.  There’s an article in this month’s MARTHA STEWART LIVING magazine about getting a good night’s sleep.  I just may take it to bed with me and read it before turning out the lights!

I actually got to sleep through the night last night – thanks to the fact that Conrad never woke me.  I’m hoping it never happens again, but – hey – you never know!

The woman who’s been training me was back from vacation.  Unfortunately, she got a terrible earache and flew back last night, making it even worse.  She came in today, but the whole side of her face was swollen and she left before 9:00am to go to a doctor’s appointment and never came back.  I’m not sure she’ll even be in tomorrow.

It’s a shame, because we left to many things to do when she got back, and now she may not be back for the rest of the week.  I feel so bad for her, because she has one of those jobs that a lot builds up while you’re gone and you almost regret going on vacation, because you’re so overwhelmed when you get back!

I got a text from my friend, Kris, this morning.  She and another friend, Suzanna, arrived in San Diego yesterday with Kris’ sister-in-law, Stephanie.  The three of them are on a vacation here for the week.  I have been SO excited because I haven’t seen them in a year.  They said they were going to play it by ear and would contact me when they could get together for dinner and tonight’s the night!  I just texted back one word: Wheeeeeeeeee!

I didn’t have much to do all morning, so I worked on a filing project.  I’ve been helping someone in another group (one which I’ve worked closely with for the past 7 months), so even though I don’t really work with her, I saw her moving files around and offered to help.  I’ve really gotten a lot done for her, and she’s so appreciative.  She’s been telling everyone in the office.  Even the girls in HR heard about it and told me I’m such a “team player.”  The truth is, I just like to keep busy!

At noon I went downstairs to HR.  They’re posting a lot of new jobs, which makes me busier than ever.  I love this kind of busy, because there aren’t deadlines, so it’s not stressful, it’s just that I always have something to do.  I’ve been working through lunch since I started there, because I have nothing else to do.  Today they told me that it’s the law that I have to take at least ½ hour for lunch, so they said to bring a book.  Fortunately, Eric went to the library today and brought back another Dick Francis novel for me – SHATTERED.  So, I’ll bring it tomorrow and make sure they all see me reading!

This afternoon Kris called and we made plans for me to pick the girls up in Pacific Beach and I’ll drive them to La Jolla where we have reservations at the CRAB CATCHER Restaurant and Seaside Grill, which is right on the water and has fabulous seafood.  I arranged for a table by the window, so we could look out over the water. 

When I got home, I changed into the same dress I wore to see SPRING AWAKENING with Ilene on Saturday night.  It’s dressy, yet comfy, and I’m adding lots of jewelry, because I know these girls will be dripping with vintage.  That’s what we all have in common – a love for anything vintage.  Kris and Suzanna were regular customers in my shop, and loved to buy purses, jewelry, and accessories for their homes.  That’s how I met them, and how we all became friends.  I’m also good friends with Kris’ mother and father, Dutch and Eugene, because Dutch used to come into the shop all the time also, and Eric and I used to double date with them.

Kris, Suzanna and Stephanie are all in their early 30s, so there’s quite a difference in our ages, but our love of the same things brings us together.  Suzanna also designs gorgeous purses and is a talented designer and artist.  Kris is an English teacher at a middle school and Stephanie teaches elementary school.  They’re all fun, beautiful girls.

I picked the up at their hotel (TOWER 23) in Pacific Beach, which is right on the ocean.  We drove north to La Jolla and I dropped of Suzanna and Stephanie and Kris and I went to the underground parking down the block, which is only $8.00.  We both commented at the exact same time that in NY it would be $40.  That’s one thing about San Diego – some things are just as expensive, but some things are SO much cheaper!

The restaurant is huge with many different rooms and you have to go down several flights of stairs to reach it.  When I called for a reservation, I begged for a table by the window, and he said he’d try to accommodate me.  Unfortunately, when we got there, they didn’t have one available, so we sat pretty much in the middle of the room.  The good news is there was a huge picture window about ten feet away, so we still had the view – we just weren’t as close as we had hoped.

We started with a Calamari appetizer – Panko crusted, deep fried, with a charred tomato horseradish sauce.  I thought it was great, but the girls went crazy.  They said it was the best calamari they ever had!  Stephanie doesn’t eat calamari, so she got an Ahi Napoleon appetizer – Spice crusted yellow fin tuna, Asian slaw, on a crispy wonton.  I got to taste some, and it was delish!

For dinner we got four choices off the menu: Suzanna got the Salmon with summer corn polenta, warm heirloom tomato fennel relish and a mustard lobster sauce.  Kris got the Halibut – macadamia nut crusted with coconut sticky rice, papaya coulis and a miso honey buerre blanc.  Stephanie got the Sea Bass with charred tomato basil couscous, baby bok choy and saffron garlic cream.  I got the Ono with Alaskan King Crab stuffing, Peruvian purple potato and carmelized garlic hollandaise.  Wow!

They were all so beautifully presented – each on a different kind of dish.  Stephanie’s was spread out on a long, clear green glass dish.  Mine was on a white oval dish.  Suzanna’s was on a small square cobalt blue dish and Kris’ was on a different white plate.

They shared a bottle of wine and I had my usual – an unsweetened iced tea with Splenda.  I don’t enjoy wine, and I was driving, so I figured it best to stick to just tea.  We talked and laughed and enjoyed each other’s company.  We filled each other in on everything that’s going on and there was much too much to talk about at one dinner.

For dessert Suzanna and I got Green Tea Gelato.  Kris got Strawberry Sorbet and Stephanie got a crème brulee.  They also got dessert liquors, and I got a decaf mocha latte.

We were so stuffed and so satisfied with the delicious meal.  Then came the best part – Kris insisted on treating me!  I was so thrilled.  She had mentioned it when she first spoke about getting together while she was still in NY, but I really didn’t pay attention.  Of course I tried to chip in, but she was adamant and said she really wanted to do this, because I was so good to her in NY (and I was!).  She’s easy to be good to, because she’s such a sweet girl and she helped me SO much in the shop and always wanted to be there.  How could you not fall in love with someone so wonderful?  I told her she’s like the daughter I never had.

I’ve always told my nieces the same thing – and I treat them the same way – but Kris is not my niece – she’s just a girl I met who really had a positive impact on my life.  I’m forever grateful for her help and her company in the last year I owned the shop.  She made it much better than it would have been without her!

After dinner we took some pictures (which I will post very soon!) and then I drove them back to Pacific Beach, dropped them off and headed home.  I got home at 11:00pm and just washed up and went to bed.  It was too late to blog and I was really tired.  It was a wonderful evening and I’m looking forward to seeing them again over the weekend!

I couldn’t get out of bed any earlier than usual, but I still managed to post my blog in about 20 minutes, before I went to work.  I would have loved to have the pictures with the blog entry, but I was too tired last night and didn’t have time this morning, so here they are.  Enjoy!

Kris, on the left, Suzanna, on the right, and Stephanie, sitting down.

Me and Kris!

Stephanie with the Ahi Tuna appetizer!

After dinner!

Is that Liv Tyler?  No, it's our Kris!

Could there be three more beautiful girls visiting San Diego?

Work was busy, but fun.  The woman who was on vacation came back yesterday with an earache and left before 9:00 to go to the doctor.  She never came back yesterday, and she wasn’t in today either.  I don’t know if she’ll make it tomorrow, but it’s going to be pretty crazy when she gets back, because we keep putting things off until her return.

Things in HR are definitely hopping, because they posted a few new jobs in the last few days and people send resumes like crazy.   I was complaining (when we all went down to the coffee cart this afternoon) that people used to send their resumes more selectively when they actually had to put it in an envelope with a stamp.  Now, they just attach it to an email and click “Send.” 

It makes it too easy and, therefore, people apply for jobs for which they’re not qualified.  Why do that?  Do they think they’re going to fool somebody?  Do they think we won’t notice that they have no qualifications?  I told the girls that I’m going to charge a $5 surcharge for every resume submitted (payable on PAYPAL) and we can put it towards the coffee cart.  They all thought that was a great idea!

The girls go down to the coffee cart every afternoon.  I hardly ever go, but when I do I always like to get my coffee first, so I can get back to my desk.  So, the other day they said, “Where are you running?”  So, I said, “I get paid by the hour.  I need to get back to work!”  They all said I was crazy.  So, today, they said I had to get my coffee last, so I would stay with them all through the wait.

Of course I got mine first again and ran away, before they could stop me.  I just feel it’s irresponsible to stand around for a 20 minutes enjoying the conversation.  I’m just a temp!
Eric picked me up at 4:45pm and we went to see our therapist.  She’s really helping us sort out the situation.  Eric wants to go back to NY and I support him totally.  He really wants me to go back with him, but I told him I’m just not ready to do that.  So, he is going to go back by himself (again), but this time he’ll fly and we’ll ship his stuff.  He’ll stay with his sister, Susan, for at least a few weeks, until he gets work and can get settled.  He’s not excited about it, but I think he realizes it’s the only thing to do, because he’s just so unhappy here.  I’m not happy about him leaving, but I think it’s much better than him staying here and being miserable all the time.  I can’t live that way either.  It’s no good for either of us.

After our session we went back to Pat & Oscar’s for dinner.  I had one more coupon which gave us a free dinner.  Eric had spicy wings and a Caesar salad and I had a half veggie pita and a Greek salad.  Unfortunately, the veggie pita was really a SALAD pita – it was just more salad in a half pita bread.  I wish the girl had explained what it was, because they shouldn’t call it a veggie pita – they should call it a salad pita, so you know what you’re getting.  I just assumed the veggie’s would be roasted or cooked in some way.

When we got home I watched the latest episode of PROJECT RUNWAY, in which the challenge was designing an outfit for a New York drag queen.  I was thrilled to see a drag queen I actually know – Varla Jean Merman – whose act I was lucky enough to see years ago.  Our friend, Ricky, used to play piano for Varla Jean, and he traveled a lot with her, doing shows all over the country.   There was another drag queen I had seen a long time ago – Hedda Lettuce.  She’s been around for a LONG time.  The best part was that Varla Jean’s costume won the challenge and she got more TV time than anyone else!

The other cool thing was that they did their fitting out of drag, so you got to see what they really looked like.  It is really amazing how they transform themselves with hair and makeup.  Varla Jean is actually quite adorable, and he’s gorgeous in drag.  Some of them look so different you wouldn’t even be able to guess which queen they are!  It was a great episode.  I was hoping to see two “girls” I know much better and simply adore – Lypsinka and Miss Coco.  I don’t know where they were, and why they weren’t included in this episode, but I can only assume they weren’t available!  Actually, I don’t think either of them are Drag Queens.  I don’t know what they call themselves, but they’re more performers than queens.  Maybe Jimmy can fill me in!

Anyway, I’m exhausted and I’m going to sleep.  Tomorrow’s finally Friday and I have to drive myself to work because Elsa has a 3-day weekend.

I drove myself to work this morning, because Elsa had a three-day weekend.  I knew it was going to be a rough morning, because it was my boss’ last day before the second half of her sabbatical (she was off 1 month right after I started, and now she’s off for another month!).  I also figured the woman I work with wouldn’t be back yet, because she has a bad earache – and I was right.  So, I knew it would be crazy with my boss trying to get everything accomplished before she left.  Right again!

It was stressful, and I kind of lost it a little, because I let my frustration come out.  I think it was mostly because I’m PMS’ing, but it was also real frustration.  The boss asked me what was wrong and I explained to her that I had a million things to do, but I couldn’t do any of them, because I either had questions, or needed someone to review my work, so I was just sitting on my hands until the guy I worked with could help me.

It’s not his fault, because he’s SO busy, but that’s the problem with this position.  They’re working very hard trying to get approval for this job to be posted for a full-time employee, and I want OUT of there.  I just don’t like this job – too much responsibility!  Unfortunately, I’m going to be there for at least another month and there’s really nothing I can do about it.  It’s only four hours a day, and I’m SO lucky I start the day there, and don’t end it there, because at least I get to enjoy my afternoons!  I want to reiterate – the people are great.  I really like all of them a lot.  It’s not them, it’s the job.  And it’s not a bad job either.  I think someone would be really happy (and lucky) to be there.  It’s just NOT a job for a temp.  That’s it in a nutshell.

When I got down to HR I helped one of the girls with a huge color printing job and then we collated packages for a big meeting in HR next week.  This woman I was helping is the only woman in HR who is older than me – by 2 years, although she looks like a baby.  She’s little like me, and she has three daughters.  The youngest just got her driver’s license and everyone was so happy for her.  She did a summer internship here, so we all got to know her, and she was so sweet and polite and friendly and a pleasure to be around.

It’s obvious that she takes after her mother, because this girl is so pleasant and friendly and such an amazing worker.  She only transferred to this department right before I came on, but she’s been with the firm for many years.  She knows EVERYONE and she is just great at her job already.  I always offer to help her, because she seems a little overwhelmed.  She has a lot of responsibility and she’s so appreciative of my help, and the jobs go much faster when I help.  Besides, she’s great company and I enjoy working closely with her.

After I finished helping her with her big project, I worked on my usual project of printing all the resumes and inputting them in the database before distributing them for review.  One of the girls received a JibJab sendables e-card.  I had seen these before, and Lenae just sent me one this week, which is really a coincidence.  Two of the guys upstairs put their faces on female gymnasts and when you watch them do their routine, it is hysterical.  Lenae put herself on an Olympic diver and we were laughing so hard.  They’re really funny.  Then, the girls in HR started putting themselves on JibJabs and sending them around and we were all laughing so much.  It was really fun.

The afternoon flew by (it always does).  I spoke to Eric in the afternoon and we decided to go to dinner and a movie.  When I got home I just changed my shoes and we went right back out.  We decided to go to one of the restaurants in the shopping center, so we’d be right by the movie.  We parked the car and walked around.  There’s Indian, Mexican, Italian, Greek, BBQ and Quiznos.  We decided on Mexican.  I had a fish burrito.  Eric had a salad, a chicken taco and we shared a cheese quesadilla.  It was really good.

We had about 45 minutes to kill, so we walked all around the shopping center.  There are a lot of nice stores there, and we went into the card store, BATH & BODY SHOP, and looked in the window of some other shops.

There were a lot of great movies to choose from.  Eric let me choose—and I really wanted to see MAMA MIA—but I settled on TROPIC THUNDER.  I really love Ben Stiller, RD, Jr., and Jack Black.  I knew I’d like it, and I was right.  I thought it was really funny and clever, and there were great cameos.  I think Eric liked it, but not as much as me.  I was laughing out loud a lot.

After the movie we came home and watched MONK.  It was great, as usual.  I was SO tired by the end of the episode, and I knew I had to blog, but I couldn’t rouse myself, so we just went to sleep!   We were supposed to go to Los Angeles this weekend, but our friends cancelled.  It’s a good thing, because I’m exhausted and we really have a lot of things to do around the apartment.  Eric is starting to organize his stuff and pack up boxes.  I know there have been a few times recently where I don’t blog until the next day and I apologize to those who like to read this first thing every morning!  I promise I won’t let it get to be a habit!

I have been talking about going to the track since it opened in July.  Unfortunately, the season is almost over and I was afraid we were going to miss it!  I really don’t understand why they race for months and months in NY – even when the weather gets really cold – and they only race for 6 weeks over the summer here in San Diego, when they could be racing 12 months a year!  Can someone please explain it to me?

We got a late start this morning.  I was up, working on the computer while Eric slept, and then I went back to bed and actually fell back to sleep!  We had talked last night about going to the race track today, and Eric thought it was a great idea.

It was a perfect day for the races – sunny, cool, with a beautiful breeze blowing.  The racetrack is wonderful with beautiful architecture, fountains and flowers.

We arrived a little after 1:00pm and the first race started at 2:00pm.  As we were walking to buy our tickets (General Admission is $10), we heard a guy saying he had Clubhouse tickets for $5.  We bought two (saving ourselves $10) and actually got fabulous seats right by the finish line!  I got us a snack of iced tea and potato chips and we just relaxed and hung out until the first race.

We were looking at the race book, but didn’t bet the first race.  We’re not gamblers, so the betting isn’t the most important thing, but we decided to put a few bucks on the 2nd race, just for fun.

I always pick my horses by their names, but Eric looks at the odds and tries to be a little more mathematical about it.  I liked a horse named Key Rose (since my Grammy’s name was Rose) and we also put a bet on Chelcee’s Hope and Awesome Feat, so if any of them came in we’d win a few bucks.  Unfortunately, none of them did!

After the first two races we decided to get a bite to eat and watch the third and fourth races from the restaurant.  The menu was pretty limited – lunch basics – so I ended up getting a grilled shrimp taco and Eric got a turkey breast sandwich.  Nothing fancy, but it was good and satisfying.

Then, we went back to our seats, we decided which horses to bet for the 5th race.  We picked Nsync Lynx but, unfortunately, the horse was scratched, so Eric came back empty-handed.  We bet Silver Vista in the 6th race, but had no luck.  In the 7th we bet Tranquility, but that lost, too.  Our last bet was Runaway Dancer in the 8th race, but it just wasn’t our day.  We only bet $2 on each horse, so we lost less than $20.  I sure would have liked a win!

There was one more race, but it was almost 6:00pm, so we decided to leave.  It was a really fun way to spend an afternoon, and I’m glad we got to experience it before the season ended.  We enjoyed going to the track for a few years before we left NY, since our friends own horses and would take us to Belmont for the day.

It’s always exciting for me, because I love horses so much.  They’re just such majestic animals.  My favorite part is watching them just trot out for some warm-up exercise, and the walk they take after the race, to cool down.  That’s when you really get to see them.  When they race, they’re so fast it’s really just a blur!  It all happens so quickly and then it’s over!

When we got back we watched PSYCH and then took a nap (what else?).  When we woke up at 8:00pm we started watching THE 101 FUNNIEST SNL MOMENTS on E!  It’s fun to remember all the great characters created on that show.  I’ve watched SNL religiously since it started.  I never got tired of it, even when there were years that didn’t produce many classics.  I always thought it was funny and I think it’s really been great for the past 10 years.  I may not be able to stay up until 1:00am on a Saturday night, but I’ve always recorded the show and Eric and I enjoy it on a Sunday morning!

Tomorrow I’m going to have brunch with the girls at the Hotel Del Coronado (where they’ve been staying since Friday night).  I love brunch, I love the Hotel Del Coronado, and I love the girls.  What could be more lovely?

I was really looking forward to brunch with the girls at the Hotel Del Coronado today.  I set the alarm for 9:00am, but I was up before 8:00am (thanks, in part, to the Little Drummer Boy.  He wasn’t drumming, but he was making a lot of noise when his father came to pick him up for the day).

I worked on the computer and decided to look up the brunch at the hotel to see how much it was.  You can imagine my shock when I saw that it was $69.50!   I know the usual brunch here is about $25, so I figured it would be over $40, but I never dreamed it would be over $80, including tax and tip!   I wanted to see the girls, I wanted to see the hotel, but I just couldn’t justify spending that much money for brunch.  I just couldn’t.

I immediately called Kris.  I got her voicemail and left her a message.  I told her I couldn’t spend that much on brunch and would be happy to come out to the hotel after they finished eating.

Meanwhile, I jumped in the shower and went food shopping.  Eric was still sleeping.  When I got back, he was up and dressed and helped me put everything away.  Then, he went with me to the laundry room and I started two loads.  I figured this way I’d have all my errands finished, so I could go to Coronado Island to see the girls in the afternoon.

Kris called me back and said that was fine, but she wasn’t feeling well, because she got sun poisoning, so she was going to take a nap right after brunch.

Meanwhile, Eric really wanted to get out of the house, so we decided to go to a movie.  I kind of figured I probably wasn’t going to make it to see the girls, since Kris was first taking her nap at 2:00pm, so we went to see HOUSE BUNNY.

It was really cute and pretty funny and we both enjoyed it.  We just needed to get out and escape from reality for a few hours.  Know what I mean?  After the movie I called Kris.  I was right, she just wasn’t feeling well and wasn’t going to do much tonight.  They’re leaving at 9:00pm tomorrow night for NY, and I don’t think I’ll get to see them again before they go.

Eric and I came back to the apartment and he relaxed and watched STAR TREK while I made Mahi Mahi and a big salad.  We enjoyed dinner while watching AMERICA’S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS.  The Olympics’ closing ceremonies were on tonight, but neither of us was really in the mood.

This was kind of a rough weekend.  Eric and I did a lot of talking and it’s just so scary for both of us.  He doesn’t want to stay here, but he doesn’t want to go to New York either.  He doesn’t want to leave me, but he hates it here and thinks there’s no future for us here.  It’s so frustrating for me, because I want him to either stay – and build a life for us – or leave and go to NY – and build a life for us.  I can’t stand this life much longer – this not being happy and the frustration of trying to help someone when you can’t possibly help them.  Eric needs to find his own happiness and figure out his own future, and then I can join him – wherever that is.

I feel if he goes back to NY he can try to find work, he can get back to the mountain biking he loves, and he can have the support of his friends and family – none of which he has here.  Meanwhile, I’ll stay here and work – earning some income – and maintain the stability I’ve built for the past 7 months.  I’m not ready to give it up unless I know things will be better in NY than they are here.  If he’s going to be just as unhappy in NY, why should I go there?

We both know he’s leaving in a few weeks, and it’s so scary for us, and so sad, too.  I’m less scared than he is, because obviously I’m not the one who has to make the big move, but I’m not the one who is unhappy here!  I’d love for him to stay here with me, but at this point it’s impossible, because he’s just so depressed and unhappy that I worry about what will happen to him if he stays.  I don’t necessarily think New York is the answer, but I know staying here isn’t the answer either.  We’re both not sure what the answer is, but I think he has to do SOMETHING, and going back to New York seems like the best idea.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, because I really believe it helps.  We will be okay, we just have to get through this.  I know everyone has something in their lives that they are struggling with and it’s never easy, especially when you’re far away from those you love most.  I know there are people who have much worse scenarios to deal with than we do (although Eric doesn’t feel that way).  I am the eternal optimist and I believe we will be happy again someday – together – enjoying life, friends and family – the way it’s supposed to be.

I had a pretty good Monday at work today.  My “morning boss” is on sabatical for a month now, and the woman who I work with was back today after being on vacation for a week and sick for 3 days.  She had over 400 emails to go through, so I didn’t have much to do this morning.

I was very busy in HR this afternoon as they now have four jobs posted at different websites, like DICE, MONSTER and CAREER BUILDER.  So, I was pretty busy all afternoon.  Today, when we went down to the coffee cart after lunch, one of the girls put her arm through mine, so I would stay with them while they all got their coffee.  I usually run back upstairs right away, because I feel like I’m taking advantage if I stand around with them, since I get paid by the hour.

They are so sweet, because they want me to stay and talk.  Today, I did and I was telling them that years ago I met Varla Jean Merman, whose costume won the challenge last week on PROJECT RUNWAY.  I told them that a good friend of ours, Ricky Ritzel, used to play for Varla Jean and that I was lucky enough to see her perform a few years ago.  She’s pretty fabulous!  A few of the girls watch PROJECT RUNWAY and they were so excited.  They said, “Peppy!  You should write a book!  You’ve had so many different adventures!”  I said, “My mother always says the same thing!”

Actually, I’d love to write a book, but I know so many people whose lives are far more interesting than mine!  I guess I’ve just done a lot of different things, and had a few different careers.  I always try to think of life as a big adventure.  It’s my daring, devil-may-care, optimistic attitude that got us in our current trouble.  If I wasn’t so adventurous and didn’t want to move all the way across the country, Eric and I could be happy in our little house in Whitestone right this minute.  Okay, so I wouldn’t be totally happy, but at least he wouldn’t be totally miserable!

Actually, Eric really impressed me today.  He detailed the inside of the RV, so I could photograph it this afternoon.  We've wanted to put it up for sale for weeks, but he just couldn’t get his act together.  He finally cleaned it up and I photographed it.  Then, we went to Pacific Beach for sushi at HAIKU and then drove to Hillcrest for gelato. 

When we got back, Eric worked out (miracle of miracles) while I downloaded all the pictures and then we worked together to put an ad on CRAIGSLIST.  Then, I made a flyer, to put up at work.  I was all done and started blogging at about 9:20pm.  At 9:30pm Eric’s phone rang.  The ad had been on CRAIGSLIST for about 20 minutes and it was a guy calling about the RV!

Eric spoke to him and he wants to come tomorrow to see it and he’s bringing a cashier’s check!  The only problem is, we’re not sure if there’s going to be a problem, because the RV is registered in NY and the address on the title is our old house in Whitestone.  I don’t know how these things work.  Do you have to re-register a car and get a new title when you move?  If so, we’re screwed, because titles take WEEKS, if not MONTHS to come in the mail.

We decided Eric would get up early tomorrow and go to DMV (which is about a mile away).  He’ll ask them about the registration and the fact that we no longer live at the address listed on the title.  I can’t imagine it’s a problem, because people move all the time, but who knows?  We sell cars (and RVs) so infrequently.

Why is everything so complicated?  We were so happy that we got a call from a serious buyer so fast, but now it may be impossible to sell – even if we have a buyer!  We really should have sold the RV last fall – as soon as we got here, but we really weren’t sure we wouldn’t use it again.  Also, since we had a free parking space for it, there didn’t seem to be any urgency, because it wasn’t costing us anything.  Now, I wish we had sold it last year, because now he’s got to deal with this.  I’m glad that he’s doing it, instead of me!  I’ve got enough on my mind!

Let's all keep our fingers crossed (even though it makes typing SO difficult) that there are no problems and the RV is gone from the parking lot when I get home from work tomorrow.  Wouldn't that be nice?

So, there’s a lot going on – a lot going wrong.  I hesitate to even spill it all here, because I know you’re all feeling sorry for us already, and this is just going to put you over the edge, but – here goes!

First of all, Elsa and I were late to work today – and it was mostly my fault.  I called her last night at 10:30pm to tell her I had to go to DMV with Eric this morning, because we had to solve a problem with the title on the RV.  Then, Eric spoke to the guy who wants to buy the RV and he said we didn’t need to go to the DMV.  It was too late to call Elsa back, so I waited until this morning.  She was running late, thinking she didn’t have to come pick me up, but she did, so we didn’t get to work until about 8:30pm.

Not a big deal, but that’s not the problem!!

Okay – Problem #1.  Eric is able to take money from his annuity before retirement – tax free – in order to get reimbursed for medical expenses.  So, we were expecting a reimbursement for several months of our COBRA payments – and it was a big check.  The check never showed up.  I called the union on Monday and they told me the check was mailed on August 11th.  We just never got it!  So, the union said Eric had to mail a letter (which he did – last night) saying that he never got his check and to please investigate and put a stop on it, if it wasn’t cashed.  If it WAS cashed, he'll have to sign an affidavit that he never got it and he didn't cash it.  Nice, huh?

Problem #2.  Every Friday my temp agency mails my check and I always receive it on Monday.  Every Monday – except this Monday.  I never got my check.  I spoke to the agency this afternoon (Tuesday) and they said I have to call back on Thursday and if I haven’t received it they’ll put a stop on it and issue me another one. 

Pretty big coincidence, don’t you think?  Two of our checks disappearing?  I’d think someone was stealing our mail, except I’ve been getting other people’s mail a lot lately.  I think the mailman is just a total loser.  Just today we received three pieces of mail that belong to the people in #19.  The other day I received something that belongs to my next-door-neighbor – and it looked very official and very important.

I really don’t think if someone else in the complex accidentally got our checks that they would necessarily try to cash them.  I really don’t, but we’ll see if either of these checks were cashed.  Wouldn’t it just be our luck if someone had stolen our identities and was cashing our checks?   Wouldn’t that just be the icing on the cake?

Meanwhile, I had a problem with the mail delivery a few months ago, because a friend sent me a card and it was returned as “unable to deliver” just because she forgot to put the apartment number on it!  I went to the post office to complain and made a fuss and said I was afraid I wasn’t getting my mail, just because someone might have forgotten to put an apartment number on it.  Maybe the mailman got in trouble and now he’s stealing our checks, because he hates us!  Is that paranoid?  I can’t figure what else it could be!

On to Problem #3.  As you know, we decided to sell the RV.  We got a very interested buyer, who actually drove over 100 miles today to see it.  He’s owned two Chinooks before and has been looking for another one.  They don’t manufacture Chinooks anymore, so they’re only available used.  He loved it and wants to buy it.

Unfortunately, we’re having a problem with the title.  Being 3 hours behind and 3,000 miles away from the NY DMV, you can imagine our frustration in trying to get this resolved.  It will get resolved eventually, but it may take weeks – if not months – for us to get the new title and Eric will be in NY by then, and if this guy isn’t willing to wait, the selling of the RV will fall on my shoulders.  It’s not like I can’t handle a sale, but obviously Eric knows a lot more about it than I do and I can’t take them for a test drive!

So, there’s the top three problems of our day.  Doozies, eh?  Missing checks and problems with the NY DMV.  The good part is that Eric and I have been dealing with all these problems without fighting, and working as a real team.

I was really impressed by Eric today.  I know this was definitely enough aggravation to put him over the edge, but he’s calm, he’s helpful, and he’s taking charge.  I was SO stressed at work today and I was on the phone and on the computer trying to get this all figured out for at LEAST 2 hours.  He did a lot of the footwork, but my name is on the title, so they want ME to call, instead of him.  He did everything he possibly could – making calls left and right, but in the end neither of us was able to resolve it today.

I was apologizing to everyone I work with, because I had to go into my boss’ office to make some calls in the morning, and then when I went downstairs I went into an empty office and I was in there for a half hour! 

Tonight, when Elsa and I were walking to her car, she said, “I want you to put in for eight hours today, and I don’t want you to worry about it.”  It’s so funny that she said that, because it was like she read my mind.  I was actually thinking that I should only put in for 6 hours, because that’s about all I worked.  She said that I work through lunch all the time, and I’m never late or out sick, and she knows how responsible I am.

This group of people I’m working with are SO nice.  Thursday is my 7 month anniversary with the firm, but you have to realize I’ve worked with three different groups in that time, so it’s not like I’ve been with the same people that whole time.  Still, I’ve really made friends.  I really feel appreciated and liked and it’s great to know I've got people who care about me, even if we're just co-workers.

So, I’ve got another decorating job.  Okay, so I’m not charging, because they’re both friends at work, but at least it’s fun and takes my mind off my problems.  This guy who works with Bob (and is also a good friend at work) has a 3-floor townhouse and he’s been there for a year and he and his 2 cats haven’t done a thing.  He’s divorced and he just doesn’t know the first thing about decorating.  Enter Peppy!  I got him so excited about picking out colors for walls, furniture, and accessories that he was so happy when he left my desk this afternoon.  I told him we don’t have to worry about finishing Bob’s project first.  We can start the second while I’m still working on the first!

Bob is thrilled with all his paint colors, except the painter didn’t do a great job and you can see some of the flaws in the walls now that there’s a darker color on some walls.  It just kills me, because if Eric did the job the walls would have been PERFECT.  No one does a job like Eric.  He’s a perfectionist and is so thorough and neat.

So, here’s something funny.  Last night, I told Eric what Bob told me about the flaws in the walls.  I said, “Bob said that now that the paint is on the walls, you can really see the flaws.”  So, Eric said, “What’s wrong with the floors?”  His floors are in great shape!”  So, I said, “Not the FLOORS, the FLAWS!  The problem is – with my NY accent, they sound exactly the same!  Bob thought that was SO funny when I told him today!

So, Eric and I are nervous wrecks.  We want our money and we want to sell the RV, so we can have MORE money.  I wanted Eric to be able to take the RV money to NY, so he would have something put aside for all his expenses the first few months, in case he doesn’t find work right away.  It stinks that we won’t be able to do that.

It’s amazing how you can have bad days, when everything seems to be so bad you can’t imagine it getting any worse.  Then, there are better days, when you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Today was both.  It was so stressful and nerve-wracking and I felt sick every time I thought about it all, but I also felt better than I have in a while, because Eric handled all these problems so well and was so good about it all.

When I got home, we discussed everything and I tried to take a nap, but it just wasn’t happening.  Eric wanted to go out to eat (his favorite past time), but I just didn’t have an appetite or the energy.  So, I had a bowl of Cherrios and Eric had some salad and a NUTRISYSTEM soup.  We did some channel-surfing, because there wasn’t much on, and I blogged. 

Tomorrow the MAYFLOWER man is coming to see what Eric wants to take back to NY.  He’s going to ship a lot of his stuff and put it in storage until he gets a place.  I’ve always hated storage, because I think it’s just throwing your money away, but I guess there are some times when it’s a necessary evil.  His sister, Susan, has said he’s welcome to stay with her as long as he wants, but she doesn’t have any place for his stuff.  He thought about dividing it up amongst friends, but I told him he’d drive himself crazy that way and there’s a good storage place walking distance from Susan’s house in New Hyde Park, so he can just put everything there and if he needs anything he can go get it, and it will be safe until he gets his own place.

If it ends up staying there until I come back to NY, that’s okay, too.  What can you do?  Sometimes you have no choice but to spend money on stuff that’s not necessarily the smartest way to go, but Eric wants his stuff with him and doesn’t want to leave it all here.  I think it will make him happy to have access to his tools, his bicycles, and his stereo, etc., when and if he wants it.

So, as bad as things seem (and they are bad), we’re both hanging in there.  We’re not crying, we’re not crumbling, and we’re not taking it out on each other.  I think that’s pretty great, don’t you think?  How is it I always find the silver lining?  I have NO idea!

We both didn’t sleep well last night.  We both have a lot on our minds.  We both really haven’t slept well for months.  I always was a good sleeper.  Now, I have no trouble falling asleep, but I wake up at least an hour before the alarm goes off every morning and I start thinking about stuff and then I can’t fall back to sleep and I just lie there.  No fun.  No fun at all.

I got to work and jumped right into a project we’ve been working on for at least a month.  It’s a huge mailing that’s going out to a lot of clients and Financial Advisors and it’s so complicated.  I have populated spreadsheets 3 or 4 times already, culling information needed, and I did it again today.  We have the mailroom preparing the mail merge (thank goodness!), but I’ll have to stuff the envelopes, prepare the certified mail and return receipt slips, and anything else that needs to be done.

I wanted to finish the spreadsheet I was working on before I left to go down to HR, so I decided to work through lunch and stayed in KRM until 1:00pm.  I finished the project and the woman I work with was so appreciative.  I felt it was the least I could do, because I didn’t get much done yesterday, due to all the tsouris with the RV title.

I called Eric a little before 10:00am and he was having a really bad day.  He had spoken to the woman from whom we bought the RV and she is having the bank send an original Lien Release to the branch here in San Diego.  Then, Eric will pick it up and he has to mail it to DMV.  Why the bank wouldn’t do that, we’ll never know.  DMV requested an electronic copy, but the bank said no.  We have no idea why.  Anyway, it’s dragging it out, but there’s nothing else we can do.

Everything was really weighing on Eric and he’s already so depressed that it just put him over the edge.  He was so upset and he told me he doesn’t want to leave until the RV is sold, because he wants to take care of getting the title fixed, and wants to make sure it’s sold and everything’s taken care of.  He said he doesn’t want to go and leave me hanging.  I appreciate that and, to tell you the truth, I was very anxious about selling it on my own.  I just can’t answer the questions like he can, and I can’t drive it, and it just seemed like it would be complicated.

So, it looks like Eric is going to be around for another month, at least.  He was planning to leave within 2 weeks, and I was prepared for that happening, but I have to admit I’m a little relieved.  Life with him feeling the way he does is not easy, but he’s really trying and he’s thinking of me, which I understand and appreciate.

Anyway, I got down to HR at around 1:00pm.  Elsa had printed out all the resumes and had input a lot of them into the database.  I couldn’t believe it!  She appreciated that I was staying upstairs to help them, so she thought she’d help me out by getting a lot of my work done, so I wouldn’t be overwhelmed when I got downstairs.

She made it so much easier for me.  I actually got totally caught up today for the first time in weeks.  I just thought that was the sweetest thing – so considerate, so kind, and so thoughtful.  That’s just an example of what all the girls are like in HR.  What a team!

When I got home, Eric and I had a long, long talk and we both felt a lot better.  Then, we went across the street to RITE AID, because I had to pick up a few things.  We saw a pizza place that we’ve barely ever noticed and decided to go there for dinner.  It’s called MOUNTAIN MIKE’S and it’s actually really cute inside with lots of booths and a great salad bar.

They have a special – all you can eat pizza and salad bar for $7.99, which doesn’t include a drink.  We both got unsweetened iced tea and it came out to $19.80.  I don’t know if I necessarily ate my share, but Eric definitely got his money’s worth.  They had so many different kinds of pizza – barbcue,vegetarian, pineapple (which – surprisingly – Eric really liked!).  They cut them into small slices, and I had 3 which equals about one normal slice, with some salad and then I was stuffed.  Eric had about six slices – which probably equals 2 normal slices, and he had some salad bar, too.

I’m absolutely exhausted, so I’m blogging early and will go to bed right after PROJECT RUNWAY at 10:00pm.

I’m still cautiously optimistic.  I think Eric has a weight lifted off his shoulders knowing that he will be here to resolve the RV issue and get it sold.  I really respect the fact that he wants to do that for me, and I’m happy he’ll be staying longer than we thought.  Before, I was anxious for him to go to NY, because I felt that he would never be happy here, and he was just wasting his time (and mine) by staying here.  I realize he’s just not ready to go yet.  So, right now, we’ll just take it day by day.  There’s really nothing else we can do.  I really believe together we can get through anything.

One last thing -- we've had Conrad Birdie for about 2 months now and he's the quietest bird you've ever heard (or not heard).  So, tonight for some reason -- who knows why -- he starts tweeting and singing and chirping like there's no tomorrow.  It actually worried me, because it was so unlike him.  Eric thinks he's sick and he's chirping his last chirp.  I think it sounds wonderful.  He looks alright.  Who knows?  I think maybe this is a sign -- that things are going to turn around.  Isn't it weird how we both see the same thing, but Eric thinks Conrad's on his last leg, and I think he's finally happy!

From the second I got to work this morning, we were in “stress mode.”  I worked with the guy and girl on the team all morning, and when I left things were a big mess.  I stayed until 1:00pm again, working through lunch, but this job is just so complicated!  I did a lot of running around, going to the fulfillment center to pick up the printouts, labels, etc., as they were done, and I processed all the Certified Mail forms and Return Receipts for about 100 letters.

I offered to stay upstairs all day and then work downstairs tomorrow (because we’re only working ½ day), but she said she’d rather I go downstairs today and she’ll have me to help her finish up tomorrow morning.

So, at 1:00pm I went downstairs.  I had really worked up an appetite, so I got a bowl of turkey noodle soup in the cafeteria.  I ask for mostly broth, so I’ll just have a few noodles and a few pieces of turkey, but it’s mostly just delicious turkey broth, which is really good.  They make the soups fresh downstairs, with carrots and onions, too.  It’s really good!

I got a lot done in HR this afternoon.  It’s going to be dead in HR tomorrow, because at least 3 of the girls aren’t coming in, and I won’t be there, because I’ll be upstairs all morning.  I just hope we can get all these letters out tomorrow before we leave at noon!

Eric picked me up at 4:45pm and we went to our therapy appointment.  We discussed the fact that he’s still going to NY, but he’s going to put it off for a few weeks, so he can resolve the RV issue.  We now have another guy interested in buying it, which is really great.  So, if this first guy doesn’t pan out, at least we have other options.

Another issue is that Eric found out from the moving company that it will take at least 3 weeks (probably closer to 4) for his stuff to arrive in NY.  So, he’d rather stay here and live without his stuff and get to NY around the same time his things will arrive.  So, that’s the new plan.

After our session we went back to the STUDIO DINER.  I had a hankerin’ for another Crab Cake Sandwich.  Eric got the fish and chips.  It was the biggest piece of fish you ever saw – it extended over both sides of the plate!  He also got a root beer shake, which was root beer soda mixed with vanilla ice cream.  I hate root beer, so I didn’t have any.  I got a chocolate egg cream.  Everything was really good and we were stuffed.

When we got home, I had a box in the mail.  I couldn’t read the return address without my glasses, but it felt very light and I couldn’t imagine what it was.  Once inside, I grabbed my reading glasses and saw that it was from a dear friend in NY – Peppy Greenberg!  Now, some of you may know that I’m not the only Peppy Greenberg in the world, but to some this may be a big surprise.  I know!  How could that be?  I may be one in a million, but there are two of us – at least two that we know of!

Yes, her name is Peppy Greenberg and she’s been Peppy for a lot longer than I have!  She’s retired and lives in East Patchogue.  We first met a few years ago.  Someone she knew googled “Peppy Greenberg” and found me!  We corresponded via email for a while and then one day she showed up at my shop.  We had such a great time, talking about life as Peppy.  It’s funny, though, because she’s been called Peppy since she was a little girl, but for a completely different reason.  She told me she was always moving slow when she was a child, and her mother would chide her to move faster and say, “Come on, Peppy!  Let’s go!”  She called her Peppy kind of as a joke, because she wasn’t very peppy, but it stuck!

Like me, Greenberg is her married name.  I know, it’s an amazing coincidence – especially since she spells both names the same way I do.  My sisters even said we look alike, when I sent them this picture, which was taken when Peppy visited my shop several years ago.

We still email all the time, and she is just a breath of fresh air.  She’s happy, and peppy, and bursting with love.  She always has something positive and sweet to say, and she’s a really good friend.  Her emails are always filled with news of her active social life because where she lives there are always parties and get-togethers and there’s a pool where everybody hangs out, too.  I tell her she’s Peppy #1 and I’m Peppy #2, but she always says I’m #1!!!

Anyway, I’m sure you’re dying to know what she sent me!  Well, she read on my blog how frustrated I was that they stopped making decaf in the office.  She wrote me an email saying that I should try to find a Melitta Perfect Brew, which brews fresh coffee one cup at a time.  I looked for it at KEIL’S, but they didn’t have it.

Then, they started serving decaf in the cafeteria on the 4th floor, but it’s so bad I’ve been drinking the FOLGERS instant I bought, but – to tell you the truth – that’s pretty bad, too!  So, I’m going to buy myself some great beans and make a fresh cup brewed every morning with my new Melitta Perfect Brew – fresh brewed coffee one cup at a time.  I think it’s SO sweet that she went out and found this for me and sent it, along with a box of the coffee filters, so I’m all set to brew!

So, I do have another little bit of good news: The agency is cutting me a new check and I can pick up last week’s and this weeks’ tomorrow after work.  When I called up today, they told me that at least 5 people have called to say they didn’t get their check this week.  That made me feel better, because I knew it wasn’t just me.

Also, Eric spoke to the union and they’re reissuing his check.  The other one was never cashed, so we guess it was lost.  It’s a weird coincidence that both checks never showed up this week, but we’re hoping the next check the union sends arrives safely, because they won’t send it any other way but regular mail, and they won’t mail it to any address but our home address.  So, we just have to keep our fingers crossed!

Eric and I started watching TERMINATOR 3 while I worked on the computer.  Tomorrow I’m only working a half day.  I’ll be upstairs trying to get that big mailing finished before the long weekend.  This project has been in the works for almost 2 months and now it’s finally ready to be mailed, but there’s a deadline, so we’re really under the gun!

I’m really looking forward to having 3 ½ days off.  We’re probably going to Los Angeles on Saturday and will stay over at our cousins’ overnight.  It will be great to get away, if only for a day, and hang out with family.  This was a really crazy week and I’m really glad it’s almost over!  I’m ready for the holiday weekend to begin!

I got to work thinking I could be in for a crazy morning, but my co-worker had completed the entire project yesterday afternoon.  I could have kissed her!  I did a few things and then told her I was totally caught up and asked if there was anything I could do.  She said there really wasn’t anything and asked if I wanted to go down to HR for a few hours.  I wasn’t going to work in HR at all, because I was only working 4 hours today, but she thought it would be fair for me to work upstairs from 8-10, and down in HR from 10-12.  I agreed!

There were only a few girls in HR today – about 6 of the usual 10, but they were happy to see me!  I got a lot accomplished in the 2 hours I was there and felt it would make it easier when I got back on Tuesday.

Elsa dropped me off at about 1:00pm and I just dropped off the mail and we went right back out.  We went to the agency to pick up my two checks and I finally got to meet the laison between my agency and the firm.  She was very nice and very appreciative of the job I’ve done for the past 7 months.  We immediately drove to Citibank to deposit the checks and then drove to Pacific Beach to go to GRINGO’S CANTINA for lunch.

I had the shrimp burrito with the fish taco and Eric had the shrimp quesadilla, so we could share.  Everything was really good.  After lunch we headed back to Clairemont and Eric dropped me off at the shopping center to get a pedicure.  When my pedicure was over (and I was totally relaxed and read the entire HUGE fall issue of VOGUE) Eric picked me up and we went to see PINEAPPLE EXPRESS.  It was really funny.  There were only six of us in the whole theatre, and we were all laughing hysterically.  Seth Rogan is adorable and James Franco does a great job, too.  The whole cast is great – Gary Cole and Rosie Perez, amongst others.

It’s amazing that we’ve seen three movies in just a week.  We usually see three movies a year!  There are a few more we want to see: MAMA MIA (me more than Eric!), DISASTER MOVIE, and HAMLET 2.  We would have seen HAMLET 2 today, but the timing wasn’t right.

After the movie we came back home.  We were just relaxing in bed and my sister, Audrey, called.  She and I talked for over an hour, and Eric went into the other room to watch TV.

When I hung up with Audrey I came into the living room and we watched THE COLBERT REPORT and THE DAILY SHOW while I worked on the computer.  At 9:15pm we went into the bedroom to watch the new episode of MONK.

I’m excited to go to Los Angeles tomorrow to see our cousins.  It will be nice to get away for a day and Eric’s very excited to visit L.A.  He’s in the apartment so much and he’s happy to get out and socialize.

We will probably get back to SD on Sunday afternoon and we will probably go to Bob’s to check out his new paint job.  He is showing some friends the new house and he told us to come over, too, and he’ll order in a pizza.  He showed me some pictures of the paint job and they looked beautiful.  I’m anxious to see it “live and in person.”  Eric is going to check out the flaws Bob spoke of and told him that if they were really bad he could fix them and then Bob could just roll over it and it would be fine, because the paint was so fresh.

Eric said that’s the best time to fix the flaws – right after the paint goes on, because it makes them show up and you can fix them easily, because the paint is fresh and the new paint will just blend right in.  You can’t do that even after a few months, because the paint changes color after sitting on the walls for a while.

I love helping Bob decorate his house, and I’m looking forward to helping my other friend at work, too.  It’s amazing how intimidated people are by decorating choices.  They know what they like, but they’re too afraid it might be wrong, or it might not turn out the way they think.  I think you have to go for it, and if you end up hating it, you can always repaint, but most of the time it will be great!  Decorating is an adventure – just like life!

Oh -- by the way -- I am not bringing my laptop to L.A. and may not get a chance to blog Saturday night, so please be patient.  I'll catch up eventually!

If you look really closely, you can see the HOLLLYWOOD SIGN:

As Randy Newman sang:

Roll down the window, put down the top
Crank up the Beach Boys, baby
Don't let the music stop
We're gonna ride it 'til we just can't ride it no more
From the South Bay to the Valley
From the West Side to the East Side
Everybody's very happy
'Cause the sun is shining all the time
Looks like another perfect day
I love L.A. (We love it)
I love L.A. (We love it)
We love it

We had a great weekend in L.A.  We got a little bit of a late start, because we had to hit the bank and get gas, but we finally got on the road a little before 11:00am.  We figured we’d be in L.A. by 1:00pm or 1:30pm, but we hit traffic (due to an accident on I-5 going North), so that slowed us down.  By the time we got there, grabbed a fast bite, and stopped at STARBUCKS (of course), it was almost 2:00pm.  We got to our cousins’, said hello to everyone and then Eric stayed behind with Kyle and all the kids, and I jumped in the car with Ilene and Karen and we went to pick up Ilene’s friend, Stephanie.

They had an adventure planned for us.  Ilene’s son is getting Bar Mitzvahed in December and they’re starting to plan the décor.  Stephanie is helping Ilene with the table arrangements.  The theme is a “winter wonderland,” and they took us to a huge warehouse downtown called MOSKATELL’S.  They have decorations for every season, every occasion, and everything else you can possibly think of.  There are tons of art supplies, too.  We were wandering up and down every aisle and Stephanie was putting together a prototype centerpiece with a clear glass vase and lots of interesting décor in sparkly silver and white.  I could see she has great taste and made her promise to email me a picture when she’s got it together, so I can see the final result.

After she made all her purchases, they took me on a great tour of L.A., showing me a lot of great tourist spots.  It was a lot of fun.  Then, we stopped at STARBUCKS again, on the way home.

When we got back to Ilene's house, we pretty much turned around AGAIN and got back in the car to go to dinner at The Farmer’s Market with the whole family.  It was a great choice, because they have over 100 shops, restaurants and grocers.  Everyone was able to get exactly what they wanted.  It was Ilene and her husband and their 3 kids, Karen and her husband and their 2 kids, and me and Eric.  Almost each of us got food from a different vendor – sushi, pizza, sandwiches, churrascaria, cajun, etc.  We all sat together, but ate whatever appealed to us.  I had sushi, which was really delicious!

After dinner, everyone sat around and talked, but Ilene and I took her daughter to the AMERICAN GIRL store in THE GROVE mall, which is right next door.  Those dolls are so fabulous.  When I was little I would have LOVED these dolls.  The outfits are so cute, and the accessories are amazing.  We helped Elise pick out something special and she got accessories for a little dog that goes with the dolls.

Here's Elise with Coconut! 

When we got back to the group we went over to another vendor who made fabulous crepes.  We got nutella crepes and banana and Hershey’s chocolate crepes and sat down and enjoyed it all.

Then, we went to a place called STICKER PLANET.  Every wall was filled floor to ceiling with every sticker you can imagine – except they had no Betty Boop.  Can you imagine?  How could that possibly be?  I DID see lots of Betty Boop stuff in one shop, which I photographed, so you could see how fabulous it was!

We finally drove back to Ilene’s house, but Karen and her family went home.  AFRICAN QUEEN was on TURNER MOVIE CLASSICS and we watched the last half hour.  I was sitting there wishing it was THE RAINMAKER, because I LOVE that movie, and when AFRICAN QUEEN was over, they announced that THE RAINMAKER would be coming on next!  I was so happy!  I told everyone that I had done the play at Queen’s College when I was a teenager and I played Lizzie, the part Katherine Hepburn played in the movie.  My friend, Joe, who we are seeing for breakfast tomorrow, played my father.  What a coincidence!

Eric and I settled in to watch the movie, but Ilene was busy on the computer, her daughter was fast asleep, and her husband was watching TV in his bedroom.   The boys were interested in the movie and watched it with us.  They were so great, because they really got into it and Evan was asking lots of great questions, which really made sense.  I could see he was really thinking about the story.  He’s so smart, and he understood what was happening, even though it’s a pretty deep movie.

I was kind of obnoxious, because I was remembering lines and would say it before they said it, which could drive someone crazy, but they were pretty patient with me!  It’s really amazing how true to the play they kept the movie, and how much I remembered -- considering I did the play over 30 years ago!  There are scenes that are line-for-line exactly like the play.  The adaptation was beautifully done.

After the movie was over, everyone went to sleep.  We were on a super-comfy sofa bed in the living room and I slept like a baby.  It was such a great day with family and we really enjoyed every minute!  Ilene and Kyle are great hosts and made us feel completely at home.  It was a pleasure to spend time with all the cousins and we really had fun.

We got up around 8:00am and I hung out and talked to Ilene for a while, before jumping in the shower.  We left a little after 9:00am, because we had plans to meet Joe at his apartment at 9:30am.  We were going to a great breakfast place called THE ALCOVE Café and Bakery with Joe and Miguel.

The place was great.  Lots of tables outside with big umbrellas.  Inside, you placed your order, and took a number, which you placed on the table.  They brought your food out to you. 

I had crab cakes benedict, with spinach.  It also had a lovely arrangement of fresh fruit on the side.  Eric had the “country breakfast” with pancakes and eggs.  Joe had an omelet and Miguel had some sort of pannini sandwich.  Everything was delicious.  We sat outside, under an umbrella and it was a gorgeous, sunny yet breezy morning in L.A.

There's never a lull in the conversation with Joe and Miguel and Eric and I had a great time, as usual.  Our meal was over too soon, and we had to get back to San Diego.  After breakfast the boys left us to run errands and we headed back to I-5.  Unfortunately, we hit a lot of traffic.  As usual, I fell asleep and Eric got us safely back to SD.  It was after 3:00pm by the time we got back!  We came upstairs and relaxed for a while.  I napped, but Eric just rested.

Then we took showers and headed back out to go to our friend, Bob’s.  Although he hasn’t officially moved into his new house yet, he was having some friends over and we were invited to join them.  We were anxious to see how the paint job came out, and some construction I had designed, but were also looking forward to the first party at his new place!

We stopped at a supermarket close by and brought crudite and dip, 2 kinds of chips, salsa and a cheese dip.  I got STARBUCKS (for a change) and we headed over to Bob’s.

He had another couple over, with their 4-year-old son and 4-month-old son, both of whom were adorable, sweet and beautiful.  I got to hold the baby a lot, and fed him a bottle, so of course I was in heaven.

We had lots of snacks, then ordered in a pizza, and sat outside on the patio in his backyard and enjoyed the view he has of the golf course.  We talked and laughed and enjoyed their company.

Then, his friend brought out a bottle of champagne and we toasted to Bob’s new house.  It was really sweet.  It’s such a great house, and the paint job looks beautiful, and all the work he's had done looks fabulous, and we know he’s going to be really happy there.  We talked about more ideas I have, and Bob has, and what he’s going to do next.  The place is really starting to look like home and he didn’t even move his furniture in yet!

There were some cabinets in the dining room area of the big open great room.  They might have been functional, but they were nothing to look at.  I asked Bob if he really needed that storage, and he admitted that he probably didn't, so I suggested that he knock them out and put in some decorative shelves for artwork and barware.  He loved the idea!

Cabinets before:

Shelves after:

The guy who installed the shelves did a great job.  There are lights under the granite shelves, which shine through the glass shelves.  He also did a great faux finish on the back, combining the colors of paint used in the dining room/living room.  There's a little touch-up to be done and some more trim needs to be added.

Here's what's living right outside Bob's front door.  The web was about 6 feet across.  It is SCARY looking!!!!!

We left a little before 10:00pm and when we got home I immediately started blogging while Eric watched COMEDY CENTRAL in the bedroom.  I could hear him watching stand-up comics. 

Unfortunately, we have a lot of running around to do tomorrow.  Because we were away all weekend, we need to do laundry, food shopping and a trip to COSTCO!  It will be a busy day, but at least I can sleep in!