reactions

it's safe to say that my response to learning that i would be laid off in three months falls into either the 'absolute denial' or 'absolute faith' category. i'm not sure which yet, and maybe a little of both.

on the one hand, i know with certainty that this job, this company, and these co-workers were meant to be a part of my experience here. since the end of this chapter comes not at the tip of my own pen, i can only assume that it's conclusion was also meant.

as my commenting friends pointed out, i am lucky. most people don't get the kind of warning i've gotten, and i'm grateful for that.

on the other hand, another job search. job searches are exhausting. they test your endurance, your ability to please, and yes, even your self-worth. and i just did this. in fact, i was doing this 6 months ago. now i am doing it again? i know that for two years i was desperate for change. i know i sort of asked for it. but come on! isn't this over-correcting a little bit?

upon learning the news that my guaranteed income was no longer guaranteed, i did what any self-respecting red-blooded american would do. i went shopping.

not just any kind of shopping, but camera shopping, mind you.

a couple of years ago i owned a sony point and shoot. i hated everything about it and swore that i would never buy sony agan. fast forward to february '08 and my last camera has had it's final farewell. i am so lured in by a touchscreen, and on camera red eye fixing, and 5x optical zoom, that i barely notice the large chunk of change i'm laying out, is for a sony.

well my friends, me and that sony have had quite the love hate relationship. mostly hate actually. the biggest problem is that the pictures are awful. i have to do a lot of photoshopping to get semi-decent quality pics. and i am far from being a photoshop wiz.

so it was time for a new camera and a smarter choice. i am absolutely thrilled with my new purchase...particularly the custom self-timer. if you've ever posed for a self-portrait with me, you'll know how long that 10 second timer lasts. but now, i can set the timer from 1 - 30 seconds, and to take 1 - 10 shots. 10 seconds just got a lot shorter, folks!

after the new purchase, i did some number crunching and determined that i should be able to sell my sony and it's acoutrements, for enough to cover the cost of the new camera. so, basically, i just got a free camera and it's way cooler than my expensive one.

good timing too, as the weekend is chock full of activities!

it's official

though i knew it was possible, i hoped it wouldn't come to this..i am officially being laid off in september.

so, anyone looking for an event planner in california (and i might consider oregon), let me know :(

saturday

Sadie (the bike) and Aynsley (the blonde) and I spent some time together today. It was nothing short of idyllic. Mid 70's with a perfectly soft breeze blowing, and the pause for ice cream cones did not hurt one bit. It was surprising to ride past the Christian rock concert at the base of the pier--but that is one of the things that makes Huntington so interesting. Should make for an entertaining summer!

So, here are my random questions for the day, inspired, no doubt, by today's bicycle adventure:

1. What would your 'perfect' vacation be? Would it be somewhere tropical, somewhere 'historical', somewhere another language is spoken? What kind of activities would make it perfect? Lounging around, seeing sights--what kind of sights? Who would be with you on your perfect vacation?

2. What are the top 10 songs on your (possibly) currently non-existent summer playlist?

3. What is your favorite way to spend time outside?

the difficult thing about having a life is blogging about having a life! as a result, you are going to have to make do with summaries instead of novellas.

1. the visit (sounds like a weird horror movie title, doesn’t it?)
it’s safe to say that the visit did not go exactly as planned. i plan for perfection after all, and perfection isn’t reality. between lack of sleep, actual physical illness (his), timing issues (mine), and too serious conversations, the weekend was slightly challenging. that being said, it was also really great. we visited the wild animal park in san diego

had dinner with my old bishop and his wife,

gave the cousins a chance to grill him at sunday dinner, rode awesome rides at magic mountain,

and enjoyed the beach.

on a sidenote: emily, trish, amy, and the few others i’m sure i’m forgetting at this very moment – rich and billye send their love. i gave them all the updates i could!)

i feel lucky to have met such a great guy, and am excited to see what the future holds! it was hard to say goodbye, but i should be in portland again at the end of the month, so somehow, i’ll make due.

2. the shower
last night was my boss’ baby shower, so after work i headed to holly and charity’s for the shindig. they live out on balboa island, which though close to me, is unexplored territory. it was absolutely darling, and i will definitely have to go back one of these weekends to pop into all of the cute little shops. there is so much adventuring i have yet to do and hopefully some exciting news (see #3) may motivate me a little (or a lot) more.

being completely honest here, i kind of hate showers of any sort, but there were great people and great food. it was a pleasant surprise to have such a good time! i genuinely enjoy my co-workers and it was fun to interact with them in a different environment.

on top of that, i saw something at the house that i must have. it’s a sign similar to the one below:

so so true.

3. import friends
a couple of months ago deb was seriously talking about moving to california. i had to keep that on the dl as she worked through things, and ultimately, for the moment, she has decided to stay put in ny :( but, while she was processing and planning, she tried to talk one of her new york friends, into moving out here.

i’ve known mehaela for many years through deb, and through some other common acquaintances , and she is absolutely fantastic. well, unbeknownst to me, she is originally from the area (well originally from romania, but whatever), and though she never anticipated or planned on leaving new york, deb was so persuasive (she’s regretting it now!), that mehaela is moving here in july. and not just ‘here’, but huntington. we’ll be in the same ward, and i will finally have someone to go explore with! i actually feel really badly for deb. this means her two closest friends will not just be living on the other side of the country, but in the same city as one another. life is both strange and wonderful sometimes!

4. ticket to ride
i finally bought tickets for ‘pageant of the masters’ and i couldn’t be more excited. if you are already wondering (i’m sure you are) what i would be doing for my birthday, on august 27, now you know. i will be watching people pretend to be art through binoculars in laguna beach. how seriously cool is that?

i also bought tickets for joshua radin, and i will be celebrating my pre-birthday weekend (august 23rd) with him. though i’ve been obsessed for a long long time, i managed to miss him every time he played baltimore (which for some reason, was a lot). unfortunately, he doesn't play here as frequently (this is the first time that i know of), so i have been vigilant in watching and waiting. i will finally see him live, and i have a couple months to figure out how to kidnap him, and put him in a box where every time i open the lid, he sings lovely tonight, or sky, or fear you won’t fall. he doesn't even have to spin in place while he sings. aren't i generous?


5. anniebean...
...will be here in just over a week. ‘nuff said!

holiday recap

when the house is empty, what is there to do, but invite four kids over for a slumber party?

i picked up the d4 on sunday night, and after some bike shuffling, some rack stacking, and some glazed looks, it was finally determined that i would take jenny's van, loaded with bikes, back to my place for the adventures to come.

first things first though, upon arriving back at my place, the kids crawled in to pajamas and followed me to the back patio where we lit a fire in the pit and toasted marshmallows for smores.

the girls get excited

brad eats fire

after smores, it was time for

hide

and seek

but before the kids could fall asleep, they absolutely demanded that we take group self-portraits. and when children demand, i'm inclined to oblige.


much to their mother's chagrin, we finally called it a night at about 11 or so.

and despite the late bedtime hour, there was no rest for the weary cousin/aunt. although they let me sleep until 8 (i had been up much later than 11), it still felt just a wee bit early.

nonetheless, after a quick shower i found that the blankets and bedding had all been folded and put away, and we could get on with our day. first stop? les pancakes internacional. or 'ihop' as it is referred to by the common folk.

brad makes a pretty good paparazzi

though it had started as a cloudy say, by the time we got back to the house, the one pocketful of sunshine to grace orange county on the holiday was emptied onto us! and that meant one thing. bike ride!

just your average beach house garage

after our ride, we dropped the bikes back at the house, and headed to newport to enjoy the beach and the water.





though i was diligent about keeping the kids sunscreened up, i may have forgotten to be quite as attentive to my own skin. the result was not just a nasty sunburn, but a bout of sun poisoning! the kind that makes you nauseous on top of the searing pain through your back and shoulders. yeah. that kind.

but, that was a small price to pay for the laughs and sunshine and time spent with the kids. i do love a holiday. and i loved that this one put me that much closer to a visit from my favorite man. 35ish hours and counting!

check out the rest of the weekend pics here.