Presents

The bag is my present to myself.  I'm on a tight budget but my old bag is totally falling apart, so I'm considering it a necessary expense.  You can find it at Fossil.com, but is no longer sold in stores since it was put on sale and they "don't sell sales items."  Which seems like the dumbest thing in the world to me and resulted in my wasting 2 hours of my day trying to buy it in the real world, to no avail.  They're lucky I really wanted it because the whole thing was seriously annoying.

The sweater I'm wearing is one of the presents my beau got me, and goes all the way to my knees.  It's soft and warm and I've been wearing it out as my coat.  Considering that several items of my wardrobe were borrowed to use as prop costuming for a homeless character in a film I was working on (you know you need new clothes when yours are considered perfectly homeless looking), I'm feeling pretty good about my new items.

Cats...part deux

I love it when my cats climb under the covers with me and flop onto my feet.  Cute and warming.

I hate (though I find it amusing despite myself) when the cats repeatedly do what I have yelled at them not to.  Especially when I'm too lazy to get up to stop them so yelling is as far as it goes.  I fear the neighbors think I'm horrible and abusing because all they hear is "No! Stop! Bad!" from my apartment at all hours.

Below: She's getting a bit fat...still super cute though. You can tell she resents being lumped in as a troublemaker along with Guinness (the more frequently bad one).  She enables though.  And is more stubborn about her disobedience.

Weird Thanksgiving

I spent Thanksgiving with my boyfriend, in the house of a stranger, at the invitation of a casual acquaintance.  Who ditched us about 45 minutes into the dinner to go feed someone's cat after hugging and cheek-kissing me like five times.  It was a little strange and awkward.  Not that I don't appreciate the invite.  But there was NO MASHED POTATO!!!  The only reason I didn't bring any (I brought wild rice, green beans, pecan pie* and home made bread) was that it seemed like such a staple that of course it would be there. And while there were 10 pies and 3 turkeys, no one thought to bring any kind of potato dish.  And being that I'm a little bit of a holiday food dictator, the lack of mashed potatoes hit hard.

While grateful for the invitation, it was a relief to say bye to everyone and retreat to my place to watch Hancock with the boy (He gave it three stars, I gave it four).  A little light hearted witty action movie action was just what was needed, especially when we incorporated a drinking game into the action (he threw a car! Drink! Shoved a head up an ass! Drink!).

I have left over wild rice and green beans I'm eating today, but am still mourning the mashed potatoes.

Christmas will not be left to chance like that. The preparations start now.

*Pecan pie was super easy to make and turned out sooooooo goooood.  I can't find the recipe I used but it was (about) 3 beaten eggs, 3/4 cups corn syrup, 3/4 cup white sugar, pie crust, 1 cup pecans, pinch salt and teaspoon vanilla.  Pecans pre-toasted 5 minutes, pie crust precooked for five minutes.  Everything else mixed up (including pecans) and poured into the pie crust and baked at 350 for 45 minutes.  If I've forgotten something, sorry!

Apartment living

I love my little shoebox.  It is small but it's cozy and filled with books and purring cats.  I have piles of quilts on my bed and papers scattered everywhere.  I also generally have dishes in the sink but they are the result of the warm, good food I cook.  I wish I was a bit neater and could keep up with the place better, but shoes scattered around and empty glasses aren't the end of the world.  In the end it is mine.  My little apartment to retreat to and relax in, to clean or not to clean (usually not, but I'm getting better).  And while there are probably bigger and better apartments in my future, I hope, and they may not be mine alone this will always be my first solo apartment.

Ska-P

This song is an old favorite, and I don't think many people know about it, so here it is.  Enjoy.

Exploring

So I've been in my new neighborhood for a couple months now (side note: I just recently figured out what neighborhood I actually live in [Kensington], and by figured out I mean had to have someone else tell me), so it seemed time to explore my neighborhood a little bit, food wise. Rather then actually leave my house to do so however, my BF and I ordered sushi takeout.  It was pretty much as you'd expect, cheap and mediocre.  It looked a bit like the sushi my brother and I made when he visited. This is not a compliment to the restaurant as neither of us are sushi chefs. It could have been worse though.  It is nice to crave sushi, and thirty minutes later there it is like magic.  And they take credit card. As I am kind of cash averse I like a place that will take credit cards.  Plus, no cleanup.  I wish I'd taken a picture for the blog (looking a little monotone lately) but it wouldn't have been that amazing. Think grocery store sushi.

Next on the list: Thai takeout.

Birthday!

It's my birthday today and I am torn between a small bit of sadness that I have not yet accomplished what I thought I would at this age (career wise, family wise, money wise) and excitement because, let's face it, birthdays are awesome.  I'm 26 today, in case anyone was wondering.  I don't want to become one of those people who dread their birthdays.  They always seemed a bit ridiculous to me - like, what's not to love about presents and cake?

I just hope this year  I can take some of those big steps towards having a really established career and put some money away in the bank.  My bf and I have talked about wanting to try to buy a little apartment for ourselves in the next few years, and that would be really nice too.  I'd love, by the time I'm 30, for things to be more settled. And maybe even a kid by then - I don't want one RIGHT now, but I don't want to be in the older maternal age catagory by the time I have kids either.  Everything else aside, it's not looking like I'll have a ton of money for fertility treatments if I go the celebrity route and wait until 40. And career. Oh career.  I hope I end up with a good one.

HowEVER, actually, the main thing is the cake and presents today.  No more deep thoughts.  I already have gotten some awesome gifts from my boyfriend.  He got me a bunch of clothing from United Colors of Benetton and I feel very pretty in them.  The cake is yet to come, and I look forward to it.

And then, Thanksgiving, which I always love because I am a glutton.  I'll let you guys know how that goes.

Weight

I've been working on a film.  I'm not going to get into that, except to say that the folders I carry around every day all day, in the rain as we stand outside shooting and held in my lap as we go place to place in the van, weigh 25 pounds.  I need to buy a new bag - the old one makes my back hurt with all this extra responsibility in it.  Either that or I need to learn how to downsize.

Being the boss sucks

I'm trying to learn how not to care whether or not the people who I'm in charge of like me. It's hard. Especially when I think they're wrong, but don't dislike them.  Ugh.

Working hard is hard work

I've been working my ass off the past little bit, and while I am very proud of myself for doing it, I am also very tired. Very tired.  So tired I went to a party a few days ago and fell asleep on the couch. Less than an hour after arriving. And I didn't wake up until everyone was gone and my boyfriend and I were very politely kicked out.

The past couple of days have been catch up days for me, just sleeping 11, 12 hours a night.  The project I've been working on, on which I have learned a lot, has really been sucking up all my time and energy.  And while there are definitely things I would do differently the 2nd time around, that's kind of the point - I'm learning.  And it is a huge thing for me to be able to have this new, better credit to put on my resume.

In exchange I've kind of neglected every other aspect of my life, from my boyfriend to my apartment to all my other personal relationships. The boyfriend stepped up to the plate and was supportive. The apartment...well, it's going to take a few days of deep cleaning before it forgives me.  My cats have been even clingier then usual the past couple days, probably just relieved that the big warm thing they can flop onto is back.  It's no fun getting to break things when there is no one to yell at you for it.  My friends have been benevolently ignored, but took it in stride.

I just hope it all pays off. You never know when you take a job whether it will really springboard you or whether it just...won't.  And I hope it does, because my 26th birthday is just around the corner and I want my career to be a little bit more settled as I get into my late 20s.  None of this floating around I have unwillingly been doing.

I will also say that the people I've met on this film are absolutely great and I would hire/be hired by them again in a minute.  I have really learned a ton and while there is plenty more to learn I feel way more qualified to do this again, and way more over qualified to do regular PA work, then I did just a few weeks ago.  So the three and four hour a night sleeps have been worth it. I think. I hope.

Blah.

I want to write but I have nothing to write about. Or do, but for some reason it doesn't come out.  Farmville is easier, but not really what I want to remember when I look back on my life.  Updates soon.

Hello Strangers

Long time so no see (do people even say that anymore?).  I've actually been fairly busy lately, though not too busy for a nice lunch date with friends.  I have to say this particular friend has the best food at her parties.  I'll be back to posting more often soon, since I miss writing. It's a nice way to document my life, for myself and whoever else might care.  See you soon!

Rest

I am lying in bed, leisurely checking my e-mail and enjoying not being busy. I'm going to be going later to a friend's house to watch the last NYC Marathon stragglers struggle by.  I'd like to run a marathon one day, but on this day I'm going to be snacking on fruit and cider while they chug by, and that is completely ok by me. I had a nice, easy Halloween (I decided to forgo the top hat, it didn't really go with the James Bond theme) and had my martinis.  Today I'm going to get some paperwork done and just take it easy.