Second Summer Vacation

Again...Im a little behind on updating this blog, but i think its okay as I think Lauren and Blake are the only ones left reading it. :DSo for my audience of two...this is what you're missing by not living on the east coast.

Well, Lauren was here for a visit a few weeks ago and we had a blast! It was so much fun hanging out with her, it almost felt like our friendship was rekindled a little bit, like we had forgotton how much fun we have hanging out together all the time. We drank a little too much the second night she was here, and spent the whole next day paying for it...ugh! The night before was a blast! (at least from what I can remember) but the next day I was literally in bed all day long throwing up - it was awful! I had never been that sick before! I think as I get older alcohol doesnt like me as much as it use to... We then spent time in Manhattan, with Kristin, Anne Louise, and spent lots of time shopping. Woo...I have been slowly updating my wardrobe and so it was fun to tackle that while Lauren was here! All in all, it was awesome to spend that much time with one of my best friends, especially now that I live on the east coast.
The weekend after she left I went out to Virginia to spend the 4th of July with my uncle Brian, and goodness we also had a blast! The first night we were up till 4am drinking and catching up. And just like last time, I was sick almost all day long! ugh! I was neasous all day long during the next day.

Needless to say, I didnt drink very much the rest of the trip, and I havent really had an adult beverage since...I am now terrified of feeling that way again, gross! Anyways...My uncle and I spent the second day at Gettysburgh, PA (which is apparently 30 minutes away from Kristin's house, and we drove by were Christine went to undergrad in Maryland). Yup, I was in 3 different states in one day: Virginia, Maryland, and Pennslyvania, thats right, I am pretty bad-ass! Anyways, Gettysburgh, awesome! We walked around the fields for around 5 hours!

We saw where the main battle took place, called Picketts charge (and where the south ultimately lost- so sad, boo-hoo --> sarcasm!),

we went to a few of the houses that were taken over by the Union army during their stay in Gettysburgh. We went to the cemetary, where I might add they were still burying bodies for months after the battle, AND, one of the only women involved in running the cemetary and burying the bodies - did so up until 9 months of pregnancy! crazy! There is a bronze statue to her in the cemetary. We saw where Lincoln delivered his address (you know which one!), and then ventured into downtown Gettysburgh. There I bought souveniors for Blake and we saw reenactors all over the place! In one of the gift shops we even saw a creepy scary guy yell at the clerk because of his lack of communication and clarity in what he wanted, it was OF COURSE her fault. People are really annoying! and I felt bad for the clerk, I almost chewed this guy out - with his stupid glasses, bald head, eagles t-shirt, and big belly! gross! Then we drove to the Confederate side (of Picketts charge) and visited the Virginia memorial. Brian tried to tak

e pictures but there were these two individuals chain-smoking on the steps of the memorial. I think I made a crack about how the reds were still alive and well, and gestured to them sitting there, oblivious to the fact that people wanted to take pictures. ugh! how rude! Anyways, we were beat and left, on a journey to find food in Leesburgh, VA. The next few days we rested, watched the movie Gettysburgh, ate, and drank a little (I could only stomache a beer at a time, yuck!)

On the 4th after a day of relaxing, we bought some watermelon, portobello mushrooms, and other veggies, and a case or two of Sam Adams beer to ring in the 4th proper like! After stuffing ourselves, and playing with the neighboorhood children (his dog Sarah loves this!) we went across the street to see fireworks. 20 minutes later we were on our way home - talk about minimal effort and a quick show, perfect for my taste, as I am not too fond of fireworks (an ostentatious reminder of how we destroy our environment), I was in bed, ready to go back home to NY to start my educational adventures of the summer!
Brian and I drove into DC, had lunch, and wandered around the Tacomic a little bit, before getting on my long ass train ride back to NY. Phew...Summer vacation is almost over :(

But on the good side, my FIANCE, will be here in two weeks! I can't wait, I miss him so much! and now that his ear isnt bothering him, we will have tons of fun in New York!

Summer Vacation

hehe....do you all remember when you were a little kid and one of the first things your teachers would ask when you came back to school in the fall was about your summer vacation? aww the memories. Well I am here to tell you about my small summer vacation in California...well, the summer isnt over yet, but I am back to work, and in July I start working on my thesis, so I had a little fun and a nice break before the craziness starts all over again...
I was in California for two weeks and had an amazing time, I think this was my favorite trip to California so far. I flew in on June 1st and Blake (of course) pick me up at the airport. Funny story: for weeks Blake had been planning a special picnic for me at the beach, he picked out the food, the location, the drinks, and had a special surprise for me too! But he was suppose to pick up the food at 11:30am, my plane was suppose to land at 11:27, so perfect right? He picks up the food, and heads to the airport just as I am getting off the plane and picking up my baggage. Ha! my plane was 40 minutes early!! I think he was still cleaning his room when I called him from my plane. hehe. My poor darling, he was bummed that the surprise was ruined. Instead of all the pieces of the picnic waiting in his trunk to surprise me, we had to make a stop to pick up the food before heading out to the beach. Even so, I had a great time guessing the food all the way to the restaurant (and I guessed correctly btw!) The food was my favorite meal from Roma D'Italia, the penne arabiatta with warm rolls and champagne. We went to the Wedge in Newport Beach for our picnic (which is where we had one of our first dates, and where we took our favorite pic of us, oh! and it was also this night that Blake lost his new cell phone cause we were making out in the sand, oops!). After Blake set everything up, the blanket, food, champagne, next was his surprise for me! And as most of you now know, it was an engagement ring. He pulled out the ring box, and immediately I began to shake, he was shaking too while he held it out to me and proposed. Honestly I cannot remember what he said, or what I said - and I think it took 3 times of him telling me the story of the ring before I remembered it, I was so nervous, and so was he. Of course I said yes, as I cannot imagine being with anyone else for the rest of my life. We kissed, hugged, and cried a little. I scarfed down my food, I was starving!! But Blake barely touched his food (I think it was the nerves from proposing, I mean its not everyday that someone proposes) and then off we were back to his house to decompress, shower, and unpack. We then had dinner with my grandma, Mother, Shannon & Andrew, and his parents, at the Cheesecake Factory (which btw gives you free ice cream when you get engaged). What a glorious first day in California.

The next few days were a blur....Blake had to do 3 overnighters at Borders so I was busy attempting to see those that I loved. Tuesday I hung out with Lauren in LA, which was awesome!! We talked for about 2 hours, dranks some beers, caught up with each other and discussed wedding plans. Wednesday I hung out with my family a little bit, then off to drink beers till dawn with Shane and Dina, awww....so much fun!! Thursday Dina and I (after our slow beginning - and hangover) went to Veggie Panda Wok in Upland for some tasty treats!! holy crap this place is great, although it has a different name now, so if you want to go there, I can give directions not a name. Dina's bday was Friday, so it was aw4esome to be able to hang out with her for most of the day on Thursday so that she could spend all day on Friday with her hubby, James. Friday, Blake and I went out for drinks and celebration with his friends on Friday, which again was awesome! And lemme tell you, we went to Silky's in Fontana, and they have AMAZING cheese fries, in case you were wondering!! Saturday, was Dan's bday party in Rialto - which was fun, although I only knew a few people there, the food was tasty, and I was with my family, and almost made my mom cry (after she read the card from me and Blake she teared up :D) Sunday, we relaxed, phew, it was a busy week! Monday Blake and I met up with Nick and Iesha (friends from Borders, and amazing people) for lunch at a bar and they are getting married in September, so I think I will be back in September for a weekend, fyi...After the bar Blake had to go to work :( but I went to happy hour with Nick and Iesha and had such a great time with them!! Those two are awesome, and so much fun!! After happy hour, they dropped me off at Blakes, but since I wanted to hang out still, I invited Blakes twin, Brad to the bar which we stayed at until midnight, when Blake had to pick me up, cause we were both drunk. :) When Blake got there I was lecturing two a-holes who thought they were smooth enough to pick up any girl they wanted, gross, they were wrong, and I thought I should tell them that. (eh, you know how I get at bars....)

Wednesday through Friday Blake and I were at my moms in Rialto relaxing and having fun. We went to the dog park, made home-made pizza, went out to lunches, watched movies, made pancakes, and a whole bunch of other yummy foods. Thursday night Shane and his new friend Amanda came over for a BBQ, and we ate, and played Apples to Apples all night - talk about the laughs!! That was a great night! Friday, we went down to Temecula to have lunch with Angela and Steve, then wine tasting all afternoon. The plan was only to hit up 1-2 wineries, but after 1 we were hooked (it was the first time for all of us). We ended up going to 3 different wineries. The first was the most fun, we bonded with the wine tender (?), the second place we tasted wine with cheese! awesome! And the third place we tasted 9 different wines and had a complimentary olive oil tasting. Oh My Goodness! I loved every minute! I even got chastised for eating all of my bread and oil as we were sampling the olive oil. :D it was so good! Needless to say, Blake and I spent too much money on wine and olive oil.

My last weekend there was nice, albeit sad. We had dinner with Shannon and Andrew on Friday night and say the best movie afterwards, Away We Go, which made me think of my relationship with Blake the whole time (and he did too!), and by the end I was almost sobbing (I didnt want to go back to NY). Saturday, we vegged out all day, recouping from all our adventures. That night we had adult ice cream (yes, the ice cream had alcohol in it! we got carded and everything!), and went back to his house to have a quiet night cuddling, crying and eventually making a trip to Del Taco so I could get an egg and cheese burrito (my fav!). Sunday, we had breakfast with my grandma then back to his house to finish packing, cuddling, and crying.

He dropped me off at the airport at 1pm and after a tearful goodbye, I got in line to check my bag. The airline attendant asked me, "well miss, are you travelling alone today?" really!? I almost broke down right there!! after I replied a meek, "yes" she took my bag and I was off to the security check line. In that line, they had to search my bag and they threw away my yogurt because it was too big! eww, it was food damnit! Then when I finally boarded my plane as I was walking up the ramp, I stepped on my sandal wrong and it broke! As I was walking up the ramp! GRRRR....

Well now back in NY I miss Blake terribly, its heart-breaking and since I've been back, I had to ask my roommate to move out, my car battery died, its been raining non-stop, I screwed up royally at work, I think my plant is dying, Buster is really sick, and its really hard to sleep at night...The first week back is always the hardest, and I hope that it gets better. On the bright side, Lauren is going to be here next week, and I've been spending a lot of time with Kristin which is good, and NYC Pride 2009 is next weekend, and the greatest: Blake will be here in August! Those are the things that make me happy at this moment.

Well, I think I have written enough at this moment, so I will leave you with this
I miss California, and I know now that that is my home, and is where I belong.

California Here I Come!

Thats right! 

Monday I am flying to California, and I wont leave until the 14th woo!!

My last day of work was today, and I am working my last helpline shift tonight for 2 weeks! I am stoked! I miss cali, I miss Blake, and I miss friends and family...so lets get together and exchange hugs, stories, and drinks!

WOo

DONE!

well the first year of grad school is officially over. ahhh....so nice, and wonderful to sleep in, watch movies, and read whatever I want. Did I mention sleep? I havent had any coffee in about a week cause once again, I've been sleeping! ah, so nice...

I started my new job on Monday, I am the new graduate assistant in the Dean of studies office, which i think will be awesome! Clerical work, letter writing, answering phones, blah, blah, you get the idea. But the cool part is that I am working with a lot of the faculty, and I will learn a little bit the ins and outs of Sarah Lawrence, and working directly with some students. Those are the things that I think are pretty cool with this job.  I also, had my first volunteer experience with Planned Parenthood working with their Smart Wheels....now that was fun! I was talking to people at this fair, I was talking with adolescents and little kids, I was playing games, and hanging out offering people free condoms.  I had such a great time talking with people on a whole range of topics, it really felt good, and made me happy to be there.  

Now I am counting down the days till I see Blake again, sigh...I miss him tons! And now that school is over I want to see him more than ever.  Our two year anniversary passed, was April 27th, which was a little sad that I wasnt able to be there with him on that day, but now I get to spend two whole weeks with him!

I am also hoping that I can see some of the other people that I love, Dina is graduating from college! woo!!! I am so proud of her, and so extactic for her! Married, college degree, awww.....and she deserves it all, she has worked so hard! 

I want to meet Lauren and Steve's new kitty, and find out what name she took! I miss Lauren so much! and cant wait for her to come out here!

I am going to spend about 3 days with my family! and hopefully Shannon, Andrew, Blake and I will be able to celebrate Andrews birthday. I get to see my brother who is on honor role, straight A's back in college! He is doing so well, he even called me last week for research tips! I almost cried! How cool is that to discuss research stuff with your siblings, okay, maybe I am a bit dorky...I dunno...

And then I get to see Grandma, Pat, Ted, and hopefully Brian, since I think he is leaving on my first day out there....

I am so happy, and so excited that I have made it this far, and its only 1 more year till I have my degree and move back to california, cause I miss it so.... 

My Day In Brooklyn

What a wonderful thing spring is and warm weather...

Saturday April 18th I spent all day long in 

Brooklyn with my friends 

Anne Louise and Megan.... 

And it was fabulous!

  

My friends sister lives in Brooklyn, whom was out of town for the weekend, so we decided to spend all day there, and sleep in her apartment over night.  The first thing we did after riding the train into Manhattan, then taking the subway all the way down to Brooklyn was head on down to the Brooklyn Botanial Gardens- which is where I want to go when Lauren comes and visits me, FYI... There are so many colors in the springtime, I was blown away, all I could really do was take pictures, take in the smells, enjoy the sun on my face and look at all the beautiful trees bursting with color. 

What a lovely day...I cannot wait until I go back, there 

were many trees and flowers still not yet in bloom. 

     

          

Afterwards we went to this cafe across the street basically from the gardens and had the best, and cheapest food that I have had in New York.  I had a glass of wine, a pest, tomato, mozzarella cheese, basil, sandwich - amazing!

Then after saying goodbye to Megan, since she had to work that night, Anne Louise and I gathered up homework, a blanket and headed to the park.  Since this was one of the first days that the sun was shining and it was warm outside, everyone was at the park.  We found a nice spot, where the boys were playing volleyball and Frisbee (eye candy of course!) we settled into our blanket, read a little, napped a little, and talked a little....nice and peaceful! 

  

after about 2 hours laying around, we were really aching for some wine.  So once again we gathered up our belongings, made way to the apt, to get some warmer clothes, got some wine, some cups and headed back to the park to watch the sun go down, drink some wine, and relax some more in the park.  

It was a perfect way to spend a Saturday and a perfect break from school work....

So once the sun went down, and the coldness crept upon us, we gathered our belongings and this time headed to the bar.  After one bottle of wine we were ready for some more.  We sat at the bar talking and after one drink wanted to sit outside still. We moved our bodies to the back porch area where we sat at a table venting about school, friends, work, and life.  On our second to last, or final drink Anne Louise was sifting through her back looking for something and accidentally knocked out our other bottle, and it came crashing on the floor! After we both shrugged it off with a laugh, and I felt relieved, as I now know that I am not the only klutz in the midst. We finished our drinks paid the bill, and headed back to her sisters apt. 

Once there, I settled in on the couch, and reminisced with Blake until I fell asleep, while Anne Louise disappeared into her sisters room.  A perfect end to a perfect end. 

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Okay, so I know that I am a little behind in my posts, but I have two weeks left of classes and I am entering into one of my busiest weeks where all the major papers are due.  But, I am bored reading my last book for my Visions class so I thought I would take a moment to catch up on my blog.  There will be 2 others to follow which are formed in my head, and pictures downloaded onto my computer, now I just need the time to type it into blog-formation for all of you out there in California, whom I am missing more than ever at this moment. :D

So, April is sexual assault awareness month, and for those of you that I sent that AWESOME email about how Obama made it official, you know, and for those that don't: it is, and it was a busy month for those involved with sexual assault 

awareness and education.  On my campus I am involved in the sexual assault awareness board which is apart of the student life commitee, and during the month of april we did tons of stuff!  

Our first project was to orchestrate a SLC Service Day in which I created the flyers to post around campus.  During the Vagina Monologues back in Feburary we managed to raise over $500 dollars to make "comfort kits" for Victim

 Assistance Services (VAS) the organization I currently volunteer for as a Helpline respondant.  Comfort Kits are provided to victim/survivors once they have been taken to the hospital for a foresnic rape exam by a special nuse.  Their clothes are usually taken for evidence, and thus these victim/survivors would generally have to leave the hospital in a hospital gown, talk a

bout re-victimizing! So, comfort kits provide clothing, underwear, brushes, tooth 

paste, tooth brushes, mouth wash, soap, and lotion (if we have the funds that is).  VAS usually has about 150 victims a year, and about 50 kits, so we raised the money to donate about 140 all together kits to them.  Our service day was an opportunity for SLC student to go to VAS, assemble the kits, then learn about their organization and sexual and domestic abuse.  If was a fun day: we were able to assemble the kits in 15 minutes, then had a yummy lunch, which included an introduction to VAS, rape, sexual harassment, and domestic abuse.  All in all it was a nice way to spend a saturday morning and afternoon. 

Next was Take Back The Night and the clothesline project.  Take Back The Night is about not being afraid for women to go out at night, and it is a way to bring awareness about the rates of violence on women.  Breaking the silence, joining together in a safe space to talk about experienes and bring awareness to perpetrators that we will not be afraid to go outside at night.  The whole event began early in the afternoon with the Clothesline Project and a tabeling event.  The Clothesline Project is when victims of abuse create art on t-shirts; either by displaying their own stories or, words of advice, anger, injustice, hope, or confusion in their experiences with violence and abuse 

It began as a way for women to "air their dirty laundry" and break the silence that blankets domestic and sexual abuse.   We hung the shirts around the main dorm areas of the campus.  Our table was equip with information about Take Back The Night, information on sexual assualt and domestic abuse. We also had information from Planned Parenthood, condoms, lube, stickers, and information about safe sex.  It was fabulous.  The interesting aspect of it was the students response.  

We didnt have much attention from the students, and most thought that the shirts were there to be purchased, which was the first time I have come across that notion.  The students that did come up and ask question were able to form part of the dialogue that comes with breaking the silence about these abuses, and we passed out some fact sheets, so that alone makes it worth it.  The Take Back The Night portion began at 8pm when we tried to create a fire in the bbq pit on campus. Firemarshall "bob" as he is lovingly called came and attempted to start the fire, to which he replied,

"well, girls, I am real good at putting out fires, but not so good at starting them..."  hmmm.....So we all worked together to light that sucker up, to no avail.

With our candles intact, and the wind threatening to end that nights festivities, we prevailed.  There were only 8-10 of us, but we walked in silence all around the main grass area, and had a candlelight vigil and open "mic" ending to the experience.  All in all, it was very nice, and students came to share their stories, or experiences, or the silence that were not on the commitee so that made the night worth it.  One girl even created a shirt, which was beautiful! 

And now I am in May, the festivities are over, and I must get back to my homework.... But I am coming home June 1-14th, so I hope I will be able to see many friendly faces when I am back in California.

I hung out with Jessie and you didn't

Thanks right, Jessie and I tore it up in NYC!

The weekend before my trip to the West Coast, Jessie and I finally got a chance to hang out in the city, and that we did. We met at Union Square, which was a happening place on a Saturday. The farmers market is back in full swing and so we got a chance to see all the fresh flowers, fruits and veggies, home baked goods, herbs, wine, cheese, and other nic-nacs (sp?). Afterwards we ventured down towards Strands bookstore, (18 miles of books and you can buy books by the yard, pretty cool) in order to check out a map, cause we decided to figure out how to get to China town. On the way we passed a graphic novel bookstore, which Shannon, you would love and Jessie and I decided not to bring you there EVER cause you would spend way too much freaking money in there. :D  An interesting observation while we were in the store, th

e majority of the customers inside were male, middle aged men, or dorky teenage males. Hmmmm...which got me thinking about an article I just read in Bitch Magazine about how the market for comic books and graphic novels clearly needs to do more to its female audience, cause they are a little left out....

But anyways.... afterwards we figured out our way down to Chinatown and got to have lunch at this Chinese buffet. The food was interesting but the appeal lay in the price. :D  There were fish, complete fish laying out in the buffet, and things that looked liked eyeballs! eh, we ate for cheap and had a good time catching up. Then we did a little window shopping and picture taking in 

Chinatown. Then I think we ended up somewhere on the border of Little Italy and Chinatown were we took some more pictures, and where I was able to laugh at Jessie cause she had the hiccups for oh, I would say about 10 blocks. After we ended up in Soho, or Loho, or Noho.....um on or two of the "hos" haha

Then we ended up close to Washington Square park. We took a break resting on one of the benches while a jazz band played on. Only to be gawked at by some homeless man who thought Jessie and I were sisters (it was the glasses and ponytail I swear!), and proceeded to tell u

s that his brother was schizophrenic...needless to say we walked away and found a place to get a drink. 

After our drink Jessie and I made our way back to Union Square bid our adieus a

nd promised to hang out again. 

Overall it was a terrific day. I love being lost in the city and finding my way back and with a partner in crime, Jessie was a great pal. 

Its so much fun to hang out with old friends in this place full of anonymity, it almost made NY feel like home.

Now if only I could get Blake to stay....