The Shape of Things To Come

Now that I've decided this will be my primary medium for journal writing, this is a general, "WTF you can expect," post.

Things you can expect from me:

• Posts about nonsense.
• Posts about my past.
• Posts about my present.
• Posts about my future.
• Posts that are lighthearted.
• Posts that are srsly srs.
• Posts about your posts.
• Posts about inanimate objects.

These are things you should not expect from me:

• Posting in any sort of scheduled manner.
• Posts about politics.
• Posts about religion.
• Posts about sports.
• Posts that are concise.

You should also be forewarned that I view the world in a very 'outside the box' sort of way and often times that carries over to my writing. I may jump from one subject directly into the next with little or no transition, expecting you to follow along. And what starts as a short update about my day may turn into a rant about nothing in particular.

Without further ado...

P.S. Went ahead and transferred all of my old blog posts over to this blog. Going so far back as to the year 2006.

Promises

After being long distance friends for ages, Aaron and I began dating when we met face-to-face and brought in the New Year together in 2009-2010. He made a promise to me then, that we'd end the year the same way we'd started it: together. Since then, I have moved 3000 miles to California to live with him. We eventually moved out of his old place and got an apartment together in a nice neighborhood. We even inadvertently rescued a cat, together.

This New Year we attended the same party as we had last year, hosted by the lovely Emily at her and Jon's apartment in Los Angeles. As 2010 ended and 2011 began we exchanged the traditional midnight kiss, but then something more happened. Still holding me close, he says, "Last year I made a promise, and here we are. This year I'm making another promise..." and slips a ring onto my ring finger. My heart raced and I'm almost certain I blushed, speechless. I kissed him and he smiled like he always does, "I take it that's a yes?"

We were even sitting in the exact same place. Perfect in every imaginable way.

Of course it was a yes! It took the room a few minutes to catch on, but once it did the excitement was like electricity in the air. Congratulations and hugs all around. We had to excuse ourselves into the vestibule for a little privacy as we made the appropriate phone calls to people who weren't there, "We're getting married!"

The best part was what he told me next. How long he'd been planning this and more specifically, when he set his plan into motion. That week we went down to his mom's house for Thanksgiving and I got the super flu? When he and his mom went out to fetch me some soup, they also went and had my ring designed. He knew he wanted to marry me even when I was at my absolute orifice-spewing grossest. How sweet!

The ring deserves its own paragraph. It is one of a kind. Remembering that I prefer white gold to yellow gold, that my favorite gem is the garnet, and that I absolutely adore pearls in every way -- even after only having been told once in a conversation so long ago; he had crafted exclusively for me the most beautiful ring I've ever seen. Featuring a splendid white pearl as its focal point, two vibrant oval-cut garnets, two circular diamonds, all set in delicately and elaborately designed white gold.

It was the perfect timing, at the perfect place, with the perfect ring, in the perfect company. Every time I look at my hand, I smile now. I just can't help it. The thought of spending the rest of my life with him instills in me just such a joy it cannot be contained.

Holidays

It is that time of year again. Time for merry making, gift giving, and good cheer. Oh, and stress. Can't forget the stress. Getting everything accomplished in a timely, cost-efficient manner is something of a small miracle.

Living across the country from most of my friends and family also means I have to double and triple check addresses. I can't just walk down the street and hand a gift to my BFF anymore. I have to wrap it in a box and entrust the postal service to get it there in one piece. I also have to hope no one has moved, is out of town, or gave me the wrong digits when giving me their address in a holiday hurry. Because lets face it, everyone is in a holiday hurry and when rushed -- we make mistakes.

The first mistake I made was trusting the internet. A particular gift I was getting for someone was sold at Macy's "nation wide." So when I got to the nearest Macy's only to discover it was in fact, not available there, I was vexed. That meant not only did I waste gas and time, but I would have to hop back online in the middle of the night so no one would see and buy it with rush delivery to have it under the tree in time. Why tell me it's available at all Macy's if it's actually only sold at a select few? It isn't as if the item was simply sold out. They didn't carry it in the first place. I BITE MY THUMB AT YOU, Macy's.

Yeah, I'm calling out a mega corporation on my blog. What of it?

But wait, it gets worse from there! As most of you know, I moved last summer and then again this autumn, so there was some confusion as to where to send things to begin with. On top of that, I left town for two weeks and won't be home until next year, so anyone who wanted to send anything to me in a timely manner, would need to forward their packages to an address they were completely unfamiliar with.

In my own holiday hurry, I left off part of that unfamiliar address. Yeah...

So I had to contact everyone last-minute I had given the wrong address to and give them the right one. Then, they would need to call whatever parcel service they'd used and forward that information on to them. It wasn't just an inconvenience for others though. Even gifts I had ordered myself, for others, had to be changed day-of-delivery! Otherwise there would be no Christmas here at all.

Only problem? I'm staying with the people the gifts are for and had no way of getting online or calling to correct the misinformation without them knowing! However, with a lot of deep breaths, covert texting,  and the saint-like patience of my mother (across the country) we managed to get everything corrected in time. Thank goodness!

Kudos to Fedex for being particularly helpful, and the USPS as well. The only tricky situation I was left with was getting to and from UPS, who after changing the address for me refused to deliver the package. Forcing me have to go pick it up. With the person it was for. Forcing me to also lie about it.

Now I can relax, feast, and be merry with the rest of the world. Happy holidays!

Good Deeds

So in our new place, as with our old place, there are cats a-plenty outside, most of which have nearby homes. Since the first week we've been here however, there has been this fluffy black cat camped out on our door step. Every time I step out to shop or get the mail he tries to force his way into our place. This has earned him the name, "Intruder Cat." His fur is matted and he's kind of dirty, but I wasn't sure as to whether or not he was actually homeless... So I avoided letting him in.

Some people just don't take very good care of their pets, or don't know how to. So it was entirely possible they just forget to let him back inside sometimes and do not bathe or brush him. Not that I could blame them on the bathing part. Bathing cats is usually both an exercise in futility and an excuse to buy a whole new box of bandaids.

After a few months and his constant appearances at my door step, I began to truly consider the fact that he may have no place else to go. As the days started getting shorter, the nights colder, and at all times considerably more rainy, I started letting him inside. Just for short whiles. Long enough to make sure he had a warm nap and a full tummy. We had a bag of kitten chow from a year or so back just going to waste on the shelf, so I figured why not?  He didn't seem to get regular meals. He could use the extra calories and vitamins kitten chow provided.

Then the other day a neighbor of mine confirmed my suspicions: Intruder Cat was indeed homeless and had been for a year or more. The neighbor was, strangely enough, about to put out a little plate of food for Intruder himself. He said he often pitied him as well, but with his own cat, could not adopt him since he couldn't be sure as to whether or not Intruder had any of his shots. He did not want to put his current pets at any health risk which is understandable.

That's when I decided I'd start a fund for him, to get him to a Vet and make sure he's got all his vaccinations up-to-date and a clean bill of health. Thus far several friends and family members have made pledges to his cause. So even if we do not end up keeping him, he'll at least be healthy.

He's well mannered enough, so it's unlikely that he is feral (born wild). So the sad fact of the matter was, someone had bought him as a kitten and then when they moved out, simply left him outside to fend for himself.

This has all been going on for some time now. Recently there has been a second stray hanging around. Not on our door step specifically, but under our neighbor's window. So when there was a big commotion out there earlier today while Aaron was at class, I assumed it was just an altercation between my neighbor and the unwelcome feline. To my surprise when I looked outside I saw the commotion was actually animal control putting the new stray into a cage and going for Intruder next! The neighbors had called animal control to come solve the stray problem.

It's fairly common knowledge that if you bring a pet you can no longer care for into the pound, they give it two weeks to be adopted and then euthanize it. What most people don't know is that animals that are picked up after a complaint call are usually only held for twenty-four to forty-eight hours before they are euthanized. Just enough time for anyone who realizes their pet is missing to call and reclaim them. They are considered troublesome animals. They don't get a chance at adoption.

Upon seeing this my first thought was, "I need to put pants on," followed immediately by, "I don't have time to put my pants on!" Instead I ran outside in my bath robe. To save a cat. When Intruder saw me he ran towards me (imagine any cheesy beach scene where the man and woman run at each other from opposite sides of the screen) and I scooped him into my arms. I then gave both my neighbor and animal control a cross look, proclaimed Intruder as mine, and went inside.Probably looking more than a little like some crazy cat-woman.

So now he's sitting here in my armchair snoozing while I consider what to do with him. We go out of town for two weeks tomorrow. He can't stay inside by himself (just yet). I know I'll have to put him back out when we go, but I just want to be sure he isn't taken by animal control while I'm away. The other neighbors put some food out for their own pets, so I know he won't go hungry and I live in a place where it never drops below freezing so he won't be too cold. I guess I'll head over to the market and buy him a collar... Just in case.

Oh, Hello

I can't promise anything, as I typically write elsewhere. However, that elsewhere is undergoing change for the worse, so perhaps this will be my new venue? We'll see. Either way, I'm here because of her. She's far more interesting than I am, she has a dog.

Thanksgiving & Such

So, Thanksgiving was great. This year my mother was out of the country, so I missed her and her moist, delicious turkey. Aaron and I went South to spend the holiday with his mom. His mom is fabulous and I missed her a lot so it was fantastic to see her again.

We traveled to San Jose by train, which is always lovely, and met up with Sean who unfortunately went to the wrong station. Stranding us outside for thirty minutes in the chilly Californian night air. We stayed at his place for the night, where we watched Inception, then drove with him the rest of the way down. We took the 101 which is extremely scenic but also extremely curvaceous, forcing us to make several stops along the way to cure my vertigo. Still, it was a nice trip. The view along the 101 is primarily bay and mountains. Pretty cool for someone who grew up on flatland, far from any ocean.

Of note was a stop at a vineyard where we parked and lingered for a bit until I was confident in my ability to continue the trek. Seeing actual vineyards is nifty considering the only thing grown in Ohio is corn and cattle. Right as we got back into the car and drove off a cop showed up. I guess all of our meandering made the people at the vineyard nervous. Like we were going to make off with a carload of grapes or something. Haha.

Aaron's mom was thrilled to see us and we made giant deli sandwiches to celebrate our arrival. She introduced us to a new show called The Event, which is made by the same folk who brought us Lost, so it was pretty easy to get sucked into. Throughout the week we were there, we'd end up watching all of the episodes she had saved. And wanting more.

Monday I woke up with a touch of a sore throat and a hint of a headache. Nothing serious. That night Sean picked us up and we went to hang out at Jordan's. Where Aaron, Sean, Jay, and I got into a game of Twilight Imperium. Much to my dismay, about halfway into the game I developed a fever and as the night continued, grew increasingly more sick. Never one to ruin a good time, I stuck it out like a champ, but by the time we left Aaron had to scoop me up and carry me to the car.

By the time we made it back to his mother's house I couldn't stop shivering. I shivered through my warm pajamas, a sweater, gloves, four blankets, and Aaron's body heat. Nothing I did could make me feel any warmer. The tell-tale sign of a spiking fever. Tuesday morning I was full-blown sick. Not only did I still have a sore throat, headache, and fever, but I had also lost the ability to keep food down and my voice also. I sounded like a crotchety old woman. Though that was the least of my concerns. I was worried that I would be too sick for Thanksgiving! It was only two days away afterall. On top of that, I was worried I would be too sick for Thanksgiving and make Aaron and his mom miss out on Thanksgiving too. My worst fear, however, was that I would get better but Aaron and/or his mom would catch what I had and be too sick for Thanksgiving!

We had to cancel all of our fun plans for Tuesday, though our friends were understanding. Between Aaron's pampering and his mom's pampering, I felt considerably better by the end of the day. Two bowls of soup, a Gatorade, snuggles, and a cup of hot tea later. My fever broke that night and I was left with the headache, sore throat, and no voice. A considerable improvement, I'd say (if I could).

As a housewarming gift, Aaron's mom wanted to buy us a television for our new place. So on Wednesday, feeling a great deal better but still sounding like Betty White, we went to Best Buy to get a feel for TVs. It was good to get out of the house for a short while and we found a TV we really liked. As an added bonus, I was no longer worried that I would miss Thanksgiving -- or cause anyone else to miss Thanksgiving because of me. When we got back, Aaron made homemade butternut squash gnocchi which was amazing. No seriously, you don't understand. It was amaaaaaaazing.

Thursday was a day of comedy gold. We woke and got ready then headed for Aaron's mom's BFF's house where we would partake in a huge gathering of Thanksgiving delightfulness. Little did we know however that we'd been given the wrong address... So when we arrived at this little lime green house full of Latin-Americans, we were sufficiently confused. It smelled great and they were strangely more-than-willing to welcome us inside even though we were total strangers. As tempting as it was, we decided to find the Thanksgiving celebration we'd actually been invited to, so we took our carrot pudding and began walking.

A few phone calls later, we were at the right place. Snacking and merry-making with people we actually knew as we awaited the turkeys. This was one of the first Thanksgivings I haven't shared with my own mother, but the company I was in made me feel like family. Obligatory disclaimer: not to say it wouldn't have been made even better had my mommy been there! <3

Friday we lazed about until midday and then went to visit Aaron's great grandmother. My headache had finally subsided but the sore throat remained and brought with it a cough, so I was very conscious about touching anything or getting too close. We were supposed to go see her on Wednesday, but I was too sick then, and afraid that I would get her sick. She's super old. The last thing you want to do is make a super old person sick. She's a funny lady though and her house is full of antiques and old photos. If she'd been up to par (her words, not mine), I bet she would've had some fascinating stories to tell. Despite not feeling so well herself she joked that she was older than the three of us combined. We didn't stay too long, wanting to let her get some rest after a busy week of visitors.

We stopped for lunch at a delicious Cuban restaurant that I can only wish was closer to us up here in Sacramento. On our way back we went by Trader Joe's and stocked up on a few things. Mostly sweet things (of course). Aaron's mom and I each got an Amaryllis! Since Black Friday is a whole lot busier in a state that has more people than cattle in it, we did our sale-shopping online. Got some good deals, though I forgot about our need of an A to B USB cable and a 56/57 HP ink cartridge, so I ended up having to make-due on those at full price later.

Saturday we had to say goodbye, always a difficult thing, and begin our journey back North. Aaron's mom loaded us up with things to take with us, as mothers tend to do. Not that it's a bad thing, quite the contrary as she has really good taste. Sean arrived around eleven and we were on the road not long after. We took a different route back up, avoiding the curves for a more straight forward return to spare my stomach. We met up with our friend Will and his wife Ari. After some chit chat we went to this quaint yet strangely busy cafe called Aroma and had lunch. The mystery of the busy-ness was soon laid to rest when our food arrived and I realized how magnificent it was.

After lunch we continued on home. We got in late, so Sean stayed the night. Unfortunately it was rather cold and as the first true test of our central heating, we realized it wasn't working! It was too late to bother with it, so Aaron and Sean opened up our broken small-space heater and got that working again and we all just huddled around it playing Texas Hold'em until bed time.

Sunday morning we went and had a mighty lumberjack breakfast at a local restaurant called Lumberjack's. Outside there is a big statue of a lumberjack and the sign has a lumberjack with a fork and and axe on it. Pretty win. The food was fantastic, though our waitress was quite flighty. I asked for pancakes and she just assumed I wanted a small stack instead of a full stack. Why? I'm small? I don't know. Then when it was time to go, she asked if I'd like a box for my remaining pancake. Not one, but two of us said, "Yes." So she picks up my plate and goes away. We presume she's going off to, you know, put my pancakes into a box but after a few minutes we realize she probably took my food away and disposed of it. So when she comes around again Aaron asks.

She acts like she's never seen us before and is all, "She never got her pancake???"

We're like, "..." So she goes back to the kitchen, has them make me a whole new pancake and brings that out to us in a box. Derp-a-der? Finally it's all set right, we realize we probably tipped her way too much, and go home. We hang out for a bit. Talk some Eve Online. Talk some Twilight Imperium. Then Sean hits the road so he can make it home before nightfall.

Overall, even though I got horribly sick, it was a really fun week. The sore throat and cough have managed to maintain their hold on me, even now over a week later. Hopefully that'll be gone soon.

In other news, gamer weekend this weekend! The heat is fixed! And Intruder Cat has officially intruded! It's been so cold, and he's been on our doorstep so often, that we decided to just start letting him in. That way we can be sure he's safe and warm at least a few hours out of the day. We give him a nice hearty meal of kitten chow (full of vitamins he's probably lacking), fresh water, and pettings. He follows me around like a shadow, which is super cute considering he's a little cautious sometimes -- probably because he's not used to people being nice to him. Eventually I'd like to give him a bath and brush the mats out of his fur.

We don't want to keep him full time until Neelix has arrived and settled in. Just in case they don't get along, we don't want him to feel like he's been thrown out again. If we can keep him, in the future, he'll need to go to the vet. I want to make sure he's healthy, for his sake and Neelix's if they're going to be pals.

Flowers & Sushi

Aaron was late from class the other day. He rides to school since it is so close, and there are many vehicles between our apartment and the college. Naturally as a woman, I worry. Turns out he was just being the sweetest ever and stopped by a florist on his way home to buy me a flower. A huge orange lily to be exact.

Some girls like roses. They are expensive, smell nice, and are pleasing enough to look at. However, all flowers smell nice and are pleasing to look at. So that just leaves you with expensive. The price of an object cannot be correlated to how much someone cares for you, though. The fact that tulips and lilies are my favorite flowers (as is the color orange), and he always remembers that -- means a lot more to me than the cost. The fact that he doesn't need an official holiday to treat me to nice things means even more. He brought me a flower he knew I'd love simply to show his appreciation of me. He is the best.

Then, last night, we went on a sushi date. There's this adorable little place right up the street from us that we'd been meaning to try, so we finally did. It was really good. Though its hard not to be tasty when it comes to sushi. We started the meal with vegetable tempura, then unagi and tako, followed by a caterpillar roll. For dessert we had green tea and red bean ice cream. Sooooooo yummy. Couldn't have had a better time.

And of course, we ended the night playing video games together.