I'm such a grandma when that is true.
I also tend to have a pattern of blogging on Sundays. I guess it's really the only day that I feel like I truly have time off. Orientation wasn't too bad, but my brain certainly hurt after my 2 hour music theory test since I had to go straight to work for 8 hours after that. I've met a few new people, mainly one guy that I have a friend in common with, so we've been hanging out, but other than that I've been completely anti-social. Or working. Same difference.
Ummmm I can't think of what else to say. I guess I'll have more news when school starts and I'll know my schedule.
I bought a case (12 bottles) of Charles Shaw - otherwise known as 2 buck Chuck - with Erica and Ryder and with my friend Alexx preceded to drink half of the case. Ouch. Wine and strawberries and good conversation is the classiest way I've ever drank that much. It was a lot of fun actually.
I'm not sure the number of the new chapter I'm about to start in my life, but I'm pretty excited about it nevertheless.
Orientation starts on Tuesday for me and I'll get to start meeting people and proving how much I learned in my undergrad. Okay, well maybe I'll make a fool of myself, but I honestly don't think anyone has seriously studied for these placement tests we have to take. So I think I'll be in good company if I have to take a bunch of review classes. Plus, the ones that will have to take them will probably be the people that took a couple of years off and like me, can't remember for the life of them what they learned 5 years ago.
I'm getting my hair cut next week and I'm also pretty excited about that. No more of this growing it out to give to Locks of Love. Been there, done that. I look cute with short hair and it's easier to maintain. I just wish I could get my red back, but I don't feel like dyeing it myself or paying to get it done. Guess I'll have to be grateful for what God gave me ;)
Other than that, I'm just working, eating, and sleeping. Gee, life has been eventful.
Customer of the week:
The man who tried to haggle with me.
He obviously thought he was in a flea market, not Williams-Sonoma, because he came up to me and offered me 1/2 of the ticket price on a sale item. I half-laughed in his face, then calmly said, 'Sir, I can't give you a price other than what shows up in my computer. Sorry.'
Yes, my weekend is starting on Sunday. But I have three glorious days off. Of course I have a million and one things to do in those precious 72 hours, but no matter.
My brain is focusing on several important things right now:
#1 I just finished Harry Potter.
Life can resume again. I was blissfully unaware of the fact that the world existed when my nose was buried in that book, but now I suppose it's time to move on. Everyone was right. What a well-written ending. Man, I couldn't put it down during the last 250 pages.
#2 School is starting incredibly soon
I haven't even started studying and have basicallly resigned myself to enrolling in the stupie review classes, but honestly I think I would rather take them. It's been about 4 years since I've taken any generic music classes and it would be a good time to review. Plus I could sure use the extra time to practice (since I'm not expecting these classes to be anywhere close to academically rigorous and could pull a paper out of my butt any time they ask).
#3 My friend Amity is visiting for two days
I'm stoked to see someone that knows me, that knows important things that have happened in my life, and that I am 100% comfortable around. And I get to show her the city! And we get to go eat amazing food and have two days of vacation.
I don't think our mutual friend Ben reads my blog, so I'm going to steal an element of his blog because I like it.
Unexpected encounter of the day: Roommate rudeness.
Now, I knew that one of the girls that I was going to be living with is a bit of a "rules" person. She likes to have the place neat, we all have chores, and she doesn't want to mess up her interior decorating. Fine. I have my own room to retreat to.
However, when she decided that my friends and I were being too loud in the hallway, we did not get a "could you please retire to somewhere less communal." We got a shout from the living room saying "you guys have way exceded your hallway time. it's unacceptable." WELL. Way to make sure I don't want to talk to you any time soon, Jessica.
Of course, I didn't say a word. I just motioned us up to my bedroom and we continued our conversation there. Erica was way more peeved than I was.
This is when I wonder, am I ever going to have the guts to stand up to someone and say, you're being rude and I dont' appreciate it? I've had the courage to stand up to someone and tell them I don't agree, but it's always been in a polite way. I've just never been able to be rude to someone when they've been rude to me. It seems like going against the turn the other cheek thing and just not the best way to resolve issues. But when is it okay to retaliate or let someone know that they've done something innappropriate?
By nature, I've always been passive aggressive, always coming up with wonderful retorts about 2 hours later. I would like to think that as time goes on, I'm finding a better balance between keeping it all bottled in and lashing out at anyone that does me an injustice.
I knew she wasn't going to be easy to live with, but honestly, things could be a lot worse and my room is too awesome to let her get to me.
Today was a great day for many reasons.
I got an excellent desk chair for cheap, put my desk together finally, and bought a rug, side table, and organizational tools. Then I unpacked most of my boxes, put them in storage, and significantly cleared out my room. It all sounds really mundane, but it's amazing what a sense of home you can have with everything in their right place. I actually enjoy walking into my room now.
I have to say, I really love my colors. The walls are a light gold, my bed is a cranberry with gold accents, and I have a chocolate rug with gold designs. It feels so warm, which is especially important in this ridiculously cold month we've been having.
Apparently, SF gets an Indian summer, so we'll be having 80 and 90 degree weather in September and October. Fabulous. Everyone's favorite quote here is:
"The coldest winter I experienced was the summer I spent in San Francisco."
- Mark Twain
My roommate, Erica, and I have been hanging out whenever I have a day off and recently we've included a guy that will be a fellow incoming grad student. It's nice to have the guy element to balance out the two females. I'm strongly reminded of my favorite trio from college days, and a little nostalgic, but I know that if there's no competition (hah, good luck with that one) then not only is three not a crowd, it's actually quite a pleasant combination.
The third reason today was great was that the three of us (Erica, Ryder, and I) made pancakes for dinner. Not just any pancakes, either. Banana pancakes. Oh man, were they delicious. There's just something about breakfast for dinner. It's so comforting and satisfying.
My bed calls, as does my early morning. I haven't been running for over a week and it's taking a toll on my body. :/ So the road calls for an early-morning appointment.
I had an awful awful encounter the other day with the Golden Gate Bridge. I was just driving along, minding my own business, when I was faced with the toll gate. I knew that I had to pay a toll, but for some odd reason thought that it would be perfectly fine to pay with a debit card. One glare, a 'toll evasion' ticket, and $30 later, I just have a good story of when I was fined because I didn't have any cash on me. Stupid big city sucking money out of tourists.
Well, that's the only thing that has really gone wrong in the past few days.
I'm now officially in my new house and will be spending my first night here tonight. There are so many pluses and minuses that I can't begin to list them all. The two biggest downsides:
- Shared bathroom
- The walls are thin, so I can hear conversations downstairs
Biggest pluses:
- huge room
- a real place to live
Every new place that you call home takes some adjusting and I think the biggest obstacle right now is moving in and unpacking everything to the point where each item has a place to go. Also, since the other 2 girls have been here for a while, I sometimes feel like their stuff is strewn about and I have to squeeze my way in, as if there's not really room for me and Erica and we're guests in our own home with a little corner of cabinet space.
It's weird to be living with people again and having to make compromises. In Santa Barbara, our only shared area was the kitchen. But here, we have the living room, the garden, the kitchen, and only one shower for four girls. Thank goodness our schedules right now are completely opposite ends of the spectrum.
The highlights of today were going grocery shopping and cooking for the first time in my own house, and my new set of bed linens. They're cranberry with a few gold and olive throws and one pillow that ties them all together. Having a bed with shams and a color-coordinated theme has been my dream for a long time. Now all I need is a four poster or really any bed frame and I will be completely happy with my bed set-up.
Where's your dad when you need him? I bought a bunch of furniture from Ikea that is really pretty, but I need a drill to be able to put my desk together. Of course, my dad probably could have made my desk, but that's a whole other issue.
Back to work tomorrow, but it was sooooo awesome to have a whole day off to get moved out and moved in and have some me time.
I'm slowly becoming more and more busy and getting out of the transition stage of moving.
All I have left on my list now before school starts is:
- move into house
- buy furniture
- study for placement exams
- figure out work/school schedule
- sell car
Currently I'm either working 9 hour days and trying to figure out how to practice as well or I have day trips planned on my days off. Erica just got here yesterday and we stood in line for a total of 2 hours to ride the cable cars. I'm not sure how many more times I'm willing to do that for visitors. It's sorta a pain in the rear. But then we had some amazing Italian food and cheesecake from none other than the Cheesecake Factory for dessert which made it all worth it.
I get to see my high school flute teacher in a few days! She moved to Texas a few years ago, so I haven't seen her since she moved and she hasn't heard me play since my sophomore recital. So I'm really looking forward to playing for her and just hanging out.
I should post some pics of my work here. It's pretty frickin amazing.
So scratch that whole 'housing sucks here' thing.
I have a place to live as of 9 pm last night!!!
So, basically everyone has to come visit me because my house (that's right. house.) is amazing, beautiful, and exactly what I want to come home to. We have 4 bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, dining area, garden, and basement/garage. What a find in the heart of San Francisco. Here's the kicker though:
I can see the Golden Gate Bridge from my window! :0)
Given, it's about 4 inches in length and I saw it when it was a completely clear day, but it's still just plain cool.
My roommate gets here on Wednesday and I have entrance exams and auditions in exactly a month. So now that I have the two main worry things checked off, I can move on to the smaller (and yet somehow more important) worry points.
Well, I caved. I'm working for Williams-Sonoma again, even though I tried my best to not get sucked in. I guess that was my will getting in the way, because I'm actually really thrilled now to have the job that I do.
Basically, I was hired and given a high starting pay simply because I have so much experience and I would never have been given that privilege had I tried at some other retail place. Not to mention the fact that the store I'm working in is 4 stories tall, has a full time maid, chef, and shipping/running staff so that the sales people are really only just sales people. It's so nice to make other people do all the work. :) Because this particular store is in the heart of the San Francisco downtown shopping area (known as Union Square), they are the representative for all Williams-Sonomas in the country. So everything is done really right and there is a high standard of knowledge to be on the team. I feel like I'm back at school with all the studying I've been doing already.
Let's not forget to add that the chefs always have leftovers from their demonstrations, so I basically get to have professionally prepared food every time I work, which will be 40 hours/week for a while, and there are some very cute boys that work there that may very possibly not be gay. I think I'm going to have fun! If they are gay, I'll have eye candy and a girl friend. Sweet!
Housing is not going quite as well, but I've given up until my roommate gets here. I just don't have the energy between work and practicing and have already put so much time and effort into it without anything really to show for it. I'm content to just sit back for a week and work my butt off to save up some money for that first month's rent. (Ridiculous how expensive it gets here).
Some unforseen recent happy events:
- I got yet another tax return in the mail that I had no idea was coming. I love those.
- One of the ladies at work has just bought HP7 and I get to read it after her.
- A cute ambiguous guy at WS speaks French and we spoke for a little. Hottttt!
- My friend, Amity, might come visit me in a couple of weeks.
- I discovered a really good coffee shop near the conservatory.
You know that your life has become that of a 70-year-old woman when:
- you don't know how to get into the building because you've gotten home after 6:00 in the evening.
That's right, folks. For the first time in 1 1/2 weeks, I got back to where I was staying at 6:45pm and found that the front door wasn't open. Not a big deal, really, since I have a key and it wasn't that hard to figure out. The point was that I had never encountered this because I've always been INSIDE after 6:00 and never knew that after 6, the doors were closed. Man, that was a severe shock and I laughed at myself for a good minute. Or more.
- you wake up at 7 every morning.
My internal clock is set for 7 or 7:30 and I've turned into my mom saying, 'You just get so much more done in the morning!' Sadly for me, I don't have that much to do during the day as a result. Good thing I have a huge city to explore.
On another note, I saw Harry Potter 5 today. 5 movies??!!?? Really? It doesn't seem like that many, but after seeing flashbacks of little Daniel in his first "year" at Hogwarts, it certainly seems like I've watched him grow up. What an amazing phenomenon and a good testament to the consumerism of America. Oh, I completely and totally contribute to the Harry Potter mania, but I still find it a little disgusting every time action figures and video games are made from movies that were made from books.
At this point in the Harry Potter series, with two movies to go and one final book about to be released, there's no question that the rest of the movies will be made. Why stop now? Every other one has been a huge hit and each one contains the who's who of the British acting world. I have to say, they completely deserve all of the hype. They are so well acted and directed. Or maybe I'm just brainwashed like the rest... There's something about seeing a book come to life, or hearing a word pronounced differently than how you always read it. Like Seamus Finnagan. I always pronounced it see-mus, but it's really shay-mus. Go figure.
The question really is, what will happen when everything is done in the Harry Potter series and there are no more movies to be made, everything has resolved itself with Harry and the huge box collections are a few years old. What then? Will life continue as it has? These are life's important queries.
Today was probably the most hectic that I've had to date in San Francisco. I spent the better part of 7 hours travelling by train, foot, or light rail to various destinations.
What was the result of all of this arduous work?
- I discovered that I no longer want to live in Berkeley or Oakland. It's way too far a commute and not worth it at $50 a week just to get into the city. So *pbllttth*
- Consequently, I have to rethink all of my housing plans and areas that I was looking in. Count yourself blessed if you have a permanent place to live, are near the parentals, or have a place waiting for you in your new city (ahem Megan and Christa). Finding housing SUCKS.
- I ate 4 times. I think I'm over-eating simply because when I have time to kill or a $20 bill to break, I think of food.
- Four restaurants now have my resume in their hands and I have an interview tomorrow. Let's hope it goes better than the last one that told me I could be a food runner for 4-6 months before moving up.
- I might have to live with 3 other people instead of 1 and possibly get a more expensive place just so my commute to school isn't one hour one-way every day.
My purse is filled with business cards, maps, a planner that I bought four days ago and have completely gone crazy with, and resumes and I think my brain cannot handle any more. At least I know I'll sleep well.
My (now ex) roommate, Courtney, would be proud. Despite the need for mindless activity, I turned off my TV after only 2 hours of watching. One small truimph for the day!
He came out to play today and I was sooooo happy. It's amazing how much the weather can affect your emotions. I'm finding more and more reasons to live across the bay, and one of them is that it doesn't get the fog like out in west San Fran.
Well I promised some pictures, so here they are.
I went to this estate called Filoli a little south of the city today and it was so beautiful. The gardens were just what I imagine are on the grounds of some ridiculously wealthy king. I was having fun imagining I was walking around in flouncy dresses with my hand lightly touching a gentleman's forearm.
I also stopped to smell the roses. Hardy, harhar.
And the big house is actually where I'm staying, not the estate I saw today.
HAH. That's a good one.
After living in a place for a year that truly exemplified stereotypical California weather, I'm going through withdrawl.
Let's just put it this way: I pulled out my cashmere sweater today and was still cold while walking around my neighborhood.
That's just wrong to wear sweaters in the beginning of July.
My favorite thing about moving to a place where I don't know anyone is that I have a completely fresh slate. I could become goth. I could become a cheerleader. I could be a music nerd that shuts themself up in a practice room all day. Okay, well I'm not moving back to high school, but you get the idea.
My first night here and yesterday were a little rough just because it's weird to just have picked up my life and plopped it down in a new city. All the people that I saw every day, all my routines are just gone and it won't be the same again. But looking back on my life in Santa Barbara, I did basically the same thing this time last year and look how attached I am to it now. I think the biggest changes are going from a small town to a huge city and going from having all the time in the world to being a full-time student with a couple jobs on the side. I'm so glad that I have these couple months to get everything figured out, or else I think I would be going crazy trying to do everything in two weeks.
Two downers:
1. I left my retainer at the house in SB. No problem! you say. Ah, but it's in the locked guest room and my landlady won't be back until the 14th. My poor retainer has had so many grand adventures and they started back in 6th grade when I threw it in the dumpster and had to go digging in the trash to find it. Yes, I've had that little piece of hard plastic for 11 years.
2. I can't get into the conservatory to practice until Tuesday. I really should have checked into the schedule stuff before I moved because it's ridiculous to be here without being able to practice. But, c'est la vie. I can't do anything about it now and I'm glad they're so strict on their rules.
I figure the best way to get to know my neighborhood right now is to go for a run. You get to see much more than if you're just walking everywhere. So I'm on a mission to find a grocery store and a drug store. Can you believe that they don't have a Target or a Wal-Mart in the city of San Fran?? You have to go drive 10 or 15 min. outside of the city. What's with these Californians? In Charlotte we have 4 within 10-minute driving radius of my house. Sheesh.
And happy last day in Santa Barbara to me. I'm trying my best to stay positive, like I'm going to go have a picnic up on the cliffs over the beach with my good friend, Amity, later. Then we're going to watch fireworks. It should be fun.
My room is all packed up but I have all this random crap that I need one more big box for that I don't actually have. I do like being able to just stuff everything in my car and go, it's definitely the best way to move. I'm really stoked about the drive up the coast, it's going to be beautiful.
Maybe my blog sounds static because I'm trying to listen to music and type at the same time. Maybe it's because I'm feeling a little dead inside right now. I need something (like a large, life-changing move?) to get me out of this funk.
As a little girl, I was never popular in school and never had close friends, which made me feel rejected. Now I do have close friends, but I make myself believe that's not enough and I feel awful when I'm rejected in one way or another by a boy. I wish that I could just slap myself up the head and be like, 'Stupid! Look what's around you! Look who does care for you! You have so many amazing people in your life!' I wonder if it would help, because no matter how many times I try to give myself an ego boost, nothing hurts more than silence or lies, which I've gotten a lot of in the past month.
*sigh* okay. I'm going to go make myself busy somehow.
I know, what is the world coming to that I blog twice in one day, almost immediately after one another.
But I remembered a funny story from yesterday.
I had a lunch date and we were sitting outside because it was a beautiful afternoon, somewhat off to the side of the patio. We were having fun just talking and suddenly I realize that it's been about 10 minutes since we sat down and we don't even have menus. So our waitress finally comes up and apologizes profusely, but we tell her it's no big deal. I honestly didn't even notice, even though my stomach did. The rest of the meal goes fine, maybe a little slow service but it was a nice day and the restaurant was busy. (Can I just say, beer from a brewhouse in the middle of the day? With a cute boy? Perfect.)
Later that night my roommate invited me over to her friend's house for dinner (2 free meals in one day? Also magnificent) and who do I meet but my waitress from lunch. She said she was really sorry about the service but that my boyfriend was a really good tipper. I replied, 'Well we both work in the restaurant industry, so even when our waitress sucks, we still like to tip well.' Haha, no I didn't really say that. I said something like, 'Oh, he's not my boyfriend, but I wish he was.'
Today is most likely the last normal day that I'll have here in Santa Barbara. So much is happening in the next week and few days that I haven't really had time (or haven't wanted to) to think about what changes are going to happen.
I can't move my furniture up to San Francisco, so it all has to get sold/given away. However, the catch is that as of Thursday I'm basically going to be across town and busy all day for four days straight and when my program ends, I'm supposed to be moved out of my room. So, I almost have to be moved out of my room as of Thursday, only not really.
To add to this, I have a girl coming to stay with me for the length of the program because she doesn't want to spend money on a hotel. Fair enough, but things are going to get craaaaazy.
I hate moving. I love living in new cities and making new friends, but it sucks to leave your friends behind and a place that you've grown to love.
It's true. I bought a Justin Timberlake CD. I can admit it to the online world and I proudly (well while laughing and blushing) tell people of my recent purchase. I can't help it if his music is so dang catchy! And I know you know what I'm talking about because Megan is the first person I think of when I hear the lyrics "gonna getcha nekked by the end of this song."
In other news, I went back to Ann Taylor. I couldn't take the not working thing. I was going crazy. Plus I made another purchase, so I needed to have the money for it somehow. I'm awful - I told my co-workers that if I bought anything else there they were allowed to slap me. I'm serious. No more shopping!!
I went to a flute masterclass this afternoon that my teacher up in San Francisco was giving. The funniest part was when I went up to go say hi to him and it took us about 40 seconds before he could figure out who I was. Finally I was like, 'um, I'm going to be your student next year??' and then he connected the two in his mind. I don't blame him - I totally didn't expect him to remember me when he saw 50 some auditionees for 15 minutes each in one day. He probably knows my name better than my face. But it was still funny. I felt quite insignificant and special at the same time.
Random story: I went out with my roommate and her friend from MAC, Natalie. Natalie pointed out the bartender at a bar we were at, saying that she had just started dating him. The best part is that they dated for 4 years before splitting up about 6 years ago. He had proposed to her when they were in their early 20's and she wasn't ready to get married. Then they separated and thought that was that. Now 6 years later (and in a different city) they're back together! It totally gives me perspective on the fact that you never know what will happen in the future and who will come back into your life. Crazy.
It was amazing how quickly my mood changed the second I entered Santa Barbara. When I was home this week, I was lazy and proud of it. But when I caught a whiff of that sea breeze, I was ready for action. I haven't really stopped moving since.
The weather has been so perfect here - sunny and warm, without being overwhelmingly humid (cough cough Charlotte). I've just enjoyed walking around downtown with nothing to do but enjoying the afternoon. When I was done unpacking, I just took a stroll and ran a couple of errands but felt like I had had two cups of coffee, I was so energized. A natural caffeine - I guess that's what living in California does to me.
Today I went to an Afro-Brazilian dance class, went grocery shopping, washed my car, practiced, and am going to a photography show opening and then on to a cycling class. I think this whole no working thing will get old in about 2 weeks. Good thing I'm basically leaving then. My week is filling up with birthday parties, events, and shows and I'm glad because I love being busy.
I don't understand boys. I'm getting the weirdest mixed messages and I just can't decide what to do. But I'm standing my ground and not making the first move because I think I've made myself obvious enough. Another good reason I've been so busy.
Well, my family and birthday have both come and gone and now after having 4 days off in a week, I'm in denial about this whole 'job' thing.
I got into Ann Taylor today to find out I'm working 22 hours next week along with my restaurant for the next four days, which means I have a 2 hour break every day during a 12 or 13 hour day. Plus our restaurant is closing, which means glassware is disappearing, we're short-staffed, and loads of people are coming in wanting to hear the whole story, which takes a while to tell and is getting quite old. I'm already burned out and I haven't gotten through my first day back yet.
I sat down to lunch today with a glass of wine and then realized 'I look like an alcoholic.' Plus it turned out I really just wanted food, not alcohol, so I poured it back into the bottle. Wine at 3:00 in the afternoon.... hmmm.
I love my birthday cards, Christa. They'll stay up on my wall for quite a long time ;) I had so much fun that day and realized that I actually do have friends here that are willing to do a lot to hang out with me. Everyone that I invited to a nice dinner showed up even though it was expensive and I had 5 good friends to share a memorable evening with. Looking out my window the next day, it hit me that I'm really going to miss Santa Barbara and this year that I've had. Not having school to worry about, having the perfect job and apartment, growing musically and emotionally, and living so darn near the beach have made this year a time I won't forget.
Sigh, okay off I go again to get ready for work.