For some reason I have a really bad stomachache today. And I don't think it's in any way related to partying at the Totsy last night or the super greasy onion rings and mozzarella sticks I had with Drew at Denny's afterward. Really. I've been feeling sort of unwell the last couple days... usually my stomach problems are related to stress but I've been feeling unusually happy the last few days, especially compared to the doldrums I've been in for the last couple months or so. Weird. My folks are sick at moment so maybe I'm just coming down with something too since I spent most of the weekend in the car with them.

( Graduation photos )

[	mood	|	cheerful	]
[	music	|	townes van zandt - "like a summer thursday"	]

I am tired... very tired. Los Angeles has a way of making me feel exhausted and prickly hot, even after just a few days. I think it's because whenever I go I end up spending hours in the car getting from Point A to Point B and the glaring desert sun is almost too much to take. I must admit, however, that driving down (the) 10 at 2 o'clock in the morning was pretty fun. My primary reason for going was to attend my stepsister's graduation but I ended up having more free time than I had anticipated. If I had known, aproctor, maybe we could have met up one day! The graduation was a graduation. It was a three hour long procession of names I didn't know, a one minute moment of someone I knew on the screen, and that was it. That night I went with my stepsister to a couple of parties that seemed to be populated primarily with Paris Hilton wannabes and their shiny be-Guccied boyfriends. And there was no beer! Only cheap wine and bad champagne. Blech. I'm glad I was able to meet up with Vishal a couple times; Thursday night we went to this nifty bar in Hollywood called The Dresden Room. The decor was very fifties, our waitress had likely been there since the fifties, and the band was playing covers of Frank Sinatra songs. It was sweet. But I'm very glad to be back in the Bay Area, earthquakes and all.

I have a new Friendster friend with whom I'm going to do a tape exchange. He's got impeccable taste in music so it's going to be tough. Anyone else want one while I'm at it?

[	mood	|	sleepy	]
[	music	|	the byrds - "you're still on my mind"	]

Every so often my roommate's quasiboyfriend spends the night and I inevitably get woken up by the repetitive grunting noises he makes when they're having sex. I have no idea what this guy looks like but because my roommate is a 40-something New Ager, I picture someone who looks like the Tim Robbins character from High Fidelity. Yuck. I just turn my stereo up loud enough to drown them out, usually playing AC/DC or Shellac or Big Black or something equally abrasive. I'm not bitter because I'm alone, it's just... irritating. It always has been.

I've decided to get a tattoo. I've been thinking about getting this specific tattoo for 3 years now so it's high time for action. It's the company logo for the place I get my eyeglasses made, Katz & Klein, and the logo is a cat wearing glasses (see here, but without the eye). Since I'm quiet and bookish (yet hopefully cute) I think it's fitting. And it's obscure enough that no one will have it or recognize it as a logo. I hope.

I went on a pretty major record shopping spree this weekend. I bought:

Friends of Dean Martinez - On the Shore
Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose
Caetano Veloso - s/t
Emmylou Harris - Elite Hotel
Felt - Let the Snakes Crinkle Their Heads to Death
Townes van Zandt - For the Sake of the Song

[

mood

|

pleased

]

Friendster may have connected me with a man friend, myspace may have driven us apart, but orkut seems to have connected me with a long lost relative. I found someone living in London with the last name Swan and started talking to her, she sent me a family genealogy dating back to the 17th c., and voila! Her great-grandfather is apparently the brother of my great-grandfather. I need to talk to my great-aunt about this, but how many other Alfred Swans from Northampton with 8 siblings were born around 1900? I've never known anything about my family any further back than 1900. I know I'm a dork but this is way cool. I have roots!

[

mood

|

bored

]

( Quiz me! )

[	mood	|	indifferent	]
[	music	|	the seeds - "can't seem to make you mine"	]

That's right folks, I'm leaving tomorrow morning for a 4 day 3 night all expense paid trip to lovely northern New Mexico. My co-worker Erik and I are getting paid to spend a few days in the mountains north of Taos to meet people from New Mexico Tech and get accquainted with the field part of the project we've been doing the laboratory end of for the last few months. Not too shabby.

Otherwise things are ___. I came thisclose to driving through 3 red lights on my way home down Telegraph in Oakland last night because I've been so distracted as of late. Hrm.

[	mood	|	content	]
[	music	|	scott walker - scott	]

Last night I went with Misato, Sayaka, and the rest of the Stillwater Sciences crew to Candlestick, erm, PacBell, erm, SBC Park to see the Giants play the Padres. It was rather cold, rainy, and windy but not altogether unfun. We had the bleachers seats behind left field and we were pretty close to the action. Sitting in the proletariat section has its advantages - lots of fighting between San Diego and San Francisco fans (i.e., calling Barry Bonds a drug addict and yelling at him to pass the needle, heckling Klesko) and opportunities to huddle close against your neighbor to fend off the chill. SBC Park is small, intimate park, although a bit Disneyish in it's nostalgia. Maybe I feel that way because I'm nostalgic for the orange plastic seats of Candlestick. I hadn't been to a Giants game since 1991 when I had a big crush on Will Clark. Ah well. It was good times, although I think my next baseball game (if there is a next baseball game) will be A's Dollar Days at the Coliseum.

Yesterday morning my boss let me go home early after our weekly meeting - I must have looked like a wreck because I'd only had about 2.5 hours of sleep the night before. I tried to nap but to no avail because I'd had espresso just to get myself to work on time so, as logic goes, I decided to drive my exhausted, over-caffeinated self down Hwy. 1 to the beach. I ate at the fancy seaside Taco Bell in Pacifica, then stopped a little bit south at this deserted cove. I really wish I had taken my camera because it was so ridiculously beautiful. The sea looked glassy and the clouds gave everything this weird bluish tint and the waves had washed up thousands of dark blue bivalve shells onto the shore, forming this lacy pattern on the sand. There I was able to sleep, in the sun, on the sand. It was nice.

Last night I bought Season Two of The Simpsons so I got my Treehouse of Horror on. I also watched some of the Animaniacs marathon my stepdad had taped for me. Man, I used to love that show.

( 1964 )

[

mood

|

annoyed

]

My cell phone, i.e., my only phone, has been out of service since last night. I'm in Berkeley, which isn't exactly the boonies, so I'm not sure what the deal is. Tony thinks my cell phone is a piece of crap (which it is, even though it was featured in T3) so that's likely why. I doubt anyone has tried to call because, really, who calls me? But in case you have, I won't get your message for an indefinite amount of time. I can't call out either.

Also, my ipod has disappeared. I left it in a drawer in a locked room at work but it seems that someone has absconded with it. Not cool.

I ran into my friend Scott today and he told me that if you're a university employee, they'll pay for you to take this $1000 GRE prep class as a sort of career advancement deal. I think I will definitely have to look into this.

*[EDIT]* As of 3:55pm, my phone is back in service. Woo. I'm anxiously awaiting the flood of calls to be coming in.

[	mood	|	silly	]
[	music	|	the kinks - "dandy"	]

Man, I wish I had somewhere to store pics online so I could post 'em on here. Not only did I finally get my new glasses but I also got a neato June Cleaver-esque dress AND a new haircut. Maybe once I get a digital camera I'll figure out how to do this photo posting bizness.

[	mood	|	sleepy	]
[	music	|	my bloody valentine - loveless	]

I'm tired... so, so tired. I think I filled up on too much food, beer, and good conversation with Hoang last night and it's just left me lethargic. These next eight hours at work are going to be long. I'm already on to my second cup of coffee and it's barely 9am.

Southern California Adventure: Part II is coming next week (I hope). You down, Aaron? Vishal is going to try to prove to us that L.A. can be fun. I'm not going to be easily persuaded! (Especially because I like giving V a hard time.)

[	mood	|	sore	]
[	music	|	love - "alone again or"	]

I am having, quite possibly, the worst hair day I have ever had in my life. It all started back on Sunday when I decided to go for a bike ride. I hadn't been on one for at least a year and the weather was perfect so I ended up going much further along the river levee than I really should have. That night I couldn't sleep because my legs were killing me and yesterday I had to leave work early because my back was in such serious pain that I couldn't stand to spend the whole day walking around the lab. I spent all afternoon lying in bed and last night I took a hot shower and two Tylenol p.m. tablets before going sleep. The pills knocked me out before I had the chance to blow dry my hair and put all the goop in it that I normally do. So no, that Farrah Fawcet feathering deal going on only on the the left side of my head is not intentional. I have (a rather lengthy) excuse. I apologize. This may even go back further to the fact that I am so low-down dirt-poor broke that I can't afford to get my hair cut. I couldn't afford to see Eternal Sunshine with Tony on Sunday either. But that's okay 'cause he's po' too.

[	mood	|	nostalgic	]
[	music	|	marty robbins - "el paso"	]

Guadalupe Maria has gone into retirement. After taking me to Los Angeles and Lake Tahoe, to Isleton and between Sacramento and Berkeley hundreds of times, she's been put out to pasture in the suburbs of West Sacramento. I've traded cars with my step-dad, so instead of my '87 Corolla, I now have a late 90s model Camry. I suppose it's a much nicer car but I can't help but be a bit saddened about the loss of my Lupita. The Camry is as-of-yet unnamed, but I'm thinking that Fred or Barnaby would be fitting.

[	mood	|	contemplative	]
[	music	|	count five - "psychotic reaction" [on repeat in my head]	]

No matter where you are or what you're doing, you probably think you would be better off if only you were doing something else. I constantly feel that way, at least. That explains why I want a new job, a new roommate, and a shiny new apartment in any city but Berkeley. And that also explains why I thought that a week in Barstow would be the answer to all my problems. Hah! It wasn't SO bad... it was good to get away and it was great to see Misato (I've missed hanging out with her) and the Mojave is beautiful but I'm not surprised that I didn't like it much either. LA is the antithesis of all that makes me happy and Las Vegas is even worse so it figures that the rinky cities strung along between would not be the ideal place to spend a vacation. We ended up spending an awful lot of time driving from point A to point B in the 90+ degree heat and we didn't get to hike much because it was so damn hot. But we did go thrift shopping in Barstow a couple times (great deals!) and we ate at all the landmarks - the Bun Boy, the Mad Greek, and the world's first Del Taco, right there in Barstow.

While I was out there I got to visit an archaeological site or two and the people I met further reinforced my fear that most established archaeologists are sexist, condescending men. I felt I had to constantly prove that I was an intelligent person but they nonetheless took every opportunity to check out my less than ample bosom. Sigh. My experience this week, in concert with previous encounters and my inability to find a job as an archaeologist, has got me seriously reconsidering my future career. I love history and archaeology but... but... I don't know if field work is the life for me. Especially since I can't seem to be able to make it happen in the first place. Maybe I can go to grad school for library science/museum studies/archiving or something of the ilk. I still have some time to weigh my options. Maybe something promising will come about in the meantime.

[	mood	|	excited	]
[	music	|	stereo total - juke-box alarm	]

I feel like a schoolgirl waiting for Christmas morning to arrive; I can't sleep, I can't read, I can't do anything except daydream about the big day. I'm so giddy about getting to go on vacation tomorrow; so what if it's just a week in a trailer in the remote dusty reaches of the Mojave Desert? I think I'm happy because even a brief change of pace is sorely needed. I'm also going to get to take a weekend class through Barstow Community College on the Human History and Archaeology of the Mojave while I'm there. Besides... chuckwallas, marmots, jackalopes, and The World's Tallest Thermometer beckon. Postcards anyone?

I know the game of "type your name into google's image search and pick your favorites" is old hat but I never bothered to do it. ( Until now. )

Introducing the new action figure from Mattel...
( Lab Assistant Jenn! )

[	mood	|	cheerful	]
[	music	|	orange juice - "falling and laughing"	]

My goal for the week is be a good employee. I'm going to have five days off during the next two weeks so I should be able to suck it up and get things done now. My plan is to not check my e-mail so often, be more focused on the tasks at hand, not take such long coffee breaks, etc. Of course, being late first thing Monday morning and writing a livejournal update while at work is probably not the way to go about this. Sigh.

I really had a pretty awesome weekend. I didn't make it to either dance night but that's okay. I got to hit up some of my favorite Sacramento eateries - Hamburger Mary's and Vic's Ice Cream - and spent a good deal of time just enjoying the extraordinarily beautiful weather. I think the reason why I'm anticipating work to be such a struggle this week is because it'll be 75 degrees outside and I'll be stuck in a windowless office. Meh. Anyway, I had good times acting like a dork with my mom and I had good times acting like a dork with Tony - they're my kind of people. Tony got a nifty (and dirt cheap!) digital camera on Saturday and we briefly walked around his neighborhood taking goofy pics. If he sends them to me I'll put them up. Until he took a picture of me walking, I never noticed how far my head sticks out in front of my body when I'm walking. I guess it's because I slump but I look like a damn chicken. He wanted to accost some emo kids to take pictures of (but we only saw them at the most inopportune moments) as well as these Ren Faire people that were randomly roaming around his neighborhood. But like the elusive Nessie or Big Foot, they disappeared before we had our chance.

[	mood	|	mellow	]
[	music	|	the walkmen - "the rat"	]

I totally flaked out on Steph and Francesca last night. We were supposed to go dancing but they had to go without me because I was tired by 9:30. I didn't get much sleep the night before but it still made me feel like an old woman. I mean, I am going to be a quarter of a century old in 2 years for chrissakes. I better get used to these early nights when all I want to do is curl up with a comfy afghan, a good book, and some warm milk. Tonight I'm going to make up for it by going out to this new Sacramento dance-night called Fuck Fridays for Tony's birthday (happy birthday!). I'm not so sure the music will really be my cup of tea but eh, it'll be worth checking out. Not that we'll dance either. The same dj is going to be spinning Saturday night at another dance club called Vicious. I might go with Bren but two nights of partying in a row might be a bit much for elderly me.

I never post about my dreams, usually because I can't remember them or they're flat-out boring, but last night was sort of weird. At 2:30 this morning I was suddenly struck by the thought that I had fallen asleep with my contacts in. I opened my eyes and couldn't see anything (as usual) but I panicked thinking that they had gotten stuck up in my eyelid or something. So I ran into the bathroom and started pinching around my eyes trying to get them off but they simply weren't coming. While I was standing at the mirror I think I was asleep and it was only after I had been poking at my eyes for awhile that I woke up and remembered that I wasn't wearing contacts and I hadn't for the last week. Once I realized that, it really creeped me out. At least I didn't gouge my eyes or anything. I've never sleep-walked before. And no, I hadn't been drinking. I had a friend who used to wake up in the middle of the night, pour himself a bowl of cereal, eat two bites then go back to bed with no recollection of it the next morning. I don't think I'm that bad (yet).

[	mood	|	tired	]
[	music	|	e.s.g. - "erase you"	]

The last week or so I've been spending a lot of time visiting dentists, doctors and other health practitioners. My health coverage runs out when I turn 23 so I have to hurry to take care of all the things I've been putting off. Three more months of prodding, poking, and blood being drawn. Dandy. I'm getting new glasses out of this, though. I've finally succumbed to the plastic frame craze (about 8 years late).

This sunny weather really has me feeling my oats. I can't wait to pull out my dresses and skirts and cute shoes again. I'm also starting to feel the pull of the open road... In a couple weeks I'm going to spend some time chillin at Misato's pad down in the desert. I seriously can't wait to have a vacation.