My Hitch Experience

We just got back from seeing the movie "Hitch." I thought it was quite entertaining (though not a movie I'd rush out to buy for my own collection). Still, pretty cute! Here are a couple observations I made during my latest movie-going experience:

1) There is now more advertising before a movie at the theater than I ever remember. It started out small a few years ago, but now there's a whole range of ads - from Twix and cell phone commercials, to promotional spots for TV shows along with the typical movie previews. Talk about overkill! Although I have to admit, I'm surprised it took them this long to catch on to the fact that during the ten minutes before a movie starts, they have a captive audience! Rather clever, I must say.

2) Someone near where we were sitting burped or farted throughout the first half of the movie, and it was NAS-TEE!!! I'm talking I absolutely could not breathe through my nose, and it burned my throat when I inhaled through my mouth. Seriously, I had to breathe with my sleeve cupped over my face. Jason will attest to this, it was without a doubt one of the worst smells I can remember experiencing. Luckily, it tapered off as the movie progressed (or maybe I just got used to it!)

Ok, that's all. Just curious, has anyone else seen this movie? What did you think?

Shopping Envy

I went shopping at Pier One today, and let me tell you ... not a good idea. I guess it's been a while since I've gone shopping just for the heck of it, because I wanted everything in sight. I've been pretty content with regards to our material possessions (I don't consider myself a very picky or greedy person in that respect), but suddenly I was jealous of all the cute stuff I didn't have! That store should have a tag line -- "Pier One Imports: Super cute, overpriced stuff that you'll never have. Enjoy your shopping experience (Ha!)" Ok, I'm actually over it now, but I don't think window shopping is a good idea for me :)

Anyway, my girl's small group starts tomorrow. I'm excited, even though it's only me and 2 high school students so far. They're great girls though, they make me laugh. One is a freshman and one's a sophomore. Hopefully we'll add to our group soon, but it should be fun as long as they both show up - I wouldn't know what to do for an hour and a half if it was just me and one other girl.

I have tomorrow off for President's Day (or some president's birthday, not sure ...) ... I'm not complaining, and in fact I'm super grateful, but I'm just wondering ... Why do we have off for this "holiday"? It's not like anyone actually celebrates the reason the day is a holiday. I don't make a cake and wish George Washington a happy birthday, I just sleep in and catch up on errands. I just find it odd ...... oh well, like I said ... it works for me!

One Black Sock

I swear, everytime we do laundry, one of us loses a sock. How does this happen? Where do all these socks go? They have to end up somewhere. I'm quite confused.

Anyway, yesterday we ate at Marie Collander's Restaurant and then rode the motorcycle to the nearby sand dunes and a place called "Oso Flaco Lake." I wish I knew how to post pictures, because we have some really pretty ones. Oh well, just imagine a long stretch of beach with crashing waves and large mounds of sand all around. And because of all the recent rain, the mountains in the distance are bright green this time of year. Very pretty. It was also a nice, long walk on the extended bridge over the Lake, through the sand and onto the beach ("to grandmother's house we go ..." hehe).

"Right On"

I don't know if it's a California thing or if it's just the latest trend, but everyone around here says "Right on" and "No worries" like mad! I haven't picked it up myself yet, as I'm not really into trends, but I have to say - at first, I liked it ... now, not so much. It's gotten a bit old.

Anyway, I have a ginormous headache right now from work, so I'm going to go eat, take a nap and watch the Apprentice later on. That means missing high school youth group tonight, which I feel really bad about, but at the same time I told Jason and he fully understood and supported that I am going to be committed to jr. high on Wednesday nights and only come occasionally to high school on Thursdays. I don't know how he does it, but I don't have the energy to be consistently committed to so many different people-oriented things! I guess I did last fall, when I wasn't working, but now that I've added more aspects to my life ... it's rather draining. How sad!

Caterpillars and First Impressions

I saw a tiny fuzzy caterpillar crawling on the ground today. I think it's the first caterpillar I've seen since I was a kid, and it made me smile. Plus, it's winter! Now I know I've never seen a caterpillar in February.

Ok, I have no transition into this, so I'll just start a new thought randomly. I'm really not good with first impressions. Not that I don't give a good first impression, but I'm not a good judge of character after meeting someone for the first time. The people at work who I initially thought were annoying or snobby, etc. have actually become the people I enjoy talking to most, while one girl in particular who I initially thought was super nice has grown to grate on my nerves like no other. I just find it interesting how someone can have consistent behavior or personality traits, yet the way I view that behavior or personality over time changes or rubs me in a different way. Maybe I'm just overthinking this, and maybe I shouldn't be making character judgments period, but it was on my mind so I thought I'd blog it out.

Oh, I was basically offered a promotion today, but it was for a job that I predicted would make me miserable (yes, even more than now ;)) - $2/hr richer, yes, but a richer woman with a huge headache. I would have been fielding the public's questions and complaints about building permits for 40 hours a week and technically I'm supposed to have 2 years of experience with construction plans, architectural blueprints, etc. for this position (although they said not to worry about that requirement). This position doesn't get a break from dealing with people, people, people, and to make a long story short, I ended up saying no, kindly explaining my reasoning so they don't pass me up for desirable job openings in the future. I know some of you reading this will think I'm crazy for passing it up, but I just applied for 2 other positions (one within the county that starts even higher than the building permit tech) that I really hope I get and I think would be a much better match for my personality. We'll see. Anyone reading this can comment on whether I made a huge mistake turning that position down, but keep in mind I already made my decision and it ultimately must be supported :):):)