i'll never tell

I finally have my flickr account back up and running. A while ago, I let my proaccount lapse on flickr so I stopped uploading my pictures. Without a pro account, flickr limits the number of pictures you can upload, the number of pictures you can access, and the organizational tools available. Since I wasn't really able to do a whole lot without the pro account, i just stopped uploading pictures. I decided sometime around the holidays that I wanted to get back into flickr though, so because santa didn't bring a pro account on xmas, I bought myself one! Now, I can access all of my old pictures again (w/out the pro account, they were hidden from me. bogus). Today -- on my wonderful lazy sunday off -- I spent a good while going through all my old pictures. Ah memories.

I also started a new book. I'm waiting for the new wally lamb book to come in the mail, so I started reading Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland. I'm not very good at discussing the literary merits (or demerits) of literature, so I won't even try. But so far I like it and thats enough said for me.

Neill and I also started watching True Blood - that series on showtime about VAMPIRES. we just finished the first episode and me likes it! I'm much more drawn to continue watching that show than Dexter, which we also started a few days ago. We watched the third episode today and I'm still feeling sorta eh about it. I dont like the guys sister. she annoys me. maybe im missing something, but the show just doesn't do it for me. but ive heard such good good good things about it, so i havent written it completely off. but true blood, ahh, i can tell i'm already hooked.

Ah. I'm so happy to be off of work! I had such a good time last night hanging out with neill and james. We drank. We merried. We stopped at under dog. It was so fun to just hang out and go out on a satuday night. it has been much much much too long since i've done that. you can see the pictures (and movies) i took last night on flickr! (or check out that box to the right of this post . . . i just added this gadget to my blog so that it would be easy to link directly to flickr from here). What would vacation be without tooling around online? hehe.

Tag. You're It!

i stole this off someone else's blog. now YOU have to do it too!

Say you marry the last person you IM-ed, what's your new last name?
Landeros? gchatting at work is the bomb.

When's the last time you fell asleep watching a movie?
Never. I can't sleep with the tv on.

Are any of your texts in your inbox locked and why?
No. I have no idea how to do that. I wish I did though. someone teach me!

Is there that one guy/girl that you'll always have feelings for no matter what happens?
Of course. I feel that way about everyone who has been in my life. I guess I'm a sap that like.

How many cell phones have you had in your life?
two

What's the last thing you laughed really hard over?
The last Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode where Charlie writes a musical. I heard day man!

What was the last drink you had?
water.

Who called you first this morning?
No one has called me yet. Neill texted me. I called Fro. I've answered a bunch of crisis calls.

Last night, did you go to sleep smiling?
of course.

Any summer plans for 2009?
wow thats thinking really far in advance. none yet.

How long can you go without your phone?
days. i hate cell phones. i like to keep mine on silent 24/7 and maybe just look at it once or twice a day.

Were you happy when you woke up today?
yep! lots of sleep and a cool dream leads to a happy wake up.

Are you missing someone?
not really. ha.

If you could go back in time, how far back would you go?
back to when vampires ruled the world!!!!!!!!!!! I'd look for edward <3 style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Are you the youngest person living in your house?
Yep

Have you ever quoted a line from a movie?
I guess. but i probably butchered it.

Gummy bears or gummy worms?
don't they taste the same? either or and both!

Do you like candy corn?
YES!!!!

Did you ever want to be a lawyer?
nope. i do want to be a professional juror though!

If there were no letters on the keys on your keyboard could you still type?
probably.

Do you have a bad temper?
yep. im an aries - i cant help it. its a flah in the pan though . . .always dies down quickly.

Do you still speak to any of your classmates from elementary school?
hahah yep!!!! bffs!

Do you remember the first rated-R movie you saw?
nope

What is one thing you spend way too much money on?
hmmm eating out?

Do you believe that there's good in every body?
yes!!!!!!!!!

What TV show should never stop running?
probably a bunch of them. rock of love?

Anything you're currently looking forward to?
hanging out with neill and james tonight!

Anything special happened today?
not yet

Who was the last person to make you laugh?
froilan

Who was the last person you talked to in person?
a whole mess of people at NRS

In winter, would you rather wear jackets or hoodies?
big warm jackets!

Do you wish you were somewhere else right now?
a bit. not at work, i guess. but i like my job so its not so bad being here. :)

Look in your inbox in your phone, who are all the people you have texts from?
neill, gracie, miriam, jared, and erica . . .

What are you drinking right now?
water. mmm.

What kind of shirt are you wearing?
t-shirt from uneetee.com

Last person you talked to on the phone?
besides the crisis calls i took, my mom.

What will you do tomorrow?
NOTHING. beautiful lazy day! yessss!

Have you ever dated someone longer than a year?
yes

Would you be able to tell someone you love them, even if you didn't feel it?
thats fucked up

What color are your eyes?
blue

Do you wear your seat belt in the car?
not if i can help it. im bad and dumb for that.

Will you talk to someone on the phone tonight?
hopefully not. i hate talking on the phone.

Ever kissed someone that smokes?
im not sure. prbbably in high school maybe.

Is there someone in your life you don't want in it?
not really.

Do you get mad easily?
wasn't this covered already? when im in a mood, its easy to set me off.

Where do you see yourself in the next 2 years?
hopefully back in school. but other than that, somewhere along the same place i still am. life is good!

What woke you up this morning?
my internal clock

In the past week have you cried?
yes. stupid pms.

What made you sad today?
nothing!

What makes you not be able to sleep?
neill's snoring!

Has anyone ever told you that you have pretty eyes?
yep yep

What did you do yesterday?
Went to work, went to workout, cooked with neill, watched another episode of Dexter, and then went to bed.

What are you wearing?
cords and a t-shirt.

What is the closest green object to you?
umm. NRS logo.

Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with?
Neill.

Did you have a good day yesterday?
it was great after work.

On average, what do you think you cry about the most?
Hmm. this is a good question. frustration? or being tired. yeah. when im tired i can be a baby.

Would you ever get a tattoo?
i have one already and i want more!

Do you think you can last in a relationship for 6 months without cheating?
duh

Are you currently frustrated with a boy/ girl?
nope

Do you like redbull?
diet redbull can sometimes be a life saver

Have you ever seen a dead body?
creepy. no!

Do you like voicemails?
NO

Do you think you'll be married in 10 years?
yes.

back in the game

ah. its been a while. im not quite sure what I've been doing the last few days. probably mostly just wishing that i was still on vacation.

I finished twilight. loved it. wish there was more.

gracie told me that stephanie m was going to write books from edward's perspective, but that the project was now postponed. Does anyone else know about this?

I saw the twilight movie on Tuesday. lame. it sucked. HUGE disappointment. Bad acting. Bad special effects. Bad character development. bad bad bad. I'm thinking the next one will better...i heard it is going to have a bigger budget. is this true???

I only had a three day work week this week. Yay! So after today (im at work right now) I'm a free woman until Thursday. Whew! i can't believe I'll have a Saturday night completely free of worries about work the next day. Neill, James, and I are going to go to Quencher's. There is a band playing that neill wants to see and its just a cool bar -- good beer and free popcorn! Of course, I'm more attracted by the free popcorn than the beer. hahaha. last time we went there, i got this special chocolate stout. it was one of those extra big bottles and it cost like 12 dollars. and then i thought it was totally nasty and i couldn't drink it. my goal is not to do that again tonight. All are welcome though! I'm going to stay out past 10 tonight and im going to have fun and its going to be sweet. And then -- perhaps the best part -- i get to sleep in tomorrow!!!!

Other notable or exciting things:
+I ordered the new wally lamb book off of amazon. yay.
+I bought a couch. omg. I bought a couch on a whim. spur of the moment. It gets delivered on friday!
+neill and i made a delicious vegetable frittata (or however you spell that) last night. soooo good. crimini mushrooms. zucchini. eggplant. yum!

hiatus

dear readers,

please excuse my recent hiatus. I am much much much too wrapped up in the twilight series to offer anything remotely interesting. I'm just shy of half way through the 4th book.

Ah, the suspense.

Don't worry though -- I'll be back once I've finished.

(I'll seriously cut you if you spoil it for me now.)

Happy New Year to YOU!!!!

Since I couldn’t get my act together to send out holiday cards, I figured I would regale you with a wonderfully entertaining 2008 recap. Of course, the main and most important purpose of this card is to wish you a wonderful and happy new year! Each one of you makes my life wonderful and I truly appreciate you. I hope everything that is good comes your way in 2009!

Last year, I rang in 2008 at home watching Battlestar Galatica with Neill. We were both sick and, after I refused antibiotics, I stayed in bed and missed the first two weeks of 2008 while I watched Neill quickly regain his health. This officially marked the beginning of my belief in modern medicine. Don’t worry though – I still believe “germs” are just part of a large conspiracy to make us spend $$$ on needless antibacterial soaps, scrubs, sprays, and what not. January wasn’t all wasted being sick though. I started interviewing at the National Runaway Switchboard (NRS) on January 16th and I was officially hired as a Call Center Supervisor on February 2nd.

February was busy! I went through NRS’ 40 hour crisis intervention training and started transitioning into the working world. Man. Working 8 to 4 was certainly a shock to my system! This is also when I said goodbye to my Saturdays and Sundays and welcomed Tuesdays and Wednesdays as my days off. Weird. As I fully transitioned into working at NRS, I finished off my research assistantships. At DePaul University, I had the chance to work on a paper with other students from Dr. Kathy Grant’s lab on the moderating effects of ethnicity on the relationship between body image and disordered eating. At Loyola University Chicago, I finished working on my poster (with Dr. Colleen Conley and Dr. Maryse Richards) on the safe sex practices and sexual satisfaction of adolescents and emerging adults. Whew.

I presented that poster at the Society for Research on Adolescence in the beginning of March. Other than that, I don’t think much else was going on in March besides my birthday (the big 22 on the 23rd!). AND Miriam and Erica came to visit us in Chicago and we all had a cray cray time at SubT’s free styling night.

April started off right with going to see Explosions in the Sky on April 1st. I also started guitar lessons on April 2nd (which I have since given up). On a more humiliating note, April 9th will forever go down as the day I bowled a TWO. Yes. You have that right. TWO. Oh – and to make it worse – I bowled this horrendously bad game in front of ALL of my new coworkers. And there are pictures. Bummer. Thankfully, I was able to escape to Florida for Passover and relax some days away with Neill, mom, Lanie, and Zadie.

Between April and May, I had the opportunity to attend an eye opening training on commercial sexual exploitation of youth that was based off of a training put together by GEMS . Other highlights of May include: a visit from Jayson, checking out Thrice at the Metro, and seeing Maritime at the Double Door.

In June, I spent a bit of time being disappointed that I wasn’t in Europe like the summer before. Boo. But, on the bright side, I visited Knox for the first time since I graduated to watch some of my best buds get their diplomas! I was hot as hell in Galesburg, but I had such a great time chillin at Knox. I also took a quick trip down to Circle Pines Center with Gracie and Cathy to visit Kevin and Tessa (and drop Cathy off for her summer of fun!). When I was there, I got soooo nostalgic for Circle Pines and I’m definitely hoping to visit again next summer.

In July, we had visitors from Canada and we learned how to play the super fun card game Dutch Blitz. Also, Neill recorded Through This Night (check out their awesome review and then buy the CD!!!!) with his band, Ready the Destroyer. I’m pretty sure July also involved a lot of BBQing and beer drinking J

August was more of the BBQing and drinking. Also, Kurt and Jayson came into town for Lallapalooza. I’m happy that I got a chance to hear about all of the music without actually having to wade around with the masses in Grant Park. On a sad note, we had to say goodbye to Brian when he left for his AmeriCorps program in California L

September 1st, Neill and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary with a three day weekend of relaxation and fun. We bought each other a beautiful floor length mirror after living without one for a year. I remember thinking, “Oh…That’s what I look like!” We also started checking out the stand up comedy show at the Beat Kitchen. Very funny! One guy in particular really made us laugh. His stage name is Hannibal, but I think he has since moved to NYC.

Late September I went back to Florida for Rosh Hoshana and spent time with Lanie and my Grandfather. October was mainly lost to sleeping and TVs because I had my wisdom teeth out. Yuck. Luckily, I was still able to catch Ani DiFranco at the Chicago Theatre. (If you haven’t checked out her new album yet, I highly recommend it!) Seriously though, that’s all for October!

This is of course brining us very close to present day. November was all about THE ELECTION and OBAMA. (Actually, this reminds me, I probably spent waaaay too many hours watching the Rachel Maddow show in October). And, almost as important, Neill has his 30th birthday celebration at Piece. This was when I decided I like stouts (Piece’s flat iron stout is sooo good). Right before Thanksgiving, Neill and I saw LuLu at the Lyric Opera. This was somewhat similar to being tortured (at least for me. I think Neill liked it more). Then, James and Neill made an outrageous Thanksgiving dinner complete with 2 pies and a 20 pound turkey! After, we went to mom’s house to celebrate with my mom, dad, and Ruth.

December has been all about The Holidays and, of course, adjusting to the cold cold cold wet wet wet icey ice icey weather in Chicago. We celebrated Chanukah with my family in Chicago and then went to West Virginia for Christmas to be with his family.

I hope all of you are had a wonderful and warm holiday season! I think 2009 is going to be amazing I and I want to hear all about your wonderful adventures (or misadventures).

Happy New Year!

All my heart,
Alisha O.