Jeans vs Shoes

Why is it I will spend a lump sum on shoes but not jeans? I'll wear the jeans about 100 times more than the shoes but $100 on cute shoes, that I put on and love... I'll think once, but never twice. But jeans... I've worn though two pairs of jeans in the past month and I have a third pair on their way out. So now I'm here looking for a pair to replace the pair I love so much that I've had for 5 years... but it's so hard. Fucking jeans!

SSPU

The AMAZING Silversun Pickups! I'm sorry for the V-cast ad, but really Rusted Wheel... one of my FAVORITE songs (though I'm not sure any of these videos give them any justice). They made the Shins look like a garage band. One thing this video doesn't show is their stage presence. He made it feel like they were playing for you. And check out the drumer's symbol like 6 feet in the air. He was mesmerizing to watch. If you have the chance go see them. If you don't love them I'll pay for your f-ing ticket (not really but you know what I mean). And yes, you can ask anyone if the bay who saw both shows. The Shins were a sad state in comparison. Not bad on their own but really... really!

Pebble Beach

So, I wrote this little blog on my fancy cell phone all ready to send it but for some reason the publish button wasn't working so... sadly I'm not writing this while breathing in the freash ocean air and watching the waves crash on the rocks. But this past weekend was the first time in 20 years of showing at Pebble Beach that I went to the beach while I was there. It was nice.
But what was nice was that I won the $5000 Open Jumper Stake. This was a class open to professioal and non professionals like me. Well, yes I won. I didn't will $5000 so don't come asking me for money but I did get a nice chunk that should pay for most of the show. I did beat both my trainers as well as a few other "big" NorCal trainers. I was (and still am) super excited. What a way to start a show year! Well, that and Lindsay and Matt have been kicking my as of late so I guess it's paying off and I'm kicking ass right back!

You Know There are Still Stupid People in the World... but not anymore

Tests found a bunch medications in Anna Nicole Smith's blood, including a sedative called chloral hydrate (used sometime to traqualize horses), benzodiazepines, methadone (which killed her son), Valium, Tylenol, weight-loss drugs (Trim Spa?), vitamin B-12 (suposidly part of an anit-ageing process), over-the-counter anti-flu tablets, antibiotics and human growth hormone(?!?!?!). Dear god, they won't even need to embalm her body... she already did it!

P.S.> yes, a bit heartless, but really who puts all this in their body (plus probably more that is undetectable) and expects to stay alive.

That's right Baby Adorable and Innocent (hehehe)

The X and my mom

Okay, for those of you know have read this blog before you've seen the name Mr. B cross over the screen. Mr. B was my high school sweetheart. We were best friends for a good long while before we technically dated. In this time period Mr. B became a member of my family. Even after we broke up (March or April my Freshman year) (after three months of not talking and him dating another girl, one he had been "talking to" before we broke up.) we were friends. We'd talk about all types of things, but mostly horses. Last spring, after a six year long "friendship", I had reached the final straw with him. He had told my mother about his new girlfriend before me.... well no, it was after that, it was when he moved in with this new girlfriend after only a month, oh yes, and i heard that from my mother as well.

Flash forward to today:
"Hey, mom."
"Hi. I was talking to your/our neighbor and found out her daughter (was my best friend in 4th grade) is engaged."
"Well, good for her. She was with the guy a while right." (ie: PLEASE no pressure!)
"Yes, and she's getting her PhD. Oh, and talking about engagements, I talked to Mr. B, since we are head to LA I thought we could get lunch of something, and he proposed to A over the weekend."
"Oh, really."
"I mean, they've been living together for almost a year."(Oh, and dating about a year... fun fun)

At this point I think... hmmm well if he is going to invite my mom to the wedding... how weird would it be if he didn't invite me? Oh, I bet they'll make some no ex's pact and that's why I wouldn't be invited but my mom would. "We said nothing about ex's parents." But would I want to go anyways? I know my mom would go....
FUCKING WEIRD!!!

Yes, A Bahamas Two

Yes, my sister-in-law set me pictures from the bahamas and they're too cute to not post, so here they are. Abbie's favorite thing to do was wash her feet. Over and Over and Over
This was the coconut we found on the ground a little unripe. It got dropped and cracked. So we worked hard to try to open it all the way.
Tao worked extra har.
But we got it done! To bad it was so unripe
And this is us the the National Park... walking along the path, very slowly... 'cause bugs and lizards are very scary and she didn't want her picture taken.

My Phone

So I have a Nokia 6102, the Nokia flip phone. This is my second one. The first one broke in half at the Oakland airport when I got back from Toronto in July. I use my insurance to replace it for free... oh no wait a $50 deductable. So now, six months later the phone broke, in the same spot, as the first one. So I didn't get insurance this time so I duct taped it together. It has been three months of the duct taped phone and now it has decided to randomly turn off. When it started this is did it like once a day. Now three weeks of this later, it does it five to six times a day, if not more. So fuck you Nokia, I went and bought myself and new FANCY DANCY Treo with Internet and a calender and a whole key board to text message with. Too bad it won't be here till Friday.

I hunt and I killed!

So I searched craigslist, I hunted craigslist, and what did I find? (Ms. T you'll kind of appreciate this) I found Silversun tickets. In the list of TICKETS WANTED I found the 1 ad that had some for sale, and yes I paid too much for them, but I got them! And really, when it comes to me, and I want something, I'll work hard to get them. and I got them! I got them!

Silversun Pickups, Ok Go, and Snow Partol

Yes, I was lucky enough to go to the show. But the band I wanted to see the most was Silversun Pickups. If you don't know them check them out. I love two of their songs, Lazy Eye and Rusted Wheel. Anyway, the bands played in the order listed above... and Apple Jacks and I, being who we are, took our time getting to it. The tickets said 8pm. We got there at around 8:45-9 and guess what?!? We missed band numero uno... that's right, the band that we were really there to see. I cried a little deep down but got over it. Ok Go was, well for lack of a better word, okay. And snow patrol wasn't half bad. Way better than Death Cab for Cutie were but not nearly as good as Damian Rice (who we have tickets to go see again next month). But you know who is also playing next month... ah that's right, Silversun Pickups... how quickly did tickets sell out... 8 min. By 10:10am on Sunday their show was sold out. Fuckers. Oh well... we did get tickets to The Shins.

No Bahamas part 2 Just Life

Okay, so life has been busy. I've had a great V-day dinner with the apple man. I went to a car event at Laguna Seca in Monetary and also had my birthday... whooo hooo 26! I've gone to Tahoe to get some half decent snow. I've gotten the flu. I've been working. There are details of course, there was the best wine I've had... EVER at Paul K where we have V-day dinner. I had on of the worst track driving students EVER! Just didn't seem to listen to what I was saying AT ALL. I got let down by my birthday because I'm no longer 5 the for that day, no matter how much I want in to, the world is not going to stop and bow down to me. And now I'm sick... like I've been this whole month but WAY worse. I'm a whiny bitchy needy girl who's temp is either sky rocketing or plummeting and hacks though the night. It's fun. So on that note I'm going to get my self some tea, but some socks on my feet, grab a coat 'cause it's going to rain and head off to work with small children.

Bahamas Part 1

This is a picture of the most northern and western point of Grand Bahama Island. Our resort was at the tip... past the ghetto with the Wind Dixi where my dad bought food.

This is a view from the road that runs though the ghetto of Grand Bahama... I mean if you're going to have a house with no roof or windows at least you get to see this!

This was the building the two two bedroom suits the eight of us stayed in, Ian, Amy, Abbie, and Oma in one suit. Mom, Dad, Tao and I in the other.

This is the hammock that was outside of the building. It was a really shitty hammock and would sink to the ground in you sat in in but it was really inviting.

Pictures From Jackson Hole a Month Later

This was me hiking up to the top of the Headwall.
This was the view halfway up
Everyone else finishing up the hike to the Headwall
The slow soft ride down.
AJ and I laying in the snow! What a ride!

Wait I got second!

I go and call Ms. M, just to tell her about the second, and thankfully last, week of the show. The second words out of her mouth are, "Congratulations of the second!" uhmmm.... what? "I got second?" I ask, yes that is correct I should know how I place in my classes, but this class, Saturday's class I went fourth or sixth out of sixty plus horses. I wasn't going to sit around for over two hour just to see how I did. And, to be honest, I didn't do GREAT. I made it to the jump off (the round that counts) and had one rail. I was fast, which is normal, not to be cocky, but really one rail with over 60 horses... what's the likely hood that none of those people would go clean as well... well it looked like bigger than I thought. So yeah, i guess that makes this last weekend better than the weekend before. I even rode great on Sunday, so I'm happy with that as well. I've got some time to get rid of the rust that i seemed to have found building up in my riding ability before the next show.

Thurmal Week 1

Okay, the show season has started again. This year we kick it off at a new facility down in Thurmal CA near Palm Springs, about five min. from the old facility. Overall, it was new. Trees still tied up, footing not settled, tents not up. It's like anything new, it needs some time to grow into itself. And I guess in a way I need to grow into my riding at this facility. With that, I'll say at least I get to go back down and prove myself next weekend.

No WHAT Left Behind

Okay, so yeah I'm not really a teacher, but i do spend about a day a week in the classroom and spend three hours a day with kids tutoring. I started teaching when No Child Left Behind was first implemented. I've worked in schools that were taken over by the government because they had failed two years in a row. The children weren't "performing" so they didn't test at level, so the school got less money. Yeah that big giant HUGH that is going through your head makes you wonder... really this is the way to NOT leave children behind. Two years of that and The Man comes in. The Man tries to make things better. Normally, everyone gets fired or quits. They higher new, young, influential, sometimes "working" credentialed teachers. These teachers get paid less. You're thinking why didn't they do that before so the kids could have the money... oh cause you can't. Teachers in CA get tenure after two years. You can't get rid of them. Good, great, bad, ugly, whatever. But The Man can. So now The Man has more money, and the kids get up to date new books. They get tutoring after school 'cause they slipped it into the new young teachers contracts. Here I am getting ready to go sub and listening to our prized leader talk about pushing NCLB even farther. This is why I don't listen to the news.

Board

Yeah I went blue for the "bluest day of the year".

My Wednesday

I'm driving down the main road in Orinda. I had stopped at Starbucks to get my fix before I tutor. I'm chatting on the phone with Ms. E (yeah I drive and talk, that's just how it is. Really I do anything and talk... I'm a talker). I go under the freeway/bart overpass and pass the small row of cars waiting to turn left at the light. Their light is red (silly arrows) and my light is green. I keep tooling along chatting as if I do this everyday... oh wait! I DO do this every day. I'm looking down the road ad I'm already to far along to stop if the light changes (it's still very green) when I hear this wonderful CRACK and feel my car get shoved a bit to the right. I look in my mirror and there is the front end of a 328is BMW with it's nose half way into my lane. I pull over and the BMW follows.


THIS is what I saw when I got out of my car:

Upon closer inspection I noticed a part of the lovely pointless little "thing" that runs along the bottom had been broken off, as well as some paint missing

Oh and these scratches are just beautiful, really add some personality to my car.

Luckily enough I called my insurance and unlike the accident I was in back in October (yes I've been in three in four months) the other parties insurance is claiming fault and I don't have to pay a dime. Sadly I will be without my car for a few weeks.

Jackson Hole

Well, I'm back to the real world. Jackson Hole was great. It was such a lovely vacation. Apple Jacks and I stayed at the Alpine House. It was three blocks from the center of town and a 45 min bus ride from the ski resort.

These are pictures of the room. I should have taken them when we first walked in, not after we unpacked a bit 'cause or shit all over the place doesn't do the room justice.

In the corner was a gas stove that would heat the whole room. It was great!

We didn't watch the TV once. A true vacation!

This was the view from the top of the mountain to the peak across the valley. Apple and I walked into the hut to warm up a bit after I took this picture and in the 10 min we were in there the snow and fog came in and we couldn't see more than 10 feet in front of us, let alone across a valley.

There are more pics to come. My new digital camera didn't like the cold so much and the battery drained really fast, but I bought a disposable one and will put those pictures up as soon as I find the camera and develop it!

Everyone Stop Worrying

This is for my family. Things are fine. New Years was calm and good. Tahoe was beautiful. When we left at 4am the full moon was reflecting off the lake.
I'm in Jackson Hole now, enjoying the slightly icy snow and good company. The place we're staying is right downtown and it's a cold, easy walk to the square. My freak out, which my friends know come and go, passed. All has been well. The snow here is like the snow at home just a bit less icy, cause it doesn't get warm here. We're due for a storm tonight so good snow should be here soon, though I don't know when we're getting snow at home.