It's my party...

So... the party is over, the food is gone and I have officially been 29 for two days... I never realized how stressful parties can be when you have people from all different facets of your life in one place and you are trying to talk to everyone, and make sure that no one is feeling left out. Now I know how brides and grooms feel at their wedding reception... Frazzled and sort of relieved when it is over. Ha-ha. But I really did have fun and was so happy to see everyone, especially my little cousins, Alex and Landon. They had a great time playing with Aidan and they were all being so cute running around the backyard.

I also was treated to my favorite cake on the planet, a marble burnt-almond cake from Dick's Bakery, courtesy of my Dad and Carolyn. It was SO good; I practically made myself sick eating two big pieces that night, but I definitely did not eat enough of it while I was home. Sorry I left so much of it Mom! (You would think my cousin Alex would be happier that I FINALLY cut the cake!)

Overall, it was a pretty chill evening at my Mom's house with mostly family and a few good friends.

After the festivities at the house, Niki and I went out to Carrie Nation's in downtown Los Gatos for a couple of beers. I forgot how much I love the bars out in California... It is perfectly acceptable to actually GET DRESSED to go out, instead of getting stared at when you put on something other than jeans and a t-shirt to go out in downtown Columbus. Oh well, different culture out West I guess.

Well, that is about it for now! I will keep you posted as my leave continues...

66H out...

Bye-bye Kat...

Tonight, I met Halle for some drinks at the newly-remodled Old Pro in downtown Palo Alto before meeting the rest of the Buca crew at the Biersch to celebrate Kat's last night at work. She is leaving for Hawaii on Sunday, so we all wanted to get together for a few celebratory beers. We are going to miss her like crazy. Ah, the Buca girls reunion and Kevin in the background... Ha-ha.

The only thing that is bad about the California bar scene is the fact that bars close so early... I have gotten use to being out until 3 am on the dot out in Columbus, so when 'last call' happened at 1:15 am at the Biersch, I was like, "What? It is still WAY early... Oh yeah, we aren't in Columbus... Ha-ha." The only good thing was that I will be in bed at a decent hour this morning...

Guess I had better get in bed... Party tonight!

66H out...

I'm 29!

Well, today was my birthday and I don't feel much different than I did yesterday... But, I guess that is fairly normal, so I have been told by a few of my newly minted 29-year-old friends. Early in the day, I went to the mall to get a new dress to go out in. I found the cutest green dress; It was perfect and looked awesome with my infamous black cardigan sweater. In the evening, my Mom, Dad, Carolyn, Auntie B, and myself went to the Buca in Palo Alto. My old, dear friend Halle waited on us and it was awesome! I haven't eaten Buca since I left last year, so it was an extra-special birthday treat.

Overall, it was a pretty normal day... It was actually pretty nice, because I wasn't sure how I felt about turning 29, so it was good to have a just-like-every-other-day birthday. My actual party is on Saturday with friends and family, so that should be a good time.

Stay tuned for the post-birthday party blog!

66H out...

On leave at last...

So I am finally on leave! Got off the plane early yesterday, and pretty much went non-stop all day and into the night! As I was walking down the street to Peet's Coffee, I realized how much better the California sunshine is... How is it better you ask? Well, you can walk 200 yards and not sweat to death in 85-90 degree weather. 90 degrees in California is surprisingly bearable due to the zero percent humidity, compared to 90 degrees and 90 percent humidity back in Georgia... Needless to say, I am enjoying myself.

Anyhow, I headed straight to the Palo Alto Gordon Biersch last night to see my friend Katrina before she moves to Hawaii to go to school. I am terribly jealous, but I had the opportunity to choose Hawaii as my first duty station, so I guess I can't complain about Ft. Benning too much... Ha-ha. Anyhow, she is a great friend that I made working at the Buca and I will miss her terribly. Luckily, I will see her again on Friday at her going away bash. While at the Biersch, I got to see Jesse, one of my favorite bartenders. He gives me beer for free, I like him... Ladies, he is single and quite the looker! I will have to go back to the Biersch a couple of times to see my other favorite bartenders, Jill and Dan. Damn, does that mean I have to drink MORE Festbier?? Poor me...

After visiting the Buca and Gordon Biersch, I headed back down to San Jose to see Geoff, as he slaves away on the night shift at Jepp. I have to say, it is nice that we are both working nights right now, because we e-mail back and forth to keep each other awake and entertained. Sadly, the filters are always up at the hospital, so I can't send him funny videos, or silly stuff from the internet, but he always manages to send me crazy stuff. Sometimes I won't hear from him for a couple of hours, because if he doesn't have work to do, he gets to sleep... Unfortunately, it is considered poor form for nurses to sleep on the job... Ha-ha.

Well, you are now completely caught up for the day! Stay tuned for more exciting leave details and photos...

66H out...

Survey says...

The boy is definitely not too nice for me... He is great and I am quite enamored with him. :)

That is it for today!

66H out...

Risky business, showing my hand like this...

As of late, I have been thinking a lot about my first love. Not in a creepy, "track-him-down-and-see-what-he-is-doing-now" sort of way, but how I dealt with the nerve-wracking, fragile, burgeoning, "does he like me?" stage of our relationship... Why you ask?? Well, I like a boy, and for some reason, I have fallen into a "I am not going to tell him I like him, and try to ignore it" phase... Denial that he is not interested? Fear of rejection? The fact that I believe it is not going to turn out the way I want it to? The fact that I would just rather suffer in silence to continue hanging out with him? I can't really say, to be honest. The only thing that I am sure of is the fact that my little ego seems to get more and more fragile as I get older, as opposed to my younger years, when I didn't care if someone returned my affection or not. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? Isn't our skin suppose to thicken as we get older?

On the other side of the coin, there is a boy that really likes me, but I think that he might be too nice for me... I know, I know, aren't we all looking for a nice boy. And yes, I am crazy... totally certifiable; The first nice boy in ages and I balk! I like him too, but I am just scared that I will end up running him down and eating him alive... In the end, I am afraid that I will hurt him, and that he will think that I am a bitch. Those that really know me understand that my personality, if not matched with roughly the same strength personality, has the potential to mame even the slightest of sensitive souls. Not on purpose of course, but my belief that I am truly one of those people that is not for everyone, continues to cement with each passing year... But, who else can I be? I have tried to moderate my behavior, but the bitter, biting sarcasm always comes out, and then some guy ends up wandering away dazed and confused as to what hit him.

There's a lot to be said for self-delusionment when it comes to matters of the heart...

Wow, a slightly depressing blog today... But, unfortunately that is where I am in my life right now... Man, I desperately need my upcoming leave!

66H out...

Bowling, beers and boys

So I didn't realize that I had this little gem of a blog saved as a draft... Ha-ha.

Well, this week has been interesting to say the least...

Once you think it is a lost cause, all of a sudden the boys come out of the woodwork. Ha-ha. Not that I will have to use the Dewey Decimal System to keep them straight, or that any of them will be anything serious, but we will see how it plays out. There is one in particular that has most definitely piqued my interest... Let's just say, I have never looked forward to a Monday more than I do this week. Then, I will look forward to Thursday...

Speaking of Thursdays, comedy was SO funny this week... The Tennessee Tramp headlined, and I laughed so hard, my abs hurt a little on Friday. I also ran into a friend of mine later that night, and we drank until about three at The Tap, then played beer-pong until about six on Friday morning... Just trying to stay on the night shift schedule folks.

Last night Leah, Josh, David, Christiel and I went bowling. It was a fairly uneventful bowling night, since Tas wasn't with us to break the bowling alley, but I did win the last game. Yeah! It is the shoes and the beer I tell you! It is a lethal combination for bowling pins from coast to coast...

On a sad note, Jim is no longer my neighbor... He moved in with one of his friends in the same complex, but now far away from my apartment. No more impromptu "pizza after work" with Jim for this gal.

Other than that, Not much has been shakin' down here in the South. Stay tuned for your local news and weather...

66H out...