Stowaway

I arrived safely in Las Vegas tonight. However my luggage is taking a quick overnight vacation in Seattle.

How fantastic is that?

It will join up with me sometime tomorrow in the late afternoon after swinging through San Francisco for lunch.

Cool.

MIA

I know, I know. I never post anymore.

I've been so busy working and traveling that I just haven't felt much like writing.

I leave tomorrow for a week in London. (My third trip to Europe this year!) Should be tons of fun! I'm really looking forward to it. Maybe when I come back I'll have some pictures for you.

I'm off to finish cleaning and packing.

Cheers!

Bon Voyage!

I leave for France tomorrow!

I'm totally excited. I'll be spending the week in Rennes for a sales and marketing meeting: working in the old office, seeing some old friends and hopefully eating lots and lots of great bread and cheese. mmmmmmm cheeeeeeese.

Have a great week!

Looking ahead

Happy New Year!

Best wishes for a fabulous 2008!

I don't express myself nearly as well as I'd like, nor do I share my true feelings as often as I should but New Years Eve always captivates me and pulls my emotions to the surface and I guess I feel like sharing.

I love my life - as mundane and boring as it is. And I love all of my friends dearly - even though I don't reach out nearly enough or keep in contact as best as I could.

I can't promise that I'll get any better at being a good friend, after all "I yam what I yam" but behind my tough nonchalant exterior ya'll mean the world to me. I have some tremendously awesome old friends and I've met some amazing new people this year and I don't know where I would be without you.

I wish you all a fabulous 2008.

Piles of love,

EJ

The proof is in Aisle 4: I have no game.

I saw my future boyfriend in the grocery store tonight. We passed each other in the aisles a couple of times and smiled and then found ourselves both in the beer aisle (go figure) where I lingered a bit longer than necessary hoping he would talk to me. Unfortunately, he got a phone call and the amount of time it was taking me to decide on a beer was becoming excessive so I grabbed some Stella and moved to another section of the store.

I did noticed that he had cup-o-noodles and hot dog buns in his basket so I'm pretty sure he isn't married. ;)

As I was waiting in the line to pay he got in line behind me and I smiled. Once I paid I walked as slowly as possible out of the store without seeming like I couldn't remember where I parked my car. I thought maybe he would have been parked near me and I could say something witty in the parking lot but he was too far behind.

Alas, I drove off without exchanging a word with this dream boat yet alone phone numbers!

I can tell you this though: I am doing ALL my shopping at Mollie Stone's from now on.

Will we meet again?

Its been a while but...

..I just won on Blingo again!

Heading home for Thanksgiving

I'm putting the final pieces into my suitcase and then Slizzy and I are heading home to Portland for Thanksgiving. I'll be home for a week and have a jam packed schedule of visiting family and friends! I'm very excited to see everyone (including my mother!) and to be able to spend some time at home. This is definitely a much needed vacation.

I am taking my work computer with me (I know, I know, I'm totally addicted.) but hope to not have to turn it on very often. I'm just not sure I can not be "connected" for one whole week! Pair my computer bag with Slizzy's carrier and I'm one weighed down traveler but I just couldn't stand the thought of leaving the Slizz alone during the holiday. After all, she is part of my family and holidays are family time, right?

Wish me save travels and Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

An apple a day keeps the doctor away!

My baby is going to the hospital today.


Ok, Ok. Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit. I'm taking my mac into work to upgrade the OS.

Same thing, right?

I'm super excited about it though!

(geek)

I can feel the earth move under my feet

Woah.

We just had an earthquake!

It was a good one too: 5.6 centered about 45 minutes south of here.

Yowza!

The close of financial business in France

I finally closed my French bank account last week. Actually, I was quite surprised at how quickly they closed the account and transfered the remaining money. It only took them one week and I only had to send one email. Incredible really.

It is a bit sad though. I no longer have an "offshore" account! How will I continue to fund my illegal and immoral activities?







Only kidding! Of course I'm not involved in ANY of those kinds of things.

Bon voyage!

I leave for Amsterdam tomorrow. I'm as prepared as I can be, but I still feel like I'm not ready.

The weather has been quite hot here and I'm a little worried about leaving Slizzy home alone - I think she will be hot! My neighbor will come by every day to give her some food but other than that she will be alone. I hate leaving her. Already I look forward to coming home so that I can be with her again!

My brother left the country today too - headed to Vietnam with his girlfriend for a backpacking adventure. I, frankly, think hes completely insane but I do hope he has a good time and a safe trip and that he comes home in once piece without any weird germs/sicknesses/bug bites etc.

Anyway, wish me luck on the big show. I probably wont post while I'm gone (depends on how busy I am!) so heres to seeing you after the 13th!

Slizzy is in the doghouse

My entire apartment has wood floors except for a little cream colored area rug next to my bed. I'm just about to give up on the rug completely and this is why:

Hairballs.

It seems that this innocent light colored rug is somewhat of a hairball magnet. And even though I took it to the laundromat just yesterday (because of a previous hairball incident) when I came home from work today it had again been attacked by an oozy pile of hair, food and slime.

Of all the places the cat can puke, why does she have to do it right on the cream rug??

2007 Mutt Strutt

I got up early this morning and headed out to Coyote Point to volunteer for the 2007 Mutt Strutt.

It turned out to be a fantastic day - I love watching all of the different dogs!

Here are a few pictures:
(I forgot to take pictures of all of the dogs as they started the race. I was too busy watching and petting!)

(look at the little dog at the bottom with the cowboy hat on. ha!)

Now I'm home with a bit of a sunburned face waiting for tonights 49ers vs Raiders game to start!

Im a Winner!

Check it: I won again!




Sign up and you can win too!

Caller ID: BLOCKED

Someone keeps calling my cell phone and blocking the caller ID. When I look at the phone it doesn't say unavailable or +x xx xxx xxxx with some long number I don't recognize it says blocked. I don't answer my phone when it says blocked, do you?

But I do wonder who it is????

Hows this for good news?

I checked my mail tonight when I got home from work and found a letter from the Tresor Public in my mailbox that read: Impot sur les revenus (Income Taxes!).

A lump formed in my throat at the thought of having to pay taxes, again.

However, upon opening the letter, I found that I don't have to pay!

And, when I checked my French bank account I found that the Tresor Public actually put back the money they took earlier in the year that they shouldn't have taken in the first place (sneaky prelevement).

Who would have thought something in French administration could have gone so right?! ;)

Vive la France!

The stars at night are big and bright

I stayed up until nearly 3am last night to watch the Great Perseids meteor shower. From 10:30 pm until 2:30 am I sat outside on my little balcony alone in the dark and watched the sky. I nearly froze my butt off and and one point was convinced that something was smelling me from the trees (mysterious snuffling noises) but all in all it was a nice evening.

In the four hours I sat outside I probably only saw 20 glorious blazes of light but my viewing conditions were not the best with lights and trees not to mention the huge grey roof and chimney that blocked a good part of the eastern night sky.

Anyway, I'm quite tired, and my neck is a bit sore (!) but it was definitely worth it.

Fitness Update

Since I stopped drinking regular coke I have lost 8 pounds (about 3.5 kilos)!!!

Since I started my crusade for a flab free life in April I have lost a total of 18 pounds (a little over 8 kilos)!

Isn't that fabulous?

On top of everything I've totally slacked on the exercise and the weight still continues to come off.

Now thats my kind of weight loss program!

Scooped again!

Look at this: Someone made a movie about my life - only I'm a guy - and I'm getting a lot of sex. Wait. This movie isn't like my life at all. But they did steal my Pre-wife theory and used it to make a "funny" movie.

Good Luck Chuck

I need to be much quicker about these things!

TIckets? Check!

I bought my tickets to Amsterdam today!

I decided to just come home straight after the show. I think after 12 days in Amsterdam I'll be ready to get home and relax.

Kind of sad that I won't be heading back to Cesson but I guess thats that!

Now I need to shop shop shop for some fabulous new clothes to wear on the show floor! (These things are almost ALL men you know!)

*wink*

Morning Massacre

On my way to my car this morning I stopped at the garbage can to throw something away and when I opened the lid I found the inside of the can was teeming with ants! I hate ants!

Seeing this unleashed an uncontrollable urge to kill so I put my purse in the car and walked back up to my apartment to get the RAID.

Back at the can I followed the trail of ants under the stairs, around my car and along the side fence to a place that disappeared under the bushes. I walked the trail a couple of times - looking at the zillions of ants that were frantically making their way to their last supper.

After a minute or two of gleeful scheming about their demise I took aim with the can of raid and blew those fuckers right off the map grinning wildly as I replaced their innocent little ant trail with a blast of poisonous goodness. I sprayed so much raid all over the driveway that I gave myself a headache but it was totally worth it.

When I got home this evening I looked in the can again but this time only found a handful of desperate, lost, trapped ants going in circles because they can't get out of the can without crossing the glorious poison barrier!

ME - 1 Ants - 0

"I see" said the blind man peeing into the wind, "It's all coming back to me now".

As I lay in bed last night I was suddenly overcome by an overwhelming feeling of sadness and nausea. I thought I had been drifting off to sleep but I must have been thinking about Nico. And as I lay there in the dark with a knot in my stomach and a hole in my heart I was hit with the realization that people's lives are a series of patterns, each one repeated unless a conscious effort is made to stop the cycle. I don't know how I didn't see it before, but last night my subconscious had figured it out for me and wanted me to know even if that meant waking me up from my near peaceful slumber.

You see, I had thought that having a new girlfriend - and moving in with her - so quickly was unusual behavior and while it might be for some people it certainly isn't for Nico because he had recently gotten out of a serious relationship (citing irreconcilable differences, I do believe) when he met and moved in with me. Curious!

While my subconscious was clever enough to find the pattern (don't ask me why I never noticed this myself) its too bad it wasn't clever enough to find the reason behind the pattern.

I guess that might be a bit much to ask, eh? ;)

The future of television

I went to the Shell Station down the street from my house the other morning and as I climbed out of my car and started to open the gas cap I was startled by the sound of a familiar TV commercial coming from the pump.

When I looked up, I noticed a monitor on the gas pump! I was quite surprised as I had been to this same station the week before and at that time it was only a gas station. Now however, it has become a multi-tasking gas & media marketplace. I can buy a snack, pick up a magazine, pay for my gas and watch GSTV as I wait!

???

Starbucks Hell

I went for a coffee run to Starbucks this afternoon with a guy from work. They do that quite often, and I never go, but today I felt like getting out of the office so I tagged along. I wasn't going to get anything, I don't usually drink coffee, but I thought "what the hell" and I ordered a Mocha - the first "coffee" I've had since I've been back in the states (thats one year and 3 months for those of you that haven't been counting). It was warm and mocha-y but nothing fabulous - definitely not something I want to get in the habit of drinking.

Later, back at the office, my body reminded me why I don't like to drink coffee.

Ugh.

If I ever wanted to know what it is going to feel like right before I die, this is it.

If you are looking for me tonight, I'll be in the bathroom.

And I am never going to Starbucks again. Lesson learned!

To vacation or not to vacation.

I've been shopping around for flights for my upcoming trip to Amsterdam in September but I'm having trouble deciding if I should take a bit of vacation after the show since I will already be in Europe on the company dime. I was throwing around the idea of heading back to Rennes/Cesson for a few days but I think I've decided against that.

I have also though about maybe going to Paris or taking off for another city in Europe but I'd be alone so I don't know if that would be all that fun either.

Of course, maybe I'll be tired and missing Slizzy and I might want to just come home.

I guess I just need to make a decision. At the moment, coming straight home seems like the best option.

Unless any of you want to meet me in Paris? Copenhagen? Cologne?

My weekend

I went to a BBQ at a co-workers house out in the hills near the coast today.

Lots of people from work showed up with their families - kids, wives, etc.

It was a nice day, although to be honest, with all those kids running around it wasn't all that relaxing!

I've been home for a few hours and now I'm watching TV with MY family (the Slizz).

Woo!

Tidbits

Yesterday was a weird day.

As I left my apartment in the morning to head to work I stepped out my front door and found this on my porch (Thanks Dad!):


In the excitement of actually finding something waiting for me outside my door I picked up the package and headed off to the car without locking my front door.

As I drove away I thought "did I forget to lock the front door?" I wasn't sure, but I didn't really have time to turn around and go back so I just let it go.

Sure enough, when I got home last night I walked right in without having to look for my keys. It was quite handy actually as I had had a few beers and my keys were probably lost in the bottomless pit that I pretend is my purse.

Regarding the drinks, I went out with a couple of guys from work. We had a fun time and I was home by 10:30 or so. I certainly didn't want to get up this morning though. I'm getting old.

And finally, Slizzy has been sneezing up a storm (yesterday and today). If she is still sneezing when I get home tonight I may have to take her to the vet for a check-up.

Have a good weekend!

Stop the itsy-bitsy-insanity!

There is a commercial on TV for Yoplait yogurt that absolutely makes me insane.

I'm sure you know the one: there is a girl, in a bathing suit, carrying around an inflatable raft.......and the song that plays in the back ground is itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-yellow-polka-dot-bikini.

Stop. Picture the bikini in your mind. Go.

Answer me this: Do you imagine that the bikini is yellow with polka dots of another color? Or do you imagine that the polka dots on the bikini are yellow?

I think the freakin' polka dots are yellow! Not the damn bikini - and this commercial forces a yellow bikini with red polka dots on me and it just turns my world upside down!

What do you think? (besides that I'm crazy) Yellow bikini or Yellow dots?

Leave your opinion in the comments if you like.

I AM the starter wife....

....only I've never actually been the wife. Maybe I'm the Pre-Wife. Whatever.

If I was a betting man (er...woman) and a smart one at that, I'd bet my every last red cent that Nico will end up marrying this girl.

Lets look at the statistics:

Nearly every (semi-serious to serious) boyfriend I have ever had has ended the relationship with me and then married his next girlfriend.

#0. High School: We broke up; who knows what happened; no one in their right mind would marry him (I guess this one doesn't exactly fit my mold. Lets count this as zero so as not to ruin my count - we were both much too young anyway; and he was completely psycho)
#1. College: He dropped out of school; we broke up; new girlfriend; got married in a year; now divorced (so I hear)
#2. College: We broke up; he went back to his old girlfriend; married her
#3. College: We broke up; new girlfriend; married her
#4. College: We broke up; new girlfriend; they broke up; got back together and got married
#5. After College: We broke up; new girlfriend; got married within a year and had a baby!
#6. Now: We broke up; new girlfriend; he already lives with her; ................

Does anyone see a pattern here?

I mean really.

I was watching TV over the weekend and there was a preview of the upcoming "Scott Baio is 45 and single". They show him sitting with Erin Moran and she asks him "Do you like people?" and after he squirms a bit, I'm sure deciding if he should tell the truth or not, he laughs and says "No". She tells him that THAT is why he is still single.

I laughed out loud.

King Midas touched things and they turned to gold - I touch men and they turn in to someone else's husband.

There has got to be a book deal in there somewhere.

BREAKING NEWS: Emily leaves the house and has fun!!

I went to the city tonight to have dinner with this guy I met in Las Vegas in April and....hold your breath.........wait for it........ I had FUN!

Don't go getting all excited though - it wasn't a date or anything - more like a business dinner. I guess they call that "networking" but I wouldn't know much about it because I usually try to steer clear of all things work related. :) Anyway, he actually lives in Tokyo but was in town for a show so I met him and one of his coworkers for dinner and drinks in the city. We had sushi and beer and it was fun!

Makes me think: maybe I should get out more! (Now I'll wait for it.................DUH! )

Letting go

I was just sitting around the house watching TV tonight when it really hit me.

Holy Crap.

He LIVES with her.

As I sat on my couch and looked around I realized that I still had a lot of framed pictures of Nico in my apartment and as fabulous as the photos are (he is quite the handsome devil and we took some wonderful photos together) I decided at that moment that it was time to take them down.

It was quite the task but I moved from room to room, took the photos out of their frames and put them into an already half full album of us which I tucked beside my couch with the other albums from my past. The only thing left is the caricature of us that was drawn in St. Malo shortly after we got together in 2003 that hangs in my bathroom. I love this 'picture' and couldn't quite bring myself to take it down. Not today. But soon.

The truth can set you free

It finally happened. Nico called me today and dropped the bomb: Hes moved in with his girlfriend.

Even though we hadn't talked about it, I figured he was probably seeing someone. And while it does come as a bit of a shock that he has moved in with her already I can't say that I am surprised.

When I dropped him off at the airport in January I watched him walk away with a part of my heart that I knew I would never get back again. I said my own goodbye - even though he was already gone when the words left my lips. We never talked about what was to come, what was lost or what was left behind. He went his way and I went mine.

Over the past few months we have kept in touch - but only about once a month and never to discuss anything more serious than the weather, life in Cesson or here in San Francisco. I was careful not to ask any personal questions about girls or dating because I wasn't sure that I really wanted to hear the answers and my own belief that he was probably dating someone was enough.

But even though in my head I had come to terms with the way things are in my heart it was still hard to hear the news today. I think I handled it well though; I kept myself composed and only shed a few tears after we hung up. After all, like Nico said: "C'est la vie".

I am honestly happy for him though. He's moved on with his life, and thats a great thing for him. I'm moving on with mine too, just at a much slower pace, and thats ok because its what feels right for me.

I am glad he called today, it was nice to have a chance to talk, and maybe it was just what I needed to free myself to take those next steps in making a new life with someone else. Not that I have been holding myself back until now on purpose, but maybe now my heart will be more open to meeting someone and starting something new.

Finding that someone has proven to be tricky thus far (I haven't met anyone!) but I guess there are always good things to come in this crazy thing called life. And maybe now I'm ready.

Another weekend movie

I went to see Ratatouille over the weekend and it was quite lovely.

I saw the movie with my aunt and my cousins in the Sebastiani Theatre in downtown Sonoma - just off the square.

I laughed, I cried (I'm a total cry baby, remember?), and I loved it.

I can't wait until it comes out on DVD now because I'd like to see it in French!

(I forgot to post last week that I also saw 1408 (loved it) and Ocean's 13 (eh). I need to pick something to go see this weekend with Tara!)

How do you like them Apples?

Big plans for next week

Here is some great news: my friend Tara is coming to visit me next week! I looked through some boxes in the garage to try to find a picture of her but was not successful. I'm pretty sure that all of the photos and keepsakes I had from high school are still buried in a plastic box somewhere out in Silverton, Oregon. (Long story, not a pretty one.)

Anyway, she arrives on Tuesday night and stays through Sunday. We'll do some sightseeing in the city, head out to the beach, and hang out around town. I'm really looking forward to having her here.

Another fabulous part of her visit is that I took two days off work. I haven't had a real holiday in over a year and while this isn't necessarily a REAL holiday (I'll always be sleeping in my own bed) the break from work will be fantastic.

I just want to scream..........hello

Just as I got into the car this morning to head to work this song came on the radio.



Holy Crap!

I can't remember the last time I heard that, but I do remember listening to it over and over back in the day.

And singing along quite a bit, eh D? ;)

Have I changed?

Yep. Thats me on the right. The little guy in the brown shirt is my brother.

We were stylin'.

Saturday Matinee

I went to see La Vie En Rose (La Mome) today.

Wow.

Marion Cotillard was fabulous as Edith Piaf. And what a life story.

I thought I was going to be the only person in the theater but in fact it was packed with "seniors" who oohed and ahhed and even clapped a la fin!

Quite a nice afternoon.

A trip down memory lane

D, I know you visit from time to time: These are for you. You look so young! ;)

Your turn

So....uh....hows the weather in your neck of the woods?

*crickets*

Older and Wiser

Nah nah nah nah nah nah ....you say its your birthday.....

nah nah nah nah nah nah .....well its MY BIRTHDAY TOO YEAH!

Take that 33! You are gonna be my best year yet!

Happy Birthday to me!

I was there!

Somebody finally posted video from the Patrick Bruel concert in San Francisco!

Its a little shaky, but the song is fabulous!



You can also see some fabulous photos from the show here.

Chasing Darren

I had The Dream again last night.

This time I was looking for him in what appeared to be a school building. I pulled up to the building in my car to pick up some friends - threw the keys to a friend who was already waiting on the sidewalk and ran into the building to find him.

He is always one step ahead of me though - and therefore, of course, no where to be found.

After searching for a while, I went back to my car but it was gone so I went back into the school and continued asking people if they had seen him even though I knew I would never find him.

I searched and searched and searched.

And then I woke up.

*****

The dream dictionary says:

To dream that you are searching for something, signifies the need to find something that is missing or needed in your life. You may be searching for a solution to a problem.

Bruel in USA!

Here is some fun and exciting news:

I'm going to see Patrick Bruel in concert!

He is coming to San Francisco on June 4th.

I can't wait to hear him sing 'J'te l'dis quand meme' and 'Mon amant de Saint-Jean'.

I'll be dancing all over the place (or atleast in my seat!).

I can already feel the pounds melting away!

Ok, lets not get carried away. Its only day two of the treadmill but things are moving along nicely.

I never could find a use for that little remote that came with my ibook but now that problem has been solved! I've been taking my cute computer downstairs with me, hooking it up to some little speakers and jammin' my way through the workout. Perfectly positioned in the small catch-all on the treadmill sits that little remote and when something I dont want to hear comes on I just zap it away. Fabulous!

Now its time to eat!

Big news on the exercise front

I'm getting a treadmill tomorrow.

That means, not only will I have fantastic abs (I've already lost almost 4 inches around my waist) but I will also be amazingly skinny. (and that pizza I had for dinner tonight wont matter so much!)

My Aunt told me she found a picture of me that was taken shortly before I went to France in 2002 and she said that I looked so skinny! Its true, I was much thinner back then - I was going to the gym on a regular basis and I was single. I tend to pack on the weight when I'm in a relationship. Maybe its the comfort - maybe its always been the beer - but like the Barenaked Ladies song says: "She's like a baby, I'm like a cat. When we are happy, we both get fat."

Anyway, moving on to more interesting things than my state of physical fitness, my stupid good friend Rodger* tagged me with some silly meme and I guess I have to do it. But I'm not passing it on.

Here are 10 things about me that you might not already know or might find interesting:

1. Upon returning from France I developed an allergy to all alcohols. If I have just a couple of sips of a drink, my face turns red and splotchy, gets super hot and swells up in odd shaped welts. Its lovely.

2. I cant remember a damn thing about my childhood except for what I see in pictures and even then I wonder if I actually remember the events or if I just know they happened because we have the pictures to prove it.

3. I love Barry Manilow but have seen him only twice in concert. Once as a teenager and once last year.

4. I cannot tell a lie. Really. I'm a horrible liar.

5. I have an extremely vivid recurring dream (and have had this dream for almost 10 years) where I search frantically for my college boyfriend only to have anything and everything get in the way of me actually finding him. In the dream, I know that if I can find him, we will be together forever and go off happily into the sunset and my heart is broken each time when I am not successful. Can you say haunting regret?

6. Im a CourtTV/A&E junkie. I love Forensic Files, First 48, Cold Case Files, American Justice, The Investigators, Dominick Dunne's Power Privilege and Justice, Til Death do Us Part, and Suburban Secrets. I'm also addicted to all Law and Orders.

7. I must not be that interesting because I'm having a hard time coming up with 10 things.

8. Austria is the place I loved the most in Europe. Salzburg and Hallstatt were dreamy and I would love to visit there again.

9. I'm a big cry baby. Movies, music, commercials you name it - I'll cry when listening to/watching anything. Especially things about little boys and their moms or fathers and their daughters. Talk about tapping the well. Pass the Kleenex!

10. I've had glasses since I was in college, but I never wear them.


Voila!

* Just kidding R, you know I love you! ;)

Step One: Admitting there is a problem

I'd like to say that I haven't been posting because I have been out and about doing fun and exciting things but that would be a lie.

I haven't been posting because I'm lazy.

There, I said it.

I won!

Its been a long time but I finally won something on Blingo again. Of course, I would have preferred the Plasma TV they are giving away today, but it looks like I'll be going to the movies soon! ;)


You too can win with Blingo - sign up as my friend:


(click me)

Ab Jam on Demand

I don't believe it myself but I found an ab workout where I actually don't feel the need to yell at the instructor. Oh sure, I still talk to her a bit, but she is very supportive and when I want to give up she tells me to hang in there and that its really going to pay off because I'll have fantastic abs! For some reason, instead of irritating the hell out of me she is actually believable!

Now thats the kind of encouragement a girl needs.

Of course there is this girl in the back row that has very bizarre abs. She is as white as a ghost and she seems to have a lot of extra skin sliding around over her muscles. They only flash to her once or twice but it freaks me out a bit. Daddy, I do NOT want abs (a boat) like this! BEURK!

Anyway, if you have Comcast Cable check out Ab Jam ! You wont regret it......