T-Minus Adios

I basically got off a plane, and in a few days I'll be back on again. San Francisco was pretty much a paid vacation. And who doesn't love that?

I wish I could show off all the pretty pictures I took, but I'm too lazy. Here's the short of it...

Went to:
-Chinatown (so cool!- ended up sitting with 3 18-year-olds who pitied me cause I looked confused on what to order since I was the only white girl there. they helped me tons. oh, i also talked to a homeless person who used to live in seattle. AND just happened upon Goodby! i really wanted to go inside, but thought that would be weird.)
-Window shopped in Union Square (my hotel was across from Macy's so it was inevitable that I hit some shops, but I didn't have the buying spirits with me that week. I went to Zara's even and couldn't make myself buy anything. Went into Forever 21/H&M and was so turned off. Caswell & Massey is my new love, especially when the nice lady gave me a bunch of lotion samples. She knew how to get me...)
-Berkeley (the studio we were shooting at was 5 minutes from the campus, so I had to take a look and I was this close to just enrolling right there. what a pretty campus)
-Fisherman's Wharf (I took a trolley, snapped some pictures, got a free sample of Ghiradelli chocolate and went back. That's all I think you do there if you're not catching fish)
-Haight Ashbury (a friend from Seattle just moved there, which was nice. we ate, we drank, we didn't see one hippy.)
-Golden Gate Park (i fell in love with this park. this is the kinda place that makes me want to have a kid, a puppy and a cute hubby just so we can fly kites together and sing silly songs. from the park, i saw the observatory and the museum- both amazingly beautiful)
-Alcatraz (i saw it, took a picture and then bought a magnet at the airport that just says Alcatraz. that's my only memento of this trip and i'm perfectly happy with my purchase)

Obviously, I couldn't do everything in 3 days but I say that's a lot for also having to work during the day. I missed out on the Mission district which is supposed to be like some kind of old world, Little Italy and Castro (the gay district). Maybe next time.

Next up... Spain and Portugal! I leave on Wednesday and I doubt I'll be back on the blog until after April 11th.

Adios! Farewell! Peace da fuck out!

Guess what!

I'm going to San Francisco Monday-Thursday FOR FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

If you guys know of anything cool to do there, besides the obvious let me know. Any good breakfast/dinner places? Doesn't matter the price, because IT'S FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

So friggin' awesome I tell you. This is real reason I got into advertising. I love it so!!

FREE COFFEE WITH CAPITAL LETTERS!!!!!

Today Starbucks had free coffee from 10-12, and because I'm a sucker for anything free I took advantage. Even though I shouldn't have because I know what coffee does to me.

Lo and behold I'm fucking insane-o now. I'm so jittery. I actually did a cartwheel at work. And my stomach hurts. And I have a headache. And I hate this. How people drink multiple cups of this crack I'll never understand.

So, Kelly right now is bringing me down from my coffee high through Instant Messenger. She's like eat bread and water. Do this and that. She asked, "Why would you do this if you can't drink coffee?" And of course I said, "Because I'm a free ninja. Free things find me, and I have to take advantage. It's just what I do."

I told her my lunch consists of bread and water so I'll be okay. And that actually, the bread is a bagel I got for free and it's smothered with avocado that I also got for free.

I make up the rules.

So, tell me your opinion on this one.

I went on a blind date a few weeks ago with this guy. From the get go I sensed he was too into drinking, parties and what not and he's in his 30's. But as far as blind dates go, the first one went well. I wasn't uber excited or anything, but ya know I'm trying...

So, when he asked what I was doing on Friday I had plans to go to a concert but instead of blowing him off I invited him along. I had another party to go to beforehand, where of course there were free drinks so I had my fair share. I wasn't trashed, but I was definitely feeling friendly enough to flirt a little. When we finally met up, the bands were starting and the drinks kept coming. I think at this point I only had one other drink and then water here on out. I was on a pseudo date, not at a frat house, ya know?

But he, well he was pounding away. Drink after drink. Even as the last band played, and everyone was leaving and the bartenders were ignoring him he was demanding another drink until I was like, "Is that really necessary?" and he gave up and we left.

Oh, I should also mention that throughout the night he kept planting kisses on me. This, I am not accustomed to. I don't do that. I hold someone's hand or maybe after like a year of dating do I kiss in the middle of a concert, but I definitely don't do that with a guy I've only met up with twice.

I guess I didn't think it was as late as it was, but when we got to my doorstep he still was trying to kiss me. At this point, bar goers are walking past us snickering and I was like, ugh enough already. Let's just go inside and kiss there. In my head, all I wanted was to kiss and then have him leave after like a half hour.

But since it was 2am, I think he figured that was code for sex. I'm sure this is typical, but not for me. But I asked other guys and they were shocked. Like, "So you invited a guy to your apartment past 2am and you didn't do it? Yeah, you led him on."

Well, fuck man. Did this guy really think that after just our 2nd meeting I was gonna do him. Yuck! Sorry, mister man. I'm not like that. I make up my own rules. And the only reason I invited him up was to kiss and that's it.

You'd think the annoying part would be when he kept whispering "let's do it" in my ear, or saying how pretty I was like over and over again or how he said he might have to pass out here because he was too drunk. But no, the highlight of the evening was when he sat up and said, "I think I have to puke" and then proceeded to throw-up in my bathroom.

I called him a cab, gave him water and a piece of gum. He tried to kiss me good-bye but at this point I would not open my mouth if you gave me all the free apples in the world. I had enough of this dude.

The part that really bothered me most was his total lack of respect. I mean, sure I invited him up and we were kissing. But I made it clear that nothing else was gonna happen right from the start. And he still proceeded to put his slurred game into action. It was embarrasing for him and just rude towards me. Maybe I'm a tease or whatever, but at the same time if I tell you no, right off the bat don't be pathetic and keep mentioning it. That's just sad and needy.

And then this made me sad because Mike had the upmost respect for me. If I was tired he didn't bother me. If I didn't want to do something, he didn't beg. I miss that in a guy.

Today Mr. Pukey left a message saying he was sorry and that if I didn't want to see him again, he'd understand. Now, I definitely know I won't be seeing this guy again, but I guess my question is, should I just assume that I can't simply invite guys over to kiss and that's it? I mean, I know what guy's think but is that really fair?

I get sappy before 10am.

Waking up at 6am on a Saturday really blows. Especially when I didn't get home last night until 2 and didn't fall asleep until 3ish. It's 8am now, and I'm finally getting tired again. Mom, please don't worry.

But because I'm up I've actually been watching the news and discovered that the lead singer of Boston, Brad Delp, died suddenly yesterday.

I wouldn't say I'm a huge fan of Boston. I like them. But I do remember a time in college when I loved the song, More than a Feeling. Led Zepplein, Moody Blues and any other 70s rock ballad bands were basically the tops for me. My friend, Jessie, and I would blast their songs on the stereo and sing to them in my car. For some reason a lot of my best memories of college have to do with me singing to silly songs with friends. And I have a really horrible voice.

Jessie would never have been my friend if it wasn't for the sorority. I think I actually choose her for my "little sister" and even though I was on her list, I wasn't her "#1" choice. I remember after we became big/little, she confided in me that I wasn't her #1, but that she was happy she didn't get who she originally picked because that girl ended up being crazy or something. God, fucking sororities. Too funny.

Jessie was my only friend in college who liked what I liked. Sure, Beth and Caitlin liked drama, boys and smoking cigarettes, but Jessie cared about music and movies and TV. I know that's pretty vague, but when you boil it down if we have those 3 things in common you're pretty much set with me friendswise.

We actually lived together in NYC, and would spend hours giggling over how cute Justin from an NYU show called Dustin and Justin was. I especially enjoyed a time when she called to tell me I had to come to The Plaza, because she was about to deliver a tape to Richie Sambora and wanted to see if we could deliver it personally. I think we walked to his hotel room door hoping Bon Jovi would be in the hallway singing You Give Love a Bad Name, but no such luck. We chickened out and just left the tape at the front desk.

It amazes me that the last time I saw Jessie was in 2003. When she came to visit me in Atlanta then, I was living with Nik in a studio that could barely fit one let alone 3. But Jessie gladly spent the week inside our cramped dungeon, smoking cigarettes, playing Literati and talking about what the hell we're gonna do with our lives.

She's one of my greatest friends, and in exactly 18 days I'll be on her side of the world, travelling around, getting too tan and hopefully not killing eachother- especially if I wake her up this early in the morning.

I'M FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

About one minute ago, I paid off a credit card that's been haunting me for 10 years. At one point in my life, I remember calling the credit card company in a panic because I needed to buy a portabella mushroom sandwich from my favorite delivery place while living in NYC, and didn't have a dime to my name. Luckily, the sweet lady (code for credit card evilist) told me she could give me a credit line up to $12,000. To me, at 21, that meant I just hit the fucking jackpot. I got tickets to Aida. I went out and bought shit. I lived the fucking life for 3 months without a job in one of the most expensive cities there is.

And it only took me another 7 years to pay it off...

One credit card down. One more to go. And only 3 (huge) loans to pay off. It'll take me at least 30 more years, but I can finally start seeing that light. And it's shining bright.