Did I Miss Christmas?

I promise I haven’t forgotten about this blog. Things have just been really hectic over in Kim’s World with work and the holiday season. Christmas crept up on me and then was over and done with it before I even got to enjoy it. I was back to work the next day with my nose on the grind and I still have to work tomorrow to close out the quarter. I barely have time to catch my breath here.

Even as I sit here trying to gather my thoughts, I have a mental list in my head running over all the other million and one things I still need to get done.

Things should slow down for me once the New Year hits. I still can’t believe Christmas has come and gone. I wasn’t so much of a humbug this year and tried to embrace the holiday spirit. Instead of bitching and complaining about Christmas, I just kept my mouth shut. I don’t think I really got excited, but I didn’t whine either. And for me that’s a huge step in the right direction.

Maybe if work weren’t so crazy I would’ve enjoyed it more. Or at least had time to appreciate the fact that Christmas was actually here.

I did spend the holidays with my family and it was low key and perfect. I brought the Weasley over and his grandparents spoiled him rotten. I even got them calling him their Grandcat (Sadly, I don’t think my parents expect much from me in that department and my Mother regularly calls me a spinster or old maid.) We opened presents, had a nice dinner and just enjoyed each other’s company. It was a great Christmas.

I should be posting my Year in Review and Reflections blog soon, and by soon I mean sometime this week.

Happy New Year!

Living it up in NYC

Hmm, so its been awhile since my last post. Same old excuses: not enough time, end of the quarter, tired and lazy, and add Christmas shopping. During my absence I was up in New York City for the weekend.

My friends and I were supposed to go up and do the Holiday Touristy thang, but instead ended up partying and drinking the weekend away. It was me, Best Friend Ever, and some other friends and we stayed with Best Friend Ever's Future Ex-Husband, Kevin. We didn't make it out into the city on Saturday until 4pm and all we saw was the tree and then headed back to warmth since it was butt cold.

Here are some of the highlights from my weekend in NYC:

• I KO'd Sharon and Vicki in Wii boxing. I'm currently the undefeated champion and Sharon is demanding a rematch. Bring it on Girl, and I will KO you again! By the way, I really want a Wii for Christmas. It's mooooneeey!
• We went to this awesome club called Stereo, where the music was poppin. Every song was hot. I haven't danced the night away in ages and it felt so good.
• Sharon wanted to get one of those stupid drawings of herself where your head is really big and you have a little body, and it looked nothing like her. She was so excited to sit there in the cold for this shady Chinese man, and when we went up to look at it, the drawing did not resemble her at all. We said the drawing was her alter ego, Sharona, and Sharona's a bit of a whore. And we also thought it was really funny to take a bunch of pictures with Sharona.
• Saturday night we stayed in cause it was sleeting and we are poor and played numerous rounds of Asshole and Fuck you pyramid. I was only Asshole once, but also only Dictator once. I don't believe in democracy in Asshole, there is no VP, only me.

Overall a great weekend and exactly what I needed to feel refreshed. Friday night I was able to burn off a lot of the stress and Saturday I was able to relax. Enjoy the pics.

I Love a Good Holiday Party

Hooray I survived another company holiday party! This year I brought Best Friend Ever along as my hot date and chaperone. Cause clearly, I needed a chaperone. So no inappropriate drunk dialing on my part. I did drunk dial a friend or two, but nothing inappropriate.

Me and Best Friend Ever

This year was fun, but I think I had more fun last year. Probably because I was a lot drunker last year and didn’t end up in my own bed at the end of the night. What are you doing to do?

Most of my night was mingling and trying to flirt with one of my co-workers. I have developed a crush on him, but this guy is not getting the hint. I don’t know how many coy remarks I have dropped, but he still hasn’t officially asked me out. We went out for drinks last week and have been chatting on-line ever since, but no real progress from that. And I know I could ask him out, but I refuse to. For once I want the guy to be the aggressor and not me. So instead I have continued to flirt and drop innuendos to no avail.

Me and Two Fellow Co-workers - note crush is not in any pics

I thought I was reading the signs correctly, but maybe he’s just not that into me (ugh, I really hate that phrase, but its so true). Maybe he’s just really shy or maybe he has no clue I’m flirting with him. Or maybe it was the face I made when someone asked him if I was his girlfriend (OMG, its coming back to me).


My company is huge; in our corporate office alone we have over 600 employees. I only know a handful of people. We were talking to someone in his old department and he asked him if I was his girlfriend. I remember making a face and him saying I work for the company as well. I don’t know if he caught my face. I hope he didn’t. Dagger. I don’t think it was the idea of him being my boyfriend, I think I was more embarrassed that I was being obvious and coming on to him. But then again, anytime I hear the word boyfriend, I do make an involuntary gag. I need to learn to control that.

Keila and I

I probably didn’t utilize the party to my full advantage, but again, I do not want to be the chaser, and I think I have dropped enough clues for him to figure it out. And I hate being the center of gossip, so I didn't want to draw too much attention to the two of us (not that I think anyone really noticed, but still).

The party was fun and I didn't make an ass out of myself, so I would call that a success. On a random note, my navigation system got lost on the way to the party, and the bitch made me go in circles. I kept screaming at her, "Do you know where you're going? I bet Garmin wouldn't get me lost!"

Holiday Lights

Oh my God, this is so cool. My friend posted this on my myspace page and it rocks. You need your volume on for the full effect. Enjoy.

I am America (and so Can You!)

If you’re a fan of The Colbert Report, than you’ll love I am America (and so Can You!) by Stephen Colbert. The book is an extension of his thoughts in print form and it is freaking hilarious.

When I first started watching The Colbert Report, I thought Stephen was egotistically, pompous, rude, annoying, and clearly narrow-minded. But the more and more I watched it and realized that’s exactly what the show is all about, I was hooked.

Colbert talks about what makes America great and what is currently ruining America. He hits upon subjects such as family, the media, religion, sex, dating, homosexuals, race, immigrants and so much more.

Every chapter is laugh out loud funny. He even adds little asides by having footnotes and margin notes that are hysterical. I like the book because it’s an uncensored version of Colbert that you just aren’t able to get on tv. He holds no bars and lets it all out – too funny.

Goodbye My Puppy

Close to this time last year I was really worried about my dog Pepper. My Mom had noticed a decline in his health and the vet didn’t think he would make it to the New Year. But true to Pepper’s nature, he didn’t give up and his little body held on. We were all remarkable impressed with his spirit and even his Doctor said he was a fighter.



I knew that eventually his body would begin to shut down on him again and I was really hoping he could make it through the Christmas holiday. I even congratulated him on Thanksgiving for still being alive and making this the best Thanksgiving ever. He looked up at me and smiled, “Your welcome.”



By this point he had lost a lot of his chubbiness that made him fondly known as Fat Dog. His little face looked so gaunt, and for the first time in over ten years I could see his ribs protruding out. My little Puppy had morphed into an old man, even his eyes looked old, but they still smiled when I patted and kissed him.



Last night I said my final goodbyes to him. After Thanksgiving he lost his appetite, and for a dog that was known for loving good eats, that wasn’t a good sign. Yesterday he wasn’t able to lift himself off the ground because he was so weak, so my Mom made the call to the vet and then called me.



My Dad and I left work early so that we could have some extra moments with him before we had to say farewell. Luckily my Mom was off work and got to spend the entire day with him. When I came home, Pepper could tell that I was there, but he was so tired and ready to go.



I sat down with his head in my lap and let him know how much I love him and what a great dog he’s been and how lucky I am to have known him. I held him, stroked him and cried into his fur. I can’t believe my baby is leaving me.



We all went to the doctor’s to be with him one last time. He passed so quickly. I just laid my head next to his, breathing in his smell, savoring it for one more moment. My little Fat Dog was gone.



I got him when he was only six weeks old and I know he lived a good long life, but its always so sad and so hard to lose someone you love so much. Pepper was always the brave one, and he was always the first to get into trouble. He had such a big heart and was always happy to see us. Being my Mom’s favorite, he would follow her wherever she went and would bark and cry the loudest when she came home from work. And even though he loved his eats, he was never a beggar and patiently waited for his turn.



I bet right now he’s up there with Brownie, Coco and OC chasing them around with a huge stick in his mouth and a smile on his face. Brownie is yapping in his ear, so excited to have his twin brother back.



I love you so much Pepper, aka Puppy, aka Fat Dog. Thank you for always loving me. You have been such a huge blessing in my life and I will love you forever always. You are in my heart and I will see you in my dreams.



Pepper 1993-2007

Partying Ways Are Long Gone

My coworker has this impression of me that I’m some sort of wild child (mind you, she’s younger than me), and I think it’s the craziest thing in the world. I consider myself quite tame and boring. I like nothing better than a quiet night in and a nice bottle of wine with either a good book or movie. I’ll admit when I go out with my friends, we tear it up, but I only do that about once every two months or so.

But she insists that I’m crazy and wild and that she loves it (she was my roommate when my company had our conference in Vegas, so she has seen my party girl side). And I continue to protest that I’m not like that, and that if she saw me in my everyday life, she would realize how dull I am.

The girl that could go out clubbing until 5am and do it all over again the next night is now in retirement. I used to do happy hours every night after work, getting shit-faced and still be able to function the next day at work without a problem. But now after four drinks and one shot, I puke before I have to go to work and am completely hungover the entire day. Such a shame.

But for some reason my coworker thinks I’m still that girl. Even though she knows I spend most weekends at home on my couch, losing myself in mindless tv. What’s really funny is that out of the group of my friends, I consider myself to be the tamest. If she thinks I’m wild, she would be blown away by some of my girlfriends. These young kids these days just don’t know.

On a Side Note Pt 10 ...

Wow, I cannot believe Thanksgiving has come and gone. This year Thanksgiving completely creped up on me. I was so preoccupied with other things that I was shocked with how soon Thanksgiving was. In a blink of an eye it will be Christmas and then New Year's, and I will be flabbergasted that a whole year has come and gone. I feel like the end of the year just rushes upon us, and I'm never prepared for it. I know I say it every year, but I really cannot believe how fast it has gone by. My mind is still back at the start of summer not the beginning of winter and the holiday season. I just can't get over the fact that this year is almost over. Where did my year go?

Its a Meme!

Yay its a meme. I got this from Kiah. Enjoy.

1) Do you still talk to the first person you fell hardest for? That would be a no. We tried doing the friend thing, but it wasn't working. He was hoping for more, and by that point, I was no longer falling.

2) Have you ever seen your best friend naked? Yes, I undressed her and put her to bed. Gosh, stop picturing it, you pervs.

3) Are you obsessed with someone? I don't think so. I'm just obsessed with the opposite sex.

4) Name something that you would like to eat right now. I can't wait for the turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie.

5) Did you get any compliments today? I was told that I take very detailed notes in my quotes, but that my handwriting is horrendous.

6) Who were the last two people to call you? My Dad and my friend Jeff.

7) If you could pick the temperature of the outdoors for the rest of your life, would you? I would like a balmy 65, perfect weather for flip flops, a cute cami, and a light hoodie.

8) If you could have one super power, what would it be? The power to read minds.

9) What's your favorite smell? Fresh clean towels right out of the dryer.

10) What is your least favorite sound? A baby crying. You're a freaking baby, what problems could you possibly have? Your biggest worry is when's your next udder coming your way. Geez, cry babies.

11) Are you moody? Have you met me?

12) Last person you hung out with? With Rachel. She came over to see the new place and then we had dinner. Good times.

13) Have you ever toliet papered someone's house? Have I ever! Man, for awhile there in high school that was a weekly thing. My friends and I made this one girl's house look like it snowed.

14) Have you ever been to a nude beach? That's so funny. I was just talking to a co-worker about this. I haven't, but would go.

15) Have you ever gone skinny dipping? No, I don't like swimming in lakes, and I feel you can only go skinny dipping in a lake.

16) Listening to music? What are you listening to? Jack Johnson's Flake.

17) Have you ever been betrayed by your best friend? No.

18) Have you ever lied to your parents? Yes. I told a lot of lies to my parents growing up.

19) Have you ever worn your best friend's clothes? Yup. Since I'm currently house-sitting for her, I'm constantly going through her wardrobe, picking outfits for myself. It's great.

20) Have you ever thrown up from working out? No, I must not be pushing myself hard enough.

21) Ever had a bad haircut? Yes, and I've cried because of it.

22) Where are your siblings right now? My brother is most likely at home, getting ready to eat dinner. He lives in Oakland.

23) Name three things you did today. Bought my cousin a gift card, bought the ingredients to make pumpkin pie, and some filing.

24) Last person you text messaged? Best Friend Ever, complaining about the traffic I was sitting in.

25) Future kid's names? For girls - Madison, Isabella, Madeline. For boys - Adian, Owen,

26) What are you doing tomorrow? Turning in my keys at my old apartment, and then off to work where I will waste the day away filing paperwork and figuring out how to use Facebook.

27) Do you remember singing songs as a kid? Yes, Best Friend Ever and I used to make up dance routines to Madonna.

28) Are you allergic to anything? Pollen, dust, and cooties.

29) When is the last time you got flowers? Its been awhile.

30) Where were you two hours ago? At home.

31) Wherre were you four hours ago? At the grocery store buying stuff to make pie.

32) What does your hair look like right now? Its pulled back in a clip.

33) What have you eaten today? Yogurt, lollipop, Chipotle chicken bowl, mini M&Ms, fish sticks and a bowl of cereal.

34) Is your hair naturally curly, straight or nappy? I've got straight poofy hair, with a slight curl when it feels like it.

35) Who was the last friend you were in a car with? Rachel.

36) What are you looking forward to? Thanksgiving and having Wed-Friday off. Yay for five day weekends!

37) Any of your friends getting married? Chelsea, Dhrit, and Bee Bee. I will only be attending one of those weddings.

38) Is today going to be a good day? It better be.

39) Pick out a scar that you have and explain it. I have two bumps on my lower lip. I was riding my bike and turned the wheel sharply on some pebbles, I lost control, and fell face first on the asphalt. The scar is either from two pebbles still stuck inside my lip or the skin just healing funny. All I remember is that my bottom lip turned black while it was scabbing over and everyone made fun of me. Kids can be so cruel.

40) What does your phone look like? She's red and I call her Hot Scarlett.

41) What is on the walls of your bedroom? Currently nothing, since I haven't yet decided where I'm going to hang all my pictures and artwork.

42) What is your current desktop? Mister Bear! So cute!

43) Do you believe in gay marriage? Yes, I actually wrote speeches about it in high school and how people should not be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation.

44) What do you want more than anything right now? New couches for my living room.

45) What time were you born? An hour before leap year.

46) Last person who made you cry? The boy.

47) What is your favorite perfume/cologne? I wear Heaven by Gap. It has a nice clean fresh smell.

48) What hair/eye color do you like in the opposite sex? I love dark hair with bright blue eyes.

49) Do you get scared of the dark? At times when I think of something scary before I fall asleep.

50) Do you like pain killers? Umm, yes! Which reminds me, I need to get some.

51) Who was the last person who made you smile? No freaking clue. I'm sure someone at work cracked a joke that I smiled to.

The Beginning of a New End

It was a conversation I was expecting to have. It was a conversation I needed to have. It was a conversation that came way too soon. A part of me is resentful for predicting the outcome. The other half is just relieved to have it finally be over. It has to be over. I don’t want to keep regressing; its time to evolve.

The boy and I ended it -- again. But this time there was this feeling of finality, at least on my end. This time, I’m ready to let it go, for good. After three years of riding roller coasters with him, I think I’m finally ready to get off the ride. I don’t enjoy it as much as I used to, and I’m burnt out. I don’t have the energy to keep it up. I’m tired of pushing and working for something that may not be truly there.

We had agreed to take things slow and just let it happen naturally, but I still needed reassurances from him that this wasn’t all just fun and games. I needed to know that he was invested in this. He said he was, but this time I wasn’t.

I was too scared to trust him, so I continued to go out on dates. Except I didn’t really consider them dates, but outings with male friends, which I knew he would consider inappropriate (even if nothing happened). I wasn’t willing to give up that safety net, and I never told him about my “dates.”

Things seemed to be going great with us. I swallowed my instinct to pressure and prod and he was attempting to make more of an effort. I focused on today and stopped thinking too far out in the future. We were floating in a delicate bubble, caught in the currents of the wind and the softest gust could blow it all apart.

The bubble burst last week. A simple sleepover gone badly, with him telling me that’s he’s withdrawing and pushing me away, and perhaps I shouldn’t put up with it. After so many times of us taking one baby step forward and then two gigantic leaps back, I couldn’t go through it again. After leaving his place the next day angry and hurt by his actions, I already knew that we would have a talk and it would be over.

We both agreed that it shouldn’t be this hard to make it work. And I told him that I didn’t want to be with someone who didn’t really want to be with me. He asked if this is what I really wanted, and I said, no its not, but I’m tired of fighting for something that’s not there. He said that he cares for me deeply and that there is something there, but the timing isn’t right. I asked him not to call me for six months to a year, and he said he couldn’t promise me that, but I was adamant. I told him I needed a clean break and calling me three months from now would do neither one of us any good.

And then we hung up, and I cried. I cried for losing him yet again. I cried for the missed opportunity of what might have been. I cried for sticking around for three years hoping that we would get our moment. I cried because I knew that this time, I didn’t really have my heart in it, and kept myself hidden and on guard every time I was with him. I cried because I was scared of him hurting me, so I never let him in. I cried because I couldn't be honest with him. And I cried because I knew I would miss him.

I do think we’re right though. It should be this hard, and we’re both not really ready for this. As much as I want to be ready, I’m not. I’m not ready to be with him, and maybe I never will be. Maybe our history and how we started will always cloud my judgment or maybe we can reach a point in our lives where we can just be.

Is it truly over? I don’t know. Right now it needs to be. I need him out of my life for a while so I can clear my head. I need to be free of him.

Heartburn

Heartburn by Nora Ephron seemed like it would be a breezy read, but it took me a lot longer than I expected, especially considering the book is less than 200 pages. But from the get-go, the book made me angry and I had a hard time relating to the main character.

Rebecca finds out that her husband Mark has been cheating on her and to make matters worse, Rebecca is seven months pregnant. And instead of being enraged over her husband’s infidelity, Rebecca is willing to forgive him as long as he promises to never see his mistress again. Right then and there, the story lost me.

I’ll put up with a lot of bullshit in a relationship, but cheating is not one of them. I have to draw the line somewhere. I’m already dealing with emotionally unavailable and selfish, but if you cheat and lie to me, forget it, I’m done. Thanks for reading the random rant.

Rebecca tries to deal with the emotional repercussions of her husband’s affair. Mark is a complete dick who doesn’t even seem to be in love with her. He is callous towards her and inconsiderate. I’m not really sure why Rebecca wants to stay married to him.

Her character made me very angry, and I just couldn’t understand why she would put up with him and his behavior. She is constantly questioning where the relationship went south and why wasn’t she more attentive to Mark’s needs. I think she just married an asshole and should be thanking her lucky stars that she now has a way out.

I was a bit disappointed in this book, especially since Ephron is the best selling author of, I Feel Bad About My Neck and wrote the screenplay for Sleepless in Seattle.

When Did I Become a Type A?

About two weeks ago it was a normal day at work for me. I was sitting at my cube, most likely creating quotes or playing on the interweb (I would go with the latter). My manager, whose cube is directly in front of me (we share the same wall), says, “Kim, have you seen the e-mail from Vance* (VP of HR)?” I reply, “No, why do I still have a job?”

My e-mail server is slow and I’m on a 15-30 second delay so I still hadn’t even gotten notified that I had a new e-mail. All of the sudden I am getting instant messages from co-workers on our office communicator, all of them saying, “Congratulations!”

Finally I get the new message pop-up and click my inbox to see that I was one of employees awarded with “Employee of the Quarter.” I honestly was not expecting that at all. It was such a shock and completely gratifying. I worked my ass off in Q3 and I was able to close two regions at 100% and had an overall renewal rate of 97%. On top of that, I was also able to close out a majority of my outstanding General Motors renewals, some going as far back as June 2006.

I am really happy that my hard work has been recognized. I don’t know if other people are this way, while I am extremely pleased to have won this, my second thought was, crap, now the pressure is on to do even better next quarter, especially now that I have the highest generating revenue region. My moment of glory only lasted a half second before I cursed myself for being an over-achiever. I know, I’m insane. I have some major anxiety issues and really should just be happy for this huge accomplishment.

But now I’m gunning for two stellar quarters in a row. I have to keep pushing; it’s who I am. Perhaps if I win again next quarter, this will at least put me in the running for President’s Club, which includes a vacation to someplace tropical.

*Names have been changed to protect people’s identity.

Farewell Dropsy.

While the move went really well, I do have to report one causality. Dropsy 2 did not survive. He lived two years with me and I feel guilty over his passing. It could have been avoided, but I was careless.

If you remember, I once had four frogs, but somehow they all died on me. Dropsy had a close encounter with death when I was transferring him to the tank to the fish bowl, but I managed to save him before Weasley got to him.

This time he wasn’t so lucky. I had put Dropsy in his fish bowl and he made it over to the new place just fine. I needed to hide him someplace where Weasley couldn’t get to him, and I chose the shelving unit in the living room. I did notice that Weasley could open the door with his paw, but didn’t think to move Dropsy to another cabinet.

My cousin and I were upstairs in my bedroom unpacking, when I heard the cabinet door open. I yelled at Weasley to get out of there and headed downstairs to check on the boys. When I opened the cabinet, Weasley was in there, but Dropsy was not in his bowl. Oh SHIT.

At first I thought Weasley had eaten him, but knew that he couldn’t have swallowed him whole, and since there were no random body parts around, I knew Dropsy had to be around the place somewhere. So my cousin and I started to look under all the boxes and trash bags. My cousin found him under a trash bag and surprisingly he was still alive.

She put him back in the fish bowl and I prepared the tank for him to go back into. He seemed to be fine, maybe a little scared, but he was swimming around in the bowl. I moved him into the half bath and shut the door so Weasley would leave him alone.

The next morning when I went to check in on him, he was stiff and swollen and laying at the bottom of the bowl not moving. Poor Dropsy did not survive. I’m not sure what did him in. Maybe he was out of water too long and his system couldn’t handle it or maybe Weasley injured him and he was bleeding internally.

I’m still not sure how he even got out of the bowl. I believe Weasley was swatting in the water, and Dropsy was jumping to get away from him, and Weasley used his paw to lift him out of the water.

Poor Dropsy. He didn’t even get to enjoy his new home. He was such a trooper too and survived all the other frogs that died around him. I’ll miss the poor guy and feel very responsible for his death.

Rest in peace Dropsy. You were swell.

It's Official: My New Home

Yay so I’m finally all moved in and unpacked. Closing went without a hitch and I’m officially a homeowner. Or as my friend Matt says, I now just pay the bank rent. It’s weird to be sitting here in my new home. It’s slowly starting to sink in that I don’t rent anymore and that I can call this place home.

Living room

I already have ideas on what colors I want to paint and things I want to renovate/upgrade. I would like to install some recessed lightning for the living room and update the vanity in the bedroom. Besides that everything else looks really nice. The previous owner added a half bathroom on the main level, upgraded the kitchen, and added custom shelves in the bedroom and on the main level. I have stainless steel appliances, new cabinetry, new countertops and new tile floors. It all looks very nice.

Living Room

I love how big my bedroom is. My bedroom furniture is a bit ginormous, but it all fits in nicely with plenty of room to spare. I am adding more shelves to my walk-in closet, since I lost the hall closet with the half-bath being downstairs. My coats and jackets alone can take up an entire closet! It’s a dirty addiction.

Currently computer area, but one day dining room

I love the fact that this is a two-level unit. It gives the place a town-homey type feel than apartment. It also makes the house seem bigger. And I’ll get a workout going up and down the stairs. Having a powder room on the main level is awesome. I won’t have to worry about guest having to use my bathroom in my bedroom. That half-bath was a huge buying point for me, and from what I understand is the only unit in the community to have that.

Kitchen

I am glad to be out of my current apartment. When Best Friend Ever and I first moved there over three years ago (I can’t believe its been that long), the community was really nice, but over the years it has gotten a bit ghetto. I won’t miss hearing gunshots and then hearing helicopters hovering over my apartment looking for the shooter (although I wasn’t too bothered when it happened, even though BFE knocked on my door frightened). There weren’t gang shootings every night, but the population in the place is shifting towards that. I do have some great memories from living there, but I’m ready to move on and forward.

Bedroom

Overall I am really happy with my condo. I think it was a blessing in disguise that I didn’t get the other place. My new home is bigger and closer in than the last one, and while it may not be brand new the amenities are just as nice. I may not be living next door to BFE, but she’s only a 15-minute drive. While I didn’t fall in love at first sight with this place, after having all my stuff in here, I’m beginning to really enjoy it. I think I will be very happy here and am ready to create new memories.

Custom shelves in bedroom

Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro was a slow read, but I’m glad I stuck with it and finished it. If you remember last time I tried to read one of his books and ended up stopping cause it was so slow. I’m beginning to think that Ishiguro is just very slow paced and you must continue reading to get to the good stuff. Perhaps one day, I will pick up When We Were Orphans and soldier through it.

The story starts out with Kathy H. reminiscing about her days at Hailsham, a private school in England. She talks about her experience growing up at Hailsham and her circle of friends, which include Ruth and Tommy. There is a sense that something is strange about Hailsham, that it’s not a typical school. The students are aware that they are different from others, but Ishiguro never reveals what makes these students unusual.

The students are obsessed with getting their artwork in The Gallery. Every so often a woman they call, Madame, comes and picks the best pieces of art and the children have no clue what she does with it and never question the guardians about it.

The book follows Kathy, Ruth and Tommy after they leave Hailsham to a place called The Cottages before they begin their training as carer’s. There is tension between Kathy and her friends. Ruth and Tommy are now a couple and it adds a weird dynamic between the trio. Eventually the trio splits up to begin their training and they all leave on bad terms.

Here Ishiguro slowly discloses that the Kathy and the others will one day become carers and then donors. Kathy is a clone and was raised to donate her organs, but before one becomes a donor, they train as a carer, who takes care of the donors. Kathy is an excellent carer and has not yet become a donor. She takes on the task for caring for Ruth and Tommy.

Finally everything begins to make sense to the reader and my earlier perception of Hailsham changes. We learn that Hailsham was created to raise the “students” in a humane environment. Before Hailsham, “students” were reared in ugly conditions and treated more like test tube experiments. We also learn the significance of The Gallery. As one of their guardians put it, “We took away your art because we thought it would reveal your souls. Or to put it more finely, we did it to prove you had souls at all.”

This book was really interesting and covered the topic of cloning in a very different way. Never Let Me Go does not read like a science fiction novel, and at first totally leaves you guessing to where this book is going. Ishiguro solely focuses on the relationship between Kathy and her friends displaying their humanity before he reveals what they really are.

The book made me think of the movie, The Island except that the biggest difference is that the students were always innately aware of what their purpose is life was. Their guardians never came straight out and told them, but always dropped hints to what they were raised to do. The students never questioned their destiny or Hailsham, until now. Miss Emily (a guardian) states,

“Look at you both now! You built your lives on what we gave you.
You wouldn’t be who you are today if we had not protected you. You
wouldn’t have become absorbed in your lessons, you wouldn’t have lost yourselves in you art and your writing. Why should you have done, knowing what lay in
store for each of you? You would have told us it was all pointless, and
how could we have argued with you?”

The book makes me wonder if one day we will start to clone ourselves to harvest our organs. With the advances already made with cloning it doesn’t seem like a far-off possibility, but with what consequences.

Happy Halloween!

Weasley and Peepers would like to wish everyone a Happy Halloween!!!



Don't they look precious?



So cute that you want to eat them up?



Who doesn't love an animal in costume?



Please don't report me to PETA.

My New Home Pt 2 ...

Sorry, but I won’t be posting for the next week or so. I won’t have internet connection starting sometime tomorrow and will only be able to post maybe if I get a chance at work. I think I should be safe sharing my news.

I finally found myself a new home and will be closing this Monday! After my last experience of finding a new place and then losing it, I wanted to wait until everything was in the clear before I wrote about it. Seeing as it’s Friday, and I’m two days away from settlement, I hope I’m not kicking myself in the ass by writing about it.

My realtor, Wendy, was awesome and made this experience really enjoyable. As I’ve mentioned before, I was really hesitant about the whole home buying process after what happened to me, and Wendy understood my concerns and fears and really worked with me. She did an excellent job of listening to what I wanted in a home and helping me find it. I’m really glad I worked with her, and if anyone’s in need of a realtor, let me know.

I will be remaining in Rockville and moving into this cute community where I actually know a bunch of people. Its in a prime location with access to the Beltway and I-270, and I’m less than a mile from a metro stop. It’s a two-level condo with a half-bath on the main level. This community attracts a lot of people around my age and my one friend is already calling it the new Melrose Place.

It hasn’t really hit me that I’ll be closing on Monday. I don’t think I’ll really believe it until it actually happens. If everything goes according to plan, I will settle on Monday and then move on Thursday. Again my apartment is in shambles because I’m in the process of packing. I have been packing two boxes every night, and I’m still not any closer to finishing. Seriously, how much crap do I have? It’s a bit out of control.

So the next time I post, it should be from my new home! See ya then!

Dumbledore's Out

Shocking revelations were made this week when author J.K. Rowling disclosed that Albus Dumbledore is gay. Rowling felt that the time was right to finally “out” Dumbledore. I’m sure this has caused a stir among the Harry Potter fanatics.

I really haven’t had time to digest the news and if at all this affects my viewpoint on the whole series. I never really thought of Dumbledore in a sexual manner; I always considered him to be asexual. To me Dumbledore’s greatest love was Hogwarts and educating young witches and wizards about magic.

I completely missed all the hints that Rowling gave in Book 7, The Deathly Hallows. Apparently Dumbledore fell in love with his childhood friend Grindelwald, with whom later Dumbledore defeats in a duel (Grindelwald went to the dark side). I remember thinking that Dumbledore did seem obsessed with him, but I felt it was more because Dumbledore had finally met someone of his caliber, someone who was just as gifted as he was, and someone that he could relate with. Is that necessarily love? Well, according to Rowling, it was. Dumbledore was infatuated with Grindelwald.

I still am not sure how I feel about this revelation. Will this change my viewpoint going forward? Will I notice it while I am reading the series again? I haven’t yet cracked open The Chamber of Secrets so it will be interesting to see how this affects the way I read it.

Cats Playing With String

My friend Kiah is under the impression that I spend a lot of my time watching, "Cats playing with string" videos on youtube. That's a blantant lie. I have much better things to do with my time than look at cat videos. I like to sleep for one, and eat too, occasionally I'll read a book or two, sometimes I like to engage in night time festivties with my friends, of course there is tons of tv to be watched, but mainly I spend my time on websites such as stuffonmycat, and my new personal favorite omgkitty (she is so effing cute!). So with my busy schedule, I don't have time to be playing on youtube. But since Kiah believes this is what I do with my free time, here are some vidoes. Enjoy.





Man, I cannot believe how many videos you can find of this stuff. It's a sickness, I tell ya.

"This Love Has Taken its Hold on Me ..."

I heart Adam Levine and last night I got to see him in concert. Originally I had gotten a ticket through work, but they only gave me one and I heard that all the top executives would be going. Didn’t sound so much like a fun time to me. I really don’t know too many people outside of my immediate department, so the though of hanging out in a suite with all the executives was a bit daunting.

I e-mailed someone that I know who actually works at the Verizon Center to see if he could get me some tickets. This person is shady and I was expecting him to proposition me again in exchange for tickets. There were hints of a proposition and I flat out refused anything, so was pleasantly surprised when he said he had two suite tickets for me. Score!

Me and Jessie

My friend Jessie was the lucky winner who accompanied me to the Maroon 5 concert. Overall the concert was fun, but I have to admit I got bored. I love their first album Songs About Jane and can sing along to every song. Their newest album It Won’t be Soon Before Long is good, but I don’t heart it as much as the first one. Although, I will admit, Makes Me Wonder is my ring tone.



They were on stage for about an hour and a half and played a bunch of songs from the new and old album, including my favorite song Shiver. Their stage show is kinda boring, and I spent more time looking at this girl in the next box over. I couldn’t tell if she was drunk or just had no rhythm, but Maroon 5 would be playing a slow song and she would be flaying her body to her own internal beat. It was quite distracting and the guy next to me noticed as well and took a picture of her. Poor thing.

Me and Jessie again

Adam Levine is a dreamy as ever and can play decent guitar. He did a little jam session for an encore and I just wanted to throw my panties on stage. He’s got this really great metro-sexual dorky appeal that I love. I also love how obsessive and moody he can be in his songs. They strike a chord within me.

I bet if they stuck with smaller venues such as 9:30 Club, their show would be a lot better. I can’t complain though, I got to go for free.

Sick Days

Two Friday’s ago, I decided to give myself a day of rest, so naturally I called in sick. Sick days are funny; I never use them when I’m actually sick. I’d rather save them for a long weekend or a day when I wake up and I just don’t feel like going into the office.

I had been planning to take that Friday off for a while, and almost decided against it, until that Friday morning when my alarm went off for the sixth time and I said, the hell with it, I’m staying in bed. I slept in, and read in bed for the majority of the day. Not once did I even check work e-mail. It was exactly what I needed.

Of course this past Tuesday, I woke up with a sore throat, and I just thought, great, now I’m going to get sick. Wednesday I woke up with still a sore throat and the beginning of the sniffles. By Thursday, I started coughing and my nose was constantly running. I went and got some medicine, hoping to stop it.

No such luck. I didn’t want to use another sick day, so I forced myself to go to work. Once I had gotten there, I knew I should’ve just stayed home. I made it till lunchtime before I had enough and got the hell out of there. I was hacking up a lung and felt miserable and did not want to spread the germs to my coworkers.

I came home and crawled back into bed to sleep this off. Because while I have a whooping cough and a slight case of the sniffles, I’m really not that sick, I’m more under the weather. According to my Mother, you have to have a fever to be considered sick, at least sick enough to stay home from school or work. Its funny how her philosophy has stuck in my head.

I wasn’t sick by my Mother’s standard, I didn’t even feel worn down or achy. I was more annoyed by the fact that karma decided to play a joke on me. I am still coughing and waking up in the middle of the night cause I am having a coughing fit. If karma is going to pay me back, and least make me fever sick so that it’s worth it. Let me be fever sick so that my Mother will shine some sympathy on me and make me a bowl of tomato soup with some grilled cheese. Instead I had to make my own, but I didn’t burn the grilled cheese this time!

Manhunting

Manhunting by Jennifer Cruise falls between trashy romance novels and regular old chick-lit. There wasn’t enough explicit sex for it to be trashy enough. I’m not sure if you would find this book in the romance aisle at the bookstore, but Harlequin, a classic trashy romance novel publisher, published this so it’s a tough choice on how to label this one.

Kate Svenson has been engaged three times already, and longs to be in a successful, stable relationship. She works as a business developer in her father’s firm and is looking for a man who is wealthy, successful and ambitious as her. Her ultimate goal would be for her significant other and her to start their own business together.

Her best friend suggests that Kate take a trip to a fancy resort where she can meet men that fit her plan. Of course there is Jake Templeton, who works as a handy man on the resort. He is ruggedly handsome and determined to never have a real job ever again. After working in the rat race and being burnt out, he came home and helped his younger brother start up the resort. He is not looking for any responsibility and after being divorced, never wants to get married again.

Obviously these two fall for each other. And neither one is willing to sacrifice their principles for the other. So instead they become miserable until it is too much to bear and eventually both compromise to make the other happy.

I can’t decide if I would pick up another of Cruise’s books again. The entire plot was predictable along with the character’s reactions. Romance novels follow a typical format anyways, and this was pretty cookie cutter. I’m beginning to realize where I get my unrealistic ideas about love and romance. I have read way too many of these stories.

I think what really bothered me was at the end when Kate was willing to compromise everything that she ideally wanted in a husband because she fell in love with Jake. I’m sorry; I just don’t believe that love will conquer all. And we have these firm ideals of what we want for a reason. I guess that’s why the classification for this book is important to me. If this is a trashy romance novel than I can accept it for what it is, but if it’s supposed to be chick-lit, it needs to have a next level for me. Doesn’t have to be too deep, but still another level.

Ugh, ...

Why is it only Wednesday? That is all.

Oh wait, best line I just heard on TV, "Beauty is just a light switch away!"

Man, I have to use this on someone.

It's Always About a Boy

I am sitting here with a glass of red wine hoping to gain some insight about my current state of affairs. I’m hoping to find answers at the bottom of this glass. It may not be the best place to solve my problem, but it’s a start.

There is this boy whom I have known for three years or so. We have always been floating in and out of each other’s lives with nothing serious tying us together. In the beginning this arrangement suited us perfectly. When we were together we had a ton of fun and when I was apart from him, I still had fun. We have dated other people, I was in a serious relationship, and yet I always find myself running back into his arms.

He was the reason I put myself on lockdown and he is also the reason that I broke it. He gives me the highest highs but also the lowest lows. Just when I think I have finally walked away from him, he reappears and shatters whatever resistance I tried to build up against him. He is my Achilles heel, my biggest weakness, my drug I cannot get enough of. And when the high wears off and reality trickles back in, the withdrawal effects are painful and I have to wonder is it worth it.

We keep repeating this pattern and I’m trying desperately to change my behavior and not make the same mistakes. But he doesn’t make it easy for me. And I allow myself to get swept away and ignore the voice in my head that tells me to run and never look back. I know that something has to change. Either we progress and move forward or I stand firm in my decision to not let him back in. And if it becomes the latter than I cannot waver and must truly let him go. Because no one likes a broken record, and I hate being that girl.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

I think I am finally all Harry Pottered out. Inconceivable you say, but its true. It has taken me over two months to finish Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The first time I read this book I finished it in less than a week. I am still going to continue to read all the books in the series but at my own leisurely pace.

This marks the first book in the series where we are introduced to the majority of the key players. On Harry’s 11th birthday he finds out that he is a wizard and that a whole other world exists. He is ecstatic to learn that he will attend the famous Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he will learn to develop the skills to become a wizard. Harry also learns the truth about his parents being killed by Voldermort and that he is the only known person to survive the killing curse.

This book follows Harry’s first year at school and all the interesting people he encounters. He quickly befriends Ron Weasely and eventually they become friends with Hermione Granger. The book centers on them trying to find the Sorcerer’s Stone before it falls into the wrong hands.

Rowling sets up a lot of plot points that will eventually reveal itself in the future books. We learn that Harry’s Mother, Lily, died to protect him, which placed a protective charm over Harry. Professor Snape was a classmate of Harry’s Father, James, and Snape and James hated one another.

Most importantly we learn that Harry’s wand shares a core with Voldermort’s wand. As Mr. Ollivander states, “I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter … After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things – terrible, yes, but great.”

Book one is a good introduction to the world of Harry Potter. Seriously, if you haven’t read this series yet, now is a perfect time to start.

Books in Movie Form

I touched briefly upon this in my last post about whether or not I see a movie first and then read a book, I tend to go with my first impression, and I started to think, is that always true? Have there been instances where I’ve read the book, saw the movie and then thought the movie did a better job or vice versa? So I did a mental rundown of all the various books-turned-into-movies, where I have read and seen the movie and tried to figure out which one I enjoyed more.

Generally speaking, I believe books are far superior to their movie counterpart. When I read a book, I begin to picture the characters in my head and their lives act out in my imagination and I become a part of the story. I find that if I see a movie first, when I read the book, I’m no longer visualizing the character myself, but picturing the actor who played that character, and using the scenes from the movie as my backdrop. But there have been times for me where the movie has done an excellent job capturing the soul of a book and stimulates my imagination further.

So here’s a fun list of books vs movies:

• The Devil Wears Prada
  I read this book in anticipation for the movie, and I thought the movie did a better job than the book. I’m a huge fan of fashion (although I’ve had my “what not to wear” moments) and seeing the many gorgeous outfits on Anne Hathway was a fashionista’s orgasmic dream. I seriously wanted every article of clothing that came on screen. The actual book itself was ok and had a darker tone than the movie. But to me, the movie was all about the clothes and that won in my eyes.

• The Da Vinci Code
  This booked kicked ass and the movie was eh. I read the book first and could not put it down. I admit, the book was a bit of a far stretch, not even about the whole Christ was married factor, but just the ridiculousness of some of the scenarios that occurred. I felt like every chapter had to top the next chapter in suspense, and that to me got old. Besides that, the book goes into so much more detail and offers such a compelling story, and the movie couldn’t encompass all that in the film. And I really couldn’t picture Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon. He just didn’t fit the part to me.

• The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
  Ok, so I’ve only ever read 1.5 books out of this trilogy. I’m halfway through The Two Towers, and I just can’t finish it. Every time I try, I have to start from the beginning again because I can’t remember what happened, and then I get discouraged at the thought of having to start when I’m already 300 or so pages in so I just leave the book on the shelf and think, perhaps another time. For those of you who know me in real life, know my absolute love all The Lord of the Rings movies. I own the extended version for all three and am always trying to sucker people to watch the movies with me. The entire series is visual stunning and did a far better job of creating Middle Earth than I could. Peter Jackson did such a kick ass job with this and deserves his Oscar and I hope he brings The Hobbit (I read that one) to film.

• The Harry Potters
  Of course I love the books more than the movies, but I think the movies are just as good. I’m in the midst of reading the first book again, and came upon the scene where Snape confronts Quirrell and I realized that I always associated this scene with how the movie portrays it. In the movie, Harry catches them while he’s under his invisibility cloak in the hallway of the school, but in the book, Harry is putting away his broom and notices Snape sneaking off to the Forbidden Forest and follows him on his broom. That to me just proves how much of an impact the movies have.
  

• The Godfather
  I can’t remember if I’ve read the book first or saw the movie. Both the book and the movie are my all-time favorites. Mario Puzo knows how to tell a gripping story and he wrote the screenplay so the movie is very close to the book. Both the movie and book are just elegantly done. I can watch the movie and read the book over and over again. The movie is a classic and all other mafia movies pale in comparison.

I could go on and on, but those are the movies vs books that really stick out in my mind. If I think of more, I’ll continue to add to this list.

The Nanny Diaries

After seeing the movie, The Nanny Diaries, I decided to pick up the book and read it. It was written by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, who both once worked in the child- care industry. Supposedly, allegedly they state that this book is a work of fiction, but I bet a lot of what happened in this book occurred in real life to them.

Nanny (that is her actual name) works for the X’s. Mrs. X does not work, but needs a full-time nanny to raise her son Grayer. Mr. X is constantly working and doesn’t care about the family waiting for him at home. Nanny is stuck in the middle trying to uplift Grayer’s spirit while working to make Mrs. X realize that her son needs his mother.

Nanny knows that this family is abusing her, but she can’t bear to leave Grayer alone to fend for himself with these people. She sees the special little person that Grayer is and wishes that his parents could do the same. So she continues to work for the X’s while trying to maintain a sense of herself in all of this.

Normally whatever I do first (reading book first and then seeing moving or vice versa), I tend to go with my first impression. So I actually liked the movie version of this book better than the book. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I felt the movie captured the essence of the book better.

I particularly liked the ending of the movie. As most light-hearted movies do, the story wraps up nicely with a happy ending. The book is more realistic and doesn’t wrap everyone’s lives so nicely. I’m sure if I read the book first, I would be saying the book was way better than the movie.

The movie also showcases my dreamy new boyfriend, Chris Evans. He is so delicious and I could devour him in one single bite. There is this one scene in the movie where he is wearing a baseball cap and he looks so freaking hot. My eyes seriously glazed over from all of his yumminess. Where was I?

Oh yes, book was good, I liked the movie better.

Random End of Quarter Meme

As my friend Matt says, "Its always the end of the quarter when I talk to you." Perhaps if you called me more than once every three months, it wouldn't be the end of the quarter. If you haven't guess, its the end of the quarter. Yay me. Here is a random meme type thing.

MY STORY.

Hi, my name is: Kimberly

but you can call me: Kim

Never in my life have I: gone skydiving, but I really want to

The one person who can drive me nuts is: my mother

My high school was: Paint Branch

When I’m nervous: I talk really really really fast

The last song I listened to was: Hate that I love you by Rihanna featuring Ne-Yo

If I were to get married right now it would be to: Chris Evans – the hottie from Nanny Diaries and Fantastic Four

My hair is: black, but I’m getting the itch to color it again, maybe a nice dark eggplant like color

When I was 4: I sucked my thumb

Last Christmas: I got a new mattress. This year I have decided to embrace the holiday spirit

I should be: doing work for the end of the quarter

When I look down I see: stack of executed quotes that I refuse to file

The happiest recent event was: having an entire night of uninterrupted sleep

If I were a character on ‘Friends’: I’d be Rachel cause I’m not a neat freak like Monica

By this time next year: I hope to be either in a new job or at least in a new position within my company

My current gripe is: that stupid cat that I’m cat sitting, he is keeping me awake at night

I have a hard time understanding: what Heidi sees in Spencer (watch The Hills)

There’s these girls: that I love to death and who are my best friends in the whole wide world

If I won an award, the first person I would tell would be: my rents and Best Friend Ever

I want to buy: a condo (I’ll update that one when I know for sure!)

Where do you plan to visit: hopefully San Diego in March

If you spent the night at my house: you’d have to fight JP for the pull out sofa

The world could do without: inconsiderate people

Your best friend in elementary school was: Lisa and Emily

Most recent thing I’ve bought myself: a ring and necklace from New York and Co

Most recent thing someone else bought me: SoCo and lime shots

My middle name is: Jean (like your pants)

In the morning I: reset my alarm so that I can sleep in

Last night I was: playing with my pussies (cats you pervert!)

There’s this guy I know who: I wish would be my boyfriend and if not that, than leave me the hell alone

If I was an animal I’d be a: one of my Mom’s pets cause she treats them better than her own children

A better name for me would be: Bookworm that hearts Harry Potter

Tomorrow I am: pretending to work an 8 hour day while really playing on the interweb

Tonight I am: going to bed early

My birthday is: Feb 28 bitches!

What a Pussy!

Somehow I got suckered into cat sitting for a friend of mine. She is in medical school along with Best Friend Ever, and her current rotation is in Hawaii (lucky bitch). So she asked if I wouldn’t mind taking care of her cat, Jean Pierre, aka JP, aka Peepers. Me being the dumb ass that I am said that I would love to and was all excited for Weasley to have a new playmate.

Jean Pierre, aka JP, aka Peepers

Man, am I stupid. Peepers is the exact opposite of Weasley. While Weasley is sweet and loving, Peepers is the devil incarnate. The first few days that he was here Peepers hissed and tried to scratch me and at nights he would walk around the apartment meowing and whining. And when I would go comfort him, he’d again hiss at me.

Not only is he mean spirited, but he’s also fat and lazy. This fucker weighs 20lbs! He’s twice the size of Weasley and makes Weasley look like a cute, little, dainty kitten next to his monstrous size. He sure likes his eats.

An aerial view of his fatness

I have never once seen JP clean himself. Weasley is constantly licking himself and making sure his fur is nice and soft. The first time Jean Pierre allowed me to pet him his hair was so nappy and sticky. It was gross. I tried to brush him, and of course the hissing starts. And he sheds like a bitch too.

For the most part the boys get along. They like to chase each other around the place, but one night it ended in a fight. Peepers has lived with dogs before so he plays rough and is more aggressive than my little guy. His nails are also killer sharp daggers. I think the boys were running around, and Peepers swatted at Weasley. The Wease must’ve swatted back, and all of the sudden I hear screeching and poor Weasley is pinned under JP. I hit Peepers with a book, but he continues to chase Wease around the place. The Weasley was ok, more shaken up than anything, but I did find a few scratches on his face.

The boys kissing and making up

I was about ready to drop stupid Peepers off at his own place, but the animal lover in me felt bad because I knew he’d be by himself with only someone checking in on him every other day. So I’ve decided to give this fat guy another chance, but if he fights with Weasley again he’s outta here. I did get his nails trimmed this weekend so if they do play again, he won’t be able to hurt anyone.

Cat in a box, Weasley's new hiding place

I’m stuck with Peepers until the end of October and it cannot get here soon enough for me. Having him here has confirmed my decision to remain a one-cat-woman. No crazy cat lady for me. Thank god.

Poor Gus Fiona

I feel as if I have been running into a bit of bad luck lately. I’m not sure what karma god I have pissed off, but I need to figure out how to make amends because man the hits keep on coming!

My yesterday started off as usual. I woke up 30 minutes before my alarm went off and since I haven’t been sleeping well decided that I needed another 45 minutes of sleep. So what has become a bad habit, I reset my alarm and got the extra sleep that I so desperately needed.

After getting dressed, I open up my blinds to let the morning sunshine in, and I notice a big pick-up truck with a hitch attached that is carrying another car. The pick-up truck is backing the hitch into a spot and I think, looks like I’m getting a new neighbor above me. After several attempts the hitch and attached car in a spot while the truck itself is jutting out in the middle of the parking lot.

As I leave my apartment and lock my door, the main door to my apartment is being held propped open with a box. I pass a guy in the hallway as I make my way to my car. I’m running late since I decided to sleep in, so I just throw all my shit into my car and get behind the wheel.

I put the key in the ignition, put the car in reverse and back up like I normally do, forgetting that the front of the truck is in the middle of the lot. I’m almost out of my spot when I hear a CRUNCH, and all I can think is FUCK ME. I just backed into my neighbor’s fucking parked car, and I didn’t even look behind me when I was backing up.

Gus Fiona with her smushed rear

Soooo fucking pissed at myself. This is so not what I need right now. And I’m sure this isn’t what my new neighbor needs on their first day in the community. I apologize profusely and my new neighbor was very nice and sweet about it. Her father, whose car I hit, wasn’t so nice, which he has every right I suppose, but geez, you don’t have to be a complete dickhead about it (his car is brand new).

A close-up of her smushed bum

My car suffered the brunt of the damage with my rear passenger side bumper pushed back in. She’s looks like she drank a little too much at prom and fell face first into a doorknob. She looks a bit sad and is embarrassed to show off her rear end now.

The victim's car. Notice the small dent compared to my crunched bottom.

I feel like I'm having a Sliding Doors moment. If only I had just gotten up on time instead of sleeping in, I could have avoided this accident entirely. They arrived ten minutes prior to my leaving for work. If I had left on time, I never would have encountered them. A part of me is wondering how my day would have turned out if I had done that. Oh well.

Gus Fiona (that’s her name BTW) was so close to making it to her first birthday unscathed. I swear my family has a curse with new cars. So now I need to get her fixed, which will come very close to my $500 deductible and my insurance will pay for his damages (a dent and some scratches). I do not have the money for this right now. I guess its back to dancing on a pole on the weekends. Le sigh.