Too much caffeine...cannot sleep...bad, bad, bad.

Ok, so I'm throughly annoyed. Why? I'm a prisioner in my apartment right now. Ugh.

So, last weekend, the garage in my apartment complex was broken into and three cars were vandalized. I heard the car alarms going off, but ignored it (doesn't everyone these days?) At that same time, I remember thinking that I should take Miss Cookie for her "potty" walk, but put it off cos I was too lazy to walk downstairs. I can't even imagine what it would have been like had I gone downstairs when the vandals were in the garage. Scary. Anyhow, because of the unfortunate turn of events, our manager changed the code on our garage door openers...but failed to give this new code to it's residents. So now, it is almost 2:30 PM and I'm stuck here in my apartment. I still have to pick up Miss Cookie from the "day spa" and take her for her antibiotics and blood test (in preperation for her upcoming teeth cleaning next week). But alas, I don't think I'll be able to do anything but pick her up from her day of beauty. **sigh** Of course my goal was to do all of that and be home by around 3-ish since I am meeting Jamie & Jody for a movie later on this afternoon. Looks like the only thing I'll be able to do is to beg Jody to take me to get Cookie and pick me up for the movie. This sucks. Grrr...maybe I'll go play Scrabble.

OH, annoyance #2...last night, I decided to play a quick game of Scrabble before going to bed. The person I was playing against was so stinking S-L-O-W that it took them 10 minutes (and I'm not exaggerating here) to spell out a word (and not very complex or high point-scorers either). After 30 minutes (and only 5 words on the board) I asked them if they wouldn't mind cancelling the game due to my pounding headache (because of my annoyance of them). And guess what, it took the person 10 minutes to respond to that!!! And right before they did that (and since it was officially my turn) I GOT BOOTED OFF...AND LOST THE STINKING GAME ALL BECAUSE I WAS PLAYING AGAINST THE BIGGEST IDIOT IN THE ENTIRE FREE WORLD!!!! Ugh. Ok, I'm going to go away and try not to be so annoyed. **sigh**

FREEDOM - REPRISE

Not sure how I feel yet about this new look...I think it is much better though than that yellow. Don't get me wrong, I do like yellow, really I do, but it was starting to remind me of another site that is the same yellow, and I just couldn't take it anymore.

So have I mentioned how much I am loving my freedom from work? I really needed the break (I know that's what a vacation is for) but it's knowing that I will never have to go back there that is so liberating. Wow. I find that there is so much to do - who knew there was that much to do each day! There are a ton of errands I had put off while working, because it was too much trouble or not enough time. Now, I actually do them, and see my friends and feel like I have a life. It's amazing...

Friday, I went out to one of my favorite places (Lola's) and celebrated with my former co-workers (Jamie, Jody & Janeen, Henry, Craig, Pete, Jan & Dave). Everyone at that table (except for Henry) were ex-employees (or related to ex-employees) of a certain employer. Pete & Dave finally got to meet and everyone who hadn't met Jan before, got to finally meet her and see what Jamie and I had been raving about since her departure...and Dave drove all the way to LA from OC (in rush-hour traffic while being sick!)...thanks Dave! :) The biggest surprise (only because I wasn't sure if he'd actually show) was Craig. I hadn't seen him since he jumped ship several months ago. This guy has the driest, funniest sense of humor and it was nice to see him again too!

So, I am officially in love with the Key Lime and the Star Fu**er martinis...it's too bad I knocked down 2 glasses that night, or else I would have had more. Ha ha...ahem, don't ask. The food wasn't too great that night...usually they have wonderful food, but that night, I think was an off night...nobody really enjoyed their food I think. But I guess the good martinis made up for it. Anyhow, I had the best time chatting with all of my friends about something other than work. These people though, were people I always genuinely liked when we were working...but now, it's so much different (and better). I was really happy to see everyone...it was a great night!

FREEDOM

Ok, so I was bored last night...and got a little too into the whole online test thing. Oh well, it's fun. I must admit that this one was the one I found most amusing...

Anywhoo, tonight the old marketing alliances & new media gang got together to celebrate my "freedom flight" (as Mad puts it) at a new tapas bar, Cobras & Matadors. The food was great...weird though that they didn't have a bar...we had to go next door to purchase a bottle of wine (and to top it off, they charged a $5 corkage fee naturally). There were a few things they had which I loved like: the chickpea crepe, roasted asparagus with this great sauce and some focaccia bread with some kind of tomato, sausage spread on it. Yum!!!! And then of course we all split dessert - chocolate souffle, homemade churros with chocolate sauce and caramel flan. Mmmmmmmm!

It was really nice getting together after all of the craziness that we all had to endure for the past two years. For the first time ever, I think everyone was much more relaxed and we all had a really great time. How times have changed. It's funny, because I really felt like we bonded for the first time in a weird way. Awwww, how touching. Heck, we even made plans to go see a movie together next week - who would have ever thought!!!!

Onto a completely different topic...I am totally enjoying my unemployment. This week is devoted to fun and relaxation. Hope I won't get too used to it...actually I know this will wear off in the next week or two.

Take the What Should Your New Year's Resolution Be? Quiz

You're just a girl; you tend to get frustrated easily, you daydream quite a bit, and you try to avoid making trouble, though curiosity always gets the better of you. Even under tight circumstances, however, you put aside (some of) your fear and figure out what's the best thing to do. You want a better understanding of your world.

If I were a Dead Russian Composer, I would be Sergei Rakhmaninov. I lived in the early Twentieth Century and was well known for my compositional, conducting, and piano skills, yet I am melancholy despite this talent. My famous works include my nearly-impossible piano concerti. Who would you be? Dead Russian Composer Personality Test

STOP, WAIT, PLEASE

Today, January 7th, the curtain will permenantly go down on one of LA's performing arts fixtures - the Shubert Theater in Century City (see August 28th post). On a personal note, it was at the Shubert where I began my love affair with musical theater. I've seen so many shows there - it's so hard for me to imagine it gone. I could understand if the theater were being torn down to make way for another theater, but it's being demolished for office buildings of all things. There are plenty of vacant lots and strip malls where office buildings can be built, but why demolish the Shubert? The Shubert was one of three large houses in LA - The Music Center, the Pantages and the Shubert, which will soon be history. I always imagined going back to all three venues with my child and introducing them to the performing arts as my parents had. By the time I have a family, I hope the other two will still be around.

The Shubert and Pantages Theaters were such pivotal figures in my growing-up process. I was introduced to theater in those venues. I saw Annie (at both those theaters I think) which was a show that seriously changed my life. I can't even imagine what my life would be like had I not been exposed to theater during that time...it made such a lasting impression on me. I literally fell in love with performing arts when I saw that show. I wanted to sing, dance, act...I knew if I could be involved in entertainment when I "grew up" I'd be happy. From that moment on, I've spent my entire life making sure I would do just that.

I can't claim that I love the movie Moulin Rouge, but oh-my-goodness, watching it just to see Ewan McGregor is pretty much reason enough to sit there for 2 hours!

Anyways, back to reality...