This year’s gonna be a good year.
So even though people always make these resolution lists and then they fail, or give up, by February…Imma do it anyway. Because this is going to be a big year and I want to just put it out there, that I intend to get some stuff done, see some new places and old friends, and kick a little ass.
1. Get my passport – I will no longer be one of those “stupid Americans” that can’t even leave the country.
2. Become fluent in Spanish.
3. Figure out the whole work/life balance thing. (i.e. take some days off and have a personal life)
4. Write more
5. Live within my means
Wish me luck! (although, I had black-eyed peas on new year’s day, so I already have that going for me…)
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Face Lift, Fresh Start
So.....It's been a long while. But I'm back, and I'm feeling a little "writey" these days and so I'm vowing, right here and now.......to actually write.....often. And because I've figured out a few more things about all of the blog formatting stuff and also because my pain in the ass friend Adam has made a blog and decided to use the exact template/font/color scheme as my blog was...I felt compelled to change it up.....a fresh start, perhaps. So we'll see if I keep it. Nothing is permanent, right?
The good thing about this blog, in the state that it is, is that you can't really follow much of what's going on in my life/current events with any regularity, so I don't have to do any big "catch-up" blog where I tell you what I've been doing with my time. So, as I prefer, we can pick right back up, as though we're in the middle of a conversation. I just took a sip of coffee, and you just asked a very pointed question......"what do you think?"
Well, I'll tell you.....
The good thing about this blog, in the state that it is, is that you can't really follow much of what's going on in my life/current events with any regularity, so I don't have to do any big "catch-up" blog where I tell you what I've been doing with my time. So, as I prefer, we can pick right back up, as though we're in the middle of a conversation. I just took a sip of coffee, and you just asked a very pointed question......"what do you think?"
Well, I'll tell you.....
Sunday, November 09, 2008
President Elect
What an exciting time to be an American! It gave me chills listening to our president elect's speech, and on election night I fell asleep to the sounds of news helicopters circling above the castro, which is just few blocks north of my Alamo Square apartment, documenting the celebration in the streets of San Francisco. And
today, there's a small little feeling bubbling in my stomach...I think its hope, that this country may not quite be as dismal as one sometimes feels it is.
Unfortunately, California still managed to pass proposition 8, once again banning same sex marriages. So, officially, California, CALIFORNIA (land of the fruits and nuts), has become the first state to amend their constitution to actually strip rights from people as opposed to ensuring rights for people. Its disappointing. Overall, of course, I'm still hopeful for the general state of the union...but it just shows that the CHANGE we've been hearing so much about is so desperately needed. From Women's suffrage, to the struggle for Civil Rights for African Americans to same sex marriage. Our country will get there.
I am looking forward to seeing the progress that our new administration will make in America. I am hopeful that he is able to accomplish the enormous task he has set out to do, and I am proud to have been part of what it took to get him elected. Yay Obama.
today, there's a small little feeling bubbling in my stomach...I think its hope, that this country may not quite be as dismal as one sometimes feels it is.
Unfortunately, California still managed to pass proposition 8, once again banning same sex marriages. So, officially, California, CALIFORNIA (land of the fruits and nuts), has become the first state to amend their constitution to actually strip rights from people as opposed to ensuring rights for people. Its disappointing. Overall, of course, I'm still hopeful for the general state of the union...but it just shows that the CHANGE we've been hearing so much about is so desperately needed. From Women's suffrage, to the struggle for Civil Rights for African Americans to same sex marriage. Our country will get there.
I am looking forward to seeing the progress that our new administration will make in America. I am hopeful that he is able to accomplish the enormous task he has set out to do, and I am proud to have been part of what it took to get him elected. Yay Obama.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Here's What I Want To Know
There are a few things I've seen or experienced people doing, and basically, I want to know...why do people do this s#$%?!?! If you have any insight...please, by all means, fill me in.
1. Why do men spit? I don't get it. I've never spit in public in my life, nor have I ever needed to. Does a man's mouth create more flem/moisture than a woman's at such a rate that they can't swallow and refresh their mouth fast enough to keep up?
2. Why is it that at home, men leave the toilet seat up all the time, no matter how many times you ask them not to, and then in public, they don't bother lifting the seat at all and splatter all over the seat...then don't wipe it up?!?! I've seen it over and over again in my cafe and its just plain vile! What the hell is that?!?!
Do tell...
1. Why do men spit? I don't get it. I've never spit in public in my life, nor have I ever needed to. Does a man's mouth create more flem/moisture than a woman's at such a rate that they can't swallow and refresh their mouth fast enough to keep up?
2. Why is it that at home, men leave the toilet seat up all the time, no matter how many times you ask them not to, and then in public, they don't bother lifting the seat at all and splatter all over the seat...then don't wipe it up?!?! I've seen it over and over again in my cafe and its just plain vile! What the hell is that?!?!
Do tell...
Friday, March 07, 2008
a silly little rhymy poem
a wink is my kryptonite
sundays wrapped up in sheets
a kiss on the forehead
dimpled cheeks
broad shoulders
warm hands
a kiss in the rain
full lips
witty quips
preferably sane
nibbling of earlobes
hot breath on my neck
cuddle til morning
pick up the check
make me laugh
challenge me
teach me something new
prove me wrong
come along
i'd like to meet you
sundays wrapped up in sheets
a kiss on the forehead
dimpled cheeks
broad shoulders
warm hands
a kiss in the rain
full lips
witty quips
preferably sane
nibbling of earlobes
hot breath on my neck
cuddle til morning
pick up the check
make me laugh
challenge me
teach me something new
prove me wrong
come along
i'd like to meet you
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Farewell to the $30,000 Millionnaire...
Today, I went to Target...and for the first time in my life, I purchased Hamburger Helper. *She hangs her head in shame, not making eye contact, and moving quickly through the aisles. The box of 'Helper' is tucked conspicuously beneath the other items in her cart*
So Target is one of my favorite places....Beautifully packaged and aesthetically designed useless and useful items in abundance...Trust me, I am Target's target consumer. A marketing department's dream subject, and it's reflected in my credit card bills and my apartment. Lovely as it is, to be surrounded by the stuff....all good things must come to an end. I must quit living above my means. And so this little entry is an ode to my former life in all of its glory and then a list of resolutions to do better, live more frugally and perhaps, even (gasp!) begin saving...
One handbag, two handbags, three handbags...poor:
In the beginning, I was a financially responsible and smart college graduate. I paid my bills on time, I shopped for groceries and cooked meals at home, I didn't have an entirely exciting social life, but I was debt free (outside of student loans). My downfall began innocently enough. I bought a tiffany blue leather Kate Spade wallet. The lining is green and I. love. it. I loved what it looked like, I loved that it was designer, I loved that it was expensive. I charged it, of course...promising myself that next month I would pay it off with my extra money. But the next month, Macy's had a very cute boxy Kate Spade Bag with tiffany blue leather handles and I just couldn't resist. So freaking cute and all mine. My friends began calling me Kate Spade. My credit card bill was totally workable in my budget and I was perfectly content....but I'm telling you, handbags are addictive. Over the next couple of years, I found myself completely hooked and sliding easily into a lifestyle of luxury. I followed my initial handbag purchases up with another canvas Kate Spade that looked like a gardening tote, then I bought the pink courderoy one that looks like something right out of an audrey hepburn film. I couldn't be stopped. Next was a lunch-pail shaped bag in lime-green crocodile embossed leather and all the while I was dining at the finest restaurants in Napa Valley. Places that most people in the country only get to read about in Bon Appetit. My credit card balance was ballooning and I just spent and spent and spent. It's hard to explain why I thought that was okay. There was always a rational plan to pay it off. Extra paychecks, tax returns, I was being promoted like crazy at my workplace. There were causes for celebration, fun nights with friends, a general 'keeping up with the Joneses' of Napa Valley, and a real live endorphin rush from Retail Therapy. I was seizing the day. One life to live and its only money, right? My grand finale was a pair of Christian Dior sunglasses in September, and at Christmas I bought a BEAUTIFUL Isabella Fiore bag, rust colored leather, covered in brass studs in an almost paisley design. I love that bag and someone comments on it almost every single time I carry it. What a life! I titled this piece farewell to the $30,000 millionnaire. After taxes, I don't take home more than $30K a year and here I was, living liking a Rockefeller (well, maybe not a rockefeller, but somewhere way above my level of necessity. By last summer, I was treading financial water and I had this crazy notion of moving to San francisco....the 2nd most expensive city in the country....and my grand debt talley (credit cards only) was $18,000. Oy.
Fancy SF Girl:
So I shuffled my finances, figured out a smart pay off plan, got my affairs in order and improved my credit score (which wasn't really all that bad to begin with) and moved into a lovely flat in San Francisco. I was paying $990 for a bedroom in a beautiful flat. I had my own room....my own bathroom. We had a shared back yard, a guestroom, free laundry on the property! It was one of those "too good to be true" situations that I had somehow landed in. It was meant to be and I found these 'nice girls' on Craigslist!
Long story short....it all fell apart and after 5 miserable months in the 'beautiful flat' I was booted at Christmas time. All of the supposed headway I had made financially was all for naught because now I was put to the task of coming up with a deposit and first months rent in my new, current and fabulous apartment, with almost no notice. But I had to get out of there. I will only say three words, "Thank you, Momma."
And now here I am, a newly decorated apartment where I am 200 times happier than I was 2 months ago, and still in a boat with no oars, just sitting there, floating in debt. The American dilemma.
That Isabella Fiore is still the last expensive handbag I've bought, a year and a half later, and I have a huge crush on a grey patent leather Tracy Reese bag, which I have accepted will never be mine. I still go out to eat at nice places, but its much less frequently than once upon a time. The great part about that is that San Francisco is also loaded with cheap ethnic places that taste amazing and give you a fun night out without breaking the bank. And although I still have those thoughts of, 'its just money and I'll be able to pay it off,' I honestly do not get the same thrill out of shopping that I once did.
So.....in the spirit of seizing the day and still living within my means, I have come up with the following list of ideas for becoming the fancy sf girl that has an actual savings account:
~no going out to drink/eat unless there is something to celebrate. We have a pretty large stash of booze and wine in our little chalet thanks to the very generous people who came to help warm our house. The party's at our place!
~join a museum... and when I have the urge to go do something San francisco, I'll visit a new exhibit.
~join netflix and watch every single movie that's ever won the Academy Award for best picture.
~cook at home, make use of the cafe in which I work, and spend as little money on food as possible. (hence, the hamburger helper....which I'm not altogether sure I can do again.....I may be reforming, but I am an admitted food snob)
~write a real live, hold myself accountable, realistic financial plan
~And do not give up my fabulous hair cut and color every 6 weeks in Napa Valley. ( I gotta have something to look forward to, dammit)
This list could continue and I'll no doubt find more and more ways to take back the spending habits, but for now....this is what I've got. Wish me luck. And tell me it'll all be okay.
So Target is one of my favorite places....Beautifully packaged and aesthetically designed useless and useful items in abundance...Trust me, I am Target's target consumer. A marketing department's dream subject, and it's reflected in my credit card bills and my apartment. Lovely as it is, to be surrounded by the stuff....all good things must come to an end. I must quit living above my means. And so this little entry is an ode to my former life in all of its glory and then a list of resolutions to do better, live more frugally and perhaps, even (gasp!) begin saving...
One handbag, two handbags, three handbags...poor:
In the beginning, I was a financially responsible and smart college graduate. I paid my bills on time, I shopped for groceries and cooked meals at home, I didn't have an entirely exciting social life, but I was debt free (outside of student loans). My downfall began innocently enough. I bought a tiffany blue leather Kate Spade wallet. The lining is green and I. love. it. I loved what it looked like, I loved that it was designer, I loved that it was expensive. I charged it, of course...promising myself that next month I would pay it off with my extra money. But the next month, Macy's had a very cute boxy Kate Spade Bag with tiffany blue leather handles and I just couldn't resist. So freaking cute and all mine. My friends began calling me Kate Spade. My credit card bill was totally workable in my budget and I was perfectly content....but I'm telling you, handbags are addictive. Over the next couple of years, I found myself completely hooked and sliding easily into a lifestyle of luxury. I followed my initial handbag purchases up with another canvas Kate Spade that looked like a gardening tote, then I bought the pink courderoy one that looks like something right out of an audrey hepburn film. I couldn't be stopped. Next was a lunch-pail shaped bag in lime-green crocodile embossed leather and all the while I was dining at the finest restaurants in Napa Valley. Places that most people in the country only get to read about in Bon Appetit. My credit card balance was ballooning and I just spent and spent and spent. It's hard to explain why I thought that was okay. There was always a rational plan to pay it off. Extra paychecks, tax returns, I was being promoted like crazy at my workplace. There were causes for celebration, fun nights with friends, a general 'keeping up with the Joneses' of Napa Valley, and a real live endorphin rush from Retail Therapy. I was seizing the day. One life to live and its only money, right? My grand finale was a pair of Christian Dior sunglasses in September, and at Christmas I bought a BEAUTIFUL Isabella Fiore bag, rust colored leather, covered in brass studs in an almost paisley design. I love that bag and someone comments on it almost every single time I carry it. What a life! I titled this piece farewell to the $30,000 millionnaire. After taxes, I don't take home more than $30K a year and here I was, living liking a Rockefeller (well, maybe not a rockefeller, but somewhere way above my level of necessity. By last summer, I was treading financial water and I had this crazy notion of moving to San francisco....the 2nd most expensive city in the country....and my grand debt talley (credit cards only) was $18,000. Oy.
Fancy SF Girl:
So I shuffled my finances, figured out a smart pay off plan, got my affairs in order and improved my credit score (which wasn't really all that bad to begin with) and moved into a lovely flat in San Francisco. I was paying $990 for a bedroom in a beautiful flat. I had my own room....my own bathroom. We had a shared back yard, a guestroom, free laundry on the property! It was one of those "too good to be true" situations that I had somehow landed in. It was meant to be and I found these 'nice girls' on Craigslist!
Long story short....it all fell apart and after 5 miserable months in the 'beautiful flat' I was booted at Christmas time. All of the supposed headway I had made financially was all for naught because now I was put to the task of coming up with a deposit and first months rent in my new, current and fabulous apartment, with almost no notice. But I had to get out of there. I will only say three words, "Thank you, Momma."
And now here I am, a newly decorated apartment where I am 200 times happier than I was 2 months ago, and still in a boat with no oars, just sitting there, floating in debt. The American dilemma.
That Isabella Fiore is still the last expensive handbag I've bought, a year and a half later, and I have a huge crush on a grey patent leather Tracy Reese bag, which I have accepted will never be mine. I still go out to eat at nice places, but its much less frequently than once upon a time. The great part about that is that San Francisco is also loaded with cheap ethnic places that taste amazing and give you a fun night out without breaking the bank. And although I still have those thoughts of, 'its just money and I'll be able to pay it off,' I honestly do not get the same thrill out of shopping that I once did.
So.....in the spirit of seizing the day and still living within my means, I have come up with the following list of ideas for becoming the fancy sf girl that has an actual savings account:
~no going out to drink/eat unless there is something to celebrate. We have a pretty large stash of booze and wine in our little chalet thanks to the very generous people who came to help warm our house. The party's at our place!
~join a museum... and when I have the urge to go do something San francisco, I'll visit a new exhibit.
~join netflix and watch every single movie that's ever won the Academy Award for best picture.
~cook at home, make use of the cafe in which I work, and spend as little money on food as possible. (hence, the hamburger helper....which I'm not altogether sure I can do again.....I may be reforming, but I am an admitted food snob)
~write a real live, hold myself accountable, realistic financial plan
~And do not give up my fabulous hair cut and color every 6 weeks in Napa Valley. ( I gotta have something to look forward to, dammit)
This list could continue and I'll no doubt find more and more ways to take back the spending habits, but for now....this is what I've got. Wish me luck. And tell me it'll all be okay.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
A New Reader!
So I just gave the address to this blog to another of my friends.....Leah Peah. Which means, she will inevitably hit the link and take a little trip here and poof...instead of one reader...I'll have two! So in honor of her upcoming visit to this blog....AND her upcoming visit to see ME in San Francisco (okay, so she has a doctor's appointment and will probably visit her other friends, too, but this is my blog, dammit), I thought I'd update today with a little story that encapsulates Leah and myself. She's heard this a million times, but I think she'll appreciate it in print.
So first you have to imagine us, poolside in Calistoga. Life was quite good. We both worked at Greystone, we had a common day off together and we had a pool in the backyard, which we regularly lounged beside. During these lounging sessions we typically read fashion magazines, or beach reads, gossiped/bitched about work, or had some sort of deep conversation about relationships, men, women or any other socially political issues. So one day, Leah and I are lounging. Both of us are on our backs in our respective chairs, discussing the social topic du jour: gay versus straight. It went a little bit like this:
Leah: "Kate, I have a theory..."
Kate: "What's your theory?"
Leah: "I think that everyone in the world is bisexual."
Kate: "okay...."
Leah: "I think that everyone is a varying degree of bisexual...I mean most "straight" people are probably a much higher percentage attracted to their opposite sex, like 90% straight, 10% gay or even more....like 99% straight versus 1% gay and vice versa for "gay" people, but I just don't think there is a black and white."
Kate: "I could see that...."
Leah: "I hate it when people say, 'I could never be gay, or I could never kiss or sleep with a person of the same sex...it just isn't me at all.' It drives me crazy, because, I mean, how do you know if you've never tried it?
Kate: "This is true..."
Leah: "It's like saying you don't like tiramisu, when you've never even tried the tiramisu!"
Kate cracking up: "That is so quotable...."
Leah sitting up on her elbows on the lounge chair: "why?"
Kate up on her elbows on the lounge chair: "One day I'll call you, and I'll say,'Leah, I tried the tiramisu.'
Leah turning over onto her stomach: "That would be fabulous."
So first you have to imagine us, poolside in Calistoga. Life was quite good. We both worked at Greystone, we had a common day off together and we had a pool in the backyard, which we regularly lounged beside. During these lounging sessions we typically read fashion magazines, or beach reads, gossiped/bitched about work, or had some sort of deep conversation about relationships, men, women or any other socially political issues. So one day, Leah and I are lounging. Both of us are on our backs in our respective chairs, discussing the social topic du jour: gay versus straight. It went a little bit like this:
Leah: "Kate, I have a theory..."
Kate: "What's your theory?"
Leah: "I think that everyone in the world is bisexual."
Kate: "okay...."
Leah: "I think that everyone is a varying degree of bisexual...I mean most "straight" people are probably a much higher percentage attracted to their opposite sex, like 90% straight, 10% gay or even more....like 99% straight versus 1% gay and vice versa for "gay" people, but I just don't think there is a black and white."
Kate: "I could see that...."
Leah: "I hate it when people say, 'I could never be gay, or I could never kiss or sleep with a person of the same sex...it just isn't me at all.' It drives me crazy, because, I mean, how do you know if you've never tried it?
Kate: "This is true..."
Leah: "It's like saying you don't like tiramisu, when you've never even tried the tiramisu!"
Kate cracking up: "That is so quotable...."
Leah sitting up on her elbows on the lounge chair: "why?"
Kate up on her elbows on the lounge chair: "One day I'll call you, and I'll say,'Leah, I tried the tiramisu.'
Leah turning over onto her stomach: "That would be fabulous."
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