Seattle was a blast! Details and lots more pictures in the next few days.

This trip was a million times better than my last visit to Seattle. There were no car accidents, chain restaurants, or trips to the emergency room. Here are the details:

• Waited in line an hour and fifteen minutes to check in my bag at the Burbank Airport. No one knew why there was such a wait.
• Arrived on time, was met by my cousin Jason, and went back to his house to unpack and hang out with him and his fiancee, JD, for a bit.
• Went to dinner then drinks with Cyndi, a friend of mine from my previous job who moved up there a couple years ago.
• Spent most of three days at Bumbershoot where we saw: Crowded House (awesome, awesome set; unfortunately, the teenager in front of us had never heard of the band, while another one called them “Open House.” No, I didn’t feel old at all) and they even brought Eddie Vedder up for a few songs (random, I know); The Shins (they sucked live, big time sucked); Menomena, (very strange band with backup choir/monk looking singers–don’t ask); The Gourds (very fun, and I will be getting their CD shortly); Devotchka (another CD I’ll be purchasing. And my cousin played a song with them which was cool to watch!); lots of fun jazz but I unfortunately don’t remember names; and Barrington Levy (reggae that had the crowd dancing/gyrating all over the place).
• We also checked out some art installations, including the Portable Confessional Unit. And we were fascinated by the Vau de Vire Society which I can only describe as a really amped up, punked out, and less clothed Cirque du Soleil.
• My aunt and uncle came into town from Houston as well, so I spent lots of time being spoiled by them and hearing lots of good family stories.
• My other aunt and uncle also visited for a short time, so I was able to catch up with them too.
• I ate tons of junk food at the festival, and a delicious Italian dinner and yummy breakfast with the family. I’m scared to go to WW this weekend.
• I think it’s safe to say I used my backpack more this past weekend than ever before. Definitely a good purchase.
• I saw about five million fauxhawks, skinny pants on emo boys, and brown shoes while at the festival.
• It should also be noted that festival goers in Seattle don’t show nearly as much boob as grocery shoppers in Los Angeles. They should teach Angelenos a thing or two.
• Aside from the slight drizzle at the airport, it didn’t rain at all the entire weekend!
• On my flight back to Burbank, I was seated next to a girl named Hilary who is my age and lives just over the hill. Turns out she works where my sister works, and her friend works in my office building. We spent the entire flight chatting about bad dates and bonded over people we don’t know well calling us Hil, and are planning to have dinner soon. I’m so excited to have not only met a cool new friend, but a friend with a cool name!
• When I stepped off the airplane (outside!) at 9:30 p.m. in Burbank, it was about 85 degrees out. Gross

It was an awesome trip, and I am so glad I was able to spend time with my cousin and aunt and uncle. Thanks so much for having me over Jason!

More pictures here.

Today was back to work and I am beyond exhausted. And it didn’t help that my strand of pearls came unstrung in the car on the way to work, then when I got to the office the AC was overloaded and we sweated for a good three hours until it cooled down. Around that time, the power surged and I lost the project I was working on. Good times.

In other news, before I left for Seattle, FG and I made plans for Saturday night. Unfortunately, they’ve been changed to Sunday night instead. I have a feeling this will be our last date, but who knows.

And now I have important stuff to catch up on. Like The Hills.

Not much to report, this has been a short yet stressful week. Anyway…

Lots of traveling coming up! SD next week and again the following week for Rosh Hashana then Yom Kippur. Then off to the Bay Area for a weekend in November to visit a high school friend. Then I’m heading to Texas for Thanksgiving and am super excited because I’ll finally meet my two cousins’ babies!
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Sunday night is date number four with FG. I don’t know what we’re doing yet, but I really hope he doesn’t suggest drinks again. Three drink dates is more than enough.
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Last night I slept with my windows open instead of the AC on for the first time in weeks. Thank god the heat wave is finally over, at least for now.
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In TV news, The Hills was kinda boring this week and to my disappointment, no one said O-M-G or W-T-F. Bummer. Top Chef on the other hand, was awesome! I’m not going to miss Howie whatsoever, and I’m still rooting for CJ and Dale, what about you?
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If you live in LA and know of any full time writing or web content type jobs, please shoot me an email. Thanks!
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This week’s question: If you had a free round trip ticket good for anywhere in the U.S., where would you go and why?

This past week has been rough. There are rumors going around my office that are stressing me out big time (sorry, won’t expand on that quite yet), but suffice it to say my lunch on Friday consisted of very not WW friendly chicken strips and french fries from Trimana while my dinner was a highly delicious yet not very nutritious Caramello bar. And in between those two calorie packed binges, I emptied out six years worth of personal crap from my desk at work, you know, just in case we get word we need to vacate our desks any time soon.
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I’ve never been good at saving money. Sure, I contribute regularly to my retirement accounts (hell, I’ll be able to retire in style!), but my savings account is rarely, if ever, where it should be for a working 33-year-old with a more than decent salary. I’d much rather spend my money on dinner with friends, or new shoes or clothes. Fun? Yes. Smart? Not so much. And so, I’m turning into a stress case. Here’s where I ask you to cross your fingers and hope that everything falls into place for me. I know, could I be more vague? Probably not.
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On a lighter note, Wednesday begins Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. I’m going down to San Diego after lunch that day, and will spend time alternating between being at synagogue and eating delicious food. Thursday night is my parents’ night to host dinner, and we will have about 50 guests in our backyard. Needless to say, my mom has been rolling cabbage like a mad woman, and I made dessert to bring with us for Wednesday night dinner at our friends’ house.
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Speaking of dessert, I made World Peace Cookies that I froze and will bring down to SD and Chipster-Topped Brownies that I’ll bring into the office tomorrow. And in case you were wondering, yes, they are delicious.
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Sunday was date number four with FG. We went for dinner then rented a movie and hung out. He called me Hil for the first time, which made my heart skip a beat. I know, I’m such a sap.
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I’m not sure if I’ll be posting again before I head down to SD. So if I don’t, then Shana Tova to everyone–may you have a happy and healthy new year!

It’s been a busy week! I:

• Had dinner with Nicole, Lori, and Abby, which of course was a blast.
• Had lunch with a former boss whom I haven’t seen in years. The first thing he said to me was, “Wow, you’re so tall and skinny.” Yay!
• Drove down to SD on Wednesday afternoon and got stuck in a major sig alert, right where the 5 and 405 freeways merge.
• Ate tons of food and went to synagogue.
• While at synagogue, realized that “the kids” of my parents’ friends now have their own kids. Holy shit, we’re old.
• Helped set up the backyard for dinner.
• Had a lovely and delicious dinner with 32 of our closest friends in the backyard.
• Accepted my 13-year-old Little’s invitation to join Facebook then spent an hour sitting two inches from my sister, both of us with our laptops, trying to attack each other’s zombie. I have absolutely no idea how the site works.
• Went down to my dad’s office with my mom and sister to get our eyes checked and have lunch.
• Saw Julie’s awesome new house then had lunch with her and her boys.
• Had dinner with my family.
• Came back to LA with an entire suitcase filled with clean clothes, and didn’t have to use any quarters or schlep up or down stairs.

As always, it was wonderful spending the holiday with my family. Shana tova!

Now I’m going to peruse rugalach recipes (right now I’m thinking of going with Dorie’s) in preparation of the break-the-fast next weekend. Oh yeah, I get to drive back down to SD on Friday for Yom Kippur. At least it’s over a weekend this time.

And finally, someone found my blog today via this search. Why?

Things that sucketh:

• Heidi.
• People who make illegal and dangerous left turns (which cause a major backup) out of my office building parking garage.
• My Cuisinart food processor not working while making rugelach dough.
• FG and his stupid ass emails and text messages.
• Waking up with a sore throat.
• Reading on message boards, rather than hearing from upper management, about the fate of the company I work for.
• Not knowing when my last day of work is.

Things that rocketh:

• Elodie.
• The motorcycle cops that ticket the people who make illegal and dangerous left turns out of my office building parking garage.
• My KitchenAid mixer [hopefully] saving the day. (Dough is chilling.)
• Bob, the trainer on The Biggest Loser, explaining that a food is a protein, “if it had a mother.”
• My Jdate subscription finally ending.
• My parents’ friend offering to take in a pair of pants so I don’t have to buy a whole new suit.
• An eventual new, more creative, job.

The end. As usual, feel free to add your own.

This week has been overwhelming. Between the holidays, driving back and forth to SD, and the depressing crap at work, I’m spent. Blah. And oh yeah, FG and I are done (we had a conversation via email, natch). No details, he’s been cried over (albeit very little, I didn’t want to waste my tears on him), and I don’t want to talk about it. Just know that from now on, I’ll be listening to my instincts a lot more and not listening to people tell me I’m being too critical/judgmental/picky/whatever.
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I had lunch with my boss’s boss from my last job. I hadn’t seen him in years and the first thing he said to me was, “Wow, you’re so tall and skinny.” I haven’t grown since I last saw him, so apparently I must have been fat.
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When did job descriptions begin sounding like dating profiles? From an ad for a copywriter for 1-800-DENTIST via mediabistro’s job search: You’ll work hard and usually play even harder. We’re a lot of fun, so be fun. But we work our tails off, and we expect nothing less from our teammates.
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Does anyone know anything about renting commercial kitchens here in LA?
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Tuesday afternoon on my way home from my dentist appointment, I drove past Crumbs. I expected a huge line (like the one at Sprinkles, two blocks away), since they only opened the day before and were publicizing the hell out of the bakery, but the shop was empty. For their sake, I hope that’s not a sign of things to come. Anyway, I decided I had to go in and promptly called my sister to get her order. Vanilla with cream cheese frosting for me (they didn’t have butter cream, which was odd), and cookies and cream for my sister. They were good (the cake was very moist but the frosting a little too sweet, even for me) and much better than and cheaper than Sprinkles. And they allowed me to take a picture. **Almost forgot–the girl working there said they are giving away cupcakes to the first 1,000 customers today.**

In other food news, my rugelach were a semi failure (they were ugly but tasted good–my coworkers ate them up in about an hour). I knew the dough was doomed the minute my Cuisinart wouldn’t work, but I decided to try it in the mixer anyway. Live and learn.
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When I was down in SD, my mom, sister, and I went to the salon to buy shampoo, conditioner, and product. Two seconds after meeting me, the stylist said I need to quit using Pantene because of the “waxy build-up” it’s giving my hair. Now, I regularly get stopped by strangers complimenting me on my hair, so I’ve always thought it was healthy and good. Apparently, the shiny Pantene luster is actually from the not-so-good waxy build-up. Nice. So I bought some products made specifically for curly hair (DevaCurl) that anti-Pantene guy recommended and wore it curly yesterday for the first time since I began using the [lather less] shampoo and conditioner. Of course, I hated how my hair looked–I thought it was frizzy and a huge mess, but I had two coworkers and my cute (but recently married) neighbor tell me my hair looked really good. Anyone else with naturally curly hair? What products do you swear by?
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This week’s question: What TV show are you looking forward to this fall?
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And finally, for those of you fasting for Yom Kippur, have an easy fast.

I feel like I’ve been down in Del Mar more than I’ve been in LA lately. Anyway, this weekend, I:

• Drove down to SD around lunch on Friday. This time, it took me almost three hours. Ugh.
• Ate, then went to synagogue, atoned, and fasted.
• Cried during services while the Holocaust Torah was rededicated to the synagogue on its 25th anniversary. I read from it for during my Bat Mitzvah.
• Went to our friends’ for the break-the-fast. Side note: Fasting would be so much easier if I wasn’t addicted to caffeine.
• Slept in.
• Went to the Padres vs. Rockies game with my dad.
• Got up to use the restroom about one minute before Milton Bradley hit his homerun.
• Left the game about five minutes before both Milton Bradley then Bud Black got tossed from the game. Seriously, my timing sucks.
• Drove back to LA thinking that there’s a slight chance I could see myself living in downtown San Diego. (Anyone live there?)

And now begins another week of sitting in a depressing office while job searching. Wish me luck.

3:30 a.m.: Wake up thanks to the stereo blasting next door.

3:30-3:45 a.m.: Try to decide if I’m awake enough to throw more clothes on and ask next door neighbor to turn down his music.

3:45 a.m.: Walk into the hall and see neighbor’s door is wide open, but ring doorbell anyway. The following exchange occurs:
Me: Your stereo is so loud.
Neighbor: I’m sorry! I’ll turn it down.
Me: Thanks [Neighbor].
Neighbor: But do you like the song?
Me: Huh?
Neighbor: Do you like the song? Neighbor is wasted by the way.
Me: It’s great, but not at 3:30 in the morning.
Neighbor: Sorry!

3:50 a.m.: Try to go back to sleep.

4:00 a.m.: Hear someone screaming (singing?) outside.

4:15 a.m.: Dog in the building next door starts barking at the screaming/singing person.

4:30 a.m.: Guy (somewhere near my building) screams out his window to the dog’s owner to “shut up the fucking dog, people are trying to sleep.”

I then spent the day at work alternating between job searching / trying to keep my eyes open / not dying of boredom / not looking FG up on MySpace. (Free time at work = bad.) From my mad detective skills, it appears he’s dating a petite blond girl in her 20s who, according to her MySpace profile, loves text messaging!!! wants world peace!!! likes being happy!!! and ends every sentence or even partial sentence like this!!!!

5:30 p.m.: Return from work to find a note of apology and an orchid outside my door from my neighbor.

I’m just glad this day is almost over. And that How I Met Your Mother is on in a couple of hours. Because I’m going to marry Josh Radnor. He just doesn’t know it yet.

As much as I’ve whined about busy days at work, not busy days are just as bad. You see, ever since rumors of work drama began, everyone stopped working, because really, there’s no point. So now I sit at my desk, in a super depressing office, and do minimal work and play on the web. I think I have reached the end of the Internet.
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Speaking of the Internet, I think I’m officially too old for Facebook. I made this realization when I saw a cute guy, clicked on his profile, and read that he was born in 1986. I on the other hand, was 12-years-old in 1986.
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Earlier this week, my coworkers and I tried six flavors of Crumbs cupcakes. The verdict: mine are a gazillion times better.
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In TV news, wow where do I start? How awesome was the season premiere of Law & Order: SVU? I think that was one of my favorite episodes yet. And How I Met Your Mother was great too. I was out last night so I haven’t caught up with Top Chef and the rest of Wednesday night TV yet, so don’t spoil it for me! What are you enjoying?
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Tonight is a much needed and long overdue girls’ night with Jen. I can’t wait.
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Sunday marks the four year anniversary of this blog. I’m still toying with the idea of putting it to rest. Thoughts?
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This week’s question: Do you believe in heaven? Hell? An afterlife?

Thursday
Went to Vinum Populi with Jen. That place rocks! I bought a $10 debit card, and was able to taste three or four different wines, it was awesome. As I was telling Jen about my latest potential Jdate, the guy sitting at the couch about an inch from us began telling the girl he was with how he is over Jdate because of all the bad experiences he’s had. I knew I had seen his profile before, but I can’t find it now. Anyway, it was funny.

Friday
Went to the ENT where I promptly had an endoscope put down my throat so that the doctor could see my vocal chords. Since I have such a horrible gag reflex, the throat option didn’t work, so instead the doctor tortured me by putting it through my nose and down my throat. Yes, it was as pleasant as it sounds. I think he got a new instrument and wanted to try it out or something, because he’s never cared about my vocal chords before. I can’t wait to get my bill in the mail.

After work, my sister picked me up and we headed over to the Cingular store where I joined the rest of the modern world and bought a BlackBerry Curve. It does waaaay more than my Razr ever did, yet I’m still reluctant to give up my paper calendar. Call me old fashioned. After that, we went to California Chicken Cafe for salads while I tried to ward off my buyer’s remorse.

Saturday
Checked my mail and was pleasantly surprised to find a check for $120 from my landlord because he apparently overcharged all of us for some city fees. Needless to say, I was no longer suffering from buyer’s remorse.

I then spent much of the day out in the Valley where I had a manicure and pedicure and got my hair cut and colored. It was a much, much needed day of relaxation. That evening, I cleaned my apartment, went through all the mail that had taken over my kitchen table, and then watched about four hours of Tivod stuff. My head was spinning after watching Ugly Betty–too many story lines to keep up with!

Sunday
I took my Little to the West Hollywood Book Fair. Unfortunately, most of the children and family area was geared toward younger kids and the adult section was um, too adult for her. On our way back to the parking lot, a woman approached us and told my Little how beautiful she is and gave us her card; she’s a talent agent. When the woman left, my Little just shrugged and said that’s happened a few times before, but her mother has never followed through and asked if I would call. I’m debating doing that, because I don’t know if that business is something I would want my Little to go into, especially given the stress and craziness she already has at home.

That afternoon, I ran all over the city looking for a portfolio binder thingy for my writing samples. Did I mention I have an interview tomorrow?

Now I’m deciding between doing laundry or sitting on my butt the rest of the night. I have a feeling sitting on my butt may win. Hope everyone had a great weekend!