follow the sun.

24 November 2011

some kind of wonderful.

glamping \GLAM-pyng\ , noun;

1. glamorous camping.

well, my little turkeys, who else is glamorously camping this thankful holiday? apparently, this is the newest in trailer park lingo. and i do, so happen, to be in a trailer park. in sequoia, CA to be exact. as we all know, it's thanksgiving and we're supposed to be thankful. if you remember my 4th of july post, i hate holidays...but not this one. i mean, how can anyone not be thankful when they're glamping? seriously, thanksgiving is a glorious holiday. i get to bundle up in the cold weather i love, read scary stories by the campfire in weird accents, eat pecan and apple pie, and watch christmas movies (don't you just love the unique mccollum traditions). i just wanted to officially recognize this new favorite holiday of mine and also acknowledge that i am thankful i'm here for it, considering i almost got pillaged the other night.

story time:

on tuesday night, maddy ali & i went on a 10pm ice cream run and i left my phone in my mother's car.

well, i didn't realize this until 4am when i was going to bed (don't ask).

so in a fearless act, i headed out to the car in the dark to get it...

but my phone wasn't there.

and not only was it not there, but the car was ransacked.

at least the inside was.

the glove compartment was emptied out onto the seats, etc.

so i went back into the house thinking it was a messy act of one of the sissies in an attempt to find something.

when i woke up, though, i found out that it turns out the culprit was not a part of my family -

(s)he was la cañada's own bandit, and (s)he stole my phone.

but the key issue in this story is not the fact that my phone was stolen, but rather that i could've been out in the dark, at night, alone, moments after a random man/woman was rifling through the same car as me.

keeping in mind my addiction to scary movies, can you imagine how i assume the worst?

i am very lucky i'm not chopped into bits in a box floating down the la river right now.

but i'm also thankful for a few other things, those being:

the openness of my parents. i could be a serial killer and i know they'd still love me.

the weirdness of my sisters. i don't think there's anyone i'm less worried about judging me.

my pups for putting up with us dressing them in build-a-bear clothes.

sequoia for providing us with such perfect in-between weather.

and for whoever invented apple crumb pie.

so i guess i am thankful.

to [this song].

[photo credz].

18 November 2011

miss penny lane.

"never take it seriously.

if you never take it seriously, you never get hurt.

if you never get hurt, you always have fun, and if you ever get lonely, you just go to the record store and visit your friends."

-almost famous

words to live by.

[photo credz].

17 November 2011

uh, cause it's worth it.

why today was a wonderful wednesday:

1. marcel the shell (with shoes on) has returned in a just as entertaining and endearing [sequal]. and, i got curious about the voice of marcel, just because it cracks me up so much, and came across some more of jenny slate's videos. [this one] had me literally laughing out loud with her answer. just thought i'd share.

2. i haven't charged my ipod in maybe about 2 weeks now. let me just tell you, that's a long time in my world. so i've gotten kind of sick of listening to my randomly assorted cds over and over and have finally accepted the radio. now, one of the only songs i actually enjoy on the radio right now is moves like jagger (along with the jazz station, but that's another story). seriously, i don't mean to be all anti-conformist over here, but if i have to hear another rihanna song i might just go crazy and go on a killing rampage. totally kidding. but back to the point, i have this new ritual of checking every radio station for moves like jagger when i turn on my car. no, i am not kidding. that is what rihanna's doing to me: desperation. so today, when i turned on my car, you know what the 2nd radio station i checked was playing? yep, you got it, moves like jagger. my heart skipped a beat. and it was even still on the whistles at the beginning. what else do i even need for a wonderful wednesday?

3. news flash: i got a job.

oh yes, it's true. i am the newest hostess at hill street café and i can't complain. everyone is nice and understanding of my newness to the job world. walking into work on wednesday felt like a milestone. well, as it so happens, hill street has some very loyal customers. and a lot of them happen to be over 60. i kind of love old people, so i'm okay with it. they really seem to understand the concept of taking pleasure in the details. so today an old man came in for a pick up order. i love pick ups because i get to run the credit cards and that's probably my favorite part of being a hostess, no shame here. this man was one of those that you just can't help but feel inspired by. he smiled at me and told me about how he and his wife were hill street regulars like all the rest, but she is very ill right now. so about once a week he comes in and gets take out for the both of them to bring back to her so they can eat dinner together, and so she can still have her hill street meal. my oh my, was i taken aback. i sound oh so cheesy, but that old man reminded me that maybe true love does exist. maybe there is a love affair that can last forever (mr. warhol). and someone else was telling him how sorry they were for his struggles, and he said something like "all you can do is everything you can". it's not exactly philosophically stunning, i know, but the way he said it with a smile struck a chord in me. i guess all you can do is everything you can.

4. so onto the post work festivities: e-mile. living the high life. my big purchase was strawberry pop tarts and a scratcher. this is only my second scratcher ever, mind you, and guess what...i won $4. yes, ladies and gentlemen, i am three dollars richer than i was when i walked into e-mile this evening.

5. i somehow ended up at the americana to see the movie immortal with geoff and juma. although i really enjoyed walking along next to the fountain, listening to sinatra and sipping my green tea with honey in a christmas cup, that is not the focus of this point. what we are focusing on is the amount of hot man arms in that movie. i'll be honest, war movies are not exactly my cup o' tea, but i learned something very important: hot arms aren't just for admiring - they're used for holding up the hot arms of other men to prevent them from stabbing you in the upper body and/or face. i can't tell you how many times i saw a scene like that tonight.

6. and finally, my last point is a foxy one. what really brought me joy during that movie was how every time athena came on screen, geoffrey james bywater the third felt compelled to say (at full volume) three words: what. a. fox. athena is now permanently burned into my mind as a fox.

sorry if i went into ramble mode, i guess i ramble when i'm happy after a

wonderful wednesday.

02 November 2011

i must admit i can't explain.

first off, a dedication. i really should've done this sooner but now seems just as good as any.

sarah sherman, what would i do without you?

i met this girl many years ago, i'm sure, but neither of us seem to remember our high school encounters.

i think it's because something out there knew we were going to need each other someday a little further along in our lives.

when we both ended up back in la cañada after our first half a year of college, we just kind of hit it off.

it sounds like quite the love story, doesn't it?

well it is.

between eating too much ramen, crying about boys, watching scary movies & wearing each other's dresses (i've changed the placement of the & in this sentence way too many times - i'm trying to stop the add-ons), miss sherman has become such an important part of my life.

i know that words don't mean that much, but i'm hoping these ones can at least slightly reflect how much love and respect i have for this lady.

and then, of course, there's my family.

i would give the low-down on how wonderful each individual is, but i think pops would rather me get to sleep at this point.

but seriously, watching movies and eating too much candy would be nothing without katy, steve, ali cat, and madz.

(along with edgar, bean, and the bud man, of course)

if i could blog about everything you all mean to me, it would never, ever end.

ever.

...ever.

[photo credz].

19 October 2011

joshy.

baby post round two.

in case you're having trouble dealing with everyone and everything tonight, here's something that reminded me of who i am:

[bright smile]

'a positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.'

-herm albright

BRING IT ON, LIFE.

i have joshy and a positive attitude on my side.

plus i only have about 1.5 more days until the big buhr cabin in the woods.

adventures are surely soon to come.

p.s.

secret time:

the big window next to my bed has a removable screen and a large planter right outside of it...

aka a balcony to sit and think on with a view...

found my thinking spot for the rest of 2011.

10 October 2011

untitlable.

i just need to send a little shout out to the people who i love.

i am blown away by how much people can truly care about others every day.

i don't know what i would do without the relationships i have.

sorry for getting mushy, and sorry for using the word i so much in 4 sentences.

i know that this means nothing to most people,

but to the people it does mean something to...

i love you to the moon and back.

"believe in yourself and all that you are. know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle."

-christian larson

it's funny how much cheesy things can mean to you at the right times.

04 October 2011

awt, dude.

we were asked to define a vague term in english class today. thank you padilla for the inspiration.

02 October 2011

b&w.

need i say more?

didn't think so.

the sticky wicked.

i just think it's about time i send a shout out to my theology class:

I HATE YOU SO MUCH.

i (along with everyone else in the class) never, ever understand what my professor is talking about.

whenever we ask him when we're actually going to start learning something, he responds with a thirty minute response about how his ten year application is due soon.

i was so bored the other day that this happened...

yes, i did in fact list out the numbers 1 to 1000 during class.

if i could draw i would do that but you can probably see the results of my efforts at THAT up at the top.

oh well. after dirty looks from professor lee from the entire period, it was so worth it to hit 1000.

luvlyfe.

but probably even worse is the freshman boy who likes to entertain all the young girls in the class by talking about all the vodka he drank last night.

i hate to break it to you, bro, but drinking your hard a with your roommate in your dorm room does not actually count as a phat rager.

but moving on, i finally got a new camera!

i haven't really gotten the chance to use it yet because of a couple complications, but i did capture a couple birthday festivities.