la-la-la-lavender
work has been, err, intense lately seeing as it is the start of the nfl season and we are just a tad bit short-staffed these days. the zen-like state i had reached a few short weeks ago has dissolved with every ring of my phone at inappropriate (i.e. non-business) hours, and i feel myself teetering into a dr. jekyll/mr. hyde good/evil personality when ever i am alerted that some other fine piece of technology has taken a nosedive.
in order to counter all of this, and taking into account that i can neither hire a masseuse to hang out with me 9-5, nor can i "just not go" to work, i decided that my best course of action would be 2 things: lay off the caffeine, and surround myself in lavender. i can't describe how fresh cut lavender soothes my soul like no other phenom on earth. it's like a hair dryer to my icy attitude. i've been on a rather frantic search for some over the last few days, trekking to stores and florist shops all over the city. it has to be fresh from the bush; for some reason, blended aromatherapy oils or candles just don't have the same effect on me. today i wandered over to the farmer's market at horton plaza at lunch, and promptly stuck my entire head into a bucket of fresh lavender. i almost passed out from sheer relief. i spent my only two dollars on a small bunch, and floated back to my office with my face stuck in the glorious smell.
minutes after i had settled back at my desk, and jumped back into the chaos of things, i hear a very pointed "son of a bitch"... turning to face my accuser, i find a coworker of mine, clearly on a path to my desk, with a bunch of lavender in his hand. he had picked some up for me, knowing of my desperation (perhaps in fear of my impending wrath?). he was a little disappointed i had gotten there first (hence the expletives), but i just about fainted from happiness and intoxicating lavender fumes. how sweet it really is.
current mood: i'm all doped up

tri-daima!!
don't worry if you don't get the title of the entry, it's a really bad j-language joke
tuesday marked my 4 years ago and thursday was my 3 years ago. my how time flies.
current mood: i seem calm on the surface

what happens in vegas...
i'm home. i survived. that is all.
current mood:

viva
las vegas. a sodom & gomorrah for our modern times. hot as hell and responsibly the same. and our (me + t-man + a mere 12 or so others) weekend destination. these kids are so excited about this trip, i got 49 emails about it before noon... they seemed to have tapered off with the post-lunch coma.
a few of you have been privvy to the back story of feelings i've had about this trip, and i'll say now, with 16 hours till we leave for the airport, i've reached a zen-like state about it. go with the flow, that sort of thing. i can survive 2.5 days in a city that's not my favorite (okay, i LOATHE the place). should be fun: having dinner at a nice place, going to see a show, may meet up with princess fiona and see red rock canyon, and if i get totally desperate, just may check out the "european style" pool (read: topless) at our hotel. oh boy.
current mood: somehow this glowing pumpkin head is appropriate

orega-yes!
i was walking down the alley today, off to poke around the sleepy beach town i call home, and i was met by a ball of frizz attached to a woman clutching a brown paper bag. we exchanged pleasantries as strangers often do, and as i kept walking, she suddenly said, "hey! you want some oregano?" ... considering the reputation of this particular beach town i live in, i hesitated... ((thought "no officer, it really IS oregano!")) she came towards me with a handful of the pungent herb, and i grasped it, thanking her as i took a deep breath of the unmistakenable aroma. we parted ways and i continued walking down the street, having to put the mini-bushel into my handbag as i lacked any other way to transport it, and i wasn't about to carry it in my hand for the remainder of my journey.
i don't think the smell, or the leaves, will EVER leave my purse.
current mood: hmm, what should i make?

life's a beach
the girlz and i headed to the avp tourney in manhattan beach this weekend:

yes, yes, we all know i'm white as a ghost. while nat was commenting on how tan i looked (tan for me, that is), i soon was told by my client to make sure i put some sunblock on seeing how white i am. he had graciously escorted us past the packed VIP tent to the less-crowded-but-more-exclusive investors tent... keith introduced me to the CEO of AVP, and we took our seats out in the bleachers. i was trying to get loren and nat to indulge in the free food and drinks, but i think they were a little tenative considering the party we were crashing. close to gametime though, our territory was shrunken as regular hooligans started hopping the fence into our area, to the point where they threw out anyone who didn't have the right ticket to be in there. i tried dropping a few names of people, including the CEO, until the lady told me "uh, i just had to kick HIM out too." right. gotcha. we're going. we were then re-directed to the stage, and spent the rest of the game just to the right of the shade, and just behind the queen of beach volleyball, gabrielle reece.
at least the funky burn lines i got were after the wedding that t-man and i hit on saturday. the great thing about the wedding was that t-man knew the bride from work and i knew the groom from the freshmen dorms, so we both were able to celebrate their wedding. like binh and diem were saying, "it's a small small world." after all.
current mood: gee, that was fun!

all is quiet...
... well, not really. actually, there has been a mass exodus from my place of employment, and i have been trying to keep on top of things. plus with the stress of the formerly-dreaded upcoming vegas trip, decisions about my continuing involvement in karate, and all over hermit-ness, it's not really a wonder that i'm currently sitting at home, rotating between work stuff and napping my stuffy nose and fever away. t-man had fallen ill earlier in the week, but i would say that's mostly due to lack o' sleep for a week and half. what can i say? we share. bah.
current mood: he gives me fever

a small glimpse into the state of things
after rather demanding emails from a list-serv manager urging me to respond right away before they shut off my old ucsd account, i eventually sent them reasoning on why they should maintain the alias, and this was the auto-response:

Thanks for your response to our audit of 20,000 addresses.
We are very backlogged, with thousands of messages awaiting our
handling, so please expect a long wait before our response.
Rest assured, we will make sure your response is processed before
any account suspension is performed!

Thanks for your understanding,
The Postmaster Team, ACS-Network Operations

HIL-AR-I-OUS. glad i rushed to respond.
current mood: what's this "urgent" you speak of?