Yardwork + Bridal Shower

This past weekend, I had Friday off of work for Cesar Chavez day... woohoo! That was a fabulous day spent TCOB'ing. I had a hair appointment with my old neighbor in downtown Riverside. I slept in and walked down the breezeway, got my hurrs did, enjoyed the weather, walked home, did some shopping, played with the Khaleesi, and had two volleyball games that night.

On Saturday morning I went down to San Diego, meeting up at the Gale's to hang out with Priya, only to find a small crowd of peoples helping Jack and Debs with the yardwork in the back. I wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion, so I "helped" by sifting rocks, getting beers, and telling jokes. By evening, we all had a nice dinner together, Debbie made Irish tickler drinks, we watched Kentucky barely edge out Notre Dame in March Madness, and put on Rocky, which neither me nor Priya had ever seen. We all spent the night there, had breakfast and coffee out back by the pool, then headed back to Pam's, where I caught up on Girls (all minus the season finale) and then went to Becca's bridal shower!

Becca was the first person I ever met in the dorms. She lived across the hall from me but she came and introduced herself to me once I was in my room. She and I have been friends ever since, and then we were roommates senior year of college and had a grand ol time, keeping in touch ever since. And now she's getting marrieddddd!

It was a nice day for a bridal shower and I even won one of the games woop woop! I drove home up the 5 to stop off in Irvine for a sushi dinner and smoothie dessert and finish watching Girls (ha!) and now back to Monday. Gosh this year is just so darn busy I feel like I have a million things to do. Baseball season is starting, (I'm not acknowledging March Madness anymore... my bracket was blown out of the water haha) Coachella is around the corner, and summertime is pretty much already here anyway.

Feline Fridays

One of my coworkers is a crazy cat lady like me. Another is just younger and therefore more hip and cool and has a fun wardrobe. The two of them sometimes arrange to wear cat shirts or cat sweaters on the same day.

Yesterday, minutes before 5, they snuck into my office and surprised me with a belated birthday present! Apparently when they ordered it online, they put in the wrong zip code and this thing had spent weeks criss-crossing the country (they even printed out the tracking list to prove it to me) and it finally came in.

Not only was I so surprised with a birthday present, but look what it was...

My very own cat sweater! Now I get to be a part of Feline Fridays and have a kitty to wear with them! So cute! And I was so surprised! I feel so lucky.

Country Bumpkins

Yay, got to book my flight to uphold mine and Jayna's labor relations tradition to visit each other, this time with a southern states exploration, and so excited! I love rocking chairs and sweet tea and big porches and manners and can't wait to be country bumpkins together like I've always dreamed of!

...is it summer yet?

Twenty-Nine You So Fine

Okaaaaay so another Vegas trip in the books, another March Madness bracket filled out, and I'm still losing my mind.

Vegas was super fun. We stayed in the Wynn (which was classy and awesome, although even being on the 32nd floor we could still hear the music from the beach parties all night). We tailgated the SDSU game even though they lost to Wyoming in the finals, went to Surrender the night Lil Jon was playing, and I had an amazing gold romper outfit for my birthday night. Of course, we basically took zero pictures (as opposed to years prior when that seemed to be all that we did). So that has been sad, because I doubt that gold romper outfit is going to come out again anytime soon, but oh wellsies.

These are pretty much the only pictures from the weekend:

Vegas baby on the drive in

Morning shots in our room

Lobster Mania throw back from last year for Priya

Morning shots for the birthday girl (ME)

SDSU game in my Kawhi jersey

Still working on that shot

Aside from that my work is getting crazy and I have a lot coming up - this has been a very busy year so far! Now I just need to win this March Madness bracket to make up for my Vegas expenses.

Space Jokes

Kristin Kelley

how do you organize a space party?

Ronnie Choi

MOOOOOOOOOOOOON PRISM CRYSTAL SHOWER RAINBOW THERAPY HEART KISS!!!

Like that of course.

Kristin Kelley

NO

YOU PLANET

Ronnie Choi

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

that's amazing!!!

who told you that?

Kristin Kelley

i saw it online!

Ronnie Choi

okay I just made up a great one

Kristin Kelley

ooh god

you made it up??

this oughta be interesting

Ronnie Choi

yes

How do you drive depressed on the Milky Way?

You SAD-TURN

Kristin Kelley

OMG

WTF DOES THAT EVEN MEAN

HAHAHAHA SO

STUPID

Ronnie Choi

I think it's rather clever!

Kristin Kelley

hahahahah

i guess so!

Ronnie Choi

fine let me think of another away

Kristin Kelley

i just thought of a good joke!

Ronnie Choi

no

Kristin Kelley

HOW DO YOU PROPOSE TO BEYONCE IN OUTER SPACE?

Ronnie Choi

how???

Kristin Kelley

YOU PUT A SATURN RING ON IT

Ronnie Choi

HAHAHAHHAhA

STUPID

Ronnie Choi

How did Sailor Moon fix her violin???

She nepTUNE'd it

Kristin Kelley

HAHAHAHAHHA

shouldn't that be sailor uranus

they're the lovers

Ronnie Choi

OMG

YES!

you're such a genius!

this is the kind of teamwork

Kristin Kelley

hahah

Ronnie Choi

we need to implement in our SITCOM

"I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU LOVE ME!"

Kristin Kelley

the kind of team work that team rocket gets done!

Ronnie Choi

i want to use the Diana Ross version

Just trying to get through today until I leave for VEGAS BABY! tonight. Happy 2 days to my birthday, everyone! And Happy Birthday Aunt Frances!

Bad Bad Kitty!

I don't think my family has ever had strictly indoor cats, and I've never really adhered to that idea for my own animals. It's true that, on average, they live less than their indoor counterparts, but I think there's something to be said for quality of life vs. quantity of life. Why do humans take planes and trains and eat bacon? I bet you those who don't would live longer too!

So all this to say that I like to let Khaleesi go outdoors, and she does very well about exploring for a little while and then coming back inside.

On Sunday, I let her roam around. I was ready to leave to do shopping and it had been a few hours and I couldn't find her, which wouldn't be the first time something like that had happened, so I left the back door open for her and left, expecting to find her inside when I came back. She wasn't. I wasn't worried.

Finally, after showering, dinner, and working on my puzzle, I was getting sleepy and now WAS concerned I couldn't find her. I walked around the block and went down the middle alley and came to the back of my own house. I kept calling for Khaleesi and I heard her respond, so I figured she was back in the yard. I hustle home (wasn't interested in hopping the chainlink fence) and go to the backyard and call for her. I keep hearing her, but can't find her. I figured that she was stuck in the neighbor's backyard, blocked by a chainlink fence. Her meow sounded oddly distant, like maybe she was stuck in their shed? Or in the trashcan? I got a flashlight, changed out of my pajamas, hopped the fence and went creeping around my neighbors backyard. Every time I called for Khaleesi she would respond, but I COULD. NOT. FIND. HER!!! It was driving me bonkers... not under bushes, in the shed, next to the house, nothing. I don't know what finally sparked it, but I thought, "I can hear her right here, but she's not on the ground. Is she... up?" and I point the flashlight up and there she is. About 30 feet up the tree, balancing way up top, and meowing, meowing.

She is waaaaay too far for me to rescue. (I tried). I tried coaxing her down but she wouldn't so much as take a step, just turn this way and that on the branch that she was on. By this time it was about 11pm. I have no idea what to do. None. And she is crying. What the hell do you do? I think about calling the firemen but even I know that's a dumb idea. I feel so dumb that this is even my problem right now. I text the guy I'm seeing who suggests calling animal control, so I do, but they won't dispatch at this hour since it's not an emergency, which I find completely valid and legit. But I ask, "do you know if someone could be dispatched for this during normal hours?" and her response "I don't know. You'll have to call back then." And me "That's fine, but when I call back, do you know if someone would be able to be dispatched for that?" and her "I don't know. I just work at the call center." kthxbye. I call the city's 311 line but am told that "The City of Riverside is closed." Didn't even know cities could close. But there you have it.

I feel awful. I have to go to bed. There is literally nothing I can do. And how am I supposed to walk away from my crying kitty and go to bed? She has slept in my bed with me every night since she was a kitten. I felt awful. I couldn't sleep well at all, knowing that Khaleesi was out there in the cold night perched on a tree 30 feet up. I kept waking up and trying to pet her, and then remembering she was a moron in a tree and wanting to cry. Suddenly all those love songs about waking up and trying to find your beloved in the bed but you can't... suddenly it all made sense. I kept hoping that she would find her way down and I would wake up to her hopping up on the bed with me. No such luck.

I got up an hour and half earlier than usual since I couldn't sleep, and went outside terrified I'd find her dead on the ground. She wasn't.

This picture is very zoomed in so you can actually see her!

She was still up in the tree, and now, she was meowing in utter distress. Loud and constant and really freaking out. I called 311 again who were actually open, and I told them look, this was embarrassing, but my cat was stuck in a tree and what could I do. The girl sounded like she was laughing as she told me basically nothing could be done, no one would dispatch for that, that the cats would come down on their own. I told her my cat was indoor cat and really seems in distress and I just truly don't know what to do. She gave me the number for animal control with a laugh, saying I could try, but they wouldn't come out. Thanks! I know it sounds like I'm a gray-haired, withered old lady in 1950's America, but what are you supposed to do when you listen to your baby in distress and you can't rescue her?? I felt stupid, but they also felt insensitive.

I went back outside to her, and as I was staring up at the tree, my landlord showed up, backing a truck up into the backyard to work on one of the units. I told him my damn cat was stuck up in the tree. The backyard neighbor then came out to say hi and I told her the same thing. (Not that they needed me to tell them, Khaleesi could be heard a few blocks around). She told me this happened to her cat before and she called the fire department and they said just wait for the cat to come down, there aren't dead cats lying on the ground from not being able to get down. My landlord said if the cat came down while he was around he would put it on my back patio. It all made me feel a little better, but I felt likea jerk walking away from her freaking out. As I drove away for work, I could even see her above the roof, perched in the tree and crying.

Well I got a text from my landlord around noon who wrote: Your cat came down half way.then got stuck again. We      use a 16 foot ladder and     grab him. I sure he will not do that again. We are cat        heros!

I am so lucky he was around with that ladder and could get her down! I usually go to the gym on Mondays but I had to go straight home and see the Khaleesi. She is definitely subdued and seems like she is legitimately recovering from trauma, and even skinnier! But she's home now.

I have half a mind to lock her in a dungeon after this!

P.S. Happy Birthday Rafster!

Paint Party

Part of my job is to put on programming and other events for the students. You'd be surprised at how difficult this could be. I have found though, that when I put together things that I would actually want to do, they're decently successful. For my latest trick, I put together one of those painting + drinking events, only it was non-alcoholic.

It took place last Friday, February 27, and it ended up being really fun! Even though I was running around like a crazy person trying to stretch a slim budget into a fiesta, it was a cool funtivity and everyone seemed to have a great time. I joined in, and when the teacher said "you can do any kind of tree you'd like" I took a complete left turn and did a palm tree instead. What can I say, I love them! Also, I had a yoga event a few hours before and I didn't bother changing. Lulz.

I was really proud of this drink cart. It's a long story.

Anyways, trying to think of another event for spring quarter now...

Back to Phoenix

I love Phoenix! I was thinking it might be depressing to live there, but it's such a great place to visit! Anja was in from London for a conference there, so I went out on Saturday to spend the weekend with her. It was fun. I got in in the afternoon, we hung out at the hotel and then went to her conference party at the Wrigley Mansion which included dinner, drinks, desserts, casino games and a photobooth. We had a really good time and then went back to the hotel and crashed.

In the morning we hung out in the pool and then went out to brunch with two of the other conference attendees that Anja knew from the circuit. One of them was local and took us to a good brunch spot and then showed us around ASU's campus, and then we went to Old Town Scottsdale.

That was about all we had time for before I had to hit the road back home. It was fast but it didn't feel too rushed and it was neat to see Anja again so unexpectedly.

Today has been crazy. And it's Monday. And it's been raining. And I did Read Across America today and read to 2nd graders. And I had to give a presentation unexpectedly. And I have to run the discussion group tonight. I just want to go and play with the Khaleesi.