Inspired To Consider

Princess Mouse

2009-12-21T18:37:00.000-08:00

I have inadvertently created a princess of a mouse who only wants to eat Cheerios. I awoke this morning to find the above... apparently she dug through her food bowl, tossing out every piece of food that was not a Cheerio. *sigh*

But she is adorable!

And tomorrow morning, I take Courtney to the LAX and it's off to Phoenix... Merry Christmas and Happy Solstice!

Disney for Courtney's Birthday!

2009-12-20T17:58:00.000-08:00

So many exclamation points these days... but there's just so much excitement going on, I can't help it.

Today, Courtney and I went down to Anaheim to redeem her free Disney entry. We spent all day at the home of the Mouse, riding rides, taking pictures, eating, standing in line (there were a TON of people), watching parades.... such a great time.

Of course, we had to catch Fantastmick and the fireworks at the end of the night... really lovely. And then... it SNOWED! Yes!! So cool.

Here's a picture of Courtney catching some of that dubious Disney "snow."

Courtney's Birthday Celebration Begins!

2009-12-19T17:55:00.000-08:00

To celebrate Courtney growing one more year in awesomeness, we partied at Lesli's on Friday and then tonight, we met up with Steve and Shanna for a delicious sushi dinner at Sumo Sushi. Hooray! Sake bombs!

After that, we hit the much lauded YogurtLand -- it was okay, and Ryan and Kate came to meet us, too. Yummy fro'yo... lovin' it.

Then, we had to inaugurate our very own copy of Quelf (which we had discovered the night before at Lesli's), so Steve, Kate, and Ryan all came over and we played a late night game of Quelf. Stupid stupid fun.

School Swag

2009-12-18T15:43:00.000-08:00

School swag is here and I am done done done. Now I've got to get my junk sorted for going home and try to get some relaxation over the next two weeks.

Last Day of Kids

2009-12-17T15:40:00.000-08:00

Good thing I didn't dress as Santa today... Ryan would have totally had me beat. Here he is, looking distraught over home-buying woes. Speaking of which, watching him deal with all of that nonsense makes me never want to buy a house... at least not in LA.

Done With Work and Now... CHRISTMAS!

2009-12-16T21:23:00.000-08:00

Yes! Progress reports are done and I'm so thrilled, I'm skipping yesterday's blog. The consistency of my writing has gone to pot over the last month anyway, but it's the holidays, big changes are happening, and a new year is right around the corner. MADNESS!

I'm a little crazy right now... stayed up way too late last night celebrating no children being at school today. No booze involved, just me and Call of Duty. Oh yeah.

Since the tree has been put up, Court and I have wrapped presents and placed them around the tree.... very nice, very nice. I just wish I could remember what I used to use as a skirt the past few years. I suppose I could check the blog, and maybe I will.... tomorrow.

But now, brain is being turned off....... now.

Out of the Woods

2009-12-14T19:27:00.000-08:00

Today marked the end of the 8th grade presentations. Some were awesome, some were cringe-worthy, but they're done. And tomorrow, we have to guide our kids through museum day, but it shouldn't be too bad.

Then just finishing up progress reports (I'm finishing my HS ones tonight), and then HOME FREE, B!

Cannot wait. And I'm nearly done with Christmas shopping. Hooray!

Date Night!

2009-12-13T19:24:00.000-08:00

Since Courtney and I haven't indulged enough in going out in public this weekend, we decided to have a date night. We grabbed some wonderful Chinese food at the Bamboo Inn (because Cafe Bizou was overrun with people), then hit the 8:30 showing of The Fantastic Mr. Fox, quite the delightfully quirky film. Then we snuck into the 10:20 showing of 2012.

Rare is it that I feel good about not having spent money to see a movie... while the special effects were delightful, the script was apparently written with a kindergartner who doesn't know when to stop. 2 h ours and 40 minutes? Come on.

Regardless, it was a successful date night... super fun to the last drop.

SantaCon!!!!

2009-12-12T23:04:00.000-08:00

Oh man, ever since Kim alerted me to this back in October, I have been so excited. We almost didn't go for money reasons, but we said F it and got us some suits and even though it rained almost all day, it was so worth it.

It was a brilliant, hilarious, ridiculous experience. Hundreds of Santas cramming into the Metro (then all singing "Don't Stop Believing" while accompanied by an accordion), riding into East LA, jumping into bars spontaneously, going to al Tarasco with it's two mariachi bands playing, giving candy to children, ho ho-ing everywhere we went. There was a Super Santa, a robot Santa thing, pimp Santas, elves, car fresheners(!), we even got ambushed by a group of clowns who hated Santa.

Word was that there was a Zombie walk going on in Pasadena at the same time, we kept wondering how awesome it would be if the two groups accidentally bumped into each other.

We eventually got back to downtown, drank. ran around Union Station, tried to get into the Disney Concert Hall bar (but they had already closed), walked down by the ice skating rink and then ended up at the Down & Out bar. Which is HUGE.

Courtney and I left the Red Tide at around 7ish... as they were leaving D&O. Word has it they then marched to Little Tokyo and hit a joint that had karaoke. Awesome.

It was a really amazing event and I cannot wait until next year.

Typical Night at the Boys' Place

2009-12-11T13:04:00.000-08:00

After catching the excellent Astroglyde at ZJ's, we decided to swing by the Boys' house as they were having a little celebration for Paul's birthday.

We got there and it was more than just a little celebration. Cars lined the street and there were plenty of people there. Plus, Paul (the twin) was back in town for the weekend! Courtney and I stayed pretty late, hanging out, talking to people, drinking.

This happened early in the night... looks like they got a jump start on us. This is Chris slamming Mark's head in the clothes washer. Good times.

Taco Night with Steve, Shanna, Courtney, and Adam

2009-12-10T13:01:00.000-08:00

Aw yeah... the tradition continues. Good times on a rainy Thursday night.

Preparation

2009-12-09T23:37:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Courtney's shopping while I was at work today, we are now ready for SantaCon.

The Process of Identity

2009-12-08T22:58:00.001-08:00

First off, I think these are hilarious. These are my and my partner's newest IDs for our job ... while I can understand misspelling my last name, I cannot forgive them misspelling "awesome" as "wesome." Due to the odd arrangement of the words, the names translate as "Captain Commander Kaczynski" and "Commander Awesome Siebrasse."

The woman in charge of IDs and such came into our classroom last week stating that something "went wrong" with our IDs. Working with us is amazing.

In other news, I've found myself assessing my concept of my own identity recently. Looking back over the year, it's been an interesting one. Starting off brand new - single, living alone, no DK, newish job - I've been testing a lot of waters and hanging out with a lot of different people.

Earlier in the year, there was a certain group of coworkers I was hanging out with, spending a lot of time with and they're lovely people, but I don't so much see them these days. I spent some time with the fire community this year, and that's really been wonderful and I intend on continuing that. My relations with other groups/cliques of friends have been waxing and waning... and I just find it interesting the folks who I have been gravitating towards more frequently.

It's funny because I sometimes worry/wonder about who I am, what's important to me, who I want to be... and the fact of the matter is I can be whomever I want to be. I do not need to always do theater or fire or always write or paint... my life is whatever I want it to be, and lately, it's been pretty damn good.

Christmas Tree... Finally!

2009-12-07T22:12:00.001-08:00

My shoddy plastic Target Christmas tree has been sitting in the middle of the apartment for the past four days, awaiting decoration. Court and I have been a bit scattered, not really getting stuff done that we want to get done done... well, not all of it. Most of it. But the tree hasn't been one of 'em.

It's been raining all day today (hooray!), and I came home after a busy busy day and Courtney had a plan for dinner (which was awesome), I called the landlord about the continuing rat ish, and after eating and drinking some wine, Court and I got down to business.

We put on some classical Christmas tunes, some choral stuff, then some sweet Sinatra and Crosby... got that tree decorated and it was really lovely.

We tried to get a picture of the tree with Curtis, but she just pooed in Courtney's hand. A lot.

No Equivocation: Date Night Ruled! Plus MALLS.

2009-12-06T13:13:00.000-08:00

Ah, date night. Ever since Courtney got out here, it seems like she and I have date night with Steve and Shanna about three times a week... it's a good thing, a really good thing. A great thing, even!

Tonight, Steve got us the hookup to the Geffen and we all got to go see "Equivocation," the current show there. It's kind of a big deal, having won critical acclaim at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and full of amazing performers... and it really was a fantastic show. Absolutely catering to the Shakespeare crowd, but accessible to the rest of us. Love me some good theater.

However the obnoxious woman in front of us who was clearly not into the show (maybe she was confused), her talking during the last minutes was a shame. Ah, I wish I knew who she was so I could publicly shame her on my world-famous blog. Ah well.

In other news, Courtney and I hit a couple malls today to do some shopping (and look for Santa suits!), and I was shocked to find myself feeling kinda jaded in the mall. All my life, I've kind of loved malls... I was raised in one to a point, my Grandma taking me all the time. Today, however, I just found the traditional American cluster of consumerism a bit suffocating and honestly, more than a little obnoxious. All of the greasy adolescent hands grabbing mindlessly for stuff, for clothing, for clutter. We walked into the Disney store and it just felt so overwhelming, a non-stop barrage of buy! buy! buy!

Wow, I used to love the mall... but today it just made me tired and a little sad.

Surprise!

2009-12-05T12:10:00.000-08:00

We had a surprise birthday party for the head of school tonight. This is the best picture of him coming in that I got. *sigh* But we were upstairs in the VIP lounge, not the best angle, to be honest. We had a great time socializing, drinking, eating.... at one point, I was talking to the head of our admissions and I realized just how lucky I've got it with my day job. Such a wonderful crew of loving, talented, sweet (and crazy) people. Awesome.

Holiday Shows, Initiate!

2009-12-04T12:07:00.000-08:00

Thus begins the spate of holiday shows our friends are in that we have to try and make all of them. We started it off with the Christmas Cabaret at the Eclectic Theater. My friend Questa co-wrote this and is starring in it, while my friend Laura exec produced it. It was a lot of fun... the acts they have are really phenomenal, especially Scot Nery, the pancake juggler. They also had a stand up comedian, a singer, and two burlesque numbers. Plus, they had a bunch of booze for us to partake in. Hooray!

So if you get the chance, it's running next Friday and Saturday as well and it's ONLY $10.

A Considerable Town

2009-12-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

This is what I did last night: saw Inglorious Basterds (Again! Love it! QT's best!) and then listened to Quentin speak for a while afterward. Awesome.

And tonight... new Office!

I think I may tun this blog into "Damn! My Life Is Good."

CREDO Ready To Go

2009-12-02T16:27:00.001-08:00

Got the new phone, got it powered and my contacts are all transferred over. However, one minor disappointment is that I can't Bluetooth ringtones .. gah .. I got spoiled with my beloved Sony Ericsson 580i (which can be yours for $120!) .. but it's totally worth being with a progressive phone company, having almost three times the minutes and five times the text messages. Mostly, I'm stoked about the progressive part. In fact, I just got an email last night stating that they started a new website: www.OMGGOPWTF.com, in which you are asked to answer trivia questions about the ridiculousness of the GOP and they will donate 10 cents per every correct answer to a progressive cause. This week's cause is Billionaires For Wealthcare, a hilarious and wonderful group that routinely mocks all of the wealthy folks who would like to maintain (and benefit from) the healthcare status quo. I totally wanna hit one of those rallies someday. Someday soon!

The End Is Nearly Here

2009-12-01T16:25:00.000-08:00

I love looking at this calendar... 8 more normal days of school and then, Winter Break!!! I will make it! It will be awesome. I cannot wait. I swear, my 8th graders will not destroy my spirit. Heh... nor will I destroy theirs!

Back To School

2009-11-30T22:43:00.000-08:00

Eh, it was a pretty good day.

After returning to school and seeing my awesome kids, I came home to hang out with Courtney and watch Purple Rain. While it's a patently ridiculous film, I kinda loved it. Gotta love the Prince.

Then after we consumed some awesome, mid-80's kitch, we met up with Steve and Shanna and consumed some awesome Menchies. Love it all.

My life is pretty good.

Hollywood Christmas Parade

2009-11-29T21:03:00.000-08:00

Finally, after all these years, I finally caught the Hollywood Christmas Parade. I always hear about it the day after or whatever, but this year, I caught wind of it from a friend's Facebook status. Boom!

It was great. The weather was lovely and while standing on the hard cement at Hollywood and Vine for three hours was a little rough on the ol' bones, it was totally worth it. Though Courtney and I have to wonder who's running the damn show as there were huge, ten minute gaps between sections of the parade. We think it could have been done in a third of the time. However, it was a really lovely time... plus we got to see Jesus!!

Afterward, we passed by a Scientology event/protest and made our way to The Grill where our friend Andy works. She hooked us up with a lovely tuna tartare dish and then it was home, Jeeves, home.

A wonderful ending to a delightful (and exhausting) holiday week.

The Day After The Day After

2009-11-28T00:35:00.000-08:00

Ah yes... the Thanksgiving coma/hangover has passed and now for a proper day of existence.

While we took our time getting started, by around 3pm, Courtney and I decided to roll down to LA to catch the 30 year retrospective at MOCA. While we did eventually make it to MOCA, we wandered around downtown a bit, spent a bit of time in the very modern Cathedral of Our Lady of Los Angeles... amazing, fascinating structure! Then we explored the area around the Mark Taper forum, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and finally got to MOCA with 50 minutes left to explore.

There was some really cool stuff, including this crazy paper mache bride. We have got to catch the other half of it over at the Geffen MOCA... can't wait!

We wandered through downtown a bit, eventually ended up at Pershing Square where we watched the locals ice skate for a while, then we got back on the Metro and headed back to the Valley for some increible comfort food at the NoHo Diner. Awesome.

A few hours later, we picked up Steve and hit the road to roller disco. Many hours of skating ensued.

Brilliant. A wonderful wonderful day. Truly.

The Day After

2009-11-27T22:55:00.000-08:00

Oh dear god.... slept in so late... body achy, hungover... the day after has no mercy.

Courtney and I didn't get going until after noon or so, then after shaking off the cobwebs, we met up with Steve, Shanna, and Leslie for dinner at El Chavo. I had a gift certificate from the Bridges auction that I've been dying to use and the food was pretty damn good. We racked up a pretty nice-sized bill, stuffed ourselves again, then wandered down to Wacko/Ozzie Dots. I love that place.

Thanksgiving '09!

2009-11-26T22:47:00.000-08:00

Aw man, what a great freaking holiday. I spent it with many of my closest, dearest friends, we ate and drank so much, we played a ton of games (Rock Band, Cranium, Apples to Apples, and a ton of Celebrity). Courtney and I got to Steve and Shanna's around 2:30 and didn't leave until about 3am.

I am so thankful for the beautiful, loving people in my life!