the walmart of renting.

sad fact about your favorite blogger: i've not yet owned my own domicile. i've always been a renter. sad, but true.

and i've run the gamut of apartments. let's walk down memory lane, shall we??

apt#1. lovely 1 bdrm in a restored old rowhouse in a old east coast city. love. love. love. the floors were hardwood, and slanted from settling. clawfoot tub and nice, hippie landlords who homeschooled their kids. awesome.

apt#2. 2 bdrm flat ... the upstairs in a cape house. rooms were poorly retro-fitted into this lovely home to make it into 3 apts. and our apt had three LARGE and drafty windows. landlord was a real estate agent. really great at "selling" us on the apt. not so great at being a landlord.

apt#3. rented a basement in-law apt from friends/coworkers. damp, but cute as they'd done some really nice updates to make it feel less subterranean. no lease, landlords treated us like family. even let us use pool in backyard. also? no lease. just paid month to month.

apt#4. moved to tucson and lined up place "site unseen," meaning i lined it up over the internet, then we pulled up with a truck with all of our belongings, got out, looked @ the place, signed the lease, and unpacked. we went with a LARGE company who owns complexes all over tucson.

apt #5. this is what we're attempting in Bmore. details TBD.

now that i'm on to my fifth apartment [gosh that makes me sad] i've learned a lot about the spectrum of landlords you can have. i've only *once* rented corporate (aka an apt in a large complex), and i've come to realize, it's a lot like walmart.

the advantages are that you know pretty well what you're going to get. you also know that they likely employ a full time maintenance man. you also know that the apartments have no soul. and that our walls will be white or builder beige.

aside from the mc-apartment decor, the real disadvantage is that there is often little flexibility in the lease. when we left ny, we were renting from friends. literally, our landlord told me to not worry about making it pristine, because they were going to do some more work. so while i was putting the last few things in the truck and it was down-pouring outside, i didn't need to go back and mop up every drop on my way out. [love that woman.]

here in walmart complex? notsomuch. we looked into what the difference would have been if we'd gotten out of our lease a month early?? no advantage. none. nada. zip. zilch. because of the way the lease is written, we have to pay back half of each month left on the lease. that's fair. but in ADDITION to that, we also need to give back the signing bonus we got off our lease when we signed on for another year last summer. which would bump us back up to paying a full month's rent. for a month we wouldn't be there.

not the end of the world, no. but i'm a thrifty gal, and i'm not a big fan of paying rent at two places at once. not really my style. so we decided to plan to leave as *close* to the end of our lease as humanly possible. in fact, i'm *really* hoping that it works out that we only have to overlap pay for like 1 week. i think i have it set that way, but things are still TBD on the bmore end.

and then? we also have to give 30 days notice that we're leaving. wait ... what?? isn't the fact that we're not re-signing our lease enough notice? maybe it's just because i'm a realatively good tenant, but i don't see the point? essentially, we have a contract to live here and pay for living here until july 31. after that? peace. who needs 30 days notice?

ok, so let me clarify, because i just re-read the previous paragraph ... i should mention that there's a whole FORM i have to fill out, and BOTH steve and i have to sign it. for real. i mean, i get why and all. let's say i was planning on leaving steve (i'm not), and he didn't know (in this scenario, i'm pretty much the worst person in the world). i could potentially leave on the 31st, without him knowing, and leave him holding the apt. so i get that there are situations that make this a problem for the landlords ... but it's just annoying, you know?

also? we have to schedule a walk-thru with them. there isn't any real damage to the apt since we moved in, but i get why they'd want to do that. the only problem?? when we signed up two years ago, they waived the security deposit. so i'm kinda like, "um, you guys didn't get a security deposit, so why are we doing a walk through again?? if you find something, are you going to bill me?? really??"

again, i realize that there are PLENTY of people who RIP apartments apart. [ments.] but seriously. i kinda feel like i'm being treated like a college freshman.

the irony in all of this?? because we're going "site unseen" again, we're going with a big management company. so the bad news is that this isn't the end of the renting red tape for the prose family. but the good news?? our home will not be soul-less (though it does have a few sisters and brothers that are pretty identical).

let's just hope that in a year or two, when i sign my name on the dotted line, it's for a home we're *buying* not a home we're *renting*. [which brings me to my next topic ... paying down student loan debt ...]

things that fall through the cracks.

...the continuing saga...

moving is one of those experiences that can really make you crazy. especially when there's little to no overlap between locations (you know, like if you're packing everything in a truck, and essentially homeless for 3 days while you drive cross-country, as opposed to moving across town, and technically living in two locations at once).

things that i try to keep from disappearing / falling out of my subconscious?? bills. inevitably, i'm always moving around the worst possible time in the month, so that there's all kinds of confusion with paying bills and changing addresses. i've had credit card statements go to the old address for *months*, or realized that because i only forwarded mail for my married name, that one pesky student loan that's still in my maiden name isn't getting forwarded, etc. let's just say this time around, i'm trying to be diligent to keep tabs on those guys.
 

 
and to top it all off, this is the craziest move yet. consider the following:

we are planning to move mid july. i will be gone the first week in july, which means that things are already hectic for all the bills that need to get paid on the 1st and 3rd, etc. and then, because we're moving mid-month, all the bills that need to get paid on the 12th, 15th, etc, will also be right in the thick of it. lastly, we are planning to arrive in Bmore at the end of the month. so anything i usually pay on the 23rd, 30th? also screwed up.

my plan?? i'm still devising one.

at this point, it includes a dedicated place in my purse for all bills from the last month, so that i have contact info for all immediately close at hand. all the phone numbers are in my cell, but inevitably, i need the acct#, and don't have it handy. additionally, i have a nice list going of what will be due when. and on that same list, i'll also keep tabs on who i've notified of our address change, so that if aug 3rd rolls around, and i haven't gotten bill X in bmore, i know that it's due the 15th, and that i already switched address with them and have the july (or even june) version of that bill from which to pay by phone, etc.

i know that one of you is going to say that i should just switch to complete online banking and bill pay. while you're right, now is REALLY not the time to mess around with that stuff, know what i mean? i need to tweak the system that i already have, not complete change the system all together :)

[source. ironically, it's an article about online bill pay.]

it's the method to my madness. certainly madness ... but still ... method.

what about you?? what did you find falling through the cracks when you moved?? any tips??

my americana.

remember when we first found out that we'd be moving back across this vast homeland of ours? and i looked into moving options, and was sad that we probably wouldn't be driving our own truck because the ABF people seemed to be the thriftiest option??

well, i failed to keep you all in the loop ... turns out, we *are* going with the truck option. commence long story .... right ... now....

because steve and i are still living fairly simply and keeping the amount/volume of our worldly possessions to a minimum (read: we only own what can fit into a 450 sq ft apt and the trunk of a hyundai elantra), we fell into this weird gap with ABF where we would definitely fill one relo-cube, but *might* need a second relo cube. [yeah, i didn't come up with that dorky name, it's actually what ABF calls those big locker thingies.] i also looked into the whole "fill up the back of a semi as much as you need, and we charge you by linear foot" option.

it was clear from the cursory research that the options would be ranked like this:

1. ABF linear foot option ... because we wouldn't have to pay for space we didn't use, like we would with the relo-cubes or the drive your own truck options. also no need to pay for gas. costs exactly what it costs.
2. one relo-cube ... next cheapest option, but made me super duper nervous because what if all our crap didn't fit?? we'd be screwed. on the plus side, no need to pay for gas, again ... it costs what it costs.
3. penske truck and driving ourselves with all our junk ... but this is still a bit risky because we have no idea what additional cost gas will be.
4.  two relo-cubes ... most expensive, but we don't have to drive everything ourselves, and no gas costs.

steve and i had lots of discussion about it (i really wanted to drive the big truck cross country, he did not), and we decided to move forward with ABF. and so i went ahead and started to get my reservation in order. and then the ABF website did a weird thing ... when i tried to sign up for the linear feet option, it kept re-routing me to the relo-cube option. i couldn't, for the life of me, even get back to a quote on linear feet.

this may be because we don't have enough stuff to qualify for the linear feet option? i don't know. what i do know is that i kept putting this off and then one day, the penske reservation went up a bit (since we were getting closer to the target date) and i knew that we had to make an immediate decision. since the relo-cubes weren't *quite* the right size option, steve and i talked it over and decided that driving the penske was still an ok option.

specifically, it's not too bad because we're planning on putting our car on a dolly and towing it with the truck. this means that we will only have 1 vehicle to drive (when we went NY to AZ, we had two), and one 1 vehicle to fuel (though i realize the fuel will be moving two vehicles).

and call me cray-cray, but it's totally worth it to me to spend a little extra just to get to have the experience of driving a BIG truck across the country. it's just a really cool experience that i know i (hopefully) won't get again for awhile, if ever. and it just represents to me all the great things about this vast homeland of ours. the fact that you can pile all your belongings into a jalopy, 1920s-style, and just drive. and relocate. and set up shop thousands of miles away. there's just something really route 66 about that to me, that i love :) i mean, in what other country do people do that??

plus, when else do i get to wear the pink cowgirl hat??

if you've even read this far into this INCREDIBLY boring post about moving, you probably actually are interested in this type of thing, because maybe you're about to move, or you may be considering following your own american dream of going westward ... or eastward ... or whatever-ward. if that's the case, i'm guessing you'd be interested in a john-and-sherry-style price explanation of the truck. here's what my confirmation email looks like...

essentially, we got a 16 ft truck (FYI, the 14ft and the 16 ft are the *same* base price ... i'm sure the 16 ft costs more in gas, but the extra two feet make me more able to sleep at night), then we ADDED on a dolly and a little insurance (which makes steve more able to sleep at night), and then got TWO discounts ... one for doing our reservation online, and a second for being a AAA member. and so even with the add-ons, we came in $57.70 UNDER the base fee!! :) :) :) :)

not an AAA member? neither were we. but the membership only cost us $40 (normally $70 for two people, but we had a coupon--score!!), which means we saved an extra $203.50 - $40 = $163.50 ... just for doing a little homework. [a special thanks goes out to my buddy jess, who *also* moved cross-country *twice*, and clued me in on the AAA/penske situation when we moved to AZ.] and since we'll probably be spending a few hundred dollars in gas, i'm happy to be saving it now :)

and while the $1,654.30 may seem *awfully* steep, the two relo cubes were in the $2,500 range, before they added on fees and tax and whatnot. so i'm pretty happy with our choice :)

because you just can't get enough...

i know that the reason you come to this here blog is because you're obsessed with me. admit it. and only someone who's obsessed with me would want to know my thoughts as i have them, so i've decided to *finally* take the plunge and get a twitter.

if you click that little birdy button over on the right --------------->

...you'll get my twitter feed.

it's full of boringness, and random things that i think and stupidly broadcast to the world.

especially since my life is work + packing. which i know you can't get enough of :)

so twit me up. (har har har).

upbeat.

i've decided to take an upbeat attitude towards all this crazy / hectic life-change that is happening all around me and to me.

and an upbeat feeling on the blog means an upbeat graphic. i've chosen the following image...

i may have drawn this on our trip to bmore, in the complimentary copy of the southwest propeganda magazine. the swiggles make me happy ... kind of an artistic interpretation of the craziness surrounding all of this.

plus, this activity served as a nice little exercise in distraction / procrastination for me when i should have been packing :)

what can i say?? i still need a creative outlet.... :) :) :)

lifestyles of the rich and famous.

this is what our apt currently looks like (it's my view from the couch).

no, we didn't get hit by a tornado. it's just the annoyance of packing up all your worldly possessions and trying to do it in a *somewhat* orderly manner. while this picture doesn't look orderly, the boxes sure do.

also, do you like the instagram? i decided that it added a little *something* to the photo to at least make it blog-worthy. the regular photo would have made me cry. who am i kidding? the real life view makes me a little sad.

mistreatment update; i'm not the only one who's crazy.

so remember when i took that gorgeous, expensive fabric and hot glued it to the ugly industrial blinds in my livingroom??

guess who's not the only one who wants to hot glue fabric to blinds?? ...this girl, right here!! :)

literally, and i kid you not, someone this past week found this lil ole blog by typing the following into a search engine:

"+can i glue fabric to my pleated blinds?"

why yes, my dear. you can. ok, so maybe they meant something different when they said "pleated." maybe i'm still the only one who's crazy.

but i *do* have an update on these lovely window mistreatments that have treated me so well for the past 6+ months ... for anyone who saw me hot glue those bad boys up there and thought "oh boy, what a *mess* to take down when they move!!" i have to tell you, it came off like buttah.






95% of the glue came off like buttah. and because i had left the selvage on the fabric, and used that to be the main portion of the fabric that got glued, the fabric is 100% re-useable.

in other news, our apartment is looking more and more sad with each passing day, and each piece of "pretty" that i take down. [insert sad panda face.]

the dumb @$$ long way around.

another post i wrote a few months back that relates to our trip to bmore...

when i was a senior in high school, a close friend would drive us in every day. we lived in a subdivision about 3/4 mile from the school, which meant that our commute was short, but also very congested.

on days when we couldn't take the most direct route, (because of the plethora of buses full of peasant children who weren't cool enough to drive themselves in), we would take the long, way out of the way, stupidly inefficient route. or, as it affectionately was termed by my friend, "the dumb @$$ long way around." [i should note that the friend i refer to graduated in the top of our class, went to georgetown, and speaks fluent russian. she didn't term it this because she lacked vocabulary or aptitude ... but somehow the crass name made a stupid situation funny, and the name fit it. i don't mean to offend, it just is what it is.]

so why am i bringing up the dumb @$$ long way around now?? well, when booking our flight to bmore, i *really* wanted steve to go with me, and since i was using a rewards ticket, and he was being reimbursed by hoppitty hopkins, we needed to book mine first, to avoid blackout dates. so i just looked for TUS - BWI during the right week and took it. my options were pretty limited, and the simple fact that steve's ticket didn't cost our first born child's right arm and leg, (hello!! mixed metaphor!!), and wasn't 18 hours long was why i got the tickets that i did.

now, you know that i love southwest. you know that i even loved them enough to board a 737 leaving an AZ airport bound for a CA airport. [note: this was *right* after the incident. within a week.]

[source.]

but this time, all i knew was that we were flying TUS to LAX to BWI, and that we had two stops, and one plane change in LAX. i didn't know where the 2nd plane stop would be, and just figured we'd just be the "through passengers" somewhere. and that's not really a big deal--i've done it before and if they have enough time, they even let you off to stretch your legs and use a non-airplane bathroom.

until we landed in LAX, we didn't know where that 2nd stop would be. imagine our surprise when we got to the monitors and saw that we're heading to baltimore by way of phoenix. PHOENIX!! as in the city two hours northwest of tucson. so we got to tucson airport at 9:15a, just so that we could fly to LA to fly to phoenix for 4:15p!!

literally, had we driven directly, we would have saved ourselves 3 hours.

this gives you an idea of how silly it all was. and i'd like to say that it was better on the way back ... but it wasn't. let's just put it this way ... we flew through the long island airport. i didn't even KNOW that long island HAD an airport. and i was ON long island in october for a wedding. and i DIDN'T fly through their airport.

but in other news, if you ever DO get routed through the long island airport (ISP), there is a FANTASTIC little italian restaurant where you can get real new york italian food in the airport. to. go.

this was my wonderful lasagna with sweet italian sausage.

i'm salivating just looking at this photo and thinking back on the amazingly goodness.

so instead of describing the insanity of the illogical routing of out return trip from baltimore to tucson, i'll just show you the obliging "where we fly map" from our return trip... people don't care that i write in them, right??

what sucks about moving.

you know what sucks about moving? your evenings and weekends are full of work. which means little to no real down time, and even when i get a little down time, i feel guilty and stressed that i'm not packing. blerg.

fun fact about me? since i left my parents' home when i was 18 and headed to college, the longest i've lived *anywhere* is two years. [i can feel my jaw tightening just typing that crappy fact.] if you count the times i changed dorms, i've lived in 8 different places in those 9ish years. wow. when i put it that way, i'm a borderline gypsy.

[source.]

so everyone has a method to their maddness. and while i'm certainly not one of those super mover people (aka military wives and GE employees), i also have always had to pay for my own moves--military and GE folk get $ to help them out, the lucky jerks. not that i'm jealous of military/GE families, i just think it's a tiny bit harder to do when you don't have to do it all the time, and the culture around you doesn't expect and support your moving (monetarily or otherwise).

all that to say, i'm probably not as well-versed at moving, but i'm happy to share the method behind my madness.

today i'm just going to talk about how i pack. i may spend other posts on finding a place, and the actual moving process. but for now, i'm on packing.

i'm super duper type A personality. so the whole idea of just putting stuff in a box and labeling it "livingroom" makes me break out in hives. i'm much happier if the box reads "livingroom: candles & decor." because let's be honest, what i have in the livingroom in tucson may not be what i have in the livingroom in bmore.

and in addition to the desire to have things VERY well-organized, there is a need to pack things you don't need first, and pack things you ALWAYS need last. for example, toilet paper should be the last thing in a box, and the first thing to come out of a box at the new place.

so here's the run-down of how i prioritize my packing ... specifically, how i'm doing it this time around:

#1. take down decor items in bedroom and livingroom

#2. take down mistreatments in livingroom and fabric around W/D

#3. pack up items that live on TOP of kitchen cabinets (also known as kitchen items i rarely use)

#4. pack up remaining items on shelves in livingroom

#5. pack up contents of the lockers (mainly books, decor, important papers, etc. some things may need to remain accessible, like laundry soap. those things get their own box that gets left open near laundry machines, to be taped shut on last day.)

#6. pack up clothes (probably will purge at this step as well. also, will likely pull out suitcases, see what clothes we're happy to recycle for 2 or 3 weeks, make sure we can fit them in suitcase, and will begin living out of said suitcase, that way closets are cleared out.)

#7. pack up kitchen stuff (except for one baking sheet, one frying pan, one sauce pan, a spatula, a spoon ... basically a few things that allow us to make food, both here when we're all packed up, and there when we're not yet unpacked. at this point, i may put these in a box or two so that the cabs are completely empty and can be cleaned, and on the last day, we can just tape the box closed and put it on top, clearly marked "KITCHEN: OPEN FIRST")

#8. pack up bathroom stuff (except for what i would put in a suitcase when i was going somewhere for 2 or 3 weeks ... so toothbrushes, toothpaste, body washes, razors, shampoos/conditioners, hair brush, mousse, gel, and lotion. again, i'll probably put these all in one of our reusable grocery bags, so that on the last day, we just put it in the car when we're ready to depart.)

#9. pack up lamps, lights, dvd player, linen closet, anything that's left "out" at this point.

#10. clear out closets. this step is mostly because when we moved to tucson, we still had a lot of stuff in boxes, so the stuff we knew we wouldn't unpack but wanted to keep, (books steve wouldn't need for school, my books on teaching high school math, etc), we shoved to the back of the closets. at this point in the packing, we will have uncovered these boxes and will be able to just move them from the back of the closet to the moving truck.

this is a rough outline, and i'm realizing that there are specifics that i haven't mentioned, but it at least gives you a flow.

at this point (about 4 weeks out from the move), i'm simultaneously working on #1 and #2. my hope is to accomplish these and begin #3 this weekend.

we are meant to be.

i wrote a whole bunch of posts back when we first visited baltimore, so i'm finally putting finger to keyboard and cursor to "publish" button. forgive me if these seem old, but i wanted to fill you all in :)

steve and i flew into baltimore last week so that he could hobnob with the hibbe to the hop kins people, and so i could do some real estate recon. [which is code for drive around for several hours a day getting an idea of the lay of the land.]

for all the flying i do, i'm pretty much always alone. [for example, of the 13 or so flight trips i've taken in the past 13 months, steve's only come with me once--and even then, it was only on the way to the location, not back too.] so i was pretty jazzed to have a companion :)

at security, he decided to pull out his laptop before we even got past the 1st initial guy that checks your id. i reminded him that he didn't need to do that yet and decided to challenge him to a race through security. even though i'm a jet-setter and all, we thought it would be fair since i had 2 carry-ons (he only had 1), and i had liquids (he didn't have any).

there were two lines to the x-ray. i chose the one with kids and he chose the one with the old men. it was neck and neck and i admit, i fumbled a little, trying to get the right number of plastic bins for my items to go through the x-ray. it was getting pretty exciting.

he made it through the x-ray first, and i thought *for sure* he was going to win ... but then, my bags made it through the scanner faster than his and i scrambled to get my laptop and liquids back in my bag, so that i could cross the finish line first.

"DONE!!" i nearly shouted as i whipped around to see if steve had beaten me to it.

he was standing at the counter, on the back end of the x-ray conveyor belt, and as i got closer, i saw a security agent pull a multi-tool / knife from his bag, to his sheer horror and embarrassment.

"HA!!" is all i could get out.

if ever there was any doubt, i can say with certainty, we are meant to be. :)

in other news, the threat level is orange.

the bejesus.

an actual conversation that took place this weekend...

me: (clearly uncomfortable) maybe i should take off the eight bras i'm wearing at once ... they're squeezing the bejesus out of me ... and i didn't even know that i had any bejesus in me.

steve: but bejesus lives inside you.

and then we laughed.

ok, so maybe it was funnier when my sports bra + regular bra were cutting off my ability to absorb oxygen and get it to my brain. or maybe i'm just over tired.

PS you may be wondering why in the name of Jesus i was even wearing more than one bra at once. don't ask. if you don't already know why, trust me--you don't want to.

i needed to hear this.

have you seen this? conan gives the commencement address at dartmouth. the first half is typical conan jokes. but the really fantastic part is begins around the 14 or 16 minute mark.




words i may have needed to hear two year ago ... once a week ... until ... well, i still need to hear those words every week or so.

one of my favorite lines, that *all* americans need to hear, and hold close to their hearts, is

"but that is not true. no specific job or career goal defines me, and it should not define you."

what a great commencement speech in today's world and economy, for the generation that is going to have to bear the weight of the baby boomers' self-centeredness. awesome.

oh beautiful for spacious skies.

something i won't miss about living in tucson is the fact that i often need to go to work *ridiculously* early to be able to work with people on the east coast. this is because in the summer half of the year, when everyone else is using daylight savings, we're aligned with the pacific timezone and three hours behind the east coast. which means if someone in new jersey wants to meet at 10a, i have to be up and mentally ready to meet at 7a.

this morning i was in my building at 4:15a. and it's the third morning in a row that i've been up and working by 5a. and while i'm *really* starting to feel it by the third day in a row (my brain's really fuzzy ... so fuzzy it even kinda hurts. if you can imagine that.) i decided to document the "up shot" of being in the office that early ... and i'm not even going to describe it to you ... i'm just going to show you ...

[the quality sucks because the windows are dirty and i took these with my cell phone, but you get the idea :) ]

 

the elephant in the blog.

ok, so the metaphor doesn't really work, does it?

well, by "the elephant in the room," i'm referring to the fact that i told you all the good news about hippetty hoppitty, and brought it up from time to time ... like when i divulged that i secretly wish i was a trucker ... or documented myself eating at my favorite phoenix restaurant for the last time ... or when i told you that i was going to start talking about things i would and wouldn't miss about AZ or tucson--and only did one post.

[i hope you realize that people who know what makes blogs profitable highly recommend having a central theme to your blog. i think my central theme is chaos. or maybe stream of consciousness. do they have a blogging conference for that? or a category of that type of blogs on blog networks, like blogher?? yeah ... notsomuch.]

so i feel like i need to start blogging about the elephant in the room. or rather, the elephant in my life ... our big move BACK across the vast land we call the states that are american and united.

and i chose that picture because the elephant is *crammed* into the board room. awesome.

and i chose the metaphor because honestly, i feel a little like the elephant in the room might be sitting on my chest. or at least trying to.

it's the *busiest* time of the year for me with work, and we're trying to simultaneously bring together all the details of this move. i'm going crazy with it all.

SOOOOOOO ... in an effort to put SOMETHING on this blog, since i'm putting an armistice on all decor projects, and since my work has me exhausted, and my evenings and weekends will be spent turning my life and home into a box farm ... i figured i'd bring you all along for the ride.

sounds fun, right?

well, i'm going to try to make it more fun that in sounds. we'll see how that goes. also, since this is my 2nd cross country self-move, i'm planning on sharing the mystique and adventure (read: how - to descriptions and deets).

kosher with you?

olfactory.

my boss smells awesome.

[see what i did there? i got *even* creepier. i'm trying to lose any readers i have. it's a strategy. trust me.]

seriously, though. whenever i would walk into her office, i would think "mmm, it smells good in here." not anything really pungent, just a nice, light wafting scent. and after a few times of noticing the subtle delight that was the scent of her office, i thought "hmm, does she have some kind of fantastic spa scented air freshener? glade plug in? i want that in my house!"

then one day, i was walking down the hall behind her, and i realized that *she* was what smelled *so* good. this was confirmed one morning when she walked by my office on the way to hers, and i then stepped out into the hall, (probably heading to a meeting or something), and smelled the lovely fragrance, wafting in the breeze behind her. [do not ... i repeat ... do NOT picture me standing alone in the hallway, nose in the air, eyes closed. i'm creepy. but not that creepy.]

so in a nutshell, i've been enjoying the scent of my boss for months. ok ... maybe more like over a year. as long as i've had the job?? she just smells good. in a nice, clean, soft kind of way.

things to know about this situation? well, i'd never asked her what fragrance she wore. also, she's probably about 15 years older than me, and european. i say all this to let you know that there are a number of cultural and language barriers. granted, i think that in our working relationship, we navigate them *extremely* well, but she's just not the kind of boss you chat with about your weekend. and i wouldn't ask her if she wanted to grab a drink on a friday after work.

and then, a few weeks ago, it hit me. if i'm ever going to find out the scent she wears, i *need* to ask, ASAP. and here's why ... because i'm moving to baltimore. and even though i will continue to work for my boss, can you imagine how unbelieveably weird it would sound for me to send her an email, from 3 timezones away, that says,

"Hi [insert boss name here],

I hope you are well, and that you had a lovely summer in Europe. I've been thinking lately about how good you always smelled and wondered if you'd be willing to share the name for the fragrance you wear.

I'm also planning a trip back sometime in October, will keep you posted so that we can set up an necessary meetings.

Best Wishes,
[ANN]"

is it just me, or am i the creepiest person ever?? i mean, who thinks about how their boss smells??? [i'd also like to point out that, yes, i do know the rules of capitalization. i told you that i had an english degree. i just *choose* not to capitalize. i'm a rebel like that.]

so, today was the last day that she and i had a scheduled meeting. and i knew that it was go time. now or never. lock and load. and so, i tried to suavely mention at the end of our meeting that i liked her perfume, and what was that that she wore?

at this point, i know *you* want to know too. and you can't even smell it.

she wears allure by chanel.

the add on the chanel site reads,

"clean and sheer. warm and sexy. difficult to define. impossible to resist."

all. too. true.

i forgot to title this. oops??

i shared this on fb awhile ago, but i think it's pretty funny, so i'll share it again here...

what can i say? he makes a mean iced coffee ... :)

and can you blame me? can't let that barrista training go to waste :)

note: if you've emailed me in the last 2 months, i've been a complete loser stopped checking my blog email. just wanted to let you all know that ... i've been a bit of an unreliable blogger lately :)

hitler & philosophy.

so when steve and i were living through the hell that is the graduate school application process, i began a number of deep blog posts that never saw the light of day.

they were full of musings about hope and despair, and a person's worth, and the will of God ... blah blah blah. [i can say that because it's *my* suffering i'm talking about, here.]

and i know that there are about a million youtube videos of hitler exclaiming his frustation via subtitle out there ... but this is worth watching.

just imagine a five foot tall woman who is new-york-italian in hitler's place, and you'll know all the angst and frustration i was feeling at that time that never made it into this here blog-o. and now that we have our happy little acceptance to hippety hopetty, along with funding, i can look back and smile. and post this crazy link instead of my earlier attempt to convey soul-crushing despair :)

and i would have embedded it, but youtube is full of jackwagonry today. fair warning: there's a lot of philosophy talk in there ... but for those of us non-philosophers, i tend to think it makes it even more funny :)

and you're welcome. :)

get my heart racing.

a friend shared this on facebook and it combines two of my all-time-favorite things:

#1. asian kids. (before you judge me for being some kind of weird reverse racist, you should know that my family adopted my little brother from korea, so i love asian kids because they're what is familiar to me. weird?? yes. normal?? yes.)

#2. glee. or more specifically, the warblers. because who doesn't love singing prep school boys? er ... i mean like when i was in high school. or if steve and i were to buy *those* kind of costumes. ok, i'm going to stop talking now.

let's just roll the tape, shall we?? and you'll understand what i mean...





it's a good thing i don't know where this kid lives, because i would be seriously tempted to steal him. i wish i *was* kidding. too creepy??

although, i don't know that i would let my little potential asian warbler sing things like "let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans."

see?? i can not only be creepy, but also judgy. that's how smooth i am.

wait ... what??

i had a lot of fun last week. a friend from ny was visiting and we did lotsa fun stuff.

and now i'm on a work trip, because with me, the fun just never stops. i'm like a constant party. true story.

so someday i'll blog again. maybe even tomorrow.

also? i made an *awesome* no-sew wrap thingy from a pin i saw on pinterest.

prepare to be amazed. that is, whenever i remember to put up a post about it.

ok, gotta go get in a car and drive across the state of arizona.

no. i'm not kidding. kinda wish i were.