DONE!!!

After a week of working and reworking my statement of purpose for graduate school, it is done and my application has been mailed in! I had no doubt that I would make it before the deadline, but for a procrastinator like myself, having it done weeks ahead is icing on the cake. Speaking of cake, my friend just called asking about roasting Brussels sprouts and now I will go reward myself with some celebratory Brussels sprouts (yes, I am serious).

Before I forget, here are some photos of the last couple weeks.

Celebrating my birthday with my friends at Cato's.

Erica and Brett add the final touches to a greek salad for the lunch we catered.



My friend Amy and I took a trip up to Dry Creek in wine country last Saturday. The mustard was out and looking beautiful!

Statement of Purpose

It is amazing how I find time to blog when avoiding other things. For the past week I have been writing and editing my statement of purpose for my grad school application. This is also the 3rd time this week I have written on my blog. Considering I normally go months without writing, I think there might be some correlation.

Anyway, I'm close to being done and will hopefully send it in tomorrow. Then I can get back to real life stuff... you know, laundry, dishes, going to the gym, etc. Now don't get me wrong. I haven't been plowing away at this 24/7 for the last week. I write a bit, edit, get sick of looking at it, and then maybe watch an episode of Psych or the Office... you know, for a treat.

One great thing about this is that this will be one of the first times in my life when I haven't waited until the last minute to do something! As a unashamed procrastinator, I think something might be wrong with me.... the application isn't due until April 1. I think the real motivation that I am really looking forward to being able to study something I am passionate about and will do my best to make it happen.

I keep trying to come up with some reward to motivate me to finish. I thought about getting a massage or facial, but after many days of pushing myself to sit down and write, I've realized that just being accepted to the program is the best motivation!

Not that I'd have a problem with a facial, too! ;)

I So Good

Today as I was walking the 3 blocks from Office Depot back to my office, a man yelled something out his car window to me. Now, it's not like this has never happened to me before, but he really made me think. There I am, trudging back from Office Depot, arms full of bulky supplies and he says to me, "Hey Mami, you so good!" Initially I thought, 'yeah, whatever,' as I felt quite grubby after a casual day at the office. Then I decided not to write him off so quickly.

So this is for you, man who yelled out your window while driving up Gilman.

Why yes, indeed I am so good. I so good for getting recycled paper hand towels for the office bathroom, so we don't have to have wet hands. I so good for restocking the office with more printer paper, so that we never have to worry about running out. Spot on sir.

I so good!!!

London Calling

Well, I think it is about time that I posted some pictures from my trip to London, so here they are! I met up with a former office buddy and friend, Amy, and we were lucky enough to stay with our friend Marianna and her husband Pat, who are living there for the next 3 years. We are already planning a return trip! One thing that made this trip special was being able to get a glimpse of everyday life. Sure we did some touristy things, but we were also able to explore the farmers' markets, buy fresh food, and cook our own meals at home. To sum it all up, we didn't just run around and 'see' London, we got to experience London! If you are planning a trip anytime soon, I have many off the radar places to recommend. Some of my favorites were Notting Hill's Books for Cooks, a cookbook store filled with friendly people who love to cook and savoy smells from the cafe in back! Another must is the free hourly tours at the Victoria and Albert museum. Our tour guide was so interesting and informed, that we stayed on for her second tour afterwards.

The sights.....



Abbey Road- I came here on my last day on my walk back from the Marylebone farmers market.

St. James' Palace from the park.

Where umbrellas go to die.

Marianna and Amy in Picadilly Circus

Stunning!

Wall of bread at a french cafe near Maida Vale.



Fun discoveries at Borough Market!!!

Passwords

I was trying to login to post some comments on a blog or two, and realized what a crazy amount of passwords and user names I am expected to remember these days. Let's see, we have:

Facebook
2 Emails
Myspace- I can remember the password in order to cancel this, since I haven't used it in years
Blog
Bank
Quicken online
Amazon
Ebay
Kaiser
AT&T
Itunes
paypal

Not to mention the ones I use at work:
Issue Management - 2 different ones
Online bills - 2 different accounts
FedEx
Test registrations for different software we are working on- at least 5-6 username/passwords

What really gets me is when you request a password reminder and then are required to change that password to something completely different. Sometimes I have to wonder if my 'secret password' is all that necessary. In fact, I kind of wish every now and then we could do a spring cleaning to weed out all unnecessary online accounts and start with a clean slate. Or at least wipe out my memory of all passwords so I wouldn't spend 15 minutes going repeatedly trying to get the right password/username combo.

26 by 26

OK, so I've done something like this a few years back and of course thought I would try again. The deal is that I come up with 26 things I'd like to do before I turn 26 (mid Feb). I got all motivated and made a list of long term goals, daily challenges, and even just some simple tasks I've been putting off. I like lists, so I thought it was great that I would have one long list of things to do and then I'd just cross them off one after another.
The problem with this plan was that while I didn't have to commit as much time to this as say, a new years resolution, I still have a problem with putting things off. It has been about 2 weeks now and I have realized that I don't need to complete every single thing on my list. It would be nice if I did some of them, but I'd much rather do them at my own pace. Also, after a few weeks of trying to do these, I've been able to see what habits were easily incorporated into my life and what will most often fail. Now that I have a realistic look at things, I present to you my updated list!

1. Clean Car- This is mostly clean, all I need to do is vacuum!
2. Sign up for Cultural Geography Course- Apparently the class I was going to take was canceled. I'll have to see if there are any other options
3. Sign up for a Century or Tri- I think I will do Tour de Cure with my dad... any one interested in the Golden Gate Triathlon?
4. Research and get a new bike
5. Back up computer - I need to save my files!!
6. Organize budget and finances - save up money for school... and fun trips!
7. Clean out closet - I've already gone through clothes to donate.
8. Sew my quilt - It is kind of a hideous quilt I started a while back... not sure I want to finish it.
9. Fix pants- I made some pants for someone last year and they were too small...
10. Swim- I'd like to go swimming once a week
11. Blog- I'd like to try and blog once a week
12. Write personal statement- for grad school
13. Finish the book Guns Germs and Steel
14. Go to the gym more - I would have said 3x/4x week, but I know my schedule can change often.
15. Floss daily
16. Lose X lbs- TBD

There are many other things I'd like to do, but I figure I should aim for what I can achieve rather than setting my expectations so high that I will almost certainly fail.

hmm.. 16 by 26... that has a nice ring to it!

Wow, I smell some good Chinese food wafting down the street. Maybe my March challenge should be to cook an international meal each week!

Italian Food Weather?

What a contrast is from the last time I posted. With weather in the high 60's and even up to the 70's I feel like someone has plucked us from mid-January and dropped us in May! As I write this, I am sitting on the front porch of our apartment in shorts, watching the golden red leaves of the tree ignite with light as the sun goes down. Today my boss and I ditched out of the office early... It was an afternoon not to be spent in a stuff building.
Around 3 today, Erica came by the office and we went down to the Berkeley Marina to walk by the bay and talk about her wedding plans. On our way back to the office she got a call from a new voice student who had arrived to the lesson early. So she wouldn't have to go out of her way, I hopped out of the car and walked about 1/2 mile back to the office. There was something wonderful about strolling past gardens and houses on a warm summer ... I mean winter day. I saw a side of that neighborhood that I really hadn't expected. On the quiet street I saw cared for gardens, unique houses, and a few parents walking their preschoolers home. Maybe I should try picking random corners to hop out at and see what I can find.
For the past few days I could tell the weather was playing tricks with my mind. I can get rid of this urge I have to cook homemade Italian food, serve it to all of my friends in the warm evening air, and end the evening of good cheer with a sip of homemade Limoncello under a glow of lanterns. Call me crazy, but every afternoon I want to do that. The problem with this weather trickery is that the Sun hasn't changed its habits, and still sets around 5pm. What can I say... I'm ready for SUMMER!!!!
Of course, this weather does cause a predicament for some of us. In addition to our state desperately needing some good rain and snow to get us out of the drought, next week a bunch of us are going up to Tahoe to ski. I think it might turn into a biking and kayaking trip if things don't get back to normal.