December 29th, 2006 Rachel
Well, I’m guessing this will be my last post of the year, as I’m full of the sniffles and am looking forward to a nice long weekend spent with my family. But I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on a pretty wickedly great year.
This time last year I had wrapped up my exams and had moved into my second apartment. Harley had just turned 6 months old and Adam and I could no longer remember what life was like without the kitty clan. Snow and ice, parties and get togethers, chocolate banana cake and lots of photos later we landed on the other side of winter.
School was done before I knew it. The first two years…snail’s pace. That last term, it’s a blur. I had some fantastic professors, wrote about things I truly cared about (novel idea…I know…) but was excited to wrap things up and put my work at MusicIP into full time, full gear.
I don’t know how we did it, but within a month we packed up our things, found someone to take over our lease, and stuffed our car full of kitties and clothes.
Oh, did I forget to mention we got married somewhere in there too?
In the span of a week, Adam and I merrily called our closest friends to tell them we were engaged…having an engagement party (well, there was a BBQ that had turned into an engagement party…thank you Phil!)…and were getting married the next day.
It was odd, thrilling, and lovely all at the same time. Not a wedding, but a “civil union day”…before we knew it, and before we could even get used to saying “My fiance(e)”, we were officially stuck with each other. And we have 802 photos to prove it. 
But that’s only the beginning of that story…we’ve been haphazardly planning the “real” big, ol’ white dress and all wedding for next August. I’m behind. I know this…and yet, I’m not stressed. I fear this could possibly come back to haunt me in the new year…
But I digress.
In May our lives changed completely. Away from home, away from family, away from friends. We’ve set up a cozy apartment in Pasadena, a town we love. I mean love. Los Angeles as a whole…take it or leave it. But Old Town Pasadena…can’t get enough of it.
Living together, driving in to work together, working together, hanging out on weekends together. We see each other a lot. More than we saw each other 3-4 years ago…which was more of a question of ‘will I see you this week?’ And thankfully, we wouldn’t (or at least I wouldn’t!) have it any other way…otherwise I don’t think we would have made it across the country in the Matrix, let alone through the last eight months.
It’s still an adjustment being down here. We still miss “home”. But thankfully we love what we do, have an office that is a fun place to work, and we still find a little time for a little fun when we’re not working.
It’s been a good year. Can’t wait to see what 2007 brings.
Posted in Personal | 2 Comments »
December 28th, 2006 Rachel
I love how actual research and logical reasoning gets turned into a catchy headline.
Tweet.
Posted in Animals, Random | No Comments »
December 27th, 2006 Rachel
New music to check out, this week from:
-The Morning After Girls
-The Wrens
-Uncut
As always, thank you Promonet…
Posted in Music | No Comments »
December 27th, 2006 Rachel
My turn, tagged by Rachel (fancy that?).
1. I can “sing” (I’m using that term very loosely) the 50 United States of America alphabetically…possibly the only thing retained from the 4th grade (cursive did not stick, sadly).
2. My first “real” kiss was by the River Thames. I married him six years later (almost to the day).
3. I decided to fast track through high school at the last minute…i.e. in the middle of October I dropped two of my five classes, and picked up three new ones. That final year also happened to be the first year I worked, was in a long term relationship, and held the highest grade point average of my pre-university academic years. Go figure.
4. I have a terrible memory for numbers (phone numbers, addresses, postal codes, you name it) and album track listings (I don’t even think I could correctly rhyme off one of them).
5. The song She Drives Me Crazy still reminds me of car rides with my dad when I was just a young’un…
Next! I tag: Adam, Slava, Jenny, Wendell, and Dave.
(photo by Peter Morgan from Beijing, China)
Posted in Blogging, Personal, Random | 11 Comments »
December 27th, 2006 Rachel
I could keep this post really short and just sum up my thoughts with our neighbors are judgmental scum and I’m gullible and in too much of a hurry.
But where’s the fun in that?
Suffice to say, what I perceived as “oooh’ing and aaaah’ing at Harley’s wiggly nature” was actually them thinking “Wow, that dog is crazy hyper.”
This train of thought led to, “These people don’t know what they’re doing. Let us help them. They need a book…yes, a book. A book about dog behaviour. With a section on crazy, hyperactive, unhappy dogs. Aw, shucks - that section is toward the back…we should bookmark it with a paperclip so they don’t miss it. Make sure it’s a red and white candycane stripped paperclip! There. Now that ought to do it. Happy Holidays!”
For anyone who knows “little dogs”, they tend to have lots of energy. So much so, that on a continuum of little dog energy, I’d say Harley falls more in the half asleep category than the head-is-going-to-explode-with-energy end. We had just come home, the pup was anxious to get outside, and his exuberance usually lasts for about 20 minutes, depending on how many people are around. He wiggles, he plays hard to get ’catch me’ games (Thanks, Tadpole!), and he likes to think that he’s bigger and more impressive than he actually is (again…little dog, people) but he’s also barely over a year old and petite.
It disappoints me that what seemed like a generous, thoughtful gift turned into preachy judgement (I really can’t think of a better word to describe it than that). I’ve been around dogs, cats, horses, you name it, my entire life. I’ve known happy, sad, energetic, and sorely depressed animals. Harley may be quirky, but it seems unfair to label him a headcase after one (ONE!!) encounter.
So now…I’m unimpressed and looking forward to ignoring my new neighbors (sigh…life in a large apartment building goes on…).
Posted in L.A., Personal, Pets | 2 Comments »
In the span of a week, Adam and I merrily called our closest friends to tell them we were engaged…having an engagement party (well, there was a BBQ that had turned into an engagement party…thank you Phil!)…and were getting married the next day. 
