The Santaland Diaries Last year, my family and I saw The Santaland Diaries (@PCS), which had to be one of the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.

Side note: Now, I know people use this expression quite freely and, thus, it has lost some of its meaning over time. Believe me when I tell you, this is one of the funniest things I have seen in my 24 years of existence.

So, on the eve of Christmas Eve, I leave you with this excerpt from Crumpet the Elf:

Twenty-two thousand people came to see Santa today, and not all of them are well-behaved.

Today, I witnessed fist fights and vomiting and magnificent tantrums. The back hallway was jammed with people. There was a line for Santa and a line for the women’s bathroom, and one woman, after asking me a thousand questions already asked, which is the line for the women’s bathroom? And I shouted that I thought it was the line with all the women in it. And she said, I’m going to have you fired. I had two people say that to me today, I’m going to have you fired. Go ahead, be my guest.

I’m wearing a green velvet costume. It doesn’t get any worse than this. Who do these people think they are? I’m going to have you fired, and I want to lean over, and say I’m going to have you killed.

Merry Christmas.

things I love about the holiday season:

  1. hot cocoa + peppermint schnapps = toasty
  2. profile pics w/ironic photoshopped santa hats
  3. friends coming home from the far, far corners of the earth
  4. the yule log burning on the flat screen
  5. the christmas story on repeat for a full 48 hours
  6. exchanging gifts with family, friends, and the boyfriend
  7. a new year with new resolutions (which I have no illusions of keeping)

did I forget anything? OH! a special 2011 event (well, technically it will be 2012): adventures at the rose bowl with little sister.

Jobs

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

My favorite Ari Gold moment of all time. Why must all good things come to an end?

Things that happened this weekend:

rainonwindow

It rained. A lot. Did someone forget to tell Mother Nature that it's July?

stack of books

I read 2.5 books. See previous picture.

HP7.2

It ended. We toasted victory with contraband wine.

Ben and Elissa

Spent a super lazy/perfect Sunday with the boyfriend.

Hope Solo

The USA lost to Japan.

shanty town

My dad bought a Nissan Xterra... my mom bought a shanty town to trail behind it.

duplex

Shayla + I found a great 2br/1ba duplex. We submitted our rental apps. Now we're anxiously waiting by the phone like giggly school girls waiting for the football captain to call and ask us to prom. I hope he calls soon.

BetseyYes, I have a brand new car. And yes, it gets fantastic gas mileage. But I’m still riding the MAX to work and this is why …

I stopped driving to work when I realized that the never-ending construction on MLK & Grand was sending me to an early grave. Not just because of the skyrocketing blood pressure from moving less than a mile in 20+ min. But, also because the likelihood of me ramming full speed into the next person who cut me off was almost guaranteed. Combine that with the rising gas prices, and, my friends, the MAX just seemed like a better option. Especially since my work pays for my monthly MAX ticket. So basically it’s $4 (maybe $5 soon) a gallon + impending car repair (from teaching someone a valuable lesson), or free. Hmmmm, tough choice.

So now I drive my new little Yaris a smooth and enjoyable two miles to the park-and-ride, before loading on like cattle with my fellow commuters for a 30 minute ride from the suburbs to the city. Most people do their best to keep their iPods at a reasonable level and avoid eye contact at all costs. I like this about my fellow commuters. Perhaps there will be some stories to come, so stay tuned.

Camera Tattoo Road Less Traveled TattooWild Things Tattoo Anchor TattooQuotes TattooMap Tattoo

Well here we are, in the middle of a typical Oregon Spring — aka another depresSPRING. While our Cali neighbors to the south are unpacking their flower dresses and espadrilles from storage, we still find ourselves sprinting from front door to car door with our jackets pulled up to protect our freshly straightened hair. Just me? Well, it is decidedly less glamourous. But rain or no rain, fashion marches on into summer collections.

And as much as I try to pretend I like shopping for “cute” rain boots (an oxymoron if you ask me), flipping through the magazines with all the bronze skin bathed in sunlight is almost too much too handle for this Oregonian. Le sigh.

…which makes it all the more difficult to keep my promise to lead a tanning bed-free life. Don’t get me wrong, I was never “Jersey Shore” tan(orange), but nonetheless, with all the studies showing the scary stats about tanning –> skin cancer, I have chosen to cut. it. out.

So here’s to self-control + a summer filled with sunshine, outdoor activities and sunscreen.

I heard some people didn’t have President’s Day off yesterday, and usually I don’t get a lot of holidays off, but I counted myself among the lucky ones yesterday. So this weekend I ventured south for the UO v. OSU basketball game and some quality time with the boyfriend + little sister + Eugene friends.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit, I did not spend a lot of time at Mac Court, but I was floored at how amazing Matt Court is. These two photos barely scratch the surface of how crazy awesome the new arena is, so I have another visual aid to offer. I didn’t think to take photos of the leg room space or concourse width at each arena, but a quick comparison on mactomatt.net illustrates just how wide and luxurious each seat and hallway is. Perhaps you’re curious about the bathroom? Question no longer. Now go forth and explore from MAC to MATT.

Mac Court

Mac Court. credit: AP

Matt Court

Matt Court. credit: me

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