Happy Birthday, Marmy

It's my gorgeous mom's b-day, and I'm so excited!

I'm excited because she is flying the whole family to Costa Rica this Friday to spend 9 days doing whatever we want!! WEEEEEEEEE!

it knits

i am dizzily knitting the side seams on my sweater, and trying my best to prevent bunching. i'm hoping for a beautiful end result. as many of you already know, i may be borderline obsessed with knitting. it is my favorite pastime, and i love to ponder new designs. unfortunately, i tend to get bored by with knitting the same design over and over, so i try to make a brand new, unique piece with each pattern i create. that said...

alli-knits is back! just in time for the snow. take a look-see at alli-knits.blogspot.com for all the deets.

clueless

i walked over the cvs pharmacy last night to buy a cheap little bottle of ibuprofen. while i was waiting in line, i noticed that the cashier was putting forth extra effort to make a customer at his register extra happy. i wondered if it was his first day, because he also seemed very flustered. the customer looked like your average 18-year-old-ish southern california girl: about 5'3'', tan, unnaturally blond, very short shorts, heavy eye makeup, gucci purse, and a hundred dollar bill in hand to buy a pack of cigarettes. normally, a cashier at a hollywood cvs would laugh in your face if you tried to pay with a hundo for about a five dollar total. this cashier, on the other hand, was unfazed. he just asked if she possibly had some pennies, so the change could come out beautifully even.

when the cashier next to them freed up, i realized i was next in line. i walked up to the middle aged woman behind the register, and she didn't acknowledge me. instead she went over to the register next to her, leaned over the counter to the hundo-ciggy girl and said excitedly "i just wanted to say hi! and you look beautiful like always!!" hundo-ciggy smiled and thanked the woman shyly. then my cashier came back to her post and said to me coolly, "hi, how are you." but she seemed flustered too! i heard giggling and whispers from people behind me-
"i wish i had my camera."
"i am going to take a picture."
"is that really her?"

i kept glancing at hundo-ciggy's face. i even took a couple of seconds to shamelessly stare at her as i dug into my deepest knowledge of Z-list celebrities, but i had nothing. this girl looked completely unfamiliar to me. now, i have purchased intouch weekly, and people, and us weekly, and (dare i say it?) star. with these mags under my belt, and the importance placed on celebrity in this town, why couldn't i figure out who the crap she was?

my transaction was complete before hundo-ciggy's, so i slowly walked to the exit. i loitered for a couple of seconds around the garbage can as she left. i got one last look at her as she climbed into her little honda suv, and drove off. i still didn't know.

i was too proud to walk into the cvs to find out who she was, plus i had a headache to attend to, so i went home. i am convinced that she was the one fooling us. did someone think she was famous, and that thought spread like wildfire? i mean this is california. did she just act like a celeb, or did these people know much more than me? i don't know if i saw someone famous at the cvs, but i am a little happy to say that i just don't know, because it just doesn't matter. if this would have been anne hathaway, though, i'd probably shed tears of joy.

ps-a homeless man complimented me on my "bibs" (carhartt overalls), so take that hundo-ciggy!

hollywoodland

built in 1920

exposed brick

hardwood floors

huge pedestal sink

two closets

no kitchen

enormous window

shotty wiring

fountained courtyard

20 steps to the walk of fame

eccetric neighbors

expensive food

hot hot days

smog blurring views

gorgeous sunsets

wig shops

movie script libraries

sushi

sirens

kodak, pantages, chinese, & egyptian theatres

tattoos

cigarette smoke

hustlers

entertainers

beggars

tourists

homeless

opportunity?

a new year

my week in utah with my family was perfect. i never knew how much i loved my family until i was away from them for seven freaking months. that won't happen again!

i turned 27 on saturday, and it was the first time in my life i felt "older." brighton high school is performing grease, and i can't help but wonder if enough time has passed since i did grease there. lately i've been throwing pity parties, and i'm the only guest. i wallow and wonder and wait for . . . something? why do we do that to ourselves? i realize now that if i'm going to throw any party, there better be some awesome people there to party with. those people are my incredible siblings, sophisticated parents, inspiring niece and nephew, and amazing friends.

my favorite times with my family were and are when we sit around and discuss politics. we are all fairly moderate (i am probably the most "out there"), so we can easily and intellectually hash out the issues and candidates. i feel lucky that none of us buy into rush limbaugh or keith olbermann's biases. i feel so inspired to continually present my point of view, but i want to be so careful that i'm always educated. i don't want to be someone that votes against something just because i'm unsure. i want to always be sure i know what's going on. this election was so wonderful to be a part of, and i am so impressed with john mccain's concession speech. i can't help but wonder why he didn't use more of that in his compaign...but i am excited that both he and barack obama encouraged all of us to come together as americans. it's been awhile since i've felt patriotic, so i'm trying to revel in this new found pride.

salt lake sweater

while i hang out with my awesome family and friends in utah, i will be furiously knitting this perfect sweater. now i'm off to see ya'll...

one week

i have been in here for seven days, and i am still completely in love with southern california. i have had some pretty amazing apartment prospects, but the job hunt is still a bit tricky. i am still reeling from my skagway work, so l feel fairly comfortable with not working for a little bit, but that's hard for some potential landlords to understand. while i am trying to fit into this new world, i am desperate for my family in the slc. therefore, i'm going home for my birthday! please, contain your excitement. i will be home from tuesday to tuesday (which is actually quite convenient, because i don't think salt lake county received my absentee ballot request, so i can vote in person! gobama! ) if you call utah home, let's do lunch!! can't wait to see you...until then, i will be working on a california tan (or at least a bit of color, so i don't frighten my niece and nephew with my ghostly appearance. meh. it's halloween...) XO!