My hubby bought me an awesome pair of boots the other day. I was so happy. I nearly cried! When I worked for myself, made my own money, and was unattached, I spent my money on my car payment, movies, and a few other things that I wanted. I never really thought about the shoes on my feet. I never looked into what Christian Louboutin specials I could get my hands on. I am glad that my husband thinks about everything, not just what we have to do as a married couple, but everything down to my very feet. Thanks again, hubs!!!
When I was a desk jockey in San Francisco, I frequently changed my desktop image to something happy and tropical because I was, well - unhappy & cold. Now that I'm back in Hawaii, I wanted to put some images out into the internets, in case anyone out there is searching for warm, flowery, happy, tropical, Hawaii wallpaper:
Making a list, checking it twice... How's your holiday shopping going? Who's left on your list?
Thanking God, Gamestop, and Sears sales...we are done all shopping for Christmas. Thanks to Amazon, Best Buy, Gamestop, and our dear friends: we have all our family presents for us 3 for Christmas.
After seeing and being out in all this:
UGH! My husband and I watched this movie last night and I was not impressed. It was like Nick Cage took his Face Off character and went retarded with it. It is not for children at all. I do not recommend anyone to see it ever. I think it should be burned. Just because Nick Cage and Eva Mendez are in it, as well as a few other good actors, it isn't worth the time. It was horrendous, and I can't even tell you all the details as to why. It was just BAD in general. The ending was worse. Just terrible. The only good part about the movie was the twist in the story, even though you couldn't really understand all the stuff around it, and the credits rolling.
What would it take to get you to start a new life on a new world?
Sponsored by AVATAR. In theaters December 18. Buy tickets now.
The end of the one I currently live in... LOL
Just hand me a toothbrush and an extra pair of skivvies and I should be just fine :P
As the pipe clamp blisters began to pop and heal on my hands, I knew I was in a race against myself to find my next gig in woodworking. I had just quit my job after I was put on a mandatory 72-hour work week schedule, which was neither safe nor necessary in the warehouse where I was a full time furniture maker. From my first taste of sawdust, I was hooked. I loved everything about it, especially the aches & pains associated with putting in a hard day of manual labor.
I had moved thousands of miles from my industrial Michigan factory roots, only to go to college and decide the blue collar life is what I wanted. I quit my job, only when it was obvious that it would either kill or permanently injure me...but it was still one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. Besides the fact that I love it, I realize now how wrapped up I was in the identity of being just one thing...In my working life, I have always had to have at least three side hustles going on and I've done everything from nude modeling, to being a maid, a well-paid executive assistant, an extra in movies, a make-up artist, to an apprentice sander in a woodshop.
When I call home to update my family, typically, whatever it is I describe is met with unconditional love & acceptance, even if there is a tinge of it not necessarily being understood. As a woodworker, I was finally able to align myself with an identity - one thing that I loved being and doing...and it was so much easier to explain that!
Predictably, when the job fell apart, I scrambled for any paying gig I could find on craigslist. As it turns out, it was a good time to be involved with film making and I even signed up for acting classes. Being involved in the process is as exciting as it seems like it would be - even the long hours of waiting, while being completely dressed to the nines for a 6:00 a.m. call time, shouldn't be exciting, but it still is.
Around this time I also found work as a fit model, working for a local design house. It's a job that pays very well but the work is inconsistent. Still, I am extremely thankful to have it, even if it is a bit weird for me to use it as an identifier at the dentist's office and have the receptionist squeal and ask me a bunch of questions about the job. That's a rock star moment, I'm not going to lie, but it's completely foreign to me to identify myself as "model" in any capacity...especially when "factory rat" was a closer signifier just weeks ago.
I'm not sure if all the discomfort in lacking a fixed occupation or identity squarely rests on my shoulders, or if I am reacting to other people's confusion when I try to explain, "Well, I'm actually a furniture maker, but I'm out of work, so I'm doing the acting and modeling thing, while looking for another woodworking gig." Who does that? I'm not sure if I even understand myself anymore.
In the long run, it's probably a good thing that I am so versatile & adaptable - I always have something relevent for any type of resume I'm creating for myself (and I have at least 3); but I long for the day when I have a short answer to the question, "So what do you do?"
Was it a man or a woman or a man dressed like a woman? It was scary looking, either way:
What are your plans for Christmas? Ours are tentative, at best. We want to go to NJ and visit family on Christmas Day, then come right back to NY. I don't know yet, though. I know we are going to see the tree in Manhattan, but not sure what day. Trying to talk the hubs into going today, as this day is the only guaranteed day this week that there will be no snow or rain or extremely frigid air to walk in. I am allergic to walking in the cold *literally, though I have never met another person with the same allergy*, so I have to plan any trips where there is a lot of walking in cold temperatures so that I have ample time to walk slow and sit places that are warm. I also have to wear about 3 pairs of socks to extend the time between having to rest. It's crazy! Anywho....
