Summer's Stuff

Happy Birthday Me!

Another year older, folks. :) I'm 23! And BOY HAS THIS BEEN AN EXCITING YEAR (wow- they just get better, don't they?).

But first- let's take a look back:

Me a Year Ago at a young 22

Me now!:

Actually, there isn't too much of a difference- just better lighting.

And, for the final unvieling (the semi-worldwide premiere)... everybody meet my baby- my tatto:

Isn't it cute?

"What is it? What does it mean?" you ask... well, I'll tell you. For one thing, it's a crescent moon. For another:

Symbolism:
-I am a cancer (crabs rule!) and the moon is my symbol
-The moon is black in honor of Eclipse (she was black, and when there is an eclipse the moon tunrs black)
-A crescent moon is the sign of youth... it's not complete. It's a reminder to myself that I'm still young, and that I need to have more patience because my whole life is still ahead of me.
-And honestly, I just think it's pretty. :)

Picture this: Small, dank tattoo shop. 2 overgrown mustachioed men with skin graffiti all over, a gleeful Finnish bystander, and a scared Filipino girl.

:)

I'd like to think it would be the type of story you would tell you grandkids. It wasn't. The two guys were really pleasant (they were joking around the whole time), Myra (the Finnish bystander- Miska's sister, here for a visit) was cringing and giggling and taking pictures, and I was sucking on a lollipop they gave me and trying not to look. I had already spent an hour or so drawing, erasing, then redrawing the thing on my wrist (my tattooist and Myra even went outside to smoke while they were waiting) and so by the time he started I was more tired than scared. The whole process took about 2 minutes and there was maybe only a speck of blood on my bandaid afterwards.

And it hurt. Bad.

You know that feeling you get the MOMENT a needle pricks the crook of your arm, sucking your life's blood away? Well, multiply that one mili-second by a billion, and send the sum scratching away at a sharpie pattern on the surface of your skin. Most people say it doesn't hurt, but they have to be lying.

BUT it didn't hurt so much that I was crying or wanted to stop. I even want to get another one!

It was definitely worth it. If you've been wanting one for a while I highly recommend that you go for it- I'll even hold you hand! (I do not agree with spur of the moment ones, though.) :) Anywhoo... some pics:

Okay, so let's get on with story time... I did a lot for my birthday. This year's birthday was so much fun it almost covered up the disappoinment of not being about to spend it with my family (note to self: when rich, bring your family with you).

My group at work (Bryan Yum and his minions) all got together and secretly devised a plan to surprise me on Friday- since my birthday was a Sunday- with a small party and a big present. The present? A black Motorola itunes SLVR phone.

Dream workmates, anyone?

Well, I basically ruined it all. On Wednesday E! Entertainment had it's annual wireless day, where all the local wireless networks sent representatives to offer discounts and (gasp- cheap or free phones!) to us E! folk. I- before I knew of any bday plans and being the ever optimist- decided to stop by and see if maybe a SLVR phone might, just might, be cheap enough for my to afford.

yeah right.

These phones can go up to $300 on the market. At Wireless Day they were half off at $150. My budget? About $5.

So i left it a little disappointed and went back to work, thinking maybe I could get the CHEAPER, refurbished one on cingular.com. Well, good thing I'm a public whiner... Bryan, Grace, and James heard me and barraged me with reasons to stop me from buying it. (They honestly almost had me convinced that it was a terrible phone at one point.)

Apparently, though, aside from not wanting me to purchase the phone myself, the reason why they stopped me was because this was a deal for THEM as well. So they sauntered on back while I was grumbling and tried to buy one for me. No luck. It turns out that the only way you get that deal is if you sign up for 2 more years with Cingular, and since they were not me they could not make that call.

SO, distressed, they came back up and confessed all to me. I was ecstatic.... but poor everyone else was sad. The surprise was ruined... lololol

(but I was ecstatic)

So I got myself a new, awesome, phone. And not just any phone- but an ITUNES PHONE (which means I basically got a high grade phone and a low-memory ipod in one!). SWEET!

They were all nice though... even though i got my present on Wednesday they all still surprised me on Friday. Firstly they make my cubicle look like Hello Kitty and Pink had a throw-up contest on top of it:

then secondly they all gathered in a conference room and surprised me with a devilishly delishious RED VELVET cake from Doughboys (my favorite cake, and Oprah's too).

MMMMmmmm! AWESOME. (I'm actually salivating as I write this)

Honestly- I couldn't get anymore work done that day. I was so happy I could burst. (Thank you again, workmates!)

Then, that night Peter surprised me with an impromtu Chocolate Mousse cake from Marie Callendars! ooohhh yyyeaahhhh...

But that's not all folks. Saturday night comes around, and guess what? At midnight (as I work at my desk at home) I hear singing behind me and Andy, Peter, and Miska come in bearing wine and singing Happy Birthday (see about movie).

And on SUNDAY Miska and Peter take me out for lunch. OMG SO GOOD. We went to Aroma cafe- a cute little place that apparently only the hip artsy type know about- and they paid for everything... I had a burger (which I had to eat with a knife and fork it was so big), fries, and a taste or two of some of the greatest cakes I've ever laid eyes on:

The front is french vanilla w/chocolate, the back is PEANUT BUTTER!!

And, to top it all off, we went bowling!

Flourescent shoes are in style...

Peter was so good at bowling it wasn't even funny. His ball was like machine gun bullet after machine gun bullet trained on one spot. Miska was pretty awful at first, but in the end he almost gave Peter a run for his money... let's say he's a VERY QUICK learner.

And me?

Well... my first time up I got a strike. After that, the only time I even HIT pins was if I fell while throwing... *sigh*

I suck.

Good job Miska!

Look at how FAST that thing is going...

:)

Promises:
-I WILL talk about my trip to New York in the next week. Sorry for the wait :)
-I WILL try to stop listening to the awesome sounds coming from my itunes phone 24 hours of the day... especially while roommates are sleeping
-I WILL NOT splurge any longer on cakes... but that doesn't stop me from looking :)

OMG, I think I've been typing for an hour. I gotta go... but, since I just recently discovered the benefits of youtube, I MUST leave you with some great home videos that show what has happened over the last year :)

Enjoy!