What are you doing?

Bella... Italian... and Vietnam's Dirty Dishes

We went downtown today to look for houses. All of the sudden, we're in buy mode and we're searching.

The Bella Part of The Story

We started looking around Colin's neighborhood and in Bella Vista and surrounding (going East). Everything seemed expensive. In fact, we went into an open house and could not believe it.

It was on a bad street, first of all. The kind with a few delapaded buildings and kids hanging out of dark oopen doors with TV's on way too loud (and way too long). A real "stoop" kind of street with an abandoned lot filled with cars and a very trashy BBQ. But Mike and I could see right passed it and were (actually) kind of excited knowing full well the value of the house would be affected by the neighborhood.

We went in and I could not believe my eyes. Everything had been freshly "redone". IN fact, to go upstairs, we had to take off our shoes so as not to stain the new rugs. As we entered the front door, we were greeted by a freshly LOWERED ceiling in a sparkley stucco style. The walls were covered with brand new grey wood paneling, printed wiht far too much texture, accented with a gigantic floor to ceiling pinkish mirror. Enter into the microscopic dining room with plastic "snowflake trim" dripping off the sparkley ceiling. Bad fake flower arrangements were scattered around the kitchen, and some kind of insane lace curtain.

After taking off our shoes (so as not to staing the pukish, beige rug), we went upstairs through the trinity. I was mentally tearing the house apart thinking that , if we buy it, what a waste it was that they did all this work. At the top of the stairs Mike told me the "Asking Price".

310,000

I was like "let's get out of here". As soon as we got downstairs (as I'm making a b-line out the door) the agent looked at me squre in the eye and said "of course, ANY offer will be entertained". I'm thinking, would like 60,000 be entertained?

The sad part of the whole thing is that I saw the sellers and I could tell we were exactly who they had in mind as buyers. They "upgraded" hoping to impress some small, white yuppie family. The problem is that I can't imagine anyone willing to spend that much on a house actually spending that much on this house -- due in part to how ugly the style was. But the people were proud of the place and that's what made it kind of sad.

The Vietnam Part of The Story

We walked on (all this occuring with Colin the GREAT) and eventually made our way down to Washington where we got Vietnamese. Colin had been to this one place and said it was pretty good. Mike wanted to try a different place so we went next door to this (seemingly) fancier restaurant that was totally empty. When we sat down, the cups and plates (literally) were dirty. We decided to go.

We went next store to the place Colin had originally been to and it was FABULOUS! We were the only non-Asians in the place. It was So, So good. Colin and I got soup and Mike got a vermichelli dish. The tea was delish and the conversation with Colin was, as always, amazing. We left stuffed with a small girl that looked like a boy wearing a shirt that said something about her being a girl was saying hi to a delirouslly happy Emmett.

The Italian Part of The Story

Mike kind of forced us to do it. I went begrudgingly. He wanted to find some Mexican restaurant South of Washington, and I was just like ugh. We trekked down there and on the way were looking at the dozens of vacant store fronts. All of teh sudden, in the middle of it all, was this shop. This little hairdresser--spray painted silver and looking EXACTLY like a store from South Street in the old days. All of the sudden, Mike and I knew what we wanted and where.

I believe that area is the next South Street. We're looking for a storefront building ON 9th street passed Washington and near Genos. Those places are open 24 hours. Another great sign.

So that's it. That's our lives.
Emmett is cuter than ever. He says "ca" now (trying to say cat) and "mamamama" and "dada". The other day we thought he said "Aunt Ana". As crazy as it is, I'm serious. He's definately a drummer. He's definately intelligent. I put my fingers in his mouth to see how his teeth are coming in and he puts his fingers in my mouth and smiles. He feels my gums and then my teeth.

I got two new clients this week. That was totally God. He's with us again and our lives are getting better.
Much more is happening, but I can't write anymore.

Tony Hawk on a Friday Night.

It's a break is how I think of it.

A boring weekend. That's what I want. Nothing to do except be with Mike anD Emmett.

Hey, here's one of those e-mail smiley faces...look. :D
That's a very cute one.

The lighting in here is bad. Tony Hawk is still on the screen. I have my barefeet up on the table with my tank top kind of riding up my stomach, and I look beautifully white trash.

Mike is now looking at loans. We are ready to buy a house. Maybe 2 doors away from Colin.

Mike is fixing the vacuum.

And I wonder why vacuum is spelled in such a stupid way.

Today was a pretty August day, but it wasn't warm enough for Emmett to go in his pool. I had the water out all day, but the sun wasn't hot enough to warm it up.

It seems like days are blurring into days...like there's no beginning or end to anything. I am exhausted being in the country. Minor activitie are SUCH a big deal, that by the time I'm finished I'm tired.

I miss a few of my old friends. No matter what awful people they were, both of them filled a part of my life that can't be filled by anyone else. The girl was a manipulative, compettitive, exhilleratingly daring part of my life -- and although I'm better off without her, I miss her. The guy was a metally-plagued, prideful, defensive fighter who talked incessantly about himself -- and I'm better off without him too, but I miss him as well.

I marvel at people that have easy relationships with everyone. I have easy relationships with the blog readers, but outside of that, I attract unstable and imbalanced people.

We watched School of Rock the night before last, and that was an AWESOME FILM. Who in the world knew? It was the kind of film that was the perfect snack...Like cheese, sourdough crackers and chocolate. Just enough of everything.

Jessica got a job in Allentown as you all know. And I am so, so excited. Big changes are happening and I'm exctied for the next chapter to begin. I got some more freelance work, so that's cool.

Our Boring Life --10:16- 10:43

Mike just finished eating hamburger helper that he made for his lunch.

e-How was it
m-It was OK. are you writing about that in your blog?
e- No
m-Why don't you put that in?
e-Because it's boring.
(I'm a liar)

Mike put his feet up on the table and is petting the cat.

m-Would you like fruit or something?
e-Yes
m-It's in the fridge?
e-Yes. There's strawberries, but they're not too sweet. They're all cut up and everything.
m-That's fine with me.

Exit Mike to get strawberries. He says something I can't hear.

e-WHAT?
m-They're not cut up. Do you want me to cut them up?
e-I cut the things out of them
m-Yeah

Sound of clanking in the kitchen. E scratches her ear. Microwave is on. E yells to Mike in kitchen.

e-What are you microwaving?
m-(inaudible mumbling)
e-What?
m-Honey.
m-Why?
e-Just wondering

elapse 3 minutes

e-Mike, what's the date?
m-(inaudible)
e-Huh?
m-the 11th
e-and the time
m-9:35

elapse 2 minutes

m-Here, pick which you want. (handing strawberries in a pretty cup with honey)
e-I don't care. Whichever.
m-Here. This one has more honey. YOu can have it.
e- Yum. It's good.
m-What?
e-It tastes good. The strawberries.

_________________________________________________
This is so boring I can't even write anymore.

fun night

jessica, colin, mike, mike's mom, and me. all in on a friday night drinking beer and eating cheese steaks. This is a fun night.

The happiest I am...

is when I'm around people I love including the following:

Jessica "The Super-Fun" Berthold
Collars "The 'Crazy'" Boylan
Wayne "The Stiller" Stiles
Mike "The Man" Garson
Dave "The Hooch" Seyfried
Ana "Towel-Wearin'" Tantaros
Chis "The Keep Going With the Joke" Dotto

I love my friends. I feel so cool to be "in".

Things I'm Dealing With

I Have a Friend that's In Trouble
I have a friend that some of you know. He's got trouble with the law and last night his girlfriend just informed him that she's a lesbian and has been stuggling with the feelings for 6 years. They've been living together for 3. He sounds suicidal and I did my best to help him in a 3 hour call he made to me last night. I feel worried abouut him and he's hard to get a hold of.

Mike's Mom's in Town for a Week
She's nice, so this is a good thing. It just requires a lot more of my time and energy. I have to cook better, be nicer, keep things cleaner, and think of fun activities to entertain both a 65 year old and a 9 month old.


I Have a Friend That I'm Jealous Of
I have a friend that is achieiving success in Philly and I feel jealous of this success he.s having. I'm finally dealing with the fact that I WAS competitivve with him, although I never realized it. I felt "ahead" so it never hit me until now. This is awful, but I research him periodically only to find more rave reviews about him.

I'm Worried That Emmett's Getting Spoiled
He is starting to DEMAND attention. I don't know how to discipline him at this age. My mom has mentioned it too. He's adorabole, as long as he's the center of attention.

I Have an Interview on Thursday
I'm going to go back to work part time in an effort to help pay off our debt. I'm nervous about the "interview" because it's at a place I used to work and I told them I've {"progressed" which has really made me feel vulernable. Mike and I are busily preparing for it.

My Body Has Changed
I still have 10 lbs to go before I'm back to my old weight, and it seems IMPOSSIBLE. Because I stopped smoking, losing weight is much harder.

I Can't Get My Masters Yet
I want to but we can't afford it.

I Still Don't Have a Car
Jessica found a good deal for us, but Mike didn't want to take a chance. The good news is that Ana said I could have her car when she goes to school in September. This is like a beautiful rainbow with her sad departure.

I Don't Want to Be Here
Rather than strengthening my relationship with my parents, I feel like being here is hurting my relationship. I want to live in the city. If I get work, we may move there more quickly.

The Movie is Done
Now we just have to do everything around it. And that's hard.

This is no lie.

On Sunday, a few minutes before church, my mother sent ana over with a plate for me to drop off to Diane at church. I forgot the plate and remembered when we were about 5 minutes away but decided not to go back for it since we were running late.

My mother came over, found the plate, and got really angry. I couldn't believe it but figured she'd be over it later that day.

Monday afternoon I talked to her and she was acting weird. I said "Are you mad?" She said "Yes. I am" I said "About the plate?" She said "I'm getting over it".

Today is Tuesday. My mother is still mad at me.

A Deal for Wayne.

How about this idea.

You click on the link and tell me the three differences in that picture and I'll care about politics in this blog entry. That sounds like an even exchage to me.

I am so, so cynical about politics and reading Wayne's blog is the primary source of political info I'm exposed to. As the three of you know, my parents are extreme right wingers and are IN LOVE with GWB or any Republican president there could ever be. Why they love a party that is for the rich when they're not rich, I'll never get. Why you three readers you love a party that's all about government control, I'll never get. As to why anyone thinks the party differences will make any change to the big stuff...it has to be idealism.

I have never had a political identity. I never "got it". I feel like our generation is so focused on being "ourselves" and thinking independently, I don't understand how anyone can fully agree with anyone -- politically, religiously or socially.

I find MAJOR flaws with both parties and both canidates. And do I think there's a real difference between the two canidates? Not really. Kerry is supportive of the war. So's Bush. That's all I need to know.

I am completely apathetic because I believe in the whole aluminati (sp) concept and I think it's in big business. I feel like democracy is a hoax (why don't we have a direct electorial system?). I believe that if you're a good man you:

1. Could not get into politics and win an election
2. If you did, you'd be killed (like JFK).

I have decided to worry about things on an individual level. Instead of fretting, debating and worrying about which president is going to do more about poverty, I spend my energy thinking about what I can do and doing it myself. Instead of aganozing over which president is going to stop this war or wondering if Kerry would have gone to war (which he probably would have since he's so gung-ho on the war now), I'd rather involve myself in issues that I can change.

Things I don't believe work:

1. Writing letters to the President.
2. Protesting
3. Democracy

I'm not criticizing you guys. I'm just not on board. Maybe it's because I'm a control freak and I think we're kinda like sheep. See unlike you guys, I think we live in a dictatorship, more or less. The government does what it wants to do and our opinions don't matter. Modern revolutions don't even seem to work anymore -- but is the one place there may be hope.

Maybe it's a reaction against my parents extremeism.

Much to my horror....

there are three subtle differences in the pictures at this site
. I was only able to find two. Let me know if you are able to find all three.