New Year

Well, that was a really fast year. I think 2009 was one of the best years yet. We celebrated New Years Eve last year at a casino in Vicksburg and I had no idea at the time how significant that city would become to me and to us as a couple. Eric purchased my engagement ring from a jeweler in Vicksburg and we went on to purchase the wedding bands there too. This year was a whole lot of fun and a whole lot of work but in the end it all turned out really well. I'm pretty stoked about 2010 since we'll be getting married in March and will hopefully be homeowners at the end of this month. I'm going to try to be more positive and just nicer to people in general. This is going to be really hard for me.

Significant Events 2009(in no particular order):
Got engaged
Moved in with Eric
Almost bought a house
Sister got engaged and married and moved to Hawaii
Eric's sister got engaged
Mom lost her job and got another
Dad had right knee replaced
Amber and Molly got pregnant
Cassie had a baby
Brother decided to become music major

Where were we?

Apparently we were in August. Now it is November and I guess I got tired of posting on this stupid blog. So, for now, updates only.
Wedding planning began furiously and is now almost non-existent as we just moved into our new house this past Sunday! Except it is not going to be our house until January 22nd due to the unbelievable stupidity of the person who used to live there. I'm pretty sure the whole fucking horrible story is not even worth documenting since I'm sure neither Eric nor I will ever forget the agony of the past couple of weeks. So we're leasing until January and then it will be all ours if nothing else goes terribly wrong. I do love the house and am very much looking forward to painting and decorating and making it our own.
Halloween came and went without us dressing up and at the last minute deciding to go dressed as Christians. We went to a friend's for a bit where I stupidly drank whoop juice then we went to Blocktober fest downtown and had a good time listening to a band and watching a costume contest. After that we went to a little basement bar where I was only able to stay for approximately 15 minutes before I insisted Eric take me home before any more people could see me in that condition. Sometimes my smart shines through the stupid...
We have an engagement party scheduled for this Saturday thrown by our friends Dana and Johnny and I am very excited about that! There will be no whoop juice. I told my dad to come and bring money but he thought I said I was going to give him money so we'll see how that turns out. And speaking of my father, he has laid new boards on the deck in preparation for our upcoming nuptials! And I only had to cry a little!
Mom began her new job at another hospital and this time she'll be working psych so hopefully she will like it more than her last job.
Dad is having his knee replaced in two weeks and I'm a little worried about that but I'm sure he'll be just fine in time to walk me down the grass!

We're getting married

We were all set to leave for California after work on the 5th when the airline called and said our flight had been cancelled due to inclement weather in Dallas. We left early the next morning and arrived in California on the 6th. My brother picked us up at the airport and we headed to Huntington Beach. We had lunch and then headed up to LA to see a Dodgers game. We had time to kill so we walked around China Town where I learned that an ounce of gold is over a thousand dollars so I called my dad and told him he would not be getting what he wanted (I later got him an ounce of silver instead). The Dodgers were playing the Braves and of the 4 games they played this ended up being the only one the Braves lost. Eric was sad.


Friday night Ed had to work so Eric and I went to Main street and hung out with some of Ed's friends and went home somewhat early. Saturday we hung out with Ed and went to work with him that night at the Crazy Horse. We ate dinner before that of course and to kill sometime before going to the club Eric and I went to Barnes and Nobles and read magazines. The club was interesting and Lil John made a somewhat disappointing apperance. If we had only been up front in the crowd I could have had tequila poured in my mouth by Lil John!

I can't quite remember which day we did what, but one day we spent about an hour laying out on the beach. The water was so cold Eric and I didn't get in. Another day Eric and I rented a tandem bicycle and rode up and down the PCH for a little over an hour. We rode up to dog beach and watched the dogs play for a while and while we were watching them we spotted dolphins surfing! I was so cool to see that in real life and not just on TV.


Sunday we planned to walk the pier and drink all day. We walked down and had lunch at Savannah's by the pier then went to the pier and began walking and watching all the people on the beach and all the people surfing. It was a beautiful day. We walked all the way to the end because Eric wanted to and we saw two guys get in trouble for being so far out in the water. Someone said they had jumped off the pier. We started walking back up the pier and as we were looking over at the surfers Eric knelt down to tie his shoe. He called my name and when I turned around he was on one knee holding my beautiful ring. I think I said "What are you doing?" then "Are you serious?!" and Eric asked me again to marry him. I said "yes" and took the ring out of his hand because I think I was afraid he was going to drop it over the side of the pier. Ed took pictures of the whole thing and I am so glad he was there with us. We went to many bars that day and into the night and had an amazing time.



Monday we went to Knott's Berry Farm and rode the rollercoasters. That night we ate chinese food and watched a movie.

I am so happy to be engaged and even more excited about our upcoming marriage. Eric is amazing and I am very lucky to have him in my life.

I prefer it fried

Dad said the dog, who is supposed to be a pomeranian but looks more like a smallish black blob of a dog, has been eating his chickens. I find this hard to believe, but there are noticebly fewer chickens and the dog is really fat.

Apparently I love blogging about garbage.

Back to the interesting topic that is the neighbors' garbage can. Eric suggested that the garbage can is a community garbage can and now that just makes perfect sense. There's the one garbage can that sits out there all the time (there used to be two remember?). This is the only garbage can (other then mine) between the two four-plex apartment buildings and I've come to realize that all of the neighbors put their garbage in the one can and just leave it sitting out there on the street. But now someone has begun to take my garbage out of my can and do who knows what with it. Eric said just let them do it but I find this very weird and very creepy. I would never ever take someone else's garbage out of their can. Like I'm not going to notice that and what am I supposed to do now? Leave a thank you note? Weird fucking neighbors I have. Reason 52957 I would like to buy a house really really soon.
Moving on... Eric and I went to the New Orleans area to celebrate the holiday with his family this past weekend. It was lots of fun. Especially the part where Eric made me and his mother margaritas and I made Eric put extra tequila in them. Two nights of very interrupted sleep really makes you appreciate your own bed.

Most boring blog ever. Well, not quite.

It seems that my life is so boring even I don't want to write and/or read about it. Not really. I just am really not much of a writer/story-teller, and I have a hard time getting stuff down. Like, I was going to write this long, funny post about how I almost got arrested some weeks back when Eric and I went out of town to stay with Kristin but about half way through the story I got bored with myself so that post never came to be. The short version is after leaving the bar that Friday night me, Eric, Kristin, and Ryan stopped at a gas station so Kristin could get the much-talked-about chicken-on-a-stick, and upon leaving the gas station I forgot to turn on my lights. I then drove right past a police officer who immediately pulled me over. There was much debate between myself and the officer, then the officer and Kristin, then the officer and eric, then myself and the officer again, AND a breathalizer AND a HGN. I was let go after all of that. I will maintain that I have crazy good luck when it comes to me and breaking the law. I will also maintain that it always helps to have your attornery in the car with you at all times but especially when you are breaking the law. So , I guess its ok if I never win anything so long as I can continue to evade the law. That's my prize. Freedom.

Things I loathe. People Vervion. Part 3 follow up follow up.

So, although my neighbor tried to continue to use the garbage can I ran over, it was not up to par as a garbage can should be, so it no longer appears at the end of our driveway. However, the other garbage can remains until it too finds itself laying across the driveway, and meets the tires of my car.

Low talkers

Last night Eric and I watched the Sienfeld episode about the low talker. Funny it was. My last assessment today was with a guy who turned out to be a low talker. Not so funny after all. Completely fucking annoying is what it was. Also annoying is when the low talker gets frustrated with YOU for asking him to repeat himself. Fucking christ man. Speak up.

god who?

"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."
-Historian Henry Roberts (1901-1971)

Taken from http://yocontraellos.blogspot.com/

This makes perfect sense to me. Christianity does not.

Things I love. #2

-My siblings

In particular my little brother. I love all my siblings very much. It is a love like no other love but last night we went to my little brother's final high school choir concert so he gets the post love today. Bobby is one of the sweetest people I know. People tell my mother about how sweet he is all the time. And with being raised by a father like we have it's amazing we're not all in prison right about now. Bobby is graduating high school in a couple of weeks and I am very happy for him. I hope he goes on to college and majors in a subject that he absolutely loves, and that will lead him to a career that fills him with happiness. He is very talented and charismatic, much like our older brother, even though they are 12 years apart they have many of the same facial expressions and mannerisms, and sound just alike when they sing. When Bobby hugs me he kisses me on the head. I don't know why he does that or exactly when he started doing it, but it's alright with me.

Things I loathe. People Version. Part 3 Follow Up

So, I ran over that fucking garbage can yesterday. My sister and I were going back to my apartment after seeing a new art exhibit and that fucking garbage can was laying across the driveway. I had no choice. It had to be done. I had to leave again and when I went home later my neighbor had taken that fucking garbage can, popped it out, and put garbage in it for pick up today. And so the saga continues...

Institutionalized

One of my patients is a murderer. For real. He just did 20 years in prison. So what now? What the hell is he going to do for the rest of his life? Our justice system is fucked. They put this man with mental illness and mental retardation in prison for 20 years for murder and let him out with no plans for what to do with the rest of his life. I absolutely believe he should have done that time, but shouldn't he have been trying to accomplish something while he was there? Like maybe learn something or make some money or ANYTHING but fucking live there just breathing and eating and wasting away?

Things I loathe. People version. Part 3.

-My neighbor(s) who leaves her gabage cans on the curb all the time.

She never takes the cans to the back of the house. They are always sitting there at the end of the drive way. She takes the garbage to the cans about twice a week and never moves the garbage cans away from the road. This really, really bothers me. Especially when the wind or the garbage man moves the garbage cans in the middle of the driveway entrance. I told Eric I was going to run them over the next time they are in my way. I then started talking about how I wanted to move the garbage cans somewhere so she would have to look for them and then go get them. I've even thought about leaving a nice little note on the garbage cans saying something about how lazy it is for a person to just leave their empty cans out by the road creating an eyesore for everyone driving or walking past. Yesterday Eric and I decided to go for a walk and when we were leaving the apartment I saw the garbage cans. I picked up one and moved it to the end of the block under a tree on the corner. Eric thought this was hilarious. I felt a little better just knowing the lazy neighbor would have to walk those few extra feet to retrieve her garbage can.

Snakes in the Pond

"A woman's just like a snake, the last thing that dies is her tail." -Truman Capote

One of the great mysteries in the world is why my father likes Truman Capote. I will never understand and that's fine because there are a lot of mysteries involving my father. This past Sunday I was at my parents' house and Dad was telling me about the two snakes he shot that morning because they were swimming around in one of his ponds eating the fish he had just purchased the day before. We go outside to take a look at the "water snakes" and the first one had already been cut open by my Dad so he could prove it had indeed eaten a fish. There was definately a fish in there. While looking at this aftermath Dad was poking the snake and it's tail was moving around a bit. That's when he quoted Capote although not exactly right but close enough. The second snake had yet to be disected so I took pictures while Dad cut it open. Two fish in that one. Dad was pissed that the snakes had cost him approximately 80 cents.



This past weekend was great. Eric found out he passed the bar exam last Thursday so there was much celebrating to be done (see Eric's blog). I am very proud of him and happy for him and glad all that waiting is over. He is being sworn in today and everything will be official.

The psychology of a psychiatrist

For the rest of this week my co-worker will be out and I will be covering for her. This is good because upon her retirement on the 30th I will be taking her position. So, this morning I rounded with the Attending (Dr. G) and other members of the team. Dr. G told me at the beginning of rounds that I am one of his favorite people in the world. I didn't know what to say except 'thank you'. Then I started thinking about just what the hell he was trying to do kissing my ass like that. Now, I really like this particular doctor, but it was strange and he probably tells everyone that anyway so I should just take the compliment and move on. Which I did.

Dream a Dream for Hair

I dreamed about the retards again last night but all I can remember from the dream is that my friend Ryan had a new hair do. This is made more weird by the fact that 7 days ago Ryan text me: 'I think I'm going to try a new hair dew. The damn Shamwow guy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns4mnmNBk1Y), whom I might add was arrested last week for beating up a prostitute, has the same style as me.' I suggested a few things he might try then forgot about the whole thing. Cut to this morning and my dream and me texting Ryan to let him know about the dream. He tells me he got his hair cut yesterday with new do and all. He even went with one of my suggestions. I think this is all very weird. I also think it is very funny that Ryan changed his hair because of the Shamwow guy. I don't know how he even got to that point but it's funny to think that he was watching TV or youtube one day and saw that commercial that was all "Goddamnit! Now I have to change my hair!" Hilarious.

Another not so funny story is that I'm getting new flooring in the bathroom of my apartment tomorrow. Since moving in I have noticed the smell of urine in the bathroom. This smell gets much worse after showering and on warm days. After much cleaning and trying to ignore I finally addressed this issue with the apartment company and first they checked(cleaned?) the "P-trap". Then I had to go about educating myself about a p-trap. The smell remained. So now new flooring and hopefully no more pee smell but my own.

In other news we are just waiting and waiting and waiting for Thursday afternoon to get here. It's only taken almost two months and I'm officially over the waiting. Lets move on already. Eric, I know you passed and I love you even though I dream about other guys sometimes. But never any of my ex-boyfriends so that's something right?

Things aren't always what they seem...

People frequently tell me that they think I'm stuck up and mean before they get to know me. I'm not sure how to take this. I gues it means that I LOOK stuck up and mean? If you don't know me then how would you even come to those conclusions? Beats the hell out of me. This doesn't really bother me much and I guess what bothers me most is that maybe people are avoiding me because I seem to be something I am not, which is an awfully complicated thing to be doing with someone who you don't even know. I guess its the same as me being annoyed by those really happy, hyper, always chipper and smiley people. But I don't think that because they are that way outwardly then they are thay way within. Perhaps I should. Perhaps. Anyway theres not a whole lot that can be done about this because I think its mostly that I have good posture and I don't smile a whole lot. The way I hold my face or something. Fuck it.

Ok, ok

Now for my monthly post.

All is well in gabieland. Nothing exciting has happened so there has not been anything exciting to report.

I have begun making coasters out of tile and cross stitching quotes for my friends and family. That in itself is evidence that nothing exciting has been going on in my life.

A guy I graduated school with was killed in a car accident a couple weeks ago. Brad Gibson. He visited me in my dreams this past weekend. This is weird because we were not friends, just acquaintances, and I haven't seen him in years. In my dream we were just kinda hanging out and talking. He was very sweet and I think that is how he was all the time.
This is how I imagine any sort of afterlife to be. I think when you're dead you're just dead and you sort of live on in people's memories. I don't believe in heaven or hell and I think those who do are irrational thinkers and need a way to cope with dying. Brad will live on for a long time because a lot of people loved him and will miss him terribly.

Things I Love

And just because I am seeming like a bitter old cunt here are some things I love:

-Live Music

-Smart/Funny People

-My family, friends, and Eric

-Candy

-Game Night

-Whiskey

Things I loathe. People version. Part 2.

-Inconsiderate upstairs neighbors who walk around in their heeled shoes at all hours of the day and night(take your fucking shoes off and put on some goddamn slippers already).

-Inconsiderate upstairs neighbors who are too selfabsorbed to realize there are other people in the building who may be responsible employees who have to be at work in the morning and can not sleep with all the walking and talking and music and shit going on upstairs.

Things I loathe. Things version.

-Organized religion

-Pro-life movement

-Dirty fingernails

-"Honkey Tonks"

Apartment

I moved into my apartment. Finally. It has been a long four months at my parents house. I am now just one mile away from Eric and even closer to one of my favorite bars. This will be my second time living downtown and I am very happy to be back. There is a grocery very near by and work is a few minute drive. My apartment, I think, is terribly cute and I've almost finished unpacking and organizing everything.

Apparently I love my dog the most

"I can hear my next door neighbor being nice to her cat through my kitchen wall. I don’t care for cats, but it’s oddly touching. No one talks to even their most loved ones in the same voice they use to talk to their pets." -From the archives of Sarah Brown's Que Sera Sera blog (http://queserasera.org/archives/2001_11.html)

That kind of shook me a bit. I should be nicer to my loved ones. You should hear the way I greet Gus everyday. It's pretty ridiculous. I put my shit down and pick him up and hug him and kiss him and talk to him. My family members, on the other hand, get a simple hello. Eric gets a hug and a kiss but not the picking up. That would be weird probably and bad for my back.

Way past my bedtime

The only good thing about being at work at 1:20 AM? The money.

New year, no words

So, this blog thing is not going so well as I can't seem to do it on any sort of regular basis. Anyway. Moving on.

Yesterday was an amazing day and I have no words to describe it. I am only 27 but I have never been so excited about a President and I can not imagine being this excited again. "Hope is a good thing, if not the best of things and a good thing never dies."

Even thought my dad can be terrible and mean I have decided to take him to see Grand Torino this weekend for his birthday. My mother told me about a week ago that dad wanted to see this movie which was strange because she doesn't think he has been to see a movie since before they were married approximately 30 years ago. Isn't that fucking strange? Then my older brother text me and said Clint Eastwood plays dad in that movie. Isn't that also fucking strange? So, I'm sucking it up and I'm taking him. My sister and little brother are going too so that will make it better. Will have to take a picture to commemorate the moment. I don't know what it is with my dad and movies. I guess some people just don't like movies. I've never known him to even watch a movie on television or rent a movie. It should be intersting and will probably never happen again.

I paid the deposit for an apartment yesterday. So fucking stoked about that. Living with my parents is close to hell. My mood is improving I promise.

New Year

So, yeah, it's been a bit. As for the follow-up to the last blog I will say that my sister can definitely karaoke better than your sister.
The holidays were good. Better than last no doubt. 2008 started out bad but got better and better. I miss my friends in the last town and the retards. I love that my family is here and Eric and I are together. I expect 2009 will be wonderful and I feel like my adult life is sort of just beginning. Not really and resolutions here because I'm pretty much awesome. Just kidding of course. I think resolutions are stupid. Happy New Year.