Hi everyone! How are you? I just finished a fun-filled two weeks at work with heroin addicts and alcoholics and crazy people. Who knew hospitals could be so much fun? Every time I take care of one of these people I want to put them on a billboard to show everyone how messed up drugs and alcohol can make you. Don't even get me started on cigarettes! I have so many patients who can't breathe now from years of smoking that it's just sad. They have to take steroids to keep their lungs open, and after a while the drugs just screw up your whole body! Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox for now.
Last week, Eric and I went to L.A. to see my cousin Michael for a few days. We saw Lion King the Musical at the Pantages Theater. It was an old run-down place until Disney got the lease on it and renovated. It was so beautiful! The coolest part in the play was when Simba is looking at his reflection and he sees Mufasa. They built a huge face of Mufasa by putting together these huge wooden pieces, but the way the light reflected on them, it looked like a mirage. I wish I had been able to take a picture! My cousins were there, they are fourteen and twelve. Boy do I feel old. I still remember when the fourteen year old was a baby. He would cry when he saw me because he was afraid of my freckles!
Wednesday night Eric and I went to a dinner-dance for our church. It was nice to have good food and dance to good music. I danced with our priest a couple of times. Turns out he is from Houston! He says y'all just like us! That excites me, if you're wondering, because everyone makes fun of me for saying it, including the people I work with.
The Oscars were pretty anti-climactic for us because they started at five o'clock! We figured they'd be time-delayed like the Grammys were and we could hang out, cook, and watch them. Well I was making grillades so I missed the first two hours. The grillades were good though! You know that Britney Spears commercial? Our friend Mike works for Tribal Scenery Company and they built the set with the Pepsi-Cola insignia. It was so cool to see it on TV!
Other than that... we finally met some normal people. Eric and the chef at the seafood restaurant got to talking and invited us over for dinner the other night. They just bought a house in Palm Desert about five minutes from ours. William is from Orange county and his wife is from Brittany, France! He spent a while in France cooking. They both speak French, as does their four-year old. It was so weird because all these words from preschool were coming back to me. I remembered the words for dog and cat before I remembered how to say, "my name is"! We BBQ'd and had wine, cheese, and pate! Yum Yum!!
Well, I must go to bed because my dear friend Christina is coming tomorrow. She is living in Dallas and had a conference to go to, then decided to come see us for a little while! Now the rest of you have to come see our house! I'm sorry, but the pictures do just not justify it! Our first real house that we own! TTFN!
Thursday, March 29, 2001
Sunday, March 18, 2001
pics
Here are some pics of our new house. I have more coming when I get the next roll developed. Eric and I are doing fine... landscaping was fun, we even got to rent a tiller! Our friend Mike came in from L.A. and helped us plant, plus we put up new light fixtures in the bathrooms. No more light bulb sticking out of an outlet (that's what we had before!). The pictures are finally up on the walls too! It's amazing how much money can be spent just moving in and getting everything pretty!
Not much to report... Naomi and I have been hanging out and cooking for each other. She makes killer stuffed pork chops! We have a nice pool here that Eric and I discovered with a jacuzzi next to it. The weather here has been so beautiful, 80 degrees and sunny. I went to a party at my friend Janet's house the other night for two of the travelling nurses who are going back to Maine. It's so sad to work with someone for three months and then have them leave! I think Janet is going to Alaska in May too. Oh well. With all these travellers, it would be nice to have one of my nurse friends from home travel up here (hint, hint Karla!).
Eric and I started jogging together... doing some real exercise for a change. We found another small park near our house with three trails. It's little but it serves its purpose. Taxpayer money at work for the taxpayers, whoda thunk it!! Anyway, gotta work tomorrow so I will write more later when I have more interesting things to report!
Not much to report... Naomi and I have been hanging out and cooking for each other. She makes killer stuffed pork chops! We have a nice pool here that Eric and I discovered with a jacuzzi next to it. The weather here has been so beautiful, 80 degrees and sunny. I went to a party at my friend Janet's house the other night for two of the travelling nurses who are going back to Maine. It's so sad to work with someone for three months and then have them leave! I think Janet is going to Alaska in May too. Oh well. With all these travellers, it would be nice to have one of my nurse friends from home travel up here (hint, hint Karla!).
Eric and I started jogging together... doing some real exercise for a change. We found another small park near our house with three trails. It's little but it serves its purpose. Taxpayer money at work for the taxpayers, whoda thunk it!! Anyway, gotta work tomorrow so I will write more later when I have more interesting things to report!
Sunday, March 4, 2001
alo from california
Well we are back! If we missed anyone at home we apologize but we were just not there long enough! Friday we had a birthday party for me with the fam. It was nice to see everyone again. Saturday we went to Endymion, which was early since it was supposed to rain that day. We got nice and tipsy and then ate hot dogs. Not a good idea! Sunday Eric left and I went to see my unc and his fam. Monday we went to see my dad ride in Proteus. They had the most beautiful floats! Orpheus followed (Harry Connick Jr's krewe). Glenn Close was the Grand Marshal. She is so pretty up close! It rained halfway through the parade and we got soaked. Mardi Gras day I went and hung out with Jared and his sister and her kids. They are so sweet but being with a five, four, and one year old all day reminds me why I want to wait! Anyway, I thought I missed the rain. I got some at home and came back here only to find out that it had been raining for four days! I don't know where these clouds are coming from! It's supposed to be sunny here all the time!
I did observe something while travelling to and from home. On the plane from Phoenix to NOLA everyone was talking and friendly and having a good time. On the plane coming back to Cali the mood was completely different. You could tell the dot-com-ers because they were all young and partying like they had all the money in the world. Guess that stock dip isn't hurting them too much! Other than that most people kept to themselves and weren't friendly. That is except the two ladies sitting next to me. They talked my head off the whole time! It was a nice conversation... one of them asked to look at the magazine I was reading (Maxim). She had never seen it before, so I said sure. I expected her to just flip through and give it back. Well, no. She read almost the whole damn thing, licking her thumb to turn the pages. I was appalled! That's the thing about people out here. Half the time they don't even know they're being rude!
On other fronts, I got a raise. $2.14 an hour. And I get $52 more for an extra twelve hour shift, not that I do a lot of those. All of the nurses, aides, and secretaries got one. I guess they figure we are scarce so they better pay us well! I also got two kudos from patients. It's nice to know that my hard work is appreciated!
Well, not much else going on. We put fans up in three of our rooms and the next project is landscaping. The pictures are still not up on the walls, but oh well. At least the boxes are unpacked!
Have a good week!
I did observe something while travelling to and from home. On the plane from Phoenix to NOLA everyone was talking and friendly and having a good time. On the plane coming back to Cali the mood was completely different. You could tell the dot-com-ers because they were all young and partying like they had all the money in the world. Guess that stock dip isn't hurting them too much! Other than that most people kept to themselves and weren't friendly. That is except the two ladies sitting next to me. They talked my head off the whole time! It was a nice conversation... one of them asked to look at the magazine I was reading (Maxim). She had never seen it before, so I said sure. I expected her to just flip through and give it back. Well, no. She read almost the whole damn thing, licking her thumb to turn the pages. I was appalled! That's the thing about people out here. Half the time they don't even know they're being rude!
On other fronts, I got a raise. $2.14 an hour. And I get $52 more for an extra twelve hour shift, not that I do a lot of those. All of the nurses, aides, and secretaries got one. I guess they figure we are scarce so they better pay us well! I also got two kudos from patients. It's nice to know that my hard work is appreciated!
Well, not much else going on. We put fans up in three of our rooms and the next project is landscaping. The pictures are still not up on the walls, but oh well. At least the boxes are unpacked!
Have a good week!
Thursday, February 8, 2001
helllllloooooo out there
Hey guys. Eric and I are busy moving into our new home! It is shaping up very nicely. We had to clean out a lot of dust and get the carpets done, but other than that everything looked good. Now it's a matter of trying to save money! We took some pics and I will try to scan them when we get the computer set up in the new place.
Well, everyone told us that once February hit the weather would be beautiful. Feb. 1 was gorgeous! The sky was clear blue, there was snow on the mountains, and it was 80 degrees. We got the keys to the condo that day, too. Anyway, the weather has been wonderful lately except for a couple of cloudy days when it snowed up in the mountains. It is so weird to see a blizzard up there and be walking around in shorts! It is also very weird when there's a full moon here. Last night it looked like twilight all night because the moon was so bright and the sky was so clear. You could actually see the outline of the mountains, which I haven't been able to see at night. Needless to say we don't miss the cold, wet winter in NOLA.
I went to a party the other night at my supervisor's house. She has a condo not far from ours. Boy did I feel poor! Hers has three bedrooms, three baths, a three car garage, all tile floors, a pool and jacuzzi, gas BBQ pit, the works. Her fiance is a make-up artist for Drew Carey (which I think I told you already). Anyway, it was fun, but I was glad to get back to my humble abode.
Last night we went to King's Social Club. The last time we went to this place there were some pretty rough people there. Who knew there were hoodlums in Palm Desert? Anyway, that was Saturday night. Apparently they have a live band on Wednesday nights. It was one of the best I have seen! They played blues and jazz, and had a couple of musicians from the audience join in. It was so cool because the music was so much like home. None of the typical California sound, which I would describe as a cross between constant Doors music and techno crap. As Naomi has told me many times, California is a state of mind. I just think a lot of people here don't have much left up there. The eight-mile stare that you develop here is related more to fried brains than clear skies, I think!
Well I will sign off for now. Again, Eric and I will be coming home soon! I will be in town Feb 22-28, and I expect to see everyone I can if at all possible! I miss y'all!
Well, everyone told us that once February hit the weather would be beautiful. Feb. 1 was gorgeous! The sky was clear blue, there was snow on the mountains, and it was 80 degrees. We got the keys to the condo that day, too. Anyway, the weather has been wonderful lately except for a couple of cloudy days when it snowed up in the mountains. It is so weird to see a blizzard up there and be walking around in shorts! It is also very weird when there's a full moon here. Last night it looked like twilight all night because the moon was so bright and the sky was so clear. You could actually see the outline of the mountains, which I haven't been able to see at night. Needless to say we don't miss the cold, wet winter in NOLA.
I went to a party the other night at my supervisor's house. She has a condo not far from ours. Boy did I feel poor! Hers has three bedrooms, three baths, a three car garage, all tile floors, a pool and jacuzzi, gas BBQ pit, the works. Her fiance is a make-up artist for Drew Carey (which I think I told you already). Anyway, it was fun, but I was glad to get back to my humble abode.
Last night we went to King's Social Club. The last time we went to this place there were some pretty rough people there. Who knew there were hoodlums in Palm Desert? Anyway, that was Saturday night. Apparently they have a live band on Wednesday nights. It was one of the best I have seen! They played blues and jazz, and had a couple of musicians from the audience join in. It was so cool because the music was so much like home. None of the typical California sound, which I would describe as a cross between constant Doors music and techno crap. As Naomi has told me many times, California is a state of mind. I just think a lot of people here don't have much left up there. The eight-mile stare that you develop here is related more to fried brains than clear skies, I think!
Well I will sign off for now. Again, Eric and I will be coming home soon! I will be in town Feb 22-28, and I expect to see everyone I can if at all possible! I miss y'all!
Sunday, January 28, 2001
Happy Super Bowl!
Hey guys, Eric and I are having a super bowl party with ourselves today! We haven't found many people who like to watch football out here. I have also stopped getting offended when people ask me how I can like football if I'm a girl. Trying to explain to people that being from the South means you like football is like talking to a wall. The other problem is that everyone I work with is gay!!
More on that... I went to a pizza and pasta party in Palm Springs last Sunday. A girl I work with was hosting it. I figured it would be fun because the last work party I went to was great! It was at one of the lesbians' house but most people that came were straight. We had a good time, danced, and got really drunk. Well I asked the girl the day before about the party, and she was excited, but was acting weird about me coming. I had the suspicion that most people there would be gay, but a few other people from work were supposed to come. Well I ended up being the only straight person there. Most of the lesbians I work with are in their forties and have been married before, and have kids. There was a guy that came that I thought was straight, plus he was my age, but he turned out to be gay too! He made it a point to ask me if I was gay or straight in front of a few people. I told him I was married and he said, "you still haven't answered my question"!! So needless to say, it was interesting. I don't think I need to go into detail about it. I'm just learning the hard way that Palm Springs is the next gay mecca next to San Francisco!
Eric and I went to see Snatch last Wednesday. It was good! We are closing on our house Wednesday. Not much else to report now... I'm going to enjoy the game with my two favorite guys (Eric and Tiger in case you're wondering). Have a good day!
More on that... I went to a pizza and pasta party in Palm Springs last Sunday. A girl I work with was hosting it. I figured it would be fun because the last work party I went to was great! It was at one of the lesbians' house but most people that came were straight. We had a good time, danced, and got really drunk. Well I asked the girl the day before about the party, and she was excited, but was acting weird about me coming. I had the suspicion that most people there would be gay, but a few other people from work were supposed to come. Well I ended up being the only straight person there. Most of the lesbians I work with are in their forties and have been married before, and have kids. There was a guy that came that I thought was straight, plus he was my age, but he turned out to be gay too! He made it a point to ask me if I was gay or straight in front of a few people. I told him I was married and he said, "you still haven't answered my question"!! So needless to say, it was interesting. I don't think I need to go into detail about it. I'm just learning the hard way that Palm Springs is the next gay mecca next to San Francisco!
Eric and I went to see Snatch last Wednesday. It was good! We are closing on our house Wednesday. Not much else to report now... I'm going to enjoy the game with my two favorite guys (Eric and Tiger in case you're wondering). Have a good day!
Saturday, January 20, 2001
Happy 2001!
It has been a while, eh? Forgive me if this is a little stilted, I don't remember everything that has gone on in the past weeks! Eric and I went to L.A. last week for three days and stayed at the Beverly Hills Renaissance, which was very nice, but they neglected to tell us that there was construction going on outside. Isn't that always the way? We saw the Beverly Hills hotel and Griffith Park our first day. Our friend Mike met us and showed us around. Griffith Park is in the middle of the city (sort of), and has all kinds of hiking trails plus an observatory. From the top of the hill where the observatory is you can see the Hollywood sign and most of the city. The day we went it had rained and the sun was just peeking through the clouds. So here we are looking at the whole city from a bird's eye view and it is even prettier because the sun's rays are coming through the clouds. I wish I had taken a picture!
That night we ate at Spago's and the food was good, but pricey. The wine was really expensive and the servers were a little snotty. We all enjoyed the foie gras (duck liver) appetizer though. Eric is still talking about it! We got to shake Wolfgang Puck's hand and tell him how good the food was. The boys wimped out and didn't tell him they were chefs, but he didn't really take the time to talk to us either (L.A. attitude!). Mike drove us through the canyons afterward in his sister's Volvo coupe, which is one of the coolest cars I've ever been in! We drove out to the Santa Monica Pier just to see the ocean. (We did a lot of driving, as you can tell.)
The next day we walked down Hollywood Boulevard where all the stars are on the sidewalk. It reminded me of the Quarter because it wasn't even close to what I would call clean. It was a little disappointing. We did see Man's Chinese Theater where people have their hands and feet prints in the cement. What struck me was that there were stars' names from the 1930's that I have never heard of. A lot of the names we didn't know. Just makes you wonder who will be remembered seventy years from now! We went to a costume shop after that where they had the coolest wigs and masks... a good place to go for Monkey Gras! Melrose reminded me a lot of Magazine Street with its funky shops and artsy people. We ate lunch at a 50's diner (Johnny Rockets) and watched people go by.
We went to see my cousin Michael and his fam that night in Orange County. Their house is so nice! Which leads me to the next topic... Eric and I are buying a house! We found a nice little (1400 sq foot) condo in the middle of Palm Desert. It is in a gated community, which I don't like, but I guess it increases the resale value. It has two bedrooms, two baths, and the cutest dining room. The portico leading to it from the foyer has three arches, and the girl living there now is an artist, so she has painted some nice colors there. She's from San Antonio, believe it or not. I think what sold us on it is the pond, though. Eric's parents have a huge pond in their backyard with a waterfall and fish. This pond is much smaller, but I think it reminds him of home. Anyway, the place has a lot of potential, so we could probably sell it for a profit in a few years (we hope).
In news of the weird... there is a strip club on the way to L.A. called the Spearmint Rhino. Just thought that was funny. And there's a service in L.A. called Pink Dot which basically runs errands for you. They'll go get toothpaste for you and bring it to your house if you need it. L.A. is a concrete jungle, I have to say. It is a little unnerving to drive 70 mph in VERY congested traffic, but everyone keeps up. I can understand why people don't like to drive in L.A.! The only reason why the freeways are confusing is because they all have names, like the I-10 isn't the I-10, it's the Santa Monica Freeway or something like that. Otherwise they're no more confusing than Dallas-Fort Worth or Houston freeways. They just have too many drivers!
I don't have much to add... Eric and I have been homebodies lately so we can save up for the house. I CANNOT WAIT to come home. I miss N.O. so much! If we have any more adventures (which I'm sure we will), I'll keep you posted! Take care!
That night we ate at Spago's and the food was good, but pricey. The wine was really expensive and the servers were a little snotty. We all enjoyed the foie gras (duck liver) appetizer though. Eric is still talking about it! We got to shake Wolfgang Puck's hand and tell him how good the food was. The boys wimped out and didn't tell him they were chefs, but he didn't really take the time to talk to us either (L.A. attitude!). Mike drove us through the canyons afterward in his sister's Volvo coupe, which is one of the coolest cars I've ever been in! We drove out to the Santa Monica Pier just to see the ocean. (We did a lot of driving, as you can tell.)
The next day we walked down Hollywood Boulevard where all the stars are on the sidewalk. It reminded me of the Quarter because it wasn't even close to what I would call clean. It was a little disappointing. We did see Man's Chinese Theater where people have their hands and feet prints in the cement. What struck me was that there were stars' names from the 1930's that I have never heard of. A lot of the names we didn't know. Just makes you wonder who will be remembered seventy years from now! We went to a costume shop after that where they had the coolest wigs and masks... a good place to go for Monkey Gras! Melrose reminded me a lot of Magazine Street with its funky shops and artsy people. We ate lunch at a 50's diner (Johnny Rockets) and watched people go by.
We went to see my cousin Michael and his fam that night in Orange County. Their house is so nice! Which leads me to the next topic... Eric and I are buying a house! We found a nice little (1400 sq foot) condo in the middle of Palm Desert. It is in a gated community, which I don't like, but I guess it increases the resale value. It has two bedrooms, two baths, and the cutest dining room. The portico leading to it from the foyer has three arches, and the girl living there now is an artist, so she has painted some nice colors there. She's from San Antonio, believe it or not. I think what sold us on it is the pond, though. Eric's parents have a huge pond in their backyard with a waterfall and fish. This pond is much smaller, but I think it reminds him of home. Anyway, the place has a lot of potential, so we could probably sell it for a profit in a few years (we hope).
In news of the weird... there is a strip club on the way to L.A. called the Spearmint Rhino. Just thought that was funny. And there's a service in L.A. called Pink Dot which basically runs errands for you. They'll go get toothpaste for you and bring it to your house if you need it. L.A. is a concrete jungle, I have to say. It is a little unnerving to drive 70 mph in VERY congested traffic, but everyone keeps up. I can understand why people don't like to drive in L.A.! The only reason why the freeways are confusing is because they all have names, like the I-10 isn't the I-10, it's the Santa Monica Freeway or something like that. Otherwise they're no more confusing than Dallas-Fort Worth or Houston freeways. They just have too many drivers!
I don't have much to add... Eric and I have been homebodies lately so we can save up for the house. I CANNOT WAIT to come home. I miss N.O. so much! If we have any more adventures (which I'm sure we will), I'll keep you posted! Take care!
Thursday, January 4, 2001
Hi again guys
Here is my update! Friday I took my parents to the date farms here. The Coachella Valley is the biggest producer of dates in the States. Dad and I had date shakes, and they were actually pretty good! Most of it was milk and ice cream. We watched this campy movie about the sex life of a date and laughed about it later. We hung out most of the day at the hotel, then I took them to Mikado for dinner, the Japanese restaurant at the hotel. They do Teppenyaki style cooking, which is basically where you sit around a flattop and they cook your food in front of you. The chef's name was Bobby Love! He flipped shrimp into our mouths and did some other cool stuff. My friend Julie was there and supplied us with some good saki. Mom kept talking about brain damage while Dad and I drank it. It was good!
Satuday I took them to the street fair at College of the Desert. It is like a school fair with booths and people selling stuff, and it happens every weekend. It's actually more like the French Market. They have music, food, and cheap stuff to buy! Then we went to see the dinosaurs in Cabazon. The guy that built them was from Knott's Berry Farm, which is a theme park kind of like Disneyland. Anyway, there's a TRex and a Brontosaurus, which has a gift shop inside it. It was campy too but fun! We went to a Greek restaurant for dinner and stuffed ourselves, plus we got to watch a belly dancer and listen to Greek music. Our big joke is to say esegien every time we go out (it basically means "salud" in Greek). The waiters got a kick out of that!
Alas, we had to take them back to the airport Sunday at 4 am, but it was fun all around. Naomi and I went to Tuscany's for dinner that night, and I finally got my millennium kiss from Eric (he was 15 minutes late last year!). I guess it counts because this is the real millennium. We are going to L.A. on Monday se we will let you know how it is.
OH I ALMOST FORGOT!! ERIC HAS BEEN PUBLISHED!! HE IS IN THE JANUARY ISSUE OF PALM SPRINGS LIFE MAGAZINE. THEY DID AN ARTICLE ON THE RESTAURANT FOR THE DINING GUIDE AND HIS PICTURE AND NAME ARE IN IT!! I AM SO PROUD OF HIM! HE HAS SUCH A CUTE MUG! YOU MUST SEE IT. I'M GETTING AS MANY COPIES AS I CAN. I AM SO EXCITED!!!
We'll, y'all take care and I'll write more about our adventures later!
Satuday I took them to the street fair at College of the Desert. It is like a school fair with booths and people selling stuff, and it happens every weekend. It's actually more like the French Market. They have music, food, and cheap stuff to buy! Then we went to see the dinosaurs in Cabazon. The guy that built them was from Knott's Berry Farm, which is a theme park kind of like Disneyland. Anyway, there's a TRex and a Brontosaurus, which has a gift shop inside it. It was campy too but fun! We went to a Greek restaurant for dinner and stuffed ourselves, plus we got to watch a belly dancer and listen to Greek music. Our big joke is to say esegien every time we go out (it basically means "salud" in Greek). The waiters got a kick out of that!
Alas, we had to take them back to the airport Sunday at 4 am, but it was fun all around. Naomi and I went to Tuscany's for dinner that night, and I finally got my millennium kiss from Eric (he was 15 minutes late last year!). I guess it counts because this is the real millennium. We are going to L.A. on Monday se we will let you know how it is.
OH I ALMOST FORGOT!! ERIC HAS BEEN PUBLISHED!! HE IS IN THE JANUARY ISSUE OF PALM SPRINGS LIFE MAGAZINE. THEY DID AN ARTICLE ON THE RESTAURANT FOR THE DINING GUIDE AND HIS PICTURE AND NAME ARE IN IT!! I AM SO PROUD OF HIM! HE HAS SUCH A CUTE MUG! YOU MUST SEE IT. I'M GETTING AS MANY COPIES AS I CAN. I AM SO EXCITED!!!
We'll, y'all take care and I'll write more about our adventures later!
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