a walk to forget

i was not given permission to blog about this until today. this would only happen to sara and me.

we went to a new park to walk a different trail. it seemed alright at first. we saw a lot of people walking along this path, going in both directions, on foot and on bikes. so, what would we need to worry about, right?

at about the mile mark, sara suggested that we turn around and head back. i suggested that we keep going (despite my gut saying otherwise) and we did. it was a pretty humid morning and we didn't bring any water along. it got hotter and the trail seemed endless. it did not loop back around. the surroundings were becoming very unfamiliar. we walked through several other parks in several other cities? where were we? we did not know.

we had not seen anyone in awhile. we finally came across two gentlemen, and we decided to ask them where the closest 7-11 might be and where this trail led. apparently, this trail connected our county with an adjacent county if continued along. we still had no earthly idea where we were at the time. we ended up asking the people at the convenience store where we were, called a cab and went back to the park we came from.

four blistered feet later. about five miles of walking later. one silver cab later. sara and i make it home safe and sound with several lessons learned.

always have a cell phone. always have some cash. always scout out a new "trail." and never let sara pick where we walk. ever.

p.s. the northwest branch trail is TEN miles long. i looked it up.

baby boom?

are we in the midst of the next baby boom? there are three ladies that i work with that have either had or are expecting grandchildren this year. i've know of at least FIVE of my friends that are pregnant right now. everytime i check my email, i feel like someone else is going to announce their news. i think it's amazing, but WOW! and you have already read the blog of people that have already had their children this year. sara and i are constantly talking about having kids or adopting these days. it's not going to be for awhile though. so i guess we'll have to enjoy our friends' kids. i'm so excited to meet all the babies and see photos.

but can't you see me using my ipod in the manner shown above?

obviously, i didn't think of it first.

an evening with friends...scrapbooking

on friday night, after much planning, i spent the evening with my friends, chrissy and danielle. and yes, we actually got together to scrapbook. the photo shown is of the actual pages that i was able to get done that night.

for those of you know me well, i'm very much of a perfectionist when it comes to anything artistic. and generally, i don't really like to create things in front of other people or show things before they are done.

however, in this case, i have changed my mind. i actually look forward to this social engagement quite a bit. it started out being danielle and me. she was trying to organize her photo collection into albums and i was attempting to finish ONE scrapbook in this millenium. we started meeting once a month for a few months (when we could). then, chrissy joined us a couple of months ago. i think two of our other friends may be involved next month. i think i'm supposed to host in july (after sara's exam, of course).

although the productivity is key, the best part has been spending time with my two friends. i've gotten to know danielle better and have had a chance to reconnect with chrissy. other people have been around, not scrapbooking, and that's cool too. my friend, jen, and chrissy's husband, ed have observed the process with little teasing.

danielle made dinner. amazing. they had wine. we chilled outside for awhile. a good time had by all. i spared them photos this time. next time, i make no promises.

happy memorial day to all! thanks to all who have served in the military. my dad served for over twenty years. a prayer for all those who are fighting.

midnight soul

a walk in nature

for the past couple of days, sara and i have been taking walks around a local lake. what, you say? ann walking? as in exercise? yeah right. the first day may have seemed that way. today, i made it more fun by bringing along the camera. i caught this crane taking off and believe me i was excited.

anyway, i do love nature. i love being outdoors. i like having the window open when i'm inside. i drive with my windows down whenever i can. i love the sounds. i agree with sara that seeing the sun through a group of trees is amazing. i think the best part of the past couple of days has been seeing the animals...ducks, geese, and turtles. sara LOVES turtles.

i think the coolest thing that i noticed as i walked were the kids playing along the path. i watched one little boy play with the stick in the mud and another one actually having fun with dirt. why do the little things that take a little imagination seem so boring when we are adults? i was fascinated by sticks, leaves and dirt when i was younger. yet, that seems a long time ago. i'm old.

the walking will continue, i think. i picked the more normal photos to share this time. be on the lookout.

an unexpected job

i have become the official exterminator in the relationship. pictured on the left is dale gribble of king of the hill. sara and i are fans of this cartoon created by mike judge (who created beavis and butthead). dale is an exterminator that is somewhat paranoid about conspiracy theories and is never without his cigarettes.

i'm a much milder form of dale. i'm only mildly paranoid and enjoy only the occasional cigarette. and i am confined to exterminating merely the few unlucky creatures that make their way into our apartment.

my cats are the seekers. they find them almost immediately, which draws sara's attention. then, i am called from whatever i'm concentrating on at the moment to become the exterminator. i did not ask for this role. i do not enjoy it. however, i AM pretty good at it. i don't even get to carry cool chemicals, wear the orange jumpsuit or the sunglasses. it is me, the bug, and a paper towel. pretty sexy, eh?

almost as sexy as dale.

a surprise visit....

...from my brother, mike. he hasn't been up here in almost 4 years. i tend to be the one that travels down to visit my family more. he called me a couple of days ago to ask my schedule and somehow it worked out for him to come up saturday night and stay until the early afternoon on sunday. my brother is one of the funniest people i know. he has the funniest laugh , according to sara. out of the blue, he will drop a one liner that will have you rolling for at least an hour.

we were able to frequent one of our favorite chinese restaurants, tenren, for dinner. good stuff. mostly asians eating there. if you want to pick up an asian woman, go there. then, we took him on a mini-driving tour of maryland, since we know our way just a tadbit better now. the remainder of the evening we spent watching ninja warrior, a marathon. i think watching the women compete is more fun than the men.

the next morning, mike and i went to fair oaks mall to check out a skate shop called elite board shop. they carry the type of sneakers that mike loves to buy. he's a self-proclaimed "sneakerhead." i won't tell you how many pairs he has in his collection. a good time was had by all. it was good to see him, if even for such a short time. he's one of the most giving people i know. there's nothing that i wouldn't do for him and vice versa. i was sad to see him leave, but definitely glad that he came to visit.

p.s. big ups to my friends, laura, bruce, gavin, noah, rodney and patty for visiting me at the store this week. it's always good to have friends. i've been working non-stop since last tuesday, so i'm exhausted and it was good to see smiling faces.

"can you help me?"

i'm in a rush this morning, so this is going to be quick. i'll add a photo later. i think that i have a flashing sign on my forehead that says, "i'm in retail, ask me." despite any effort that i may make to disguise myself to get additional work done off the clock, i am ALWAYS asked for help. even though i don't have a nametag on or am not wearing the walkie talkie with the earpiece, somehow customers always know that i am working there.

i get asked for help when i'm in OTHER stores, while i'm SHOPPING! i can be in a grocery store pushing a cart around and people will ask me for help. it's insane. (i guess i should stop straightening displays while i'm shopping.)

the only way that i can avoid being asked, "do you work here?" is when sara is with me shopping. i won't even go into how much she LOVES to shop. not even.

lastly, i will not be watching the rest of the season of sheer genius. my favorite, tabatha was voted off along with the weasel. they were the top 2 in my book...not even worth watching now.

i love hip hop

i love this song. it's "hip hop" by joell ortiz. i love hip hop. some of my friends don't understand. sara doesn't understand. sometimes, no other music will do when i'm driving around or working. living here, my collection has increased tenfold. i've added a lot of old school hip hop to my ipod lately. snoop dogg. notorious b.i.g. jay z. 2pac. warren g. i like the new stuff too. this is one of my current favorites. i love the way this music makes me feel. i love the beats. you have to play it loud. you have to feel your windows move. you have to roll your windows down.

if you don't understand, take a ride with me and we will crank it up. i love hip hop.

i can't stop watching dawson's creek

reruns of dawson's creek come on in the mornings when i'm getting ready for work. i LOVED this show when it was on originally. and now, when i catch this show, i can't change the channel or stop watching the show. i've almost been late for work a couple of times.

i didn't watch every season. toward the end of the show, i missed most of it. but i promise you, i have seen the show's finale multiple times and i always cry.

i loved almost ever character..except maybe dawson. pacey and joey were my favorites. i couldn't help but love jack cuz he came out on the show. i remember talking to my friend, elizabeth, picking apart the episodes when were both into the show. i love cheesy shows. this show was definitely in the top 5 of cheesy shows. i miss the katie holmes of dawson's creek. and who would have thought jen would marry heath ledger and produce offspring?

melrose place, beverly hills 20910, dawson's creek....the o.c.? really? wow.

my filipino mom

i'm often asked to do my "mom impression" with my filipino accent. why, you ask? she is one of the funniest people on earth. she makes me laugh almost every time i see her. that wasn't always the case. we've had some issues in the past, but not because she didn't love me unconditionally. she has always been there through good and bad. i don't know what i would do without her. she is my hero. she has sacrificed so much in her life to give me and my brother everything we might want. she's worked in factories and in retail for years to give us a future, an education. i will never be able to pay her back for all she has given. and in some of the toughest moments of my life, all i needed was to hear her voice and the touch of her hand to make me feel okay. a filipino mom is unlike ever other mom on earth, but i would not trade mine for any other. i love you, mom. happy mother's day.

and to all the amazing mother's i know, you have my utmost respect and love. happy mother's day!

a present from sara

don't get the wrong impression. sara gives me little gifts every now and again. i am NOT going to blog about just any gift. i'm just reinforcing how cool this particular gift was to receive today.

i collect antique cameras. i don't have as many as i would like because i have limited myself to those i can afford. i have some neat ones and i make sure that the mechanisms work. i really want a movie projector. (ann shakes fist at sky and says "one day a projector will be mine.")

the one shown here is actually a working movie camera and has film inside. it came with the case and has immediately become one of my favorites.

sara's mom, mary, got us into antique shopping a while ago. (happy mom's day, mary!) we all look for specific things and i started collecting cameras. i'm not an amazing photographer by any means, but i love taking photographs. i'm currently obsessed with taking photos of old signage on buildings, neon signs of businesses and any type of mural on buildings. i know i'm weird. (no comments, please.) anyway, i love cameras. and gifts. and sara.

i have no short term memory

i love my cell phone. my phone is black and obviously, my hand is not white...but i am short on time. i have a motorola razor phone, like a lot of folks these days. and i love it.

it has become my short term memory. if i don't take a photo, text it to myself or even make a video, i am going to forget about it. if you give me a list of things to do and you don't watch me write it down, consider it forgotten. post-it-notes are my best friends. my short term memory has never been good, but as i get older it is virtually non-existent. i can walk from one room to another with a purpose in mind and completely forget that purpose when i get there.

sometimes when sara walks out the door in the morning or calls on my way home to ask me to pick something up, i acknowledge the request and immediately forget what was asked of me. it's scary. this is the reason that i was freaked out for two days after seeing the movie memento. the movie portrays what would happen if someone did not have a short term memory at all. he ended up tattooing himself to remember things. i hope it doesn't come to that. i don't want the words "milk" or "eggs" permanently tattooed on my body. i can think of much better body art.

i know i'm random. i can't remember what else to say.

figjam

i love tabitha from sheer genius. she's unafraid to say exactly what she thinks about anyone at any time. she knows she's good at what she does and she's confident about every choice she makes. she's also inherently mean, bitchy and evil at times. and i LOVE her.

she has come to despise one of the other stylists on the show with a passion, as shown on this week's episode. his name is tyson, but she calls him "Weasel." Actually, she characterizes him as a "figjam," which stands for "F@ck I'm Good, Just Ask Me." AMAZING. this term will forever be in my vocabulary.

sara asks me every week why i like her so much. other than her fabulous accent, i just like her style and i think that each of us has that meanness or bitchy side to us. and after listening to a podcast of This American Life called "Allure of the Mean Friend," i know that i'm not the only one that finds mean people intriguing or interesting.

wow, seriously?

we passed this sign on the way to the movies. no words are necessary, are they?


p.s. the name of the store fish is "cheetah." pure awesomeness. i love kids.

a store pet

one of the employees, nathan, has been asking me for some time for a store pet. he has suggested different types, birds, cats, dogs, etc. he has asked me at least once a shift for the past month and a half that he has worked there. i know he has asked the other managers as well. finally, he resorted to the "use one parent against the other method" by lying to the store manager and telling him that i thought it was a good idea. so on the company dime, he and i walked over to petsmart and bought a red beta fish. roger, our friend at petsmart, took to time to pull out every one to find a red one for us. (nathan is shown here on the right)

the cardboard pirate ship the fish is on was actually from a display that nathan had taken an hour to make. we are going to let the kids from story time today name the fish. otherwise, i think the fish is going to be called "buttercup" even though we think it's a male. nathan actually said to me, "maybe it's a transexual?" i will let you know what the actual name turns out to be in the end.

the rest of the day, in my head, "i went and bought a fish while on the company dime." and the rest of the day, nathan said out loud, "i didn't get a raise, but i got a fish." you KNOW i like this kid.

a date with sara

yesterday, sara and i went out on a "date," lunch and a movie. we try to do it every so often and it was a lot of fun. life gets so hectic and we find that most of time is spent dealing with the "business" of life. grocery shopping. laundry. hustling on the streets for money. you know.

anyway, we went to our favorite sub shop, jimmy john's. it's a chain that primarily places themselves around college campuses. the bread is amazing. then, we went to see spiderman 3. i try not to listen to reviews. i try to see movies like this either with only sara or by myself. sara's opinion doesn't usually affect mine, since we disagree on movies so often.

there were things i liked about this movie and things i disliked. it was a little on the cheesy side. i loved the dancing dark side scenes. i will not forget tobey macguire leaving the suit shop. how could you not love tobey in mascara, looking goth? i DO NOT ever want to watch tobey cry again. (sara compares it to watching john mayer sing.) it's painful. i am way more forgiving about movies than my friends are usually. i judge it usually based on how i feel leaving the movie and if i can escape into it while watching it. i think i enjoyed this movie more because of the audience's reaction, the comments, the sounds and the kids. i will own this movie (to complete the collection), but will i watch it multiple times like i've watched the other two? i'm not sure.

i'm excited about the summer movie prospects though...can't wait.

my favorites always leave

yes, i'm posting twice in one day. this one will be short. my friend, india, is headed back to england in a week or so. her last day at borders was on friday.

she is a lot of fun and of course, quickly became one of my friends at work. she was actually there the day i went to interview there. i noticed the piercings and plaid purple skirt and knew they wouldn't have a problem with me.

she was the first person that knew i was gay. apparently, she knew when i came to interview. i don't know how. one day, she just came out and asked me, "are you gay?" needless to say, i like her style. she will be missed. in the beginning, she thought i was irritating and asked too many questions. me, ask too many questions? never. i thought that was the funniest thing ever. safe travels, india.

partying till the sun comes up...

i celebrated cinco de mayo with my friends, amy and chris (pictured to the left). amy celebrated her birthday this week on wednesday and is holding a gift from a group of us...a large margarita bouquet. they are a super cool couple that loves hosting gatherings in their amazing home. although i don't get to attend many of them, i am glad when i get the chance. they go above and beyond to make everyone feel at home. chris provided me personally more than my fair share of tasty margaritas. :) good times. and i bound to love any home that has a cell from a batman cartoon hanging in the guest bathroom. and since it was her birthday, i have to say a word or two about amy.

i've known amy since she was a freshman in college. she is incredible. despite trials and tribulations, she rises above it all and comes out stronger. she is a woman of action and i would not be shocked if she were running the country one day. she has always had a wisdom beyond her years and a centeredness of which i'm jealous. they say you surround yourself by people with characteristics you have or those which you wish to possess. i'm certainly glad that amy has been in my circle of friends for all these years. she constantly amazes me. (pictured right, a photo of Chris in a Star Trek costume) this photo was on their fridge. i love it. i think chris totally makes the uniform his own. and amy put the photo on the fridge...that's why amy is super cool.

this is chrissy enjoying the party. she's lucky it's not her birthday. :) i'm not sure what i would say about her. i am glad that i've gotten to see her and ed more often lately. it's fun to practice my sarcasm. and to make the circle a little more complete...happy birthday to molly in thailand. she has a pretty cool blog herself. ..Molliver's Travels. i don't get to see her often, but i'm glad that i know her and am amazed at who she is and with what she has done in her life. last time i saw her, i got see multiple photos of her with elephants...amazing. big ups to molly, shown here in front of the Taj Mahal.

a weekend with virginia

this is my friend, virginia, at a restaurant called love cafe on u street in d.c. we enjoyed their cupcake bar...yes, a cupcake bar. the gentleman tha opened this establishment was actually a lawyer turned bakery owner. he has a show on food network called sugar rush.

virginia and i have known each other for twenty years now. yes, i'm old. and she's not even the friend i've known the longest. crazy. she and i got caught up on her life on sunday, but i actually saw her on saturday as well at her spring open house.

Pictured on the right are evan, eric and virginia. If you can't tell by looking, evan is eric's son. he's 7 years old. this was the first time i've met evan. he is a mini-eric. he's outgoing, energetic, smart and friendly. i watched as he chased the other kids playing the "monster." it was amazing. all of my friends' kids are super cute. i think i bonded with evan the most though. it was a great time. and it was so good to see eric, shelley and meet the kids. i think the kids at the party almost outnumbered the kids. there also seemed to be a lot of babies on the way. i'm glad i went to the party to see michelle and meet her kids and husband....to see tracy, viktor and their daughter, sophia. i haven't seen some of these folks in years. it was good to reconnect.

one of the benefits of knowing someone so long is that i am able to get away with making comments that most would not. virginia freely admits to being a type A personality, who is a little on the anal retentive side. the photograph on the left shows a sign that was posted on her wall above a endtable storing plates, bowls, utensils and of course, napkins. i commented immediately on this sign, as i should, and she responds "i wanted to avoid being asked repeatedly where the napkins are, shut up." so this became an ongoing joke throughout the party. this was not the only sign.

my personal favorite was "welcome! pls. go to my bedroom & take off your SHOES & make a nametag." of course, it seemed innocent at first. then, ann and her twisted mind told her to leave the sign up for her male guests after the party. at least, if it was too wild a night, the men would know EXACTLY what to do when they arrived and she would know their names when they left to avoid any awkwardness. :) if you know virginia, this is a very funny thought. i took the napkin sign home and virginia gave me the "welcome" sign when i met her for cupcakes.

i'm glad my friends can laugh at themselves. i laugh at myself all the time.