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March 31, 2008

Sunday, 3/30/08: Exhaustion, OMG!


Sunday, 3/30/08: Exhaustion, OMG!
Originally uploaded by kayay5
The weekend was very draining. There was very little sleep to be had, and we were scheduled from breakfast straight on through dinner. This picture is of us, totally about to collapse.

Sunday morning started bright and early with the Breakfast, at which Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki entertained. They were goofy and adorable and Jared announced his engagement to Sandy McCoy, and the event was a highlight of the weekend. Immediately after breakfast were the photo ops, only one of which I participated in. Then it was back to the ballroom for Jared's panel, then Jensen's, then the two together.

I loved them both! Jared's dream line for Sam to say would be "Dean! My ass!" and Jensen did a spot-on impression of Jared/Sam. Again, many things I think I'd like to remember, but I'll have to go into that later. The two of them are just so much fun together--and apart, ragging on each other. Next up was Steve's panel, and then Sandy's. Steve did a great job, and Sandy was so extremely nervous and adorable that I don't see how anyone could help but like her. There weren't anymany of the crazy fan questions I was expecting, which was nice.

After everything, we waited in line FOR-EV-ER to pick up our photo op pictures, and then it was finally home to the Valley hotel for dinner and dying. OMG, so tired!

Posted by kate at 11:43 AM | | Comments (0)

Saturday, 3/29/08: Meet Market


Saturday, 3/29/08: Meet Market
Originally uploaded by kayay5
Saturday was the first official day of the convention. First panel was Frederick Lehne (Lane?). He entertained us with a song and then with story after story. He was a very animated speaker. Next up was Chad Lindberg, which was almost painful to watch. He was clearly uncomfortable, and despite the warm friendly vibes I (we all?) was trying to project towards him, he just kept floundering. He'd answer questions quickly and then look around like he was scared half to death of all the "freaky fans". Ah well, points for getting up there! Eric Kripke's panel was next, and was very enjoyable. He is an excellent public speaker, and I was really impressed with him. There are probably lots of things I'd like to remember about his panel, but they've escaped me for the moment.

We got a break for dinner with a group of ladies who knew people we knew, and then it was back downstairs for Steve Carlson's second show of the week. He was just as good the second time, and got a quiet crowd on their feet, which was great.

After the show was the Dessert Party, which is what this picture is from. Steve, Frederick, and Chad were the "celebrity guests", and it was the most bizarre thing ever. They had to get up on this little stage and stand there on display for several minutes. Steve bolted as soon as he was allowed to go, but Frederick and Chad came around and spent a few minutes "speed dating" style at each table. We had a nice, if quick, chat with each of them and enjoyed ice cream sundaes, so it wasn't a bad way to spend the evening.

Posted by kate at 11:28 AM | | Comments (0)

Friday, 3/28/08: Big Thunder


Friday, 3/28/08: Big Thunder
Originally uploaded by kayay5
On Friday we did Disney. We met Gen, Jessie, JL, and JL's mom and brother for Nadine's first trip to Disneyland. Half of our group (Nadine, Jessie, and JL's mom) were celebrating birthdays, so they all got their birthday buttons and walked around getting "Happy Birthday!" wishes all day long. We have lots of cute pictures, but this one just cracked me up, even though it's blurry.

After walking around in the sun all day, Nadine and I had to leave a bit early to get over to the other hotel to check in for the convention. Friday night was Jason Mann's show, which was also quite good. LOTS of new music this weekend!

Posted by kate at 10:59 AM | | Comments (0)

Thursday, 3/27/08: Silly at Sushi


Thursday, 3/27/08: Silly at Sushi
Originally uploaded by kayay5
So, I didn't actually take this picture, but it was too funny not to post. We went to Hadaka Sushi to celebrate Nadine's birthday (and, belatedly, Jessie's). The food was amazing, as was the company! Good times.

After dinner, we met a bunch of people for Steve Carlson's show at Hotel Cafe. The show was wonderful and I'm so glad we went. I had never heard Steve's music before, but I really enjoyed it. Yay for new music!

Then we went home and collapsed. Again.

Posted by kate at 10:48 AM | | Comments (0)

Wednesday, 3/26/08: MR Park


Wednesday, 3/26/08: MR Park
Originally uploaded by kayay5
I picked Nadine up after work and we went to the park to walk a bit. The sun was setting and dozens of people were playing various sports and walking and it was just really pretty! We then hit the mall and then went to the Indian restaurant for dinner. Delicious.

Posted by kate at 10:40 AM | | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 3/25/08: Owl Knit Cap


Tuesday, 3/25/08: Owl Knit Cap
Originally uploaded by kayay5
Nadine is visiting! There's a funny story behind this hat. Pictures were posted a while back of Michael Rosenbaum wearing the same hat, and I texted her saying I loved the "owl knit cap" he was sporting. She then spent the entire day asking people at work what an owl knit cap was, and decided that it must be an American thing. Then she got home and saw the pictures and realized it was actually an owl knit cap. Then, while waiting for her massively delayed plane, she found one!! Best. Hat. Ever.

Anyway, on this day, Jessie and I picked Nadine up from the airport (several hours delayed... stupid high winds in Chicago) and went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Yum! Then we went back to the hotel and collapsed.

Posted by kate at 10:31 AM | | Comments (0)

Monday, 3/24/08: Homework


Monday, 3/24/08: Homework
Originally uploaded by kayay5
My most recent project in my Photoshop class was a composite using three or four different photographs. In the top image, there are two pictures from Hawaii and two from Joshua Tree, and I kind of like how it turned out. The bottom image is just a tweaked version of the collage I did last semester that I printed out just because.

Posted by kate at 10:24 AM | | Comments (0)

March 23, 2008

Sunday, 3/23/08: Hoppy Easter


Sunday, 3/23/08: Hoppy Easter
Originally uploaded by kayay5
Happy Easter! It's been a nice, relaxing day in the Kate/Gen household. We got up and went to church, which is a first for me since moving here. It was a Catholic church, which left me feeling like I wasn't in the cool kids club--everyone knew all the little phrases to say here and there, and I'd never been to a Catholic mass before, outside of the occasional wedding. And nothing was printed anywhere! You just had to know! But it was pretty and there was singing and there was the Hallelujah Chorus (and a guy with two kids who looked enough like Patrick Dempsy to be distracting).

Then we came home and made a delicious brunch and colored eggs and watched The Cutting Edge, which may not be Easter themed, but is just such a great movie that it doesn't matter.

Posted by kate at 03:57 PM | | Comments (0)

Saturday, 3/22/08: Wet Paint


Saturday, 3/22/08: Wet Paint
Originally uploaded by kayay5
I think I mentioned that our apartment building is getting a bit of a face lift. These little signs are peppered across the pavement like skipping stones. They're painting everything a nice, pretty buttercream and... a kind of gross mustard yellow, which I'm just not a fan of. I'd really like them to paint our doors red, instead of the green they've been since we moved in. They should paint all the accents red, I think, and get rid of the mustard. They should've asked me!


Theme: Signs

Posted by kate at 03:46 PM | | Comments (0)

March 21, 2008

Friday, 3/21/08: Bunny Hop


Friday, 3/21/08: Bunny Hop
Originally uploaded by kayay5
My teller supervisor issued a challenge to the tellers that, if they could meet their checking and credit card goals for the month, he'd dress up in a bunny suit. We combined the bunny with Easter weekend and Customer Appreciation Day, and I think it went over quite well. We'd been announcing it for weeks, so lots of customers came to see G in the bunny suit. He was a good sport about it.

Posted by kate at 11:17 PM | | Comments (0)

Thursday, 3/20/08: Vacancy


Thursday, 3/20/08: Vacancy
Originally uploaded by kayay5
So, this week's theme was Signs, which you wouldn't really know from my pictures! This is outside our apartment building. Anyone looking for a place to live? *laugh* They're doing a kind of renovation around here, with painting and freshening and fixing. I'm interested to see how it'll look when it's done. I'm a little dubious about the mustard yellow they seem to be using as an accent color, but we'll see.


Theme: Signs

Posted by kate at 11:12 PM | | Comments (0)

Wednesday, 3/19/08: Freshly Caught Fairy Godmother

Since it was Jessie's birthday, I thought her birthday gift from Gen would be an appropriate picture. It's a Freshly Caught Fairy Godmother! With air holes in the top! How cute is that?

Posted by kate at 11:08 PM | | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 3/18/08: An Evening with Chuck

Tuesday was the Paley Fest's Evening with Chuck. It was great fun! Let's see if I can remember who all was there: Josh Schwartz, Chris Fedak, Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovsky, Adam Baldwin, McG, Ryan McPartlin, Joshua Gomez, Julia Ling, Vik Sahay, Scott Krinsky, and Mark Lawrence. Sarah Lancaster was sick, which was sad because it was Awesome without Ellie. Boo.

I can't even really remember what was talked about, but the banter was great, everyone was adorable, and I loved them all. I can't wait for season two!

It was also nice to run into Roni and Jenna. I'm still of the mindset that I don't know anyone in this state, so it's always a surprise when I do bump into someone I know.

Posted by kate at 11:04 PM | | Comments (0)

Monday, 3/17/08: St. Patty's Day...

I've driven by this pub for three years and have never been in. I like that it says "Friar Tuck Shoppe" (which I, of course, pronounce 'shoppie' in my head), because it reminds me of a friend from Disney. He was Friar Tuck, among other characters. One day, while he was still in training and concentrating very hard on getting the autographs just right, he accidentally crossed both the F and the T. In a child's Disney autograph book. He immediately told the trainer, who said, "Well... try not to do that again!"

Anyhow. This was St. Patrick's Day. There was an Irish pub down the street that had masses and mobs of people outside, but there was nowhere to take a picture from. So, have the British pub instead. From inside my car, across the street at the gas station, which admittedly does not make for the best picture, but, well. It is what it is.

Posted by kate at 10:53 PM | | Comments (0)

March 16, 2008

Sunday, 3/16/08: Mickey!


Sunday, 3/16/08: Mickey!
Originally uploaded by kayay5
To round out the St. Eastermas weekend, this was one of my gifts. I used to have a Mickey phone as a kid, and it's probably still in my parents' basement. C found this at an antique store. An ANTIQUE store! It's from the 80's! That makes me feel old. But it still works, and has now replaced our portable phone as our home phone/doorbell. It definitely has more personality!

Posted by kate at 08:28 PM | | Comments (0)

Saturday, 3/15/08: At long last...

St. Eastermas might need some explaining. Every year, my Los Angeles "Family" of roommates, past and present, celebrates Christmas together. Somehow, 2008 has been busy-busy and it has been impossible to get five people together in the same place at the same time to exchange gifts. It was going to be a Superbowl/Christmas, and then a Valentine/Christmas, and finally it had stretched so far into the year that we ended up with St. Patrick's Day/Easter/Christmas, or St. Eastermas.

We went to dinner at Macaroni Grill and then back to R's for the gift exchange. It was a good time! It's always fun when the whole fam can get together and just laugh.

Posted by kate at 08:24 PM | | Comments (0)

Friday, 3/14/08: Preparing


Friday, 3/14/08: Preparing
Originally uploaded by kayay5
For three months, our closets have been filled with (unwrapped) Christmas gifts. Finally, this weekend, we were able to give them. This is the pre-St. Eastermas booty.

Posted by kate at 08:16 PM | | Comments (0)

March 13, 2008

Thursday, 3/13/08: Random Musings


Thursday, 3/13/08: Random Musings
Originally uploaded by kayay5
So... handwriting sample, anyone?


Theme: Words

Posted by kate at 10:26 PM | | Comments (0)

Wednesday, 3/12/08: Name Art


Wednesday, 3/12/08: Name Art
Originally uploaded by kayay5
Aarti brought this back from Hawaii for me a few years ago. I've seen this kind of thing around here and there, and I always love them. Words made of pictures--what could be cooler? *g*


Theme: Words

Posted by kate at 10:16 PM | | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 3/11/08: Frustration


Tuesday, 3/11/08: Frustration
Originally uploaded by kayay5
This is what I really, really wanted to say to someone on Tuesday. Instead, I took a picture of it. However satisfying it would've been, I think I'm probably better off.


Theme: Words

Posted by kate at 10:11 PM | | Comments (0)

Monday, 3/10/08: To live by


Monday, 3/10/08: To live by
Originally uploaded by kayay5
My mom gave me this bowl for college graduation. I really love it!


Theme: Words

Posted by kate at 10:09 PM | | Comments (0)

Sunday, 3/9/08: Magnetic Poetry


Sunday, 3/9/08: Magnetic Poetry
Originally uploaded by kayay5
This week's theme is Words. Have some Magnetic Poetry! I don't even know what's on there. I think every word combination was put together by various friends, most of it courtesy of our game night guys.

Over in the corner there is a picture of my college roommate's new little baby. Isn't he precious? She's the first of my really close, pre-moving-to-California friends to become a mommy, and I cannot wait to meet the little guy.


Theme: Words

Posted by kate at 07:16 AM | | Comments (0)

Saturday, 3/8/08: Pretty Kitty


Saturday, 3/8/08: Pretty Kitty
Originally uploaded by kayay5
I love changing my sheets, because doing so always, always attracts kittens. I don't know what it is about fresh, crisp sheets that is so magnetic to cats, but they both come and play and roll and purr so that I can't put the comforter back on until they allow me to.

But how can I deny that little face? She lays there and blinks at me and there's no way I can kick her out just so I can finish putting my bed back together. No way. *g*

Posted by kate at 06:39 AM | | Comments (0)

March 08, 2008

Friday, 3/7/08: ...how to fix your hair

...how to fix your hair, everything that really counts...

I cut my hair, what, two weeks ago? Suddenly, yesterday and today, people are noticing. I had one customer today tell me that she loved my haircut, it's so becoming on me, and it looks SO much better than it used to when it was long. ... Um, thanks? *laugh* I mean, I guess I'm glad it's cute now, but was it really that bad before?

I suppose it's better than a comment my evil ex-manager said to me when I'd styled my hair differently one day: "Oh, Kate, I love your hair! It looks SO much better than it usually does! Normally it just hangs there." Yeah. That one I had to look at the source and just brush off, because she's a miserable person.

Anyway, bad hair or good hair, my routine is generally the same. I use everything pictured here. Yes, straightening iron and curling iron. It's a process, and I'm sad to admit that it's really nothing special when I'm done, but trust me when I say it'd be a whole lot worse if I didn't do it!


Theme: Popular

Posted by kate at 12:10 AM | | Comments (0)

Thursday, 3/6/08: Papercut


Thursday, 3/6/08: Papercut
Originally uploaded by kayay5
My tender heartfinger tends to start to bleed...

Why is it that papercuts hurt so darn much? I sliced my finger open on a simple little piece of paper, and somehow it bled through a paper towel and three separate Kleenexes before I stopped it enough to put a band-aid on. I mean, jeez! Blood from a papercut should not be dripping down your hand (um, sorry for that imagery).

Anyway. Care Bears make everything better, yes?


Theme: Popular

Posted by kate at 12:02 AM | | Comments (0)

March 07, 2008

Wednesday, 3/5/08: Awfully long way to go

So let's start, 'cause you've got an awfully long way to go!

This picture was taken on the Very Bad Day, when all I wanted to do was go home and crawl into bed once it was all over. The sunset, though, was absolutely breathtaking, and a picture taken without looking in a side-view mirror while driving away from it does it no justice. In fact, I probably did it negative justice, if there's such a thing.


Theme: Popular

Posted by kate at 11:56 PM | | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 3/4/08: Shoes to Wear


Tuesday, 3/4/08: Shoes to Wear
Originally uploaded by kayay5
I'll show you what shoes to wear...

This assortment is from Gen's lovely shoe collection. The crown glory is, obviously, her safety boot! Luckily, she has graduated to regular shoes, the broken foot almost a distant memory.


Theme: Popular

Posted by kate at 11:52 PM | | Comments (0)

March 03, 2008

Monday, 3/3/08: 1989 Reeboks


Monday, 3/3/08: 1989 Reeboks
Originally uploaded by kayay5
This picture sort of spans last week's theme (Changes) and this week's theme (Wicked's "Popular"), as it not only shows how much Gen and I have changed in the last nearly two decades, but also, *sings* you'll hang with the right cohorts, you'll be good at sports...

Or... not. Pictured in this lovely team photo of the 1989 Palatine Reeboks are two of the least likely athletes you'll ever see. (I tagged the two of us on the larger version.) For starters, when the team voted on whether to wear black shorts or white shorts with our pink-and-white shirts, I voted wholeheartedly for white. I was not thinking of dirt or grass stains, but rather the fact that white matched so much better! That should have been my first clue.

My next clue was the fact that, at age eight, I was completely convinced that it was too late for me to start playing soccer, as all the other girls had been playing 'their whole lives'. As you may have guessed, I only played the one season. *g*


Theme: "Popular"

Posted by kate at 11:21 PM | | Comments (0)

March 02, 2008

Sunday, 3/2/08: Incomprehensible Art

Do all WaMus have artwork on them? Gen and I were sitting across the street eating lunch, and suddenly I realized that there was no way the picture was of a dinosaur next to his space ship under the giant mushrooms growing by the Alamo. And even on closer inspection, I don't know why there's a guy riding a miniature rhinoceros near the Liberty Bell. Or... what is it a picture of, anyway??

This one would've gone well with the "Unexpected Art" theme from a couple weeks ago. Oh well!

Posted by kate at 04:18 PM | | Comments (0)

Saturday, 3/1/08: Technology Troubles

My computer has been running progressively slower lately, and I can't figure out why! (Please excuse my technological incompetence for a moment.) My normal usage consists of having Outlook, Firefox, and Paint Shop Pro open. This has been my pattern since getting the computer two years ago. I don't know what, if any, random background programs are running, and I don't know how to figure out what they are and whether they're necessary.

I tried running a disk check, clean-up, and defrag, and I'm hopeful. There was a period during the disk check that I was suddenly terrified that it was wiping my hard drive clean (see: technological incompetence), and I hadn't backed things up in a while. When the computer pulled through that without incident, I immediately plugged in my external hard drive, so whew. Should be safe. I just hope whatever I did worked... it's extremely frustrating to have things move at a snail's pace. =/

Posted by kate at 12:44 PM | | Comments (0)