Single Parent Summer back in full swing...(pun intended)...
Daddy's back at the Diamond this year and it couldn't have been a less underwhelming transition if we had planned it that way. No Softball for Thing 1 this year, which I am CERTAIN is part of the reason. Thing 2 is a little more patient these days, letting us cook meals without FREAKING OUT completely that we are not putting all attention on her. Even if it's just to sit with her on the couch while she does, whatever it is she wants to do...
My Choni-less routine is back in full swing as well... feed the childrens, do some domestic tasks that I can fit in so I feel like I'm actually participating in home life, put Thing 2 to bed early (as her schedule as somehow changed itself while life was going on) then Thing 1 goes to bed and boom... Mom has an hour to herself. Usually this hour is used by dishes or wrapping up the domestic task of my choice for that night. If it's Friday, it's manicure night and I kill my time of blowing on my nails by reading a few pages of whatever book I am into...rinse. Repeat.
Still able to fit in reading and crochet into my lunches. It's been a HOT ASS winter/spring and I have NOT been going on my walks like I should...Which is ok... it affords me the time for my crafty crafts that I tote along with me..I finished my baby room cross stitch that I got WAY post babies... as if there's an expiration when you can celebrate the birth of your children... There isn't by the way... Keeping a look out on a new cross stitch/embroidery project to start... I want to make a set of washclothes for our kitchen... yay...
It's so warm, I have already "spring cleaned" the kids' room. There are winter clothes galore that still fit the wee one so I did my Spring Time Frugal Mom Task: cut off all the sleeves from the shirts and legs from the pants... now there are shorts and short sleeved shirts aplenty... and very little cost to me... YAY!
I have been using my new camera lens more and more... Holy Shiznits... that thing is a game changer... my pictures are amazing now. I have a small gig doing wedding pictures in September and the Mister is doing the videography... Should prove to be a nice little padding for the bank account ... This year I am wiping off my budget list...I get a full mulligan... Here's why:
We bought a car.
It's awesome.. it's brand new...I got a great deal...and I traded in our 8 year old mini van... Yes, I still have a wee one... No I won't really miss having the van. Because we are frugal, we are realistic, and we are not assholes... we don't travel much... Not that I really miss it all that much. We did NOT in fact get to have our weekend anniversary getaway because I got violently ill right before our dinner reservations...so i know it wasn't the food. I have my money on someone at work got me sick/mixed with the anxiety of the weekend and having thing 2 at Ma's when I wasn't sure how that was going to fare with ANYONE...it went GREAT and now we have more confidence that maybe we can start small trips and travel with the wee one. But I spent my anniversary weekend in bed...and NOT in the fun awesome way... in the flannel-nightgown-reruns-of-Roseanne-sleeping-all-day-and-night-eating-dry-toast kind of way... Anyhoo... Choners ran out of his money early this year... I don't know why... but he did... and it's not because he spent it on anything other than gas food and a minor car repair when he felt he had the money.. food costs go up, gas goes up, things increase and his pay stays the same. Same deal with me, but a little different because of how he gets paid and gets the off-season unemployment. He will have gone two months without any money coming in as of the end of April... The only saving grace is that he is able to sell off some comic art, but then he'll be paying me back... not literally, but I know him. He'll pick up the tab for something later remembering that I had to come in where he left off until he got paid. But that's why I save... so I can come in behind him and SWIPE SWIPE everyone's happy... Also, we got a new car! He was driving the van and since he drives 50 miles per work day, that wasn't really working out well staring down the season's throat and watching the gas prices go up... So he gets the old car, I get the new car and while I'm over here driving the new car, commuting in it...he's driving the old car a third of the miles I would in a year... Again, everyone's happy! And he is SO ecstatic to have that car back...
You see, I don't know if I mentioned, he used to drive the Civic. We had two cars when Thing 1 was born, an '02 Civic and his '98 Aspire.. as in, it Aspired to be a real car... The Aspire DIED (I know, SHOCKING) and we had to make a decision...and because we were living my mother and Step-monster at the time, i fucked up ROYALLY and listened to him when he suggested I get a family vehicle and get a minivan... knowing that if I financed the cheapest one I could find it would be a hefty down payment and a hefty car payment because we were still a young married couple, no house payment yet, not paying rent "living with my parents"... we were doomed from the start...BUT I listened, I was trying to do that at the time, I was trying to be involved... big mistake... months after that monster purchase that nearly cleaned out our savings, and just after Christmas and shopping trips full of "Oh but it's Christmas, go ahead, put it on your credit card" we were broke and out on our ass because he kicked us out for some fakakta reason. I know the reason and it's totally fakakta...
Here we are 8 years of a monster free lifestyle, but that van was still a little bit of an albatross, the final thread to be cut from that other life that is so far behind us now I can't believe that ever happened, I can't believe I ever let that happen!
I purchased the new car a week ago today... it's still so surreal...that I look in my driveway and see that metallic charcoal beauty staring back at me...at us... The Things LOVE the new car... my nephew was a little upset at the trade in concept, but he got over it...and my little sis of course loves it... it's shiny... She's in.
Our credit is apparently flawless... Hmmm, wonder how that happened! Hahaha... yes, I'm laughing... it's funny.
But with two dental appointments that came up and bit me in the ass, I still have to get glasses and the buying of the groceries, OH and the civic needed work that I was quoted on 7 months ago and yeah... considering I"m in an industry dealing daily with quotes and how you can't really count on them lasting very long, I STUPIDLY and admittedly used the 7month old quote to budget the maintenance work on the civic... and extra $300 later, we are officially OUT our anniversary money and anything we decide to do later is going to be "out of pocket" fine... Thing 1 needed new shoes after I got home from work the other day and what did I do? Went and got them, didn't think twice...didn't use a credit card... I need to keep things like that fresh in my mind so I don't feel like a failure because I will NOT by any stretch of the imagination be saving the kind of money I expected this year... but that doesn't mean I won't be saving at all... just not as much...which is fine... we have a new car! two cars that get great gas mileage instead of not... big happenings for us!
We are still planning on getting my eye surgery next year and doing our New York trip the following year...then I am hoping to maybe take and adjust my tax return if I need to.. we'll see... I talked to the CFO of our company and we had a great talk about life and stuff.... he's a good guy, the kind of person you would strive to be in life and I got some great confidence up after that meeting.
Feeling like my damn hair is taking FOREVER to grow, but it's not... but it IS!!!!
Thing 2 is STILL nuts, but it's either not as bad, or we're just managing it a lot better... or both... but still... she threw a world class wobbler yesterday that cause me to drop off her big sis way too early for school... oh well... Shit happens...
Now that I have bored whomever to tears, I'm going to go now... the computers at work were/are down and has cause a lovely break that I haven't' had in WEEKS due to a chick at work going on maternity leave that, growing huge belly not withstanding, no one planned for... mmmhhhmmm.... I started a crochet project today that needs to be done by Saturday and if I have two more lunch hours like I did today, it'll be a piece of CAKE!!! Can't wait to finish that up... lovely... so now I get to go drive my new car home... damn man... it sucks to be me... with my achey foot, my achey nervy mouth/teeth blind as a bat eyes full head of gorgeous hair...oh yeah...and my new car....
Mister is making rad ass taco recipe he came up with all by hisself... Dear Lord... I am so excited to get home!
Showing posts with label wedding anniversary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wedding anniversary. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
On The 6th Day...
Not only would I NEVER believe it was January, I would never believe it was winter, I would never believe that 2013 was only 6 days away...
I would swear that it was, in itself, a WHOLE YEAR away.
Recap:
Christmas was wonderful... minus the SICK... the ungodly sick that we all experienced... starting with the Wee One and working it's horrid way up... Daddy took the longest to recover, but alas, it happened and we were staring The New Year straight in the face. We had our usual NYE. Kids in bed early because the big one tries to stay up and can't, Martinelli's chillin until the ball drops and BOOM... a good time for all :)
***took a break and came back the next morning, started the post at 4:30pm on 1/6/14... wrapping it up morning of 1/07***
It was a modest Christmas this year, and I think it was better for it. Thing 1 got games and Hello Kitty stuff and Thing 2 got her first trike. I got some bad ass books that I can't WAIT to read, because I gotta say... as much as I wanted to go back to the Stephen King Library at home and re-read, I AM refreshed that after 13 years together, the Mister is still providing new and exciting literature! I can't be upset at that... like, at all. I had some nice time off with the family, even though we were sick up to our eyeballs and I still have a lingering cold/allergy thing going on... but hey, it didn't stop us from the important thing; spending time together.
My lil sis's 13th birthday celebration extraordinaire was just a dinner at her favorite (right now) restaurant, yummy food and I got to spend a whole HALF of the dinner with her because Thing 2 didn't get her naps in and that was the end of that.
Speaking of sleepy Thing 2... she got a new bed. Courtesy of a recall and that she BROKE her bed due to the problem of the recall before I could address the issue... plus that crib is SUPER old anyways. I promised I would order the new one after the New Year... January 2nd, I ordered that bad ass bitch and it already came to the house!! It came to the house yesterday and when I got home last night daddy had it all put together! Then he spouted off about extra pieces...those would be for the Toddler bed conversion. I can't believe the deal I got, I was so excited... I felt awesome about the purchase because we were UP on our budget this year!!! WTF?!?! I know !!! It was exactly the amount of the bed and well, who can have a new bed without new bedding?? Nobody!! That's HOO! Hehe... yep, owl bedding.. it happened... It's super cute, it's girly without drowning in pink and I LOVE it, and I found a good deal on the set...so the bedding + the bed = our "profit" from our budget. I was so excited. I couldn't believe it. Nothing like starting the year on a total up note right?
Other than the plans I made for our tax return, there really aren't any HUGE decisions on the horizon, which means something unexpected is probably going to happen. So super saving McScrooger time is back in effect immediately. I might need a hair trim, other than that though, not really planning on anything for myself. I can't WAIT to get that tax return though. Not gonna lie. I have my lens to look forward to, the car needs struts (that's a duh with the miles on it and how old it is and that I haven't done them before), we're getting new phones!!!, and we are doing something super extra special for our 10 year wedding anniversary!!! I wanted to do something special and surprise the mister, I feel he really deserves a surprise...but then I started thinking and the thinking got out of hand and then there was a WHOLE list of things to choose from!! I didn't know which one would be best, I wouldn't want to get back from the trip and say," Oh you liked that? Yeah, well, it was between this, and this...and this and this and this and this..." and I wouldn't want him to sit there and think that there was a better possibility out there and I picked whatever it was I picked and why did I do that and OMG OMGOMG!!!... so I brought him in on it...and it was so freaking cute too... so now we are mulling over three major possibilities, but I DO believe it's swinging one way.. A weekend Disneyland Resort getaway with a two park hopper :) We haven't done Disneyland in FOREVER!!! And NO...we are not taking the kids...and NO ... I do NOT feel badly about that decision... AT ALL. We already promised ourselves we would take them when Thing 2 is older. That makes the most sense... We took Thing 1 when she was 2 and some months...it was magical. Thing 2...is not magical. So, I say... we wait to take the kiddos... But then again, I don't know that we're doing that... we'll see. We have... uhm... three months or something like that to figure it out.. Less than that actually... two months to cell phones, three months to anniversary.
Also, the first time we'll be away from both kids for time to ourselves EVER... We've not done this before. We've been there for the kids...and I think that this particular event calls for some Mommy/Daddy time, don't you? Me too!!
There's THAT....
It doesn't feel like the 7th day of January today... Yesterday didn't feel like the 6th day... and today doesn't feel like the 7th... It.just.doesn't. It's SUPER hot here. The rest of the country is experiencing this Polar Vortex thingy... Not here... Not us... Of course. I wanted it to be damned COLD! I wanted the cold, I wanted to see snow this year and we were well on our way with the coldest autumn in our history and record breaking lows in November...but alas... no... dammit. And it doesn't look like we're going to see any cold ever... I don't see where we are... Unless the Spring stays cold... which would be nice.
My tape player in my car died again, which brings the question...do you replace the radio on a 12 year old car with 217k on it? Even if it runs like new? Yeah, we'll be pondering that for sure.
Crafting a lot already... getting down the list of Christmas gifts... uhm..yeah...
I feel this is the catch up necessary to bring us to the New Year. I am excited about this year, last year wasn't great. It by far was not the worst... but...it was... underwhelming. New year, new rules... new rules to have a great year! Thing 2 turns 2 and I think it's going to be a small affair due to the fact that I don't want to start the year off with no saving ;) And she's 2.. come on... she still wasn't all that into Christmas... we had to open her gifts for her, mostly and then she just wanted us to get on with the opening of the actual gift itself. She had no concept that there was MORE... so... with her bday... we're going small this year. Maybe something next year, but even so, probably NOT. And you know what sucks, this year would be great for us to finally host a party at our house even in the winter... it's NOT COLD! Oh well... Still loving my short-ass hair cut... LOVE.IT. Ok, well, I think that's all the damage I can do for now. Also, we now have Netflix... we have internet and we have Netflix. We are no longer cavemen... write that down...
I would swear that it was, in itself, a WHOLE YEAR away.
Recap:
Christmas was wonderful... minus the SICK... the ungodly sick that we all experienced... starting with the Wee One and working it's horrid way up... Daddy took the longest to recover, but alas, it happened and we were staring The New Year straight in the face. We had our usual NYE. Kids in bed early because the big one tries to stay up and can't, Martinelli's chillin until the ball drops and BOOM... a good time for all :)
***took a break and came back the next morning, started the post at 4:30pm on 1/6/14... wrapping it up morning of 1/07***
It was a modest Christmas this year, and I think it was better for it. Thing 1 got games and Hello Kitty stuff and Thing 2 got her first trike. I got some bad ass books that I can't WAIT to read, because I gotta say... as much as I wanted to go back to the Stephen King Library at home and re-read, I AM refreshed that after 13 years together, the Mister is still providing new and exciting literature! I can't be upset at that... like, at all. I had some nice time off with the family, even though we were sick up to our eyeballs and I still have a lingering cold/allergy thing going on... but hey, it didn't stop us from the important thing; spending time together.
My lil sis's 13th birthday celebration extraordinaire was just a dinner at her favorite (right now) restaurant, yummy food and I got to spend a whole HALF of the dinner with her because Thing 2 didn't get her naps in and that was the end of that.
Speaking of sleepy Thing 2... she got a new bed. Courtesy of a recall and that she BROKE her bed due to the problem of the recall before I could address the issue... plus that crib is SUPER old anyways. I promised I would order the new one after the New Year... January 2nd, I ordered that bad ass bitch and it already came to the house!! It came to the house yesterday and when I got home last night daddy had it all put together! Then he spouted off about extra pieces...those would be for the Toddler bed conversion. I can't believe the deal I got, I was so excited... I felt awesome about the purchase because we were UP on our budget this year!!! WTF?!?! I know !!! It was exactly the amount of the bed and well, who can have a new bed without new bedding?? Nobody!! That's HOO! Hehe... yep, owl bedding.. it happened... It's super cute, it's girly without drowning in pink and I LOVE it, and I found a good deal on the set...so the bedding + the bed = our "profit" from our budget. I was so excited. I couldn't believe it. Nothing like starting the year on a total up note right?
Other than the plans I made for our tax return, there really aren't any HUGE decisions on the horizon, which means something unexpected is probably going to happen. So super saving McScrooger time is back in effect immediately. I might need a hair trim, other than that though, not really planning on anything for myself. I can't WAIT to get that tax return though. Not gonna lie. I have my lens to look forward to, the car needs struts (that's a duh with the miles on it and how old it is and that I haven't done them before), we're getting new phones!!!, and we are doing something super extra special for our 10 year wedding anniversary!!! I wanted to do something special and surprise the mister, I feel he really deserves a surprise...but then I started thinking and the thinking got out of hand and then there was a WHOLE list of things to choose from!! I didn't know which one would be best, I wouldn't want to get back from the trip and say," Oh you liked that? Yeah, well, it was between this, and this...and this and this and this and this..." and I wouldn't want him to sit there and think that there was a better possibility out there and I picked whatever it was I picked and why did I do that and OMG OMGOMG!!!... so I brought him in on it...and it was so freaking cute too... so now we are mulling over three major possibilities, but I DO believe it's swinging one way.. A weekend Disneyland Resort getaway with a two park hopper :) We haven't done Disneyland in FOREVER!!! And NO...we are not taking the kids...and NO ... I do NOT feel badly about that decision... AT ALL. We already promised ourselves we would take them when Thing 2 is older. That makes the most sense... We took Thing 1 when she was 2 and some months...it was magical. Thing 2...is not magical. So, I say... we wait to take the kiddos... But then again, I don't know that we're doing that... we'll see. We have... uhm... three months or something like that to figure it out.. Less than that actually... two months to cell phones, three months to anniversary.
Also, the first time we'll be away from both kids for time to ourselves EVER... We've not done this before. We've been there for the kids...and I think that this particular event calls for some Mommy/Daddy time, don't you? Me too!!
There's THAT....
It doesn't feel like the 7th day of January today... Yesterday didn't feel like the 6th day... and today doesn't feel like the 7th... It.just.doesn't. It's SUPER hot here. The rest of the country is experiencing this Polar Vortex thingy... Not here... Not us... Of course. I wanted it to be damned COLD! I wanted the cold, I wanted to see snow this year and we were well on our way with the coldest autumn in our history and record breaking lows in November...but alas... no... dammit. And it doesn't look like we're going to see any cold ever... I don't see where we are... Unless the Spring stays cold... which would be nice.
My tape player in my car died again, which brings the question...do you replace the radio on a 12 year old car with 217k on it? Even if it runs like new? Yeah, we'll be pondering that for sure.
Crafting a lot already... getting down the list of Christmas gifts... uhm..yeah...
I feel this is the catch up necessary to bring us to the New Year. I am excited about this year, last year wasn't great. It by far was not the worst... but...it was... underwhelming. New year, new rules... new rules to have a great year! Thing 2 turns 2 and I think it's going to be a small affair due to the fact that I don't want to start the year off with no saving ;) And she's 2.. come on... she still wasn't all that into Christmas... we had to open her gifts for her, mostly and then she just wanted us to get on with the opening of the actual gift itself. She had no concept that there was MORE... so... with her bday... we're going small this year. Maybe something next year, but even so, probably NOT. And you know what sucks, this year would be great for us to finally host a party at our house even in the winter... it's NOT COLD! Oh well... Still loving my short-ass hair cut... LOVE.IT. Ok, well, I think that's all the damage I can do for now. Also, we now have Netflix... we have internet and we have Netflix. We are no longer cavemen... write that down...
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
♫♪At Laaaaast...♫♪♫
Today is a very important day in my life :)
8 years ago today, I married the love of my life. Me...the cynical one. I used to give people very generous amounts of shit about love at first site (can you tell my parents were divorced?) and how it's not possible.
Yet...I can tell you all about the first day of the rest of my life...
I had just enrolled at Mt. San Jacinto College and was new to the area. I had too many ill fated blind dates to count and first dates that never turned into second dates. I was working part time at corporate gluttonous video franchise (a.k.a Blockbuster Video) and I decided I wanted to get out of here! After being promised one thing, and delivered another... I found myself at the 2 year college about to embark on my new journey... it was August 2000. One year out of High School and already forgot half the names of those blue gowned morons... I had Math Mondays and Wednesdays, English and Film Tuesdays and Thursdays and History on Fridays. It was a fantastic Tuesday. There was a two and a half hour gap between my English and Film classes and against my better judgement I would go to Target and Jack in the Box. Then back to the little mini quad in front of the theater where the film class was held. We walk into the first class like so many mooing cattle and take our seats. I sat behind a very nice smelling individual and start to play my game to myself "Who in THIS class would I date if they asked me out?"... Mr. Davis calls out the familiar phrase from teachers all my life "Please let me know if you prefer to be called something other than what I have on my roll sheet as we go along, thank you" and he goes down the list... we're to the M's and I'm not impressed with this selection brought forth... Math was incredibly not promising and English was mostly older women and incredibly immature boys. Film class seemed like it would be a new frontier right? Nope, not until we got to the N's...
I hear Mr. Davis say the name on the roster and as I'm leaned over into my over flowing backpack, up pops the nice smelling one infront of me and stands there in the middle of the theater, making a runway-esque circle in place and informs Mr. Davis and a booming voice with a mischievious smile "Call me Antonio!"... and with a smirk, he sits down...but not before shooting a glance my way...and there it started... I started to get to that mini quad earlier before the class started and there he would be.
Sitting on the brick planter with his sketchbook out, tongue in cheek, dressed very nicely, smelling good! And keeping to himself. At first I thought, oh no...he's too good looking, too good smelling. Hair is too nice... I honestly thought for a second that maybe girls weren't his thing. I had yet to come across a guy this kempt. But no, I noticed him glancing my general direction. And me being me, I always thought it was because he had never seen a thing so hideous before in his life.
Oh no, he was looking I came to find out later. We started the small talk chit chat and soon I was getting there earlier and earlier...and I thought it odd that a guy who girls seemed to flock to (and they did) would be sitting in one spot so long before this class started. So I asked if he had an earlier class and he did. Jogging. Okay, that's...cool? So, we talk every Tuesday and Thursday before class and pretty soon I find myself BOLTING out of English Lit towards the mini quad to get THAT much more time in.
One day, it's announced...we will be touring Warner Brothers Studios!!! The good smelling one turns around immediately! "Shotgun in your car!!" as we would not be taking a school funded bus ride. He had seen me in my car by then... a brown 1977 Impala that I lovingly referred to as Max :) My first car... I thought he was kidding... so I shrugged it off and my new friend Anna Banana and I went off in our own world again.
Day of the field trip, two weeks before our final, he shows up...with a girl in his car... WTF??? I thought he had some balls to bring another chick along with us! I mean, the good old fashioned rudeness was there, and then the fact that I started to really like him was making it worse. He rolls up with this little blondey and the first thing comes out of my mouth "I only have enough seatbelts for me you and Anna".... along with the dirtiest look I think I have ever shot.
"Oh no, I'm just dropping her off"... wow, quick defense... must be true. We spent the whole way up small talking with Anna Banana... She fell asleep in the car all the way down and that's when we got to know eachother...
It was perfect...he was so perfect for me... I was so steeped in past treachery that I didn't even catch the pick up that he wanted to go out that night after we returned to school, but I was beat and I could feel a sinus attack from being in LA all day coming on...so I said I was going home and going to bed... lame...
Two weeks later, our final. I take tests quickly and was done when he was only halfway through...so I turned back, saw his progress (or lack thereof) and started to doodle on the back of my test... mid doodle I saw him getting up and I got myself up and turned in my test right behind him. We get outside and as I am mid open mouth, about to say something, girls flock like a moth to goddman flame! No joke, I swear this is 100% accurate portrayal... I meet his eyes and he sees me walk toward my car...I start walking faster when I hear bounding footsteps behind me. I walk a little faster...a little faster, I'm making him chase me :) I watch too many movies...Anyhoo, we talk by my car for about 1 hour...then we get food... he sees I like to eat...he's enticed... He offers up a movie watching night and I agree... He offers up the Grinch movie, showing his listening skills that I had mentioned I wanted to see it months before... keeper! We see the Grinch, we go dutch cause I don't know if it's a date or not. We part ways :( That was the last day of film class! The next day I am depressed as all hell not knowing how to get ahold of this guy and I see him walking towards the Arts building as I am walking away from my history final... what were the chances??? He was just dropping off his art final so he had the rest of the morning to himself :) I was going to Target to get my sister a pan for Christmas for her new place and he came with me! My mom was so dialed in to my boring life thus far that she was beeping me (yes beeping) and he thought for a split second "Dear God what did I just step into this girl is on a leash" but not, Ma just knew my schedule so well it was odd not to be home. We exchanged pieces of art...mine a script I wrote and his a movie he made, I wrote my number in HUGE red letters and even drew a heartlike circle around it...no phone call. He grew up near where I grew up and he said if I ever went back let him know and we'll go together...well, I was looking for an excuse to visit, so I called him that Monday after I spent all weekend going over it with my friend and sister. No call back until Tuesday evening. His dad gave him the message just as he was walking out the door to work. He was late to work to call me back!! Hah!! We went on our excursion on Wednesday morning and by Wednesday evening we were a couple. Not just dating, we were together. I knew it, if he had said "Let's go to Vegas and make it official" that night, I would have gone.
So that's the long boring story...there are more things we have that make it so we were really meant to be together, but I'll bore ya'll with that later!!! Our first date was in fact the Grinch... Dec. 14th 2000... We got engaged Dec. 7th 2002 and our wedding day was 8 years ago today! And it turns out...white is not our color ;)
8 years ago today, I married the love of my life. Me...the cynical one. I used to give people very generous amounts of shit about love at first site (can you tell my parents were divorced?) and how it's not possible.
Yet...I can tell you all about the first day of the rest of my life...
I had just enrolled at Mt. San Jacinto College and was new to the area. I had too many ill fated blind dates to count and first dates that never turned into second dates. I was working part time at corporate gluttonous video franchise (a.k.a Blockbuster Video) and I decided I wanted to get out of here! After being promised one thing, and delivered another... I found myself at the 2 year college about to embark on my new journey... it was August 2000. One year out of High School and already forgot half the names of those blue gowned morons... I had Math Mondays and Wednesdays, English and Film Tuesdays and Thursdays and History on Fridays. It was a fantastic Tuesday. There was a two and a half hour gap between my English and Film classes and against my better judgement I would go to Target and Jack in the Box. Then back to the little mini quad in front of the theater where the film class was held. We walk into the first class like so many mooing cattle and take our seats. I sat behind a very nice smelling individual and start to play my game to myself "Who in THIS class would I date if they asked me out?"... Mr. Davis calls out the familiar phrase from teachers all my life "Please let me know if you prefer to be called something other than what I have on my roll sheet as we go along, thank you" and he goes down the list... we're to the M's and I'm not impressed with this selection brought forth... Math was incredibly not promising and English was mostly older women and incredibly immature boys. Film class seemed like it would be a new frontier right? Nope, not until we got to the N's...
I hear Mr. Davis say the name on the roster and as I'm leaned over into my over flowing backpack, up pops the nice smelling one infront of me and stands there in the middle of the theater, making a runway-esque circle in place and informs Mr. Davis and a booming voice with a mischievious smile "Call me Antonio!"... and with a smirk, he sits down...but not before shooting a glance my way...and there it started... I started to get to that mini quad earlier before the class started and there he would be.
Sitting on the brick planter with his sketchbook out, tongue in cheek, dressed very nicely, smelling good! And keeping to himself. At first I thought, oh no...he's too good looking, too good smelling. Hair is too nice... I honestly thought for a second that maybe girls weren't his thing. I had yet to come across a guy this kempt. But no, I noticed him glancing my general direction. And me being me, I always thought it was because he had never seen a thing so hideous before in his life.
Oh no, he was looking I came to find out later. We started the small talk chit chat and soon I was getting there earlier and earlier...and I thought it odd that a guy who girls seemed to flock to (and they did) would be sitting in one spot so long before this class started. So I asked if he had an earlier class and he did. Jogging. Okay, that's...cool? So, we talk every Tuesday and Thursday before class and pretty soon I find myself BOLTING out of English Lit towards the mini quad to get THAT much more time in.
One day, it's announced...we will be touring Warner Brothers Studios!!! The good smelling one turns around immediately! "Shotgun in your car!!" as we would not be taking a school funded bus ride. He had seen me in my car by then... a brown 1977 Impala that I lovingly referred to as Max :) My first car... I thought he was kidding... so I shrugged it off and my new friend Anna Banana and I went off in our own world again.
Day of the field trip, two weeks before our final, he shows up...with a girl in his car... WTF??? I thought he had some balls to bring another chick along with us! I mean, the good old fashioned rudeness was there, and then the fact that I started to really like him was making it worse. He rolls up with this little blondey and the first thing comes out of my mouth "I only have enough seatbelts for me you and Anna".... along with the dirtiest look I think I have ever shot.
"Oh no, I'm just dropping her off"... wow, quick defense... must be true. We spent the whole way up small talking with Anna Banana... She fell asleep in the car all the way down and that's when we got to know eachother...
It was perfect...he was so perfect for me... I was so steeped in past treachery that I didn't even catch the pick up that he wanted to go out that night after we returned to school, but I was beat and I could feel a sinus attack from being in LA all day coming on...so I said I was going home and going to bed... lame...
Two weeks later, our final. I take tests quickly and was done when he was only halfway through...so I turned back, saw his progress (or lack thereof) and started to doodle on the back of my test... mid doodle I saw him getting up and I got myself up and turned in my test right behind him. We get outside and as I am mid open mouth, about to say something, girls flock like a moth to goddman flame! No joke, I swear this is 100% accurate portrayal... I meet his eyes and he sees me walk toward my car...I start walking faster when I hear bounding footsteps behind me. I walk a little faster...a little faster, I'm making him chase me :) I watch too many movies...Anyhoo, we talk by my car for about 1 hour...then we get food... he sees I like to eat...he's enticed... He offers up a movie watching night and I agree... He offers up the Grinch movie, showing his listening skills that I had mentioned I wanted to see it months before... keeper! We see the Grinch, we go dutch cause I don't know if it's a date or not. We part ways :( That was the last day of film class! The next day I am depressed as all hell not knowing how to get ahold of this guy and I see him walking towards the Arts building as I am walking away from my history final... what were the chances??? He was just dropping off his art final so he had the rest of the morning to himself :) I was going to Target to get my sister a pan for Christmas for her new place and he came with me! My mom was so dialed in to my boring life thus far that she was beeping me (yes beeping) and he thought for a split second "Dear God what did I just step into this girl is on a leash" but not, Ma just knew my schedule so well it was odd not to be home. We exchanged pieces of art...mine a script I wrote and his a movie he made, I wrote my number in HUGE red letters and even drew a heartlike circle around it...no phone call. He grew up near where I grew up and he said if I ever went back let him know and we'll go together...well, I was looking for an excuse to visit, so I called him that Monday after I spent all weekend going over it with my friend and sister. No call back until Tuesday evening. His dad gave him the message just as he was walking out the door to work. He was late to work to call me back!! Hah!! We went on our excursion on Wednesday morning and by Wednesday evening we were a couple. Not just dating, we were together. I knew it, if he had said "Let's go to Vegas and make it official" that night, I would have gone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)