I could of died – True Story.

When I was 5 my mom was driving me to the daycare before kindergarten. I was sitting in the backseat of her Ford Bronco bundled up in my pink and purple snow parka enjoying a lifesaver. I started coughing. The life saver then became lodged in my throat. Horizontally. Thank goodness they have that hole in the middle so I could get air in. Being that my mom was operating a motor vehicle and then subsequently freaking out because I was coughing and clearly choking on a piece of hard candy I kept hacking away until I threw up. All over my coat.

Today I was basically chain consuming cough drops for the second day in a row. I started coughing and ALMOST swallowed the hard candy like cough drop. As the cough drop started down my throat I had a flashback to the day when I was 5 and choked. I was able to pin it between my teeth so I didn’t die or vomit all over my clothes while sitting in a cubicle at work. Now THAT would of been embarrassing.

Grapefruit is the worst cough drop flavor.

I’ll admit it. I am a huge baby when it comes to being sick. You would think surviving Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma would make me tough as nails but you would be wrong my friend. So wrong. I don’t like being sick, I despise taking drugs and even after 20+ years of my mother’s advice to gargle salt water to help heal a sore throat there still is NO freaking way that’s going to happen.

When I get sick I seem to turn into a whining grumpy child. I don’t want to take anything, I don’t want to go to work, all I really want to do is sloth around in sweats. Which wouldn’t be so different from what I want to do on lazy weekends but since I feel like crap I’m not really a peach to be around, or to talk to.

The Sox Fan has a no tolerance policy for my sick kid shenanigans. The minute I complain about feeling sick he informs me to take liquid cold medicine. I would rather drink room temperature Goldschlager straight than think about sucking down a few ounces of liquid cold medicine. In fact I hate liquid cold medicine so much that when I was sick I had a boyfriend who would bribe me with presents to get me to take it. Let’s just say The Sox Fan is offering condecending eye rolls and not presents with his advice.

Over the years I have gotten desperate and resorted to using various types of drugs to try to heal my colds. I started with emergenC – I found this to be marginal and ultimately I felt like it just made me feel carbonated. I resorted to NyQuil to get me some quality night’s sleep here and there and I felt like based on my small use of drugs in the past it really was magical and addicting to be knocked out that hard. When push came to shove I caved and took citrus vitamin C cough drops.

This latest round of illness could not of come at a worse time. I just started a new job – week 3.5 as of today – and it’s pretty hard to be the newbie and to be out sick. It’s the holidays which means weekends backed with fun events, time with friends, nights of crafting on cards and gifts and everyone’s favorite SHOPPING. So really, I can’t be sick right now.

The minute I felt it coming on I retreated to bed. Note to self: sleeping it off may work on hangovers but not so much on illness. I took one day off work and since then I have been chugging orange juice, taking NyQuil religiously and living with cough drops in my reach at all times. The Halls Defense Vitamin C citrus pack are the only ones I know of that don’t taste like a medical cleaning solution in my mouth. However, it’s a random lottery with each one because the flavors are lemon (meh), orange (the best) and grapefruit (barf).

Do I think it’s sad that I have a ranking of cough drop flavors? No. Am I desperate enough to feel better that I suffered through an agonizing few minutes of grapefruit cough drop consumption today? Yes.

John Mayer does it again.

My freshman year of college I discovered a new artist. His name was John Mayer and he was duetting with Glen Phillips on some tracks I found on the internets. I recommended John Mayer to a certain boy who I had a complicated relationship/penguin situation with. Before I go any further I should clarify that I am a person who does NOT like to talk about my feelings. If anything I am an avoider. I avoid talking about warm and fuzzy things until I am forced to by another person or I can exit the situation completely. What can I say, I’m harsh like that.

So, back to John Mayer. My freshman year as I was falling in love with John Mayer and having some complicated flirtatious situation with a boy in another state who also loved music when I received what would later turn out to be my first of many John Mayer lyric dedications. It was to a song called “Your Body is a Wonderland” – a classic romantic tale. The lesson I would later learn is that when you have a relationship with two avoiders (people who avoid talking about ANYTHING feeling related) nothing ever really gets sorted out, well it does – just way until  it’s beyond repair or too late to make a difference, and all attempts at emotionally based conversations in this instance between two avoiders turned out to just be a battle of song lyrics.

A couple years later when I had a serious boyfriend who was classically uncomplicated I received a mix CD with a floppy disc of word documents detailing all the reasons and specific lyric lines of the music on the CD from the complicated penguin situation boy. The song was “Love Soon” and there were so many perfectly fitting lines from the lyrics that the word doc section on that song was practically the full song.

John Mayer continued to play a featured guest roll in my complicated penguin situation in person since I’ve seen John Mayer both as the date of the penguin situation boy and also separately with other people but we have run into each other at those concerts as well – which might seem odd but it isn’t in this case.

In the past few years there have always times where I catch myself feeling like certain musical artists have the ability to see perfectly into my life and then when I hear their songs I have one of two reactions: 1. This is creepy, John Mayer is in my head and 2. My crazy life can’t be that crazy if John Mayer is also facing down (or a song writer) the same wacky issues.

Within 5 minutes of putting in John Mayer’s latest album”Battle Studies” I knew he did it again. I recommend it obviously if you are a John Mayer fan but also if you just need a gut check on relationships.

The following are my favorite and oddly enough most pertinent lyrics, but I’m not revealing who they pertain to – a girl has to have some secrets:

Heartbreak Warfare – as a song I have a feeling this will be coming my way…just call it a hunch

All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye:

Just when I had you off my head
Your voice comes thrashing wildly through my quiet bed
You say you wanna try again
But I’ve tried everything but giving in

Why you wanna break my heart again
Why am I gonna let you try

Half of My Heart:

Oh half of my heart’s got a grip on the situation
Half of my heart takes time
Half of my heart’s got a right mind to tell you
That I can’t keep loving you
Oh, with half of my heart

Half of my heart is a shotgun wedding to a bride with a paper ring
And half of my heart is the part of a man who’s never really loved anything

Last but not least: Friends, Lovers, or Nothing – which basically is my entire romantic life in a song. Seriously.

Thanks John Mayer for once again being in sync with my love life. Creepy.

Downtown Food Cart Adventures – A Series

Well week 2 is in full swing at my aforementioned new job. Things are going well. I’ve written up one proposed plan which was well received and quickly approved. I’m getting adjusted to the whole waking up in pitch dark and actually getting out of my warm cozy bed instead of hitting snooze for the next two hours. The train commute into and out of work has been uneventful and now that I have a fully paid for annual pass for the transit system I look forward to more adventures.

For my foodie friends I’m excited to report I went out for lunch yesterday and tried one of Portland’s well known and highly raved about food carts. Being in the center of downtown and having a hectic schedule ramping up I figured for the time being if I do take a lunch break it would be best to limit my shenanigans to trips to the library to pick up hold items and quick pop ins to grab food to go. Well, you know what is perfect for quick lunch time options: FOOD CARTS.

One block up from my office are two full blocks of food carts. So I ventured out without any prior research of recommendations, looked around to see which ones seem to be popular or smelled the most magical and then I realized I should start my food cart experiences with a traditional item: gyros.

I can only think of one time I have had a gyro. From what I remembered it was pretty tasty so I was open to the idea of not only trying out a food cart for the first time but also trying a non staple item to my food consumption roster. I had a chicken gyro from Aybla Grill and it was fantastic! The chicken was tender, the pita was like a cloud, all the ingredients were balanced and I’m not usually a tomato or parsley fan so you know that’s saying something. Aybla Grill was super quick to order from, had huge photos depicting their menu and reasonably priced. I arrived back at the office to find this fantastic Food Carts site and I’m excited to say I will be continuing my food cart adventures! You can sort Food Carts Portland by food genre, neighborhood, mobile and new cart. So fantastic.

Last night I also had a alumni party for my triathlon group and had tickets to a rock concert and the best thing about being downtown for work is I was able to take the train or walk and make it to all the events! No sitting in traffic or circling the block for parking for this lady.

I Love My Ducks! Pac-10 Champions are Rose Bowl Bound!

Here are my two current favorite Duck videos.

It has been a great football season. I could probably blog about this topic endlessly but since I am just getting back in the swing of things and WE WON CIVIL WAR last night I wanted to share these with you, my loyal readers.

Week 1: In the bag.

Well week 1 at my new job is almost in the bag. I will be coming in tomorrow AM to be here when programmers are pushing edits and reviews through and the quiet time will help get me organized for actually planning for a week versus one day at a time.

The non-boring work highlights:

• I am drinking coffee again. I blame technology. When I used to work in high tech I drank coffee daily. Mostly just in the AM to get rolling but I became convinced I was getting an ulcer so I quit. I dealt with the withdrawl and then moved jobs where I went a little over 2 years without caffeine, well with the exception of event weeks on site where I was always clutching a Red Bull just to function. But here I am, drinking coffee and back in tech.
• I get some awesome people watching in on the train. For example, last night riding home there was a fairly attractive dude. He reached into his messenger bag to get a book. Oh, he’s a reader: Bonus points. Too bad the book was Twilight. A book for TEENS people. Ugh, game over.
• I am now seeking cubical decorations. I like being back in a space that even though it’s walled off allows me some personal space and not being so exposed to the world. Plus, I have all these surfaces I can tack decorations onto. Have any suggestions of what I should be decorating with?
• In my paycheck stub there was a coupon for free lunch. Even though I work in a place that already caters my breakfast, lunch and dinner with various food options all freely available this was an additional offer of free food. I might actually do some money saving on my paychecks…or I’ll just blow it all on awesome shoes. Too early to tell.

Week 1 done. Bring it on Week 2.

Day 3: Success

I recently started a new job, and when I say recently I mean this is my third day at aforementioned new job. One of the draws of my new job (besides the whole monetary compensation and idea of a large scale new challenge) was that my office would be smack dab in the center of downtown. More like smack dab in the center of my fashion happiness. I am two blocks from my favorite shopping store, Nordstrom, along with Banana Republic – the only one in the area which carries petite sizes – which when you are 5’ 3” is crucial and 4 blocks from the large shopping complex.

Besides all the work I will be doing to boost the economy one pair of fabulous shoes after another I was also able to change my home library location to the main downtown branch. I know, I know, total nerd moment; but I just love the idea of all my holds and requested books and CD’s being picked up at the main branch. The main branch is so stately and looks like a real city library versus the tiny shack location I was previously using that always just smelled odd and in which I had to deal with aggressive panhandlers catcalling me. Note to men: if you are panhandling outside a small library branch you have bigger issues to worry about than trying to befriend ladies. Just saying.

Anywho, another exciting thing about my new job location was that I was going to ride public transportation, specifically the light rail train MAX to and from work. If that commute won’t provide event basic blog worthy content I don’t know what will. Since I live close to downtown it would be more time effective to drive in but with the expense of paying for parking (what a dumb thing to do each day – I mean really, I would pay $10-15 per day for a slab of cement to house my car – no thanks) my new employer pays for my annual public transit pass so I considered this a pretty good incentive. The closest park and ride to my house is only about 4 miles away so off I went Monday AM.

EXTREME FAIL. I arrived at the park and ride at 7:40 to find NO parking spots. Over 600 parking stalls and not a single one was open – well the handicapped and carpool designated spots were open but since I am neither handicapped nor green enough to carpool I was hosed. So I drove into work, which was fine, and checked online to see if I could find any details regarding this whole full park and ride lot. Low and behold there was a tiny note on the webpage of the park and ride location saying this lot often fills up by 7:30am on weekdays. To which I say – BUILD ANOTHER LOT.

Tuesday AM rolls around and I decide to give being green another shot. I arrive at the park and ride at 7:15 and once again EXTREME FAIL – the lot is full. Mind you the entire drive there I was basically reciting over and over “please let me find a spot, please let me find a spot” – well friends my hopefulness was for NOTHING. Once again I drove into work and since I did I made it a point to stop by Banana Republic to give myself that little boost of retail therapy happiness.

This morning I was holding no punches I arrived at the park and ride at 6:50 and GLORIOUS DAY I found a parking spot. There were others as well and a steady stream of cars coming in behind me so I think I was close to the end of availability. I rode the train to work and all appears to be right with the world.

Will it get annoying getting up no later than 6:10am to shower, get dressed and blow dry my hair (yes, you read that right friends – I now blow dry my hair everyday – I am that fancy) the answer I think is going to be yes. Will it frustrate me to be at work at 7:20am when I don’t need to be here until 8am, possibly but I have some other morning time saving solutions I am thinking about busting out as I adjust to this new job and schedule.

So in closing, you are welcome Portland. I’m contributing to being green, I’m using my tax dollars via your library and transportation systems and I’m pretty damn happy about it.

Farewell Job, Panda Style

 

Today is my last day at my current job. I start a new job Monday AM and since I was the token Asian at my current place of employment and was constantly sent all things Panda related I thought it only fitting to send this to my co-workers today.
My departing email notice from my boss to the agency was called “No more panda jokes for you” and some of my favorite co-workers sent over some great sad panda artwork.

Class 24/7.

Welcome Back.

WOW.

Talk about being the ultimate blog slacker. I honestly feel bad, but then again maybe since this has been a crazy busy few months I should be thankful that I wasn’t here 3 times a day posting funny pictures I found on the internet and boring the world with endless banter regarding what animal I would be (panda – duh) and why I feel like the latest album from Colbie Caillat is really speaking to my personal life (because it creepily is and I am starting to think people are spying on me).

All of that is neither here nor there.

I am back blog world. And while I was gone here’s what I was up to:

• I completed an Olympic Distance Triathlon at Pacific Crest in Sunriver, Oregon
• I had a birthday and am now on the back half of my 20’s
• I achieved MVP status on Alaska Airlines by going on the road to produce a large software launch in 5 American cities
• I survived a trip to Detroit without getting carjacked or mugged
• I made it back to Boston for a total of 4 Red Sox home games this season
• I attended Homecoming at Oregon and finally got a home football game in – GO DUCKS!
• I married off 21 Dresses in an epic wedding and even more epic wedding party – best couple, bridesmaids and groomsmen ever!
• I quit my job and accepted a new one
• I entered into a long distance relationship when Blondie moved across the country to the center of Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind”

That pretty much sums it up. It’s been a long time coming that I get back into the swing of things.
Watch out blog – I’m back and ready to post with a vengence.

Why Not

Honestly, is there a reason I feel drawn to pandas? No. Do I think they are ferocious and wildly underestimated? Yes.

This hat might be something I need to add to my life:

Yesterday while grocery shopping at my neighborhood hippie market I almost bought Peanut Butter Panda Puffs cereal. Is this intended to market towards children? Hell yes. But still…I used to love PB Cap’n Crunch and this looked like a nice organic alternative featuring my lovable bear. But then I realized it probably won’t taste any where near as sugary and delicious and why mess with a good thing. So I bought granola.

Finally, just because this always makes me smile and after a hard Monday back in the office it’s good to have one thing on your desktop to go to as your happy image.