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camilles is: in love an artist a biker chick a friend a sister a daughter a daughter-in-law not shy an introvert dorky silly cool i took a break in november 05 nothing in june 06 too busy in september 06 december was busy, too february? forget about it got lazy in may |
i did this last year to reflect on 2007, and since i don't know how much time i'll get on the internet between now and the end of the year, thought i'd do it for 2008, now!
1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
4. Did anyone close to you die?
5. What countries did you visit?
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
9. What was your biggest failure?
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
11. What was the best thing you bought?
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
14. Where did most of your money go?
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
20. How did you spend Christmas?
21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
22. What was your favorite TV program?
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
24. What was the best book you read?
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
26. What did you want and get?
27. What did you want and not get?
28. What was your favorite film of this year?
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
32. What kept you sane?
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
34. What political issue stirred you the most?
35. Who did you miss?
36. Who was the best new person you met?
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. so jeff and i were talking about how much we are looking forward to 2009, because 2008 has been kind of crappy. it HAS been kind of crappy. so many people i know have been sick or have had a personal crisis of some sort. the economy sucks. at this exact moment, i've got a throbbing bruise on my right shin. i am still a strong believer that a new year doesn't mark the point at which one needs to make the changes in their own life to be a better, happier person...which is why no resolutions. but i have to admit it was nice to take down my 2008 calendar and start to look forward to everything that 2009 will bring. camilles (10:06am, 12.22.08)
 t h a t ' s t h e w a y i'm always intrigued by the photographs you'll see in magazines or on the internet of movie stars and models without their makeup. not because i think they look bad or weird without it, but because a lot of them look so different. so here i am, about as naked as it gets. freshly scrubbed and out of the shower. in my leopard print robe. same old me. every once in a while when i'm brushing my teeth, i think back to a guy i dated who had the most disgusting toothbrush i had ever seen. he seemed to take pride in the growth of dried toothpaste foam that formed on the handle, just at the point where the toothbrush never made it into his mouth when he would brush. so sometimes after i brush my teeth, and i'm about to put my brush away and i see that there is still a little bit of toothpaste foam on the handle that i managed to miss when i was rinsing it off, i'll snatch it up, give it a good scrub, and think to myself how glad i am to not have to see his nasty toothbrush anymore. :) happy 30th birthday to my dear husband, jeff! his birthday was yesterday, but we are partying it up tonight. time to clean and decorate and plan for the drinking and debauchery. camilles (9:39am, 12.20.08)
i copied this off of jenny's site, and figured would be a fun one to do while i drink a beer and wait for my sweetie to get home from the airport (hooray!). things i have done and things i have not done. things i've done in bold. things i have not done are obviously not in bold. 1. Started your own blog - obviously, but i still don't call it a blog. 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band - bet you didn't know i played the slide trombone at one point in my life... 4. Visited Hawaii - can i move there, yet? 5. Watched a meteor shower - somewhere off sunrise highway, but it wasn't all that spectacular. 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland 8. Climbed a mountain 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo - bet you didn't know what an angelic voice i had in 2nd grade... 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch - what haven't i taught myself from scratch? 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning - oh the horrors. i'll never eat a bloomin' onion ever again. 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train 21. Had a pillow fight - but never a naked one. 22. Hitch hiked 23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - but not in a long time. 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping - at night, when i was a kid 27. Walked a Marathon 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29. Seen a total eclipse - on my first trip to hawaii, even. 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31. Hit a home run 32. Been on a cruise - caribbean and alaska..and don't forget the bahia belle! 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new language 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied - don't know how long that will last, though! 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 39. Gone rock climbing 40. Seen Michelangelo’s David - i don't think the one in caesar's palace counts 41. Sung karaoke 42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 44. Visited Africa 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted - we've got an awesome leonardized portrait. 48. Gone deep sea fishing - wish i could do it more often. 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris - gotta do it once in your life. 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 52. Kissed in the rain - there is nothing hotter. 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater - a little ghostbusters II action, anybody? oh, i saw hannibal, too. 55. Been in a movie - a made-for-tv movie called "nutcracker: money, madness, and murder" as a ballet student. 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Visited Russia 60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies 62. Gone whale watching 63. Got flowers for no reason 64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma - i'm going to take credit for this one, because i had every intention of doing it, but when they did the finger prick *owww*, my iron was too low. 65. Gone sky diving 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67. Bounced a check - i haven't always been this responsible. 68. Flown in a helicopter 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten Caviar - good caviar is good. bad caviar is BAD! 72. Pieced a quilt 73. Stood in Times Square 74. Toured the Everglades 75. Been fired from a job 76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London. - i'll take half credit for this one as i've been to the palace and have watched the guards walking around. don't know if i'll ever get back to see it for real. BUT, ben and i saw the changing of the guards at a palace in korea. THAT was sweet. 77. Broken a bone. 78. Been on a speeding motorcycle - well, i consider going over the speed limit speeding, so i've sped on my own motorcycle, yes. 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person - i was, like, 3 or something, so while i don't remember it, i know i saw it. 80. Published a book 81. Visited the Vatican 82. Bought a brand new used car - i don't quite understand the wording of this one, but since i've bought and brand new car AND have bought a used car before, i'm saying i've done it. 83. Walked in Jerusalem. 84. Had your picture in the newspaper - does a feature about me that appeared in a magazine count? sure...close enough 85. Read the entire Bible 86. Visited the White House 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating - i do like fishing a whole heck of a lot. 88. Had chickenpox - i was an old kid by the time i got it. ripe old age of 12, i'm pretty sure. 89. Saved someone’s life 90. Sat on a jury 91. Met someone famous - how famous is famous? there are various automotive tv personalities who know me. 92. Joined a book club 93. Lost a loved one 94. Had a baby - not yet. sorry, mom! 95. Seen the Alamo in person - so did you know that in Pee Wee's Big Adventure, the interior of the Alamo that he visits is actually the Mission San Fernando? so while i haven't seen the real Alamo, i've been to the fake one. 96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake 97. Been involved in a law suit - that assy ex-boss of mine sued me for back taxes after i turned him in for tax fraud. we settled out of court for what i'd been planning to pay all along, but he still got totally owned. ha! 98. Owned a cell phone - my first cell phone was the size of a brick. 99. Been stung by a bee - actually, i kneeled on a bee. and then it stung me. 100. Read an entire book in one day - just did it again on my way out to orlando last week. 101. Seen a ghost. so there you have it. 101 things that i may or may not have done. as long as i counted correctly, i've done 48 out of the 101 things. and jeff still isn't home. boo... camilles (7:03pm, 12.18.08)
sometimes you get the chance to say everything that needs to be said...and sometimes you don't. and sometimes, you only get a very small portion of what the giant picture actually is across, and you never get the opportunity to complete your thought. maybe explanations aren't always needed? i hate starting a thought that should never have been uttered in the first place, and not getting a chance to finish it. it always seems to get me into trouble. the lesson learned - just keep my mouth closed to begin with! :) . . . the weather. what gives? i rode my motorcycle very briefly yesterday morning to pick up some birthday cards. i wore my new, pink leather jacket. i figured i needed a chance to try it out before it started raining. and it feels like it's been raining for 24 hours, now. camilles (10:18pm, 12.15.08)
 f r i e n d s i've got some good friends. the kinds of people who will drive to the mountains and wear drinking hats or shop for prom attire and then actually put it on to celebrate my birthday with me. the kinds of people who are always there to listen to me mope and give me advice. the kinds of people who want to share in fun times with me. the people i consider my friends are people i'm proud to have in my life. i respect them as people, for the things they do, the things they believe in, and the ways they show the people they care about that they actually do care. and at the same time, i like to think that they are proud of me and my place in their lives, in return. sure, we may not all share the same hobbies or tastes in music or food, but there is something that bonds us. something that compels us to want to connect, and give and take the ideas or thoughts that make us all so interesting as individuals. those are normal, healthy friendships. but i have to admit, shamefully, i've found myself in a situation where i'm a margaret farquhar. who the heck is margaret farquhar? you might ask yourself. well, do you remember that episode of the wonder years, where kevin gets paired up with the kind of weird girl who has 3 pigtails for squaredancing? and then they sort of become friends, but in the end, he tells her that he only wants to be secret friends? (you can relive the episode right here) i'm somebody's secret friend. and it is making me kind of sad. camilles (10:01pm, 12.14.08)
i've been up since 4:30am EST, and it is now in the 8 o'clock hour PST. i'm groggy, and forcing myself to stay up at least until 9 or 9:30. i made it to the airport, only to get yelled at by the woman at the counter, and finding out my flight to phoenix had been delayed, which meant that i would miss my connection, and so i ended up getting home hours and hours later than i should have. east coast minus 1. of course, i say this, when a storm is supposed to come blowing through beautiful san diego starting tonight. i just hope my sweetie flies home safely, soundly, and on time tomorrow. . . . you ever hear the song "supermassive black hole" by muse. obviously he's singing about a girl. it's sultry and sassy. it makes me wonder if it's an act, or if some girl in his life made him feel the way he sings it. it makes me wonder if i've ever made somebody feel that way about me? ha ha.
but ooh, baby, i'm a fool for you . . . snuggies! i've been getting spam for snuggies for months...and now i see an infomercial about them on tv? sheesh. i've had a "couch pouch" for years, now. i don't need a snuggie, too. camilles (8:32pm, 12.12.08)
 t r a v e l j o y it's a lot of rushing. and waiting. hauling from one place to another. checking paperwork. there's a process to all of it. id and credit card. then id and boarding pass. then boarding pass. taking the laptop out of the case. shoes off. belt off. sweater off. grabbing it all when it comes out the other side of the x-ray machine. scuttling off in my socks and trying to put it all back together as quickly as i can. maybe grabbing some food. finding the gate. waiting, anticipating when the right time to actually stand up near the entrance to the ramp is. don't want to be the dork standing up there too early. don't want to wait so long that i can't find an overhead compartment space for my laptop case. ah...the laptop. the major source of my animosity towards business travel. that freaking thing is heavy and awkward, and i've ended up with bruises on my shoulders from trying to haul it around. dan would rescue me from having to carry it when we worked together. one time a man helped me get it down out of an overhead compartment, and exclaimed "oh my gosh! that thing is heavy!" by the time i made it into my hotel around 1am earlier this week, after dragging that stupid laptop from san diego to philadelphia to orlando, through the entire airport to baggage claim, all the way across the car rental floor to the farthest car rental station, all the way up to the car, which happened to be in the very last spot at the end of the row of where the rental cars were, through the hotel parking lot, up the hill to the hotel (since the self park lot is 1/4 mile away from the entrance to the hotel)... by the time i got to my hotel room, i swore that i would NEVER, EVER, carry that stupid laptop around in that stupid bag, ever again!
 when i got some free time, i headed over to one of the abundant outlet malls in the area, and picked up a nice north face backpack with a laptop pocket for a steal. i don't think i can remember the last time i was this excited about having a backpack. i ran back to the hotel, emptied the stupid laptop case, put everything into the backpack, and booted the laptop case across the room. and then deposited it at the tradeshow booth so it can be transported back to san diego without me having anything to do with it. and when it gets back to san diego, i'm going to stick it in a cold, dark corner where i never have to look at it again. yay!
 and in the category of random things seen while driving around town... lobster sticks to car! camilles (10:31pm (EST), 12.10.08)
 h o t d a t e - quick drive from the hotel to downtown disney. - leisurely stroll along the waterfront.
 - admire twinkling christmas lights and shoppers excited to spend their money. - delightful goat cheese terrine with mixed greens, berry compote, and crostini for dinner. - a strongbow hard cider and some live irish music. - some cotton candy to-go from the candy cauldron. - a lazy drive back to the hotel in the sebring convertible, top down, with some nice jazz playing on the radio.
 :) i took myself out on a date in orlando tonight, when my friend had to unexpectedly change his plans. and i enjoyed ever minute of it. for a brief moment, i had considered getting takeout and hiding in my hotel room all night...but i talked myself out of that idea, stuck a flower in my hair, put a little perfume on my wrists, and struck out to find a tiny bit of adventure. everyone seems to have a certain level of uncertainty that they are willing to skirt. lately, i've realized that i still haven't found that point, yet. so i just keep going. camilles (10:52pm (EST), 12.8.08)
 s a m e o l d t h i n g jeff is at this exact moment in the process of flying to tokyo. i'm expecting the "i'm here!" phone call within the hour. my suitcase is half-packed. i'm NOT looking forward to catching my flight to orlando tomorrow, but i don't really have a choice. lugging that laptop and suitcase around. booooooooooo... it'll be a busy week, but i'm already wondering how long it's going to feel. this is my least favorite trip of the year. probably because i'm so far away from home and everything that makes me happy and comfortable. but it's just once a year. so i'll just deal. maybe i'll have more to talk about from the road, but i'm just not all that chatty right now. life must seem too uncomplicated at the moment. :) camilles (10:37pm, 12.6.08)
 f i t t i n g i n in 1989, i started public school after going to private school from 1st through 5th grade. we'd moved to a new city, and the catholic school in town didn't have any room for me in 6th grade...so it was off to public school i went. the first day of school basically set the stage for the rest of my time in grade school/middle school/high school. i wore a dress. oh man...if only i had known that kids in regular school did NOT wear dresses. kids in regular school wore jeans. even on the first day of school. ok. maybe i can't blame the dress. i also had gigantic glasses, huge, crooked teeth, and no style. but, oh, the trauma of trying to fit in. it's funny, thinking back on 11-year-old me. all i wanted to do was fit in. not stand out. blend into the background. and then at some point, i kind of decided that fitting in didn't matter. what really mattered was doing what felt right. what really mattered was being me. strangely enough, that's when fitting in got easy. camilles (10:11pm, 12.2.08)
 c o u n t d o w n and it's december, which means that we can begin counting down the days until the end of 2008. i've never been one to look at january 1 as anything more than another day, as if it means the previous chapter of life has closed, and a new chapter is beginning. but you know what? screw you, 2008! i've had enough of the drama and bad news and illness and chaos and firings and breakups and fighting and wars and economic woes and dying and beheadings in tj and dump trucks parking outside of my front door and cars exploding and losing friends and making enemies and 401ks looking like crap and being misunderstood and misunderstanding and all that junk... and it's not that i'm only looking for rainbows and puppy dogs and world peace. but my feelings which i don't like to admit exist have been hurt a lot over the past year. they hurt for me and they hurt for the people around me. boo hoo. welcome to my pity party. *sigh* well, that little rant aside... thanksgiving was interesting. it's always nice seeing family, and we also made it out to the desert to see friends. anytime we have the opportunity to do things that are totally out-of-the-ordinary for a couple of quasi-respectable citizens such as ourselves, things that a lot of people we know would never do or even consider doing (or even realize that there is a possibility of doing), we can say that the day was a success. these are the things that make it pointless to really dwell on the occasional bad thing. because the reality is, life is pretty darned good and i consider myself fortunate to be grounded enough (most of the time) to recognize it for what it is. camilles (10:57pm, 12.1.08)
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Jeff
hawaii 05  |