a photo that jeff took of me on our date night to the bali hai last friday. we were happy to see such a decent mix of youngs and olds hanging out. when we first started going there a billion years ago, we kind of wondered if there was much hope for the place...but what is old is always new, i guess.

i very rarely ever get bored. sometimes work gets monotonous, and i'll exchange booooooooooos with some of my coworkers, but in my own personal time, in honestly can't remember the last time i got bored.

my secret? i'm constantly CONSTANTLY having conversations with myself.

i love long car rides when i can just sit and stare out the window and have long conversations with myself about life. maybe that's why i liked being a shuttle driver so much. sure, i was interacting with the general public as i drove in circles for hours on end, but for the most part, i just enjoyed keeping myself company.

maybe that's why i like the guy who cuts my hair so much. some stylists are super chatty (like the girl who colors my hair, and she is the only exception to my general dislike of of chatty stylists). my hair stylist likes to concentrate and do his thing, and even though he'll offer me a magazine, i tell him no. i like to just sit there and reflect on my day or create stories about the lives of all the strange people around me or wonder what my stylist's tattoo across his chest says. of course, it's true that i find my hair stylist incredibly adorable. sometimes i'll talk to myself about that. :)

i'd say a good portion of the things i talk to myself about are actually quite interesting. not because they are particularly mind blowing in deep, philosophical ways, but in the detailed observation kind of way.

i definitely have an eye for detail. my dreams and recollection of my dreams are extremely vivid. my memories of things that have happened in real life are really vivid, as well. while i may not remember every one of the important details, i'll probably remember the ones that are the most important to me.

i am especially good at recalling moments where somebody or something crossed into my bubble of personal space. the way somebody sitting next to me smelled like pine trees, and in turn, made me think of camping in the forest. the tingly feeling i got in my stomach when the boy i knew i would never have a chance with sat next to me so our arms would bump and our legs would be pressed side by side, and being fully aware that he did it because he knew it was the closest we would ever get...

...

...

sorry. i got caught up in remembering that exciting tentative feeling of maybe being in love...it IS intoxicating...

...

:)

anyway, now that my mind is sort of back on track...as i was driving home tonight, i realized that i am very lucky to have so many wonderful memories of so many experiences, and every new day is another opportunity to file something special away.

camilles (10:42pm, 7.29.09)

two mature people in two days complimented me on my hair. first it was the butcher and the next day it was the woman at the dry cleaners.

i got my grade back on the big homework assignment i turned in a few weeks ago. not only did i get a perfect grade, i got 25 points of extra credit! the written review of my assignment was plump with praise for my discerning eye, creativity, and eloquence.

this morning, i discovered one of my tires had gone completely flat. after calling around, i found a place that i could get it repaired at and figured i'd walk to the library and work on my homework in the free a/c. when i showed up, they ended up fixing it right away for no cost! as i was driving away, the fellow who had handed the car back off to me yelled "hey! if you ever want more ink, come see me. it's what i do at night!" uh...ok? that's pretty much what i said out loud, too. ha ha. i could just envision sitting in some creepy guy's garage getting a big MOM tattooed on my arm.

this evening was a celebration of getting my homework turned in on time. i don't think it was stellar work this time around, but it's turned in. i enjoyed a dinner of stinky cheese, crackers, steamed broccoli, cherries, and gourmet chicharrones. i watched the station agent.

tomorrow will be a day for early morning gardening followed by dim sum and investigation into some house projects that i'd like to complete over the next few days. maybe try to get some shopping in.

ok. i'm not feeling so eloquent lately. being creative for school takes a lot of energy! :)

camilles (9:58pm, 7.25.09)

my camera busted on our vegas trip, and i just haven't had the time to figure out what i need to do to warranty it. so until then, i guess i'll just post photos of past events, to at least break up all the words.

i'm not a hipster, but sometimes i can play a close approximation of one. ha!

things are busy, and i just haven't had all that much energy to devote to musings about my day-to-day life. work is busy. social life is busy. we continue to make our house a home.

the past weekend's activities started off with food poisoning, then alandscaping class, tiki purchases, dog hunting, socializing, homework, tea, drinking on the front porch with the misters on to beat the heat, and a trip down to the bar for dinner and pool with l, t, and our next door neighbors.

the girl next door has tattoos, crazy hair, drives a scion xB, and is half-Irish and half-Chinese. what are the odds?!

ok, so she bought the xB after we moved in...but all the other things were already in place. she was telling me last night that her friends are all extremely intrigued by the fact that there is another one of her kind living right next door. she also said that she doesn't think she's ever met somebody who was the same kind of mix as her.

it's kind of fun to think that our next-door neighbors could actually be friends. they are close to the same age as us, like the same kinds of restaurants as us, like the same kinds of music. all good signs.

i'm still plugging along in my interior design class. as of tonight, i'm getting a 97%, although i've got a pretty big assignment still in the system that has yet to be graded. i don't think i'll be taking another class when the fall quarter rolls, mainly because i want to focus the energy i've been spending on the class on my own home...but i wouldn't be opposed to continuing my studies of the subject as a hobby.

camilles (10:02pm, 7.20.09)

my little patch of garden is producing veggies and herbs at a rate that we don't consume them fast enough. in fact, i'm going to bring some in to work tomorrow to see if i can pass them along to a good home.

it's a fun little success, to see the work i did pay off. it motivates me to keep trying new and different things as the seasons move along.

i got my big homework assignment turned in after dinner tonight, and i felt like i was on summer vacation again. ha ha ha. at least i can enjoy my weekend!

camilles (10:07pm, 7.9.09)

since the beginning of the year, life has seemed to settle out for me in the emotional sense. and now that i don't spend so much time obsessing about things i shouldn't be concerning myself with, i find i've got time for more fulfilling things.

like being back in school.

ok, ok...so "being back in school" actually consists of being in a single, introductory-level class about interior design. it's an accelerated summer session course offered by one of the local community colleges and i'm taking it online, but it's a lot of work!

i'm almost a third of the way through it, and so far it's going well. it feels easy. either it actually IS easy in general, or it is easy for me. i'd like to think that it is just easy for me. hee!

either way, i feel good that i am finally doing it, and doing it on my own. jeff has been exceedingly patient over the past few weeks as i've studied and worked on assignments. it makes me feel so lucky to know that i've got such a supportive husband.

whether it turns into something more than just this one class is something i'll figure out along the way, but i'm enjoying myself for now. if nothing else, it'll give me the foundation to make our new home even MORE awesome.

i had my annual checkup today, which seemed to be more of a poking/prodding experience that in years past. in addition to the normal stuff, i had one of my ears flushed (omg, the massive quantities of wax that came out...the horrors, the horrors) and i ended up getting a blood test for my thyroid. the NP checking me out said it is on the larger end of normal spectrum, so she just wanted to make sure everything is ok. yikes! i don't want a goiter!

so, things are good. busy, but good.

:)

camilles (10:36pm, 7.7.09)

holy moly, where does the time go? seems like i say the same thing every month, doesn't it?

the only reason i can look at the beginning of yet another month and not be upset about it is because i can look back on the past month with the satisfaction of knowing it was jam-packed with all sorts of adventures and activities.

july will be no different. we've got a fun 3-day weekend with visitors for the holiday. motorcycle rides. we'll be heading to vegas to see some of our favorite friends. house projects and a waterwise landscaping class. possibly dog shopping??

my hair is back to being sassy pink. it's been lots of colors over the years, but pink is always one of those shades that is both fun and funny to me.

camilles (9:42pm, 7.1.09)