Joyeux Anniversaire Megan

First of all, a very happy birthday to Megan, one of my best friends from Salt Lake. She's a great gal with many artistic talents that I admire and love! Hope you had a fun day today :)

So this weekend was absolutely gorgeous. I mean, gorgeous. I have never, EVER spent a November in the kind of weather where I can wear shorts (and I NEVER wear shorts unless it's uber hot and/or I'm by a beach). Saturday was spent relaxing, and I bought a vacuum, a crepe pan, and groceries. The rest was filled with nada. But Sunday.... was THE most beautiful November day. Blue skies, not a cloud in the skies, air clear enough that I could see the tip of Malibu... and about 73 degree weather. I played a few fantastic games of beach volleyball, and we all met up at my place after for crepes. But really, it wasn't a crepe party... it was a few crepes made from scratch by moi (and everyone claimed that they loved them, yay!) and they all brought some food of their own, so it was more of a potluck. I somehow was able to fit about 18 people in my 300 Sq ft living room. My friends brought over some folding chairs, I had my couch, my dining room chairs, a yoga ball, a storage ottoman... and we were just fine. We even played charades at the end of the night... not sure what inspired us but I don't think we've ever laughed so hard. I heart my California buddies.

Another exciting thing, is that for Thanksgiving, we're all gonna hang out again. we're calling it the "California Orphans Thanksgiving" - as most of us don't really have family here. Can't wait! I also can't wait till Christmas when I come home!!! I feel very very happy.

Today I'm grateful that I didn't go into my usual melancholy stage when Babe left back home, and that I'm able to find my own happiness even though I'm far from the ones I love. I guess this is what independence is all about (t'was about time!). Still, it's hard being lonely. It build character I guess. Thanks everyone for supporting me - as I've now been in California for almost a year. A year, can you believe it? I still can't. I still imagine - if 10 months ago I could travel to now, and see that I've got a salaried job, live in Southern California, get to play beach vball and live 3 blocks from the beach... I would die of shock. I have to say, I'm kinda proud of myself. And it feels good. It's tough, darn it, I'm sacrificing a lot... but it feels good.

Have a great night, until next time...

Semaine Occupée & YogurtLand

First off I'd like to wish a very happy birthday to one of my best friends, VS. She turns a quarter of a century old today... and I will soon follow in a couple of weeks. VS is a great friend, I've known her since 6th grade (my first year in the U.S). She's also awesome because she's married to a great guy who loves France... so I approve :) LoL.

So this week was busy at work. My colleague was on vacation starting Wednesday, my boss all week (surprisingly, taking a vacation to Utah for some reason). Thursday and Friday afternoon was all me trying to handle the job of 5 people... if the need would arise. Luckily it didn't get too crazy, just really lonely in the office Thursday. Boss Lady M called to check how I was doing, etc... she's awesome. She told me to just work from home on Friday, which I did. I got to listen to 104.3 My FM and tried to listen to the song that would make me win 4 Disneyland tickets... but no luck. Still great day though. And yes, I did get some work done...

Thursday night was fun, I had dinner with some of my friends (Vietnamese noodle salad). The slightly odd part was one of my friends brought her ex-mother in law AND her current boyfriend... which I thought was hilarious... but hey, if they don't mind, I don't mind. I got a phone call from the Houdemon family in San Francisco, about to return to France... thanking me for showing them around when they were in L.A... and it was absolutely my pleasure and I loved hanging out with them. They're good friends of my mom's and I hadn't seen them in 11+ years. They're hilarious and always in a good mood. Their son is fascinated with California so I thought I'd show them Hollywood, MJ's house, Rodeo drive, Manhattan Beach Pier, and Santa Monica Pier & 3rd Street Promenade... all in one day. What a day! Mom & Brent were here too... so it was awesome. Always love to see them.








Last night I watched "Marley and Me" which was ok... I hope I never turn out like the Godzilla wife & mother that Jennifer Anniston was in the movie. But at the end, I bawled my eyes out... I don't want to give away the ending to those who haven't seen the movie. Tonight, it's vegetarian pizza and shrimp spring roll night, "The Proposal" wasn't available on RedBox... so in search for a Romantic Comedy and/or Action night I'll either watch "Legally Blonde" (love that show, I don't know why...) or "Independence Day" (I could watch Will Smith all day...). Pretty low key weekend. It's been gorgeous though, 75 degrees today... hope I can play volleyball tomorrow.  Oh, and I discovered "YogurtLand" next to Trader Joe's which is absolutely yummy and cheap...  

Babe's probably coming Monday night, and will be here for about 2 weeks... which is pretty cool. I can't wait to see him; I love him so much. The giggling, the talking, the hanging out, the fighting, the make-up s...nuggling... I miss it all. Can't wait to see ya babe :)

Tomorrow will be Volleyball and making crepes for work's October birthday celebration. Next week I get to restrict the heck out of my hotels so that we can make some serious money. Woot woot!

Have a fantastic Saturday night, until next time.

C'est dur, la vie

Hi everyone!

Yes, I'm back to my French blog titles... because this blog needs a little "oomph."

How is everyone? I hope you all had a fabulous week, weekend, easter... I sure did.

It all started last week when my sweetie and his family arrived last Friday night, we spent Saturday at the Long Beach Aquarium, and the afternoon and evening in LA at the Getty Center (awesome place) and Pink's Hot Dogs. How long did we wait in line for a 12in Japapeno dog with chili, guac, onions and chopped tomatoes? One hour and 20 minutes. The funny part is that as we were almost there, we realized that they don't take credit cards or checks - and had to find an ATM pronto. Good times...

Sunday consisted of an Easter egg hunt in my apartment which lasted about 5 minutes (I still can't believe I somehow was able to sleep 5 people in that 600 sq ft box), making my famous delicious crepes, chauffeuring to two churches, decorating Easter eggs with food dye (never done that before), going to the beach, making spaghetti and meat sauce for lunch, and for the first time, for dinner I made stuffed pepper with the leftover meat sauce and rice. Sooooo good!

My sweetie's been here all week with me, and it's been awesome. So many things this week.

First of all, it's no secret that it's tough times... and we had a shocker Friday last week. They had to let go one of our managers that sits behind me. It's a shock, not just because it's tough times, but because if we had to let one person go... we all knew it all had to be me. Why? Seniority. Although I've been with the company 6.5 years now, the other two managers have been there 12 (the one who got laid off) and 14. If I had gone, they would have combined the duties of the two manager positions left.

Although I am very grateful that I kept my job, I felt horrible for my colleague. She is one of the sweetest people you've ever met. She has an incredibly amazing resume however, has a good head on her shoulders and has been to work everyday after the news to look for jobs and make sure that all of her duties are being taken care of. I wish her the best, but know that she will find something great, because she's got a great attitude toward life and a great work ethic.

Now, I'm a big believer of "everything happens for a reason," and this was a big wake-up call for me as well. I've now been doing Hotel Revenue Management for the past 4.5 months, and I have to say that although it's challenging, I absolutely love it - and do believe that it's the career path for me. The fact that I didn't get laid off - I take it that I was meant to do this. At least for now. In fact, I am so excited to learn more everyday and feel so much more comfortable with my duties than when I first started (that should be a given).

But with that said, my heart goes out to those who have been laid off... but I also know that you'll make the right decision. I just don't want you to settle though. I know it's a tough economy, but please take a little time to find something that you'll still enjoy, if your budget permits. It's tough times. But we adapt. We move on. We learn and grow strong.

Did I just create a haiku?

Well, it's been a busy week though, because not only was it the busiest week, but with my colleague gone, the other managers took her duties with an already hectic week - and my other colleague was gone all week on vacation, so I did the job of two people. It was stressful, a little overwhelming at times, but overall, I was able to do it. I believe well, too. I'm relieved she's coming back tomorrow though.

Now, this weekend: Saturday my sweetie and I had lunch at "Creme de la Crepe," one of my favorite French places. They actually had "Menthe a l'eau" and "sirop de grenadine!" You know that it's been 10 years since I had that? Sweetie tried the Menthe a l'eau but didn't like it, so I sipped it... and enjoyed every minute of it. I love that place. If I ever want a little bit of French food, flair, and/or memories, I know where to go :)
We then went to Manhattan Beach, the beach was p-a-c-k-e-d!!! It was a beautiful 73 degrees, we picked up cool rocks that I'll use as decoration. We also indulged in Thin Mint ice cream for me and sundae for him. It's funny though, you see California TV shows with good looking hot people everywhere that are super rich and all, and you'll think "it's just tv." Well, Cali's... kinda like that when you really expericence it! And all these good looking people in swimsuits makes me want to work out again. Oh, I can't wait for bikini weather!! I know cancer's not sexy, but I can't wait to lay out on that beach on weekends, or even after work, and get a nice golden tan. Volleyball starts at 3PM today by the way, let's see if I can talk Sweetie into going and start on my tan.

This week I'm grateful that I was able to do my work and my colleague's successfully, and come home to a man who is extremely happy to see me and cleaned the apartment AND... oh my gosh, I forgot! I bought a brand new PC. By that I mean, I bought $700 worth of PC parts and sweetie built me a sweet $1400 system. It was about time... it works awesome. I can now play Counter-Strike Source! LoL. Boom, headshot!

Have a fantastic week.

Food, gloree-ous food!

Well, it's been a while.

It's been a busy and productive weekend.

Friday I went to the DMV and got my Cali license plates :)

Saturday I went to Ikea, bought furniture and set up delivery for Sunday. I got my bed delivered around 2pm. It is, oh so very comfy. And high. That mattress is just massive. I have to jump to get on.

Sunday, did absolutely nothing related to football. I got my Ikea furniture delivered at 9AM, built two dressers and a coffee table. That's right, all by myself. I also made crepes to bring to work on Monday. On the way to Von's to buy Nutella, I get hit on by a 40 yr old Iranian. Great. Nice guy. I'm taken though, and you're... well, kinda old. But thanks. I'm flattered :)

Today, went to work - and welcomed the newest member on our team, Boss Man J, who started today. We did a breakfast potluck to celebrate him and me (although I've been there two months now) coming to the team.

Holy crap it's been two months!!!

On the menu for breakfast today:
Crepes, Nutella & Raspberry jam by me
Bagels, whipped cream cheese and lox by Boss Lady M
Yogurt & Granola by Boss Lady P
Juice & milk

It was a great way to start the day. And we all started watching Super Bowl commercials. Umm, aren't we supposed to be working? Oh well, not much to do this week. Let's enjoy!

That was the fun-filled weekend.. and first day of the work week.

Running update: ran 4 minutes Saturday, 4.5 on Sunday and 5 minutes today. I also saw 5 Dolphins close to the shore travelling in my direction along the shore today. With the sunset in the background, it was absolutely magnifique. That's what I'm grateful for today.

I'm also grateful for having a man in our office. I love my lady co-workers, but there is way too much estrogen in there. Need a good balance. :) He also seems like a fun guy. Yay! We have a really fun office.

Something funny today? I came home to an apartment that's a total mess. There's still boxes laying around, I moved everything that was on my bedroom floor to the living room floor this weekend, until I get the last dresser assembled... YEAH. You may wonder why this is funny to me - but I hate messy apartments, yet I live in one. Oh well... will clean it tomorrow. Tonight I'm relaxing on the couch with my awesome coffee table and watching Family Guy.

How was your weekend? Hope it was a great one. Feel free to leave me a note and tell me about it!