It's the little things

I have a lot of pretty fabulous benefits at my new job, but there is one thing missing: there's no milk provided in the coffee room. There's just a Costco-sized container of non-dairy creamer. I was told that if we want milk, we have to bring our own into the office. This little thing is driving me to distraction. I'm not organized enough to bring in milk regularly, and the times I have remembered I noticed it just gets consumed by everyone else in the office, anyway. The powder is gross! AND I found out that it makes permanent stains on clothes. Coffee with no powedered creamer comes out in the wash, but the creamer adds some crazy staining component that is impossible to get rid of. Makes you wonder what kinda chemicals are in there, exactly.

I think I might be willing to sacrifice my free MOMA membership for a regular supply of fresh milk.

I don't want to be a Girlfriend

Last week, while on a historic walking tour of Chinatown, I got a fortune cookie containing the following fortune:

"An unexpected relationship will soon become permanent."

Absolutely nothing in life is permanent, but this particular fortune tripped me out a little. There's a certain relationship in my life (which could definitely be described as unexpected) that has recently developed to the point where I find myself wondering, "Am I ready to be a Girlfriend again?"

Girlfriend. The word makes me cringe. It sounds so young and so casual, but at the same time it comes with all of these restrictions and behaviors. It's a role that hasn't always treated me well. I've noticed that being someone's Girlfriend immediately causes me to do all sorts of weird stuff like get jealous, do laundry, make dinners, grocery shop, and go through occasional episodes of pouting and nagging. Not fun. There's also a strong connection in my mind between being a Girlfriend and being taken for granted. Experience tells me that life is far less adventurous and exciting when I'm a Girlfriend. Obviously, I'd prefer to move forward without any of these potential side effects.

But there can be a lot of nice things about having a Boyfriend, if he's a good one. And sometimes you feel so strongly about someone that you really can't fight it, even if you know being his Girlfriend isn't going to be perfect.

Maybe I just need to come up with a different word.

Better leave that one at home

I'm flying to Portland for my high school reunion on Friday. Today my mom called today to warn me that she heard they're not letting some padded bras on planes now. Apparently the liquid in the padded bras that use the little removable cushion of gel in order to appear and feel more authentically boob-like may be a security hazard.

Not that I wear padded bras or anything.

Listen up, Tourists and Suburbanites

You are making me crazy! Either walk up the escalator, or stand your sedentary self on the right side of the thing so people can get around you. Some of us need to get to our new jobs on time.

Just following policy

My new company's blogging policy states that I must include the following text somewhere on my blog:

The opinions expressed here are my own and are not those of my employer. This blog is not sponsored by or endorsed by my employer.

So there it is. When I rave about prosecco and Jake Gyllenhal, I am speaking strictly for myself. And maybe Inga.

Working girl

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. I started my new job last week. The excitement and anxiety of being the new girl in the office has been sucking up a lot of my energy and downtime, not to mention the stack of books and book proposals I'm slowly working my way through.

Sadly, my new employer has an official policy regarding blogging about work (basically, that I shouldn't do it), so I can't write too much about my new gig. I will say that it's the most traditional, corporate, real job I have ever had. For instance, I'm not supposed to wear jeans or t-shirts and I already have a business trip to NYC scheduled. Next thing you know, I'll have one of those little black roller bags and a BlackBerry. All new territory for RB. Maybe they make roller bags in pink?

I will also say that I really like my job so far. It's challenging, dynamic, and super exciting. From everything I've seen, the company seems like an excellent organization to be a part of.

Unemployment is good

This is my big week of freedom. My last day at Avalon was last Friday, but I don't start the new job until next Monday. I must say, unemployment is one of the best things I've ever experienced. I did nothing today. Really -- nothing. I slept until eleven, I drank some coffee, did some reading, a little blogging, sat in the sun, talked on the phone. I am toying with the idea of taking a shower and changing out of my jammies, but to be honest it sounds a little ambitious. Life is amazing in the Bay Area during the summer. It's even better when you have not a care in the world.

Big Cat in action

Thought you might appreciate a little fluffiness in your afternoon. This is Big Cat, my parents' cat, and this is pretty much the extent of his movement most days (he might also make the effort to bite your ankles):

More wedding photos

You've already seen the respectable portion of my wedding photos, so let's move on to the always entertaining dance floor collection.





Goose and Turd's looked very lovey-dovey during their first dance. Something tells me these two really like each other!





There wasn't exactly a mad rush when the DJ opened the dance floor to everyone. Turd's big bro, Load, took control of the situation and commanded to the masses to get funky.





For the most part, the masses responded by hightailing it to the bar. Turd's mom was the first to heed Load's call.





And they set a fine example for the rest of us.





Things really started to heat up when the ladies got to it.





No one could resist the pull of the music, or the pull of Jamie, and we all started to have a super fun time.





Wine down! Very dramatic -- glass on the dance floor.





Ben wins the honor of having the most unique and captivating dance moves, which this picture really doesn't do justice to. You really just can't capture that sort of thing on film. However, I do like how this photo makes him look like a transparent, supernatural being.





Goose and Turd had some impressive moves of their own. I think this is their first official boogie as man and wife.





This is definitely one of my favorite all-time pictures of Hip E.

25ish days until school starts

The end of summer hurtling toward me at frightening speeds, and it has me in a pretty bad mood this morning. There are only four weekends left before I'll have to return to spending my weekends meeting with study groups and reading about topics like how taxes impact accounting procedures. Typing that just made me throw up in my mouth a little.

I'm so depressed.

Ben Poland, Class of 2000

Yes, those are the embossed cards they give you to personalize your high school graduation announcements... just one of many slick moves that drove the ladies wild that night.

The photos you've been waiting for (installment 1)

Drumroll, please!

So, if you haven't heard, the wedding of Turd and Goose was absolutely fabulous. Goose looked amazing! A. Maze. Ing. The food was good, the wine was flowing, the friends and family were dancing, and love was in the air. People were nervous, then elated. There were no major injuries (well, I did hear that Thrill may have had a little run in, but I have no confirmed details on that). There's really not much more you can ask for in a wedding. All reports have confirmed that a crazy good time was had by everyone involved.

I'll get to it and kick off the wedding coverage with some pictures of the ceremony...





Happy attendees, imported from Cali, anxiously await the start of the ceremony.





Turd counts to ten in hopes of calming his nerves while he waits for the wedding party to start their trip down the aisle. Turd was indeed nervous, but to be fair it didn't seem that Turd was at all nervous about marrying Goose. Turd's nervousness seemed to center more on having every person he has ever known staring intently at him for at least a half an hour.





The grrrrr-oomsmen.





Turd and Goose are watching a singing performance. That's the woman who married them standing off to the right, beaming out positive energy in her mary-janes.




The big kiss! Sorry it's blurry, I was overcome with emotion. My favorite things about this photo are how happy everyone looking at them is, and the fact that you can see Brittie taking a photo in front of me. Those were two essential elements of the evening -- everyone being really happy and Brit taking photos.

Flight canceled, wedding update delayed

My flight from PDX to Oakland was cancelled on Monday because a bird flew into our engine. However, they didn't just cancel the flight. They decided to make us watch the plane service dudes fiddle with the plane for over four hours (the plane was parked outside the window, taunting us with it's seeming availability) and THEN they canceled the flight. And THEN we had to wait in a line of about eighty people for two customer service people to rebook us each individually on alternative, later flights. At the end of the day, it took me 12 hours to get from Portland to San Francisco, including a good three hours spent in Seattle. I finally arrived home around 10:30 pm and that is why you didn't get your precious wedding update.

To compensate me for my 12 hours, Alaska Airlines did give me a $25 voucher good for a discount on the next ticket I purchase. Oh yeah, they also gave me a $6 voucher, good towards a meal at any a PDX food vendor. I restrained myself from pointing out to them that the last time I checked, 12 hours of my time was worth at least (AT LEAST) $500 on the open market.

By linking this experience with my return-from-Rome-JFK-fiasco, I have concluded that I am jinxed when it comes to air travel. I'll be staying local for as long as is humanly possible.