it'll blow your mind, dude!

You must rent Life in the Undergrowth straight away. Who knew watching slugs doin' it could be so captivating?!

Notes from the raod

I wrote this last week when my flight was delayed 7 hours in Phili due to fog.

I'm in airport hell
awake 25 hours
safety first I guess

Exhaustion sets in
filling out holiday cards
trying to stay zen

the humanity
scarier by the minute
going home is jinxed

oh airport musak
holiday tunes like torture
suicidal now

Why god, why????????

We no longer have gmail at the office. That pretty much means I have to quit.

It should be no suprise by the look on his face, that when we asked him where we should sit he patted his knee!

Toot Toot

Yesterday a friend of mine who I work with came down and asked me for my advice on re-printing and framing small prints of artwork. I asked her what she wanted to frame and she said, "These"! She was holding the calendar of my paintings that I gave out last year as holiday gifts; she had no idea that I had created the artwork. It was a great moment of statisfaction!!

Reality is setting in

I walked to the Ferry Building for lunch and as I looked around at all of the seasonal decorations, I realized that this is my last holiday season in the Bay Area for a while. This is my NINTH Yule here and I've celebrated in a myriad of ways from being knee-deep in children's toys (even though there were no children present) to playing pool at the Shotwell with a drunk Mexican man who cried on my shoulder about never really experiencing a childhood for himself because he had his first kid at 14. So this time next year I will be strolling the streets of Rome or Florence, freezing my ASS off, BUT-freezing my ass off in a beautiful new country, learning a new language, and putting my adaptability skills to the test. I'm excited, anxious and terrified, and I can't wait!

I think you misunderstand

So I have a new Italian-speaking friend who's going to help me with my conversation skills. Last week I learned we have a mutual friend whose father is the director for an art school in Florence. I asked my friend if he had the guy's email address because I wanted to talk to his father about financial aid and student visas. My new friend completely got me wrong and thought that I was going to ask this guy to help me pay for college!

I'm Jesus' age!

A couple of weeks ago I turned 33. I wasn't very happy about it. I kept it super low-key and had a pajama party with a few close gal pals. And I'm so grateful because I had a fantastic time. Plus I thought I was going to go my whole birthday without a cake, but my sweet friends rallied and presented me with a beautiful and tasty confection. We played a toss-n-catch game with the youngest guest, applied fake tattoos for the elderly (my favorite was a picture of an adult diaper with the caption 'Out of Control'), and drank beautiful red wine. Thank you lovely ladies for ushering in another year with love and laughter. Take a peek at pics here.

Sometimes I have the uncontrollable urge to throw something at the back of someone's head. Although technically I guess it controllable since I haven't given in yet. I wouldn't get satisfaction from hurting them, just surprising them a little. Yet I never picture smyself throwing a pillow, most of the time it's fruit. And if I'm not fantasizing about prjecting something in their direction, if they're close enough, I have visions of plucking them real hard. But always on the back of the head.

THIS is who I'd like to see as James Bond!

Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggg!

So I've been really excited for the last two weeks, doing loads of research to go to Italy next year, but I learned this weekend that I can't get a student visa for going over and studying Italian; they require full-time, degree seeking status. This means much more money in tuition. So I looked at my genealogy paperwork again and I have at least three major setbacks there. I qualify for sure, but there are a few discrepancies on the documentation I have and it would take court orders and wads of cash to amend. So this week I will begin researching more education options including grants and loans, and I will start writing letters to the powers that be regarding dual citizenship. I'll take on the whole country if I have to!

A few weeks ago I went to Mendocino for a little solitude and to set goals for the coming year. After a massage, some decadent room service and a walk through an interesting cemetery I've decided to focus on the following:

-Use more kind words (less catty comments)
-Be compassionate of people's actions and decisions (less judgmental)
-Work every day towards pursuing voice-over
-Dedicate more time to writing my novel
-Live for a period of time in another country
-Purge my apartment of all unnecessary items

Thank you so much for all of your support and suggestions already so far! Check out pix of the coast.

I'm browsing this great site that's basically a directory of people who will host people for free for a few nights when they're visiting from other countries. Here's a great listing posted by a man in Rome:

53 years old.University researcher. Scientific network in environmental-social issues, biodiversity, wildlife photographer. English, Spanish. I live alone. I can host 1/2 person.

Goodness, which half will I ever choose???

Last Sunday I was at home painfully hungover from a wedding the night before, but I mustered the energy to do the dishes and make a few phone calls. I called my neighbor who lives a few doors down but we had a bad connection so he asked me to pop over. I shuffled down the hall and when he opened the door he looked at my head, then smiled, then looked at my head again. I felt a weight on the top of my head and thinking it was my sunglasses I reached up to remove them but it was actually my cleaning tiara. Mmmmmm hmmmmmm. Slowly but surely; I told you it would happen.

It's In the Stars

From the SF Guardian's hororscope this week: Sag, you look frustrated to the point of wanting to give up. Though it’s admirable to set up a lemonade stand when the cosmos dumps a bunch of lemons on you, sometimes a person’s got to cry, because they didn’t get the fruit they were hoping for. It’s OK to have a cry before setting up shop.

Today a co-worker found this little bit to add to it: If life hands you lemons, you should make lemonade...and then try to find someone whose life has handed them vodka.

And this is so true for me. I am always trying to find the lessons in life's challanges, to show gratitude for what I have instead of disappointment for what I didn't get, but damn it, this week I'm gettin' drunk!!

I've always been fairly confident that I'm going to go insane. Not crippling, send me to a loony-bin, bona fide crazy; more like a heartbreak induced nervous breakdown causing me to call everyone snoopy and wear my slippers in public but still, Reese as the eccentric old woman on the block is how I see myself in the future. I say eccentric because I will, of course, be wealthy.

For example: Today in the office I heard someone "pssst" at me. I turned around but nobody was there. I heard it again, "pssst". I stood on my tiptoes and peeked over the cubicle wall and again, not a soul. Naturally I assumed the dementia was setting in and continued my work, noting when I heard the "pssst", but not wasting any more energy looking for the source. It wasn't until about an hour before I was leaving the office that I realized it was my left wrist with its bands of bangles grazing my desktop that was causing the sound. Cuckoo!

Snakes on a Plane!

I thought I had posted these pix way back in August but I just found them saved as a draft.


Snakes in Amy's mouth!

Brett arrives for back-up

I lamost got kicked out for taking this shot

San Franciscans love an excuse to dress up

I found this costume the very next day!

Snakes everywhere!

It's not what you say, but how you say it.

Reese speaks up in the big corporate meeting, slamming her fist on the table for emphasis. "I think we should putting more resources into sediment interactive applications! And who can give me a straight answer regarding the bundle dendritic peripheries"?! Thunderous applause from everyone and whispers sweep the room, "She's absolutely right"! and "That girl's going places"!

Sound important and create your own bullshit here.

12 more days!

I know I'm supposed to be in the moment, but can you blame me for counting down the days until I get to stay here?!
Here is a list of perks I'll enjoy, as well as a few indulging spa treatments!

*Self-guided VIP tour of the local Pacific Star Winery, perched on one of the most spectacular ocean bluffs in the world.
*2 nights in a luxury suite with wood-burning fireplace, scenic vistas, fully stocked honor bar, Temper-Pedic sleep system, and much more!
*Soak in a private hot tub nestled along the canyon rim, while watching the sunset over the Pacific Ocean, with complimentary Navarro Chardonnay chilled on ice waiting for you there.
*Wake each morning to a gourmet lavish breakfast served in our award winning dining room.
*Complimentary Wireless Internet throughout resort
*FREE long-distance
*Cable TV with HBO
*Long-Range Cordless Phone & 2-Line Desk Speakerphone
*Free Laptop for use during stay
*Free Digital Camera for use during stay
*Premium Spa Amenities by Hermes, Paris.
*Plush Chenille Logo Spa Robes for use during stay

I've decided

this city is too fucking small.