Monthly Archives: December 2011

I solemnly swear that I am up to…something.

Well, Christmas is over, and you know what that means!

No, it doesn’t mean “EAT ALL THE CANDY!!!” Jonathan, I’m looking at you, with the giant box of See’s chocolates on your lap.

It’s New Year’s resolution time! The time of year when we make lists of goals or dreams we want to accomplish in the coming year, but end up not doing because they’re either too vague, too unrealistic, or we just plain forget about them. For me it’s usually the latter, since I have terrible memory. Some people *coughMomcough* says it’s selective memory loss, but…well, crap, she’s right.

In the past I was guilty of arbitrarily putting things on my list in the hopes of them becoming self-fulfilling prophecy; they’re on the list, so they’re just going to happen. However, that’s not how it works. You actually have to work at achieving these goals you have set, and that’s probably why my resolutions in the past years have not been very successful. This year, I’m going to keep it simple: easily attainable goals that will help me become a better person.

20111227-222835.jpg

So, without further ado: Alyssa’s List of Betterment!

1. Be nicer to people/Be more patient. I like to think I’m generally a nice person. Heck, it’s part of my job description! Customer service…basically, be nice to the customer. Not that tough. Wheaton’s Law sums it up perfectly: “Don’t be a dick.” My problem is that I get annoyed very easily. Jonathan can attest to this. It’s typically not a big thing that annoys me; it’s more of a series of small, inane things that pile on top of each other unto my brain goes all green and Hulk-like and yells “IDIOT SMASH!!!!” Of course, I try to keep my outward appearance calm and collected, but sometimes I slip and get a bit snarkier than I need to be. I don’t want to be like that anymore. I will make an effort to not be annoyed by stupid little things, and though it may be difficult, it will be good for me in the long run.

2. Eat less, Move more. Since this time last year, I’ve lost 30 pounds. Wait, sorry. I didn’t lose it, I got rid of it. I don’t want to find it ever again! I count that as a pretty big accomplishment, and I aim to get rid of an additional 30 pounds this coming year. I’ve already signed up for the “Get Fit” challenge at my gym, and though it’d be pretty awesome to win the 1st place prize, I’d actually prefer the 4th place prize. $250 towards a new wardrobe or a series of free personal training sessions? If you know me, you know I’m gonna pick the cash.

3. Be craftier/Write more. I’m gonna lump these two together, because they both stem from the side of my brain that isn’t often used. It’s difficult for me to create things, since I’m used to reading or admiring other people’s words and creations. I recently discovered that I too want to put something out in the world for others to enjoy, and working on this goal will allow me to do just that. I’ve gotten a lot of crafty inspiration from my friend Tifany of Inkblots by TRD, and from Jen Yates of Epbot. As for words…I’ve always been an avid reader, and my inspiration for blogging currently comes from the minds of Wil Wheaton, The Bloggess, and Jeff of “Saporito Means Tasty!” (all very fun reads, and I urge you to go check them out)

4. ????

5. Profit!

Haha, sorry. I had to. Reddit has ruined me. Maybe that’s another thing I should resolve to do: Spend less time on Reddit. Naaaahhhhhh.

So, that’s my short but easy-to-work-on list of things I want to accomplish this year. I am hoping to stay motivated by myself, but I won’t turn down some help from you, my dear readers. If you see that it’s been a while and I haven’t posted, talk some smack to me on Twitter. Alternatively, those of you who know me in real life could give me a good smack on the forehead. That should help.

This is not the most interesting post in the world. This is just a tribute.

It’s Christmas Eve, and I am a slacker.

Well, only a little, really. For the most part, I’ve got everything done: gifts wrapped, treats baked or canned, cards mailed, and my husband’s ridiculously awesome stocking mostly finished (more on that in a coming post!)…I just needed to write something. That’s what this is!

But then I remembered I also needed stocking stuffers for Jonathan, and so I put off the writing for a bit and instead braved the throngs at Target last night. It was insanity. The parking lot was crammed with cars, but surprisingly, no one was being cranky or rude about finding a parking spot. The store was a hive of people rushing around grabbing last minute gifts and wrapping paper, then queuing up for the registers…but again, no rudeness or arguing to be found. I was pretty pleased with humanity right about then.

Granted, my glow of holiday cheer may have been, in part, a result of an email I had gotten an hour before; a gleeful, CAPS-LOCK riddled note to let me know my package had arrived at Jeff and Laura’s house, ahead of schedule.

When I first asked Jeff for their address, he was a little confused. Understandably, of course. I am a person he’s never met, who lives across the country, and we had only just recently connected on the vast interwebs because of a shared admiration of Wil & Anne Wheaton and generally being nerdy.

For me, it wasn’t an issue. I love giving. Presents, service, time, money, whatever. To see the look on someone’s face when they see something has been done for them is priceless. Take my Dad, for instance. The guy is a total bachelor, and you can imagine what his bathroom is like. I’ll spare you the details. A few weekends ago, I figured it would be a pretty good “gift” idea if I went ahead and cleaned the bathroom for him. It wasn’t a big deal, I got some good exercise, and the satisfaction of seeing something messy converted into something clean. I was happy. When he came home and saw it, he was happy. Happy all around!

So, back to Jeff. He’s a pretty hilarious dude, and a rather snappy dresser. Man’s got some awesome sweaters, I tell you what. I enjoy reading his blog, and following his wit and sarcasm on twitter. We have decided that some day in the future, our two families will have to jointly embark on a JoCo Cruise Crazy trip, so we at least know someone there besides the celebrities who probably won’t hang out with us. I learned that he is on a mission to “nerd” his wife Laura, and I decided it was my duty as a fellow nerd(ette) to aid this mission. I chose my weapons carefully, boxed them (along with some tasty jam) and shipped them off to the Saporitos. I wasn’t expecting it to get there before Christmas, but thankfully it did! Mad props to the US Post Office this time. I was excited to see what their reactions were…almost, if not MORE excited than I am for opening my own gifts I see stashed under our fake tree.

I figure this is what Christmas should be about. Giving. Making someone feel good, and in turn, making yourself feel good for having done something good, or nice, or unexpected. It doesn’t have to be about gifts. Take the time to send a letter to an old friend, or visit a family member you haven’t seen in ages, or (if you just have to send something) send a surprise to someone who isn’t expecting it.

I did it this year, and I loved it. I will certainly do it again next year, but I won’t tell you about it.

one of those things I never thought would happen

As of this post, Jonathan and I have been married one year, seven months, eleven days, and about 5 hours. I wish I could say I knew that off the top of my head, but that’d be a total lie. I’m not that dedicated. Sorry hon.

At the time of our wedding, I had been living in my own apartment for about a year and a half. It was awesome; that is, it was awesome if you ignored the obnoxious upstairs neighbors, the occasional flooded carpet in the living room, and the trains that thought it was an excellent idea to blow their horns at two o’clock in the morning…every morning. Really though, it wasn’t so bad. It was 900 square feet of MY OWN PLACE. Large bedroom with a walk in closet, a second bedroom-turned-office, an amply sized kitchen, a cozy (if sometimes damp) living room. What more could a 22-year-old want?

Once Jonathan moved in, it got a little more cramped. I lost half of the closet, had to figure out where to put his 3D Star Wars puzzles, and had double the laundry to do. Let me pause here to say that I hate doing laundry. It’s an irrational hate because honestly, laundry is like the easiest chore to do. You stick it in the machine, go do something else for 45 minutes, move it to another machine, do something else for about an hour, and then put the clothes away. My problem is that I usually do one of three things:

  1. Let my dirty clothes accumulate until I’m forced to spend an entire Saturday doing the abhorred laundry
  2. Buy new clothes and ignore the dirty laundry
  3. Do the laundry but leave it piled in the basket, picking clean clothes out of said pile every day

Laundry issues aside, I was a newlywed filled with domestic vigor. I cooked gourmet meals for my beloved, I cleaned everything in sight, and spent the evenings cuddled up in front of the TV watching Big Bang Theory, Doctor Who, or Smallville. The insane cooking and cleaning bit lasted all of about two weeks, then I told him he’s gotta learn to live with my slightly messy side or else I’m gonna go nuts. I’m no Petunia Dursley, thank you very much.

Newlywed life was blissful, for the first two or three months. Then it got a bit more difficult. Jonathan had graduated from UC San Diego with a bachelor’s in Structural Engineering, and had found it very tough to find a job in his career field. Actually, he found it very difficult to find a job at all. We were able to make it work on my salary for a couple months, but it was getting very hard to deal with our finances on such a slim budget. His school loans were a HUGE part of that problem, but things were about to get worse.

One evening I was playing with his hair, when I found a weird lump on the side of his neck. It wasn’t very big, but it was slightly spongy – definitely not a normal thing. He brushed it off, and ignored it for a few weeks. It got bigger. When it was the size of a golf ball, sticking out from behind his left ear, he finally went to the doctor.

After an MRI and a CAT scan, the doctors had no clue what was growing on his noggin. I was a stressed out wreck, whereas he wasn’t all that worried. It didn’t hurt him, so he didn’t really care. I was envisioning the worst, of course. Was it some fast growing tumor? An alien parasite? Did a spider lay eggs in his ear and the young will soon be hatching out of this giant THING on his neck?! Excuse me while I gag a little.

Finally, after a tissue sample, they declared it was “just a fluid buildup” that would go away on its own. (It eventually did, and has not returned.) What didn’t go away was the insane amount of medical bills that had accumulated during this little adventure.

I was not happy. I was the sole breadwinner, and that just wasn’t working out. We couldn’t pay rent, we couldn’t pay all of our bills…what were we going to do?

Then, an answer! Not the type of answer I was expecting, however.

Enter: My father.

My dad is an pretty cool dude. He’s the white version of “The Most Interesting Man in the World.” He’s got about 40 motorcycles down in his shop that he swears he’ll fix up one day, but will probably leave outside covered in tarps for who knows how long. He’s a total hoot – so much so that our friend Doug dressed up as him for Halloween a couple years ago.

Dad is the dweeb on the left.

My dad, in his spirit of generosity and desire to help his “keed”, offered to let Jonathan and I move into his house. This was a pretty good idea, I thought.

Turned out to be a pretty awesome idea.

My dad’s house is pretty big. For a single dude who’s hardly there, it’s too big. Three bedrooms, three bathrooms, an ENORMOUS kitchen, and an incredible view. Only thing is, it’s not finished. He’s a perfectionist, and if he can’t do the work himself to make sure it’s acceptable, he’ll leave it until he has the time to do it. It’s been “under construction” for about 12 years.

Now, don’t get me wrong, he’s done a lot of work to it, both before we moved in and after. It’s mostly carpeted now, and the entire upstairs section is completed. It’s just his bedroom and the downstairs hallway that needs some work. We’re slowly getting there!

I never thought I’d wind up living with a parent, be it Jonathan’s or one of mine, especially in our first years of marriage, but the setup we have really isn’t that bad. As I said before, my dad is rarely here. He’s got a pretty active social life, so if he’s not working (he’s kind of a workaholic) he’s hanging out at the local brewpub watching the baseball or football game, or spending the evening with his current lady friend.

Also – it’s gorgeous up here.

I love this view, be it foggy...

or sunny!

The house also came with another occupant, in the form of a fuzzy kitty.

My girl Friday

She was normally an outdoor cat, but who can force such a sweetie to stay outside, especially when it’s snowy?

I can haz cuddles?

And so the outdoor cat became a lazy lap cat…

That's his "game face"

Of course, there are some hazards to living on a really steep hill with a treacherous driveway that gets super slick and icy in the winters. Biggest hazard is the possibility of careening off the side of the road and then rolling down the hill. We very nearly did this last winter, and let me tell you, it is NOT A FUN EXPERIENCE.

Fun times.

It’s kind of hard to tell from this pic, but the rear left tire is completely off the road. You also can’t see the extremely steep drop-off on the other side of the car, which is where I was sitting. It took about an hour and my dad’s backhoe to get the car back on the road. Thankfully, there wasn’t any noticeable damage to the car. I, on the other hand, have since been paranoid of this driveway and when it starts to freeze again, I will be parking at the bottom of the hill and walking up.

Now, as beautiful as the view is, and as nice it has been to hang out with my dad, we want to buy our own house. It will happen soon, I’m sure. Jonathan has a good job now, we’re saving a ton of money (Dad hardly charges us rent), and he’s constantly searching for an engineering job to get his long-term career started. We’re hoping that this time next year we will be celebrating our first Christmas in our own house.

If we’re still here with Dad, that’s OK too. After all, he is a pretty cool roommate.

Oh, and I know what you’re thinking…and really, it’s not that awkward. He’s hardly here, remember? ;)