Ketchup yes, Mustard NO.
I haven't kept up with my journal writing in a while, so I'll make an attempt at catching up.
I will probably be moving soon. The opportunity has arisen for me to move into a 3 bedroom house, and it's fairly sure that it'll happen. Here's the lowdown on the pros and cons:
CONS
* House has 1 normal-sized bathroom; apartment has 2 small ones.
* It's in the Valley. THE VALLEY. When my current neighborhood isn't driving me batty with noise, I'm in love with it. I can walk to cool restaurants, a grocery store, an independent bookstore and a used CD store and the Y-Que Trading Post; there's a For Pets Only, and the public library. I'm 2 minutes by car from Kaiser. I'm already in Hollywood for fun doings. I can use the subway which is walking distance. I can get downtown in about 15 or 20 minutes if it's not rush hour. Dangit, my neighborhood is cute and trendy and fun, and after 9 years of living on this side of the hill, I consider myself a Hollywood Girl rather than a Valley Girl.
* I had to make my living room my office at my apartment, and my couch wouldn't fit through the doorway I wanted it to, and my bedroom's too small for my bedroom set.
* My rent just got raised by the maximum.
* Forrest, Victoria, and Janice/Gideon live in L.A. roughly 19 miles from new place, while currently Vik is the farthest at 9 miles, and Janice and Fo are super-close.
PROS
* House has 3 bedrooms; current apartment has 2.
* House has washer/dryer; current apartment has laundry room downstairs @ $2 for a wash & dry.
* Current apartment has NOISE. Police helicopters and emergency vehicles of all sorts; helicopters taking sick kids to Children's Hospital; the elementary school next door; the garbage chute (which is practically in my apartment); the neighbors at the building behind mine; and the too-close post office, where they start the loud clanging of 10-foot tall bins at 4am. You can imagine that this does not make insomniac!Robbie very happy.
* House has a yard, meaning my cats can go outside. This makes them happy and I'll have to deal with the litterbox less often, making me happy.
* House has full-sized kitchen and lots of storage space as opposed to very small kitchen with very little cabinet space in my apartment.
* House has cute kitchen cabinets vs. horrible ones in current apartment.
* House has, I think, hardwood floors under the carpet.
* Apartment has sponge-painted hallways leading to my apartment that are like Salvador Dali's circus nightmare; I get to paint the house's interior any way I want. At my apartment, my carpet is grey; my walls are white; I have no options on that count. And I'm addicted to BBC America's "Changing Rooms" and would love to do some decorating.
* House is closer to my dad, Trixie, and a few lifelong friends who I rarely see now and would like to see more.
***
I really liked "Gosford Park." Good acting, fun story, much grooviness all around.
I was pretty lukewarm about "Lord of the Rings," due partly to circumstances beyond my control -- my unfamiliarity with the books; a raging headache that started in earnest about 2 hours in; the police incident which took place earlier that evening (Xmas eve); and the uncomfortable seats in the IMAX at Universal City, which might be okay for a normal-length movie but which were horrible for a 3-hour movie.
"Ice Age" was very fun. And I got to see my three favorite coworkers from "ET," which was most excellent. Must call them about doing lunch.
***
I went to Disneyland yesterday with Trixie, Victoria, her sister and brother, and Shmelle and Bill. Trixie and I got there to join the others at around 12:30, and the park was more crowded than we'd hope it'd be, since our annual tradition of going to Disneyland on Superbowl Sunday seems to have caught on and it's no longer completely empty. But we made it onto Space Mountain, Star Tours, the Matterhorn, Big Thunder Mountain, and to see Billy Hill and the Hillbillies at the Golden Horseshoe Revue. The Billys weren't as good as usual but were still entertaining and it was nice to sit down. It was a beautiful day, not too cold and not too hot, so that was all good. Of course, we'd have preferred rain so the other people would be elsewhere, but you can't have everything.
Trix and I left around 5:30 and went to pick up paint swatches at Lowe's, then to hang out with Syn, Kat, and Josie for gabbing and a late dinner at Marie Callendars. Yum, turkey noodle soup and cornbread!! We also got to see the final quarter of the Superbowl. Ooh.
And that day was accomplished on eight hours of sleep in the preceding 48 hours.
***
Poor Janice has a nasty cold, and since she's pregnant she can't take anything for her symptoms. Ick. Tomorrow I might take soup.
***
Tomorrow, perhaps, I will tell the story of Forrest and his psychotic ex-roommate Barry.
I will probably be moving soon. The opportunity has arisen for me to move into a 3 bedroom house, and it's fairly sure that it'll happen. Here's the lowdown on the pros and cons:
CONS
* House has 1 normal-sized bathroom; apartment has 2 small ones.
* It's in the Valley. THE VALLEY. When my current neighborhood isn't driving me batty with noise, I'm in love with it. I can walk to cool restaurants, a grocery store, an independent bookstore and a used CD store and the Y-Que Trading Post; there's a For Pets Only, and the public library. I'm 2 minutes by car from Kaiser. I'm already in Hollywood for fun doings. I can use the subway which is walking distance. I can get downtown in about 15 or 20 minutes if it's not rush hour. Dangit, my neighborhood is cute and trendy and fun, and after 9 years of living on this side of the hill, I consider myself a Hollywood Girl rather than a Valley Girl.
* I had to make my living room my office at my apartment, and my couch wouldn't fit through the doorway I wanted it to, and my bedroom's too small for my bedroom set.
* My rent just got raised by the maximum.
* Forrest, Victoria, and Janice/Gideon live in L.A. roughly 19 miles from new place, while currently Vik is the farthest at 9 miles, and Janice and Fo are super-close.
PROS
* House has 3 bedrooms; current apartment has 2.
* House has washer/dryer; current apartment has laundry room downstairs @ $2 for a wash & dry.
* Current apartment has NOISE. Police helicopters and emergency vehicles of all sorts; helicopters taking sick kids to Children's Hospital; the elementary school next door; the garbage chute (which is practically in my apartment); the neighbors at the building behind mine; and the too-close post office, where they start the loud clanging of 10-foot tall bins at 4am. You can imagine that this does not make insomniac!Robbie very happy.
* House has a yard, meaning my cats can go outside. This makes them happy and I'll have to deal with the litterbox less often, making me happy.
* House has full-sized kitchen and lots of storage space as opposed to very small kitchen with very little cabinet space in my apartment.
* House has cute kitchen cabinets vs. horrible ones in current apartment.
* House has, I think, hardwood floors under the carpet.
* Apartment has sponge-painted hallways leading to my apartment that are like Salvador Dali's circus nightmare; I get to paint the house's interior any way I want. At my apartment, my carpet is grey; my walls are white; I have no options on that count. And I'm addicted to BBC America's "Changing Rooms" and would love to do some decorating.
* House is closer to my dad, Trixie, and a few lifelong friends who I rarely see now and would like to see more.
***
I really liked "Gosford Park." Good acting, fun story, much grooviness all around.
I was pretty lukewarm about "Lord of the Rings," due partly to circumstances beyond my control -- my unfamiliarity with the books; a raging headache that started in earnest about 2 hours in; the police incident which took place earlier that evening (Xmas eve); and the uncomfortable seats in the IMAX at Universal City, which might be okay for a normal-length movie but which were horrible for a 3-hour movie.
"Ice Age" was very fun. And I got to see my three favorite coworkers from "ET," which was most excellent. Must call them about doing lunch.
***
I went to Disneyland yesterday with Trixie, Victoria, her sister and brother, and Shmelle and Bill. Trixie and I got there to join the others at around 12:30, and the park was more crowded than we'd hope it'd be, since our annual tradition of going to Disneyland on Superbowl Sunday seems to have caught on and it's no longer completely empty. But we made it onto Space Mountain, Star Tours, the Matterhorn, Big Thunder Mountain, and to see Billy Hill and the Hillbillies at the Golden Horseshoe Revue. The Billys weren't as good as usual but were still entertaining and it was nice to sit down. It was a beautiful day, not too cold and not too hot, so that was all good. Of course, we'd have preferred rain so the other people would be elsewhere, but you can't have everything.
Trix and I left around 5:30 and went to pick up paint swatches at Lowe's, then to hang out with Syn, Kat, and Josie for gabbing and a late dinner at Marie Callendars. Yum, turkey noodle soup and cornbread!! We also got to see the final quarter of the Superbowl. Ooh.
And that day was accomplished on eight hours of sleep in the preceding 48 hours.
***
Poor Janice has a nasty cold, and since she's pregnant she can't take anything for her symptoms. Ick. Tomorrow I might take soup.
***
Tomorrow, perhaps, I will tell the story of Forrest and his psychotic ex-roommate Barry.