Giddy Girlie

Deadlines, school, work crap, AND the fact that your parents' house might be on fire can be a wee bit stressful at times. So I needed a fun day. A day of giggles and bad jokes and people watching. No where better can these be had than at Disneyland, BUT you have to have the right crew of people. And Friday I had it, baby.

I had made plans to meet Adam for a day of complete nonsense, because he was having a similar Hell Week (me: textbooks and evacuations, he: high-profile celebrities and dead car batteries. Six of one, half dozen of the other) and we needed to roam free, squeal on a Matterhorn Bobsled, and settle once and for all who could eat the most churros. So we arranged to meet at 9am (which is as early as 5am in my book of Days Off) in front of the main gate.

Ryan had wanted to go with us, but then deadlines were looming and he couldn't justify it, so he had sadly resigned himself to working (like a sucker!) while we were out having fun. Too bad, so sad. But as it turned out, we stayed out 'til closing time on Thursday at a karaoke bar to celebrate Marcie's birthday and once we got home, I was too wired to sleep. ("oooh, I have to be there in 5 hours!") Eventually, somewhere around 4, I did finally fall asleep, and it was really no fun when the alarm started buzzing at 7:30. So much unfun, actually, that Ryan got up too and said "I can't let you go alone. If you're going to be this tired and still be a trooper, I'm coming with you." YAY!

So we met Adam and the Day of Greatness began.

We set a world record for most rides in a single hour. We brunched. We made our freebie lists*. We made the tourists GREEN WITH ENVY when we waltzed right past them to the private caboose car (it's open to anyone, but not many people know it). Seriously, I have never seen so many necks snap in all my life. And the way they kept angling to gawk at us through the tiny windows was selfishly awesome. For 15 minutes, we were celebrities. Sure, it was hot and humid in there, but people were envying us. US!! TOTALLY worth it.

I also get to wear the golden crown for providing the best comic relief of the day. Tower of Terror is this awesome free-falling elevator ride and all the kids beg for a penny, hoping to watch it float alongside them as the car drops (it's much too dark for that, but whatever). I'm not interested in floating pennies, it be photos I'm after**. So, per usual, I waited for the bellman to give his spiel about fastening your safety belts and please no photography and then pulled out my camera. [A BRIEF DISCLAIMER: my camera is a point-and-shoot digital that I don't really know how to operate effectively. But I am keenly aware of "ruining the atmosphere" for other patrons, so I turned off the flash and the display and set the camera to face only us.] When the ride was over and we're unloading out of the car, the bellman says "and please remember there WAS NO PHOTOGRAPHY" and I just smiled and he waited until I had gone a few steps to say "you should hold on to your camera next time" which didn't make any sense at all. The best part of this exchange was not the broken rules, but the catty, passive-aggressive way that he said it. If he would have said "You know, we asked you not to take pictures and would really appreciate it if you could follow the rules" I would have felt like complete shit. I would have deleted the pictures and apologized profusely. But instead, he didn't have the balls to actually say something directly to me. And instead insinuated that despite what I might have thought, there WERE NOT pictures taken. Ryan was too busy laughing, and Adam stopped short of saying "prove it!" when we saw the group photo (below) in which my camera is prominently featured. See the notes on Flickr for more hilarity. So, of course, I took a picture of that, too. ha ha ha

The moon was so full and beautiful that my crummy little camera couldn't capture it all, but I did get a picture of Max, Buff, & Melvin which is cool.

You know what else I did at Disneyland? Ate broccoli. No, for real. Like we're all "hmm, let's get a snack" and Adam comes back with this veggie tray and I was all "pshaw. Where's the churro?!" and then I ate some and... you know what? I didn't even die. In fact, it was rather enjoyable. Who knew?! I thought vegetables were fancy food that you used to show off how sophisticated you are to your boss (look at my salad!) or your grandma (I love peas!), but did you know that you can eat them ANYWHERE? Including amusement parks. Huh. This totally changes everything.

But seriously, I had THE BEST day. And every ache in my feet this week is just a reminder of the fun. Like getting a tattoo for a souvenier. But even better. Try it next time. When you're having a great time that you never want to forget, smash your toe with a hammer so that every time it rains and the arthritis acts up, you remember the good times.

* THIS was a classy conversation ("Really? Really? Hmm", "But just think of all the tricks you'd learn! Sure, you'll be scared at first..."). I really should gather everyone's final selections and laminate them.
** Pirates of the Caribbean nerds (POTC Nerds, as we call ourselves) will recognize this from the wench auction "I'm not interested in your rum! It be gold I'm after!"

Posted by giddygirlie at 3:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

On Friday, DT (stepdad) was able to get to my family's house for 10 minutes, escorted by firemen, to grab a few things - including Billy Cat. Billy is totally fine, but he missed everyone quite a bit, so he's still very clingy.

DT also grabbed a laundry basket of clothes while he was home, so my mom is relieved to have more than 2 outfits to choose from -- although in true Familia Giddy tradition, the laundry basket is a mishmash of everything. So once it was all washed and folded, they ended up with ZERO matching socks, a few hand towels, sweatshirts, and assorted t-shirts. But it's all good.

The Canyons are one-by-one getting the All Clear to go home. My family's canyon will be the last, because the fires are still active there. Fires should be out tonight or tomorrow and everyone should be on their way home by Wednesday. Hopefully.

So everyone do your rain dances. Or break dances. Or whatever. None of it can hurt at this point!

Posted by giddygirlie at 2:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Amidst the flames, we needed a moment of levity. Thank you, Ryan.

Posted by giddygirlie at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Sunday afternoon, Ryan and I could smell smoke coming from the hills, which is a usual thing for October. The Santa Ana Winds kick up, someone drops a cigarette and BOOM! the whole damn hillside is on fire. Because this is an annual thing, I didn't worry about it much at first. Then about an hour later, the smoke was getting really thick and black, so I called Mom who lives in the Middle of No Where to make sure they were safe. It seems the fire started right at the (only) entrance point to the canyon, and my stepdad and brother who were gone for the day, came back right as the fire really started to take off, leaving them stuck "outside".

The firemen didn't know which direction the wind was going to take the fire, but were pretty confident that Silverado Canyon would be ok, so they let people leave (but not come in) and were advising that everyone could come home the next morning. Hearing that, my mom grabbed a change of clothes for the guys (they'd been out motorcyling and were sweaty and gross inside their gear) and met them at a nearby hotel** so they could shower and rest and wait for the "all clear" to go home. On Monday, they still weren't allowed home so they had a neighbor break in to their house to feed the cat. On Tuesday the whole canyon was evacuated so my parents registered their cat with the ASPCA (who is doing diligent work to rescue pets as well as livestock***) and gave them a copy of the housekey. Also, I think they bought some extra underpants.

As of today, their house is not in any immediate danger. Since the fire originated near their canyon, most of the combustible has been combusted. There's not much left to burn. HOWEVER, if the fire jumps the burn or goes around (as it seems to be doing), there is a slight chance that they will be effected.

I doubt that their house is actually going to BURN. They might have bad smoke damage, and may even get totally hosed by the 'copters dropping water and fire retardant chemicals, but the structure should still be standing. Today, all we really care about is Billy (the cat) who is home alone and doesn't even know how to turn on the TV.

*the canyon they live in is a 2-lane road (her house is on a hillside with a ONE lane road).
**YES I did open my home to them, but they preferred the hotel (I think since they knew other people staying at the hotel)
***this is a rural area, most people have a stable of horses, not to mention pigs, goats, etc.

Posted by giddygirlie at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Anyone know ANYTHING about MT or stylesheets? It seems to me that this should be relatively painless.

If you visit the archives or the categories links, the page always looks like this (blue, boring). How can I change that to something better? Even if it's kinda plain, I just want to ditch the blue and jazz it up a note.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Posted by giddygirlie at 3:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

just setting up the category and folders. :)

Posted by giddygirlie at 8:22 PM | Permalink

Every year, the wildfires happen. Every year, it's arson. Every year, my parents (who live in a tiny canyon with a one lane road) are thisclose to either being evacuated or completely trapped. Yesterday, a new fire started right by Ma & Pa's canyon -- preventing my stepdad and brother from coming home and prompting my mom to leave as well. They laid low in a hotel room last night (casa de Giddy was open, but they preferred a bed to an air mattress) and hopefully will be able to get back home today.

The fire is creeping down the Irvine hillside, but it's still a few miles and a thousand houses or so from my house. So, for now, everyone is safe. Even if we do smell like BBQ.

Posted by giddygirlie at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I haven't really felt very good the past couple of days, but to keep my brain working, I offer you the following:

• I have joined the NaBloPoMo group and am challenging myself to write EVERY. DAY. in November. I have a lot of work to do if I am going to get my memoirs written before I am dead! I have a page on the NaBloPoMo website, if you want to be my "friend", but I will be posting daily here.
• This YouTube clip runs about 2 minutes, but it's worth every second. Wait to the end and hear about this cat's "aspirations" - hilarious.
• Spidercat!
• The $1 movies are running some actually GOOD flicks this week. Anyone want to go split an $8 popcorn with me?! (actually, on Tuesdays they have $1 hot dogs and sodas)
• I also got a LinkedIn request from someone yesterday and got mesmerized by the site, so don't be surprised if you see an email from me. Just add me to your connections, ok? Then we don't have to ever talk about this again. Thanks.

This is mandatory viewing.

Posted by giddygirlie at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

So you know what's a super cool way to injure yourself? ICY HOT!

Ryan has had this crazy knot in his shoulder all week, so I thought maybe some Icy Hot would help until he could get an appointment for a massage (I am not strong enough to break the knots he has going - I leave it to the professionals). The instructions say to apply "generously" and "massage into painful area", so I did. About 10 seconds later, Ryan started rubbing at the nape of his neck saying "this burns." I figured it was just a tiny cut or something from having his hair cut recently. But then the burning spread. Soon, he was running back and forth screaming, flapping his arms. I was trying to determine if he was going to take flight or punch the wall. He finally crashed in front of the fan, and I brought a damp towel to try and wipe it off (apparently now the skin felt raw and burnt), so it was a slow soak-and-drip-and-kind-of-wipe-without-really-wiping kind of process. For about 30 minutes. And finally, the burning stopped. And then the "icy" set in. So now he felt like he'd been lit on fire and now had pins and needles in his shoulder. Fantastic!

Later that night, I got a blister on my lip (right on my lip and just below) that was a BURN from the Icy Hot. WTF? I have never, ever in my life heard of anything like this. I once blistered the bejeezus out of my fingers on a jalapeno pepper (the oil is harsh!) but not Icy Hot! I think I covered my mouth when I laughed and got some on my lip that way. Fantastic!

Posted by giddygirlie at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

This morning it was a bit chilly in the house, so when I sat down to the computron, I wrapped a fleece blanket around my shoulders. Then I took the ends and wrapped them around my arms. Perfect! Now I can type and be warm! So then I started thinking... I should make a blanket with sleeves! And then maybe pull the rest in around the body more, for a tighter/warmer fit! And then to close... hmm... buttons? Velcro? It was when I said to myself "zipper" that I realized that I had just invented the jacket.

Posted by giddygirlie at 8:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

And not in the "oh, my friends are so draining" kind of way, but in the "holy shit, I am such an old woman! I feel like I need to sleep for 2 days to recover." Pathetic, mostly.

Thursday night, Ryan and I met up with Tiffany and Pete for dinner, and once again we were working from a blind recommendation. So we all arrived in jeans and flip flops and t-shirts to a fancy restaurant. Um, oops. And this isn't the first time that this has happened, either. Which is pathetic. So anyway, the restaurant lets us lowlifes inside for some gourmet food (none of us really wanted to touch the shot glass of "roasted yellow pepper cold soup") and strong drinks. Holy Batman, Jeebus! Maybe it was the roasted white truffles with my salmon or the artisan baked breads, but I got totally loaded from one gin & tonic. Sad.

These people should not be allowed entrance to fine establishments.

Having learned our lesson, we opted to spend Friday night in our element in a scummy dive-bar, the Goat Hill Tavern. So, we arrived in grubby jeans and t-shirts, and felt perfectly at home. Then Rosey and I noticed that a lot of the other girls there were a wee bit overdressed. The ones that were "day strippers" were easy enough to pick out. The callgirls, too. The ones that didn't seem to make sense were the ones where their boyfriend was dressed like a slob (appropriate) and she was in some flashy outfit and open-toed high heels. "Why would you wear stilettos to a bar? Especially THIS one?" Rosey asked. "I wouldn't. I have 4 pairs of socks on under my Converse. You KNOW that you're just going to get puked on - why would you wear open toes?!" I replied.

It didn't take more than 15 minutes for the first drunk guy to stumble into our table and tip the pitcher over. And only 20 minutes after that was cleaned up that a stumbling, blindly drunk girl tripped and fell into our booth. And rather than move her, her friends propped her up next to John and then squished in beside her. I noticed the bouncer keeping an eye on her and just as he was making his way over to eject her, she exploded. Puke ALL OVER the table and down her lap. She hardly even noticed that she had done it. She just sagged down more in her seat. It was super gross. Luckily, John's cat-like reflexes saved him from getting barfed on. So, we did what anyone else would do: let the bar guys clean it up, then stayed and drank s'more. What? It was bleachy sterile now and NO one wanted to sit near us: perfect! We ended up closing out the Goat and then over to Norms for 3am breakfast. Which was great, except when you're buzzed, you think you're a lot hungrier than you are. So when the food was delivered and the U-Haul just backed up to the table, I hid my face in my hands and apologized. I ate 3 bites of bacon and then was done.

Sunday was Jake and John's coincidental birthday (congrats, boys!) and also The Taint was playing a mid-day show at the Chronic Cantina. So we went. It was good times. Ryan even got up and sang for old times' sake (if you go to their MySpace via the link above, that's Ryan singing the pirate song. Ha ha ha HA). There was a heckuva turn-out and it was so good to see some of the dear people that we don't visit with often enough.

These people lie about being rock stars

But man, I feel like I am 100 years old. All day today, I have felt thisclose to just nodding off at my desk. *sigh* I guess it's true. I'm over 30 now.

It's blown out of whack, the truth is what's lacking
'Til now I couldn't see
The long and the short I'd like to report
I guess I really don't know how to party

Posted by giddygirlie at 3:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I really like it here. It's a very pedestrian-friendly place, where you can wander around and poke into little boutiques and mega-chain stores (hello there, Old Navy!). Since it's a "tourist" spot, no one snubs you for stopping to gawk or take pictures. And you get the superior satisfaction of being a do-it-yourself tourist, instead of one of the 100 people pouring off the buses all over town. Which is a small prize, I concede.

Everyone here speaks French and eats French. It's like going to Paris without all the b.o. It's nice too that everyone also speaks English -- although as a default. Every store you enter, you get a "bonjour" to which you must reply "hello" otherwise they will assume that you speak French and they will go right on being nice to you in French. I learned that fast enough. Just come right out and say "I am a dumb American and can speak elementary Spanish" and they are happy enough to oblige. I love the freewheeling European vibe, how nearly every old white-haired lady has a streak of hot pink in there. All the men have beautiful names like Jean-Paul and Jacques and a goodly number of them even wear leather vests. It's totally awesome.

Tonight, we are going out as a group to explore the "old Montreal" section of town and I hope to get a lot of great pictures. I just wish I had the guts to photograph all the kooky people walking around, smoking joints. Maybe tonight I'll up the ante and toss out a bonjour and snap away -- and hope that their kindness (and stoniness) will prevail.

Posted by giddygirlie at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)