Dreams Crushed

So my idol fave Scott MacIntyre, got kicked off last week. WHATEV. This was the one season where I got into the whole idol hoopla, getting a favorite, voting... blah blah blah. Get my hopes up to bring it down, I'm never going to American Idol this much again. I'm going to go back to waiting to find out who the winner is and then deciding whether or not I like them or not. I'm so bitter.

You know those weeks...

Where it's in between pay checks and you've just paid rent and a couple of bills. Those weeks pretty much suck. It's sad to see almost an entire pay check go to rent alone. And then it just so happens that in the middle of the week you have fill up your car with gas too. 

I can't wait for pay day. I can go out and get food again! And by food I mean I can stop making pb & j and turkey (not together, I swear) sandwiches and actually go buy plate lunch. 

ahhhh I don't know why I am complaining, it's not that I'm completely BROKE, I have money, it's just that I feel like I don't have the money to buy all those unnecessary things (my japanese coach for nintendo ds, rock band 2 for nintendo wii, multiple drinks and shots at bars, more clothes) that I just want. It really is a never ending battle for me, the whole spending dilemma.

On a happier note, my wonderful bf bought me Professor Layton and the Curious Village for Nintendo DS. We were searching for it for WEEEEEEEKs. Ever since that DS commercial with Phoebe (yes I call her Phoebe, sorry Lisa Kudrow, you will forever be known as Phoebe Buffay) playing PL and the CV, it's been so hard to find. Those puzzles sure gets you thinking, maybe it'll help my brain cells get back into the thinking/analyzing mode and prepare me for the GRE.

ALSO I'm so amped on American Idol this season. Vote for Scott MacIntyre!! I really hope he makes it into the top 5 at least. 

Sleepless Nights

Lately I have been using my noise cancelation head phones to go to sleep. My neighborhood is SO noisey it's ridiculous. There's crazy ducks, horny cats, my crazy neighbor who decides to do handy work in his garage at 12 a.m. listening to KSSK AM radio, and don't get me started on the people across the stream... the couple that always locks each other out, the teenagers who like hang outside talk story and listen to music LOUDLY, the baby crying ALL night and playing the recorder early in the morning, the neighbor with car that makes lots of noise when it is starting up in the morning. Last night it was a croaking toad outside. THE one night people aren't making noise... it's a freakin toad. 

Don't get me wrong, I love where I live (minus the bitchy and fighting neighbors). I'm 10 min. away from everything I need. And before the only noise that really bothered me was the occasional siren along Kalakaua. But now this noise is getting out of hand!!!!

Hard Times

I was reading "The Ultimate Guide to Shopping on Oahu" (which is a great book for those who have been living under a rock and don't know where to shop on Oahu), and it is sad how many stores are closing because of these harsh economic times.

Stores that are now closed: 

Koko Cabana at Koko Marina Shopping Center

Luxi

Misfortune

Le Lotus Bleu at Ward

Steve and Barry's

Soliel

The Place

Island Snow

Others not mentioned in the book:

Arden B.

Theory

...who will be next? On a positivie note: less places to spend money at = me hopefully saving money.

Time for a Change

Obama's campaign was ALL about change. AND this year I am taking that to heart, starting with my room. I haven't really changed up my room since I've moved into it 3 years ago, sure I've added risers to my bed, changed the lay out, added a book case, got rid of a LOT of clothes, started taking the hundreds of Andy Irons posters and banners and added >gasp< photographs of New York City architecture and landscape.... BUT it still feels cramped. It still looks like I'm in college, maybe it's my horseshoe bed sheets and the big Hello Kitty sitting on my bed. Yes I am overwhelmed with the mess, I figure I will always be a little messy, closet space will ALWAYS be an issue, but I can at least try to make the most of my space. I think it's time to purge the empty liquor bottles that used feel like a prized trophy, a night of accomplishment and good times of finishing off a bottle of Crown. I don't need to keep EVERY baseball I found at Les Murakami Stadium when I used to be an usher in college. Or all the UH Athletic media guides I stole from working at the athletic department. When will I ever use a discman player. And when will I really need my notes from Geography 101 or Psychology of Human Sexuality.
My roommate/bff Anna got a new bed for Christmas so it forced her to clean her room. For me I think I just need a fresh start in 2009.

I'll post photos of my detoxed room soon!

The 2008 hate

2008 was a rough year. I went from happy newspaper part-timer/billabong full-timer to newspaper full-timer/billabong part-timer and just when I thought I've found my career niche now I'll be back to newspaper part-timer/billabong full-timer. I've changed my health insurance 3 times (4 of you count the three months I was on COBRA). My boyfriend said he was going to move back to Maui in May to end up only coming back 2 weeks later to finish school then move back to Maui for good in October. I paid $60 bucks at the gas pump to fill up my '99 Camry. And the worst part was losing my dear Grammsy.

I know, I know, my year could've been way worse, and I am grateful for everything in my life that didn't go wrong. It's just that overall, it was a pretty crappy year. The year wasn't a total waste I did get to see Chris Breezy in concert, fell in love with Gossip Girl, went to my first Birthday Bash, voted for Barrack Obama, my Project Runway pick finally won, got a blackberry, saw HSM3 in theaters, and whoa did Lauren and Heidi actually have a civil conversation last week on the Hills?!?

I'm SO ready for 2008 to be over, only about 14 hours left. Time for a new year and a fresh positive start.

When I Grow Up

I'm a worried quarterlifer. When I was younger (under 21) I didn't think I'd have to worry about lay offs, buy outs, job security, I didn't think I'd even need to work two jobs. No one told me I'd be worrying about health insurance, 401k, talking to a financial advisor, planning for the fuuuuture future like buying a house and starting a family. As I approach the big 2-5, now life seems like one big worry. I don't know what I'll be doing next year or even in the coming months, will I be laid off? Should I go back to school or the mainland, and if I do what should I go to grad school for? Do I really want to go back to school, or should I move to the mainland and start fresh?

on a happier note... HAPPY HALLOWEEN! See you in Waikiki, be on the look out for 3 colorful mobsters, a cute referee, sext racecar driver, and... gav.

THE Bus

Now that the bf is gone, I take The Bus every morning. With more people opting to ride the bus these days, my bus has become overcrowded, therefore I have become more irritable. Here are my top things that I hate about the bus and its riders:

- People who don't move to the back of bus. Segregation days are long gone people, the back of the bus is not like being sent to the corner or time out. Seriously just move to the back of the bus. It's like their feet are glued, there is obviously more room in the back and they obviously see people coming onto the bus, but NO do they just stay in that spot and refuse to give it up. To those people I simply push my way through (aka hit them with my lunch bag or ginormous tote bag), not my fault that they are stubborn, I'm simply being courteous and doing my part to make room to fit more people.

-People who sit on the aisle seat and refuse to move in. Seriously this is not a luxurious travel venture, you are basically getting from point A to point B, you don't need to be fussy about where you seat. Why make it totally out of the way for someone to have to climb over you to get to the open seat on the inside?

-When young people don't let old people have their seat.

-When people don't hang on to hand bars above and only hang on to the backs of the seats or struggle to hold on to poles that lead from the seat to hand bars above. It's like hello, why struggle? you can just reach right above you for something to hold on to.

-When random strangers try to talk to me on the bus, I don't know you, nor am I here to make new friends.

-When people try to do magic tricks for me on the bus. Really it's happened.

-When people come in with like so much bags that it takes up space in the aisle or another seat. Bus riders... you know those people, coming home from the market in Chinatown, with like 20 plastic bags, each with maybe 3-5 vegetables or fruits (that sometimes stink up the bus). I feel like passing out big reusable totes to those plastic bag users, it would be helpful to the environment AND helpful to fellow bus riders.

-grouchy bus drivers.

-when bus drivers turn the AC on high. brrrrrrrrr.

-People who wave down the bus at the bus stop, making us think they want to or need to get on but really they want to know when the next will becoming along? Then they keep asking questions about which bus to take or they're trying to decide whether or not to take that bus.

vent sesh

things that get on my nerves, make me roll my eyes and shake my head in dismay... it's my bitch list:

-when people talk loud for no reason. it's a normal conversation about let's say what's for lunch between two people, why do you need everyone in the office or neighborhood to hear. Places that loud conversing should be appropriate: loud places (bars, clubs, concerts, outdoors), when you are really excited (and NO i don't believe someone could be THAT excited about all aspects of life), when it is a speech.

-people who get cheap thrills on commenting anonymously on people's blog. I try to avoid reading reader comments online entirely, ruins my day. Really people? Being the "First!" comment on someone's blog, and by commenting that you were "First!," three words: GET A LIFE.

-soggy french fries. you aren't doing fried potatoes justice by serving a soggy french fry.

-dan and serena's relationship on gossip girl, I've waited all summer to see if they'd get back together. And surprise, surprise THEY did. Now it's just all cheesy and mushy, I'm over it (D&S that is, NOT GG entirely).

-name dropping.

-when my nail polish chips... the day AFTER I paint them. good grief.

... that's all for now, just thinking about this is getting on my nerves.

on a positive note: I've really been trying to be nicer and not so quick to judge. Also being more patient, getting to know people, as well as stepping out of the box.

ALSO: the Sunday after the Justin Nozuka concert, I swear I spotted him at Manoa Marketplace of all places.