Friday, November 03, 2006
7:53 a.m.

Working really makes you appreciate…NOT working. Have I mentioned lately that I would rather not work? On the flipside, there’s a song on Frizzle Fry (Primus) that states: “Funny thing about weekends when you’re unemployed. They don’t mean quite so much.” I was off until yesterday. It was the best five-and-less-than-a-half days I’ve had in a long time.

Friday – I left work at 12:30pm after killing myself on a project for the last seven business days. I had a consultation with a lawyer for my myriad medical debts. He was not very encouraging and I felt worse when I left. What a giant waste of two hours and some gas. Two weeks ago I talked to a lawyer on the phone for ten minutes who was more helpful.

Saturday - I got to see Sasha, my adorable niece. She’s only four weeks old and has grown so much already. I fed her twice and can almost always make her stop crying. My sister and brother-in-law can’t wait for me to baby-sit. Later I went to the Madcat Halloween party as the schoolgirl I would have been last year if I hadn’t missed Halloween. It still worked pretty well with Brian’s white trash costume. We both got pretty ripped. That’s one of the few times I was able to get trashed and totally enjoy it without feeling sick from drinking too much.

Sunday - Not too eventful. Got the vomit cleaned out of my car, ran some quick errands, studied for the GRE, and dropped off clothes to be laundered. I know what you’re thinking – I’m lazy and a princess. We don’t have laundry on-site, at all. So laundry couldn’t possibly be more inconvenient than it is now. I really didn’t want to waste three hours of a nice Sunday at the Laundromat. Getting my clothes laundered is my one extravagance. I don’t have cable, and the only internet right now is a weak, unstable, UNRELIABLE connection to some random internet that my laptop detects. So give me a fucking break and let me get my god damn laundry done guilt-free!

Monday - My plan was to clean the house, work on some projects, study for the GRE, and clean out my car. I did nothing productive. I went online as the sporadic pirated connection allowed, probably played FreeCell when the connection was down, took a long, undeserved nap, made the bed, and that was it. I probably would have been more productive if I’d showered. I’m such a lazy dirtbag sometimes, I sicken myself. Oh, I think I did some screen printing later that night – incorrectly. And continued making vocabulary flash cards.

Tuesday - The most exciting day in months! After hours of lollygagging, we packed and raced to Berkeley to see “The Bridge” (a documentary about people who jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge in 2004 to kill themselves) on our way to Santa Cruz. Parking was convenient, about $3 for almost two hours, about a block from the theatre. We made the 2:40 showing and had time to grab snacks beforehand. Movie snacks are the best, and the Shattuck Cinema in Berkeley did not disappoint. I’ve never watched a movie with a Toblerone before. Their small popcorns really are small. I recommend a medium for more than one person.

Our journey to Santa Cruz was interrupted when we reached San Francisco. Naturally we had to cross the Golden Gate Bridge since we just saw a movie about it. We had no cash so we stopped to look for an ATM and some beef jerky for Brian. In any other city this is a quick errand. In San Francisco, it’s a fucking adventure just locating a store that: a) doesn’t pose an immediate threat to one’s well-being; b) has an ATM machine. And then there is parking. I parked sideways on a hill, a few blocks away. I dropped my sunglasses and they rolled down the hill under the car next to me. Just a taste of the daily indignity that is my life. Finding the freeway again proved another challenge. To say that signage is inadequate is a total understatement. We kept seeing signs for the freeway in the opposite direction, so finally we got on the freeway to turn around. Guess what direction it REALLY went? Who are these people? Finding the bridge was even more of a challenge. Hello, major tourist attraction of a major tourist city – you’d think they’d help you find it a little easier. I think we missed a turn right away though. I can honestly say that we passed certain areas of San Francisco at least three times. Despite our frustration, we weren’t all pissy and irritable, which was helpful. It was just amusing and ridiculous that we were having such a time finding a major landmark. Traffic was crazy because of the holiday. Halloween = people and kids (and dogs) EVERYWHERE. It could have been worse, but Jesus! A guy with a stroller mad-dogged me for honking at him as he jaywalked across Mission on MY light. (Way to put your child in danger so you can cross a little faster, retard. And if the stroller was empty, just for show, then he is a fucking tool anyway.)

It took about two hours to find the bridge from the time we exited the freeway to get cash. TWO HOURS! When we crossed the bridge, there were signs that said: “NORTHBOUND NO TOLLS.” We stopped for nothing (except beef jerky and a Ritter Bar) and I’ll leave it at that. On the other side there’s a gas station that (guess what) has an ATM we could have used. Back over the bridge is $5. So it’s $5 to cross twice.

Another hour or so later we were in Santa Cruz. Unfortunately, it was dark by then – it would have been really pretty driving on Highway 1. We stayed at the National 9 on Ocean Street. It’s cheap and has much-needed wireless internet. I recommend it if you’re looking for something seedy and don’t mind being awakened the next morning by loud-ass losers playing catch with a nerf football in the parking lot. (It’s a Wednesday morning; don’t they have somewhere to be?)

We met Matt and Sarah at the Jury Room, and then we all went to Callahan’s or some such place. I got a little drunk, it was so much fun! We played pool, and I didn’t completely suck. Matt and Sarah are a lot of fun to be around. (Thanks Matt and Sarah!) The bar allows smoking inside. I’m not a fan, but it’s well vented so it was tolerable. My only complaint overall is that all the fast-food establishments were closed except for one Jack-in-the-Box which was busy feeding everyone else in the city. Safeway was closed, which bummed me out. I would have killed for a banana.

Wednesday – I woke up with a headache. Thanks, Santa Cruz, for closing everything before 1:30. Bastards. I was stressed and nervous about meeting the Program manager for UCSC. I didn’t know where the department building was and didn’t really want to be there too long, even though it was the main reason for visiting Santa Cruz in the first place. I wanted to play on the beach and wander around, too.

UCSC is HUGE. Sac State is a joke compared to UCSC. It’s so big that there are buses between colleges and it’s a huge trek between buildings. It’s very woodsy and rustic, like it’s the only place in the world. Our phones were both dying and reception was spotty (apparently there is no cell phone tower near campus), so arranging a meeting was more difficult than necessary. Eventually we found the college and I was dropped off. The program manager is super nice and approachable, not stuffy and arrogant like some probably are. I have a better chance of admission than I thought, but I have to bust ass on my GRE studying and portfolio improvements. I toured the department buildings and sat in on a lecture. It was THREE HOURS! I’m not even accepted yet, and I had a three-hour class. Crazy! I was trying to leave earlier, but Brian’s cell phone apparently died and I had to leave a message and of course he called back when I was in the class again and left a message, and I couldn’t just leave because they were right in the midst of a discussion, and probably already thought I was nuts when I left the room with my phone. It was cool though, and I was exposed to the daily activity of a graduate class. I think I can handle it, as long as I don’t slack on my reading assignments.

After the UCSC adventure, we met Brian’s mom in Los Gatos for dinner. It was fun seeing her before she leaves for Africa. I ate too much, but it was good. It started raining when we left for Sacramento. We took 84 East until 680, just for a little variety. Again, it was too dark to see anything cool.

Overall, I’m pleased with my visit this week and slightly daunted by the admission requirements. My chances are better than I’d imagined previously, but I’m definitely going to apply elsewhere as well, and possibly even for an undergrad program at UCSC. They have a few programs that interest me. As a graduate I’m hoping I can get into one of them.

Coming back to Sacramento and my “real life” was disappointing as always. I think one of my secret reasons for returning to school is because I’m sick of working. when I get my masters I will be qualified for a job with more freedom (and more money).

I have been surreptitiously working on this all morning between assignments. I hope you’ve enjoyed my account of the last five days. If not, I don’t really care.