D'oh

Oops, way past due for posting. See, I am currently mega broke, and that makes blogging slightly more...depressing. I can't window shop for cool goods because I never make it out without placing five things in my virtual cart and keeping the tab open for so long that I break and stick a purchase on my credit card. And as an eternal dieter, I can't go gaga posting about all the delicious naughty treats I want to stuff my face with. At least not with any regularity. I mean, I have been craving an almond croissant from Proof Bakery for upwards of a week now but I'm not budging until my pants are as loose as your mother (sorry, sometimes my humor is awkward and crass). And that would make for a drool-worthy blog post because everyone knows the almond croissant is the best weekday breakfast treat ever. I sort of hate those blogs that just regurgitate fashion images with no original content so while my life is pretty boring, I just don't have much "coolness" to put out there.

So instead, you're reading about all the ways in life I fail. Sorry, I'm not loving it much either. But if you want me to be more entertaining, just find someone to give me a normal-paying gig! Actually, please do. Then I can blog about buying fun exercise classes at the Heartbeat House, which will help me burn enough calories to justify running across the street for that frickin' croissant.

Happy Trails

Vegas was actually not horrible. I mean, granted, I spent nearly all of my time in the hotel, but what do you want from me!? Honestly, I was just happy to catch up on some sleep. But I also did the two things I wanted to do: have a drink at the Peppermill and grab some gigantor macarons from Bouchon Bakery. I don't know why I forgot that we have a Bouchon now in Beverly Hills...okay, probably because it's in Beverly Hills and I feel inferior and dirty just driving on Santa Monica Blvd. west of San Vicente. But anyway, it gave me something to look forward to, so in the end it was fine. The macarons were delicious but the only one that really stuck out in terms of strength of flavor was the coffee, which was amazing. If I had them again I'd just get a couple of those and bypass the rest. We stayed at the Aria, which I'm no fan of and I had no phone service the entire time I was in the hotel-which you already know was a lot of the time-so when I got to the airport Saturday I was deep into app withdrawal and sort of went crazy making mediocre Pic Stitch collages. That I will now subject you to look at.

In A Nutshell...

I used to feel guilty and inferior for not having it all together. Then I realized you only get it all together in time to die or become too decrepit to move your body. Nobody my age has a clue what they are doing, and if they do, they are probably extremely boring while doing their version of the elusive it. So here's to making mistakes and having as much fun as possible along the way!

Speaking of mistakes, I'm going to Las Vegas at the end of the week. The reason is a good one-my cuz is graduating law school, but Vegas, man do I hate that town. Still, I've decided that I will completely avoid everything about it I hate (compulsive gambling, fake tits, chain stores everywhere, and public vomiting) by consuming my time at the few places I love: the Peppermill diner with it's fake pink foliage covering the ceilings and pitch-black lounge illuminated by a fire pit (okay, not exactly safe but my current lack of funds will preclude getting to the point where I stumble into the flames) and giant macarons from Bouchon Bakery.

"If You're Truly Wild At Heart...

...you'll fight for your dreams." Wild At Heart, which is all sorts of crazy goodness, happened to be on HBO the other night and I caught it just in time to hear those words uttered by Sailor's good witch/fairy godmother/hallucination. And it's a good thing I did. Finishing up my coursework and now being simply unemployed rather than a graduate student seeking employment has been a really hard adjustment. The wealth of Gang of Four music playing around here probably hasn't been terribly helpful for my mood either...But that's okay.

 A graduation card my mom gave me offered a lot of perspective-she wrote that a lot of people are so consumed with career or their own woes that they don't really enjoy life, and that I'm lucky to at least be in a position to have a lot of amazing experiences and wonderful opportunities outside the career realm. I mean, yeah I want to get the show on the road in terms of working in a special collections library already, but in the meantime I go out and explore this fabulous city, have the support of an amazing boyfriend, and haven't put my life on hold. So yes, I am going to fight for my dreams rather than sit in a pool of my own tears wallowing in the salty-sad mess.

So as for that next adventure, Australia proved to be too expensive right now, probably down to the overblown fuel costs. So we opted for Turkey! My pops went on a ridiculous trip a couple years ago, and it put the seed in my mind looking at all of his beautiful pictures. We'll be there for 12 days,  seeing everything from the ancient ruins at Ephesus and Troy, exploring modern Istanbul, hanging out in hot springs cliffs in Pamukkale, and tons of other amazing places. I'm actually more excited about this trip. We leave at the end of November and I cannot wait. Let's hope by then it's a welcome break from work, but even if it isn't, it's a frickin' vacation and another amazing country to scratch off my map.

The amazing hot springs in Pamukkale. 

Pamukkale.

Cappadocia spice market-loving the color!

Evil eye tree in Cappadocia.

Hot air balloon rides in Cappadocia, where buildings are literally cut into the rock formations.

The Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

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