So, as I eat midnight quesadillas, I wanted to give a run down, or at least the start, of my very much needed and enjoyed Staycation.
I started the week off (well, actually 9 days) on Friday evening. After a fond farewell event to a great coworker, I immediately started my time off by visiting the nearby GameStop. I had redeemed some of my corporate appreciation points for a sweet gift card and planned on buying some game stuff to enjoy during my vacation. Since I am the type who can wait around for games to become cheaper (thus saving myself $30-40 per game), I picked up a couple cool games on the cheap. The two I originally had my eye on will have to wait until their prices go down. I also used my GameStop gift card to purchase a Google Store & a Play Station store gift card, b/c those were the ones I really wanted, and I found a way to get them for no cost to me. :^D
Saturday proved very productive. I had been meaning to give my room a deep cleaning/reorganization for some time. My room for a week was a mess because I started a week earlier pulling stuff out of my closet. It took all afternoon, but everyone drawer, shelf, and item in the closet was thoroughly uncluttered, reorganized, and cleaned. I ended up with a bunch of garbage & recycling to through out, plus a tub full of stuff for Good Will. Plus, I cleaned and vacuumed everything, so my room is very nice. Then, I went to the grocery store for provisions! I don't know if this is good or bad, by CPK frozen pizzas were on a good deal when I bought 3. Of course, that also meant that day 1 of vacation I burnt my chin and gave myself a nice blister from some run away cheese. *facepalm* Luckily it's almost healed in time for my return to work.
Sunday I went to Target. Everyone loves Target! Plus, I dropped off my goodies at Good Will. Sunday is also my regularly schedule Pokemon Go walking day downtown, b/c that's were lots of goodies can be found, and parking is free on Sundays! I think anything that gets me outside for 2ish hours is great! That evening I deep cleaned the kitchen. I was determined to completely clean my entire apartment as a good way to start vacation.
Monday I took my car to Jiffy Lube. I wanted to check my car battery, as I had a couple times my car needing jumping. Since I was there, I also got my oil changed, 5% oil life before the warning light came on. #adulting. Turns out my battery was fine - I just need to not sit in my car so long w/o the engine running. Ooops, hahahaha. Then I went to the movies and saw The House. My review? Well, the premise was a stretch, and many things that happened were not very believable, even by dumb comedy standards. But for what it was, it was really funny. I am pretty sure the movie was just an excuse for Amy Pohler and Will Farrell to star in a movie together. They were very funny. My mom is not a fan, but I think Will Farrell is hilarious. And Amy Pohler is a-maz-ing - as a person as well as at being funny. Afterward, I got in some great girly shopping. Yay! new work shoes. Plus, lots of BOGOs! I no longer seriously lack summer appropriate bottoms. I finished the day by finishing up cleaning the living room, including some seriously reorganizing of the store space. I am pretty pleased with myself, if I do say so.
Tuesday was a holiday, and also massage day! I had my very first full body massage. It was just what I needed! Then I travelled to Yuba City to hang out with mom. We went to see Baby Driver with Ansel Egort. For a young baby man, he is very cute! And the movie was pretty great - I mean, Edgar Wright made the movie, so no surprise. Plus, we made chili dogs because for some odd reason I had been craving them for awhile, and it's easier to eat entire package of hot dogs in time with two people, especially when you leave the left overs with your mom who likes hot dogs better than you. #geniusideas
Wednesday I hung around Yuba City long enough to meet mom for lunch. Off the record, I did call into an 8am meeting to make sure a meeting next week would work without the host there - this is what happens when people go on alternating weeks off. :^D Everyone should just all go on vacation at the same time. Any takers? No? That day I baked my very first pecan pie, using grandma's secret recipe, right off the back of the corn syrup bottle. It tasted like childhood and magic. I thought about saving some for someone else, but by the end of the week I had fulfilled a childhood fantasy of having an entire pecan pie to myself. I have no shame - I am on vacation and it took a few days to finish. I couldn't even wait to eat some before grabbing my phone and taking a picture. Mmmm, pie.
And now seems like a perfect time for an intermission so I can go to bed after a long day and a not as long as in the daytime drive home from Oakland. Oooh, why was I in Oakland you ask? I guess you'll just have to keep reading!
Annnnd I'm back - just in time to wrap up my Staycation blog before bed, and then back to work tomorrow.
Before I get back to a day by day breakdown of individual day's activity, I want to discuss my multi-day activities. The biggest point of my Staycation was to enjoy many of the leisure activities I like as many days as possible. If even there was a time to regain inner energy, it was this week.
Multi-Day Activities
- Playing video games
Although I grabbed a stack of 8-10 video games I have that I still need to finish playing, I really only played 2 video games this week.
The first game I played was Rock Band 4. I really like how they made Rock Band into a platform, instead of continuing to release new games (5, 6, 7 ...). I used some of my Playstation Store gift card to buy new songs. And then I played those songs on guitar, since I've played all the others. But mostly I played the singing. Being home during the day made it easier for me to play as my neighbors were either gone, or at least more tolerant of the noise during the day. I found I had the most difficult time singing songs where very little singing skill was actually required. Turns out, you don't have to actually be able to sing to front a band. Wait, I already knew that. Anyway, I failed on songs where "singers" didn't know that different notes exist, but could bust out the really challenging ones, like Still Into You by Paramore. Like that's hard? I sing along with Hayley Williams ALL the time. I also really enjoyed an inspired rendition of Take It on the Run.
The second game I played is called Until Dawn, which I picked up during my Game Stop trip. While playing this, I learned it's very important NOT to play scary video games once the sun goes down, especially if it's the last thing you do before bed, and double especially if you don't know what the scary thing is yet. The game does a great job building suspense from the get go. Once I got far enough and learned what the scary stuff was, then I wasn't anxious since it was stuff that couldn't be currently hiding in my empty apartment, lurking in the dark. :) Curious about what this game is about? Check out the Honest Game Trailer below. Thought seriously, if I rewatched it before I played, I could have not done that exact thing right at the end of the video. I do think it's really cool that some of the characters are actors - even though the one douchy dude is total a nut job on Agents of Shield, he's still really hot. And this isn't the only video game I own w/ Hayden Panettiere playing a character. :^D
- Reading - while I wanted to read more than one book this week, turns out no. I barely completed the one 500 page book I read, entitled Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us by Ralph Nader. You may have a few questions.
- Yes, this is fictional - about a bunch of billionaires who get together and implement a bunch of social change with all their money.
- Yes, it was kind of awkward that one of those billionaires was Bill Cosby - especially the part when he advises his peers that their opponents may try to dig up dirt on each of them. Ummmm...Yeah.
- Yes, it is especially useful to read during this time, as we've presumably gotten worse in the current political climate. Although, the way people came together reminds me a lot of recent marches and things. If only the billionaires would really come together now!
- Why yes, Ralph Nader did right a novel, and as a HUGE Ralph Nader fan, of course I read it!! I've been a huge fan of Ralph Nader for a very long time, ever since I first voted for him in our 3rd grade mock election in 1992. My teacher knew I was the only one who voted for Ralph Nader, even though the ballots were anonymous. I guess I've always been doing my own thing. And I'm proud to say that I've been a member of the Green Party since I've been old enough to register to vote! In my home town district, I was half the Green Party members! 😂
- I put together a puzzle!
For some reason I really wanted to do a puzzle. I find completely a puzzle every long once in awhile is good for the mind. I've completed this puzzle before, but that didn't matter. It's Alice in Wonderland, so duh, I'd do it again.
Puzzle time was also a really great time to (1) watch TV, and (2) listen to music! I finally finished the Hotel season of American Horror story. Lady Gaga was fantastic. And she got to make out with everyone. But seriously, who among us would give up a chance to make out with Lady Gaga, no matter who we are? I also watched Riverdale. I enjoyed it, although I have very little knowledge of the Archie comics, so I had no idea how much of a departure the moody teenage drama turned out to be.
I although used this time to check out some new music, as I had some iTunes gift card money left. Seriously, thanks to the appreciation I receive, I've been keeping myself well stocked with gift cards. Having thoroughly enjoyed Every Trick in the Book so thoroughly (who doesn't love music + literature?), I purchase some more Ice Nine Kills, and look forward to enjoying it in the near future.
I also purchased and then spent quite awhile listening to The Front Bottoms as I put together my puzzle. I am not sure if I think the lead singer can actually sing, and the songs are super random and odd, but seem to really fit with whatever this current stage/mood of my life happens to be.
I seriously LOVE this song, more and more and more all the times I listen to it!
I am really glad they played a great mix over the like 7 albums they have. Of course that also means there are a lot of excellent songs they cannot play, but anything really is awesome!
They played Guts, which I love. I feel like the idea of this song is something I want to live up to more than I actually do. And I have to admit when they played this, it was one of the few times during the even that I got a little misty eyed. Yes, I have been know to tear up or even full blown cry during a live concert because I get caught up in the moment, listening to music I love. OMG, when Alex played Therapy solo on the acoustic guitar and we all sang along, it took a lot of self control to focus on singing along instead of just balling my eyes out there in a room full of strangers. I guess that's one good thing about attending concerts solo - I don't have to sheepishly explain to someone I know why I sometimes cry like a baby at concerts. I was a blubbering wreck through half the Motion City Soundtrack farewell show!
They played some of my fav songs - Lost in Stereo (totally about me) and Cinderblock Garden (get me some cinderblocks and some roses, and this could be about me too). There were so many great songs played and I sang along to everything! I forget sometimes just how relatable their music is and so many songs/lyrics really hit me in places I've been lately that it felt great to just bust out singing and get lost in the moment.
The night wasn't all just listening to music. There was some fun anecdotes and antics between songs. At one point the boys decided to all lie down and rest for a moment. I get it, performing is very exhausting. Plus, we decided as a crowd a very important and lifestyle changing debate - whether chunky or creamy peanut butter is better. The chunky people had it, but it was worrisome there for a moment. Of course, personally I'm all about both in the right place - I like creamy on pancakes but chunky on toast and sandwiches, with either in cookies.
At the end of the evening I made it back to my car and safely drove home, arriving home about 12:30, just in time to make midnight quesadillas! I would have had Carl's Jr., but Dixon doesn't have a 24 hour Carl's Jr. My hometown does. For shaaaaaame!
And here we are at the end of Sunday. Today was pretty standard - getting ready for the week ahead. I finished my book finally! I took my normal Sunday stroll around Capital Park. And then off to the laundromat because otherwise I would have no clothes to wear as I came back to work. Who needs a sauna when you can just visit the laundromat in July! I guess I'm ready to resume my regularly scheduled life. I hope people missed me, even though for the most part I enjoyed the alone time too much to miss much. Of course there's the short list of people, who I hope took a moment to think of me while I was away, as I am sure I took moments to think of people as I was at home, playing video games when I'd usually be in a meeting or something. :^D I'm really going to miss that!
I although used this time to check out some new music, as I had some iTunes gift card money left. Seriously, thanks to the appreciation I receive, I've been keeping myself well stocked with gift cards. Having thoroughly enjoyed Every Trick in the Book so thoroughly (who doesn't love music + literature?), I purchase some more Ice Nine Kills, and look forward to enjoying it in the near future.
I also purchased and then spent quite awhile listening to The Front Bottoms as I put together my puzzle. I am not sure if I think the lead singer can actually sing, and the songs are super random and odd, but seem to really fit with whatever this current stage/mood of my life happens to be.
I seriously LOVE this song, more and more and more all the times I listen to it!
Here's another sample:
Thursday was girly time day with my BFF!! We had a nice walk in the park, because fresh air and exercise is always good for you. And it's much easier to take a good length walk when you have someone to talk to. Then to Target for goodies, and to buy Cinderella on DVD, and then back to my place to watch girly movies. :^D Yes, we did watch Cinderella - the live action one w/ Lily James and Rob Stark ... I mean Richard Madden. We also watched Something Borrowed, which I happen to love even though chick flick haters gonna hate. This choice was precipitated by me mentioning how I read another book by the same author recently, which reminded me of a question from my BFF awhile ago. She asked me what book character (or characters) that I thought were like me (or however she phrased it). At the time I needed more time to think, but then later remembered how after we both read Something Borrowed (more so than when we saw the movie the first time), how much the character of Rachel White is so like me. So I guess that's me - not that I have ever or would think I would ever have an affair with any one's fiance, let alone by best friends fiance, because I was too much of a chicken to think a hot guy liked me in law school. Well, that second part is true, and I did have an instance that vaguely reminded me of the book's story, only it was a friend a didn't really like that much and a guy who I was too awkward to talk to that much and we probably didn't have much in common anyway. Mostly I liked that he was cute and a nice guy and tall. But then that describes a lot of people. Although, if it was me in this movie, I would totally have gone for John Krasinski's character Ethan because (1) John Krasinski has an epic nose (something both Rachel and I appreciate, per the book), and (2) I'm way more into the funny sweet guys than the like normal preppy dudes. But I do have to complain b/c (spoiler alert!) Ethan confesses at the end that he's liked Rachel since like they were kids or teens or whatever, and we find out that there was 6 years between Rachel's BFF starting to date the love interest and the present movie time - 6 years in which he could have, I don't know, confessed his love for her and they could have ran off into the sunset together and had way more fun. True, that would mean no storyline for the movie, and the love interest dude may have married the terrible BFF, but maybe something else would have stopped that, like how their relationship sucked. I mean come on! She had to turn 30 single, and as someone who did that and then some, I guess I just hate the idea of an awesome quirky girl getting older alone when some awesome guy is sitting around not mentioning he likes her. And I would also like to complain that John Krasinski isn't in enough things anymore, because he's awesome. Is it too late to make the sequel, Something Blue, into a movie? :^D
Friday was really just a lot of the same - video games, reading, puzzle, music, TV. Ahhh, bliss!
Saturday saw the morning and early afternoon part of the day being more of the same. I went into the weekend with 200 pages left of my book, and I had to finish to make my finish a book a week goal. So I read 100 pages in the morning with some coffee. Then I finished my puzzle. And then it was off to Oakland for the reason I took this week off in the first place, (which I kind of forgot about for awhile) which was seeing All Time Low at the Fix Theater!! This is only the 2nd time I've seen All Time Low, and that makes me sad because they are my 3rd favorite band, taking the slot over some pretty awesome bands of the past and present. This time I arrive earlier enough to get a close parking spot. Plus, I brought my book, so with waiting in line an hour to get into the venue, waiting in line an hour to buy a t-shirt, and waiting between bands, I was able to read another 50+ pages of my book!
Can I just say that I am so glad the Internet has setlists, so I don't have to remember what was played myself! If you're curious, here is the setlist. Like most shows I attend, I found a nice place behind the railing, behind and above the standing room crowd because this guarantees a great open view and prevents me from being covered in the sweat of a room full of strangers - this room being packed with what I can only assume were 12 year olds, because everyone under 25 looks like a 12 year old to me now. Seriously, I heard two girls behind me, 21 and 18, complaining about how they don't enjoy concerts as much now that they are getting too old for them. Damn it, my 33 year old knees and back may not feel the best after standing for 6 hours, but damn it, it's worth it!
They started with Last Young Renegade, the title song to their latest album, which I binge listened to the two weeks before the show so I could know the songs! I am a committed fan! I don't think I've ever had a last young renegade heartache (or a first for that matter). Maybe a first responsible adult heartache - but I don't think that would make a catchy song.
And then they went immediately into Damned If I Do Ya (Damned if I Don't). Just looking at the age difference between these two videos is crazy!!
I am really glad they played a great mix over the like 7 albums they have. Of course that also means there are a lot of excellent songs they cannot play, but anything really is awesome!
They played Guts, which I love. I feel like the idea of this song is something I want to live up to more than I actually do. And I have to admit when they played this, it was one of the few times during the even that I got a little misty eyed. Yes, I have been know to tear up or even full blown cry during a live concert because I get caught up in the moment, listening to music I love. OMG, when Alex played Therapy solo on the acoustic guitar and we all sang along, it took a lot of self control to focus on singing along instead of just balling my eyes out there in a room full of strangers. I guess that's one good thing about attending concerts solo - I don't have to sheepishly explain to someone I know why I sometimes cry like a baby at concerts. I was a blubbering wreck through half the Motion City Soundtrack farewell show!
They played some of my fav songs - Lost in Stereo (totally about me) and Cinderblock Garden (get me some cinderblocks and some roses, and this could be about me too). There were so many great songs played and I sang along to everything! I forget sometimes just how relatable their music is and so many songs/lyrics really hit me in places I've been lately that it felt great to just bust out singing and get lost in the moment.
The night wasn't all just listening to music. There was some fun anecdotes and antics between songs. At one point the boys decided to all lie down and rest for a moment. I get it, performing is very exhausting. Plus, we decided as a crowd a very important and lifestyle changing debate - whether chunky or creamy peanut butter is better. The chunky people had it, but it was worrisome there for a moment. Of course, personally I'm all about both in the right place - I like creamy on pancakes but chunky on toast and sandwiches, with either in cookies.
At the end of the evening I made it back to my car and safely drove home, arriving home about 12:30, just in time to make midnight quesadillas! I would have had Carl's Jr., but Dixon doesn't have a 24 hour Carl's Jr. My hometown does. For shaaaaaame!
And here we are at the end of Sunday. Today was pretty standard - getting ready for the week ahead. I finished my book finally! I took my normal Sunday stroll around Capital Park. And then off to the laundromat because otherwise I would have no clothes to wear as I came back to work. Who needs a sauna when you can just visit the laundromat in July! I guess I'm ready to resume my regularly scheduled life. I hope people missed me, even though for the most part I enjoyed the alone time too much to miss much. Of course there's the short list of people, who I hope took a moment to think of me while I was away, as I am sure I took moments to think of people as I was at home, playing video games when I'd usually be in a meeting or something. :^D I'm really going to miss that!
