Dutch treat.

I got back from Amsterdam late Tuesday night in what marked my very first trip out of the country (except for a quick trip to Toronto about 8 years ago, which really doesn't count, because it's only just across Lake Erie, and then Lake Ontario, and it was very much like America except for the whole Metric system thing). A better writer would be able to fully describe the emotion that accompanied this trip. I can only attempt such a feat.

Our plane landed in Amsterdam, where a 115 mile drive to Venlo awaited us. Venlo is a small-ish city on the border of Holland and Germany. I learned that the countryside of Holland looks just like Ohio, except with a lot more Dutch street signs, and rush hour is the same no matter where you go - it sucks. It took us over three hours to get to our hotel. Sick with fatigue, I laid down in my bed, expecting sleep to rush over me like a flood. It never came. Well, not until 5am the following morning, and my alarm went off at 7am. Fun!

I'm sure the lack of sleep contributed greatly to how emotional I was the whole trip. I was overwhelmed to be in a place so far away from home, so far away from anything I know. I was immediately homesick, even though I was thrilled beyond belief to be there, and so grateful for the experience. Almost everyone in Holland speaks English, but not to each other. I learned that no one else in the world speaks Dutch, so when Dutch kids are growing up, they're forced to learn English. However, they don't speak English to each other. All day every day was hours upon hours of white noise - walking around and hearing people talk but having no idea what they're saying. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, but I certainly didn't expect it to affect me the way I did.

This was a work trip, but I was blessed to be able to spend a lot of time with Gina's brother, sister-in-law, and their son Giovanni. I posted a bunch of pictures of him when he was born a YEAR AGO. Here he is now:







The whole time I was there, I was just so taken aback with how beautiful all of the architecture was. I took A LOT of random pictures of EVERYTHING. Here are some shots from Venlo:













Here's a shot outside of our hotel in Venlo:



At the end of our trip, we headed back to Amsterdam to shoot some scenics there. Amsterdam is officially the coolest city I've ever been to. These pictures do not do it justice.











There are more bikes than cars in Amsterdam:




Craziest language ever.



Every minute I spent in Amsterdam, I couldn't get over the thought that I was walking through a history book. Just imagining all of the things that have happened there, specifically in relation to World War II, I was so humbled, and felt a reverence I've never really felt before. And the whole time I was there, I couldn't help but think over and over again how grateful I am, that this is my job, to travel all over the world and meet new people and have interesting experiences. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought I'd be this lucky.

Mmm... coffee.

I've been meaning to write about our BRAND NEW APARTMENT and how UTTERLY ENORMOUS it is, but it's been a very, very busy week. We did move and we're just about all moved in. I can't wait to be able to post the before and after pics I have planned. In the meantime, I am entering the month of March with hesitation and excitement. Here's why:

Currently in:
Seattle, WA

Fly back:
This weekend for gina's marathon - more commonly known as The LA Marathon

Leaving for:
Holland, next Thursday

Flying back:
To LA the following Tuesday

Leaving for:
New York City on St. Patrick's Day

Returing to LA:
March 20th

Possibly leaving for:
Buenos Aires on March 21st.

Returning to LA:
March 27th

Leaving for:
Palm Springs on March 30th to see Sandy! again at the Dinah Shore Weekend.

See? Hesitation and excitement.

Nowhere. That's where.

There's this bizarre phenomenon I've noticed about Los Angeles - it seems to only rain when no one is watching. More specifically, when everyone is sleeping. I love the rain - it's what I miss most about seasonal change in Ohio - and am always sad when I wake up and I've completely slept through a rain storm.

Today is different. They forecasted rain, and lo and behold, it rained. It rained my whole way to work, and when I was just about there, I thought - "Do I have an umbrella in the car?" Luckily I did.

Turns out, I didn't really need it. My production company doesn't have a ton of parking, so most of the time, the employees have to park on the street - unless you're a supervising producer or some other high-up. This certainly isn't the most convenient, but it's not that big of a deal. Today, when I got out of my car and rounded up all of my stuff, being careful to shove my book in my purse so that it didn't get wet, a familiar blue minivan pulled slowly up beside me. A girl I recognized from work was sitting in the passenger seat. "Want a ride?" The owners had instructed the PAs to drive the company minivan around the block and pick up any wet producers and drive them the 3/4 mile to the office.

Where else in the country will you find a company that as soon as it starts sprinkle some rain, they send their folks out to pick up their employees in a warm minivan?

See the answer in the title of this post.

And that is why I love this city.

Come back to the five and dime.

Britney is really in the middle it. I mean, she is really going through some stuff right now. Checking in and out of rehabs like they're hooker hotels.

I got to thinking about Ms Spears today on my way to work, because of course, KROQ in Los Angeles can't stop talking about her. The images of her bald head flashed in my mind. Now, I'm all about girls shaving their heads. I'm all about girls doing whatever the hell they want to do. But it's always better when you can actually pull off a shaved head. I have to say, a few years ago, she probably could have pulled it off, with her rock hard stomach and her perfect ass. But now? Not that she's not still cute as a button (when she's fully clothed and not drunk or showing off runny eye makeup), but she does not have that 21 year old body anymore.

Thinking of this, I got kind of sad. Gone are the days of Britney kissing Madonna. Gone are the Baby One More Times, and the Oops I Did it Agains, and let's not forget the In the Zones and the SLAVE 4 U-S! She was so incredibly sexy in those videos and in that time in her life. The only relief is that I thankfully own Britney's Greatest Hits, on CD AND DVD. And whenever I'm feeling a little down, a little lonely, or a little straight, I can just pop in that DVD and all will be right with the world, a world frozen in the time of sexy Britney.

California Adventure - The Return.

It's so great to come home from vacation to a three day weekend.

We had a blast on our California Adventure. Gina even straightened her hair for the occasion:



We realized that the party is 24 hours in Gorman, CA:



We enjoyed coffee:



But nothing compared to the end of Wednesday:





We enjoyed breakfast at a trendy little place across the street from our hotel:



We spent a good part of the day Thursday driving:







We noticed some fog ahead:



And then we drove right into it:





We stopped to take pictures and saw the politics of the edge of the country:



We eventually stopped off in Monterey:















After Monterey, we drove, and drove, and drove some more, until we stopped off to see some wildlife, several miles north of our Cambria destination:



They're seals! Don't worry - they're alive. And mating. We saw the big males having their way with any female they wanted.

We also saw some cute moms and pups:



As planned, we arrived in Cambria just in time for sunset:







The next morning, we got up in just enough time to order the Magic Bullet from an infomercial, have breakfast, and go see Hearst Castle:



Just so you know:



The castle itself was pretty amazing. Lots of art, history, and breathtaking views - and also a famous pool that had NO WATER IN IT.



View from the castle:



This is one of the guest houses on the property:



This is a 3400 year old piece of art:



This is the main house - Casa Grande:



Apparently, William Randolph Hearst used paper napkins:



Here's the indoor pool, with 22k gold at the bottom:





After the Castle, there was more driving. A lot more driving.



My turn signal kept going out on account of some loose wiring. We found ourselves fixing it every time we stopped:



Loving the self timer function on my camera:



We finally made it home at 8:30 last night, and were treated to some pretty skies on the 101 by Santa Barbara:





Fin.

Valentine's Day and future goals.

Happy Valentine's Day!

You all might notice I made a few changes to the blog. When you manage to stop by, let me know what you think. I like the simpler format, and I feel like it looks less cluttered. Still, I really would like a fun header, and yet, I know so little about web design that I can't do it myself. I'm still researching this.

I'm also working on thinking of labels. The new blogger lets you add labels to each post, and this ability to categorize entries is something I've been hoping for since I started my blog on blogger. Now that the opportunity is here, I can't think of exactly how I want to label entries. I love Kerri's categories on her website - I'm hoping to come up with things equally inspired.

And of course, the constant goal - to post more.

Enjoy your day, everyone. We're off to SF!

Happy Friday!

You might be wondering about the title of this post. "But Katie, it's only Tuesday! Have you lost your mind?" you might be saying. Well, I'm here to tell you I'm not losing my mind, but for me, it is indeed Friday, and that is because I am off. the. rest. of. the. week.

Tomorrow, as many of you might know, is Valentine's Day, and this year, that means we have a date with Sandra Bernhard in San Francisco. But oh no, we're not stopping there. Well, I guess we are stopping there, but only for a night. On Thursday, we're headed to Monterey/Carmel and then to Cambria, where we'll stay the night, and then on Friday we're going to see the Hearst Castle. I'm calling it our California Adventure. Hopefully Disney doesn't read this blog.

I plan on taking lots of photos and sharing them with you, my rabid fan base. I realized that last year I only posted 98 entries. There are 365 days in the year, and I only posted on 98 of those days. I'd like to up that number this year, at least to 200, if not to 300. I mean, what's the point of having this blog to force me to write if I'm not going to write?

In other news, today is Pigtail Tuesday at work. There are about five of us wearing pigtails. It's pretty brilliant. I'd post pictures, but I'm not sure that I have permission to post that picture for the whole world to see. Trust me... it's good.

View

I had a surprise breakfast date with KTP this morning, and I was discussing our move with her, and she remarked how she had never been to my place. She also said I had never posted a picture of the view from our apartment - I feel like I have posted a pic, but if not, I found this picture I uploaded to flickr.com a while ago.

Here's the view we're saying goodbye to:

Moving on up (or down)

Gina and I got some great news a few weeks ago that I've been meaning to post about, but I've been out of town for what feels like six years (it was a week). We are moving from our studio into a ONE BEDROOM in our building. That's right, we're saying goodbye to The Treehouse, and hello to the lap of luxury.

The move is just down one floor and towards the front of the building. We're losing our view and a bit of our seclusion (we're way in the back now - no one bothers us), but we're gaining a slightly bigger kitchen with BUILT-INS, a slightly bigger bathroom, and A BEDROOM. Our rent is increasing very nominally, which leads me to believe we're moving into the cheapest one bedroom in Hollywood.

This is a very meaningful move for us. It's a very grown-up apartment compared to what we have now, although that's not saying much. For me, this is the first apartment I haven't chose out of necessity. That is, ever since I moved here seven years ago, I've always lived in places solely because I can afford them. Even when I lived in my studio five years ago, I chose that one because I had a friend in the building. The apartment was not ideal at all - it had the worst parking situation I've ever had to deal with. But I could afford it, and that's all that mattered. Besides that place, I've always had roommates. The Treehouse has been great, but the lack of space is... not okay anymore for me. As a friend of gina's said, "A relationship needs doors." And I think it's true, if for no other reason than I'm an early riser and gina's a night owl. Now we can leave the other sleep and watch TV or do whatever in the OTHER ROOM!! And on top of all of this, we can actually invite people over for dinner, poker nights, movie nights, game nights, group sex, whatever!!

It's also meaningful for us because we set a date of end of this year to start thinking about having children, and now we'll be in a place that if we feel like we're ready, we can manage it. We both agree it's okay to have a baby in a one bedroom, as long as there's a plan to move into something bigger soon after, which there already is. The homebuying time frame is about a year to a year and a half from now, ideally. We've done what we thought was impossible: we found a one bedroom that will allow an easy move and cheap rent, which will keep us on our financial track. This might not seem tough to a lot of people, but any readers living in Los Angeles know this is not an easy task. This makes me think we can do anything, as long as we do it together.

Now, if only I can convince her that we should buy an actual couch instead of furnishing the living room with the two futons we own...

Please stay tuned for before and after photos

St Valentine came to our house early.

Gina surprised me yesterday by revealing some Valentine's Day plans a full three weeks early. And I have to tell you, I am thrilled.

We're going to go see Sandra Bernhard! In San Franciso! The pretty lady herself, the fun, kicky lady, the gem of Broadway, the lady who opens her mouth and spins GOLD.

I am SO EXCITED.

Confession.

I have been in denial for a few years about something I think I should share. I've tried to ignore the urge, and have failed miserably as of late. I am, and really have always been, a junkie for technology.

How has this manifested itself as of late? It started almost three years ago, when I bought my first very own computer. It was no one's but mine. I had to take a loan out to buy it and I loved it. I still love it.

About a year after that, I finally bought an iPod, after saying up and down that I didn't need one.

A few months later, after a bunch of pressure from my friends, I bought a digital camera, after resisting for so long.

A few months later, I bought a brand new iMac, so that I could have a desktop AND a laptop.

A month after the computer purchase, I bought a video iPod. Why? Because I wanted it.

Now? I want a video camera. I want a digital SLR camera. I want an iPhone. And above all, I want a flat screen TV.

I decided in the last month that instead of fighting these urges, I would embrace them, and insist everyone around me like me for who I am. I will always want the newer computer, the newer TV, the newer camera. And if that makes me a bad person, so be it.

Haircut.

My next album cover My new haircut:*



Now in color!




*After sleeping on it

Filler

I started this blog as a way to re-ignite any remaining excitement I ever had about writing. I thought this would force me to write more, thereby make me a better writer, and all around a happier person. This purpose has not been served lately, but I honestly have very little to talk about beyond work, and we all know the golden rule of blogging - don't talk about work.

So, just to have something to post, I'm going to post our proposed schedule for this weekend. Originally, gina and I talked about going up the coast to Cambria, but then we kept making tentative plans, "well, if we're in town, we can do that," and so we just decided to to scrap the trip and follow through with some plans. I've been not feeling well for the better part of the past two months, and I'm finally healthy and not traveling for work, so it's probably better that we reconnect with some people we haven't seen in forever.

Friday
I have a comp day Friday. One of the best parts of my job is that if I work on a weekend, I get to take a corresponding weekday off. I have two comp days from this past weekend, so I'm taking one on Friday.

10am - Haircut. I usually get my hair cut only twice a year. On that schedule, I'm four months away from needing one, but the more money I make older I get, I like to treat myself to more services which I once considered luxuries - massages, pedicures, expensive haircuts, and the like. Truthfully, once you've paid $140 for a haircut, and you've seen what a haircut like that looks like, it's hard to ever go back to reasonably priced haircuts. (Luckily, thanks to Liz, I've found a fantastic gal that charges me significantly less than that for a pretty rad cut.)

Post haircut - Hanging with my college friend, also named Gina. I call her little Gina, or Gigischmack (a family nickname), or the littlest Gina. She'll be in town from Seattle - I'm beyond excited!!

Dinner time - Hopefully, dinner with the littlest Gina, her boyfriend Dan (whom* I have yet to meet), and my gina.

Post dinner - Sopranos, then sleep.

Saturday
8am - gina has an 8 mile run for the marathon training. I will be sleeping, and then perhaps cleaning.

Post run and Starbucks - I think we're going to head to Ontario, (California, not Canada) where a fellow Hubbard High alumnus lives with her hubby and 3 kids. This girl graduated with gina, and I remember her, but she doesn't remember me. Another HHS alumnus will be in town, and they want us to come out there and hang out for a few hours.

Saturday evening - Dinner with older, more mature friends. Homeowners and the like.

Saturday after dinner - Possible birthday party in the south bay.

Sunday
Hopefully 11am - Possible brunch with Courtney's parents? (Courtney = one of gina's bestest friends)

12pm - Hopefully watching the Saints game with friends

6:00pm - Dinner in the south bay with Christian and Lindsay at a place where the artichokes are apparently to die for, truly.

Sunday evening, after dinner - Sopranos, then sleep.

Sadly, gina has to head back to work on Monday, while I will be enjoying another comp day.

If you've read all the way to the end of this, answer the following question: is it better to post uninteresting stuff, or nothing at all?

Made.

About six months ago, my friend Kim gave us the first and second season of The Sopranos to watch whenever we had time. The Sopranos is a show I had maybe seen three scenes of over the years. I wasn’t purposely avoiding it, but I felt like it was a show that if you don’t see it from the beginning, it’s not really worth watching. And it started when I was in college, back in the days when I never watched TV, so I never saw it.

Of course, everyone stones me when I mention I’ve never seen it. Finally, about a week ago, gina and I popped in the first disc of the first season to see what was what. Not surprisingly, we’re hooked. I haven’t been this addicted since Lost was on DVD, but I feel like this is even worse because gina and I have both fallen head over heels in TV love with Lorraine Bracco, who plays Dr. Jennifer Melfi on the show. I’ve had dreams almost every night for the past week about being involved in murder plots or other various illegal activities, and also one PG-13 dream about Dr. Melfi herself.

As I tend to do, I’ve been sharing my obsession with a few choice people, including my friend Joey at work, who is also a big fan of the show. She’s part of the Coffee Time crew, and because I think she’s hilarious, I have a habit of trying to make her laugh more than she’s ever laughed before. It usually works, but today, another Coffee Time girl, Liz, stole my thunder.

I can’t remember what we were talking about, but I was being my usual stupid sarcastic self, trying to make the girls laugh, probably sounding mean about something or other.

Joey said, “Now, Katie, Dr. Melfi wouldn’t approve of you saying that.”

I gasped. “How do you know what I’m thinking about every second of every day?!?”

She laughed, and then Liz said, completely seriously, “Wait, do you guys go to the same doctor?”

What the hell?

I suppose I can't have everything I want.

Last season, Texas beat USC in the Rose Bowl and thus snapped an annoying winning streak in an instant classic.

Then, USC lost this past season to the unranked Oregon State Beavers. HAHAHA!

Additionally, Ohio State had an undefeated season this past year, including the defeat of the Michigan Wolverines, a team just as talented and tough as the Buckeyes.

To top it off, USC LOST TO UCLA, in my second favorite game of the year!! (Top favorite: OSU v Michigan)

But sadly, with the Bowl season truly upon us, nothing good has happened for any team I like. I rooted for Michigan in the Rose Bowl because I think their team is better than USC. Michigan lost.

I rooted for Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl because I love Notre Dame. They lost - 41 to 14 (an eerie foreshadowing).

Then, in an unthinkable nightmare, the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes got SPANKED by the Flordia Gators last night. 41 to 14. One of Ohio's star players was injured early in the game, and that seemed to throw off the entire team. There was little to no pass protection, and the defense was nothing if not asleep. Because the QB kept getting SACKED, OSU only managed something like 84 yards on the night. It was terrible and embarrassing.

Is it next season yet?

The One Where I Describe Worrying

Last night, as we were watching ER, I started to notice something wrong with my vision. There was an amoeba-like creature floating in my line of sight, and it moved when I moved, and turned black (but still visible) whenever I blinked. It kept growing, until finally it got so irritating I had to get up and do something else. The kitchen still needed cleaned, so I decided I'd do that. As I began washing the dishes, the amoeba-like creature kept growing, until finally, I really couldn't see the stuff I was washing OFF the dishes. I could see that I was holding a plate, but I couldn't see where exactly I needed to scrub the most.

My immediate reaction was that I was getting a migraine. I've had two or three in my life, all in 10th grade, and the diagnosis of stress-related migraine made sense back then. I hated being 15. Seriously. Anyway, the beginning of them always started with something weird happening with my vision. The problem with what was happening last night was that there was no accompanying headache, but rather the vision kept getting worse and worse.

This was my train of thought as I powered through the dishes that I couldn't see:

"Please let my head start hurting. Please let this be a migraine. Oh my god, what if it's not? What if I'm going blind? Should gina take me to the hospital right now? No, I'm sure I'm not going blind. Let me just go to bed and see how I feel in the morning. But what if I can't see in the morning? What if it's too late for them to fix it? What if I'm really going blind? Oh my GOD, I've never even been to Europe. We'll go to Europe and I won't be able to see anything and gina will have to say, "oh, it's just like the pictures," and I'll remember the pictures but I'll have never seen the REAL THING. I'll never see my children! I won't even know what they look like! I'll lose my job! I can't be a blind producer! Or maybe I could? I mean, the camera guy could let me know if I'm getting what I need to be getting. But then what purpose would I serve? I'd have to go on disability! I couldn't write anymore. What the hell would I do? I'd have to get a guide dog. Oh, that would be cute, though! But wait! I wouldn't even be able to SEE HIM!! Why is this happening? Was it that banana berry sorbet from Trader Joe's? Oh my GOD..."

I finished the dishes and quickly went to the bed. I covered my head with my pillow to block out all light. I couldn't get it dark enough. I asked gina to bring me a vicodin, because if a situation ever called for one, this one was it. She did, and when I took my head out from under the pillow and looked at her, my vision was back to normal, but my head was pounding. I've never been so grateful for a headache in my entire life. And even this morning, as my head is still pounding, I'm so thankful I can see the sunlight coming through the window, and that I was able to catch an episode of Roseanne I've seen about 12 times.