You know you're getting old when...

...Grandpa gives you only FOUR (two $2 bills) dollars for the Lunar New Year! Although the new year is not ALL about getting those nice little red envelopes stuffed with money, it is definitely a big perk in the holiday celebrations. It has nothing to do with being greedy; I think we're all just kids-at-heart, wanting to peek into the red envelopes and see dollar bills there, day-dreaming about what new toy we can buy with it.

As you get older, the dollar amounts seem to get smaller and smaller, until one day (gasp!) you're expected to GIVE away envelopes, not RECEIVE them. *Whew* good thing that time hasn't come for me yet, but I'm getting signs that it's coming up pretty soon:
Sign #1: As mentioned earlier, gramps didn't give his usual twenty dollar bills. They were 2-without-the-0 dollar bills.
Sign #2: I got a lotto ticket in one envelope. No cash.
Sign #3: Everyone in my family keeps wishing me a happy new year and hoping that I find a husband soon (marriage=no more red envelopes for Jane).
Ah, well, I guess that's what happens when you grow up!

Weekend update

Wow, I actually DID something this past weekend! (Sad, but I've been leading a pretty boring life lately. Well, boring as in I don't have anything to write about, but I'm actually enjoying how low-key things have been.)

Worked at the Aquarium Saturday day, then went to Jen's graduation/going away party at the Long Beach Yacht club that night. She's heading off into the NOAA Corp (that's National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration for those of you who don't know what NOAA stands for) in about two weeks--congrats on finishing school and landing the job Jen!! The party was fun, but what party with an open bar isn't fun? I also got to see a couple of friends, JoAnn and Steph, who I haven't seen in a while, so it was nice catching up.

Sunday morning, I was back at the Aquarium for a staff meeting, then hung out with Wendy and Kiernan for a bit. Sunday night was our first book club meeting of the year, for Memoirs of a Geisha. There were a few no-shows, but a strong attendance overall. We had good discussions, and I think everyone really enjoyed the book--I was probably the one who liked it least out of the group. Next up for the book club is Eragon. I've heard mixed reviews about this one, and am curious to see how it is, especially being a fan of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings...

My birthday is coming up next week. Just doing dinner this year, no party. I'm a little partied-out, after five years eating drinking puking and cleaning.

Later on in February, Terrin, my roomate while in Australia will be in Cali for a week. We'll be hanging out, and it will be great to see her again!

And I just might be taking a little vacation to the Pacific Northwest in March, and hoping to see Haley and Mesha!

Quote-o-the-day (with a bonus vocab-word-o-the-day)

"When I look at the night sky and consider my relationship to it--one puny organism, out of billions of puny organisms, just sitting in the remains of an ancient chapel, breathing in and out, watching for shooting stars, trying to pick out the constellations, still--this moment both grounds me in the tactile reality of dirt, air, and skin and also lifts me up to believe that there must be someone, something up there, there must be. While floods and famine and cancer certainly suggest the universe is pure chaos and randomness, the beauty in the elaborate and connected natural order of things--of the veins of a leaf, of a river, of a bolt of lightning, to the veins in my hand--suggest there is purpose and meaning and, yes, maybe even somthing bigger and better than us. And more than the incredible natural order of the universe, there is love: how can love be the product of anything short of divine?..."
-The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters, Elisabeth Robinson


Epistolary: written in the form of a series of letters

(The above quoted book is an epistolary novel, and the first one I've ever read. Took some time getting used to the format the story was being told in, but I started to enjoy it more as I got further into it.)

Where have I been?

Nowhere really, Life has just been quite uneventful and uninteresting lately, hence the lack of posts. I'll write more once things pick up.

Unsatisfying Meals

My wisdom teeth were removed this past Thursday, so for the past week my mouth has been sore, my cheeks puffy and feeling like I just had botox injections, and I've been subsisting off of soups, apple sauce, mashed potatoes and other soft mushy foods. Eating has become a bit of a chore and so unsatisfying--I actually skipped dinner last night because the thought of how tedious feeding myself would be made me lose my apetite. oh, I can't wait until I can bite into a nice juicy hamburger again--to actually enjoy a meal, mmm...