Revisiting my geekdom

So this week I have been in flashback mode. Why? Well as you all know I am on facebook and someone on there decided to create a group for people who used to chat on these telnet chatrooms back when I was in college. The original chatroom was called the megadiner. This was a chatroom for fans of the band Megadeth. Later that chat shut down and others called The Promised Land and The Tavern were created. I was a regular on all of them. I spent many hours on these chats during college and even met some of my chatroom buddies irl. (in real life for those of you who aren't as geeky ;) Anyway, after college ended, those chats did as well and most of us lost touch. I hadn't thought much about any of this until this week when I was invited to join the group on facebook. It's been so much fun talking to people who I hadn't heard from in a long time and seeing what everyone's up to. To make things even more fun, they set up an IRC chatroom for us to use and the first day it was up, I literally spent about 8 hours on there. I totally lost track of time but it was a lot of fun. When I told some of my regular friends about, it they thought I was a total geek for being on a chat all day but I don't care. So have geekish tendencies. Deal with it! ;)

Anyway, here is the link to the facebook group site:
GlobalPromised Land and Tavern Alumni (and old original Megadiner crew!)
Global

The megadiner chat lives on!! ;)

San Francisco, Here I Come!

So although most of you know this by now, I haven't made an official announcement yet, so here it is: I am moving to San Francisco! That's right, I am leaving Miami and starting a new adventure in California! I know I had originally planned on going back to NYC, but I decided to try something new and San Francisco is the only other city in the US that I would ever consider living in so I'm giving it a shot! There's nothing more exciting than starting over in a brand new place you've never been and you only have one shot at life so I may as well try it now! Besides, NYC will always be there for me if I ever decide I want to go back.

Anyway, I should be leaving here after January. I added an updated counter so those are the number of days left before my new life! :) I am pretty excited about it! I will have a new city to write about! The good thing about this move is that unlike when I moved here, I will actually have some friends who live in the area so I won't be completely alone and they can help me explore the city. That always makes for a better transition.

Well, I have a million things left to do before I leave here so stay tuned on my progress (or procrastination)!

The disadvantage of working retail

I've been working in retail for 6 years now (scary) and although I manage to survive doing so, there are many disadvantages for working in this industry, especially during the holidays. Sure this time of year is what we all look forward to because this is the time of year when we make the most money, but it's also the time of year when we all pretty much become slaves to whatever company we work for. There is no 4-day Thanksgiving weekend, or 4-day Christmas weekend, or even flying home for any of the end-of-the-year holidays because that would mean not being at work and unless you want to be fired, that is not really an option. Now, I've never been one to care much about the holidays, but after not having a life for so long, it's starting to get to me. I want to have the option to go home and be with my family if I choose to do so. And I want to have a 4-day weekend to do nothing but sadly, if I continue to work in this industry, that will never really be an option for me. Don't get me wrong, there are things I like about what do, but I don't want to do this for the rest of my life (if I ever really want to have one). Then again I never planned on doing this for as long as I have. I guess there are worse things in life, like being unemployed for 9 months (been there, done that). Anyway, I guess I'm just rambling at this point. I'm just feeling annoyed at the fact that I can't do what I really want to do right now. Someday...

Home Sweet Home?

So as most of you know, I live in a small 1-bedroom apartment in Hollywood with my dog, Perry. This is the first apartment I've ever had to myself. I always had a roommate and never lived alone so the whole experience is rather new to me. I wasn't sure how I would react to being by myself because I'm not a huge fan of doing things solo. It has now been three months since I moved out on my own and although I have been ok with the living alone aspect, one thing I am lacking is a sense of feeling at home. Maybe it's because I'm missing all the nice furniture and commodities I had enjoyed for so long, or maybe it's because my apartment isn't as nice as the ones I lived in before. Perhaps it also has to do with the fact that I don't really like living in Florida, but whatever the case may be, I never come home and feel like it's "home sweet home." I wonder what it'll take for me to feel that way again. I miss coming home and feeling comfortable and wanting to be there more than anywhere else, or really looking forward to being there at the end of the day. Maybe things will be different at my next location. We shall soon find out!

A New Beginning

One of my biggest flaws is that I have a tendency to be a little on the insecure side when it comes to making decisions. I have been known to take risks in the past (like going to school in AZ when I'd never been there before) but the past few years, for some reason, I've doubted myself. I guess it's a fear of making the wrong decision and later regretting it for the rest of my life. That's kind of how I felt about my most recent life-altering decision to be single again after so many years. It was a decision I had been putting off for a while because I was afraid of making the wrong choice, not to mention all the people who questioned my decision because it didn't make sense to them. This made me second guess myself, putting off the inevitable.

Even after I had finalized my decision to pursue life on my own, a little part of me wondered if I had indeed made the right decision. It felt right but one can never tell. One thing I knew was that my break-up was going to be different from everyone else's. It was going to be an amicable decision and my ex and I were to remain good friends. At least this is what was said. I was all for it and had no doubt in my mind that I could handle that. After all, we'd been together for so long, how could you just throw it all away, right? Well, apparently I was wrong. Although this was supposedly what was going to happen, nothing could be further from the truth. Something happened the other night which proved to me that what was said was a complete lie. There will be no post-break-up friendship. My relationship was to end with no future contact. (Well, there was the one encounter because there was money aat stake, but that will be all). I refuse to say what happened to make me realize this, but honestly, it doesn't really matter. The point is that no matter how well you think you may know someone, you never truly know them 100%. In a way I'm glad this happened because it confirms the fact that I made the right choice. It's time for a new beginning.

Laundry day postponed, yet again...

I hate most household chores but on the bottom of my hate list was always the laundry. Why? Because all you have to do is throw your clothes in the washing machine/dryer and let it do its thing for however long it takes. However, my new apartment does not have a washer/dryer on premises because it's a small, older building which means a dreaded visit to the laundry mat is required. I haven't visited a laundry mat since I lived in my dumpy apartment in Belleville, NJ. Back then there was one around the corner so it wasn't terrible. Still not a pleasant experience but at least it wasn't far.

Anyway, I haven't done laundry since I moved out of Aventura which was a little over a month ago. I meant to do so about a week ago. I even put my laundry in my trunk. However, the day I was going to try to do it, I had a list of other errands I had to run so I figured I could always do it "tomorrow." Well, like I said, that was about a week ago. I've been driving around with my dirty laundry in my trunk since and the hamper in my closet is now full again with even more laundry to be done. How sad is that? Needless to say, right now the number one thing I am missing from Aventura is my washer/dryer.

Maybe I'll do my laundry tomorrow. ;)

Good-bye Aventura, hello Hollywood!

I've been meaning to update my blog in what seems like forever and a lot has happened since my last entry. After my decision to (reluctantly) stay in South Florida longer than planned, I spent a lot of time searching for a decent apartment. I learned a lot about South Florida while doing so (like how scary it can be) and after looking at so many creepy places, I finally settled on an apartment in Hollywood. It's not Aventura but it's still a pretty cool area with a lot of restaurants and bars just walking distance from here which is great because there's always something to do.

It's been an interesting experience going from being in a relationship with 2 dogs to being single with one dog. (For those of you that don't know this already, I am now single and living on my own which is a new experience for me.) It's just Perry and I (I lost Prince in the break-up :() and I feel like a single parent. I miss Prince very much but there was no way I could take care of two dogs on my own. The sad thing is that I may never see him again.

Anyway, it's a new place and a new beginning but my goal remains the same, to get out of Florida as soon as I can!

Age Matters

As those of you who know me personally know, I am a retail manager. Most of the people I manage are younger than I am, and they get younger and younger each day. It creeps me out when I look at their paperwork and I notice that they are born in the 80's because I can actually remember those years. I try not to think about age much, especially since I've been told that I look younger than I am (I also look way hotter than I did when I was younger btw. Just a little side note ;). Occasionally though, the subject of age does come up, like yesterday. Somehow one of the employees started talking about age and the other manager who was sitting there there mentioned that her birthday was coming up this week. She mentioned she was turning 25 and seemed bothered by that which shocked me because I thought she was older. Not only did it surprise me but it disappointed me because it meant that I was older than her. So anyway, to make matters worse, the employee then asked me how old I was and I reluctantly told the truth (which I refuse to repeat because I'm not comfortable discussing that matter anymore and if you know me, you already know my age, and if not and really want to know, there are ways to find out aside from asking me :P).

Anyway, I've been thinking about it all day and wonder, have I reached the point in my life when I should start lying about my age? Whenever I tell anyone how old I am they seem shocked and I'm not sure that it's always a good thing. I mean, yes, it can be a compliment because it can mean that you look younger, but it can also mean that they think you're a loser for not accomplishing more with your life at that age. I don't know. That's definitely the pessimistic view but not totally out there. Needless to say, I don't know what the right thing to do is aside from avoiding the subject of age like the plague.

Extending my stay...

If everything in my life worked out exactly as planned, right now I'd be celebrating the fact that I have less than 2 months left in Florida. Of course, being that this is my life we're talking about, this is not the case. Instead I have decided to prolong my stay a few more months and am in the process of finding a new place to live. I decided to stay longer for a variety of reasons which I shall not bore you with, but primarily it's because I am not ready financially. Moving to NYC will require more savings as well as more planning. For now my new goal date is mid January so we'll see how that goes. Really the sooner the better but I don't see myself leaving anytime before then. Sadly this means I get to spend another holiday season in hot weather. :(

I killed my MDA!

Last night I managed to kill my MDA. How? I managed to wet it somehow. I don't know how exactly but it happened while using it while in the bath. I don't think I dropped it in the tub but I suppose it's possible (Don't ask me why I don't remember).

Anyway, this is not the first phone that I've murdered (unintentionally of course). I once dropped my Motorola V600 in the bathtub and then had to buy another one on ebay. I'm not sure I totally killed this one because it's still giving me signs of life but the screen is flickering and the touch screen does not seem to be working. :( Needless to say I am really depressed about it. Fortunately I have my RAZR as a backup. The funny thing about this whole experience, though, is that I used to love my RAZR and thought it was really great before I had my MDA. Now I realize that it sucks. I can't go online as easily and I can't log onto google talk which I'm generally logged onto all day on my MDA. I'm feeling really deprived and am having withdrawals. I may have no choice but to buy another phone, however the timing is not good. I just spent way too much hosting my family and am supposed to try to save money for my escape from Florida. This is why I've decided to start the "Buy Inxshopper a New Phone foundation"! Yes, you can help make a difference in my life by donating money to help buy me a new phone! Interested? Feel free to send your donations to my Paypal account. Contact me for details. ;) Thanks!

I survived!

So I survived my week with the family and didn't feel the need to kill them by the time they left which for me is quite remarkable! I must say, having family (or anyone for that matter) over is quite tiring, so by the time it was time for them to leave I felt like collapsing and sleeping for at least one day straight. The funny thing was that I was off the day after my mom and sis were scheduled to leave which seemed perfect. However my sister's flight was canceled (they were on different flights) so she ended up spending an extra night with me. Normally I would've been ecstatic but I was actually kind of disappointed because I had been looking forward to having a day to myself. It turned out well though and I'm glad they were able to come visit me before I leave Florida. Not too much time left. Speaking of, I still have a ton of stuff to get rid of before I leave. Anyone interested in buying all my old fat clothes? ;)

Anyway, here's a video of one of my sister's favorite things to do while visiting me in FL: annoying Perry!

Family Time!

My sister has just completed her junior year at Ohio State and decided that she'd take a detour before heading home and visiting me, which was smart on her part because I (hopefully) won't be living here much longer. Anyway, I figured it would be fun even though I knew I'd have to work most of the time she'd be around. I'm pretty good about making time. However, it turned into a family affair when my mom decided to come around the same time as well.

So, my sister arrived Wednesday and my mom arrived late last night. So far so good but I wonder how long it'll be before we get on each other's nerves. I give it two days and since I actually have the weekend off, perhaps one. We shall see...

Stupid Neighbors

I am not an outdoorsy person at all. I don't care for any outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, fishing, etc. Probably the only thing I like to do outside is go running and sometimes barbecue or maybe go to the beach. I especially don't want to be outside when it's humid and/or hotter than hell which is usually the case here in South Florida. This is why I don't understand why people insist on eating or being outside around here. Part of what got me thinking about this are my annoying neighbors. There's this large family (or at least I think they're a family) who lives diagonally across from me, and every day they are sitting outside at this table they've placed in front of their apartment and there is literally someone there all damn day! They will socialize out there, eat every meal out there and just sit out there for no reason. I don't understand the need for them to sit outside at all hours of the day. It's almost as if they take shifts doing so. I feel like going up to them and asking them why they insist on sitting there at all hours of the day (and I mean literally all hours, like as late as 2am). Part of what makes this especially annoying is that they will seriously sit there and stare at you. Sure, I can be fun to watch ;)but this is getting ridiculous. I mean, were they not taught that it's rude to stare? I guess not everyone has manners. All I know is that it's getting old and they better stop soon before I get mean about it.

Why I make a bad Hispanic

So I went to this new lounge bar/club in Aventura (the "city" that I currently live in)last night, and I was having a pretty good time. The place is nice, with a cool bar and lots of seating where you can lounge stylishly. When I first walked in they were playing regular club music and which I generally like but then all of a sudden they started playing Spanish reggae-ish music (forgot what that's called, all I know is that it sucks). So, being that I'm in S. Florida of course a lot of the people there are Latin and once the crappy Spanish music started playing they all started dancing. It began with that, continued with other Spanish songs that you wouldn't know unless you're Latin and you like that crap, i.e. nothing very mainstream. Anyway, all this got me thinking about how I am the complete opposite of what anyone thinks of when they think of a Latin (Hispanic, whatever you want to call it) girl. In a way I am almost like the Anti-Hispanic and for the following reasons:

• I don't speak Spanish: or believe that just because you live in Miami you should be lazy and just go around speaking it when you're perfectly capable of speaking English.
  
• I hate dancing: For some reason people think that all Latins love to dance. People freak when they find out that I really don't. I think most of them do but for some reason, that's not my thing. It just never has been.
  
• I don't like Latin music: I really don't care for any Spanish music at all. Enough said about that.
  
• I went to college and have a college degree: I know a lot of Hispanics these days do go to college but the percentage is still quite low. I've met several people who are Hispanic in Miami and most of them have not attended college.
  
• I don't believe in extended families: Hispanics are weird about their living conditions. They have a tendency to live with their entire extended families and think this is normal. Who on earth would want to live with their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc? Not me! I believe in growing up and living your own life.
  
• I have a social life outside of my family: This ties back to the extended family thing. A lot of Hispanics who live with their relatives also hang out with them 24-7. Their cousins, siblings or whatever are the main people they hang out with and they rarely have real friends outside of the family. Weird but not me...
  
• I am not Catholic: Yes, I've been to church before and technically I was raised Catholic but religion does not play a strong role in my life and if it did I would not call myself Catholic. If I did I would make a very bad one. ;)

There are other reasons why I make a bad Hispanic but these are all I could come up with right now. Perhaps I'm just weird in general. I don't know but I also don't care. ;)

Welcome Perry!

I've been meaning to write in this blog for the past 2 weeks but haven't gotten around to it because things have been very busy and chaotic. The highlight has been the new addition to the family, our new dog, Perry. He's a black and white Shih-Tzu and looks a lot like Prince. I found him on Petfinder.com and fell in love with him when I saw his picture. I knew I had to have him. He was located in Orlando where had been rescued by a non-profit organization. I submitted an application and fortunately we were able to adopt him even though we lived outside of the area. It was a long drive up there but definitely worth it.

Perry is super cute and the complete opposite of Prince. He's thin (he needs to gain some weight), super energetic and very outgoing. He's adjusting well to his new home.

Prince is adjusting well too. It took him a couple of days before he seemed comfortable with everything. Initially he was acting jealous and would occasionally growl at Perry, but he seems to be getting better about it. Our hope is that they'll become best friends because that was a big reason for getting Perry.

Anyway, I'm still getting used to walking two dogs and just having two dogs in general (you should've seen me at Petco trying to handle both of them. Pretty embarrasing). It's more tiring than I thought but I'll get used to it. It's nice having two Shih-Tzus greet you when you come home from work.

Top Ten Questions I'm Sick of Answering

So the other day, while out to lunch with David, I decided I was going to come up with a list of the top 10 questions that I am sick of answering. These are questions that I am asked a lot, mostly by complete strangers. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind answering people's questions but some of them are particularly annoying and/or offensive. I think I should just print out a pamphlet with these so whenever I encounter any of them I can just hand them to the inquirer.

Anyway, here they are. Enjoy!


1. Why don't you speak Spanish? Aren't you Hispanic? Are you ashamed?
I've gotten this question asked a lot, especially since I moved to Miami. It's number one on my list because I don't think that I should have to justify whether or not I speak Spanish or be looked upon as some kind of freak of nature because I don't. Not every single Hispanic speaks Spanish (Have they not ever watched the movie Selena? She didn't always speak Spanish) and frankly I think it's rude to just assume that I should. It seems to me that Hispanics are the only minorities that are expected to speak Spanish just because of their ethnic background. I never see anyone give an Italian (for example) a hard time because they don't speak Italian. If you're born and raised in the US, is it really that unthinkable to only speak English? Isn't it still the official language? My question to people in Miami who live here and only speak Spanish is why don't you speak English? (I could go on and on about this one but I'll end it here)

2. What are you?

Many, many times, I'll come across a complete stranger who will look at me with a baffled look on their face and ask me, "what are you?" What they mean is that they are confused as to what my ethnic background is so they'll ask me "what I am." How ridiculous and insulting is that? Like it matters and like I should have to answer that. What I want to say to them is "freak, I don't even know you and what's it to you?" Who cares "what I am" and how is that relevant to anything? I don't mind answering that question if it's someone I just met that I have some kind of relationship with but if you're a complete stranger, don't ask me that question or if you do rephrase it so that it sounds more intellectual.

3. Why don't you smile more?

People have been asking me that question for years! I remember this one time when I was in H.S., I was walking to school and a complete stranger said "you should smile more" as he passed me by. Wtf? I never understood that. What am supposed to do? Walk around with a huge grin on my face for no reason? Who does that?

4. Why don't you work for a newspaper? (upon finding out that I have a BA in Journalism)

So I majored in Journalism and never worked in that field. A lot of people get degrees in certain majors and then end up doing something completely different. Besides, things don't always work out perfectly and one is always entitled to change one's mind about things, including careers.

5. Why don't you want to have/like kids?

Most people (especially women) think I am the biggest weirdo because I don't care much for kids and don't ever want to have any of my own. I just don't need that to feel complete. I'm more of an animal person. Besides, I think I'm being more responsible by realizing that this is not a road I ever want to take rather than just giving in to the norm and then turning out to be a bad parent (not that I think I'd make a bad parent, being one would just make me miserable). Too many people become parents for all the wrong reasons and I refuse to be one of them.

6. Why aren't you married/when are you getting married?

First of all, who cares? Second of all, getting married has never been a priority for me (I'm not even sure how I feel about the whole idea). I don't need to be anyone's wife to feel fulfilled. David and I have been together for many years and getting hitched is not going to make things any better. We'd still be the same people so why rush into anything? If we go ahead and do so it'll be whenever we feel is right.

7. Why are you still renting? Why haven't you bought a house?

Buying a home is a huge decision/commitment. I feel you should be 100% sure you want to live somewhere before you make such a huge investment. Besides, it's easier said than done. Buying property is something I definitely want to do but I'll do it when I feel it's right.

8. Why do you always wear black?

It's my favorite color, ok? I've worn mostly black since my metalhead days in H.S. and I just like it. I guess it's the goth in me. ;)


9. Why don't you cook more?

I don't enjoy the process. I love eating but do not enjoy actually making meals. Too time consuming, tedious, domestic, i.e. unlike me.

10. Why did you go to school in Arizona?

Why not? It's a pretty cool state (just not literally although they have more seasons than we do here in FL). It was just a place I wanted to check out.

No sense of time...

One of the things I dislike about living here is the consistent heat. It's always hot and humid (ok well maybe not always but 98% of the time). Like right now, for example, it's 80 degrees outside but feels hotter than it actually is because it's so damn humid! As a result you have no sense of season and if you do what I do for a living you also lack a sense of time. Now, if you know me, you already know what I do for a living so I won't get into that, but basically my job requires me to work random hours every week. I don't have a set schedule and my hours are very sporadic (I may go in at 5am one day, 2pm another day, etc) so I have difficulty knowing what day of the week it is, which combined with living in Florida with it's lack of seasons, has resulted in a very confused me. ;)

Sometimes I wonder what the hell possessed me to think that I could possibly be ok with living in a hot climate. I've always loved Fall and Winter, and wearing coats, boots and anything that has to do with cold weather. Plus I don't even like Summer/Spring clothes. The colors are always bright and cheery (very unlike me). Do you know how difficult it is to find a summery wardrobe when your favorite colors are black and grey?

Anyway, in conclusion, it's hot and I wish it were 50 degrees outside. ;)

P.S. I've added a countdown to moving day counter on the bottom of my blog. It's set to the date when my lease here ends give or take a day. (I've been too lazy to actually pull up the actual lease and double check but I'm almost positive it's right) As of today I have 162 days left. It sounds like an eternity but it'll probably go by faster than expected.

Weird timing

Life is weird. Several months ago I was on here bitching about how I hadn't met any cool people in FL. After a while I had met a couple of new people (primarily through work and still not as many as I would've liked) but it didn't matter as much because I was busy with work and most recently had made the decision that I'd be moving away, so it didn't really matter to me anymore. My focus shifted to just getting ready to head out. Anyway, the other night, per one of my Yelp buddies' suggestion, I decided to attend something called an "Art walk" in Miami's Design District. The walk happens every second Saturday of each month but what differentiated this one from all the rest was that this particular Saturday would be a gathering of some of South Florida's Yelpers. (If you don't know what Yelp is, click on the link to find out) Anyway, the event pretty much consisted of walking from art gallery to art gallery while acquiring free alcoholic drinks (trick-or-treating for adults as I referred to it). It was a great time but one of the best parts was meeting new and interesting people, proving that there are indeed some cool people in Miami. ;) I knew there were, I just hadn't met any and had kind of given up. It's just funny how things happen when you least expect it.

Within the past couple of days I've also been getting e-mails from old friends I haven't heard from in a while. Weird, but very cool. ;)

Anyway, here's a pic from our outing on Saturday night!

Still longing for you...

Out of boredom and a strong desire for Diet Berries & Cream Dr. Pepper, I came across this commercial.

R.I.P. Diet Berries & Cream Dr. Pepper. I'll never forget you!

On Vaca...

So yesterday was the official start to my vacation. I'm taking 9 consecutive days off from work just to do some things around the house and to have time to myself. One of the most annoying things about telling people that you're taking vacation time is them asking you "where are you going?" as if going somewhere is mandatory. I can't tell you how many people have asked me that question within the past week or so and then reacted surprised or disappointed upon finding out that, no, I am not going away anywhere. Is it really that unheard of to just take time to get some things taken care of or even to just get away from work? I will be spending my week posting items on ebay (lord knows I have a million things to sell), running errands and just spending time with Prince. Little things like that take a lot of time and when you work crazy hours like I do, they don't always get done. Ebay alone takes a lot of time (taking pics, posting listings, responding to people's questions, going to the post office) but I guess people don't think about those things. Anyway, I wouldn't mind just taking the week off doing absolutely nothing but lounging at home but that's not going to happen. Lots to do if I want to move to NYC!

See you soon, NYC...

Last weekend David and I went to NYC. It was the perfect weekend getaway, complete with lots of shopping, drinking, eating out and cold weather. In other words, all of my favorite things. ;) The trip started out with the potential to be disastrous thanks to Mother Nature. The day we left there was a snow storm in the Tri-State area so a lot of flights were being canceled including our connecting flight leaving Atlanta. Fortunately we were on standby on another flight and actually made it onto the plane.

We stayed in a suite at the Hudson Hotel on W. 58th. It was the coolest hotel I've ever stayed at. It was very modern and chic, almost as if it had been designed for me (how many hotels have dark grey hallways?). ;) Not only was it an awesome atmosphere but the customer service was great the entire time. If I could live there, I would. It was definitely difficult to say good-bye to that place and the city in general but visiting confirmed what I already knew; it's time to move back to NYC and get the hell away from Miami.

David and I have been talking about moving back once and for all for a while now but now I realize how strongly I feel about that. I've always known deep down that this is where I truly want to be (and belong) but never really pursued it because it can be quite pricey. However, living in Miami made me realize that things are quite pricey here as well and not as great as I had expected. I could make a list of the reasons I could never live in Florida long-term (but I won't right now, I'll save it for a later post)and after having lived in several places I've realized that it's best to just be wherever's going to make you happy and for me it's NYC.

When I was there I was happier than I'd been in a long time. I know I'll have to put up with other annoyances (no place is perfect) but overall this is where I fit in and where I want to be.

Now the countdown to moving back has begun and I have a lot to get done to make this happen. Number one on my list is getting rid of a ton of stuff. Ebay's about to become my best friend...

New Obsession

I've always been obsessed with handbags, particularly silver metallic leather ones, but most recently my obsession has reached a new level. I am now obsessed with Chloe handbags. Before, I would have been satisfied with a Kenneth Cole or DKNY bag but that has changed since I discovered my love for Chloe.

Actually, the first time I discovered Chloe handbags was about 3 or 4 years back when I lived in NJ. I remember it as if it were yesterday. I was at Short Hills mall and I saw my first Chloe handbag. It was one of the camera bags with chain straps. There were actually a couple of different ones and they were all beautiful. They were made of black leather and had silver chain straps. I remember picking one up and looking at the price tag. They cost around $1500 or so which made me think I'd never have one of these but if I had the money I would have bought one in a heartbeat. I walked away and didn't think much of it again, that is until now.

I recently found and bought one of these on ebay for $350 which was a steal! I found it in the midst of a quest to find a more current Chloe; a large Chain Betty bag in either black, grey or silver, and/or a large Betty bag in grey or silver. These bags are from previous seasons so they're not as easy to find. The chain one is the most difficult to come across, at least if you want one that's authentic (found that out the hard way). Anyway, I am not giving up on my mission to find it. If anyone reading this has one they'd like to sell, please feel free to contact me. ;)

I am also seeking a pewter Balenciaga Weekender bag. Wish I had one of these for my trip to NYC this coming weekend...

Anyway, it's weird but I feel like in a way I'm becoming a purse snob. I even joined The Purse Forum (a website for bagaholics like me where we can discuss and obsess over our favorite bags). Some might say I need help but what I really need is a new bag. ;)

Sad, sad update...

So my mission for this weekend was to find my favorite drink, Diet Berries and Cream Dr. Pepper in some shape or form. I didn't care if it was a 2 Liter bottle, a 12 pack or a single small bottle of it. I just needed to find it because it has been too long since I've been able to enjoy the best soda in the world. I went to the following places:

2 Publix locations
2 Walgreens
2 Winn Dixie Supermarkets
1 7 Eleven
2 Wal Marts
1 CVS drugstore

Unfortunately, I did not find a single drop of this soda. I did, however, find Dr. Pepper's latest flavor: Cherry Chocolate Dr. Pepper which up until now I had only heard about. I decided to buy a 12 pack of it because I figured it would be good. Fortunately, before I opened the 12 pack I purchased a small bottle of it so I could try it immediately. Sadly, it was pretty gross. It was so bad that I returned the 12 pack the next day. Thank god that flavor is only Limited Edition because it's quite disgusting.

In the meantime I am still frantically searching for any inventory of this soda that may be left out there so if you've seen it, please e-mail me. Life just isn't the same without it. :(

Mission Impossible?

If you know me you are aware of my love for Diet Dr. Pepper products. I'm a big diet soda freak and my favorite was Diet Dr. Pepper until the release of Diet Berries and Cream Dr. Pepper. It's the greatest soda ever invented (imo) and I usually stock up on it. My addiction is so bad that at work people know I'm there if they see a can of it in the break room. Lately, however, I have been unable to find it anywhere. I wasn't too concerned at first because it had a tendency to sell out but I'd usually find it a couple of days later. It has now been over a month since I've had the pleasure of drinking that delicious drink and I am beginning to worry. My sister who lives in Ohio said that she hasn't seen it in a long time either and brought up the possibility of the dreaded "D" word - discontinued. Is it possible? Could my favorite soda in the whole world have been discontinued? Will Diet Berries and Cream Dr. Pepper become merely a memory? Will I have to add it to my list of favorite things that have been discontinued? (stay tuned for that list)

Well, I am off for the next couple of days so I have decided that my mission this weekend is to find this soda. The last time I went to Walgreens the other day there was still a sign on the cooler with the Berries and Cream label so there's still hope. I refuse to give up. I will go to every Target, Walmart, Publix, and any other place that might have it until I find it. I shall report my findings in a couple of days. Wish me luck!