la la la love story-ish, pt. 1

okay okay, sooooooooooooo.......

Let's go back to Fall 2003.  I was a young, shy, little college freshman and only god knows why, but I was taking Math 121 at like 8 or 9am M,W,F.  My only stresses in life were making sure I had the right clothes, straight hair, and getting to my freaking early math class on time.  On the other hand there was this guy who would show up ten minutes late EVERY DAY.  He looked all carefree and effortless with his dark shades and big long board.  He would sneak in and then sit down with the soccer girls (or swim girls, depending on the day) who always saved him a seat.  My thoughts:  what a cocky jerk (in today's terms this translates into "douche bag").  Maybe a few times we locked eyes, and maybe walked past each other in the Dane Smith halls, but I always kept my head down and didn't invite attention...just secretly watched and judged.  I failed that class.

Something like six months later, I was working at UNM Children's Campus (fancy for 'daycare') and as I was headed to the bathroom, here comes the sunglasses/longboard/cocky math class guy who looks like he just got hired and is getting the grand tour.  He recognized me too and smiled and said something like "hey how's it going?" and I bashfully looked down, stuttered some response, and ducked into the kitchen.  That encounter set the standard for the following six months.  He would say hi or try to start conversation and I would throw a dirty look or just ignore him.  (D says he tried and tried to talk to this cute girl, but eventually gave up because she was so stone cold). Don't ask me why...it's very rude and I can't imagine behaving like that now, but back then I was seriously sooo shy, and as a young lady who had just started college, I was getting a lot of unwanted attention from strange boys, and I didn't want to invite any weirdos into my life so instead I acted like the meanest girl on the planet.

Can you believe that hair? no wonder I thought he was just another weirdo 

At this same time I was long distance dating a gentleman in Dallas and I felt like since nobody really knew he existed (because we weren't seen hanging out with friends or going to parties) that boys would make advances not knowing I had a boyfriend, so it was my job to make myself unavailable (by using my scowl face). Dallas boy and I were on and off for like a year and a half (I didn't realize it was that long! but now that I think about it...).  We would meet up every three or four months and really only communicated via email (we were both shy...gosh that seems so stupid now).  Towards the end it got kinda rocky because although there was a great spark between us, he wanted me to move to Texas, and we had a lot in common (oddly enough), he had some depression issues.  Also, things really clicked between us and I could see myself being the wealthy wife of the mayor's son, having a beautiful home, and being on the board of the country club, but who am I kidding?  that's not me at all.  I was really intimidated by the kind of money his family had and I just couldn't get over the feelings attached with that.  It fizzled.

Sometime after Dallas and I broke up, I started noticing the other blokes around me and front and center was that one guy.  He was one of the few guys that worked at the daycare and the kids and parents really liked him.  He worked with the preschool kids and they would be crawling all over him and chasing him and screaming at the top of their lungs when he hung them upside down (I would spy on him from my classroom). I started squeezing out my first words and would manage a 'hi' or 'it's going good! and you?' in passing and soon after, for some unknown reason, I became obsessed with him.  I would watch for him through my classroom windows and would "go to the bathroom" if I knew he'd be in the same area so I could run into him and exchange our little "HIs"  I also started taking my lunches and breaks at the same time as him so that I could quietly sit in the break room and could study him at a closer vantage.  He was friends with EVERYONE.  young, old, tall, short, man, woman, parent, teacher, child, janitor, kitchen lady, etc.  He seemed like best friends with the whole world and I was the complete opposite and only spoke to people if I absolutely had to. It was interesting....like a case study of socializing...and he was the subject in question.

The only surviving picture of D in action at the daycare and it's very telling of his relationship with the kids.  Please notice the cali cap, birkenstocks, and dark sunglasses.  Also, that's my classroom in the background.  I almost expect to see my face, spying on him through the window.

One day we had this freak snow storm in the middle of the day and I saw he had his kids out in the courtyard so I bundled up my poor little toddlers and headed out to join him.  He complimented me on my clogs and showed me his own Birkenstock clogs :) and asked if I had heard the soundtrack for the movie Garden State, and I said I had just downloaded it the weekend before and loved it :) and we both agreed the movie was really good, and he might have even quoted the phrase "It says BALLS on your forehead."  It was our first conversation and I was hooked.  I kept those poor children outside way too long and they were all wet and cold, but I didn't want to cut our first encounter short.  Later the center was sending people home and he was going to stay until all the kids got picked up and I have this memory of him standing in front of crying babies, waving his hands and saying "don't cry, don't cry" (he only worked with older kids, and now he was in my territory in baby land).  I showed off my skills and got them all fed and happy and he looked soooo bemused.  I replayed that afternoon in my head for the rest of the weekend.

the good old daycare days

 It's embarrassing to admit, but I even fibbed to a few of my friends about him.  I said he was going to take me snowboarding and we had hung out a few times...but I think it was just wishful thinking.  I even fibbed to him once, just to get closer.  I knew we had a mutual friend (an old hook up of mine) and I owed him money but didn't have his new phone number so one day during our break I asked Dave if he had this guy's number.  He didn't but he knew a way to get it so we exchanged numbers and he said he would call me later.  He did call me later and the conversation only lasted 30 seconds, he sounded really nervous.  "Hi, Rebecca?  This is David.  From work?"  By giving him my number, and an excuse to call me I thought it would be love at hello, but nope, he says now that he thought I wasn't interested in him since I was asking him to get the phone number of a different guy.  Alas, I called the guy, paid off the loan, and hooked up with him.

A few more months went by, and on Thursday, March 24, 2005, during our break I casually asked "what are your plans this weekend?" and he replied "well actually it's my birthday and I'm having a party tonight.  you should come!  I'll call you later today to give you directions."  I was so excited and I remember going to the mall with two of my friends and buying some new clothes and he called while I was driving home.  Another very nervous phone call "Hi Rebecca?  This is David.  David from work? Remember it's my birthday today?"  He gave me directions to his house, and it happened to be next door to a guy that I had briefly dated the year before (such a floosy right?).  What a coincidence.  I still lived at home and I remember sitting on the couch talking to my mom and her friend, and being soooo nervous about going and my mom wanted to know who this guy was, but I didn't really have much to say, I didn't know anything about him, except that I stalked him at work. I asked a few friends to go with me and they all bailed so I finally mustered up the guts to go alone.   

To be continued..... HERE.

D. M. M.

12:03, Thurs. March 24  (officially the Birthday Boy) and he looks older already :)

He's mine, all mine, that D.M.M. and now he's another year older.  Older, wiser, stronger, smarter.  Twenty eight and never been late?  ?  ?  hmmm...anyways, the theme of this birthday was love, love, and more love (corny, I know).  D always has sweet surprises prepared for my birthday, so I rustled up some last minute things keep him on this toes throughout the day.  The night before I waited for him to fall asleep and then decorated our bedroom with some 'love post-its' so that he would wake up and see all the little reasons I keep him around.

it was a hit

Then he was off to work! I started some much needed yard work but eventually gave in to the crazy wind and focused my efforts on the second surprise of the day:  A love scavenger hunt.  I wrote some clues on index cards and each one led to different things D loves.  We had "Big, Black and Gassy" (the bronco), "Melty, Sharp, and Tasty" (cheese), "Amore tus perros negro" (black dogs), "Hook, Line and Sinker" (fishing), and then it ended with "Thrash, Carve, and Cut the powder" which led him to his bday present:  an Arbor Abacus snowboard.  He loves it (thank god) and I'm glad all the planning and wondering is over.

 Then we had THE BEST DINNER EVER at Vernon's Hidden Valley Steakhouse.  AMAMZING.

Today we both took off work and rode the Rail Runner up to la Santa for some strolling / shopping / munching.  It was a beautiful day and we just wandered around looking at all the jewelry and art (and I went to J. Crew and left in a huff bc everything is expensive and fits weird).  The only thing I bought all day was a reprint of an old WPA National Parks poster for Crater Lake.  There were different posters featuring like 15 different parks and I wanted them all!  They are sooo cool and I would dedicate a whole room in my house to them.

I bought this one to commemorate our trip to Oregon last summer, but I also hope to collect the prints below

 We stopped for a beer on the marble brewery rooftop patio and then took the train ride back home to Burque city. 

 Tomorrow we will continue the bday weekend with a big party (it's been a long while since we've had a party at the house - - argh) and then hopefully some chillaxin.

Another year around the sun, and another excuse for us to celebrate all the good things in life!

(as a side note, D's birthday is especially auspicious this year because we have completed ONE full calendar day / date cycle!  The first D bday we celebrated together was on a Thursday, and then we were an 'official' couple the following Saturday.  Now, six years later his birthday landed again on a Thursday and our anniversary is on the following Saturday.  Yikes!)

Skinny-er Jeans

So I still don't, and never will, wear jeggings or skinny jeans (one reason being my feet are too big to fit through the cuff -- and second because anyone over 90 lbs or 21 years of age shouldn't be caught dead in skin tight pants) but I have at least a dozen pairs of skinny-er jeans packed away in the garage for that 'amazing day' when I can fit back into my 2005-2008 circa pants, and I'm hoping that day isn't too far away.

There are two tiers of skinny-er jeans at casa Palmchalski.  The jeans on the shelf in my closet are those I have worn in the past year or two that just got too darn tight, but aren't too far from the impossible.  The jeans packed away in the garage are just way beyond possible and I wonder how I even used to get into them.  I never ever thought of myself as a thin person in my younger days and have always felt like a giant in comparison to most of my friends, but now that I can't even pull those way impossible jeans over my chubby knees and butt, I realize I was a lot thinner than I previously thought. 

These way impossible jeans may be a little outdated, but I will never let them go.  They were my faves and cost this hard working college girl some hard cash, so I will keep them forever despite many of them having a flare and a super super super low rise.  And one more thing about these way impossible jeans:  I used to make fun of my mom for wearing high rise jeans bc they are hard to breathe in, the fly buckles when you sit down, and they go all the way up to your belly button, but I've realized that as I've gotten older, the rise of my pants gets higher and higher and higher and when I do try on low rise pants, I'm shocked at how I could wear them and be comfortable, without showing my butt crack.  Anyways, back to the point, I've been very diligent the past 3 or 4 weeks and I can now fit comfortably in my closet jeans and hope to be in my far from impossible jeans in another 3 or 4 weeks. 

It's like a bass-ackwards savings plan. Best idea ever.  Like shopping in your own closet.  You 'grow' out of 12 pair of jeans, and then shrink back down 5 years later, and then have a plethora of new / old clothes to wear.

in my dreams

After I reach the point where I can fit into my way impossible jeans, then I will tackle the ever elusive bathing suit monster.

Sprizzle

 So not much to report for this weekend except that it was nice, warm, and relaxing and that we had no plans for the first time ever, and I was in heaven.  Saturday we had brunch on the patio at Standard Diner and sat in the sun for 2hrs with our mimosas, yummy breakfast, and the newspaper.  We got to overhear some interesting conversations, did some people watching, and cheered on the anti-Libya / pro-peace demonstration parade that came down Central.  Then we headed home to walk los perros to the park and there was a lady there with her kid and they had this miracle contraption called a 'Summer Sled.'  It's like a normal sled, but you lay on your belly, head first, and it has big truck wheels on the bottom.  I was scared at first, but then loved it.  We let them play ball with our dogs and we hijacked their sled.

the hill is actually a lot bigger than the pictures depict

After our summer sledding we were gonna drop by a PRN work party real quick and then maybe watch some basketball with friends.  We ended up staying at the work party allll night long (i know, me? really?) and we had lots of fun.  We also got to see super moon rise from the roof top! 

On Sunday I nursed my hangover with some Golden Pride and Starbucks and then we met my mom at the dog park for some catching up.  Then we cleaned the house top to bottom (I even cleaned the carpets!) and it felt sooo good to relax afterwards and watch the Harry Potter marathon with the house glistening and sparkling.  We went to family dinner and then finished the weekend off with a night of 30 rock episodes (the same way we started the weekend)....love the weekends.  Luckily I have a three day work week ahead of me and the next weekend will be here before you know it!  (along with D's birthday -- I've hit a wall in thinking of birthday surprise ideas -- argh -- and our anniversary -- we are taking the train to Santa Fe -- yayay!).

Happy Monday!

Erin go Bragh!

I know it's a little early, but  I never know if I'll have time to blog later in the week, and a St. Patty's post is definitely a priority!   

I'm a quarter Irish thanks to my Grandpa Mac (McGrath) and although I only have nose freckles as evidence, I am a proud Irish lass, through and through.

My Grandpa Mac died this time of year (and coincidentally was also born this time of year) when I was in the 2nd or 3rd grade, and shortly after, my dad bought me some St. Patrick day clovers and told me that my grandpa was Irish, and I am Irish these were lucky Irish clovers.  I had a giant queen sized bunk bed and they lived up there with me for a long long time.  Eventually my dad divorced and when we moved out, the clovers got left behind and forgotten, but like ten years later, my step mom gave me my clovers back!

They have little bulby roots and they grow and grow and you can split them up into new pots.  Over the years she had replanted them again and again and had multiples all over the house.  The babies that she gave me grew and eventually tapered off (I'm a bad plant mommy), and last fall she brought me a new batch to start over with.  This one plant from 1993 has gone on and on and on and on...and here it is, almost 20 years later and it's still going strong!  

I just replanted this little baby with some new soil and she is already doing better :)

 It's really cool to own something for so long and always have this little reminder of my Irish roots and my Irish grandpa.  I will be taking it with me everywhere I live and will split it up and give grandpa clover plants to my kids and grand kids and great grand kids.

Happy Early St. Patrick's Day!

Current Events!

1.  Last week I led a few training sessions at work...and survived.  They went pretty well and I feel at ease going back to work tomorrow to give the last session, but after this I'm done!  No more trainings, ever.  I can now list on my resume that I have trained my colleagues on an internal operating system, and I will ask for a starting salary of $1,000,000.  Thank you very much.

2.  yowzer!  So much is going on in the world the past few weeks!  There is so much international news lately it's been hard to keep up with it, there's more and more everyday.  Of course reading all the news makes me thankful that I live a fairly quiet life, but also makes me wish there was more I could do besides just sending good thoughts.  It's so hard to believe all the change that is going on and the world is soo big and there are so many lives affected by nature and by man made institutions and that good things happen and bad things happen and this is the ebb and flow of the world.  yowzer x2. 

3.  Last weekend I bought a ton of frames at a thrift store and then jazzed them up with some ivory satin spray paint.  It took me a few days but I'm pretty happy with the final product.  At first I thought the pictures looked too bunched up on the wall, but I hope to eventually add two larger frames on either side to kinda balance it out and also maybe put a table or short long bookshelf underneath so it looks all tied together and intentional.

two coats of paint = two cans of spray paint

I tried out multiple arrangements, it was frustrating to say the least

 

 4.  David has been a crazy workaholic the last week and I think things are finally winding down.  There were massive problems at work and he handled all the millions of phone calls with grace and poise.  I was very very proud of him and it gave me a glimpse into the future when he is the high powered executive of a solar powered medical equipment start up company.  He has come a long way in this job, and quite frankly I think he has surpassed it and should move on to a new project.  He will only move up and up and up, and at his current company, I'm afraid he might just get stuck frantically running in place.  Naturally, things will work themselves out and we will both end up doing something completely different than what we started with.

5. I just got a call from one of my really good girlfriends that she got engaged over the weekend!  We are both on the same page as far as not being over hyped about engagements (she and her dude have been together for 8 years) but more interested in finally just doing the deed, but I'm still so happy for her!  Still can't believe we are grown ups now.  I filled the warm afternoon with memories of her and her soon to be hubby, memories that date back to high school...craziness. 

6.  Holy heck!?  it's SPRING!!!  the time change is official and now I am back to enjoying the looonnnnnggg days.  You've never seen a girl as happy as me when I go to lunch at 6pm and the sun is still high in the sky.  I get to sit outside and take walks on the bike paths and drive with the windows down....LOVE daylight savings / springtime.  Also in Spring news, some tulips came up!  and like clockwork, those naughty dogs dug them up and ate the bulbs. 

7.  This weekend we FINALLY got a car trailer from U-Haul and brought the Jeep down from Santa Fe.  It's been about six weeks that D's aunt has had our car in her driveway, and she was sooo gracious and never called us to get it the heck outta there.  But we did, bc we need to figure out what to do will el Jepe, and we can't do anything with it until it is actually here, in ABQ.  We borrowed D's bro's truck and headed up!  It was a nice day and a really nice little car trip and we reminisced about the good times and road trips we took in el Jepe...may he rest in peace.

Now that D has seen Jepe's face again, he wants to fix him and resell him....but I'm putting my foot down on this one.  It's time to say goodbye and let someone else take care of Jeep defects.

Blast-o from el past-o

I just got off work.  It's a Friday night.  I'm not as spent as I usually am and am willing to put a little more time in behind the computer to get one last post out before the end of the week.

My poor poor Dave is in the office, switching back and forth from multiple calls, trying to fix some work messes.  He has been working non stop since his first call at 630 am and it's now 1039 pm.  Craziness.  So here I am, in my comfy chair with a glass of wine (what a treat!) and I'd like to share a little project that I've been working long and hard on for a few days now....What can it be?!  diy>!?  poetry?  spring planting?  nope, something much more fulfilling:  uploading the photos from my phone onto the tmobile site, sending them to flickr, and then copy and pasting them onto my hard drive!!! (in the meantime I think I racked up phone bill up pretty high sending all the pics to my tmobile account, but pics are priceless right?)  I've been on a pics kick lately.  Photo books, photo prints, and now phone pics.

Let me give you some background:  this lil Samsung has been with me for three years.  She and I are perfect for each other.  She rings and I answer.  That's all we really need from each other and it's just an added bonus that she also takes tiny, no flash, low res, 1.3 mega pixel pics.  When I went to India three years ago, she was brand new, and when I forgot to bring the battery for my real camera, Samsung camera phone came in very handy (people in India had not yet experienced the camera + phone phenomenon, they were still excited by camera + mp3 music player, so when I'd hold it up in the air and aim at something, I got a lot of crazy looks).  It was two weeks til we found a camera shop that had a Canon camera battery and so I snapped with my phone in the meantime.

Time has flown since then and she is still going strong, but I worry for the day that I accidentally drop her in the toilet (a known weakness of mine) or she gets run over by a car (don't leave your phone on the roof of your car while driving!) and then I would lose all kinds of precious picture memories.  So thanks to work being slow / me being lazy, I got them all uploaded and saved down.

Please, take this trip with me down phone India pictures memory lane:



This is the first pic I ever took.  David sleeping at Il Vicino



Cheers to being fresh off the plane and in utter shock of your surroundings sister!


view atop a winding road in the Himalayas during a grueling 12 hour bus ride



 



(basic picture caption summary:  Himalayas, Ganges River, Taj Mahal)