Broccoli and Chocolate

I recently spent a good two hours wondering around the Disneyland of grocery stores. Nestled, okay, not exactly nestled; Taking Over a large portion of Irvine's "The District" is the most amazing grocery store I've ever stepped foot into. I suppose calling it a "grocery store" is an understatement, this title alone is not exactly capable of summing up all that is Whole Foods. You want a fresh squeezed carrot+ apple concoction? Juice Bar. Espresso? Coffee Bar. Gelato? Sushi? Tacos? Hamburger? Deli sandwich? The most amazing pastries, cakes, and chocolates? You name it, it most likely has its own isle or restaurant. Whole foods combines the "style" of the food-court in the mall and "feel" of an outdoor market, with the gourmet qualities of Bristol Farms or Gelson's. Sure it has fruits, vegetables, fish& poultry, your standard deli, and all the makings of a run of the mill: Vons, Ralphs, or Albertsons. However, I'm convinced that once you enter Whole Foods, there's no turning back.







A tip...
Try the buffet for lunch, mmmm.
When I think of a buffet, I think Sizzler or Home-town buffet "all you can eat" deals. But I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at all the fun choices: vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free, or for those of you who enjoy "normal" food...they've got that too!


I know this is a bit extreme, a whole blog dedicated to a grocery store? Really? But my, oh my, it was quite a noteworthy experience and I'm convinced that others would also benefit from a visit.

Speak When Spoken To.

It has been a while,and I have a lot of things that are of little, or no importance to ramble about.

I start my first day of training as a teller for Wells Fargo Bank, on Monday.
Should be interesting, I love interacting with people, however, all that money counting... I'm a tad intimidated. It's a new adventure though, long gone are the days of dress selling and smoothie making(maybe not too far gone). Time to look on toward a more grown up future, one that includes business apparel, account managing, and check cashing.

No more pencils, no more books...

I Wrapped up my fourth semester last week.
Slightly disappointed by my grade turn out this semester. No matter how hard I tried, somehow receiving an A, was just not in the cards for me. Every test that I studied longer for, every project I put more effort into, received a B. If I don't try, I get a low B, if I do try, I get a high B. Which leads me to feel as if putting in the extra effort is not truly worth it, since most of my classes are not graded on the plus minus system. So I rarely receive B+ or B-(s). I'm not trying to sound ridiculous here, I am grateful to receive the B's, but you know...I'm shootin' for the stars here...and I'm not even coming close. I just do not appreciate it.

I'm over-joyed at the prospect of my dear friends joining me at Cal State Fullerton in the upcoming Fall or Spring semesters. Blythe, Priscilla, possibly Austin James, and some other freshman that are graduating this month. Yay!

Loathe at first sight...
Those little decals that people can put on their cars, the white stick figures with: the mommy, the daddy, the children, and of course the family pet. You know what I'm talking about. I've also seen little skulls with the same theme, a little skull with a bow, a little dog skull. Really? Today while with some friends, I saw a red mini-van with a similar family of characters strewn across the rear window. Except this family was slightly different than most that I have seen, this one had a man and a woman, with what looked like, 10 assorted animal figures in a straight line. It was like the woman was a "cat-lady" with 5 cats crammed into her apartment, and the guy was a "man's best friend" kind of dude. Together, they made this "our pets are our children" kind of couple. Terrible, Terrible.

Tonight, I went to see one of my youth girls (Carrie, I have youth girls!) perform in her school play. It was cute, fun, witty and at times a bit risque. I bought tickets for five dollars each(not bad), only to find out that since I attend KFC it should have been free. I stifled an FML...and attributed it to being for a good cause, since the production was put on by my former high school. Anyway, half way through the show my companions and I started noting interesting cast members. My favorite: an awkwardly tall kid, who was featured in every scene, and yet, had only one line throughout the entire two hour play. He had long curly locks, that were secured in a pony tail throughout the duration of the play. He slightly resembled Michal Jackson, post plastic surgery make-over, and carried a bright red target purse after the play wrapped. Definitely, a note worthy character indeed.



There is a whole list of things that pop into my head from time to time, and I think..."I want to blog about this." But alas, just when I sit down to share my thoughts via a new post...they seem to escape me at that very moment.
For now, you'll just have to settle for a cross-section of the random thoughts that are currently floating around in my brain.

Cotton

It has come to my attention that cotton, recently adopted Zooey Deschanel as their official spokeswoman. I believe their decision deserves a standing ovation.

Mhhhhm.

Espionage

Just the CUTEST.

The Foreigner

For some reason when I'm at school I feel 100% out of my element. Thrown off guard, aimlessly wondering from class to the library, then back to class. It's really strange, considering the fact that I have spent two days out of every week on campus for the last two years. You think this "freshmen uneasiness" would have lessened by now.
I have a mess of reasons WHY I feel this way, floating around in my head. Yet I cannot thoroughly pin it down, why I STILL have this "stranger passing through" feeling in my own little "homeland" that is my college campus, is a mystery to me. Yet, the less I can identify the source of my foreign state of mind, the worse the feeling gets. As a result of this, I get the idea that I am unwittingly doing things to perpetuate the situation. Accidentally of course, but these incidents materialize themselves in a standard fashion(standard for me, at least), coming in the form of embarrassing, awkward moments.

To name a few:

-Today, I was casually walking from my first class to the Library...as I round the corner and start the ascent to the second floor computer lab: I slam palms down on the stairs. Just my luck, it is the time of day when everyone is heading to their next class, resulting in herds of people jamming the staircases. Which means; a sea of people witnessed my embarrassing episode. Only one guy asked if I was alright, thank you guy in the stairwell for caring.I practically ripped my feet off, and all I could choke out in response was "uhuh, thanks"

-It was the second day of what I have labeled as my "awkward class"(Not awkward due to the subject, but the general atmosphere). Comparative Religions 101, great class...bad moments. The first day of class, I came five minutes before class started and WOULD have had to sit on the ground if one of the guys had not offered to take my place on the ground, and give up his chair.Apparently, chivalry is alive and well.
Anyway, it is the second day of class and I arrive slightly earlier than before and start looking for a seat. All of the sudden, this line of guys in the back row start waving at me and pointing to a seat just in front of them. I was slightly caught of guard, unused to such uncanny attention. I get all nervous, and start stumbling toward the chair, feeling awkward and relatively embarrassed. Then as I am right in front of them, practically seated in "the seat"...I notice they all kind of sigh. Like a disappointed, "oooh". Then I look back to see that their friend is right behind me, then I realize that the waving and gesturing was for him; as was the chair. Then trying to repair things, I start mumbling "Do you want me to move? The chair was for him, right?" Making things MORE awkward and worsening the situation, when one guy replies "No it doesn't matter, whatever you want to do".To my delight, I get to see these same guys EVERY Tuesday and Thursday. Needless to say, I stay clear of all vacant seats within close proximately to them and try to avoid making eye-contact.

-I generally use the school printers for printing my black and white homework assignments, attempting to save my at-home supply of paper/ink for more important assignments, and pay the 5 cents to print stuff at school. On one occasion, I arrive at school early(quite a task for me) and run to the library to print my homework for my next class. I set it all up, and go over to the printer to collect my work. For some strange reason my stuff is not printing, I scan my card to pay the fee, and try to print again and again. Nothing. So I approach the "help-desk", hoping to receive some assistance. I tell the lady my dilemma and she says "She'll TRY to help", it is NOT really her responsibility apparently, I appreciate it none the less. Anyway, we go to the printer and as we're walking up, the kid in front of me prints off something without a hitch. She asks me, "Why is HIS printing?", I try to ignore the irritation in her voice. Then she makes me show her step-by-step what I did, first grade status. I hit print, swipe my card and to my expectation: nothing happens. She looks at the screen closer and says at an embarrassingly high decibel "You Don't have any money, Honey". Apparently, without me noticing, I had run down the balance on my card. She made sure, that everyone on the second floor knew this as well. Mortified.

See what I mean about awkward moments? My, oh my.

Sketch

So I was walking out of work, along the sidewalk, today. Minding my own business. Talking on the phone. When a white SUV with dark windows rolls up, I see someone waving and then they start honking. I think to myself, "perhaps I know this person?". I couldn't really tell, so I keep walking. Then the car pulls to the curb, and is honking. The occupant rolls down their window. I'm thinking "Maybe they need directions". I find out JUST how naive I am, when I back up a few steps and look in the window. I see a guy, leaning across the seat, who yells out "You're beautiful!". I laugh, and let out an "Oh my gosh"(In as rude a tone as I can muster) and walk away. I hear "Wait, Why are you walking away?!"

I keep walking, needless to say.
So sketchy. I feel like a little kid, I'm far too naive.
Maybe it was the honking that threw me off guard.

Home Alone

My parents have been gone for the last two weeks, visiting my brother and his family in North Carolina. This is the second time they've left us to fend for ourselves since we've come of a relatively responsible age. I love it, free reign of the house and cars, no restrictions, no need to keep things too tidy, until D-day when my parents return. Basically, I think if living on my own included a free car, and a free house...I could handle myself quite nicely.

However, I can't say the same for the baby of the family. My younger brother has had a slightly more difficult time adjusting. The guy wants to know where I am every minute of every day, texts me saying that he is "cold and alone", always asks me to come home, and goes into a frenzy when he finds out I'll be home late.

My parents stocked the fridge before they left and gave us food money, we're totally set(and spoiled). But tonight, he was complaining that his arteries are going to become clogged after all the fast food he's been eating. He refuses to buy milk for breakfast(can't afford it, he says) and yet consumes Del Taco like its going out of business.

My, Oh my.
What will I do with him?

Plus sides:
He has been cleaning the kitchen(total new developement). He told me that he knew I didn't mind living in filth, but he could not stand it any longer. Ironic words coming from a 17 year old, mother-proclaimed, slob.