Wish and wish again that I was in Michigan

My parents googled my name with my company's name and came across this blog. I don't really care all that much because I don't write anything in here that I should be embarrassed of. Well, actually I probably write TONS of stuff that I SHOULD be embarrassed of, I'm just not embarrassed. I thought about deleting this whole thing or making it private, but after there's really nothing to hide. I don't do drugs or engage in outrageous sexual escapades (is that a sigh of relief I hear?), so what's there to hide from the parents? Besides, now at least I know that next time I go on a week-long binge of drugs and loose women, I'll be sure not to post it on the internet.

I'm back in Michigan. It's freezing and there's snow on the ground and I absolutely love the fact that I only have to deal with it for a short period of time. Although I do appreciate that people out here know how to make a goddamn left turn. One thing I didn't appreciate was being the one sitting next to the stupid crying baby on my flight. Then again, I did get bumped to first class when I came home for Thanksgiving, so I can't complain. Without the bitter, the sweet just ain't as sweet. Likewise, once you have the sweet, the bitter sucks ass.

A few months ago I interviewed for a new job at my company. I just got the offer before break. Even though pay is the same, I'm going to be assisting in development which I'm really excited about. I'll be organizing things and answering phones and drawing up reports and doing research, none of which sounds all that exciting as I say it, but trust me this is a good move. It will be nice to have my own desk and computer and not be the office bitch anymore. Mike and Jim knew how bad I wanted the job and how much I was suffering through the hardships of being a PA as I waited for word on the new position. To show their support, I was drenched in a champagne celebration on our balcony when I got home that night. It was awesome.

Anyone else wonder why Britney's sister didn't just get an abortion? Would have been a whole lot easier is all I'm saying.

I went to the dentist. I really like going to the dentist. This time I got him to say "them's some healthy chompers!" When I was little I had to get a tooth pulled and asked if I could scream. He didn't take me seriously and said I could scream. You bet your ass I screamed as loud as I could. I've been told that I scared the shit out of several children in the waiting room.

I went back to Vegas last weekend. It was rather impromptu. My friend Brynne (of Twist & Shout and Little Caesar's fame) IM'd me on Wednesday asking if I had a car and wanted to hang out over the weekend. I asked if she was in California. She said no, but that I should go to Vegas for her wedding. Never one to pass up one of life's fun surprises, I took Monday off and made reservations to go on Sunday for the wedding. That night I picked Zach up from the airport. Turns out he and Cam and Amanda were going to Vegas on Saturday night, so I ended up hitching a ride with them and going a day early. We had a blast. Zach and Cam saw Celine Dion, and Amanda and I did an excellent job of entertaining ourselves while we waited for them to get out. The four of us bought those tacky-spring-break-in-South-Pedro half yard margarita glasses and carried them around for a while. When we stumbled back into the hotel around 3am, Zach and I spent the better part of two hours using them as props in some ridiculous game that went on far too long and destroyed my voice. I yell a lot when I drink. I yell a lot more when I drink in Vegas.

So that's the update. I'm home. I got a promotion (of sorts). I went to Vegas. Ummm....so yeah.

Hi I'm here.

I'm going to keep this short because I still haven't watched the Futurama movie (tried to last night but fell asleep at like midnight. Pathetic.) and I want to do that, read, and run today. Since it's only 2:30, you'd think that I have plenty of time to get all of that done and then some, but that's not the case for me. Once you take into account the hours of needless puttering and ridiculous internet searching I do, there's not a lot of time for good, planned fun.

Writing every day never worked out. Nobody blogs anymore. Remember when we were all so addicted to sharing every intimate detail of our lives? No way would we have believed 11 months ago that this was just a fad. I've been staring at those pictures of Baggy with a mustache for weeks now. Dani has updated twice since Halloween, both of them being lackluster To-Do lists. Dangles is most reliable but I skip the Coffee Shop reviews and don't pretend you don't do the same. There really is no excuse for me. I should be writing more, period, whether it's my treatment or a spec script or even some lame ass blog where all I do is talk about how lazy I am. Here's a poll I found. I'm going to use it as a template for the rest of this. It's about 2007.

1) DRINKING BUDDY OF THE YEAR
The roommates, definitely. I basically didn't drink from February until July, but once we moved in together, I quickly made up for lost time.

2) LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD (longest friend)
I met Alicia my Freshman year, and despite me being in LA and her being in China, we're still close.

3) NEWCOMER AWARD - COOLEST NEWEST FRIEND?
I'd have to say Flavin. Even though we were always friends, we weren't that close but now that we live together we are a pair of ridiculous sons of bitches.

3)HIGH POINT OF THE YEAR?
Raising $3,999 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and running the Walt Disney World Half Marathon. Yup, that was 2007.

4) LOW POINT OF THE YEAR?
When both of my Grandpas died within 10 days of each other. Grandpa Ochoa died on the 4th of July and my roommates were too busy getting shitfaced with the neighbors all day to seem to care at all. Went home. On my way to visit my Grandma in the hospital (she couldn't go to her husbands funeral because she had just had open heart surgery) we got a call that Grandpa Balagna had a stroke. I flew back home and two days later got the call that I need to go back to Michigan for a second funeral.

5) BEST HOLIDAY?
My Birthday. I was back in Chicago for graduation, got to see everyone there, then went home to my family, then celebrated turning 23 with a party thrown by Millie, Marisol, and Annie at Midway during my layover.

6) YOUR SONG FOR 2007
"Starlight" by Muse. I listend to it every day on my way to my internships.

7) MOVIE FOR 2007?
"Knocked Up," motherfuckers. "Knocked Up."

10) WHO DID YOU SPEND VALENTINES WITH?
I don't even remember. Was I still in Chicago? Either way, the answer is still no one.

11) BEST RELATIONSHIP?
Next question, please.

12) WHAT WERE YOU FOR HALLOWEEN
A carnie!

13) RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR?
MexiCali. It's walking distance, the food is edible, and the Margaritas are (usually) strong and tasty.

14) KISS OF THE YEAR?
I'm going to say nothing more than it was in January, we almost got murdered that night, and it wins out of sheer ridiculousness, not romance. The other party involved should know exactly what I'm talking about.

15) BEST DECISION MADE THIS YEAR?
Move to LA? I think?

16) MOST INTERESTING DRUNK STORY?
See question 14.

17) TV SHOW OF THE YEAR?
Veronica Mars. Rest in Peace.

18) MOST LOYAL FRIEND?
That's hard. I can't pick one over any others.

19) BIGGEST CHANGE OF THE YEAR?
Moving across the country.

20) NEW YEAR RESOLUTION?
Run a marathon. Keep working on my attitude problems.

I'm home for Christmas in two weeks. Thanksgiving wasn't very relaxing at all (did I ever write about that?) so I'm excited to have eight days to do nothing in particular. I really want to snowboard when I'm home, but will have to rent one since I already brought my board out here and don't feel like lugging it back again. I'm also excited beyond belief to go back to Chicago for New Years. Now that I'm a grown up and doing grown up things, I can't wait to be with my old friends and act like a complete jackass once more.