The Four Day Weekend From Hell

Hey guys! So we dealt with another insane weekend again. It seems like these will never end! Last Friday the Rocky Horror cast did a special charity show at Ohlone College. It felt like things didn't stop from there! Patrick trained on-site at Berkeley College Monday through Wednesday and then trained from home on Thursday and Friday. When Thursday came, we did not stop moving! We finally have a cooling off period this week where Patrick has some time to relax and doesn't have to train.

On Tuesday, I made the courageous decision to meet Patrick in Berkeley for dinner. What made this such an important step for me is that in order to get there, I had to take public transportation. By myself. For about an hour. So I took a deep breath and got in my car, drove to the BART station, put money on my BART card, found the correct train, and boarded. Because it's very hard to hear the conductor announce the stops, I counted the stops every time we paused to let people off and on by checking them off of a map that I had Patrick print for me. Let me tell you, BART is still not my favorite mode of transportation. It was very stressful. A woman with a screaming baby sat next to me. And then another woman started screaming at the woman with the screaming baby, telling her to shut it up. And then a man came through the trains playing his accordion and begging for change. It was all very nerve racking. When I finally arrived in Berkeley, I was all too glad to get off of the train and above ground again! We were both very proud of my accomplishment, and it really made me feel independant, which I've been sorely needing lately.

So on Thursday, a couple of Patrick's friends invited us to hang out with themselves and a few others at their house. We went for drinks and socialization, which was a good way for us to get started with everything that we had coming up. It was super nice to finally get to hang out with some of these people one on one and get to know them.

While Patrick was teaching on Thursday, I found a cute picture online of daisy nails. I did my own twist on them and they turned out really great!

On Friday, after Patrick was done teaching class, Patrick and I headed over to the local Mazda dealer!

***Let me preface this bit of the blog by saying that I do not have a new car.

 Hercules the 2000 2 door Grand Am is still my baby.*** 

On a night where Patrick and I were just bored and wanted to go for a walk, we decided to go over to the place where many of the dealers are nearby. They all sit on one road. We parked the car and walked through the different lots, pricing cars for me for when I eventually get a job and start making enough money for a car payment (which I never thought possible, but hey, minimum wage here is higher than in Michigan and I do have a decent amount of work experience. We have high hopes for a good job for me, we're just still searching for a good fit). At the end, we found ourselves on the Mazda lot, where Patrick started looking at a car. He was really impressed with the features being offered at the car's price, along with the look and color of it, so the following day we test drove it. He still really liked the car, but sat on it for a while because we didn't have the time to sit down and think it through and he didn't want to make a rash decision.

Finally we were able to make it up there. Patrick was pleased with the deal we were able to make, and we walked out with a new lease on a brand new 2014 Mazda 6! I still have yet to it, but I'm very comfortable with being the passenger in this car. It has so many cool features! Voice command, a back up camera, headlights that turn when you turn so they illuminate where you're driving, and an automatic back suspension lift when you put the car in reverse. It's an incredibly smooth drive and we both really love the car. We went back to the house and got ready to head over to James and Aimee's house for Aimee and Nate's joint Tiki Kiki birthday party! It was fun! We brought our own individual pineapple upside down cakes, which were a hit, and the rest of the food was delicious! Patrick got to show off his new car and we headed home pretty tired and ready for bed.

On Saturday we welcomed a new addition into our home! Patrick already had a hamster (although female, he named it Wall E, after the Disney Pixar film, because the type of hamster is a Robo Dwarf Hamster), and he bought the little guy two connecting tanks, so we decided to get Wall E a friend! Welcome, Eva! She's super cute and tiny and all mine. I love her.

Our buddy, Wall E. He (actually a she, but whatever), needed a friend!

Wall E (right) and Eva (left)!

After we got Eva, we ran a few more errands and then chilled out (napped, made ribs for dinner, watched Hercules, ect.) until the Rocky show. When we got there, we discovered that they were short on security, so I was recruited for pat downs and purse checks after helping out with unloading the truck and moving things around the stage. It is official that I'm being sucked into the Rocky Cast, anyways, I just have paperwork to fill out. I'm already a part of their upcoming "special show," Spaceballs. After there were a couple of drops from the show, there were a lot of re-casts, and a spot opened up that needed to be filled. Therefore, I have a 17 second (or something like that) part in the movie where I play an organ and scoff.

Mmm, thanks Patrick! 

***Side note: About a week and a half ago, while Patrick was training, I walked to 7-11 to get some snacks. On my walk back, I started eating my snacks. On the last bite of my Steak and Jack Taquito, I realized that I was supposed to be on a pescetarian kick. So that day, I gave up. Yay ribs!

After a long night that ended with pure exhaustion and snippy comments because I was so tired, we went home and I fell asleep within a minute of removing my makeup and shoes. I cannot remember the last time I was so tired that I didn't even want to walk up the stairs to the apartment.

On Sunday we ran a couple of errands again and stopped on the way home at In-N-Out! My first In-N-Out experience!

Patrick's animal style cheeseburger and fries.

My mustard-grilled cheeseburger with mustard and ketchup only.

Mmm, strawberry shake. 

While I enjoyed Patrick's animal style fries, I thought my burger was incredibly plain. Then again, In-N-Out is a restaurant for people who like to have it their way, when really, I will accept a McDonald's cheeseburger, and essentially that is what I ordered. So while it's not my cup of tea, it's definitely a better option for someone who is willing to eat outside of the box.

After we finished errands, we had a very short amount of time to get ourselves together and get to Shannon and Jared's for a Spaceballs prop building session and rehearsal (we woke up really late because we got home so late the night before). I was excited to help out because this is definitely something I'm good at. I love crafts and creating something out of things that you wouldn't normally create them out of! I helped by making a sattelite dish out of cardboard and a kiddie pool with Patrick and then I helped Jack put plastic wrap around his giant hair dryer that he made out of cardboard, plastic, and accordion piping, and then we paper macheted it. I felt really useful and was glad to help!

The cloud cover looked like a giant snow drift on the way to Shannon and Jared's. So pretty!

So that's really the end of things that have happened since my post. Really quickly I just want to thank everyone for reading my blog. If you've found yourself here, I want to thank you. I don't live the most exciting life, but for someone who started in the trashy corner of Livonia and somehow found herself right outside one of the most famous cities in the US (and NOT one known for its crime rates and newly announced bankruptcy!), it's just really incredible to realize that two months ago I was serving ice cream and renting out movies for a living. I also want to thank those of you who supported me when I decided to take this step in my life. Your support and love means the world to me and I could not have made it here without knowing there are so many people back home who have my back! You guys are awesome!