Birthday Weekend & General Life Update!

"Pardon me while I burst 
A decade ago, I never thought I would be. 
A twenty three on the verge of spontaneous combustion. Woe-is-me."

- Incubus, "Pardon Me"

Hey everyone! I had a FANTASTIC birthday weekend and I thought I would share it with all of you! I know I've posted quite a few "issue" related posts lately (more article-like than blog posts), so I thought you all could use a life update!

Patrick didn't have to travel for work for all of January and is just now going on his first business trip of the year to Austin Texas, so we've been able to spend a lot of time together! He really needed to get out of the house, though. I kid you not, he rearranged his office four times and the living room five times. He gets stir crazy after a while of strictly working from home!

Friday was February 6th, the day before my birthday, and I got to have a really great birthday dinner! Last month, I told Patrick that I wanted to "have a birthday dinner with our close friends at a sushi place" and let him run with the idea. He began inviting our friends to go out with us... until we found out that our chosen restaurant would be closed for the month of my birthday! Boo! He had already began inviting people and because we ended up having to switch restaurants, the guest list had to be cut off where it was (we had actually over-invited guests!). Even though I wish everyone had been able to come, especially the ones we got to invite, some people ended up not being able to make it so we did end up fitting in the space we reserved, which was a relief but definitely a bummer because it meant people weren't able to make it.

Regardless, I ended up having an AMAZING birthday dinner! We reserved two tatami rooms with the divider between them removed at a Japanese restaurant in San Carlos called Kaigan Sushi, where we've eaten several times before, but it was my first time in a tatami room!

For those who don't know (because I sure didn't until I moved here), a tatami room can be many different things depending on what context you're using it in, but in our case it was a small room with a raised floor and a step to get into. You take off your shoes and place them below the step, and then walk up into the room and sit at a sunken table. I could try my hand at describing it, which would likely turn out really poorly, or I could show you this nice image, courtesy of Google.

Example of our tatami room, courtesy of Google Images.

As you can see, the table is sunken in and the seating is one long, continuous bench around the table. Though our seats did not have chair bases, we did have some nice chair cushions to sit on! Our tables were smaller than the one in the image, though. 

Patrick and I headed out several hours early to account for traffic, and even though we had had an entire week of clear, beautiful weather, it started raining on Friday morning and really hasn't stopped much since, and now it's Sunday! We overshot the traffic a little bit, so to kill time Patrick and I did a little bit of various shopping (specifically searching for one item-- I'll explain later), and he ended up with a new coat and I got a new pair of Captain America PJ pants! Yay Target! 

When it got closer to the reservation time and we finally got to San Carlos and found parking, we trudged through the rain and eventually got to sit down to dinner. We all ordered various dishes, and I had an appetizer of shrimp tempura and gomae (steamed spinach in a sesame sauce) and then a chicken teriyaki bento box, which included grilled chicken in a teriyaki sauce, a small salad with a sweet, creamy dressing, sticky rice, California rolls, fried dumplings, and miso soup. I'm a little picky, so I gave away my fried dumplings and I only ate the crab out of my California rolls (is that disrespectful? I think it is but it was my birthday so I think I get a pass), but everything else was DELICIOUS!

For dessert, we had my traditional assorted variety birthday cheesecake (my slice was chocolate cheesecake with chocolate drizzle and chocolate chips-- YUM). It just wouldn't be my birthday without an assorted variety cheesecake!

*Fun fact, I was talking to my mother on Saturday and she told me about a random craving for cheesecake that she had. She ended up purchasing an assorted variety cheesecake and eating only one slice, which was the same exact type that I did-- not even knowing that that was what I'd eaten 18 hours before. How's that for ESP? 

After dinner was over, some people decided to head home while the rest of us headed over to our favorite Hawaiian restaurant down the street, Noelani's! They have the BEST french fries (I don't even normally like french fries!) and drinks for those who like alcohol (I still can't get a taste for it) and so we sat outside on their heated patio by a nice fire while it rained all around us. It was so cozy and beautiful!

On Saturday, the actual day of my birthday, we had a Rocky show to do! However, Patrick had to leave for Texas on Sunday morning, so we worked it out with our friend Delfino that we would drive to his house, he would drive us to the show, then we would drop Patrick off at the airport directly from the show, then we would drive back to Delfino's house, and then I would drive home from there. I ended up going to bed at 5:30am, but it as worth it to have been able to go to the show!

Our show this weekend was one of our special theme shows, so instead of the normal characters, each character dressed up as a different cartoon character! We had examples like Tina and Louise Belcher (Bob's Burgers), Scar (Lion King), Betty Boop, Jessica Rabbit and Roger Rabbit (Who Framed Roger Rabbit), and a set of Minions (Despicable Me)! The show was fantastic and the most fun I've had at a show since probably October. I'm so proud to be a part of such an awesome cast!

And now for the part we've all been waiting for... PRESENTS! I had a bunch of fantastic, thoughtful presents this year, but there are some that I really want to give mention to!

On Friday, Patrick gave me my early birthday present of...

An Instax Mini Instant Camera! 

Do you know how hard it is to find film for this thing in stores (which is what we were searching for before dinner on Friday)? I'll tell you: It's next to impossible! We didn't find ANY! It's going to have to come from Amazon!

(Most of) The gang's all here! Thank you all so much for coming out to my birthday dinner, it meant so much to me! 

:) I love this guy!

On Friday I also got a random, unexpected package in the mail! It was...

A pair of Bluetooth headphones from my dad! 

My dad and I have always been able to connect through music and it was so cool that he sent me these. They're so awesome! I've been wanting a pair since Patrick got himself a pair for Christmas, and out of the blue I get a pair on my doorstep from my dad! He didn't even know I wanted them!

On Saturday, my actual birthday, I woke up and Patrick was gone. When he got back, he had me open my already wrapped presents, and I got... 

A new water bottle (and two extra ice sticks)! 

This might seem silly, but I was so stoked about this water bottle! I'm really picky about stuff, so when I find something I like, I usually try to stock up (and if you follow me on Twitter you know my struggle of trying to find a good pair of slippers... And how when I found a good replacement pair for my ones that are tearing, I bought five pairs...). During my trip to Michigan in December, I kind of "adopted" one of my grandparents' water bottles and ended up taking it home with me because I loved it so much, and it has been attached to my hand ever since! I never go anywhere without it, but I wanted a backup for when I need to wash it so I don't have to go without a water bottle. Lucky for me, even though the original bottle was probably 5+ years old, the same company still makes the same exact bottle, so Patrick ordered another one for me! I'm probably irrationally excited about my water bottle. I know I'm a crazy person. It's okay. He also ordered an extra two pack of ice sticks (since I lost the one to my original bottle) so now I have a nice rotation of three sticks so I can always have a nice cold drink :)

Then Patrick pulled a box out of his pocket. Apparently he had been out shopping that morning for a last minute gift. He bought me...

A diamond tennis bracelet!

We had just gotten an advertisement book from Kay Jewelers the other day in the mail and I had dog-eared a couple of bracelets that I really liked, and Patrick wanted me to have something shiny for my birthday, so he went out that morning and purchased the tennis bracelet I picked out. It is beautiful and I was blown away. I never expected it!

However, when I mentioned that I was worried that he would think I didn't like it because I wouldn't wear it just anywhere (I would be too afraid I would lose it, and I definitely wouldn't wear it to Wal Mart with my yoga pants and hoodie!), he took me back to the mall...

And got me the second bracelet that I had dog-eared in the advertisement! I think maybe Patrick has started taking crazy pills, but I'm not complaining!

I, of course, got several other awesome gifts, including flowers, balloons, and books, all from people I love very much! I had an amazing birthday! Thank you so much to everyone who was a part of it! You all sure know how to make a girl feel special :)

Caste's 18th Birthday, Disneyland, & A Special Shoutout

Hey guys! This is going to be a bit of a combo post because I need to recap my week or so and I also wanted to do a blog post about something very important to me, but I know the important thing would be embarrassed if I did an entire post about it.

So first, let us recap!

This past weekend, we went to a party at a local pub called Cameron's (we've been there before, and we love it) for our cast's birthday party. This year, the Bawdy Caste turned 18! Yay! The party was full of drinking, laughter, and karaoke.

Lindsey!

The cutest couple EVER, Jules and Matthew

Mid West! I really hope this isn't a real gang sign.

Everyone, meet Jim Norman, aka "NAWMAN." Norman is originally from Ohio! He is my midwest buddy and I adore him. He works with our cast director, Jared, at the local high school as a teacher. I love hanging out with Norman because he gets my funny midwest quirks and he also has a much heavier accent than I do, so people make fun of him instead of me (just ask him to say warm Napa cabbage salad)! But seriously, Norman is an awesome guy-- and no, I won't stop calling you Norman, Norman. Midwesterners unite!

Directly after the party, Patrick and I left for Disneyland! Because of all of the hard work Patrick has been doing and is about to be doing (he is booked with training classes and on-site trips through the end of the year), we were rewarded with a trip to Disneyland, all expenses paid (or, well, the hotel and a really great meal paid) by his company. As always, we did a ton of walking, and my legs have still not recovered. We spent the first day in DCA and the second in Disneyland (but we stopped in DCA for lunch), and I got to meet a bunch of characters that I've never seen out before... including Frozone (not pictured) and Santa!!!

Max, Goofy's son, from "A Goofy Movie"

I got in line to see Buzz but he had to go take a break so Woody came out instead!

Howdy partner!

A tiny pie from room service! MMM!

On the Mark Twain. Fun fact- Walt Disney sold Tom Sawyer's Island (the island that the Mark Twain sails around) to Missouri back in the 60's. There is no proof of this that I can find, but if it's true, that island has a Missouri zip code!

My charm bracelet! Patrick bought it and some charms for me for my "300 days since I quit smoking" present. I LOVE it! I even went a little charm crazy and bought seven myself in addition to the five Patrick got me.

Disneyland was all decorated for Christmas! Yay! We even got to be around for the tree lighting at 5pm!

I'm a record catch!

I met Santa! Yay! Now let's see if I get those earrings for Christmas :)

Dug! (Up, 2009)

I know, I know, that was a TON of recapping, right? Sorry to bore you guys! But seriously, there wasn't much to say other than all of that was a grand ol' time and I enjoyed myself immensely. But you all know that I'm always good for some pictures!

Now, on to the important part!

Let me take you back to 1997. I was just 5 years old when I met her, a little girl wearing a overalls and a backpack twice her size. Her hair was insane, she had some serious Hermione Granger bangs going on, and she became my best friend-- just like that. We lived pretty close to each other, though neither of us knew this until we we were allowed to cross the main road to each others' houses. When you're a kid, car rides are always long, even if they're just a mile long. We grew up playing Bratz dolls and exploring in her house, irritating her brother, poking holes in the neighbor's bike tires because he was a jerk, and being the other's sister that she never had.

As we grew up, we didn't exactly know what we had. We always had other "best friends," and we still do, but our friendship was always the strongest of these relationships. It wasn't until we were older that we realized, "Hey, you're really not going anywhere, are you?" When it came time to enter high school, we didn't know what we would do because we were going to different schools. We cried on the last day of middle school and worried every time we hung out that something would change.

But let me tell you-- nothing changed. We grew up, we shared secrets, we spent months apart only to reunite like no time had passed. We took prom pictures together, attended each other's graduation ceremonies and cheered like lunatics, and while she went away to college, I stayed home and went to community college. We never expected some of the things that happened in our lives, but it made us stronger as a pair. After a couple of years, she moved down the street from me (and stayed there when she wasn't staying up at her place at her college), and up until I left for California, we spent almost every single night in her kitchen or her garage, just talking and laughing and making fun of each other the way girls do. Our moms became best friends, too, and as we got older, her brother stopped being a jerk and started being my brother, too. Her family adopted me in every sense of the word and mine took her in open-armed. To this day, she is the first person I call if I'm too upset breathe, the first to know any good news I have, and the first to comfort me with the bad. She would do anything for me-- like the night she drove over a half an hour to come get me at 10pm, got a speeding ticket, spent most of the night listening to me talk, and spent the entire next day making sure I was alright. She has always been the strongest person I know and has carried me through more than I could ever thank her for.

Our "best friend" piercings, which neither of us have anymore. Later, we replaced the significance of a piercing with something a little more permanent.

Our tattoos

I was an only child until I was 14 years old, but I've had a sister since I was 5. 

And so today, on the day I post this blog, my very oldest friend and sister, turns 21.

Erin, if you by chance read this-- too bad, I'm not taking it down. Also, remember, I have worse pictures than this, so you have to be my friend forever. I love you, I miss you, I'm so damn proud of you and the woman you've become, and happy birthday!

<3

The Bawdy Caste Takes Reno (the most Rocky Horror that you will ever see in one post)

Hey guys! It has been a CRAZY busy week! On Sunday night, we went over to Doug and Julie's house (friends from cast) for a pumpkin carving party! It was super fun. There were a ton of delicious snacks and we watched Tim Burton movies while we carved our pumpkins. Doug and Julie have taken to buying fake, hollow pumpkins and carving them so that they can keep them for the next year. I say that's genius, and with the design I did, I wish I had done it, too!

Julie's cupcakes were adorable!

I loved the use of the pumpkin candies here :)

My Scooby Doo pumpkin! 

Patrick's baby pumpkin with Perry the Platypus!  

Blimey! It's Harry Pumpkin!

For months now I have been looking forward to the Bawdy Caste's annual trip to Reno to do a show. When I found out that I could have the days off, I was just itching to get there and go on a little road trip with Patrick. On Monday morning we started our journey to Reno, but first we had to make it through the mountains-- which meant making it through the snow. What's funny is that, in Michigan, we have multi-weather tires for our cars. There is no need to switch tires out each season unless you're serious about making your tires last. But here, in California, there is really no need for that unless you live up near Tahoe. So when Patrick told me about his concern of the weather conditions for the trip, I thought he was nuts when he said he was going out to buy snow chains. I've never even heard of that except for things like large trucks or farm equipment (aka things that would need to drive on unpaved roads). We made it through to Reno with little to no problem, but we were fortunate enough to be able to drive earlier in the day, when the roads were just wet and not quite icy. A few other cast members were stuck going later in the day and ended up having to stop at Donner Pass (insert cannibalism joke here) and "chain up" so they wouldn't be ticketed.

Yay! Snow!

When we arrived, we checked in to our hotel, the El Dorado, which is one of three connected hotels that range in price and style. Each contains a casino on both the main and lower floors, along with tons of restaurants, bars, and small shops. There is even a game room in one of them for the underage guests. Luckily, I am over the legal age, so I got to gamble (for the first time ever)! Patrick gave us each an allowance and, surprisingly, we made back more than we spent at the slots. We spent the first day napping after our road trip, having cocktails with our friend Master Delfino, dinner at the buffet with a few other cast members for Victoria's birthday (happy birthday sweetie!), and then some gambling. We went to bed before everyone else because we are old souls, and we woke up the next day completely sober, not hungover, and well rested.

The majestic crew with their YARDS OF STRAWBERRY DAIQUIRI. Jack (the one on the far left) had a plan to get a first down of daiquiri, which meant that they would drink ten yards of the stuff. Here, they have 4 1/2 yards, and I know Jack filled up twice after that and Jeb got in on the goal by purchasing one, as well. No word on whether or not they made their fruity goal. Hehe

My first slot machine! To be honest, I find them more annoying than anything else. I don't like wasting money!

We went to breakfast and then spent the morning walking around the area with Master Delfino, hitting up the pawn shops nearby. Both Delfino and Patrick bought themselves watches, and Patrick paid for a really cool vintage ring with flowers on it (which I would put up a picture of, but I am having it resized) that I wanted to buy for myself. Afterwards we spend the day roaming around, napping, and being anxious about the show that night. Both of us just wanted it to start so we could see the venue and prepare ourselves. We brought all of our really big props and we knew that we would be lugging all of them up a freight elevator to the 4th floor, which we were not looking forward to.

Refills on the yard long daiquiris

The drunk fools of cast. Hey, it's Reno!

Photo credit: Kirsten Ward

Lindsey is a monkey! Love her. She's the one who cut my hair :)

Once we finally got there, we started unloading almost immediately. It turned out to be all okay! The venue was HUGE! They provided giant carts for us to roll our props up on, so it only took two or three trips to get everything up to the 4th floor. The University of Nevada, Reno was hosting our show and this year, they fully anticipated a big crowd. We found out when we arrived that they had three entire ballrooms set up and unseparated for the show, along with about 700 seats. The audience filled nearly every single one of them. It was truly incredible. Doing the Reno show was one of the most awesome things I have ever experienced. I can't wait until next year.

Jared as Riff Raff on the freight elevator, which had convenient chairs!

Jeb as Frank in his entrance costume. He danced to Miley Cyrus' "We Can't Stop"

The half of cast that wasn't too preoccupied for a cast photo

Photo credit: Shannon Wilke

Our trannies! Siobhan, Kirsten, Angela, and Victoria

Photo credit: Kirsten Ward

Our gorgeous Colombia, Lindsey

Photo credit: Kirsten Ward

Jack as The Criminologist

Photo credit: Shannon Wilke

Our INSANE audience

Photo credit: Shannon Wilke

After we came home, we pretty much rested all of Wednesday. Patrick taught a class on Thursday and, unfortunately because I had to work the next morning, that night he went to our Halloween show in the city and I stayed home. I really wish I had been able to go, there were some awesome costumes that he got pictures of! According to him, the girl dressed as Ramen Noodles won (rightfully so).

One of those "Wish I had thought of it" moments

Since I wasn't going to be doing anything for Halloween, I decided to do my makeup while Patrick was teaching. Tim Burton's "Red Queen" from the 2010 version of Alice In Wonderland

We spent another day working and being exhausted before we had to be ready for Saturday, which was yet another Rocky show-- but it was a very special show. We started this week with Reno, then moved to Halloween, and then to Saturday's show, which was the Bawdy Caste's 18th birthday and our regular MC Dan-o's very last show. That's right, the Bawdy Caste has been running for 18 years. We're finally legal and Dan-o decides to leave us.

Dan-o, throwing toilet paper at our crowd for the last time.

Boo! But seriously, Dan-o will be missed. I have never seen someone so effortlessly move a crowd to their feet and evoke such excitement from everyone he passes. He is leaving cast in order to pursue a life in politics (I guess wearing fishnets and corsets can totally sabotage your political career-- who knew?). I've only known him for a very short time (for less time than everyone else on cast because Dan-o isn't always able to make shows in the city) but from the moment I met him, I knew he was a wonderful person. Dan-o, on behalf of myself and the rest of the cast, I wish you the best of luck in your pursuits. You'll do well in whatever it is you do!