Life Lessons, Cats, & The Cheesecake Factory

Happy October, everyone! So I just wanted to interject a little bit here with a different subject. Normally, my blog is about my life here in California (which is super awesome!), but I was faced with something last week that I really wanted to address. This actual situation may not apply to some people, but the lesson is still the same, and I think that we can all learn from it. And then after my little tangent, we can return to your normal programming (my life).

Please feel free to skip the following section if you don't want to read words of wisdom and would rather see pictures of blue hair and cats. 

When I was in high school, there was a boy that I knew that was bullied relentlessly for no reason. Eventually, the bullying became so bad that there were reasons that people bullied him for (reasons that were caused by the bullying; defensiveness, anger, fighting, and obvious signs of depression). He was a brilliant person -- one of the smartest people I have ever met, but although he would participate in class, his school work suffered because he would spend class trying to ignore everyone. He rode my bus, so when I would board in the morning I would make sure to sit in the spot next to the aisle so that I could slide over when he boarded, that way he would have someplace to sit. Because even though I was too afraid to stand up for him, I could at least try to help by preventing the inevitable argument that would happen when he found no place to sit and no one would move over for him to sit down. For years after I graduated, I felt guilty. One of the best things I have ever done was messaging him on Facebook later and apologizing for never standing up for him. Yet, instead of being angry, he was also apologetic, telling me that he was sorry for never noticing my efforts to help him. At the end of our conversation, he told me that he held no grudge against me, and that the best thing that I could do for him now was to forgive myself and learn from everything that happened. His message rang loud and clear: "Take pride in what you have and what you've done, and worry less about what you didn't do and what you missed out on." I took that to heart and I let myself forgive myself for never standing up.

I had a great sense of pride in what I had done. I had righted my wrongs and I felt better. Then, recently, I was posting old pictures from middle school, and someone messaged me out of the blue, telling me that they had been wanting to tell me something for a while now and hadn't found the guts to say it. I was a little worried with where he was going with that, when he continued to apologize for being so outright rude to me in high school and that he knew I never deserved that kind of misdirected anger. It was funny, because until right then, I didn't even remember that he was ever unkind to me. But, apparently, it tormented him just as my situation tormented me. I let him know that there was absolutely nothing to worry about and that all was (literally) forgotten, and I passed on the message: "Take pride in what you have and what you've done, and worry less about what you didn't do and what you missed out on." It was a statement that was not meant for this situation, but still, the message of forgiveness was clear, and I added on my own bit: Just be a better person, and focus on the fact that you're a different person now. We all have a past. We all have regrets, whether we admit it or not. The best thing that we can do is move on, right our wrongs, and continue on to be great people and do great things.

AND NOW ON TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING!

So lately I've just been working a lot and spending time with Patrick! I love my job, truly I do. Cats have always been my favorite animal and I am thrilled to finally have a job that fits me so well as a person. 

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Sahib just cannot sit still for pictures. He would rather sniff me.

But I love spending my breaks with him! He won't stop rubbing all over you and demanding to be paid attention to :)

The least-blurry picture I could find of the fuzzy buddy

Everyone meet Stormy! He's ultra fluffy. 

And this is Donner, Stormy's brother. We love them! Everyone's favorite thing is to carry one in each arm and just be surrounded by fluffiness. 

Recently, I was having a really bad day right from the moment I woke up, so while I was at work and Patrick was on his lunch break, he went and got me a bit of a care package to remind me of how much he loves me! It was super sweet.

My favorites :)

Gorgeous!

The next night, we went out to dinner (which was supposed to be my treat). Patrick chose The Cheesecake Factory! I know he wouldn't normally have chosen that place, but for my sake, he did. We usually go to someplace that he likes and find something that I will either tolerate or try. But that night, he chose for us to go someplace that he knew I would enjoy. It's someplace that I've wanted to try since I started watching The Big Bang Theory (Penny, the main female character, works at one of these restaurants). Our dinner was alright (there were way too many choices to pick from, and I feel like I was cheated out of an awesome dinner because I couldn't even decide. I ended up with Fish N Chips, something I could get anywhere!), but our dessert was phenomenal! I loved my Kahlua Cocoa Coffee Cheesecake. We decided that, afterwards, we were going to go to Build A Bear. So Patrick picked up the dinner tab and we went to build our furry friends!

Finally!

The ridiculous menu

Mmmm

Coffee Cocoa Kahlua Cheesecake

Pineapple Upside Down Cheesecake

My bear, Sassy! She's a rainbow bear and she smells like cotton candy :)

My bear and Patrick's monkey, which he named Butt (Butt Monkey, get it?). Butt smells like Chocolate Mint :)

Then, this week, we went out for a little adventure (we went to Wal Mart, which I haven't been to since I left Michigan!). While we were there I picked up some hair dye, and afterwards we stopped at Cold Stone. 

Pumpkin and Cheesecake flavors mixed together? Yes please!

When we got home, I bleached some of my hair and dyed it blue! I've been planning on a color for a while, but the blue was a last second choice. I really like it and it's awesome to finally have a job that allows me to do what I want with my hair. 

I'm blue dah ba dee dah ba dii. Eifel 65, anyone?!

This weekend, we have a Rocky show. Unfortunately, it is our MC Dano's last show, so it's bound to be a sad/fun night. I'm sorry if this post isn't super informative, but nothing huge has happened lately, so this is what you get! I miss everyone back home and I hope you're all getting along without me alright (ha!). More os soon to come once we have more than everyday life events going on (hint: think Great America and attending a wedding)! :D

And for anyone who wonders how I'm doing here in California, YES, I am being well taken care of. JUST LOOK AT OUR FREEZER! The only thing I'm at risk of is losing a toe when one of these frozen solid things jumps out at me and attacks! Ahh!

A Week Without Patrick

Hey everyone! I wasn't going to write a post today, but I decided that it is meant to be. Why? Because today, when I clicked on the link to my blog, I discovered that I have hit 2,000 pageviews (exactly 2k today). I don't know who reads my blog or why, but I can't thank you all enough for making me feel like I have a reason to write. I have talked to a couple of people, and anyone who mentions my blog always compliments me on it and tells me that they enjoy reading it. It makes me feel so awesome!

Today, Patrick and I are having somewhat of a lazy day. On Monday, he left very early in the morning to fly to Florida to work at a client. He returned the following Friday, so I had an entire week of nothing to do besides work. Though Patrick has introduced me to a ton of people, and I would consider them my friends, I can't say that I would be comfortable calling any of them up to "just hang out," because I know these people have lives. So I had intended to spend the week mostly alone.

I spent a lot of time messing with I MEAN bonding with Beep this week :)

This is Sahib! He's our favorite kitty cat at work. His owner has been away for quite some time, so Sahib has been with us for anywhere from 1-2 years (I can't get a straight answer out of anyone). He's super friendly and sweet, and, on top of that, he's a Bengal kitty-- which means he's hypoallergenic! I need one!

Sahib can't help but bother me during my lunch break, pawing at me to pet him. I can't help but pet him, either. I love this kitty!

On Monday, I worked, and then came home and read a lot all night, but the super awesome thing that happened Monday was that I made a friend! I've always had a hard time making friends, so this is a big deal for me. It's also awesome because everyone up until this point that I have made friends with has been a person that Patrick has introduced me to, so it's nice to know that someone can like me for me and not because they like Patrick.

 Then, on Wednesday, our friend Aimee saved me! She came over after work and we had a girls night, chatting, watching Back to the Future, and eating pizza and brownies. It was really great to have someone over and not have to spend the night alone.

Finally, Friday came. Patrick's flight was delayed in Dallas so he arrived later than expected and took a cab home. I was obviously elated to see him, and we spent the night eating Mexican food and just being together and catching up on our week without each other. I missed him!

Today, we're just taking it easy. We went out to Target and bought a new puzzle and a lot of junk food, and we're going to spend the day in a pillow fort watching movies and piecing together our puzzle. Yay!

It's the 80's!

We've been quite busy lately, what with Patrick and I both working, so finding time to get out and do things is getting more difficult. I know everyone knows what I mean when I say that going out is the LAST thing we want to do after a full day of work! But we still continue to try!

This past Monday our friend Lindsey came over to cut my hair. I've been wanting to try something shorter for quite some time now. My main issue with hair cuts is that I'm always handing my stylist a picture of something super cute and I (usually) say "I want this, but a little longer." I don't know why I have always been so afraid of short hair! And the sad part is that, all these years, I've probably prevented myself from having some super cute hair cuts, just because I was too afraid for it to be too short. Well no more! This time, I handed Lindsey a picture, and said "Cut it off!"

Before/After

Bye bye, hair!

I couldn't be happier! The first night, after we first cut it, I was very apprehensive. However, the next day-- after I went out and bought some styling product for it (something I've never done because I hate having "stuff" in my hair, but I'm getting used to it)-- I was in love! I wish I had done it sooner! It's an asymmetrical cut, meaning it's longer on one side than the other, and it is awesome. Lindsey did an amazing job and I'm so so thankful!

It also really worked out for this weekend! It was the weekend we've all been waiting for... Jared's birthday party! I've been anticipating this for so long! They decided on an 80's theme for the party-- and I have always loved dressing for that decade-- so I was super excited to go out in my get up and have some fun!

Too bad they didn't have smart phones in the 80's!

I wore my new jean jacket that Patrick bought me (one with sweater sleeves and a sweater hood-- thanks babe!), skinny jeans, white nikes, a red bandana tied around my knee, a Night Ranger t shirt, a nose hoop, a long dangly earring in only one ear, an original Swatch (that I borrowed from Patrick... until it got randomly sticky), a pair of red plastic sunglasses, hot pink lipstick, a ton of blush, and bright blue eyeshadow. I would honestly dress like this every day (mostly... I think I would go without the bandana and the crazy eyeshadow)!

For Jared's gift, Patrick decided on something really awesome... A Kraken Gift Box! Jared loves Kraken Rum and also loves the Kraken (so much that he founded Kraken Appreciation Day, which is June 13th). You can pre-order them from KrakenRum.com. They come with the following: A Kraken T Shirt, a Kraken tooth, a Kraken laptop decal, a Kraken scroll, a Kraken lore book, a DVD about the Kraken, and a letter reassuring everyone that the Kraken IS REAL (beautifully sealed with a wax seal & Kraken stamp). The box is all laid out very nicely and comes with a slot for the bottle of rum to lay in, however, they cannot ship that across state lines, so we added that ourselves. Jackie and Dan, Julie and Doug, Victoria and Delfino, and Patrick and I all chipped in for this awesome gift. It was really cool!

Jared's Kracken Gift 

(because I forgot to take pictures beforehand and 

my phone was dead during the present opening)

Patrick leaves for Florida on Monday on a business trip, so I will be mostly alone for the next week or so. Thankfully Jackie still lives here so I won't be alone the entire time! Empty houses at night are not my thing. Overall I've had a great week!

Rock on!

Spaceballs: The Blog Post & Brook's New Job

Here it is, everyone. The moment you've all been waiting for. It is finally time for another blog post, because I have pictures to pair with my writing, therefore it will be bearable! I'm so excited to tell you all what I've been up to for the past few weeks. So let's get started!

The Job Part 

Since I moved here, Patrick and I have been keeping an eye out for jobs that might be good for me. Unlike Livonia, the Bay area has much more to offer in terms of jobs, you just have to wait for something to show up (which doesn't take long). In Livonia, if you see a hiring sign, you'd better apply quick and hope that they're still hiring tomorrow. Therefore, while I've been looking (and becoming more and more frantic about my ever-shrinking bank account balance), I have flat out refused to apply to anything involving food service or heavy customer service. I have done enough of that for an entire lifetime, and anyone that knows me knows that I could never waitress. So I have been looking for something more office-y, knowing that something will eventually pop up. A few weeks ago, while Patrick and I were driving around, I saw a place called The Cats' Inn. I got really excited about the fact that, yes, cat hotels really do exist. But they weren't hiring. So I let it go and forgot. Then, about a week later, I just about died when I saw the sign that said they were hiring, however, I couldn't figure out where to apply. So, again, I let it go. It wasn't until I googled a helpful job finding website (snagajob.com), that I was able to find a decent job listing. And, I'll be darned, there it was. Right on the very first page, a place to apply to The Cats' Inn. I waited until Patrick got home so he could walk me through it (as I've never applied to someplace that required a resume and cover letter), and emailed in my information.

I waited patiently for a few days and was about to give up hope when, on Thursday night, I got the call asking me to come in for a rush interview the next day. I obviously agreed and began preparations. That night, my nerves kept me awake. I've been outwardly very cool about the situation, but I think subconsciously my jitters were starting and I was struggling to fall asleep. After going to sleep at 2am, my bat ears woke me up at 3am to the sound of someone trying to open our front door. And I did not keep calm.

I shook Patrick awake and sent him to investigate, however, he didn't even suspect that anyone was there, only that I was hearing things. So when he went out in the living room and I started hearing some pretty loud screaming, I truly thought there was a murder happening. It turns out that Jackie and Dan just scared the life out of him since he truly didn't expect anyone to be there. They didn't tell us they were coming home from Burning Man at 3am! So Patrick came back to bed, where I was still violently shaking in fear, and eventually I fell back to sleep. At 5am, I was woken up by Patrick chucking his heavy memory foam pillow onto the bed and, again, scaring me half to death. At 8:30, I was finally up for good, but totally exhausted. I got ready for the day and went to my interview. It was a really stressful night.

For those of you who haven't seen the good news, I got the job! It truly was meant to be. It kept slapping me in the face, I waited for the opportunity, and I nailed it. I am so excited and proud! Starting Tuesday, I will begin training for the Kennel Assistant position, where I do what I do best... Clean! The company likes to promote their employees and have them learn many, if not all, aspects of the job, so eventually I will learn other things such as grooming and medication handling. My interviewer, Sam, was optimistic that eventually I would move into a higher position because of my work experience, and she was excited about the idea of possibly having me work the front desk because of my previous customer service focus. I could not be more thrilled about this job. I have finally found something that encompasses all of my favorite things and pays me for it! Plus, I get to work with cats! If you don't know how much I love cats (even though I'm seriously allergic), then you don't know me at all!

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And here is the part where I get sappy, because I have been an emotional wreck lately. Patrick, you are the most incredible person I have ever met and I can not imagine a more perfect person for me. You are absolutely my other half. With that said, I can't thank you enough for the support you've given me during the past couple of months while I've had money issues and such a high stress level. You give me such a confidence that I've never had before, and I know that you will stand by me regardless of the struggle. You are the best person I know.

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Let us continue on to the most exciting part of my weekend...

The Spaceballs Part

When I moved here to California, I almost immediately joined The Bawdy Caste. If you've been following along with my blog, you would know that The Bawdy Caste is a Rocky Horror Picture Show cast in the Bay Area. We generally only do RHPS, however, sometimes the cast does "special shows." In this case, our directors decided on the movie...

Spaceballs!

Lonestar (Jeb) and Dark Helmet (Jared) during their big fight scene.

And now you know what we have been up to! Rehearsal after rehearsal, costume making, prop building, and helping others out with their props and cues during the show. At first, I was apprehensive about joining cast, but I did it anyways because it made things much simpler. This way, I could help out when needed and not have to feel like an outsider during shows. After Friday, I am so humbled and honored to be a part of such an amazing group of people such as this. After Patrick took over most of my cues because I had a difficult time figuring out when things would go up on stage, I only had one small part in the movie and one prop cue. So following the radar dish scene, I was free to watch the show as an audience member, which I am so grateful for. 

Yum! Bone shaped cookies that Patrick and I made for Barf, the Mog. He's half man, half dog! He's his own best friend.

Me, hiding behind the radar dish while I wait for my cue to bring it up front.

They've jammed the radar!

Photo credit: David Bedno

For anyone who has not seen the movie, it is pretty much a parody of Star Wars with references to a couple of other movies, however, never having seen Star Wars, I only get some of the more obvious references.  

It was INCREDIBLE! I have never seen such an awesome performance. The cues were on spot, the spotlight was just perfect, the facial expressions were believable, and costumes and props that everyone worked so hard on were downright bad-a**, and, of course, the jokes were a-plenty (but what would The Bawdy Caste be without them?). The cast members and audience participated in call-back lines just as they would at a Rocky show, but this time, these were original and all our own. The entire experience was just mind blowing.

The cast during skip down

Photo credit: David Bedno

I am to the far right, next to the silver woman!

Photo credit: David Bedno

Jack as Snotty

Photo credit: David Bedno

Victoria as Princess Vespa with Jeb as Lonestar

Photo credit: David Bedno

Mikey as Barf the Mog and Jeb as Lonestar

Photo credit: David Bedno

Julie as Dot and Victoria as Princess Vespa

Photo credit: David Bedno

Jared as Dark Helmet and Jeb as Lonestar

Photo credit: David Bedno

Jack as Snotty, Jared as Dark Helmet,  and Matthew as President Skroob

Victoria as Princess Vespa and Jared as Dark Helmet

Photo credit: David Bedno

Jared as Dark Helmet and Jack as Snotty

Photo credit: David Bedno

Doug as Yogurt, just plain Yogurt

Photo credit: David Bedno

Jack as Snotty, Jared as Dark Helmet, and Matthew as President Skroob

Photo credit: David Bedno

Master Delfino as The Alien

Photo credit: David Bedno

All I can say is that I wish someone had been able to record it the entire way through! I did catch a few videos, though You can find them on Youtube here. For your viewing pleasure, here are some pictures of the incredible cast before/after the show! 

Siobhan and Lena, the beautiful partners in crime

Photo credit: Kirsten Ward

Doug and Julie as Dot and Vinnie (who later plays Yogurt)!

Photo credit: Kirsten Ward

Matthew (who, on very short notice, stepped in as an understudy 

and performed wonderfully) as President Skroob

Lindsey as a Prison Guard

Photo credit: Kirsten Ward

The cast's lovely friend James with Kelly as an Ape!

Photo credit: Kirsten Ward

Master Delfino as Major A**hole

Photo credit: Kirsten Ward

Me, as The Organist

Photo credit: Kirsten Ward

Photo credit: Kirsten Ward

A huge, gigantic thank you to David Bedno and Kirsten Ward for allowing me to use their pictures in this post, which they had the good sense to take during the show! Wonderful shots, you guys! And the biggest of congratulations is in order for the entire Bawdy Caste, who worked hard, dedicated their time and money, and blew everyone away with their spectacular performance. Take a bow, you guys!