On Saturday, Adam and I traveled to Monterey for a two night stay at the “all-suite AAA 4-diamond” Hotel Pacific. When we (finally) arrived at the hotel (don’t take the tunnel!) they gave us our keys to our room, but stopped us just short of the elevator. Apparently, they gave us a room that was already occupied. So they gave us a new one but it still needed to be cleaned. They “upgraded” us. But really, the room was exactly what I pictured it would be (basically what the photos look like on their site), so now I’m wondering what exactly we were originally booked in. Anywho, it was so pretty! The hotel has a bunch of fountains and orange/brown tile-work everywhere. Did I take photos? No. I thought I’d do that on the last day, which turned out to be Storm Watch 2003. So there are no photos of the hotel. Oh well. Go to the site. You can see those.

Saturday evening, Adam and I checked out a bit of Cannery Row and had dinner at The Fish Hopper Restaurant. Mmm, fish and shrimp. Adam had some super yummy swordfish atop some mashed potatoes and with various veggies and a tasty sauce drizzled over it. (You can see, I enjoyed tasting Adam’s dinner more than my own.)

Sunday was Driving Day! We drove down to Carmel and meandered up and down the streets. Took some random photos and then headed to the Hogs Breath Inn (Clint Eastwood’s restaurant/pub) and had lunch.

Don’t worry, our trip doesn’t revolve around eating. Just mentioning the different places we went to. It’s not like we went to McDonalds and Denny’s — these are nice restaurants!

Anyway.

After lunch and walking around Carmel a bit more, we headed back north to start the 17 – Mile Drive. Let me tell you, we picked the PERFECT day to take this trip. Granted, it did get a smidge overcast as the day went along, but the amount of overcast made my photos turn out great. Some of the colors really popped out.

Thanks to the timer on my camera, Adam and I got to have some photos with both of us in the shot. This is the one of best ones of the bunch.

So along the drive, we saw richie rich homes (lots of oohs and ahhhs), the Lone Cypress (logo and trademarked even!), the ghost trees, various richie rich golf courses (Pebble Beach, Spyglass, Poppyhill — it’s all the locations of the popular PC game Links! haha), and a very odd tree with bricks in it…

And a cute squirrel that I have named Squeekums that graciously posed for several shots at the beach.

Sunday was Storm Watch 2003. Lots of rain. Lots of wind. Lots of people with the same idea — Going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Thank GOODNESS we had tickets in advance (through the package from AAA and the hotel) because there was a very long line for tickets and it was not under an overhang.

The aquarium hasn’t changed much in 6 months – so we sort of flew through it. But here’s a photo to represent that portion of our trip.

That’s a super quick rundown of our weekend. It was fun and I didn’t want it to end – ok well I wanted the rain to stop, but that’s about it.

If you’d like to see all of the photos I took – check out my gallery!

Now, just a short side note about something I’ve noticed:

I always order a Diet Coke/Pepsi with my meals. I have noticed 3 different ways restaurants distinguish between the regular Coke/Pepsi (that Adam usually orders) and my Diet drinks.

1. Two straws.

2. Lemon wedge (in or on rim of glass).

3. Lime wedge (in or on rim of glass).

In the world of Jennifer, option number 1 is the best one. While I am not obligated to drink my soda at a faster rate than those around me, I do not have to experience a ‘flavored’ coke.

I’m not a lemon wedge person unless I’ve got a Pyramid Hefeweizen in my hand (or other wheat beer I assume).

I tried the Lemon Coke and Lemon Pepsi (the latter of which tastes how I’d assume Lemon Pledge would taste).

But you see, I didn’t order a lemon Coke. So please refrain from adding a lemon.

Lime.

LIME? Who thought that up? Well s/he was wrong. I’m sorry but limes belong in Coronas and that’s that. (ok so maybe in some cocktails or such, but not my soda).

So to review:

GOOD

BAD

Ok, it’s late, and as you can tell from that last part of my post – I’ve gone insane.

YAY!

I get to watch tons and tons of commercials! Adam got me a year membership to AdCritic! Thanks Adam!

Woo commercials!!

1. What was your biggest accomplishment this year?

Graduation in May. BS in Advertising, and a job at a local PR company.

2. What was your biggest disappointment?

Sometimes I think I should have done a double major, or tried for a couple of minors. Also, maybe I should have more ambition for future schooling?

3. What do you hope the new year brings?

I hope the new year brings happiness for my family, because we need it more than ever.

I hope this year brings wonderful jobs and opportunities for my friends and I.

I just hope for happiness. Bottom line.

4. Will you be making any New Year’s resolutions? If yes, what will they be?

Even though they are broken every year – I will make them.

The traditional “lose weight” is number one on my list. There is a trip to Hawaii looming in the near-future, so I need to be at a weight that I won’t feel too horrible going there with.

I also intend on finding a ‘better’ job. What I mean by that is a new job where I get to learn something new, perhaps actually apply the creative side of advertising I learned in school, and get paid salary with benefits and the goodies that go along with that rather than hourly.

5. What are your plans for New Year’s Eve?

No definate plans yet. Sometimes we hang out with Al & Shannon, sometimes it’s just movie night with Adam. I wouldn’t mind going to San Francisco and going to a fun party. Not sure! We usually plan these things at the last minute. Maybe next year more planning will be involved.

I do want to partcipate in Tracey’s A Day In The Life photo project.

Since I only watch Ellen’s talk show religiously, I missed something pretty neato.

Apparently my cousin Kimberly (not the one that some of you have met) sketched a killer portrait of Ozzy and sent it to the Osborne camp. They loved it so much, they put her and her drawing on the show.

Thing is, we don’t know when this happened. My parents weren’t able to get the full story from my great aunt.

Anyway — if someone out there saw this and can remember when it happened, I’d like to know so I can try to catch it when it re-runs.

Thanks!

I got a new phone! I got a new phone! Woo for the Sanyo 5300!

Woo!

Now, once it’s activated, I’m gonna start a moblog!

I love my new toy. Big thanks to my mom and dad for the early Christmas gift! (Also a big thanks to Sprint for messing up during the purchase of my new phone and knocking off $75 the total. WOO!)

So what kind of phone did I have before (and still have.. while the switch thing happens)… I have an Sony Ericsson T306. It sucks. It takes forever to start. Forget having an emergency! I BARELY had service in my apartment. If the phone had been off for a period of time, and I started it, it would never tell me I had missed a call nor if I had a voicemail. How annoying is that? I’d like to know if I missed a call.

Anyway. It sucked. So I went to Sprint!

Hmm. I’ve been on 3 different carriers so far. Cingular, AT&T, and now Sprint. Verizon, VirginMobile, and Metro PCS – you will have to wait a few more years.

ok, sleepytime!

Reading an entry at thehighpriestess, I was reminded of an old holiday memory.

I remember those New Years when my family and I would hang out with our neighbors. Each year we would rotate whose home we would spend the evening at.

There was one year when Chris, Caitlin, and I would run down the hallway and around the corner and go sliding across the entry way to our homes. (Each of our houses were designed the exact same way, just a mirror image of each other.) Either we’d manage to turn just at the right moment, or we would intentionally slam our bodies into the front door. (We heard a lot of “Knock it off!” “You’re gonna hurt yourselves!” But did we stop? No way!) Then of course there were the races down the stairs. On our bums we’d scoot down them, carpet-burning our bums just to get to the bottom faster than the others.

We’d entertain ourselves with endless hours of video games or playing Pictionary / “Win, Lose, or Draw” and using the giant dry-erase board for drawings.

Our parents would chitchat with each other, play card games, and sip wine.

We’d barely make it to midnight. Caitlin often fell asleep before the new year, worn out from all the extra excitement and playing.

I miss those days. I don’t see Chris and Caitlin too often anymore. Maybe once or twice a year. A few years back they moved into a new house a short drive away.

I miss how things used to be.

OK. Small bursts of info cometh.

.: Last weekend (omg it’s been almost a week? eesh) we had the party (Woo Party!) and it was absolutely faaaaaaabulous (dahhling). Everyone enjoyed the food, company, and spirits (hee). Check the photos out at my gallery. (Under “Parties”)

.: Listening to my Rio on the way to work, I often develop killer ideas for music videos. Like the one for Oukast’s “Hey Ya”.. it involves various dancers dressed as ‘normal people’ and groups breaking into outrageous dance numbers in the light rail car. They’re dressed in vibrant colors and it is sometimes in slow motion. Glittery confetti may be involved at some point. See, I should be making millions.

.: Christmas gifts. Only 2 1/2 left to buy. Can you beeeelieve it? Here I thought I was being good by starting way back in Oct. Next year, I start this stuff in September!

.: The Friday Five! (on an actual FRIDAY — this is a rare event my friends)

1. List your five favorite beverages.

:: Water (not usually with lemon, but ice for sure, unless its fresh out of the fridge/brita)

:: Soda of the Diet variety. Diet Pepsi, Diet Coke – when I’m out, it’s what I get.

:: Iced Botanicals – Peach flavor is my fave, second is Kiwi Strawberry.

:: Iced Chai Tea Latte with 2 pumps of Vanilla (thanks to Maya who told me about this wonderful drink from Starbucks)

:: Sangria – I enjoy having this on occasion. The first time I had it was at the Olive Garden, and its goood. Red Lobster’s Cranberry Apple one is yummy too.

2. List your five favorite websites.

:: www.uncommongoods.com

The objects you can buy here are pretty unique. Some of them are artsy, some expensive, etc.

:: www.craftster.org

Another ’ster’ to join! If you’re into random crafts, check it out. It’s just a community forum so people can chitchat about the random items they’re working on.

:: www.expectedmiracles.com

The best website (in my opinion) for Matt Nathanson fans. I spend most of my time in the forum chatting it up with the other fans.

:: www.whedonesque.com

This is a community blog for all things Whedon. Joss Whedon. Creator and writing genius. Anything related to Buffy, Angel, the actors, writers, etc.. are posted here.

:: www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/

Wonderfully designed games. The images and music are ADORABLE.

3. List your five favorite snack foods.

:: Wheat Thins. They’re products of the devil himself, we’re sure of it.

:: Chocolate. Any form. It’s always great.

:: Chips. It’s a classic snack food.

:: eh.

:: I dunno.

I really couldn’t think of much else. At least things that can be classified as “favorites”. Sorry, I know you’re completely devastated that you don’t know 2 more snack foods that I like. Be strong!

4. List your five favorite board and/or card games.

:: Trivial Pursuit. I loves me some trivia!

:: Life. While “driving” the car around, my children tend to fall out. Is that a bad thing?

:: Kings. Vijay you wanna sit next to me? MWA HA HA HA!

:: Connect Four. Ok so I haven’t played this one in AGES but it’s a favorite memory.

:: War. Fun for everyone!!

5. List your five favorite computer and/or game system games.

Ooooooooooh.

:: Tetris. Anyone wanna play against me?

:: Tekken 4. Same question? Anyone? Hello?

:: The Sims. I love building the houses, and also making Matt lure people into his dungeon and practice his spells. He’s gonna be a master wizard ya know.

:: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. This game is too much fun.

:: Super Mario Bros. A classic and ALWAYS fun.

Man. This post took me ALL day to finish. Twas a busy busy day. And it’s raining. And almost time to go home! WOO!

1. Do you enjoy the cold weather and snow for the holidays?

Cold weather is ok. Rain is not fun. Snow? I wouldn’t know. It’s never snowed during a holiday for me. I live in the valley and bay area. No snow. I think i’ve been around snow maybe 3 or 4 times in my life.

2. What is your ideal holiday celebration? How, where, with whom would you celebrate to make things perfect?

Ideal? My ideal holiday would probably be one of those Thanksgivings or Christmases when my uncle mike would walk around and videotape the family. Make silly comments, zoom in on my grandma’s bum and make her say “Mike would you cut that out” and we’d all laugh and then she’d laugh too. Those were the best. I’d like one of those again. Everyone would be there. Grandma Coffman, Norman, Aunt Bertha, Grandma, and Steve. Can we go back to 1989 please?

3. Do you do have any holiday traditions?

We used to meet up at grandma and grandpa’s house.. then we went to steve and maryjo’s. Thats the tradition now. We go there. Food is served.. mingle about.. play with the kids.. ‘celebrate’ the holidays.

4. Do you do anything to help the needy?

I’ll donate things when I can/remember. I’ve got a bag of clothes that needs to go to goodwill/salvation army (etc).

5. What one gift would you like for yourself?

I have been toying with the idea of changing my cell phone/service. So the ‘rents decide they’re gonna get me that for Christmas. Yay! It’ll have a camera tooooo. Moblogs here I come!

By the way, I lied. I’m posting today.

Why?

Because one phone call that I made to a local retailer may have saved a campaign that I have been working on for over 6 months.

Last week we sent packets of information to 20 local retailer owners regarding this campaign. This was our last attempt at mass mailing retailers information.

I have been calling these owners for the past 4 days. Over and over. Leaving messages with employees and on answering machines. I did receive a few “I’m not interested” responses, but I kept plucking away.

Well my friends, I may have hit the jackpot.

I keep saying MAY because it is still in review. No chickens are being counted before they’re hatched.

Anyway. I called one owner, my 4th time trying to get ahold of him. He was at the location! However, he hadn’t received the packet of information yet. Drat. So I explained it to him, the best I could. I get nervous, but I made sure to touch on each of the best parts of this campaign.

He was very interested. So he said he’s meeting with marketing people (corporate) on Monday.. he will pitch it to them. He has a ton of stores under his ownership. AWESOME!

Well, i called him back, offering that one of us could come to the meeting and answer questions, etc.

He told me better news. He had already pitched it to two other owners (who own a ton of locations each). They loved the idea.

He pitched it to one of the coporate guys. He loved the idea.

If we sign them. We can save the campaign. The campaigns deadline is Monday.

Please everyone, cross those fingers!!!

.: Preparing for “Woo Party!” – decorating, purchasing of the foods, etc.

.: Working takes up the rest of my time.

.: Have squeezed in a few hours of crafty time – usually during my lunch breaks at work.

As for Christmas shopping, I have 7 more to buy, 3 to make.

BUSY BUSY!

Oh yeah, I almost got sprayed with puddle water today. Some sonuvabitch decided to splash through a puddle that is next to the sidewalk I walk on in the mornings. If I had been 2 feet further than where I was at the time, I would have been soaked in icky-asphalt-rain-mud water. It wasn’t even a “oh i had to go through the puddle to drive in the lane” either. You have to drive intentionally to get into this puddle. Grr.

Well, with all the plans I have for the rest of the week, don’t expect another post until late Saturday or Sunday. It will include photos from the party on Saturday. WOO PARTY!