Remained sexy while doing so.

Gosh. Maria got in a car accident last night coming home in Raton. She tried to go around some debris on the road, but ended up hitting it and blowing out a tire, lost control and ended up in a tree, probably going 60mph. Thankfully, from what it sounds like, her car did exactly as it should have and pretty much buckled, saving Maria any major injury. They took her to the hospital in Las Vegas and did some x-rays, but when I talked to her, she didn't think she'd broken anything. And I tend to believe her, as she has a degree in that.


But, RIP to Maria's dear car. What a sweet car Princess Diana was, absorbing all that force to protect her driver. Maria told me her engine is crunched in about 2 feet. It really is unbelievable that you can hit a tree going that fast and not seriously hurt yourself. And in all honesty, it was probably a good thing that tree was there, instead of risking a rollover.

ALSO, Marky got into a wreck on Saturday. He's somewhat sore and his car is still drivable, but he's pretty worried about frame damage. So, send them both well wishes, perhaps even flowers and candy. And drive extra careful this week... something's going down.

In somewhat lighter news,

Kenneth took me to the zoo on Sunday to celebrate my birth. I really do love that place. I realized what a great place it is to exercise too. I've been thinking about getting a membership and going every Saturday morning, walking around it a few times.


The polar bears were extra frisky. Well actually, just frisky. I don't think I've ever seen them in as much motion as they were in on Sunday. This bear was trying his hardest to get that plastic cylinder into the big pool at the top of his habitat. It was so crazy to watch him balance it and then shove it up, like he was serving a volleyball. He would get so frustrated when it would fall back down, but he just kept doing it.

I also worked a crazy lot last week. On top of 40 hours in office, I spent 3 nights at the theater; bartending Tuesday and managing Friday and Saturday. So, I spent a lot of time being tired.


I did have the great satisfaction of a G-Dub reunion of sorts, as one of the old security guys was back in town for about a week. With his visit, came the visits of a bunch of old staffers on Tuesday night. And who are all these people?
First row: Scott (the one visiting from Virgina. He worked at the bar for years and years before moving about 2 years ago.), Jay Dee (did maintenance and janitorial stuff before Kenneth took over. He's my favorite of the sleazy security guards we've had over the years. And trust me, there's been a few.), Kyle (you should know him), Marky (him too), and oh Daniel my Daniel (current head of security and greatest person I've met in a long time.)
Second Row: Kristina (invented the Golden West bartender. If anyone has right to claim that bar as her own, it's that girl.), Jenny (did the office job before me. She is fantastic and from New York.)
Third row: Kathy (mom), me, Phil (if you went into Birdland anytime in the last 5 years or so, you probably saw that guy. He worked security for us for a loooong time.)
Bottom: Patrick (remember how I just typed about sleazy security guards? Yeeeeah, about that...)

But, it was just so great to see everyone all in one place again. It was enough to remind me why I still work there and why I doubt I'll ever be able to leave. I've noticed now that I just love being at the theater. I'll just stop and look around at the building, just because I'm so happy it's still there.


We zombies.

Well, it looks like this little office job of mine might not be hanging around as long as I originally expected. I knew it wouldn't last through the year, but now it's looking like it might not last through the summer. Some office folk think I'll be okay, but I really don't feel like taking any chances. So, I'm starting to think of other places I could possibly work, and starting to think even more about if it's finally time I pick up and head to Oklahoma, once and for all.


I want this place to hire me.

I'm also looking campaign stuff and more federal stuff. What's up, Census 2010? I count real good.

They put Yen in a handbag.

Still stuck. Dear old truck is sitting at Casa Chervolet, waiting for the car whisperer to install a new radiator. It won't be long.

I'm debating the option of getting a second job before I leave, as random hours at the Golden West just won't cut it. However, most of the work I could get would involve mall retail, and might not even be worth it for just a few weeks. Sooo, I don't knooow.

Right now, I'm feeling pretty stagnant. But, I will be in town for a few very good things, including a BN show and a Jimmy Eat World concert. I've been giving pretty serious thought to joining the Peace Corps, just to feel like I have some kind of purpose til I'm 24 and can get to graduate school. It seems all pretty appealing right now.

I spent a rather interesting night with Paul and Sara, watching him create the most intense balloon designs I have ever seen.

I got an alien hat.


Then, we took to the lawn for playing around with light sticks and such.




But, the best part of my week was Kenneth making a helmet for my bear.

Just in case I decide to wreck again.

I got my diploma in the mail today, which means everything cleared and I'm officially a graduate of UNM. Well, that's exciting! Kyle bought me seafood to celebrate.

Man, freaking red lights.

In grand tradition of the land of Entrapment, I got stuck here. I'm sure, partially, because I said I was allowing for any kind of unexpectedness, the very unexpected happened yesterday, as I rear ended some lady from Oklahoma.

For the most part, it appears the organs of my car are okay. It is driveable. I seem to be leaking a decent amount of coolent, so it might be a radiator issue, or just a coolent tank issue (PLEASE be the later). This is the second most important thing. As my parents say (everytime I eff up my car) "You're okay, that's the most important thing". And I'm fine. A little bit shocked, but physically, everything's a-okay. I'm not even sore. So, that tells you about how fast I was going. Comestically, oh, my truck's hurtin. But, that's really not THAT important. I mean, my like my truck and she's a classy dame, but she's getting older and I think she understands that it's okay to have a few little dings.

Kyle's dad just happens to be one of the best mechanics in the city. So, that's pretty convienent. Last week, my mom started hearing rattling when her car was in drive or reverse, so automatically, we assumed the transmission. I took for Kyle's dad to look at it, he drove it down the road and said, "That's wierd. It sounds like something's sitting on top of the exhaust system." WHO WOULD KNOW THAT!?! Especially after just driving it down the road. Turns out it was a dirt claud, thanks to my mom's AWESOME roads. But, the real point here is that he's been nicknamed the "car whisperer" and he'll be surveying the damage later today.

I kinda like the idea of just banging out the damage as good as I can and calling it good, since I really don't want to sell her anytime soon and Kenneth brought up the VERY good point of what happens if this happens again, as I'll be driving A LOT in places I don't know. I don't need to spend all this insurance deductable-money and time and hassle to just have to go through it again in a few months.

I guess I'll weigh all the options and see what makes sense. Either way, it's dollars that I was saving for Quebec. DID I MENTION I WAS LEAVING IN 9 FREAKING DAYS?!?! So, I'll be here for a while. I guess the good news is I'll be stepping into the BN show in July, doing a solo and filling in a spot for the finale. Nice, relaxing, performance time.

I'm trying to not get frustrated, trying to stay positive, look at all the options I have available to me. And I guess I should feel pretty lucky that I wasn't hurt and that it happened here, where I've got a fantastic network of people willing to help out. Kathy already offered me a car. I think she likes me.

But, still, this blows.

I guess I'm not supossed to leave New Mexico right now.

Today sucks.



A whole lot.