And I, Jack, the Pumpkin King have grown so tired of the same old thing

Hi everyone, I know it's been 11 days, which is an incredibly long time for me not to update. I think I've been so run into the ground lately with work, that there is very little time for me to do anything else. I basically live at Steinmart. And when I'm not there I know it will only be a few hours til Im there again. And when I'm asleep, I dream about working at a cash register. Which I guess is fine. I mean, I signed up for it and knew what I was getting into and I am making money which is nice and I'm trying to keep up a good attitude, especially with so many people out there looking for jobs. It seems though that many of my friends are more suited to handle the schedule of constant working much better than I am. I've been averaging about 40-45 hours each week. Since I don't have the endless supply of hours in which to do all the stuff I want to do, I've been burning the candle at both ends in order to make sure I hang out with my friends, participate in cool summer activities/events, and spend time with my family. Since so many of my friends live far away during the year for college, time with them has been really important to me so Ive made it a point to go out after work and on my days off. A week ago I got to go dancing for the second time this summer. We met up with the Pasadena group and went back to that club in Anaheim. Got terribly lost along the way and it was funny to see Wiley get really pissed off, but we made it there and had a great time. That is...until someone in the club (no one i knew) got stabbed and we made a quick exit to avoid getting involved. I never thought in a million years that Id be part of a crowd that went to clubs. But then again, I guess it's just another weird paradox to my personality and finding out more about myself. Artistic reclusive oddball socialite who likes to dance? haha, i doubt it.

One day after work I met up with Tasha, Cait, and Brigitte to check out the weekly jazz concert going on near the Hyatt, and when we stopped in Borders there was this guy playing acoustic by himself. He was good and rather cute in a tossled, "i just rolled out of bed, picked up my guitar, and showed up here so I guess I'll play" look to him. We stayed after to talk to him, and he told us that he was playing at the Hotel Cafe the next night in Hollywood. I wondered if I could seduce a guy like that, even though he was like 27 or 28. haha. We wrangled up a kinda large group to go see him at the Hotel Cafe the next night and I was pleasantly surprised by the venue. It was this tiny hole in the wall place, the kind you might pass up without noticing it even existed. The vibe was definitely 20's art/emo scene and I felt a little young and out of place, but it was exciting none the less. The bands were fun and we even got a shoutout from the Borders guy. He called us the "usc girls". THe club was packed with 20 year old, gorgeous guys which provided me with the chance to ridiculously stare at all of them.

It was my parents' 23 anniversary yesterday and, very much needing a break and some relaxation, we headed up to Lake Arrowhead for the day to get in some reading. There's a little coffee shop overlooking the lake that we like to go sit in when we are up there. I sat, read Harry Potter (which I fear I will never finish), and stared at the lake where people were water skiing and riding in boats. I saw the fattest chipmunks I have ever seen just sitting on some rocks near the lake. I fear it would have tried to eat me if it had gotten the chance. There was hardly anyone in the shopping center or in the bookshop/cafe, so we enjoyed a secluded day up in the mountains. It was just what I needed. I bought a new cell phone, determined to break out of my phone-phobic persona and force myself to use the phone more. The AT&T guy informed me that I had used my phone a grand total of 2 minutes last month which is embarassing, so I got this pretty new phone to tempt me to use it. And I have! I think Ive talked more than the 2 minutes I did last month which is a start.

So many people I know are leaving this week!! Jess went to Las Vegas thankfully only for the week, my brother went to Hawaii as part of an elaborate graduation trip, Adrianne's going to Hungary soon, Brigitte and Wiley both went to England and I fear that I won't have much contact with either until August! Luckily, I still have friends here to entertain me and Im looking forward to the summer picking up a bit in July. Monica, I promise to send a letter soon. Alright, Ive written far too much for this entry and I'll try to update tomorrow or sometime soon.