Winner

At lunch today the discussion was what one would do if they won the lottery. It's pretty cut and dry what I would do and very little has changed about my answer in the past 5 or 6 years. Without ado here's the list:

• Buy a house in the same neighborhood my apartment now is in. I honestly think I'd be quite happy in a small single level craftsman style home. I like them.
• Pay off my bills: car, student loans and credit card (then destoy it).
• Pay off my parents houses. My mom's house in Northern Cal and my dad and stepmom's three properties here in Southern Cal.
• Pay off the loans my mom took out to pay for my going to USF.
• Pay off their car loans and/or get them newer/better cars than they have now.
• Either buy or lease a space to open a bakery and coffee shop.
• Send my parents on vacation to wherever they want to go.
• Take a vacation to Greece for who knows how long.
• Give my dad and stepmom enough money for my brother's college tuition and room and board. That way they won't have to worry about it.

Essentially, I want to make my life as well as my family's lives easier. If I had a husband then his wants would be satisfied and we would take care of his parents and siblings also. It is my belief that all people should be able to pursue their bliss if given the option. I would want to do whatever I could to make this possible for my loved ones.

Things I do

There are a lot of things I do that cause me very little shame:

• I watch American Idol and America's Next Top Model. I didn't start doing either one of these things until I moved back to Southern California and into my dad's house. My stepmom is a big fan of both shows and I started watching with her. I'm now hooked and I'm glad that when I go visit them this weekend, I'll get to chat with her and my step-aunt about this week's episode. (That is, if they had time to watch. If not I'll make them sit down and watch.) Also our old neighbor does the back-up vocals for Hollywood Week.
  
• I listen to country music. I enjoy it. I listen to Go Country every morning on the way to work. I think that Shawn Parr is funny. I'm a big fan of music you can sing along with and country satisfies that need.
• I sometimes talk to myself when I'm out shopping in the grocery store or Target. It's just something that happens.
• I also talk to strangers in line at the grocery store or Target. This is something my mom does. I used to think it was annoying. Now I do it all the time. I'll just start talking to people. It may be about something they are buying or really anything. I'm a talker. My mom is a talker. Hell, my dad is the King of the Talkers.
• I trip over things that just aren't there. On Sunday I was walking into the kitchen and my right foot slipped forward and I came crashing down on my left knee. It now has a bruise. I've hurt myself the three out the four last weekends. First, I sliced into my thumb causing the geyser of blood. Second, I burned my hand bad enough to warrant a blister. The knee was number three and it was in all honesty the mildest since it didn't start hurting until last night.
• I watch Gossip Girl, 90210 and Privileged. Yes, they are aimed at the 13-16 set but I don't care. They don't require that I pay a whole lot of attention and I think my need to watch Heroes and Law & Order more than makes up for it.

I think that's it. There are probably more but I can't think of them or I'm not willing to share them with the internet at large.

Bright Spots on the Gloomy Front

I am the gloomy front BUT I some things are making the gloom glow a little brighter:

- Coffee with Miss Marisa and maybe Caitlin and David! I haven't seen them in two whole weeks. I miss them all!
- Kaleb was born today! I'm going to visit on Saturday. He's a damn cute little one.
- Barack Obama and Joe Biden were sworn in two days ago. Hope just keeps on rising up.
- It's Thursday, which means tomorrow is Friday. That means that this work week is over.
- Jury Duty starts on 2/2/2009. I liked it the first time I served. It made me feel like I was a part of the process. I'm a nerd.
- The Super Bowl is almost here. That means I get to see my friends and watch the last game of the 2008 season. I don't count the Pro Bowl.
- I'm pricing the Canon Digital Rebel XSi. I'm going to get on by summer. I've decided.
- I'm going to Italy to see my Annnnnne! I love Italy. I love real vacation.

I'm trying to look up, since all I really want to do is bury my head in the sand and hide.