two days ago, i came home from shopping to find a blue screen. my laptop refused to boot. after 700 attempts to reset the computer and an anguished call to dell, i dropped my computer with the IT department at school and let it stay the night. i’d been fearing the worst (a bad hard drive), but when i called in today, the tech guy said it was all fixed and happy. hooray!

analiza and i spent yesterday making apple blossom scented candles. they turned out quite nicely… especially our pink and purple striped votives. i’m quite partial to my little white one with purple flowers from analiza’s yard.

i am now the proud owner of a lemon tree, a jujubee tree, and some big plastic pots. too bad i went a little water-happy and just read that these babies don’t need a lot of water… just sun, sun sun. there’s already fruit ripening on the trees– i can’t wait to try them!

Rolleiflex has come out with a digital TLR! it’s called the MiniDigi. of course, i’m not entirely sure it’s a true TLR, or just a camera with an extra faux lens on it. the diagrams don’t say what the top lens is for… i’m assuming it’s only for show– or stashing your old gum in.

i love the waist level viewfinder, though, and the 6×6 square format is fabulous– reminds me of my toy cameras. the rollei looks way too small to be easily handled, though. but what do i know? i’ll wait to play with it when it comes out in stores.

oh, and i love how it’s touted as a fashion accessory. $350 for a 2mp fashion accessory? no thanks.

i’m back from vacation… a short 3 days of constant eating and gambling broken up only by a short tour of mexico (which we ended with more food… fabulous carne asada tacos from a little shack at the flea market). i love cruises. i’m already missing the fresh cut pineapple and the army of waiters running around. here at home, not only do i have to DECIDE what i want to eat, i have to MAKE it and CLEAN up afterwards.

good news! my tomato seeds have started to sprout. i’m so excited. i’ve got 5 different types that i hope will come in. woo hoo!

annie and i headed off to newport yesternday for a light lunchy at a lobster taco shack and a day of sunning and studying on the sand. even on a monday it was crowded. armed with our umbrella, a mickey mouse sheet, tea, green tea plum candies, and our books, we carved out a little space for ourselves next to a loud, obnoxious family vacationing from somewhere in the midwest. i spent half of my time photographing people playing in the water [or, more accurately, being knocked over by the obscenely large waves] with my polga and lubi, and the other half engrossed in my new book, trading up. it’s all fluff, but it’s fun.

inspired by the gold standard cds for the boards, annie and i thought we’d take it a bit further– and put it to music. before long, i was singing about neutrophils:

it is a granulocyte (doo be do be do wah)
it stains re-a-lly light (bum bum bum bum)

…and then i realized that we were in public. oops.

after a few more hours in the sun, annie and i went across the street for some frozen bananas and exploration. we found a little ancient black and white photobooth (1970’s?) that was still in working order. i convinced annie to come in with me, and we had fun with the camera. 2.5 minutes later, the machine spit our our pictures… overly dark, black and white photos with strange water streaks. i was in love. after exploring the area a little more and contemplating temporary tattoos, i dragged annie back to the booth. she played video games while i played in the photo booth. next time, i’ll drag the bf.

photos from our day can be found at my moblog.

katrina, maggie and i went back to the OC on saturday to catch up with each other’s lives… and our shopping. we gossiped over lunchy at habana, where a shaggy haired waiter took our orders while he gripped a frighteningly long knife (supposedly for sliceing lemons). we petted the bags at gucci and coach, and braved nordstrom’s anniversary sale– 2 stories (or was it 3?) of wall to wall people, clothes, makeup, and shiny pretty things. i found the first kate spade bag that i have ever truely loved, and tore myself away from a beautiful brown suede lunch tote. 40 shops later, we relaxed at vie de france for some strawberry crepes and fizzy fruit coolers. [sigh]. it was a beautiful day.

and today, i’m making the trek back down for some beachy fun– reading while annie studies along the shores of newport beach. i wonder if the lifeguards-in-training will be back.

i volunteered at the local clinic today… but barely got to see two patients. i spent the rest of the evening listening to my stomach growl and chatting randomly with the other students. i DID get to hear a heart murmur, though. coolio.

friday night ryan came over for some wabi sabi and a second attempt at making ice cream. success! we chose to make kaluha coffee ice cream with crushed heath bar. mmmm. there’s still some in the freezer in case anyone wants any.

saturday, ryan and i fought traffic all the way down to san diego just so i could browse the outlet stores in carlsbad and have dinner down in little italy.

sunday, after a failed attempt to carmelize bananas for our waffles, we headed out to a Padres game. we watched a large potbellied man dance around like a lunatic during parts of the game– he got the attention of a video camera and recieved cheers from the crowd. baseball doesn’t excite me at all… so i spent most of the game people watching and running out to get food. hot dogs, nachos, and ice cream, oh my!

Wackiness: 68/100
Rationality: 50/100
Constructiveness: 74/100
Leadership: 56/100

You are a WECL–Wacky Emotional Constructive Leader. This makes you a people’s advocate. You are passionate about your causes, with a good heart and good endeavors. Your personal fire is contagious, and others wish they could be as dedicated to their beliefs as you are.

Your dedication may cause you to miss the boat on life’s more slight and trivial activities. You will feel no loss when skipping some inane mixer, but it can be frustrating to others to whom such things are important. While you find it difficult to see other points of view, it may be useful to act as if you do, and play along once in a while.

In any event, you have buckets of charisma and a natural skill for making people open up. Your greatest asset is an ability to make progress while keeping the peace.

damn. i took it twice and got the same thing. i’d have hoped to be more of an evil genius or a golden god. Try it here.