haaa

poking fun at the sartorialist
from refinery 29

two weeks left of work (10 days).

design crush

wedding + travel + back home again.

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last night: dreams of marriage & lava rocks & kids &the southern tip of chile.

and I realized, I want a yearlong honeymoon.

For the year after our wedding we will backpack around, choosing two continents – South America and - _(his choice)_. Instead of gifts we will ask our guests for plane tickets/ dinners/ outings/ rail passes, etc. All travel related. No stifling blenders, espresso machines, – experience, not things.

last two photos from a cup of jo.

miked.

last night my phone rang at one am. i thought it might be jackie, the 561 area code, so i picked up. low and behold it was mike kurtz, my neighbor and classmate from preschool to grade 12 - I have been avoiding his calls since december.

this is why:

Me: Hello?

Mike: ROBIN!

Me: Mike. You finally got me to pick up the phone. Who's number is this?

Mike: Irrelevant, McIntosh. What's up.

Me: Nothing.

Mike: I was just thinking about the time Blake, you and I were sitting on the trampoline, remember that?

Me: Yes.

Mike: And Blake told you that you came in somewhere between a pixie and a troll.

Me: He smelled like beef cubes!

Mike: And remember when you egged my house and I got in huge trouble and you told me to tell my Mom you were making cookies? As an excuse?

Me: I was wise beyond my years.

Mike: Remember our secret spot behind the fire station?

Me: that was MY spot asshole.

Mike: Remember when you told Gabe you didn't want to date him anymore and he tried to drown himself in the pool? Cold hearted, Robin, cold hearted.

Me: REMEMBER YOU USED TO MAKE ME BIKE AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD WITH A ROPE TIED AROUND MY WAIST? AND YOU USED TO WEAR ROLLERSKATES AND MAKE ME DRAG YOU?? REMEMBER THAT? HUH? REMEMBER THAT?!!

.... silence.

misteak.

sarah & I doth protest.

monday night dinners:
hijacked by the tofurkies.

happy mother's day.

day one: quitting smoking.

from some don't smoke and don't smoke now website:

Within 12 hours after you have your last cigarette, your body will begin to heal itself. The levels of carbon monoxide and nicotine in your system will decline rapidly, and your heart and lungs will begin to repair the damage caused by cigarette smoke. As your body begins to repair itself, instead of feeling better right away, you may feel worse for a while. It's important to understand that healing is a process­;it begins immediately, but it continues over time. These "withdrawal pangs" are really symptoms of the recovery process.

Immediately after quitting, many ex-smokers experience "symptoms of recovery" such as temporary weight gain caused by fluid retention, irregularity, and dry, sore gums or tongue. You may feel edgy, hungry, more tired, and more short-tempered than usual and have trouble sleeping and notice that you are coughing a lot. These symptoms are the result of your body clearing itself of nicotine, a powerful addictive chemical. Most nicotine is gone from the body in 2-3 days.

my sister visited this weekend!

we:
went to la
went to venice
went to hermosa beach
went thrift store shopping
went to dinner w/friends
took photos
went to dog park
went home.

reasons to quit smoking:

- I will live longer and live healthier.

- The people around me will be healthier.

- I will be able to breathe easier.

- I will lower my risk of heart attack, stroke, or cancer.

- I will be able to sleep easier.

- I will have dewy, youthful skin!

- I won’t get emphysema before I turn 25.

- My asthma will reduce.

- I will save money (200 a month!)

- I won’t smell like cigarettes.

- My car won’t smell like cigarettes.

- My DOG won’t smell like cigarettes.

reasons to continue smoking:

- because quitting is too difficult?

dawg.

I am listening to NPR Fresh Air w/Terry Gross interviewing Michael Schaffer.... about his book about dogs. I'm reminded of an article I wrote ages ago:

This weekend I attended a blow out birthday celebration for a seven year old… dog. My friend Wendy threw a class-act party, complete with a cake, ice cream, pin the tail on the human – the works. Her dog is a seven pound Maltese named Bella. Bella, like many American dogs, has a sweet life. For one thing she has a better wardrobe than I do –diamond collars, Gucci carrying cases, dozens of sequined tops, mini UGG boots... This particular evening she sported a pin k tiara and a tutu to match. After she blew out the candle on Bella’s birthday bone, Wendy wanted to go around the table and have every guest tell his or her favorite “Bella” story. I looked over at her – she sat there beaming, tears shining in her eyes.

So I got home, still shaking my head. I looked at my dog – a mutt who looks like a mini sheepdog– and felt… well, guilty. Now I look at my Sir Sampson and see not him, but all the opportunities he will miss by being my pet. He will never herd sheep – or snap the necks of waterfowl, as he was allegedly meant to…. He will never lie on the couch of a pet analyst and unload his many worries…. You know, about his terrible owner, and how she doesn’t buy him gold food dishes or a Chuck-It or… dare I say it? Neuticles.

Am I a bad pet owner? Does the fact that I use the word “owner” instead of “Mommy” make that statement more answer, less question?

.... citing facts about the steep rise of pet ownership in america....

Naturally I have questions regarding this situation. Why now? Why America? Are we, US citizens, really so lonely that we need these mute, submissive “companions”? And if we are, why don’t we step outside and meet a neighbor? Why resort to animals?

& so on & so forth. I post this excerpt to bolster my claim that this guy stole my book idea. I wish we had 48 hours in every day, and we were able see through all the grandiose and radical ideas floating through our brains. Maybe when I retire I can patent my various fledgling inventions between golf rounds and adult diaper changes. But for now... back to work.


:::: good thought pushing me : tomorrow is Friday : )

one more:

this blog made me laugh.

when I lived in Spain my friends & I would hold "mullet spotting" contests.

it was all fun and games until my friend dated one of them (see photo).

after a month and a half I finally got up the nerve to ask this foreign man
for a chance to give his hair a glory tug.

my friend still brings it up, calling me the "bane" of her "zaragozan romance."

It was so worth it.

my old journals

hi, ladies. you are probably wondering why i put you in the title - just wanted to remind you how quickly things change. love to you all.
***
I am: a person who saves a lot and writes down even more

I have kept a journal since I was nine years old.

I was born in 1985. 1985 to 1998 was a good time for me. Before 1998 there are dried flowers, rhyming poetry, dramatic gestures – and the occasional “guest” entry from my sister, Jackie.

But then, the real fun begins! (sarcasm: i need to define it for the californians). Here are some (tiny) excerpts from my past:
1998
His overpowering hands
I am nothing, left with a memory of a girl
And nice
Long ago

1999
I don’t know why I am not good enough for -----.
I feel horrible for ---- sometimes.
Sometimes I wish I could leave here forever. And never look back.
2000
I love myself.
I hate myself.

2001
Why am I so screwed up about boys?

2002
So it’s gone. They’re gone. The only familiar faces from my seventeen years have just left me, parted from me, blustering and red faced at a security checkpoint. I woke up to my new mother calling “Robine” into the room. They are young! I don’t know how to say anything. Or if I did know the language, I wouldn’t know what to ask! and wtf, why does Luis (loo-eeeeeze is how they say it) leave the toilet seat up? Last night I FELL IN!

2003
I love Spain. I love it, I love it, I love it – I never want to leave!

2003 – Summer
------ calls last night at five in the morning. Why? Booty call? Weed run? Or to talk? Fuck him. Every few nights I have a drug dream. Fuck me!
2004
Am I turning into Papa?
2005
Wasps breath alcohol – that's what ----- says. Am I a wasp? I’m British and Irish. Yes, I am probably a wasp.
Wait, I'm not protestant. Hell, I’m probably a hornet.

2006
I just met the ----- sister who was really into coke and sex. And then I met -----------. She has a pinched face.
How did I end up here?

2007
California light is gold. Am I ever going to return to Michigan? Jackie’s calling, gotta go.

2008
Now.
Funny how things turn out. I could pull different tidbits from my journals and present an entirely different past...
... but no worries, I'll leave you with this random assortment for now.
Happy Thursday!!

good deed today: cleaning the ernster's dirty dishes. 9 - it was a foul job.

meeting

At seven we went to a meeting, and as always, I heard exactly what I needed to hear.

This is what was said:

If I take the right action, my heart and mind will follow.

Whatever you envy – that is exactly what you cannot have for yourself.

Comfort is a want not a need.

i have come to the conclusion that the mundane and the miraculous are perilously close together. what i consider mundane is oftentimes miraculous - and what i considered miraculous, (usually past tense), i realize later is truly mundane --

enough of my ranting, now i'm off to four hours of class and afterwards continuing my LOST marathon!

another thing

i have come to the conclusion that the mundane and the miraculous are perilously close together. what i consider mundane is oftentimes miraculous - and what i considered miraculous, (usually past tense), i realize later is truly mundane --

enough of my ranting, now i'm off to four hours of class and afterwards continuing my LOST marathon!