Rabble-Rousers at the Los Angeles Times...and they look familar

So apparently the paper I work for is openly supports Obama. If you know me, you know that I am not a political person at all. SO of course I had no idea what was going on. I just kept hearing there are protesters down stairs. Lots of people were going down to take pictures. I laughed and kept working. About 11am I got a call from my Aunt Nora. She asked me where I worked and I said the LAtimes.com and she was like where? I said 1st and Spring st. She laughed and said we are here come down and have lunch with us. I said sure, what the heck are you doing here? We're down stairs protesting your paper. HAHA. I AM SOOOO SERIOUS They really were. Here are the pictures to prove it:











Isn't that the funniest thing you have ever heard. The LAtimes just pay my bills and they do not speak for me. I keep my opinions to myself. But it was nice to see them. They even took some time to have lunch with me. We had an hour and half lunch got to catch up and talk about things. Oh I got my picture taken too - that way Erika cannot say I never did anything political in my life. I even spoke up for my ancestors. LOL


On the train home there was a man who sounded like Beetlejuice. I swear! I just wanted to get up and see what he looked like but I couldn't. I kept shaking my head, there is no way he sounds like that. I kept thinking he was messing around. I am sure there was a reason, but it made me smile.

Hey today I read that Mother Teresa can from a very wealthy family and turned from the money to become the saint she was. That is true faith. Also what would you do if you failed at the one thing you knew you were meant for over and over again year after year? Would you give up? Well I for one am happy the President Lincoln didn't. He has an amazing sorry of losing at everything he wanted and the winning the big one! I read that today too. Sorry, the story grabbed me so I had to share.

No Anthrax scare at the LAT - just fun!

I'm not sure if you heard - The FBI on Wednesday arrested a Sacramento activist on suspicion of mailing more than 120 anthrax hoax packages to addresses around the country, primarily to news organizations. We did not get a mailing that I am aware of. Instead we had this big Sale Rally. It was my first event at the LAtimes.com. It was in the auditorium and it was packed! They had a DJ, balloons, beer/wine, and pizza. Are you kidding me...BEER AND PIZZA! Let's just stop and soak that in. Does anyone else think maybe I chose to work at the right place? You'll be happy or shocked to hear that I refrained from having a beer. However, I did not refrain from the pizza - of course not. I love pizza, if they had a muppet I guess instead of cookie monster is would be pizza monster (or nacho monster).

Yesterday on the way home I met Tom and Chris. They were very fun men. Tom did the greatest impression of the cafe attendant - you know the one I posted a picture of. I laughed a lot. They know all of the conductors by name. He also said that on monday he fell asleep on his way home and one of the conductors has to wake him up. He said Jerry asked him if he was gonna give off. Tom said there was not another single person on train. Andy stopped and said Hi to me. He asked me how I was and about my day. He stood there looking at me, he was waiting for me to pack up. BUT my stupid computer would not turn off. Ugg. I asked him how he was doing and he said good but he is hungry, but just realized that he has not food at home and he did not want to go shopping. Was that a hint? Did he want me to have dinner with him? Damn I have been out of the dating game for a long time. Have I mentioned how cute he is?

Today that man on the loud speaker was saying his normal speech when I realized that I start each day on the negative. "The speech: This is your first boarding call for train 586 bound for Goleta and making all stops in between. For business class ticket holders boarding is at stop G. For all other you can board at any car." Interpretation if you are special you can load a gate G but the rest of you get on any where. We could careless. Just get the heck on. WOW what a way to start my day. I wake up trying to be positive and look forward to a great day. Then I get this, what am I up for? HAHA Funny how it takes this long for me to even hear his words. I guess that is what they call going through the motions.

Did you know that when Leonardo Da Vinci was painting the Last Supper he wanted to make sure that the painting was as realistic as it could be. So he spent days and weeks looking for the right person to pose for each disciple and Jesus. One day he found a man that he really felt embodied Jesus. He had the man come and sit for him. Then he found person after person to sit for the disciples. That last disciple he had not been able to find someone to pose for Judas. He looked for weeks ( or a long time) every where, but then he sat and decided where would a person who would have the life style of Judas be? Then he started to visit jails. After visiting many jails he finally found the one person he felted embodied Judas to a T. After arranging for many guards to bring the man to his studio he finally started to paint the final scene of his painting. As the hours passed away while he was painting he started to notice that the man looked downhearted almost in pain. After a few visits Leonardo started to really notice that the man looked uncomfortable and he looked from the painted to the painter and back again several times. Finally Leonardo asked the man if he was ok. No answer. Are you sure you ok, you look like you are in pain. No answer. Do you not like how the painting is coming out? The man answered master you don't recognize me? Leonardo said no, did he know him. He said you look at me and dont know me and it pains me. I am the man you painted long ago - I sat for Jesus. Isn't that crazy. God really showed me today that we all have a part in us that strives to be holy and good, but we can all fall into the bad and ugly. I really am aware of that in my own life, but I now I feel a little better. That was a summary of the story I read today. Embrace your strengths and weaknesses, don't try to bury them under the carpet. Walking away from them does not make them go away...they will come back up and probably in a way that you'd never want them to. Man I have been there. Love yourself for all you are.

If your happy and you know clap your hands...

If your happy and you know it then your face will surely show it, if your happy and you know it clap your hands. I had to throw back to the preschool days. I just have to say though my life is far from perfect, I am happy about the life that God has given me. The ups and downs. Guess who forgot to bring her (anthony's) ipod. Boo Hoo. I went to sleep any way. Small pet peeve...Ok so it is Anaheim and I am pretending to sleep. My legs are crossed and I am taking up both chairs and then the guy just sits down. NO he did not even ask me. Just sat on down. Who does that? I was so pist. No I do not have right to be made at all, but heck I had some extra energy to waste.

Ok since the PM trip was kind of boring, I am going to tell you about my weekend.

I took Anthony and Bryan on the train to see my Mom and Dad in Los Angeles. It was Bryan's first time on the train and he was excited. We all sat together and all did our own thing. Bryan played his DS, Anthony and Kaitlyn ( his girlfriend) did their school work and I looked at the paper and did a soduku book. When we got almost to Fullerton, we grabbed our stuff and went down stairs. As soon as we got down there the conductor said we were gonna stop here until another train passes by. It took a long time and Bryan started to get nervous. He started asking all sorts of questions. Why is the track sort of tilted? If we are stopped so that another train can go by, does that mean they are gonna run into us? How long does this take? But we made it to the station in one piece.

We had to grab the 5:40 pm train home so we left my parents house at 5:05 pm. We were gonna grab some food for us but there really wasn't a restaurant on our side of the street and it was 5:28 already. The station had a cafe so we all went in. Bryan and I ordered grilled cheese sandwiches and Anthony ordered nachos. The lady said it will only take 5 minutes, but of course that is 5 minutes after she putts around. 5:38 pm and I am getting frustrated. (personal note: stress does not affect me but frustration could kill me. If I am not able to control a situation my heart starts to beat out of my chest and my emotions are uncontrollable). I tell the kids to get over to the other platform and I'd meet them there even if I had to run up and over the bridge and down again. The food was not coming and I started to get nervous and then I told my parents how sorry I was that they just wasted 18 dollars on food for us that we will never eat. My Dad said don't worry about it, just go. I kissed them goodbye and ran. As soon as I stepped off the stairs the train door opened up and we got on. No food and no seats. Standing room only. It took a bit for everyone to get off of the train and get on. Then just as my mom comes running down the stairs and is only feet away from the door it closes. Then someone pulls the emergency cord because their friends did not get on, I yell run!!! and I grab the food. Yipee. Then the doors close again. Then open again because the an elderly couple could not get off of the train quick enough because of all of the people. I yell thank you so much love you...to my very out of breath parents. Anthony said he could not remember ever seeing my mom run that quick. We stood up for so long and Bryan did not like that. It was not until we got to San Juan Capistrano...ugg. Bryan said that he thought it was quicker than driving. I said it was nicer than driving, because I get to listen to my own music and if they bug me I can get up and walk away. LOL

Cox Communication

SLEEEPER CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the end.


Ride home was very uneventful. I managed to find a seat in the cafe car and met a couple of really nice people. We talked about my careers and family. They we talked about their careers and family. One guy has a 15 year old daughter and he said that every single Thursday is his night with her. This started when she was 2 and he said he has never missed a Thursday in the last 13 years. So awesome. Then this lady stared talking about her sister and her new job. She is a customer satisfaction consultant for Cox Communication. Essentially she talked to people who are upset about their cable all day long. On her first day of work she got a call from this guy. She said he was so upset and sounded very gay. She said he was crying and very distraught. He could not believe his bill was so high and on and on. She just let him get it all of his chest. She could not believe someone could be so upset. Then when she had a chance to speak she said the most priceless thing in the world. "I am sorry that COX has left a bad taste in your mouth" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH She then had to put him on hold as she could compose herself. She said it just slipped out and it did not totally hit her for a few seconds. Isn't that the greatest story! Gets better then the same lady told us that a friend of hers hand another great story. Ok so this guy was at work and he said he never "goes to the bathroom" (you know what I mean) at work. But this day he had to go so bad. BTW, it was his birthday that day. He told her that he could not believe how long he was in the bathroom for (MEN!) He was laughing to himself that they had all probably gone home for the day it had been so long. Finally he was done doing business and washed his hand and walked out the bathroom to a large group of people waiting outside the door singing Happy Birthday! HAHA Too great.

Then I sat alone for awhile and was joined by two YOUNG marines. They were so funny. They shared a car of beer because they did not have any money. The poured half in each plastic cup and drank happily. One of them kept trying to convince me that his friend was gay. Be part about it, this guy had pictures of other guy body builders on his phone! I'm not sure he was gay, but hmmmmm. We talked about a lot of things on the 30 ride from Oceanside to Solana Beach. As my stop came close I started to say good bye and they tried to beg me to stay the rest of the trip with them. They even offered to buy my ticket back. HAHA I said sure when? Right after you share that one beer because all you have is $4.25.

Mental telepathy?

So do you believe in mental telepathy? The other day when I was commuting with my mom and dad, I had a conversation with a fly. Bear with me...so on Thursday the metro was pretty empty. The doors open and closed with no one getting in. Then at Crenshaw the door opened and in flew a fly. I just looked at him and told him well now your stuck. You can keep flying around all you want but you can't get out. Sorry, there are no windows, but if you hang by the door you will get out for sure. But he was not listening to me. He just kept flying around. At one point he landed on the handle next to the door and I said yeah that is a good place to be. But of course he left that place and flew around again. I mean seriously? What the heck? I'm trying to help the guy. We slowly approach our next stop and I said ok here is your chance, get ready. The door open, he flew around and slam he just made it out. As he was leaving he said thanks lady! No of course I never actually used my voice to talk to the fly...we had our conversation through mental telepathy. He was a pretty nice guy.

That evening was my last training class and we had a test to take. I was so antsy, because I wanted to be able to catch my usual train home and not stay in LA again. No offense mom and dad, but I wanted to sleep in my own bed, see my cat and wear my own clothes. We got the tests and I rushed through it. I did not want to give myself any time to think about the answers, that is when I mess up. First one done, I know I missed one for sure. Seems like years before everyone else was done. At like 4:40pm (I usually leave at 4:30 pm, they finally hand our tests back and say we can only miss 4 points. We are now going to review that test question by question...noooooooooooooooo! I look down -1 1/2! AWESOME. Ahh excuse me, but may I leave I only missed 1 1/2 points. Thanks! Bye!!!!!!! I ran to the station and hoped on the metro. I'm sorry but there are two trains ahead of us to leave, and we will be stuck here for a few minutes. NOOOOOOO Say it ain't so. It was so. I finally got to the amtrak at 5:05 with the train leaving at 5:10pm. WOOHOO I get to go home. The rest of the trip was boring.

The door reopens/one month

Zippy do dah zippy dee ah...the sleeper car is back!!!!! Sleep glorious sleep I got to sleep sooooooooo well today. Really not much more to say.

I took the red to the blue to the green line home today. I am going to have dinner with Denise tonight. Hmmm this is pretty boring isnt it. So I'll combine tues and wednesday.


Today we all commuted to work, Mom, Dad and myself. For some reason every time we line up to leave the house together I always here that song from Snow White. Speaking of Snow White, Bob is gonna be snow white for halloween. Snow White is my favorite princess, so it is only right that she be her. Right? Oh umm Bob is my niece Alyssa. It's a long story, but feel free to email me and I'll tell you it all. In fact, if any of you would like to email me it is terri_perkins@yahoo.com. Bob is such a cutie, I miss her. I have even got to meet little H.R. either. My parents are going to see them all in a bit. Wow, is anyone else noticing from my blog that I have A.D.D. Today's commute was how can I put it...annoying! So as we pull up to the Redondo Station at 7:30 am bye bye train it pulls away. I jump on the next one and head to the hood. Get off the green and head to the blue. I walk down the stairs train is there and I get a few inches away (running) and bye bye train leaves. ARE YOU SERIOUS! Oh yeah I was trying to get to work by 8:30am so I could to the AM training at work...yeah did not get there in time oh well. The day was slow, but my training was worse. I'd already been through this class at AOL and used the program for about a year. But you got to do what you got to do. PM commute, rush to the red line and hope on. Get to the blue line and I have to stand the whole way. Uggh it was so crowded. Get to the green line rushing and guess what? Yep doors close...but I push the open door button anyway and it works! I get in find a seat and then it happens "we have a broken down train on the tracks and we will be here for awhile" Yippeee.

AM drive I saw someone with a silver plated cassette tape belt buckle. I swear. Then the girl that sat next to me was writing her own excuse note for school. It was so fake. She needs to practice her mom's signature better. On the way home today this family came in next to me. The mom "rested her eyes" and the little brother bugged his sister and she totally socked him. I almost peep my pants laughing. She had a lot of patience, I would have hit him sooner. Then later she was telling her mom about how a friend at school got stabbed today. She said her friend got punched in the neck by some chick with a big ass "diamond" ring. She said it was so bloody. Then she said she was stuck in the office until 4 period. Her mom was like good then they can't blame you for the fight. She said I mean it, one more thing and you are out of the school. She said I know I know and then she continued to explain the gory details. Oh the things you see and hear on the Metro.

p.s. I have been at my job for one month now!

Monday Monday

Well it is Monday. My ride to work looked like this: (minus the bear)


On my ride home I met the most colorful man. He is a surfer and he had just spent time in Oxnard surfing. He's got three kids and they are all of very different ages. He saw Matthew McConaughey eating scallops at a bar in Malibu. He said he seemed pretty cool, and there were not paparazzi bothering him. He said he'd rather be flying than taking the train. Every single time a train passed us by, he totally freaked out. He kept saying he felt like he was at Disneyland. He totally reminded my of any "typical" surfer you'd see in a movie. He was very nice. He complimented my on my cross like 3 times, yes part of me thought he was complimenting me on my breasts. HAHA He kept saying "where was I his whole trip, I am so fun". I just said I was at work sitting behind a desk while he was surfing the world. He has not worked for 6 months because he is about to have knee surgery #3. How the heck is he still surfing! He said he thinks next month he is gonna go to Spain to surf. I did not even know you could surf there. Dang what a life. I wonder if he truly has not cares in the world. I wonder if he knows how if feels to wake up in complete peace every day. Minus the pain in his knees. It makes me think, can you still live the life you live today and feel so peaceful or relaxed?

For now, I think I am going to try to get to that place in my life.

And the magic door to Narnia closed...

Well I guess all good things have to end. But why do they have to end the day after it began. Yes, you've guessed it the magic train car was just an illusion. Apparently not every one of the surfliner's has the car. BOO HOO. I was so happy on Friday to get to catch a little more sleep (i've been staying up at night sewing my halloween costume). The train pulls up, I'm so excited and then POP! My balloon bursts as the mystery car is not attached! All I could hear in my head was..waw waw wawww. Oh well, I mean If I got to ride in style everyday, then I would start expecting to be treated like a princess every day. Telling people to make me dinner, wash my clothes and pick up my mail. Oh opps! Yeah you're right Kristi I already do do that to you. If I have not told you lately I LOVE YOU!. Seriously, she is the best. Unless she is bed ridden, then it is give me this, I want some of that and hey take my kids to schoool, give them their meds...I can go on. HAHAHAHA Just kidding. She was not so bad at all. Where was I? Oh yes I had to sit in a regular everyday not so special blue train seat. Oh sure it reclines, but no foot rest and curtains. Sleep was so so, yet it was sleep.

My ride home was more crowded than usual. As the train approached the platform, they were already announcing that the train was going to be standing room only. UGGH. Oh well I got on and squished my way into a corner of the Cafe car. It was the same old crew there, all squished. But then in walked this horrible, nauseating smelling man. I mean he smelled so bad that it did not matter where you were in distance from him in the car, you smelled him. SERIOUSLY!!!! How can you smell that bad and not know or care? Promise me that if I ever smell that you will all tell me. Worse thing is he decided he wanted to sit down where we all were. There are NOOOOOOOOO windows. No seats any where else. NOOOOO escape. Wait is get better....he is going from LA to Oceanside! Say it ain't so. There also was this lady who had been on the train since Oxnard and she was trashed. She smelled like cigarettes! She was comedy. She said she ran some fishing boats and was gonna bring us all some huge tunas. What a great 2 hour ride that would be with huge ass fishes stuck in the car too. There was this guy who was going to San Diego to spend the weekend with his kids. Nice, guy but really not my type. Yes, Alicia he is breathing - shut it. Then we met this really drunk girl who thought we were together and she offered us her last 4 trips on her 10 day pass. She said all she wants to do if help two people who are in love..she believes in helping long distance relationships. Too Funny! Well that is where the trip ended.

The Doorway to Heaven...

Yes of course I know that the song is Stairway to Heaven...but you see I have already walked up the stairs before I enter Heaven through the "doorway". You know that feeling when you find a place where you feel so comfortable. Like a sleep number bed, where you get to make the mattress exactly the way you want it. Or that pair of pj's you live in. What only I do that? Well anyway I think you get my point. With how busy everyone's life is now a days, sometimes you just need to slow down and relax. But where? Sure you could go grab a beer with your friends, but seriously are you really relaxed and slowing down? I don't. I start dancing and then talking and going miles a minute. You all know that! Shit where was I going with all of this? Oh yeah, today I found my new oasis. There is a train car that has lazy boy chairs, curtains on the window, lots of leg room and most of all everyone thinks it is business class and IT IS NOT! Ok, so they are not really lazy boys but the recline and have foot rests. The seats are bigger and it is nice and dark. I slept like a BABY. Why do we say that? Not all babies sleep well. Some wake up in the middle of the night, some toss and turn, others have coughing fits. Or maybe I slept like a log. But seriously, what the heck does that mean? Like a log..do they really sleep? I mean they are not alive. If this is the definition of sleep: Sleep is a natural state of bodily rest observed throughout the animal kingdom. Then how could a log sleep. But I digress. This new (new to me) train car rocks. Oh it also has it's own bathrooms. Yes I said bathrooms. Downstairs there are 4 big bathrooms and even a dressing room. It is soooooo awesome. This is my new best friend.

p.s. Bachelor #1 said hi to me tonight and asked me how I was doing. Nope this wasn't a Hi and you are on the train...this was a hi in the dark (ok dimly lit) parking lot as I was getting into my car. YES, I know he is married, but a girl like attention so sue me!

We slept and he spoke gibberish

Today was not a extraordinary day, but i guess you can expect to have those every day. Today I was pretty tired and I woke up late and got to the platform with one minute to spare. Did you know that trains don't wait for you? I mean you can't even wave and say stop. No really, they just keep riding along. I got on, found a seat and went to sleep. I was joined in Oceanside by an older man. He read his paper and then he slept. We were like two peas in a pod. Well then again maybe not two peas in a pod, but well whatever, you get my point. We both slept until Fullerton, ok well maybe it was about 15 minutes from LA. Now how is that for excitement? You're probably saying gee Terri I logged on to read this! No pictures, no funny stories, no cool people? GEEZ

Ok on my way home I sat at the table upstair near the cafe cart. I was joined by two gentlemen and a older lady. Let me just say that one of the gentlemen was very handsome,the other was not too bad either. Both of these gentlemen without one of those little gold rings on their fingers. Yes, I know that this happens to be a theme in my conversations with you...but hey this girl is single and I would like that to STOP! ;-)

Bachelor #1 Cute guy my age, works for a legal office (how do I know I saw what the was working on), lives in San Diego and hails from Colorado. He very much misses skiing but would not want to go back to living there. Travels to Los Angeles twice a week Tuesday and Thursdays.


Bachelor #2 Kind of cute, like his hair. He is also my age and currently is working for the American Film Institute. He hails all the way from New Jersey with a stop in Rochester, and Portland before settling down in North Hollywood.

Question #1 Do you like living in San Diego:
Bachelor #1 - Yes, I love San Diego how can you not love all the sun and beautiful days we have here.
Bachelor #2 - No, I hate Los Angeles, make that southern California. You have no seasons here, it is always hot and dry. If I did not have to be here for work I would not be here.

We will pause for a few comments - Bachelor #2 and I both got the microbrew beer. Bachelor #1 drinks mexican beer and small bottles. He said he is really not a beer drinker and it would go to waste. WHAT! BEER TO WASTE? SAY IT AINT SO. Bachelor #1 and I both had our Ipods out and we were both working. We both seem to have good jobs. Bachelor #2's job is a bunch of gibberish. No Seriously, here is what was coming out of his mouth (while he talked on the phone for and hour and half) "Well I muliplied the chormatisity by the vector and cross referenced that with the xyz factor line...I realize that but I'm not trying to cover my mistakes I am just saying that is how i calculated the chormatisity..chromatisity like 10 more times. He said it so much I almost started a drinking game out of it. But I shortly realized I'd be out of beer real quick and that would be a bummer. Oh yeah forgot the iso zen curve.

Question#2 Why are you in San Diego?
Bachelor #1 - I live here
Bachelor #2 - I am visiting my GIRLFRIEND
- "You are the weakest link. Goodbye."

Questions #3 - where would you live if you could chose a place?
Bachelor #1 - I'd stay here
Bachelor #2 - I'd move back to Portland where I could ski from Novemember to June.
Bachelor #1 - I love Portland, but I'd never want to live there.
Why asks the moderator?
- My in laws live there
Your ex in laws asks the moderator?
- no my wife's parents
- "Survey says!" XXX

And well GOOD NIGHT GRACIE, GOOD NIGHT JOHN BOY....until we meet again.

- moral of the story...just because they don't have a ring on doesn't mean they are not married! Damnit

Grandma P and Preschool Teaching pays??? (AM commute posted earlier today)

Well after such a wonderful morning and a pretty good day at work. The ride home started to look bleak when I heard on the internet radio that there is a pretty big fire on Camp Pendleton. Why? The Amtrak train goes through this area. Mostly the northbound more than the southbound, but there as still concern. I got the the train station and found out that the train from San Diego that does the turn around trip was not able to come get us. However, the train headed northbound from Chatsworth could not go any further north because of the fires up there, so it because the southbound to us to take home. I asked the conductor what were the chances we were not going to be able to make it all the way home and he could not answer me. So I made a call to my Mom and Dad to let them know I just might need them to pick me up some where on the route if we got stuck. Needless to say, I made it all the way home.

My trip home was pretty calm. I got some work done and watched a close eye on the fires and I sent a couple text to my friend who lives by base. She's OK as of now. I was pretty much just working the whole way home. Then when we were almost to Oceanside the coolest thing happened. This older lady came walking by me and was about to go down the stairs (which is very hard for me when the train is moving) so I asked her if she's like any help. She looked at me and smiled and said she was just gonna head downstairs before we get to Oceanside. Then she looked back at me and said, well maybe I'll just sit here for a bit if you don't mind. Did you know that tomorrow is my Grandma Perkins's birthday? Did you know that the lady sitting next to me looked like my Grandma? Yes...not 100% but very close. She talked to me about spending time with her son on Chatsworth and that the fires were very close to the house. She said the actually put the firefighter lines in front of their property. When they asked if they could leave to take their mother to the train station, they said if you leave you wont be let back in. So they walked to the end of their road and asked one of the news reporters if they would drop her off...and they did. How sweet is that. She said she brought a book on board but had so much fun talking to people she never read it. She said she doesn't know why but when she packed she forgot to pack a sweater. He son gave her an very large flannel shirt to wear but after a day or two wearing it she told her daughter in law that she needed to get something that looked nicer. She said the mall they went to was the biggest mall she had ever seen. She also said that she told her daughter in law that if they had an earthquake right now no one would ever find their bodies (it was an underground mall). She asked me about my commute and told me that I need to be careful. She was so sweet and cute. Then we heard a child crying a lot downstairs and I said oh that child is not happy. She said no not at all, and she was glad she sat with me instead of going down there. HAHA We pulled up into the station and we said our goodbyes, and with a beautiful smile Grandma P's look a like walked away.


We had a brief stop at Oceanside so I got up and walked around. The child downstairs was crying so much. Then I heard a baby cry. I just kept thinking oh that poor mom, they must have been traveling for hours. Those children sound so sad. Went back upstairs and finished a few more pages in my book, but I just could not help but listen to that poor child cry. I also heard the mom say she had to wait till they got home. So of course the preschool teacher in my starts to think that maybe I could help this lady who is stuck on a train with two little ones. So I reached into my travel bag and pulled out a pink highlighter and some lined paper that I had with my work stuff. I walked downstairs to find the crying child. I walked up to the mom and said would it be ok if I gave her this to keep her entertained, she looked so sad? The mom just smiled and looked very surprised, like what the heck is going on. I got down on the little girls level and asked her if she'd like to draw. Her face light up like a candle. She quickly grabbed the paper and pen and started drawing. She was smiling and talking up a storm. The mom just seemed like she had no idea what to say. I said I used to teach preschool, I come prepared for everything. I even had a snack pack of cookies for her in case the drawing did not work. I sat with the little one for about 5 minutes then I told the mom she could keep the pen and paper and to have a pleasant rest of her trip. She said thank you so much, I really appreciate it. I just smiled and said your welcome. From that point on the child seemed very content...no more crying fits. See all things past and present happen for a reason.

Who would have ever know that when I woke up this morning I would have such an AWESOME day.

p.s. I also saw one of the guys from my first friday in the cafe car. :-) I think his name is Dan or maybe Dave. He lives in PB and his girlfriend lives in Poway. Pretty much all I remember him saying.

p.s.s I saw some girl REALY sleeping on the train tonight and let's just say WOW! I truly hope I don't look like that. (I felt to ashamed to take the picture...sorry) I am 100% sure I do but OMG. I wonder how many people have taken pictures of me? Am I an ugly sleeper? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Tranquility on a train? - Monday AM post

Imagine this if you will...
It was a very chilly 47 degrees, winds blowing from the east and the only thing to break the peace was the sound of a locomotion heading my way. After a brief period of settling in noises (zipping bags, leaning back chairs and opening breakfast bags) the only thing to be heard was the rumble of the train on the tracks. I've leaned my chair back and I have turned on my ipod (Anthony's ipod to be exact) and closed my eyes. Every morning I take the 2 hours train ride as a time to take in the beauty of the sunrise, pray, listen to Christian music and let myself rest or sleep. However, today was so different. I leaned back closed my eyes and started to listen to my music and I was transformed to a place that was so tranquil I felt like I was the only one on the train. I'd wake up to a certain song and just feel as if God was singing straight to me. You know like when you are driving around and you don't hear every song on the radio but they all of a sudden one comes on and it totally talkes to you. I have been wrestling with some things lately and worring too much. The music lifted me up so much and helped me remember the when you dont know what else to do lift it up in prayer. I can't even begin to explain how I felt, but I am very glad no one sat next to me today. I was ready to face what ever came my way.

"When one has the feeling of dislike for evil, when one feels tranquil, one finds pleasure in listening to good teachings; when one has these feelings and appreciates them, one is free of fear."- Buddha

15 days down and I'm still having fun!

I have made it 15 days in a row only 6 more days before commuting becomes a habit. Simple repetitive tasks require a timeframe of approximately 21 days to condition. I'm almost a programmed robot. 6:45 am walk on to the train as it slows down, up the stairs and find a seat...4:30 pm shut down at work and walk/run to the station. Day in and day out. HAHA I'm just kidding I'm loving it. Of course there are boring times, but so far it has been fun. I have met some great people and heard some hilarious stories and some sad stories too. I have gotten countless blisters, dry eyes, bruises, lost a book and a ticket, recovered those items, met some cute guys and have become a morning person.

Today I was running soooo late. I got to the station at 6:35 am and had to park in Egypt and walk very very quickly in my boots. Yes the same boots I line dance in...HEELS. Ok you all know that I can barely walk in those things and they are not even real heels. Add to that my bum knee...wow what a site. Oh yeah last night we straightened my hair too, because the curl is almost out and I feel so UGLY. Well let's just say with the straight hair...I felt UGLIER, but we'll get to that in a bit. When I sat down today I wondered if the girl from yesterday was going to ride the train today, but I figured she would probably choose not to commute on a Friday. Well we pulled up to Oceanside and I saw her. I was happy to see a friendly face. she got on behind that one guy who told the kid to put his sister down, last week. She said Hi and I offered her the seat next to me. She started to move toward it then said I am gonna look for some place I can sit near the plug and walked away. I was like, aaahh you could sit here and plug your computer in, I could move. She did not even ask...hmm is it me? Don't answer that. Oh well, I went to sleep until Fullerton got up and went along with my normal tasks. When I got out of the bathroom from putting my contacts in and my make up on there was a hispanic family sitting in front of me. They were so funny. I felt like I was with family. OH BTW they had a very handsome uncle...around his mid 40's. Yeah, didn't get his number either. I have NOOOO game.

I feel like I've earned a couple sentences worth of work talk so here it is. Working at the LAtimes.com has been so great. I really feel like I fit in well. I do miss being able to hang out and talk with Julie like at AOL, but hey I get to wave at her as she rushes down the hall to another meeting. I have pretty much taken over 6 projects and own them completely. I still work on some things with by boss and she seems happy with my work. She is eager to get more off her plate I am sure. I love being down town, it is really cool. I want to walk around and take pictures for everyone...but it might have to be a weekend. Then I can also go hang at Alavera Street. It has been years since I've been there. There are some great buildings in the area both new and old. Oh on Thursdays there is a farmers market right across the street. YUMMY!

Now on to Friday's drive home. I tried very hard to get out of the office early today so that I could get on the train before the 800 million other people. I got there after rushing in those HEELS and no train. Damn thing was late and to top it off the 4:10 pm train home broke down. So now you have hundreds of people that are going to try to jump on my train. Yep you guessed it, standing room only! Where did I choose to stand? Yes my friends in the bar cart. Today was so awesome. There was a larger group of people that take the 4:10 pm train home daily. Every single day they sit in the cafe car and get WASTED. No seriously. These people bought like 10-15 beers and just about that many airplane bottles of alcohol. I was talking to a couple of them and they have been riding the train back and forth from San Juan Cap to LA for 20 years! This one guy was so fun. I think he saw fresh meat with me and started breaking out all of his stupid tricks. He showed me his baby picture...yes the only picture he has of him and him mom when he was one. It was a mom and her baby...with a grown man's penis. The ladies were yelling at him to stop. Leave me alone. Then I got to see a pic of MS Iraq, I got his card (blank card that said "my card" and finally he showed me a picture of his pride and joy.
I was having a blast being the newbie. Then at Irvine, Andy walked in. He was like I though i'd find you here. All he wanted was a beer...guess what? They were totally out! Well expect for bud. Toward the end of the line he kept saying Teresa, I really want a beer. So I said well you can walk across the street from the station and get a beer. (sort of an invite by me, right?) or you can wait to get home. HAHA He said he is a beer snob and did not want a Bud. Hmmm maybe next Friday I should grab him one of the mircobrew beers when I get mine. LOL. We talked a lot and then walk to our car and said our good byes.

Wow I think I like fridays!!! Of course Denise did tempt me to get off in Fullerton and go to Cowboy with her. If I did not have plans this weekend she would have had me at GET OFF! I love you all and thank you for talking the time to listen to me (read my words). I hope I have entertained you, even just a little bit. More to come...WEEK #4 can you believe it?

Wednesday nah skip it Thursday instead

Well I am sure if you really want to hear about my Wednesday I can scratch up a few little tidbits. Slept there and I worked on the way home. Did I tell you that I am one BIG cold sore? Yeah I look like I have leprosy. Oh I did see Andy on the platform before we stopped in Solana Beach, I am sure he thought I looked beautiful. And I had my hear all up in a clip, so cute NOT. Yawn....you a sleep yet?

Thursday morning I got on the train as normal and started to get ready to sleep and then we stop in Oceanside and a girl probably my age gets on and sit by me. She breaks out her computer and I just lean over and sleep. Then around Irvine or Santa Ana I wake up and realize my glasses are gone. Yeah I truly fell asleep and my glasses got up and walked away. Can you believe it? I mean we have been together for 3 years...day in and day out and they just got up and left me! Seriously! What the heck. I get up and start to search around. They are gone. So I ask my neighbor, "any chance you've seen my glasses?" She said I saw them on your lap...funny so did I. After a few minutes of searching, I find them on the side of my chair almost lost for good. Well I am awake now. Suddenly she is ready to talk. Then before I knew it, she does what NO ONE ever does to me...she asked for my opinion on POLITICS. I mean doesn't she know me? ME...ME what is my opinion on political issues. UGGGHHH. "May I ask you a personal question? What are your thoughts on Prop 8?" Yikes, ok well I won't reiterate the conversation but i will say we spoke about it for about 30 or 40 minutes. Erika would have been so proud of me. HAHA Then we talked about our families and she loved the story about my parents. She said that it was one of the best stories she's heard. She asked me if I did the commute daily and told me she does it 2 or 3 times a week. Turns out she and I both take the metro line after union station as well. We continued to talk all the way off the train and while we rode the metro. It was so fun. She is a lawyer and just moved to Oceanside because she got married in May. We parted and said maybe we'd run into each other again soon.

Thursday night was kind of fun. I sat by this guy who is a computer guy at Cal State Santa Barbara. He said how bad can life be if you get to look out on the ocean all day long. I thought about it...yes that would be great. He was going to spend the next few days in Disneyland with his family. He was meeting up with his brother and sister and parents. It had been awhile since they've seen each other. How fun is that! Well, he stopped talking and I started working. The End. I never saw anyone else I knew that evening. Too bad.

Please don't cough in my general direction...

Is it me or do ever feel like all of the sick people in this world are gunning for you? Today I'll be writing my blog backwards from the end of my day to the start. Why? Well to keep you on your feet. Today on the ride home I swear to you I was surrounded by GERMS. No, not just the normal everyday ones that you find on public transportation, but the other ones that float all around you and end up inside you and make you sick. There were 5 people in my car alone that were coughing. Yes, sitting in all the seats near me. No, I'm not talking about a single cough here or there in like an hour. I am talking hacking up a lung and spreading all their germs into the highly air conditioned blowing it on everyone way. It make me mad because germs are so small and sneaky that they creep into our bodies without being noticed. When they get in our bodies, we don't know what hit us until we have symptoms that say we've been attacked! OMG, I have no desire to get sick. Ugg, I sure hope all of my preschool immunities live up to this mess. No silly, not the immunizations I got when I was in preschool many years ago, but the ones I got working at the preschool.

This morning the train was 15 minutes late. I wondered why when I got to the station there was not single person on the platform waiting. They must have all found out and went to get coffee and donuts. Oh speaking of donuts, there must be a store right by the station that pumps their fragrance into the air. Because almost every day on my walk to the train, I can smell this amazing, tantalizing and almost hypnotic smell. Damn now I want a donut. Where was I? Oh this is nothing you should have seen me today at work. I was all over the place. I don't mean I was so awesome I was moving all over the place to do more things. I mean I was starting and starting and never finishing anything. I had total A.D.D. I actually had to shut down all of my programs and close my documents and just sit still and take a deep breath. I then organized my thoughts and restarted my day. Shoot I did it again. Oh yes, the train was running late today, but they did not announce it for a while. As I was standing there more and more people were coming down. That is when I heard it was running late. Then one of my friends from Friday walked by. He was the cute body builder that used to work for the Charges that now is in real estate. As he was walking by I simple smiled and said HI. He then stopped and stood by me. He was pretty upset to hear that the train was running late. He was saying things like now I remember why I stopped taking this train in the morning. He said he knew that since he wanted to be at work early something like this would happen. I told him, look if you were driving and there was traffic you'd still be late. Then I said at least this way you have good company. Smooth huh! He said oh your are so new at this commuting thing, you'll get tainted soon. So cute but such a pessimist. Poor guy. He asked me if they said why the train is running late. I told him no, they had not. He said he hoped it was not a jumper. Then all of a sudden that picture and thought crossed my mind. I mean I never thought about the chances of that happening. I'm not sure how I would take it if someone killed themselves in front of my train on my way to work. Man you have to be so depressed and have such a dismal out look on life and no self esteem (to know that you can better yourself if you put your mind to it) to actually kill yourself. He said it happens a lot. So now not only will I be praying to be a blessing on someone each morning but I will also be praying that any soul feeling that it is time to end it waits just another day (then another and another until they get better). Turns out just a mechanical problemo. Well since we had some time Andy and I talked about me and why I live here in San Diego and commute. He thinks I am smart! He said I'd never want to live there if I did not have to. Ok, I'm not that adamant about not living in LA, but I do know that I love San Diego. He hopes to never have to leave San Diego and he only grew up in Irvine. HAHA He was hoping to get into work early today so he could leave early to watch the debates. Oh sounds like a blast! We talked more about me and I said I'd keep commuting unless I got married and had kids. Then I would really have to re-think everything. He looked at my ring finger a few times. LOL. You know I don't even remember if he was single. Shoot, I should probably figure that out soon. The train arrive and we both got on. I sat in one row and he sat behind me. We traded stupid comments here and there and then it was off to LALA land for me. Hmm kind like it is time for me to do again. I actually did the falling asleep jump like 2 or 3 times today. You know what I mean, the jump you did in class when you fell asleep. The jerk of your whole body before your head hits the desk. Oh it was so embarrassing. Good thing is that no one sat next to me again today. Oh I also forgot to tell you that after writing my post about rudeness yesterday, today like 5 or 6 people said hi or good morning or have a nice night to me. Funny huh! Ok seriously I have to go to bed.
Good Night

Do I smell and many other questions...

I mean really, I took a shower last night. I even did my makeup before I got on the train. Have you ever heard the saying if you want to look beautiful surround yourself with ugly people. Well everyone today must have realized that I was FAR to pretty to sit by. Hence the reason NO ONE all day sat by me on the train, AM or PM. Well that is ok, because this weekend I hurt my knee even more. Why do you still play soccer Terri you may ask? Why, because it is all I know. It is part of my DNA. Without soccer I would I'd NEVER exercise. So maybe just maybe people could tell that I need my space to up my leg up. I mean I looked cute today. No, I still have not got my hair done or the pedicure done, but heck I shaved my legs! Oh yeah and some guy sat in my chair this morning.

Well, I'll get over. Not having any conversations has given me some time to reflect. Time to try to figure of where in the heck did our world go wrong. How did chivalry die? Where did common courtesy go? Why have people stop caring about the people around them? Over the last two weeks I have seen some things that really make me sad, but at the same time proud that I was brought up in such a great family.

Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood. It is usually associated with ideals of knightly virtues, honour and courtly love. Today, the terms chivalry and chivalrous are used to describe courteous behavior, especially that of men towards women. Why is it that a man can sit nice an cozy in a chair and watch a mom and her 3 kids looking for seats and never get up? Why is it that a man will get on the subway and stand right in front of the door and not move as you try to squish in? Why is it that people have stopped teaching their families to put women and children first. To help the elderly of all ages and be plain courteous and respectful.

How hard is it to hold a door for someone? How hard is it to close a bathroom door? How awful would it be to have to move to another seat so a couple could sit together?

Why is it that when other people are in pain or have misfortune that we don't try to help even to the best of our abilities? For the last two fridays I have seen the same lady on the corner of 1st and Spring st. and yes she is a homeless person but does that make her any less of a person? NO. One friday I gave her my water and last friday I looked at her in the eyes smiled and said I am sorry I don't have anything for you today. She said thank you and God bless. Am I an great person for doing that? NO. But I could have made someone's day but making them feel a little love and a little kindness. My heart aches for these people who can't take care of themselves.

Today as I was walking down the hill toward my office building, I saw this hispanic guy leaning on the chain-link fence and it looked like he was stopping a hispanic lady from walking on. I of course thought the worst and I was actually contemplating what I could do to help her. As I walked closer I came to the realization that this man was begging the lady for forgiveness for something. As I got square to them he was on his knee pleading with her and he had tears in his eyes and his voice. She looked so upset. I just started to pray for them and of course i started to cry for them. My heart was so heavy for the guy, I really hope things work out for them.

So since I don't have anything to write about conversations on the train, I will end with this. Thank you God for making me part of the family and giving me the friends you have. I have been blessed with a group of individuals who not only have common courtesy and loving skills...they have taught them to their children. Please and thank you aren't only words they are manners and show respect and courtesy. Thank you for my parents and their unconditional love and support of us.

Thank you for letting me witness the sunrise and sunset of every day. What an amazing way to start and end your day. Take a look.

Sunrise over Batiquitos Lagoon (Solana Beach)


Sunset over Oceanside

Standing room only? You have to be kidding me!

Standing room only...hmm let's think about those words. Per Wikipedia - An event is described as standing room only when it is so well-attended that all of the chairs in the venue are occupied leaving only flat spaces of pavement or flooring for other attendees to stand. Some venues issue standing-room-only (or SRO) tickets for a reduced cost since it can become very uncomfortable to stand through the course of an event (yeah not amtrak). However some fans actually prefer standing-room-only tickets as the crowds that gather can be more active than people who are sitting down for much of the event. Such crowds can become dangerous with the potential of riots and crushing movements occasionally occurring and resulting in death or injury. So now that you've read that, answer this question...should those words ever be said on a FAST MOVING LOCOMOTION? I think NOT!

Well that is what happened to me today. Fridays are always packed, but are you kidding me. Usually there are maybe 8 people per car standing. Not today there are at least 20 people per car, people standing on the stairs and even like 20 or more people standing on the landing. Stupid Angel game!!!!!! 2 hours of standing no way!!!!! Ok after standing or sitting on my work bag for 30 minutes I changed my goal from finding a seat to finding the cafe car. I NEED A BEER! Fullerton was the first stop and maybe 5 people from my car get off. Oh boy that moved me NO WHERE. Oh there as a bright side, I was standing next to a very HOT guy and he smelled great. What's that you say? Oh of course he was married! They all are. Another 20 minutes goes by and finally we get to Anaheim. GET OFF MY TRAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I get to move and I head for the bar. This is where the trip gets FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rob and I (oh yeah Rob is this retired man with an awesome handle bar mustache). Actually now that I think about it I think my Aunt would have thought he was cute. Shoot. Where was I? Oh yeah the bar. Ok here is the scene: Bartender Tran had the greatest accent and most awesome hair. I grab the biggest beer they had and walked up to the counter. One arm and a leg later I find an open spot in the cafe and drink to finally getting there. Rob and I hang out and watch the room. This group of people get off and we look to grab those seats. I walked over to table where this guy sat and the other person just left and I asked if i could sit with him and he smiled said "No someone else is sitting here." I said "Oh well then when they get back I'll move" He was so funny. This lady came in with her kids and he started to talk to them. He said "Hey you guys gonna get some food? You know if your sister (the mom- smooth huh!) lets you maybe you can grab me and my girlfriend here some too" They all just started laughing. He said "he buddy how did you get your bones one the outside of your skin?" The kid had a skeleton shirt on. We all laughed after she left and he said he likes MILFs. I said sorry, I'm not one. He came back with that's ok I like the MILF but your a FILF so your good too! HAHA We all started talking about where we were getting off and he was the only one getting of at san juan. He said "If some one wants to drop my off in PB, I'll right all the way with you fools." I said, "funny that is where I live" He said "awesome, if you hear the house rock'n fellas don't bother knocking" Then he took my picture on his cell. HAHA I told him that is was very unlikely that he would be coming over, my parents were in town. LOL Then we all started taking pictures of each other. I found out that 1/2 of us do this commute daily! Then three other people joined us. One girl that works for E! going to visit her boyfriend. This guy who used to work for the Chargers and now is in Real Estate. Probably a bad career change huh? He was a big body builder. David Spade look a like who lives in Long Beach and San Diego. He takes the blue line all the time and we told the group all of these great stories. He actually saw a guy get arrested. This genius had a 6 pack of beer with him and was just drinking it in public. The cops just played with him for a while and then cuffed him. WOW. There was also this other guy who has a girlfriend that grew up in Poway. As we all sat there and got to get to know each other more, we decided that even though you have to sell your first child to drink on the train...we should start a Friday drinking club. Guess what? I AM SOOOOOOO IN. Who's surprised????

casualty of the day: my non existent bank account!

I'm going straight to H---

Ok I am going straight to the hot place. First let me tell you about my morning commute. I will also preface this with NO I do not have kids of my own, but I have been around a heck of a lot of them and I think I would have handled things differently. So this morning this mom and her 3 kids gets on the train and sits in the 4 facing seats in from of me. Oh side note there were two guys sitting in the 4 seater section and they just sat there looking at the lady who need those seat Obviously! I was so amazed by their rudeness. I hope that man I marry would be raised well enough to know you ALWAYS offer your seat to a lady, especially one with 3 kids. I was sleeping and when I hear the older man next to me tell the 10 year old boy he should put his 2 year old sister down because if the train stops quickly she could go flying down the stairs. The mom was just sitting there and NEVER even thought that maybe that could happen. They were next to the window looking out and it was a straight drop down and the train does not stop smoothly. So the little boy walked her over to his mom and she picked her up just to hear the 2 year old SCREAM and cry...WHAT WHAT WHAT YES I AM AWAKE NOW. All she did was hold her. No talking to her about why she cant stand there or give her other options of things to do. Or even tell her to stop screaming it was not appropriate. Or better yet, where was the portable DVD player? They moved as soon as another group of chairs were open on the side where the water is to make her happy. It get quiet and then WAAAAAHHHHH. What now? I felt like the mom was more concerned about how she looked in all of our eyes rather than disciplining or directing her child.

So now I am awake and the guy next to me has left so I went and got ready for work. I sat down and all of a sudden I started to notice all of the female things i needed to take care of...yes I had some time on my hands. I forgot to shave my legs and I wore a skirt. I need a pedicure and I wore open toes shoes. I need my hair done and I wore it down. I'm a mess! Ok got to work early today. Oh yeah forgot to mention yesterday on the metro to union station there was this african american guy with his heads set on and he was trying to pick up on this hispanic girl. She would not listen so he started to rap about our trip. "Weeze on the metro going to union. Dis hot chick won't give me her digits." Yeah he was that good.

Why I am going to h---, I have resorted to taking pictures of random people...just like a sorority sister of mine. Now she is really nuts. HAHA just kidding EHM


This is a real life Holly Hobby Doll

Ok here was a chance for the world to get back at me...I walked out of the bathroom today with my skirt tucked in to my underwear in the back. Good thing there are two doors to go through before you make it to the halls. I was able to save myself. But how great would the have been if someone got me on camera! haha Pay backs a Bitch Terri.

My PM commute was lots of fun. I traveled with a young lady that was coming down to San Diego from Tracy to help her friend celebrate her 21st birthday. They were going to hang down at in the gaslamp district. Oh forgot to mention this total sleezy business guy that was sitting with us at first. He was looking every woman that walked by up and down. Practically undressing them with his eyes. Hmmm should I feel insulted he barely gave me a first look. What do those other women have that I don't? Oh well. The seats we had were right by the cafe and near the potty. I never seen so many LAZY people in one place. Tell me this, how hard is it to shut the bathroom door when you get out? I mean seriously, it is not like the bathroom smells like roses! So for the next hours and half she and I took turns reading our books and shutting the bathroom door. It got the a point we almost broke out the ro-sham-bo. Some how we got on the topic of obsessions. Like people who collect shoes, purses, clothes...etc. She was a purse collector, she said she does not spend outrageous money but loves to get a new purse. I told her about my friend - she remains nameless - and how her husband and her had a bet that she could not go a whole year without buying a new purse. If she buys a new purse she had to have sex with her husband EVERY night from then on. HAHA Let's just say she had a purse hiding in her car for months. LOVE IT. I told her that I really did not have any obsessions but I do own a lot of books I don't read. Oh speaking of book, somebody remind me to get my books back from Maria...she has like 7 of them. We had some great conversations but the best part of the night came about 15 minutes from our stop.

So we were both getting our stuff together to de-train (is that a word?) Then this lady in her 60's wearing a CANARY YELLOW business skirt suit. Knee length skirt and blazer. She tried to get into the bathroom but someone was already in there. She without a word she drops her big ass purse on our table and fusses around and finds her PIC! She then proceeds to pic the crap out of her hair teasing and fluffing. She even flipped her head down and teased the bottom of her hair. Pic and fluff, pic and fluff. I had to hold my breath so that I would not start laughing out loud. Seriously I think the both of us almost peed our pants. Well she makes it into the bathroom and we start laughing. I said "that lady has a hot date. She is getting ready for a night on the town. I bet she comes out with bright red lipstick." wait for it...wait for it....the door opens and out walks big bird with BRIGHT ORANGE RED lipstick. I grabbed my cell phone as quickly as I could but I missed her. I told me new friend that my goal was to find this lady right of the train. The lighting was so bad and this picture does not to things justice.


Casualty: my side from laughing so hard and my knee from running after this lady.

Wednesday 10/1/08

First of all can anyone believe that it is already OCTOBER! Holy crap where did the year go. Well this morning I was very tired so I slept the whole way. Ok I did do some ease dropping, on the two guys in front of me. One guy was a war vet and he was heading to Seattle to for a wedding. He and the man next to him talked about politics. The second guy was all over Palin, but he was talking out both sides of his mouth. I got so bored all I heard was blah blah blah and back to sleep I went. Today the train was very late, we did not even pull into union station til 9:05 am and we are supposed to get in at 8:55 am. My knee felt a lot better today and that was good because I had to walk real quick to work. Oh yeah I thought you'd like to see my chair HAHA

Side note- I love my job and the people I work with. The commute is long but 2 weeks down and I still don't mind it.


So staying true to my new rule of finding someone interesting or hot I started to sit by this one guy, but then I over heard a girl talking in front of me and she had open seat with her. Then i saw her face and I swear I thought it was Reese Witherspoon and sounded like her too. So I moved. YES, I got up from my seat that I had already sat in for like 5 minutes and sat with this girl. HAHA Ok so this girl was awesome. She was wearing this tank top that was so low cut and she had no bra on. Let's just say that we had a lot of guy pass by out seats. Around Santa Ana station we began talking. Turns out her job is soooooo much cooler than mine so she did a lot more of the talking. This girls is a stylist. She has worked in some very trendy salons in LA and San Diego. She's traveled the world with Paul Mitchell. After landing up in the hospital 3 times last year for a pinched nerve in her shoulder she decided that she had to give up a full time job. Now she is a traveling hairstylist. She sold everything she owns, except her car and now she lives between New York, San Diego and Portland. She has her clients on 6 week schedules and she rotates between the three cities. One person she doesn't charge but trades for a room for the time she is in town. The rest of the people she does while she is in town she charges $200. Yes you read that right $200!!! She does like 7 or more people on each trip. Can you believe it. That is $1,400 for like 2 days work. She said she is well known for her platinum blonds. LOL can you imagine saying that? She was getting picked up from a family friend that was only 21 and he was acting like a total child. It was funny to hear her speaking to him.

After we talked about her job and my sister, we started to talk about autism. She said she was fascinated by it. She said she has always tried to understand how this one disorder could be shown in so many ways. I told her about Bryan and how great he is. We talked about his eating habits, his personality and how his disorder has changed over the years. She just sat there and took it all in. Oh forgot to mention we both got Coronas to sip and enjoy. We talked about so much. She totally reminded me of Reese I swear. She then decided it was time to change her clothes and she slipped on a more conservative tank top and shimmied out of her other one and then put a bra on right there in our seats. I was impressed.

New Rule: Look around before you sit down that way you don't look like a dork moving.

Tuesday 9/30/08

Let me start out by saying that I am a night person not a morning person at all. Ask my friends and family. I remember one girls weekend away when Denise made fun of me for grunting through breakfast. So now I get home between 7:30 and 8:00 pm depending on the train and all i want to do is eat dinner and wind down. Before I know it the clock says 11pm. AWE I have to be up at 5:30am. Hence the reason I said I was going to sleep in my first post. Today I did just that..I slept pretty much the whole way. I am amazed though at how many people I see on a daily basis that look like other people I know. So far they are just look a likes. Oh hey do you remember me telling you that I got hurt this weekend at soccer? Do you also remember me telling you that I walk hundreds of stairs everyday, if it was busy or the escalator is out? So what do you think happens today???? Yep the escalator next to the BIGGEST staircase (75 steps) was out! What of course I took a picture. All you have to do is ask my parents or my sister how much pain I was in Sunday/Monday to really appreciate this part of the story. Ouch all day long


For the PM ride I spent it talking to an 18 year old ready for boot camp Marine. He was so excited that he had all of his Marine pamphlets and brochures. He said when he got on the train that conductor asked him if he was joining the Marines and he told him that he just joined and the conductor did not charge him for the ticket. He comes from a large Irish family and most of them are Marines. He said that his family has been so lucky that to this day even starting back with WWII they have not lost a family memeber. His uncles all graduated bootcamp with the highest honors and were placed in Recon. He told him that he better be good enough for that too. He was telling me that he has a lot to live up to. He was going to spend the rest of his "free" time working on his PT.

We talked about Chad a lot. He asked me questions that I could not answer of course. I guess I should probably know more about the Marines and Chad's MOS and all that stuff to start talking to Marines. I mean you can't pick up on them if you can speak their language right? NO I was not picking up on the 18 year old. I just decided that I was only going to sit by people who look interesting or HOT. WOW that was probably the most shallow thing I have ever said. Let me try to save myself...You can look interesting but not be hot. You can look like you are going to challenge me to a great conversation. phew I caught myself.

My Marine friend and I talked a lot about our families. As I mentioned he is from an Irish family and he said that they celebrated the death of his grandma just like we did. She just passed recently too. He said they drank, talked and just remembered how much she impacted their family. It was nice to hear we are not weird...well we are weird I mean have you seen my cousins?



But normal in the loosest sense of the word.

We then moved on to the topic of sports. I told him how long I had been playing soccer for and he said that was awesome. He said he did track and football. I told him about how Ryan was playing goalie one day and then you blink and he is the field goal kicker for the Huskies. I joked about how my friends own all of these expensive shoes and my most expensive pair are my cleats. I told him why I would always choose soccer over softball. I am sure we talked about more but I don't remember and it is late...Kristi told me I had to take a shower and go to bed. So good night until we read again!