A Week In the Life

Not much going on with me this new year.  I don't have a whole lot to write about, but I do have pictures to share.  This first one is for you, Nonna.  I've taken the time to blow dry my hair and wear it down more times during the past seven months in Portland than I did during the last seven years in Irvine.  But I digress.  So in chronological order:

We actually got a break from the rain and had a few days of clear weather.  It was cold, but at least it was dry enough to walk around.  Eddie and I set out to use my last Groupon that expires this month - for AJ On The Rails.  Boy were we surprised to find it boarded up and closed indefinitely.  They have a second location that seems like just a coffee shop, so we'll have to get over there sometime next week.  After that little disappointment we found ourselves at Violetta - a burger joint that features all local ingredients.  Unfortunately the meat wasn't that amazing so the experience wasn't that wonderful for me.  But it's been on my list for some time so now we can cross that one off.

That night, Eddie and I caught up on Master Chef and finished watching the series.  I think it aired during the summer but we never watched it then.  It's probably my least favorite of all the shows Gordon Ramsay is involved with, but I'm still a sucker for these cooking competition shows.  I was so excited to see Whitney, the Pastry Princess, make it all the way.  Good for her!

Thursday was my errand day.  It began with a trip to the DMV which turned out to be a pleasurable experience.  Shocking, I know.  There's something different about Oregon DMV's, but I like it.  I think my picture is terrible though.  Ugh.

I had a bit of time to kill after becoming a licensed driver, so I had lunch at Pizzicato.  It was a bit on the pricey side, so I'll just have to make it a point to visit them during happy hour when you can get a slice and a pint for $6.  I swear you can't find quality food like this at such a reasonable price in California.  I think Kristen will enjoy this place the next time she comes up to visit.  Mom too.  And they have the large pepperoni slices like Pizza My Heart used to.

And now...  Because I know you're just dying to find out what I did after lunch...  I actually got to use a Groupon.  This one was for $60 in services at fáda that included a complimentary scalp treatment and massage.  It was nice to be pampered a bit.  I will say I felt totally out of place when I walked in.  It is so shi-shi - something I am definitely not.  But the receptionist was super friendly as she showed me to the coat rack to store my belongings.  Even though I was thirty minutes early, Scarlet and Paul were able to come out for my consultation.  A consultation?  With two people?  I was so confused.  I quickly learned that Scarlet would be in charge of my color and Paul would handle the cut.  Okay.  Now I really felt out of my league.  But I couldn't back out.

Paul sat me down in his chair and did a pre-cut before my coloring.  I explained that I wanted to donate my hair so he tied it in a quick low ponytail and made a very quick cut.  I figured he would make two or more pontytails to increase my donation, but even with the single chop, I had about fifteen inches to get rid of.  Then Scarlet led me back to her station and really took her time to get my color right.

I don't know if I'm an easy client or a difficult one because I don't give much direction.  I figure the stylist & colorist know what's best and if something horrible is ever done, my hair grows so quickly it doesn't matter.  I think Scarlet could tell the first round of color was just a little too light so she took me back to darken it up a bit.  I like to keep my hightlights very natural.  Especially since I only dish out the money to do my hair once a year it's imperative that you can't really tell when my highlights start to grow out.  Anyhoo...  Paul came back after the coloring to do my scalp treatment and awesome massage and then he did this to my hair.

The last time I chopped off my hair for a donation (April 2007) I had to go much shorter with my cut.  I just didn't have that much hair to play with.  So it's kind of nice that my hair is already nearly shoulder length and it will only be just a few years before I have enough to donate again.

The last thing I did this week was finish the airport book I purchased when I returned to Portland on Christmas.  I'll admit, I initially picked it up to check out because the cover intrigued me.  And when I saw Lee Child's name on the front I just knew I had to read the back cover.  So the idea behind this book is totally awesome.  Jeffery Deaver got all of these great mystery writers to work together to write two novellas.  Each author wrote a different chapter for the stories - including their own turn of events and characters as they saw fit.  When I realized that Lee Child and Lisa Scottoline both contributed, I was hooked.  I love both of their books and even though I didn't recognize any of the other authors, I was sure I would like this.  The first novella was fun for anyone who likes mysteries and music.  I was surprised by the amount of technical music detail in there.  And the second novella is about racing around to prevent the potential WWIII.  I'm going to give this book to Eddie when he flies to San Diego at the end of the month so he can pick up another airport book for me.

In conclusion...  I have three job interviews lined up for this week as well as a staff meeting at the winery.  Between these four things happening, I hope to finally be working full-time hours somewhere or at a combination of places.  We shall see...