A Fair-ly lovely Schmorgisboard

So, back a billion years ago when my life was all carefree and I had no studying to not do, I went to the LA county feature with a couple of girlfriends from high school. And then weeks later I remembered it and decided to talk about it on my blog.
So here we are. The fair! Ok, besides the fact that since being at school I have heard LA referred to as "a stink of a city", I love so many things about it. And one tradition that rests deep in my heart is the fair. When I was a kid, we would go to the fair every year and my mom used to work at the information booth and all the kids would beg for those wristbands that got us onto unlimited (or as I like to say, infinity) rides, and a lot of years we actually got them.

I remember one year I was on the ferris wheel with my two little brothers and at the top of it I got a terrible nose bleed (we must have had quite the elevation change) and we kept yelling at the creepy carnie folk working the machine to let us out every time we were at the bottom and finally like five rotations later they let me out, after I had gotten blood all over everything.
What an appetizing story.

But even though the fair can be a bit gritty, I love it. I wanted to try a deep fried klondike bar this year, but I am mega cheap and it cost $7. I also love the farm animals. My mom loves the baby piglets and my older brother used to make us get fresh squeezed milk, but I would only get chocolate milk because high milk fat is very intense.
Another fair tradition is the table settings. I'm glad my friends were down to do this because out is such an old lady hobby. Basically contestants set tables:

And the judges take off points for things like "champagne glasses smudged with fingerprints" and "menu includes soup, but there is no soup soon on table" and there is an intense scoring system that scares all the manners right out of me.

And new this year! There was a shark exhibit where a man swam in a very, very small tank with sharks (it was so small that I felt bad for them) and played air guitar and danced a waltz with the sharks in what appeared to be animal abuse. But apparently if you flip a shark upside down it automatically goes unconscious. Which I think makes the animal abuse worse, not better.

Oh and Hot Dog on a Stick!  I love eating this stuff at the fair.  It is just... so very the fair.  They have cream cheese on a stick!  I want to try it sometime, but I saw the sign for it right after I had already ordered (and the lady working there had already taken a block of cheese on a stick and dipped it first in batter and then in a boiling vat of oil - yum!).  But the limeade is superb.
And just because I can, more pictures: (but don't worry, they are good)

Acrobats!

A very secure system!

I guess that's it!

Oh and ten points for whoever gets the reference in the title.  

East Coast Tour!

Hello blog-lings!

Did you have an awesome time over the last two weeks?  The week before last was my finals week which was pretty much torture for me (it was probably my hardest finals week ever).
But then I went on an amazing tour of Boston, NY, and DC all in one week.  KTrone and I were super tourists.

Since I currently lack the mental capacity to put something cute and creative together, I will rely on the amazing foresight that KTrone had.  At the end of each day, we made a list of everything we did that day.  Probably a lot of it needs explaining, and it's kind of a long list, but I'm going to post all 8 lists.

Enjoy!:

First Saturday:

JFK -> Airtrain -> Trains to Mbe's

Tried to go to Times Square, B line off on weekends

World Trade Center

Times Square

Hotdogs
Tickets

Brooklyn

Grimaldi's

Awesome View

Train to Bull (Wall Street)

Battery Park

Native Museum

Nap on the subway

Dudes played music, "Come Together"

Katz's deli, food too expensive

Gelato in lower east side

Cool Earrings

Knish

Memphis

Magnolia Bakery

Sunday:

Church in the Temple

Mesa Grill!!

Jacque Torres

Garment District

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Central Park

Shower

Middle Eastern Street Food

Columbus Circle - Random Mall

Duane Reade

Indian Food

lost at 50th street station FOREVER

Mbe's

Monday:

Carnegie Deli - Too Expensive

Shoes

Times Square Bagels!

Mbe's, Stuff

Penn Station

Chinatown Express = Restaurant

Buss to DC

Cheesy Bruce Willis

Lost at Dupont Circle

Metro to Sarah's

Mason Building

Thunderstorm

Ghetto Grocery

Whole Foods Memory Lane

Tuesday:

Wait for mattress - bust

Holocaust Museum

American History

Natural History

Capitol

Washington Monument

State Signs - Pics

Big Lincoln

Meet Jared

Temple

Baptisms

Sachi and Julie

Georgetown

Wisemillers

home

silly

Wednesday:

Burnt Cheese Sandwhiches

Arlington - JFK, Unknown Soldier

Freer Art

African Art

Air and Space

National Archives

nasty peanuts

Natural History

Good Stuff Eatery

Thursday: 

King Street - Potomac

Bruegger's Bagels 

flight to Boston

Scott Runyon

Faneuil Hall

Driving Tour

Mike's Pastry/ North End

Back Bay

Newbury ST

Whitney!

BYU game

hangin out

shower

Friday:

Freedom Trail

USS Constitution tour

Italian Grocery Store - bread and cheese

Mike's Pastry

Hahvahd

Ruth Tour/ Observatory

Institute

Burdick's hot chocolate/canoli

Walden Pond

Temple

Lexington/Concord

Fenway

Legal Seafood

JP Lick's Ice Cream

Hangin out' / bed

Saturday:

Yummy apple pancakes and good sauce

airport

Phoenix

starving - Becky

starving - Judy

best friends

San Diego

San Jose

Timmy, Jair

Chipotle

Grocery Store

HOME - exhaustion / east coast time

Offensive

This is my friend Lena.  

Well I guess that was me and my friend Lena, but I think you get the point.

Did you know that am really not P.C.?  Because I'm not.  Like if I had to point my friend Lena out to you in a crowd, I would just out-and-out say, "The pretty girl in the wheelchair over there."

Which makes for interesting conversations with my new friend Lena.

Anyhoo, Lena and I are so cool that we spent our Saturday night together doing Computer Science homework.  We were REALLY studious.  So studious that we decided after about an hour that we had been studious enough for one evening.  but it's ok, because we're on track for A+'s in that class. Holla!

And the great part about Lena is that she's really accepting of my particular brand of weird.  And also her knees.  But that knee part is just a joke.  Seriously though, Lena ran a marathon after her paralyzing accident. It even says so in the article.  Plus she knows everything about me.  Plus she sings really well, is really modest,  and is a great listener.

So what I'm trying to say, using Lena as an example, is that it's really cool to make new friends who have lived different lives from you.  Most people have.  Because if I never knew Lena ... but that's just too depressing to even consider.

Legit Blog

This is officially a legit blog.

Know how I know?  I got tagged in one of those blog-it-forward do-hickeys by one of my oldest friends, Brooke.  (Could I say that my siblings are my oldest friends?  I've known them the longest, but I've only really been friends with them for like 7-ish years.  Weird.)

So now you have to sit through 15 facts about me.  Oh and they're supposed to be interesting?  That's just too much.

1. I've worn flip-flops basically ever day since the 9th grade, even though I'm terribly self-conscious about my ugly feet.  Rain or shine.  Also, Sundays don't count because I wear high heels.  
2. Gigi isn't even my real name.  (Haha I sound like a spy.) My name is Genevieve.  My initials are G.G. which sort of evolved into Gigi.  
3. In general, I'm pretty self-conscious physically, except when it comes to my hair.  I have really good hair.  Even on fat days.  
4. Someone once told me that my biggest skill is the ability to get things done.  Which is by no means what I wanted to hear, but it's probably true.  
5. Almost all of the life goals or expectations that I had set for myself in high school have changed since then.  Though that's not really too weird when you're convinced as a 16 yr-old that you will die old, crazy, and alone, with only your dogs to keep you company.  
6. I've never been in love.  Or really anything close, actually.  
7. I like to think of myself as being very self-sufficient and independent.  
8. I like to sing in the shower.  LOUD.  And I'm pretty sure my entire dorm hates me for it. 
9. I'll tell you most anything about me if I think you won't judge me for it.  Or unless it's still fresh.  
10. I've watched a Disney movie at least once a month (more like once a week)  since about my junior year of high school.  I know a lot of words to a lot of songs.  
11. I'm really bad when you put me in front of an audience.  Which I know is the wrong attitude to take on that, but I can't really help it.  
12. One time I did a back handspring.  
13. I have a terrible habit of carrying my cell phone in my ... in the front of my shirt.  Which gets awkward sometimes.  
14. I like the sound of the word geranium.  
15. I am at the same time shy and loud.  If I know around half the people in a group, I will be loud, but any less and I will be like shy mcgee.  But if you talk to me for like half an hour I will probably get louder and louder.  

Ok, so ... even though they might probably won't do it (and I wouldn't be offended), I tag McCall, Jacie, and Meagan.  

Wonderful Weekend

List of cool schtuff I did this weekend:

• Millie Vanilli (Formerly Auntie Millie in Chile) came to visit me at Stanford on Saturday.  It was a fun, short visit. I have pictures to prove it: 

Camille and I in front of Stanford's Memorial Church.  

•  While here, Camille and I went thrift store shopping at Goodwill.  We both had some good finds!
• I went to a women's soccer game with two of my lovelies.  Here's me, Kristin, and Kelsey before the game:

• I enjoyed the delicious food creations of Kristin. We're talking Cafe Rio style food and Olé Brownies.  Here's the part where I would post a link to her food blog if she had one (hint, hint, Kristin).  We also made plans to make a restaurant together.  She's do the food side and I'd do the business side.  
• In celebration of Ketaki's birthday, we watched Toy Story 3 together.  It was my first time, and yes, I cried.  

This is us at Halloween last uear.

• So even though by now I'm a day late. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KETS!!!!!  Here's to many more Disney movies watched together.  I love you and can't believe you're 19 (as if I've known you since you were little)!  Thanks for being my friend!!!

Random: I tried this and am amazed in a weird/cool way.  

The Halloween Costumes in my life

I was thinking about how I'm basically have to do a post on Halloween (I almost titled this Obligatory Halloween Post), and I decided to highlight some of the creative/cute/funny things my loved ones did for their costumes.

I will start with the cutest, mis sobrinitos.  Here are the cutest little monsters you ever did see:

Adri did a great job.  I think I will be oggling this picture for the entire next year.  But tell the babies to stop growing!  Or at least to slow down a bit.



My little brothers always do a good job of making home-made costumes that are funny and a little bit off-color.  Hopefully you will appreciate this one too:

Sooooo weird.  




Speaking of home-made costumes, here is one of my absolute BEST friends in a lovely homemade costume:

Yes, that is my dear Kristin dressed as a pomegranate.  Only a FREAK dresses up as a round fruit for Halloween.  I love that freak.

And speaking of Kristin, today she is 20 YEARS OLD!!!!!!!  Her childhood is officially over.  Although don't take that to mean she's an adult, either.  I love you K-Trone.  I hope you have a wonderful day and know that my world (and the entire world in general)  would be a sad, sad place without you in it.  Someday when you're married to a cowboy, I will come visit you and eat your delicious food and we can reminisce over these wonderful starving college student days.

Old Friend

You know that friend you always want to hang out with, but you hardly ever see each other, and you wish you got to spend more time with them?  And you used to be SOOO close and now you hang out with them, and it's like no time passed at all?

Today I got to hang out with one of those friends.  Her name is Ketaki and she seriously, seriously awesome.  Last year she lived about 8 feet away from me and now she lives like 400 yards away from me.  Which may seem like it shouldn't be a big deal, but now we have busy lives and we have to SCHEDULE our time together.  It's terrible.  I miss seeing her all the time (even when I didn't want to :).

We watched a movie so that she could analyze ways in which the movie sucked for her film production class.
Here is our reaction to Vantage Point:

It was confusing and it lacked forward movement in the plot.  (Don't I sound like a real movie critic?)

Also, this is how excited we were to actually get to hang out with each other:

Ketaki looks like Tobey Maguire in Spiderman 3 when he's being a "bad boy" and puts his hair in  his face.  She would also like me to include that Spiderman 3 is a terrible movie and she wants those 3 hours of her life back.

I love that we get to be spazzes together every time we hang out.  And that I get to really talk to her about her life and my life and tell her how much I miss her crazy and calming influence in my life.

Thanks for a good time Kets!