I Heart Peanut Butter

Been another crazy last week or so…

So last Monday I went to Provincetown with my friend Jenn A. We stayed with her friend Daniel who is an amazing spirited man, I rather enjoyed his company and hospitality. The days were filled with cocktails, aloha deck parties, oysters off the boat, me stepping on a crab (this continues to be a BIG ordeal). I had an amazing few days and would gladly spend the rest of the life in a SUMMER Provincetown. From heading to Spiritus to watch all the boys pick up the other boys after the bars closed (at an early 1am) to going to one of the three straight bars in town where Daniel introduced me at “This is Crystal and she is a heterosexual” or “Crystal, this is so and so and he is straight” this in fact started a couple very interesting conversations.  One of them being with a very cute Justin Timberlake looking boy named Kyle, although I questioned his sexuality Daniel stated that indeed he is straight.  He asked the question of me ” how do you feel being straight in a town that is not” and I thought to myself, I rather enjoy it as I have always gravitated towards being different.

Thursday night was spent in the normal Thursday night way, here in Worcester it involves the Dive Bar or the Lucky Dog for me. Was a great night of music and one footed dancing to 80′s jams from the Flock.

Friday night I headed to Putnam to spend time with Robyn and Jen G. before she headed back to California for what could be a couple months or what could be forever, although I hope not as I was liking her being here. We had some wine and chatted all the while being eaten by bugs.  I was tired and so ready to be home around 11pm but a simple text from a my friend Joe sent me right back out to the Lucky Dog, the Friday night crowd is not my crowd but it was a good time either way.

Saturday evening my sister had a party at her new home, more of celebrating the great outdoor space they have. This get together which had people of all ages slowly became where I was the oldest and was suckered into playing Flip Cup. It was a fun time but I retired at a decent hour of 12:30am to head back home.

Sunday morning headed over to the Turtle Boy Statue at the Commons with some fellow Worcesterites to do some guerrilla landscaping and planting of the illegal tomato plant. This was a really cool thing to do, community involvement we weeded and mulched the area around what is the “Unofficial Entrance to Worcester” .

The rest of Sunday was a relaxing day headed out and about for a good part of the day, fretted over some unemployment details and then at the 5pm hour my friend Brad and I were stating how we both wanted to go to the beach, I so would have went early in the day. So my grand idea to pack up some stuff real quick and head to the beach came through. I quickly drove to meet him at his house and we went up to Salisbury Beach, we had a little over an hour before the beach was to close and it started to sprinkle. But waded into the cold water and sat on the beach and took in the sea air. I still am trying to understand why I don’t live closer to the ocean. I thought we were going to head home until Brad suggested we head to a show @ Great Scott this band call The Voluptuaries. They were a lot of fun, some live PA type music, with one of the guys making music using two WII-motes.  We did stop at Joshua Tree for a quick bit, so this evening in which I believed nothing was going to come of it ended up being pretty good, even walking around Brighton with two puncture holes in my foot.

Yesterday was a day with lunch with Beth, in which we decided to head to Providence as we were both craving East Side Pockets Falafel and we bummed around Thayer Street. I am happy Beth finally bought a laptop so now she is all set for when she has her surgery. I got home around 5pm from shopping with her and headed down to Connecticut as one of my oldest and dear friends was up visiting her family. Tasha who has been my friend for 26 years was up with her family from South Carolina, I was very happy I was able to spend a little time with her, it is always like no time at all has passed even though it has been almost 7 years since we have seen each other.

Today was a good day, I took the train into Boston for my interview at The Brigham( cross your fingers) and then followed by lunch with James @ this great little Asian Fusion place, he had to return to work and I had to hop on the train back to Worcester. I do hope I end up working in Boston as the train is my new favorite mode of transportation I would have been in a car just as long and paid much more in tolls and gas then it cost me to take the train. Plus I was able to read about 150 pages in my book today. I got home and text Kelly and she was heading to the Newton Sq Free Concert Series so I joined her, the cool breeze has come into Worcester this evening and helped with this endless amount of humidity and stickiness. We then went and ate at the Corner Grill, for some reason I have lived in Worcester for over 3 years and have never went here, why did I not explore. I had this pizza that had caramelized onions, roasted butternut squash, roasted pumpkin seeds and brown sugar (the real ones comes with sausage and cheese also) Amazing… A new personal favorite place to eat.

The last week has been joyous, aggravating as I dealt with a guy who just made NO sense to me but that is over, fun, painful due to big puncture holes from crabs claws going into the bottom of my foot, spontaneous and overall wonderful. I am extremely thankful for my friends I really have some amazing people in my life.

Seems like Summer brings me to really get back into music, you know not the same records I have been listening to my whole life but making sure I evolve with music for the rest of my life. Here are some of what I am listening to right now, not all “new” bands but lots of great new music by each.

First Aid Kit- The Big Black and Blue

Band of Horses-Infinite Arms

Devo- Something for Everybody

Gorillaz- Plastic Beach

Morcheeba- Blood like Lemonade

LCD Soundsystem- This is Happening

Sleigh Bells- Treats

Dum Dum Girls- I Will Be

New Pornographers- Together

The first day of Summer only a couple days away but by the weather the last month you would have never guessed. I looked at the weather forecast back on Monday and saw that Friday was suppose to be amazing. Well it stayed that way in the forecast. So My dear Jen and I headed down to RI and went to the beach. It was 83, perfectly sunny, light June Breeze, not humid. More or less the most perfect of beach days.  We headed to Misquamicut beach spent some time toasting ourselves and then enjoying some Del’s and French Fries.

We got to the beach around 1oam and by 11 the beach was full. It was the first perfect Friday in sometime where the temp and sunshine factor made for a day where MANY people most likely called in “sick”.

I am a little red, but with some aloe no problem will be a nice tan by tomorrow.  Just in time for my Monday-Wednesday P-Town trip with my friend Jen, a good friend of hers has a place directly on the beach in Provincetown . To the Cape I go on Monday- YAY.  This being unemployed thing is not to shabby for the time being, I have my 3rd round of interviews for my dream job in another week and half and then my interview at another EMR Vendor the week of the 6th. Life is okay…

I guess I should be happy I have plenty of good friends and my life minus the need for a steady employment at this moment is pretty good. Seriously I have plans everyday but still something is missing.  I have been known as of late to utter the word “LONELY”. Something I have never been in my life but it seems I just really want someone who is really into me as I am them. I know of a couple guys who do like me but I can not force myself to like someone. I wish I could, but when it comes down to it you like what you like.  I have meet some great guys but it seems the ones I meet fall into friend zone and even if I am interested in more I am a bit too scared to breach the topic or to try to make a move or say something to that person know I am interested.  I have turned down dates and I have more or less convinced guys that they do not want to go out with me.  What type of sick and twisted person who wants to be with someone does this.  I have given up on dating sites and really just focus on meeting people in real life, people who will blend with my life as I will with theirs. This method has not been working all that well either.

So I just book myself solid, cancel out any of the guys who I keep around for fun only, and try to forget that I miss having someone to kiss or be goofy with and be the GOOD friend that I am. Something is lacking, something big. This is the longest I have been single in my life and it just makes me realize that I miss having that one person who just really gives a shit.  I am not an easy person for a guy to decide to date, I am vegan which most men just shake their heads at, it is not a big deal to me but I believe that most do the quick flash over a 5-10-lifetime relationship and think that they couldn’t deal with my restrictive eating that long. Since I am between jobs at this point I also don’t feel like I am in the place to jump into anything with someone, what a deal I am- unemployed…

I just guess I just keep hoping that something will work out at some point.

Slacking is the word for my blogging behavior as of late. But again living my life to the point I have had little time to write about it.

I am once again looking for work, well I never did stop looking as going back to the dose was just temp until I found the ideal position, but I learned that no matter how hard you work you will never please everyone and sometimes someone just doesn’t like you because they just decided not to like you. I am very outgoing and sometimes people just are not comfortable around someone who is comfortable being ones self .

So I enjoyed hikes and the outdoors last week while taking time to look for jobs. I had an amazing interview on Friday which would be my dream job, big huge project in the world of EMR and would challenge me. So I am keeping my fingers crossed that is comes through. I have plenty of good contacts for other positions in Boston area hospitals, I have decided I have to work in Boston to make the money that I need to make, commute and all.

Had another amazing weekend, seems to be a string of these. Although there was a point I should have stop partaking in cocktails/beer on Saturday night but other than the lingering headache all day yesterday it was all good.  Friday night I headed to Putnam to have drinks with Jen we ordered food, had a few drinks and chatted. Both of us being gone from Putnam for such a long time it seems weird when you are sitting in the bar and see a dozen people you went to high school with. Saturday I had plans with Sarah to head to Providence, she is newly single and needed a day out of Worcester and some time to have girl chatting. We made a handful of stops, sat outside at the Hot Club on the water even with gloomy skies.

The day in Providence lead to a LATE night in Worcester to follow. It is something we are both too old to do again. My day ended at the Kenmore for breakfast at 1:30 am. Good Times… Great People…..

Yesterday after some recovery time I got myself up and about. Headed to Dr. Gonzos for the Friki Tiki Cook-off. Stu’s band the Roadkill Orchestra played while everyone socialized, cooked, ate and drank. Jared had brewed a beer with the Wazoo Juice so it was a Wazoo IPA, I liked the spice to it. As always it was a good time, seems each month the cook-offs bring more people and more good times.

Now it is Monday and back to the grind of networking and applying for jobs…. Until next time..

I have had a pretty amazing last couple weeks. New people, old friends, old and new coming together, bike rides, hikes, dog parks and happiness.

This past weekend started off with a shin dig at my friend Jess’s, she is the Whiskey Witch of Worcester and the most amazing of hostesses. To the point she made a soy chorizo w/apples so there was food that I could eat. That was a late night of debauchery and good times.

Saturday I headed to a new friend Brian who I seem to like to be around as I have gotten together with him the last 4 days and I am not tired of him yet….. I meet him at his home we went for a walk around the lake with his lovely and lovable pup Keely, all I want is a damn dog so for the time being I can live through him. We had motives to also go for a bike ride but the heat from the few mile hike wore us both out, so the afternoon was filled with a tea stop at LaLa Java, lunch on the patio at Giuseppe’s and strawberries and slush  from Tougas Farm in Northboro.

Saturday evening I had plans with Robyn and Jen, we headed to dinner at Brew City, then off to the movies to see Letters to Juliet and ended the evening at the Dive listening to Dub Apocalypse, where we meet up with some of my friends and Brian also was able to join us.  Saturday was a huge success in the having fun arena.

Sunday I was so damn tired, I had lunch and shopping plans with Beth so we went over to EVO for lunch and then a bit of shopping in the early part of the day.  Sunday evening I was so tired but agreed to beer @ Peppercorns (finally tried the Sweet Tat’s Breakfast Stout, damn amazing) and then the off to see Robin Hood (this movie needed to be 40 minutes shorter and it would have been okay) followed by fries and beer at The Perfect Game. I was beat and over tired as it was a very busy weekend, but fun non the less.

The only thing that came of this weekend was that I am not working anymore for the pharmaceutical company, I should have never went back, it was a mistake on my part. There is something that tells you deep inside you that if you have to walk on eggshells around the big boss you should just stay clear.

But this allowed for me to have Monday free, so I went with Brian to walk his awesome dog at the dog park at Tufts Veterinary Hospital, which with was one of the most perfect weather mornings.  I got home and went to see Boyband with Gabe, the local made movie that is all things Worcester but in 1982. Then went and chatted and had a beer with Neil, I needed to vent a bit more in one day. Today I went and returned my badge and key to work,  meet up with Brian and hit up Newbury Comics and Barnes and Snowballs. Came home and chilled this evening, was in a need of a relaxing do nothing evening, I have not stopped in weeks.

So back to hitting the pavement, networking and Friday I have a 2nd interview for my dream job of 2010, this is the job that allows me to cross off the new career section of my 2010 goals. Off to bed as I have a hike tomorrow with Jen and then plans with Robin in the evening.  I love my life, job or no job I am a happy gal.

I have been so bad lately about updating, maybe it can be said that I have been living my life to the point I have little time to record it. This blog has always just been for me, for me to have something to look back at to make sure my memories stay as clear as I believe. In just about 2 months my blog will be 5 years old, with that being said I am happy in the evolving that has occurred in both the blog and myself. Honestly looking back at the summer/fall of 2005 I was about where I am right now, but so much more uncertain. I was single and hoping for something amazing to enter my life, at that point I was far more desperate to have someone to share my life with and I have realized that I can be just as happy single with lots of friends than with one person who takes up most of my free time.

So last week I went back to work for my old employer doing Quality once again, was able to get about 10 hours of overtime by including myself in the Saturday work. It feels good to be back, I missed most of the people I worked with and the days are always entertaining to say the least. Although it is not my dream job, the money is good, the people are good and I enjoy the work. Back on my feet for 8+ hours a day is going to take some getting use too, but I will prevail.

I have to say Memorial Day weekend was amazing filled with friends, family, drinks, food and good times. Friday evening I was finally able to see The Runaways with Kelly and Liz, Saturday I had to work in the AM but my evening became booked with dinner and Sex and the City with Jen and Robyn. SATC was OK, but maybe the 2nd movie shouldn’t have been made, I think it ruins the magic to see Carrie as simply a “wife” in most of the movie, even if she fights hard against that role. I got back from the movies at 11 to get a text from my friend Ben to meet him for a drink, so to the Abbey we went to enjoy these beauties:

Sunday was visiting with the rents, coffee with the mammadukes, cook out and happy that my friend Jen was able to make it over to experience some tasty veggie burgers made to order..lol I enjoyed this yummy Iced Soy Chai and Vegan Cupcake at Victoria Station.

Sunday evening was Beer Extravaganza at Emily and Keith’s house, this amazing couple are home brewers to another level, they had 10 of their beers on tap and I was a big fan of their Flanders Red Sour Ale. So good beer, good company and great times had by all.

Monday was another day planned with friends enjoying food, conversation and drinks. We ended up drinking what can only be defined as jungle juice, it started off as a tea based punch, but then a handle of vodka, run and some fruit punch were later added. Being at the Purple House and Sarah being a chef the food spread looked amazing even if I dont eat most of it. A good 8 hours of drinking and chatting there made for a fantastic Memorial Day, even with discussion on Camel Spiders.

With that I will say it was one of the better Memorial Day weekends I have had in years and it makes me wish I had a bigger place with a nice yard if only to be able to host a great holiday cook-out celebration in the future. Maybe I need to go cruise the internet for a cheap little bungalow that I can afford on my own.