I have now been to the UK twice. Though the first time was just for a day, I got to see what I came to see ;)  Sunday-Tuesday was Paris, then Wednesday-Friday was actually seeing London, and Saturday-Sunday was York.

This seems like a fitting start to this photo set, since Rich surprise-snapped it after I said I didn't want to take any more touristy pictures, and Nicole commented that it looked like a movie still. I hate it.


( Stacey Sees London: the omg-very-touristy photos edition. )
( Stacey Sees York )
( Bits & Pieces )

My legs are sore and my throat feels raw. Much fun was had, which was especially nice after spending the morning sitting around completely bummed out. Everyone was out of town on iseebi's birthday (12/26) and I'll be gone on mine (1/18), so ( we celebrated yesterday ).



There are plenty of pictures and embarrassing videos (omg), which if posted, will be flocked. Thanks everyone for an awesome birthday! Less than a week till Part 2!!

My ditl submission. Their theme for this week is "under". Undervalued, misunderstood, oh there are so many unders that could work here.

[x] 018. ditl photolog for a special day

009/101 completed

( 01/09/09 - last day at the LiveJournal office )

Mark and Janine's party didn't happen, and BART back to the city would have been crazy so Nicole and I ended up going to Foxes, a bar near them. The place was practically empty when we got there; it was just after 10 and there were maybe 5 others inside. There were 30-40 people by the time midnight approached though.



Our drinks came with a side of condoms (lolwut), and I won a stuffie out of the claw machine. I didn't think I would, since I've never been able to before. Maybe I just needed to be drunk first. I thought it'd be weird to be carrying around a stuffed animal all night, at a bar, on New Year's Eve, but everybody loved it and was impressed I got it out of the machine. Even the security guard. Some guy named it Billy. ( more pics )

It was a fun night, and there was free champagne. Also, I can shake it! A black chick complimented me and danced with me so it must be true. Also also, my outfit was awesome.

Happy 2009!

Saw Twilight with Janine and Nicole, which wasn't so horrible if you think of it as a comedy. Based on Bella's narration in the beginning, I'm glad I didn't try reading the books. And wtf sparkle glittery vampires?? At least I saw Zack & Miri the other week, so I didn't pay for two bad movies in a row (Max Payne).

Met up with Gorman et al. (the guys I met last time) after for dinner (CPK pizza and red velvet cake). I was drunk halfway into my drink... and then they ordered me another one. The rest of the night was a blur of fun (+vodka) on almost every floor, including the roof. Oh, and Gorman managed to actually trip me :(

Joe and Neil walked Nicole and I back to my place. It was only two blocks out of their way, but uphill, so aww. Then we went to get more food because we got hungry again. I've had more curry in the last week than I've had in the last two months.

( backstory )


(also, I accidentally switched my camera to widescreen mode and hadn't noticed)

that is all.

Mint Chip Ice Cream

Stoli Vanil vodka, green Créme de Menthe, white Créme de Cacao and vanilla ice cream blended together and served in a martini glass.

Yin & Yang:

The perfect balance of Godiva White Chocolate, Stoli Vanil vodka and Ice Cream topped with chocolate shavings will give you peace of mind.

I pretty much altogether stopped drinking after I turned 21. I recently started drinking again (but only socially); a certain someone with a Hello Kitty obsession is to blame ;p

As I (and everyone else) found out yesterday, I can still down a large vodka shot in one go, no chaser. I guess I'm getting my tolerance back.

At dinner, I had a melon and cucumber martini, and then the same Funky Munky that xb95 and janinedog had. It was blended Godiva chocolate liqueur, coconut Malibu, banana, and cream, and it tasted just like a banana shake/smoothie with just enough chocolate. I don't think there was much alcohol in it, or if there was, I couldn't taste it by that point.

(and that's whitaker's sake sampler on the left)

pictures from last night:

coffeechica, hachi, janinedog, arie, kallen, whitaker, me, marta, ferrell, and kimmi8 with "Frank"

Thank you to the guy wearing the A Key For Everything shirt for being our photographer!

( +vodka )

swept up and still spinning.
& i think i'm starting to like wine now.
drunk. that's all i know really, until the rest sinks in.
it might be a while.

we had dinner at il fornaio tonight.

How much did I have to drink? I feel way more drunk than I think I should be right now. My head and heart are throbbing, and I can feel my heartbeat on my thumb. I don't think I had that much sake. 3 or 4 cups I think? 5? And that Stoli Vanilla lemon drop was pretty good. I think I drank more tonight than I have in the last 2 years combined.

Random fact: unlike most people, I can type as well drunk as I can sober.

Also, why am I suddenly so hungry? I know I ate. A lot. Mmmmm sushi. And I really liked that buttery fish that came on the pretty glass plate. What was that called again?

Went to a college party last night, figured it'd keep my mind off things. Been a while since I've been to one, might be fun. And I have been missing aspects of my school years. So we went with Virak.

Wasn't as fun as I remember. Maybe I'm just so over it now. A bunch of people getting drunk and smoking because it's so cool. Over it.

And it was formal dress ( wtf? ) All the elements of a good party were there: booze (and subsequent puking), snack food, loud music (though the DJ was ADD), rowdy people, things breaking, and cops stopping by. But meh, not feeling it anymore. I've been out of college less than 2 years, and I'm still younger than some of them, but meh. Guess college parties are only fun when you're still in college (or high school).

It did distract me from what I wanted distractions from though, and I got to see this amazing view of Berkeley from the roof of the first co-op we were waiting in.

His parents took us out to ( dinner ).

When we got home, I wished him a happy birthday again, and he asked if I knew what the best present he got was. I did, having heard this before, but even still, I pointed at myself. And he nodded, in all seriousness, eyes meeting mine, loving pools deep and endless as space.

"That's what you said 4 years ago. I can't keep giving you the same thing every time." I said, not having a *real* present this year.

"But you do. Everyday. You give me your love everyday, you give me so much. I don't need anything else. I don't want anyone else. ( Just you.'' )

And today is our 4-year anniversary.

I still remember after our first date, when I went back to Santa Cruz for finals – I couldn't stop smiling, couldn't get him off my mind. I believe the image and feeling was my heart fluttering, a tiger wanting to break free from its steel cage.

4 years.

Last week, I was thinking about taking today and/or yesterday off, but yesterday was the offsite, and I didn't want to miss Today's Big Meeting. And he had to work too, so we'll go do something fun later. The weather is supposed to be better next week too, actual summer weather.

I can feel my heart pounding, the way it does in cartoons - when it jumps out and in and out and in and out and in. And each thundering boom boom boom is sending little earthquakes trembling throughout my body, to the beat of music that can only be heard inside my head. Everything is sideways and I am drunk drunk drunk.

How much did it take?
Just ( this much. )

-------------
We had dinner at the "new" Mexican place on Webster, Otaez, and I had catus for the first time. It tasted like a mix of bell peppers and green beans. The presentation of our food was lovely; each dish came on color-coordinated plates. Goldenrod yellow to match the green sauce and subdued red to match with the brown sauce on enchiladas and refried beans.

The prices weren't bad either, Juanitas in a nicer building. I'd still prefer the taqueria down the street though (if I wasn't looking for variety/specials), where it's all homecooked and everyone is just so nice.

I used to chug vodka from the bottle – straight, no chaser – like it was nothing. But that was a long time ago. I didn't even finish half of my cosmo before I was drunk and leaning on chairs to keep myself from falling over. And I kept stepping on people's feet :x  I hope none of them were important reporter types.

Sure, I can get drunk a lot easier now, and need only the bare minimum of alcohol to do so, but that's not the point. I'm not interested in getting drunk, I don't drink to get drunk. I drink to show the guys up, and to make fun of them for needing a chaser when I can drink hard liquors straight.

But it really has been a long time. Why do I even still care? I'll have a drink or two with you if it's a social thing, but otherwise, I'm not interested anymore. It lost its appeal when it became legal, and when I realized I really didn't have anything to prove to anyone anymore.

I thought it was all over-exaggeration when they show it on tv and in the movies, but it's true. It's all true. Alcoholics Anonymous is a cult. They say "God" every five minutes. Meetings start off and end with a prayer. The rules are posted all over the walls – the 12 steps are admitting that you are powerless over alcohol and that your will should be turned over to God.

I just got back from my first (and probably last) AA meeting. The host himself is an alcoholic, and there were 4 other guys there. It was a candlelight meditation meeting. Or naptime, since I had taken meds that caused drowsiness. Nevertheless, it was a somewhat interesting experience and now I know for sure that AA meetings are for beating the addiction out of you while beating in the religion.

&fyi, for those of you who don't know me well enough to know – no, I'm not an alcoholic, nor do I have a drinking problem. I pretty much stopped drinking (on my own, without surrendering my will to God thankyouverymuch) after I turned 21. I don't think I've had more than 5 drinks since then. I only went to AA as support for someone who needed it. And also because I was curious.

Last time we were at Dave and Buster's and looking through the drink menu, I decided that next time I would have to try the Pink Monkey Freeze. It sounded like my drink because 1) monkey! and 2) banana liqueur.

And last night, it also happened that the drink matched my shirt! The Pink Monkey Freeze is pretty much a milkshake with a dash of alcohol. The recipe calls for Stoli Ohranj mixed with banana liqueur, butterscotch schnapps, strawberries, and ice cream. It was so sweet that you could barely taste the alcohol in it. It wasn't that strong either; I barely got tipsy on this compared to the melon martini I had last time that got me drunk from drinking only half of it.

It helped though. Somewhat tipsy and not paying so much attention, I stopped the spinning needle on the Jackpot slot on the first try. Then I played the flippy coin basketball machines and knocked enough over the edge for a shitload of tickets, getting "whoa!" reactions for Will. I gave J goodluck kisses and he scored 100 four times in a row on trivia and no one would stay to keep the game going. I also got a bunch of free tickets from the guy restocking the light up tower game.

We also played some arcade non-ticket giving games. J rescued this little bear out of the claw machine. If I named stuffed animals, his name would be Honey.

J also played a zombie shooter with me, and then did the cop game. I liked how it uses motion detection, but I didn't find the game itself interesting. I thought the one with the sword was better, though I moved forward too much and kept going out of range of the detectors.

We left with a couple thousand more tickets added to my D&B card, for a total of 8860. And I still have a few hundred or so at home waiting to go on the card. They haven't had good prizes the last couple times we've been there. I'm saving for when there's something I like, or when I have enough for a PSP, whichever comes first.

It took the lady at the counter ridiculously long to verify my age. She looked behind her at the "do not sell if born before [today's date] [year]" sign 3 times, obviously very confused. And then she attempted to do the math herself. Without success.

Twenty-two. I am twenty-two.

How do you miss the obvious at-a-glance telltale signs? My ID photo is on the left, and the bright red bar that says "under 21 until 2005" is not there. That should be your very first and last clue. The birth date is just to double check.

Why is it that I only get carded when I'm alone, and that it's always someone who can't figure out that I'm of age?

The plan was to meet at Erik's in San Ramon by 9 and be on the road by 10. But we all knew better. Wendy didn't follow the specific directions I gave her 3 times and got lost getting to Alameda. When we were on our way, I realized after 2 blocks that I left my phone in the jacket I wasn't bringing with me. And then we had to run a quick pick-up drop-off errand. It was close to 9:30 when we got to Erik's and met up with everyone else.

When we were ready to leave Erik's, we stopped at the 7eleven for snacks and drinks, and at the register, Mike finds that he left his wallet at Erik's. After a trip back to Erik's, we were on our way for real. I forget what time we left there, but we missed the end of the carpool hours by 12 minutes when we got to the bridge.



I tried to nap in the car because I had been up almost all night and was feeling the beginnings of a cold. My throat was scritchy and my ears plugged. I didn't nap too long though, not like I usually do on car trips – sleeping once we're on the freeway and waking up when the car is going under 60.



At some point around Auburn, I SAW SNOW FOR THE FIRST TIME! The roads had been cleared, but to either side was beautiful white scenery, as gorgeous as in postcards and paintings. It wasn't snowing though, but I did see snow, and got to touch snow and was pelted by a snowball when we stopped for lunch at the second Truckee exit around 1 or so. It was a pizza/Italian place, but I don't remember the name of it. They had pretty good garlic and pesto chips though.

After we ate, we were back on the road and across the state line. Nevada is the 2nd state I've been to that I haven't lived in. Half an hour later, we were in Reno and checking into our rooms at Motel 6 on Stardust Street. We took a quick drive around while the maids were still working on one of the rooms. Then stuff was moved from the car to the rooms and after a short rest, we were ready for the casinos.



We went to Circus Circus first, where I blew whatever I had in my wallet, which I think was about $40. The machines ate up my money. The nickel slots were paying off, but what are nickels worth, especially when I'd put them back into the machine and the machine wouldn't give it back. I had better luck at the ones with a wheel at the top and lines to bet on. I stopped while I was ahead (but technically still behind overall) and cashed out my eight dollars and forty cents.. which I eventually blew at the next casino.

At Circus Circus, I had 3 really sweet strawberry daiquiris. They didn't taste like alcohol at all, but I was drunk by the second one and red allover after the 3rd. The drink lady was really nice; she remembered us and which drinks we had previously ordered. She also told me to keep the 40cents I had left from the nickel slots that I was going to leave as tip because I was out of cash and my $8.40 was at that point in the form of a ticket that needed to be traded in.

I stopped keeping track of time after we got to the casinos, but at some point we left Circus Circus and went over to the Silver Legacy. Wendy and I took lots of drunk pictures of ourselves and I couldn't hold my camera still anymore.



I lost my winnings from Circus Circus. I won some in between, but in the end, I lost and called it quits before I got suckered in enough to pull out my bank card. Mike had luck though. He put twenty into a machine and made out with $105.25 and treated us to drinks and dinner at some place in the casino that I also don't remember the name of.



Then it was back to the motel for a nap since most of us didn't get enough sleep the night before. But the sleeping didn't happen until quite a bit later. Instead, there was more drinking, TV watching, and lots of smoking.

I cannot believe how many cigarettes they went through last night. I've never seen them smoke like that before. Was it because they were on vacation, or because they had a place to now? It got to the point where I couldn't breathe anymore; there was just too much smoke. They did stop not too long after though, and the lights went off and it was bedtime. AND WENDY KISSED MIKE.

The motel people didn't bring us extra pillows as requested, but with my jacket underneath, my pillow was high enough to be a pillow. My neck and shoulders still hurt though, and I kept kicking off blankets, then stealing them back because my body couldn't decide whether I was hot or cold. The PJs I got for Christmas fit me perfectly though, and are soooo comfortable.

J and Mike were up early, and headed back to the casino and had breakfast. I was up when they got back, but Nicole and Erik weren't. Awake, but not up. So I went back to the casino with the guys and J won me a Homer Simpson from a giant claw machine. The prize is half the size of me. He almost got the Blue's Clues stuffie too.

After some more nap and TV time, we (minus J who wasn't feeling well) went to the ghost town in Virginia City. The wood we were walking on was obviously very old, and that was neat. There were plenty shops with touristy things and there were many candy/fudge/ice cream shops as well. I got a bag of saltwater taffy, picking three of each flavor that I wanted. I think I already finished more than half my bag already.



It was raining while we were there, and as we were leaving, it started to snow right when we reached the car. My first snowfall experience. It stopped by the time we got to the bottom of the mountain though, and it was sunny when we got back to Reno. But it was still fucking cold.

J really wasn't feeling well and wanted to leave a day early. Nicole, Mike, and Erik are still in Reno, but the rest of us left this afternoon. Maybe for the better, because I might have blown my last paycheck at the casino if I went back. I wanted to play in the snow though. I'm disappointed with that part. I got boots for snow and I got a new jacket that's basically the same as my old jacket, but with a hood. I also got thermals and packed a suitcase full of warm clothes that I didn't even end up wearing. At least now I know that my body which quickly looses heat can survive this type of cold weather.



We hit a storm on the way back and had to use chains, which we didn't need on the way up. With the slow traffic and the slow traveling speed of driving with chains on, our trip was extended by an hour and a half. But snow! Everything looks so pretty covered in white. I want to be able to look in my backyard and see that. When we tried to put on the chains, I stepped on a spot of snow I started sinking into. I realized it as my sneakers got wet.

We got back at 7:30 and our trip ended like it started, with Wendy's ride very lost, even though they were just here yesterday morning and the directions couldn't have been any simpler. I met her mom for the first time, and she thanked me and invited me over to her house, hehe.

And that was my getaway vacation that I had been looking forward to since it was first mentioned as just an idea. But I can never get away completely. I still got school related phone calls and emails and there were still annoyances. The sad thing is that I think I spent less on the trip it its entirety – clothes, room, money I gambled, food, gas – than I did on the portfolio show.

I wanted more snow and more playing in the snow, but it was still a fun little trip. I didn't have the time to go to a casino when I turned 21, but it happened before my 22nd so it's almost the same. And it was just nice having everyone in one place and not worrying about parents and neighbors and how loud we were getting.