I went to LA to see Dave Matthews and visit with Jade this weekend. Both were fun. Jade got a kitty so I got to play a lot with small fuzzy animals (more info to follow on the kitty on The chinaman and Dave was fantastic as always.

Now I have been know to say that traffic in the Bay Area is getting as bad as LA. I recant any time I have said that. I was stuck in traffic near the LA Airport for an hour. I went two miles in one hour, at 12am in the morning! There was an accident. If there had been an accident in the Bay Area at 12am there would be a bit of a slow down, but there wouldn't be enough cars on the road to cause a complete standstill. Not so in LA. It sucked. I didn't get home till 2:30am. I dislike LA. Never let me live there.

Dave Matthews was awsome though. Next time I'm going to be closer. On the floor and closer. I'm making my way towards the stage. One day I'll get close enough so that he looks more life size. sigh.

I've been writing to my friend Pat who has been stationed in Iraq for almost two months now. He's somewhere south of Baghdad near a city called An Nasiriyah. Anyways I thought I would share a bit from his recent letter as watching the news or reading the paper is no where near as revealing as some of the things he mentions casually.

30 June 2003

"The poverty here is startling. But then again perhaps by third world standards it's not as bad as it appears. The people don't look as though they are starving, albeit malnourished, but not starving. I guess in the end an education and cable tv didn't adequately prepare me and perhaps a lot of Americans are sheltered despite our own arrogance to the contrary....."

"The first thing you notice is the people. When you cross the border they line up along the road waving or begging for food. We're prohibited from throwing food to them from our trucks, too many children have run out into the street only to be crushed by military vehicles. Some of these children look no older than three or four......"

"The people in the cities are less friendly than those in the countryside. There is a large Iranian influence here. People were quick to tear down pictures of Saddam and replace them with pictures of the Ayatola. People in the south are mistrustful of the US. Many feel as though they were abandoned by the US after the Gulf War and were slaughtered by the Sunni dominated government. Years of war and rebellion have left whole blocks of An Nasiriyah in rubble...."

Sumit and I broke up yesterday. I thought about not writing this on my website, but you know this is an outlet for me and since we broke up I don't feel the need to comply to Sumit's request to not talk about our relationship on my log.

So here I am. Single all of a sudden. And feeling crappy. The worst part was the actual fight that ended it with him saying ,"Fine" and hanging up. Like I didn't matter. Like the relationship didn't matter. Like he didn't care. And he probably doesn't. I mean I've seen him about once a week since I moved down here and talked to him less than I did when I was living in Benicia. It's just really sad. And the worst part is knowing that because I said don't call, he won't. Even if he wanted to he won't because I said not to, because he doesn't fight for anything. He just lets it happen and keeps whatever pain there is inside.

Last night I watched Sex and the City and Miranda had the epiphany of, "He's just not interested." So that's what I'm going with. He's just not interested and so why the hell should I be.

Krista, my housemate was nice enough to go with me to Bouchon's, which is a resturant in Santa Barbara that was having free drinks and hors d'oeurves for Bastille Day. We got a little tipsy and I saw Amy and Bharti from The Cheshire Cat where I used to work which was great. So I had a nice night. So I'm going to be okay, but I'm sure I'll be writing about being upset again so bear with me, but it's nice to put my thoughts out there. It's like dumping them out of my head so I don't have to think about them anymore. So thanks for taking them in to your head.

I go do laundry now. Oh I live an exciting life.

I love Johnny Depp. He's just always fantastic. No matter how dumb the role, how wacky or how weird he is always having a good time and therefore so is the audience. Pirates of the Caribbean was no exception. Now while we all know a movie based on a Disneyland ride (the next one they've made is Haunted Mansion with Eddie Murphy) can't be that great, going in with no expectations except to stare at Johnny and Orlando made the movie highly enjoyable.

Anyways I highly recommend it for a good time. There's a pretty girl (Keira Knightly) and cute boys, sword fights, singing, skeletons, boats and silly dialogue. The best part is the way Johnny Depp weaves instead of walks and how his eyes bug out while he's talking for no apparent reason except to give off a drunk vibe and the fake dreads, they're great, although I did want to rub beneath his eyes the whole movie to get rid of the smeared eyeliner, but besides that.....Go see it!

So I've been a little stressed lately. Sumit and I aren't doing well. We're on a "break" whatever that means and it's been hard finding people to hang out with like my girls at home. Monday and Tuesday we're particularly hard and depressing, but Tuesday I was looking for somewhere to get my eyebrows waxed and I went what the hell and also booked a facial. That has to have been the best decision I've made in a really long time.

I went to the Walter Claudio Salon on State Street and from the moment I walked in till tonight at 7pm I feel better than I have in a long time. I'd never had a facial before, but I thought I deserved a treat. I had an essential facial which basically consisted of 60 minutes of pure pampering. If you've never had a facial I highly recommend it. The best part is that she also massaged my shoulders, arms, hands and feet. It was basically a massage with some cool stuff on my face as well. I was so relaxed and sleepy at the end that it was hard to make myself get up, that and the fact that I felt like jello.

So now I feel refreshed and ready to face whatever is coming up. Too bad I can't afford to do this all the time. But one day. One day...hoo hoo I'll be all over that.

PS please don't comment on the Sumit "thing". I don't really want to talk about it.

Finally! I just got my new laptop yesterday and I've been having trouble ever since trying to connect to the internet. I must have spent a total of 4 hours on the phone with Cox Communications and Dell trying to figure out what the problem was. Cox kept telling me that the cable was fine and something was wrong with the computer and Dell kept telling me that the network card was fine and it was something to do with the cable connection.

Finally tonight someone at Cox knew what he was talking about and he fixed it and now, now I have internet on my new Dell Inspiron Laptop. I am so excited. yea!

I can now burn cds, watch dvds and puruse the internet all while sitting on the couch. After hours of frustration I am now a happy girl. Yea me.