smileyjess

greetings from cali! my first cali post! one for the books!

actually i cant write too much- we're going out in a bit. but heres the lowdown on the past couple of days.

ok, so we flew out here on thursday the 26th. our flight was very smooth, not bad at all. it's me, my mom, my dad, my sister, and my grandfather. my cousin (matt), my uncle lou and aunt betty picked us up at john wayne airport. we grabbed our bags and headed off to.... in-n-out burger! damn, those things are so freaking good. we always go there when we come here. like i seriously havent had a hamburger since the last time we were here two years ago. but they're soooo fattening. double patties, quadruple cheese... oh man. but it's not fast food, so its not as gross as mcdonalds or burger king. the fries are cooked in cholesterol free oil, etc. for my friends that have read fast food nation, you remember that the author actually praised in-n-out. ah anyway. i just wrote a pargraph about a burger. awesome.

came home, unpacked, went for a hike, chilled out. then we packed for the next day. friday morning we left super early and drove to las vegas. it was about a 5 hour drive and there are a lot of us, so we had to take two cars. we got to vegas around 230. we stayed at treasure island. for all of you with the vegas porn and prostitution stereotype, it's not like that completely. it was awesome. the hotels are amazing- one like rome (the venetian), one like paris (paris, paris), one like NYC (new york, new york). ours was like a pirate ship (yarrrr ye landlubbers!) there are so many things to do, places to go, stores to shop at. i had a family reunion. there were like 25-30 of us, i guess? it was so great to see people i havent seen since before shelb-o was born. (ahhh, the good ol' days) so yeah we did a ton of stuff and went a ton of places. each night we'd get in around 1a and we'd be up by 8 the next morning. saturday, matt drove me, shel, mom, dad, and uncle to red rock. we hiked for a few hours, lost uncle lou, searched a few more hours for him, found him a few hours later yadda yadda yadda. sunday we went to the hoover dam which doesnt sound exciting but really was kind of interesting. then that night we dined at this plce called rumjungle. it was just awesome. they had this brazilian firepit thing that was sooooooo coooooool. i've never seen anything like it in my life. but we ate a lot all weekend so i stuck to a peruvian salad that was delicious. i wish they had restaurants like the rumjungle in lil rhody.

monday we drove back and just chilled all afternoon. went for a 3 hours hike, then hopped in the pool, went out at night, came back, went for a walk. today i slept in (wow! 8:30! thats the latest all vacation!) and then i went for a hike with my uncle and dad while matt and shelby chilled and mom dad uncle auntie and grandfather went apricot picking a couple hours south of irvine. when i came back from my hike, matt shel and i hit up a bunch of beaches- huntington, long, newport, big corona, little corona... it was great. i had a bite of my first fish taco and didnt like it much. and now it's 3:29 cali time, and we're off to fashion island (aka fascist island). tomorrow's shelby's birthday, i have no clue what we're doing.

my dad and grandpa leave sunday. next week we're off to my dad's cousin diane's house and staying with her and her husband tom. she has a son johnny who is married to cassandra and they have a 1 year old son tommy (who is just oh so cute!!!!!!). we'll be with them for a few days, then on tuesday matt, my mom, shelby, and i are driving up to san fancisco to hang out with cousin brian for a few days.

ok i 'm out later

today was an extremely chill day. i woke up the earliest i have all summer: 706. we hiked for a couple of hours (there are so many hills and valleys and paths that run through them over here! i love it!!!!) then came back, showered, bfasted (pecan praline granola, trader joe's style yum!!). shelby mom and padre left for LegoLand, and i just relaxed in a lawn chair, in the sun, and read some of the beach. (matt and i watched the flick last night- very good.) then we went to venice beach. just to give you an idea of how weird it is there...

last time i went to venice beach, i saw a guy in a purple sequined speedo on rollerblades. and another guy on a skateboard in an aerobic jumpsuit type thing (think: richard simmons) and a gold cape. its so awesome there lol. we were there for a few hours, just walking along the little shops. i finally got kieran's birthday present and 2 hackey sacks. what can i say, i'm very frugal. then we met up with a friend of matts- joyce- at jamba juice for a late lunch. (we've eaten so much food that i've forced myself onto a liquid diet lol)

um so i dont know what else. i guess that leads us up to about now. we got home around 630, shel and co. have since returned, we are off to celebrate los compleanos de mi hermana.

hasta luego!

havent been able to write much due to lack of computer... a lot has been going on, i'll just fill you in on the major parts

last saturday matt mom dad shel and i drove down to mexico. we stopped first in rosarito, then continued for a few more hours to ensenada. both places were great, a lot better than i was expecting, i guess mostly because they are both major cities for tourists and surfers. on the way home we stopped in puerto nuevo which was also very nice. we came home late saturday night. getting acorss border patrol is always a pain in the ass, but it's not so bad- there are all these mexicans trying to sell you the crappiest things ever- i saw some bad art (i.e., paintings of the last supper in shells?), the hulk stuffed animals, ugly plastic banks in the shape of disney characters, and gum that loses its taste 10 seconds after you pop it in your mouth. then on sunday my dad and grandfather left, and shelby, mom, and i drove to the san fernando valley (l.a. county) to stay with our cousins diane and tom. the next day diane took us to the fashion district of l.a. it was sooooooooooo much fun we shopped sooooooooo much, i loved it. a welcome change from being with matt, who refuses to shop. ((guys- pssh)) tuesday matt met us at diane's, and mom shel matt and i drove up to san francisco (5 hour drive).

after we got into the city, we wet to my cousin brian's restaurant, the thirsty bear. he hooked us up with a wonderful place to stay- the hotel triton. matt stayed with his [very cute] friend sean, and all 5 of us hung out that evening. sean took us to a great little cafe. the next day we woke up early and walked around the whole city until 12 or so, and then matt sean and i drove over to mill valley where his friend jon lives. jon is ubercool. i stayed at his apartment last time i went to SF, when he lived in the city. mill valley is just over the golden gate, and it's a great little area. sausalito is right near it. there are unbelievable mountains and valleys to hike and bike in. plus, it's a lot warmer than SF (which is very very cold!). it's perfect. jon does triathlons- swim, bike, run. everything he needs to train is literally right in his backyard. so jon took matt sean and me hiking in the redwoods of the john muir trail. beautiful. just amazing. in total we hiked about 12 miles on the dipsea trail. we were at the top of a mountain, looking down on the bay area. we were above the fog, and it was a spectacular view of the city. i think that when i'm older that's where i'm going to live. mill valley. it was perfect. we got back into the city around 7 and all went out to dinner at a great thai restaurant, then went to that cafe again.

the next day we were going to try to go to alcatraz, but couldn't get tickets (which was just as well... i really didnt feel like going). so instead we checked out stanford university, which i have decided is where i want to go. forget yale. it's all about stanford now. 20 minutes from the city, a half hour from mill valley, sunny year-round, 3000 miles away from rhode island. perfect.

after stanford we drove around the santa cruz area. it was very nice. again we got back in the city around 7, and met brian at his other restaurant, las ramblas for 8. a great evening.

the next day we drove back to diane's, and mom shel and i stayed there. matt is heading off to korea the same day we leave for ri, so he had to get a new passport and visa etc. we spent the night at diane's again, hanging out with johnny and cassandra and tommy and miranda and taylor and laurie. extended family is great. saturday we left after noon, got stuck in horrid traffic by the airport. we've just been chilling out since then, doing random things, and of course, hiking in the morning.

until later-

read this. all of you. now.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=424008

and also... go to google.com and type in weapons of mass destruction, then hit 'i'm feeling lucky'

sorry guys

this online thing is uberweird

and i don't like it right now

some people ruin it all

so i'll be going on a hiatus

hasta luego

by popular demand

so what's new? did you miss me? i know a few did :) you guys all rock, thanks

so yeah i got home from cali on the 16th. since then, i've just been keeping busy. mostly hanging out with friends, a party here and there, a lot of bonding time with la guitarra. umm a quick fill in of the past week and a half

- the day after my return, liz, rach, and i went to see pirates of the carribbean, starring johnny depp and orlando bloom. later it was dels lemonade time in the back of liz's mondo pickup truck. good times, good times

- premiere of rabbit of doom 3! poop of doom a la casa de los mcmani with a million other people, including, but not limited to: matt, kev, kayleigh, kyle, rye, g, andy, kim, eric, larsen, mikey p., andy's lil bro ryan, greg, cait, and a few other people. i as lucky enough to also view rabbits of doom 1 and 2 prior to the premiere. after the movie, we walked around in the rain.

- a surprise welcome home jess party a la casa de los mollicones, with fabulous guests such as liz, rach, rye, kelly, the boys of the band 'the rule of ten' (dan, bri, tom), lau, katie, si. blake was in ny, thus leaving kieran without a ride, and danny was punished for calling his dad something he shouldnt have

- my first guitar lesson in a month and it lasted a good hour and a half. after a while, my eyes wouldnt even focus and i had no idea what was i was doing. it was as if my fingers and brain were not connected at all, or at least delayed a bit in connecting. then matt came over around 830 and we watched punch drunk love, a quirky, awkward, but nonetheless very good cannes film festival flick.

- scoring two dave matthews band tickets for kayleigh

- shopping with matt kev and kayleigh in search of clothes for the guysssssss. the trip included garden city and warwick mall. a fun day for all! afterwards it was back to the mcmanus abode to watch mgm2 films such as the lake documentary series, the rodeo ryan series, addiction, and 5 bucks each. later, tommyboy

- a fabulous evening with good friends - rach, liz, kieran, dan matty b., lau, katie, kenny, and i went to see pirates of the carribbean last wednesday. again you say? i reply with four words: "johnny depp orlando bloom" dinner at ruby's afterwards was a blast

- rach slept over on saturday evening. naked girl makeout slumber ensued

- liz rach y mi familia drove up to lennox, massachusetts to tanglewood this past sunday. a most enjoyable day trip.

- matt and kev in nantucket, kieran in bethany, dave en las bahamas.

- jess: at home

- read: 4 books for summer reading, wrote 2 essays. 50% completed in a mere 12 days.

do you want to go?
i've got 2 tickets for 60 bucks!
brockton fairgrounds, brockton MA
31 july 2003

THE BANDS (count 'em up!)

The Ataris
Dropkick Murphys
Glassjaw
Rancid
The Used
Pennywise
Less Than Jake
Poison the Well
Suicide Machines
Face To Face
Mest
Andrew W.K.
Thrice
The Starting Line
Mad Caddies
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Simple Plan
Slick Shoes
S.T.U.N.
All American Rejects
Brand New
Tsunami Bomb
Yellowcard
Atmosphere
One Man Army
Story of the Year
Vendetta Red
Western Waste
Pepper
VAUX
Destruction Made Simple
7th Standard
Coheed and Cambria
Count the Stars
Avoid One Thing
Places to Park
Matchbook Romance
Rise Against
Letter Kills
River City High
2 Cents
Big D & the Kid's Table
Beret
Fear Nuttin Band
Time Will Tell
Bowling for Soup

when i was born, i had red hair. my hair stayed red until i was about four, at which point it turned into a strawberry blond, then eventually blond. when i was middle school, i first had it highlighted by my friend's mom, a hairdresser. i loved it. honestly, though, my hair was already light enough, and it was barely noticeable. in the summer my hair has natural highlights, and these strands of hair turn almost white blond. me gusta.

are you still reading? i'm surprised. you will be rewarded, for this is kind of going somewhere.

well, anyways, in california, the sun is always shining, and as a result, these highlights increased. but since i've been home here in lil rhody, theyve gone back to normal. but ive grown greedy. today- ill admit it- i contmplated putting lemon juice in it.

but then, the chemistry lover in me spoke up, and reminded me how acidic lemon juice is from a take home lab this past april. i decided not to. that much acid should really be neutralized with some sort of base....

which is why i am an insult to my fellow blondes of the world- what true blond actually thinks of the acidic level of lemon juice before increasing her blondeness?

i'm bored.

p.s. "if i ever had to pick one drug to take, it'd be acid- because it's the drug that keeps on giving"

surprise! today i learned how to add pictures

here's another!