Bigger Better Things... I hope

Hello All... I've got news, sort of

Today I applied to Library School. I've been in my current position for over 4 years. I took this job knowing I was overqualified but wanting it to be a stepping stone. I work for a very large organization with lots of room for upward mobility. I have tried and tried and tried to get promoted but have been unsuccessful. On the weekends I work at the public library and I enjoy that for the most part although it has its fair share of headaches. I had been considering a Masters degree in Library Science for a very very long time, basically since I got my B.A. way back in 2006.
I had been waiting until I was in a position where my employer would pay for the degree but I'm tired of waiting. In general, I life, I'm tired of waiting. I want progress in my life and I cant expect anybody else to give it to me. I need to be proactive.

Getting the degree doesn't mean I'll automatically get my dream job. Libraries have suffered from the government budget crisis like other departments or worse and I've also read some stuff about whether libraries are even relevant anymore in the era of e-books and what not. Actually I think libraries will evolve and expand their digital offerings. I think this could potentially be a good thing for me. I'm also a little worried because I know some people who already have the masters degree but are still in positions subordinate to librarians. I guess I'll never know how it will turn out unless I try. It is an online program and I will continue to work full time (and then some) while I complete the degree ( if I get accepted that is). I could potentially start in January 2012....

Man Candy Monday: Adam Rodriguez

Morning Ladies,
I don't have much time today so I apologize for my subpar post but I wanted to participate and share some latin flavor to this Monday's Man Candy.

I don't know much about Adam other than I loved his character in Ugly Betty. He is best known for his work on CSI but I never watch that show.
I also saw him in the movie I can do bad all by myself but wasn't a fan of the look with long hair. Have a great week all!




*image via google

My Pup is a Teen... eeekk!

Hello Friends... Today I'm going to share with you the story of how my bestie fur baby came into my life. You see, It was labor day weekend 14, yes 14! years ago.



But wait, first lets back track to 1995, actually make that 94 or earlier. When I was growing up my parents rented. Therefore I couldn't have a dog. I wanted a dog SO SO bad and apparently this encouraged my parents to buy a home, bless their hearts!
I got my first fur baby in 1995. She was fab! She was a Chow/German Shepard mix and I named her Cookie. I was an 8th grader and I thought it was totally original. We were besties, being a pet parent was so fulfilling! We went on walks all the time, I taught her some tricks it was all good. Fast forward 2.5 years and the bitch dies! WTF? Out of nowhere! Its still a mystery to me what happened to her but at the time it was devastating! I was not home when it happened and my parents told me she ran away. I was sure she'd be back and put out her food and water bowls in the front yard and slept in the living room instead of my bedroom anticipating her arrival after a rebellious night away from home.
Well the next day my parents told me the truth and it sucked. I was grieving. I don't remember how long went by maybe a few weeks, definitely no more than 2 months until my new bestie showed up at my house.

Several people who knew of my loss tried giving me another dog. I wasn't ready. Some friends came by one day carrying a little mangy mutt who needed a home. I tried turning them down since I was still grieving. My dad happened to be in the garage and witnessed this, so he came out and said we'd keep her. I protested, but she stayed and of course she grew on me. I have a horrible memory but this super significant day in my life is quite vivid. I'm not sure if it was a Saturday or Sunday but I do remember it was labor day weekend. I was starting my Jr. year in high school and a friend called me to go out. I said no because I was going to stay home with my new pup. I was resistant but maybe I was turning down other dogs because she was meant to be mine.




She is so loving and loyal. I'm so fortunate to have had her in my life for so long and that she is still pretty healthy considering her age. I take good care of her and will do whatever it takes to keep her around for as long as possible. Just looking at her gorgeous face comforts me when I'm sad. When there's fireworks and she's scared I try to comfort her. Some people may think I'm crazy because I rearrange my schedule to take care of her. If my parents leave town I will make sure I'm around. If I plan to leave town I will make sure they are around. I will be out of town this labor day weekend but since I don't know her actual birthday this weekend is very special to me. I'll bring her back a special treat from Chicago.

Boob Tube Babble and Happy Friday

Happy Friday Everybody! I can't wait to leave the office today... I don't have much going on this weekend. Tomorrow I'll be working and Sunday I'm going to a Dodger game with a friend, aside from that I look forward to spending quality time with BF. Often life gets so busy that we don't see each other as much as I'd like or if we do see each other its among other people or I'm hanging out with him while he's busy with random stuff, this girl needs more attention!

I'll have him all to myself next week when we go to Chicago so I wont be so needy this weekend.

Anywho on the Boob Tube portion of this post.

I'm dedicating this post to Leslie Knope. That's Amy Poehler's character in Parks and Recreation and I just love that show. I became interested in the show via Netflix streaming and have seen all the episodes of Season 1-2. I just saw the last episode on my iPhone during my lunch break. Season 3 will be available on DVD Sept 6th, so I'll do my best to catch up before Season 4 debuts on NBC in about a month.

I LOOOVE this show, I think Amy Poehler is ridiculously funny in this role and the rest of the cast are all such quirky characters that work so well together to make this an interesting, entertaining story. Ron Swanson, Tom Haverford, April Ludgate and the others are all so different but manage to get along well enough and get into some LOL worthy situations.

I'm eager to find out how the City of Pawnee gets themselves out of the budget crisis and how Rob Lowe and the other auditor stick around for the whole next season.
By The Way, one of the things on my to do list for Chicago is check out Second City comedy club where Amy Poehler, Tina Fey and some others attended training before they made it big.

BTW part 2 - Aziz Ansari is in the movie 30 minutes or less in theaters now also with Nick Swardson (MY absolute FAVE comedian of all time), Jesse Eisenberg and that dude from Eastbound & Down... BF and I saw it last week and I definitely recommend it.

Man Candy Monday: Paul Rudd

Morning Blog Peeps, I've been a total slacker on the Man Candy but I'm participating today


This weeks selected stud is: Paul Rudd

He gets bonus points for not only being HOT, but also funny and in some of my fave movies like Anchorman, 40 year old virgin, Reno 911, Role Models and I especially like his character in Knocked Up (btw through my Man Candy research I just learned that there will be a spin off of Knocked Up in 2012 *yay*)

His breakout role apparently was Clueless, a movie I loved as a Teen, I also thought he was great in Friends only recently I watched one of his earlier films Wet Hot American Summer and that was also great. He does more than just comedy and appeared in a film adaptation of one of my favorite books, The Great Gatsby.

He was born in New Jersey, raised in Kansas and went to college there. He is married with two kids and lives in New York. Now, enjoy the images...

div>*Images via google

Funny Man Candy ~ Take 2

Since our gracious host of this linkup beat me to the punch on Paul Rudd, I'm composing a spur of the moment, alternate man candy post.

I decided to keep to the theme of FUNNY man candy because to me, ability to make me laugh trumps boyish good looks any day. Vince Vaughn has been in some great films and actually has appeared in Anchorman just like my original man candy subject Paul Rudd.

My other favorites with Vince include Wedding Crashers (which was on last night and inspired this here post), The Break Up, Fred Claus, Four Christmases and The Dilemma.

Vince Vaughn grew up in Illinois and struggled at the beginning of his acting career in LA, his first movie was Rudy but his breakout role is in Swingers. Eventually he became part of the "Frat Pack" which includes the Wilson brothers, Will Ferrell, and Ben Stiller among other funny guys according to wikipedia...

Anywho... Vaugn dated Jennifer Aniston after they co-starred in The Breakup but eventually Broke Up.

Now he is married with a child and lives in Chicago. Hopefully he has some more funny films in the works.
*Images via google

It's OK Thursday

Good Morning All... This is what I'm thinking its OK, this week:

~It's OK if I have 4 hotels booked for my upcoming trip to Chicago, I like to have
options!

~ It's OK that I have a crush on Adam Richman, I'd like to be cheering him on at one of those Man vs. Food challenges

~ It's OK that I'm not even half as excited for the Sade concert tomorrow than most people I know, yes her music is good but geez she's not the second coming

~ It's OK that I'm *old at heart*, what? I like to sleep!

... Thats all for now
xoxo
~Claudia

Isn't she lovely?!!

I heart the spa

Greetings all... I haven't written in a while because I hadn't had anything interesting to share

But this weekend I've got something fab to look forward to. I'm a HUGE spa fan, I wish I could afford to go more often but I can't. I've been working alot lately so tomorrow I'm going to treat myself to a facial and "Coppertino Bath Experience" which I'm hoping is like hydrotherapy because I did that once and it was awesome! I'm going to Le Petite Retreat here in LA which claims to be one of the city's best.
It sure does look the part, so I'm hoping to be impressed.

*pic via

I'm planning on getting there early and taking my sweet time lounging around to ensure I get the most out of this experience. My skin has been acting up lately so I'm hoping this facial whips it back into shape.

Today however is my precious pup's day to be pampered. I will be dropping her off for a bath at Petsmart after work. She is a regular there and they love her. I love that they love her and she seems to like getting groomed, so I splurge on that regularly.

The rest of my weekend is open and I will see what it brings, perhaps some reading or movie watching or BBQing with the family.

Oh last week was BFs Bday and I didn't buy him anything yet, so maybe we will go shopping for him.

People Watching

Full Disclosure: I used to be ghetto fabulous.... I grew up in East L.A. and my family still lives there. I used to LOOOOVE hip hop, gangsta rap, R&B (still do sorta) and I used to drink Alize (dont' do that anymore). However I had always been a good student and always worked hard and continue to do so. My parents are old school traditional and I guess I inherited some conservative values. Some people think I'm snobby and a prude. I just think I grew up and left my wild child days behind me. I also have strong opinions on what is and is not appropriate for kids. I'm not a parent but sometimes I can't help but be judgemental in regards to what some parents allow their children to do/say/wear... etc.

Yesterday at Dodger Stadium I saw a woman with 3 boys... the oldest one was maybe 12 or 13 at the most... They were each wearing T-shirts that I would think are tacky even on an adult but on children, it is just wrong! One said "want my chorizo?" with the weinerschnitzel W logo. Let me translate, chorizo is like mexican sausage so in essence this is a sexual pun saying to anybody reading the shirt want my sausage?? on a child!! UGH!
The next kid had the burger king logo like two hamburger buns and instead of burger king, said "borracho king" borarcho is spanish for drunk... again on a child~!
The last and youngest boy was wearing a shirt with the heinekin type design and said drunkagain.
Granted, these are all clever and perhaps funny shirts to some and if an adult was wearing them I would think they are tacky, but not inappropriate. That a parent decides to purchase these and allows their children to wear out in public, just makes me wonder what else they are allowed to do and will be allowed to do as they grow older. Its a shame.

Wee Bit of Me Wednesday

{one} what is your dream job?
Lately I've been feeling like my dream job is to be a librarian. I've considered Library School (you need a master's degree to be a librarian btw) since I graduated college, but didn't want to take on more student loan debt. Ideally I'd love to be a librarian at a college or a private company. I still work a little at the public library and dealing with people in LA is sometimes fun but often draining.

Another, less viable dream job would be to work in foreign relations. My B.A. degree is in Political Science with an International emphasis and History with a Middle Eastern focus. I applied to the CIA, the State Dept maybe even the FBI I also took two semesters of Arabic and did pretty well. Now that I'm older I dunno if I'd have the guts for this career.

{two} how many best friends do you have?
OK don't feel sorry for me but right about now I'd have to say none. I'm feeling pretty disconnected from most if not all of my friends and even some family. I'm not bitter about it though, I've always been pretty independent and I like to have lots of calm quiet alone time. Its an adjustment as people get older and schedules get more and more busy with work & family commitments.

{three} what’s the longest road trip you’ve ever taken?
Well it was spread throughout a whole week but in 2007 I went with my parents to Arizona, Texas, New Mexico & Colorado I guess (among other things we went to that place where 5 state borders meet)

{four} if you had to do one single thing every day for the next year, what would it be?
Tell my BF I love him, I don't think I do it enough.

{five} what’s one story your family always tells about you?
My mom tells a story about a birthday party they threw for me when I was a kid (I dunno maybe like age 4 or 5) during which I was hiding waiting for everybody to leave and I complained about other kids playing with my stuff... yes I have anti-social tendencies sometimes.

{six} how did your parents pick your name?
I don't know, I have heard it was my Dad's choice though.

{seven} what’s the one thing that scares you more than anything?
woah, this question is hard. I have anxiety issues, soooo many things worry/scare me. I dunno if this necessarily scares me more than anything... but at this point in my life I do worry alot about having a baby... More specifically, not being able to get pregnant when I decide I'm ready (I'm almost 30 and I know that's not exactly old but it worries me)

{eight} are you a good cook?
Absolutely not, but I'm not a bad cook either, I just don't cook much. Or hardly at all. That needs to change

{nine} where do you see yourself in 20 years?
OMG all these questions are soo hard! If I had my way, I'd be happily married, with 2.5 kids (lol well 2 or 3, the oldest a boy) a dog (or several) a job I enjoy, frequent vacations and would be aging gracefully.

{ten} what’s your best childhood memory?
I have very few childhood memories, but some of my greatest moments were when I was finally allowed to have a dog and participating in the spelling bee.

Chicago, what you got?

Blog peeps... Anybody from Chicago? Has anybody visited Chicago and can fill me in on what fun stuff there is to do?

BF and I are considering visiting on Labor Day weekend... We want to go somewhere neither of us has been and go to a baseball game. That is our main purpose for the trip. But what will we fill the rest of our time with? I'd appreciate any reccomendations.

I come here for knowledge, not to frolick!

Friends,
Let me tell you, the central library in downtown LA is a very interesting place to work. This is not your typical library and the characters that come through there are... hmmm eccentric, odd, well, you'll get the idea as I fill you in on my adventures at the circulation desk.

We have alot of regulars. Sometimes people feel the need to chat with us clerks. This Saturday one such regular comes up to the desk and starts sharing with us how another male patron was trying to lure him into the bathroom and he says to us "I come here for knowledge, not to frolick... I do that at home". WOW I thought, that's a great quote. And off he goes, with his books, to get knowledge.

But honestly, people do these things at the library. It's a great place but its a public place so you can encounter some wierdos.

Last week as I was exiting after closing, a guy (I'd say twenty-something) wearing shorts like something Suzanne Somers would wear on a thighmaster commercial and a tank top was walking in. So I said its closed, and he says "DAMN, I wanted some fucking Panda!" (There is a Panda Express in the Library) He turns around to exit and adds "And I got kicked out of the wedding too, whatever, I'll go to Famima."

This last one, I couldn't help but just laugh and laugh after I'd heard it. I was helping a family with their books. The parents and 2 boys (looked like twins) maybe 4-ish were at my desk while a woman was with her kids were a few stations over, well her baby was screaming bloody murder!! I kid you not, he was crying like he was being tortured. So one of the boys at my station is quite annoyed by this and says "UGh what's that?" His mom says: "its a baby crying" to which he replies "I hate that baby!" As I'm typing this, I realize it doesn't seem all that funny anymore. I guess its just one of those you had to be there things, but it was hilarious to me at the time.

Stay tuned for more Adventures at Central Library... and remember no frolicking allowed.