This is the way we wash our clothes....(Mulberry Bush)

Up and at'em bright and early. There was a home fair scheduled today for Tustin Field, a new neighborhood sprouting up on the land reclaimed from the Marine airbase. Sitting on the Tustin side, just within the border between Irvine and Tustin, this was PRIME, Grade A real estate, even if it was bordered by a train track, a marine base, and built on land that probably hid the remnants of military experiments long past. Given that the model homes hadn't been started yet, my curiousity got the better of me and I was off to the fair!

There was a line of cars that stretched down the block, prospective homebuyers were parking across the street and walking in to avoid the wait. Once inside the mud lot, 2 giant tents presented themselves. One for registration, one for information. Registration...you mean like for classes before the University decided to convert to a phone system?

I asked Janne, the registration girl, how many were on the list.

She stated, without hesitation: "4500, and if you don't show up today, that's it, no home for you"

I almost had a heart attack. I had no idea the competition for purchasing a home was so competitive in Southern California. 367 homes, a mixture of row townhouses, cluster homes, and detached houses starting from the 400's on up, for such a huge pool of fish. It was a relay race! First you had to know about the building site, register online for the interest list, show up for the event today, and for all consecutive events to even secure a possible slot for buying one of these babies.

I was blown out of the water. If I was Jennifer Aniston, I'd have assistants snatch up a few of these as investment properties.

Depressed that buying a home in Irvine seemed even farther out of my reach, I was determined to do something enjoyable....go SHOPPING! I may not be able to afford a new home, but a new pair of shoes always makes a girl feel better!

TO KS:

Thought you'd find it funny.

Went to Old Navy the other day and picked up a pack of panties...the clearance Valentine's Day ones. there's a pair in there that's white with pink lips printed all over with words like kiss, swak....and peck.

The thought of having his name printed all over my butt....well, I guess that's what imaginations are for.

2/21/04 - 2/27/04 POTW

The largest tumbleweed I ever did see was not in TX, but in the OC. I'd swear that the bush was the size of my car's front end.

Brutally beautiful.

I was lucky enough to attend one of the first public screenings of Mel Gibson's The Passion of Christ this evening. Not coming from a religious upbringing, I had tried to read as much as possible online in preparation for the movie. While historical errors depicted within the movie may prevent some from enjoying the film, it won't stop the general masses. The movie connects on a much deeper, emotional and human level. The intense physical suffering of Christ truly emphasizes how great of a burden he has shouldered by accepting the sins of humanity.

Other than hiding my eyes from the numerous physically painful scenes of Jesus' punishment by whipping and falling repeatedly with a crown of thorns upon his head. 2 other scenes really hit an emotional chord:

• Mary and Magdalene accepting cloths from Claudia, who's husband had just sentenced Jesus to intense scourging
  
• Mary flashing back to Jesus tripping in his youth and wanting to help him rise and carry the burden of his cross
  

An in depth essay, analysis, and background on the movie.

Oh, and I got to have sushi at a new restaurant...SUSHIFACE!

I got to walk in the rain today!

For those who have never visited Southern California, precipitation only falls about 4 times a year, today being one of those rare occasions. The residents who call this fragile ecosystem home, scurry about hiding from the light sprinkles in thick woollen coats normally reserved for "serious" winter weather in other states.

I was quite happy to bounce about in the puddles. My true goal was to watch the Cirque Du Soleil talent search which was unfortunately cancelled due to the "inclement weather". Redirecting my energies, I visited Valentino Chocolate, the only one that exists outside of Belgium. I was diagnosed at a very young age with a horribly crippling addiction to decadently rich, fancy, and expensive chocolates.

If you love me, feed me. I'm serious.

I've been playing a highly addictive game for the past few hours. I'm enamoured of it's simplicity the same way I am with Pitfall, Pong, and Bomberman.

I'm a child of the 80's video game revolution. Things like up up down down left right etc. mean something to me.

Also having a mild shopping handicap...here are some coupons to fill those wardrobe holes you may be suffering:

• Kenneth Cole, 10% off the new spring line, use promo code 90241, good through 3/3/04
  
• Nine West, $10 off in stores or online, good through 2/28/04
  
• American Eagle (a wallet friendly version of Abercrombie without the in your face nudity), 15% off in stores or online, use promo code 71788351, good through 2/24/04
  
• Karmaloop, 10% off, use promo code HEART10, good through ?
  

So apparently this "blog" thing is really in if CNN feels the need to run a story on them and previously faceless women in Iran can use them to scream an identity in the world. But you also know that when CNN has checked, rechecked, post-checked, under-checked their facts and finally gotten around to publishing an article, it's pretty potato and yesterday.

I've "grown up" with the Internet (wrote my first email using a dinosaur of a DOS based program called PCMail at UVA in 1994) so blogging doesn't present a major fascination to me. I am just starting to realize there are those who aren't accustomed to baring their souls online. These are the same who have never entered a chat room, posted a picture, or downloaded a movie.

My friend FD struggles with the concept of online "diaries" and wondered if blogging is done as a cry for attention. She had kept a diary since she was little and had never (and will never) let any other pair of eyes ever set on the contents.

For me, I was just poking around the Google page. I've always lacked the patience for keeping a diary past day 2 or 3...so we'll see how long electronic peer pressure keeps this alive.

POTW will try to post one per week.