the beach

i went to the beach for the first time this year on saturday! so exciting! the beach itself, not that exciting...the promise that summer will be here soon and there are many more beach days to follow, worth blogging about. east coast beaches are very different than california beaches. i used to think that northern california beaches and southern california beaches were categories of their own...but they are both more fun than the beach i went to on saturday. tod's point in greenwich is very beautiful, don't get me wrong. sand, water, grass, flowers, the cutest houses ever--i kind of felt like i was in a movie or something. but its on the long island sound, no waves, water is shallow, no fire pits, the sun was on the wrong side. it kinda felt a little like my south lake lagoon days.

even though it was a different experience, the sun was shining, i have all new tan lines that will take me forever to get rid of, a few more freckles, and sand in my bag :) summer is coming, i promise! also, i had to stop at taco bell on the way home for old times sake (no del taco within a 60 mile radius)

i might as well be camping...

connecticut just had an amazing storm. i have NEVER seen anything like this. granted, i grew up in irvine where it rains like 6 days out of the year. anyway...it starting raining on friday, ndb. it was really raining on saturday and then the winds picked up. CRAZY! i drove into the city that night (probs not the best idea in hindsight) and when i returned home, greenwich was in shambles. if mansions can be in shambles that is...

my house hasn't had any electricity, heat, or running water since saturday at noon and we're not expecting to get it back until wednesday, 8 pm. there are trees all over the roads, and they knocked down power chords and houses on their way down. something like 7 people have died in southwest connecticut due to falling trees. these are not orange county, just been planted 10 years ago trees. these are fifty feet tall, three feet wide, been here forever trees.

it finally stopped raining...so that's nice. i'm at the library right now...the only place to plug in my computer and have internet access. it's blue skies and sunny outside. 60 degrees. it is literally warmer outside than inside my house. school was cancelled yesterday and today. just heard word its closed again tomorrow.

hedgehogs

i finally finished my book, the elegance of the hedgehog. i'm embarrassed to tell you how long it took me. there are a few reasons it took me forever, and some could not be avoided. first of all, i had to wiki EVERYTHING at first. like philosophers, and authors, and all the little things the author added so that only really smart people could understand this book. my next problem was that it was a book we were reading for book club (which has dissolved) and when i'm told what to read and when to read it by, my pace grows ever slower. thirdly, i started reading jonathon foer's extremely loud and incredibly close--it was too good to put down. last of all, my library fines were getting a little out of control...so after renewing it a couple times and still only being a third of the way through...i just returned it and decided i would check it out again in a couple months. and i did check it out again! i'm happy i did so...if for no other reason than to be able to put it on my shelfari :)

time for a new pic?

i just wanted all of you to know about this picture of me in the top right corner of your screen. ever since i first started writing in 2006, this picture has been staring at you as you read. this is what i looked like as a junior in high school. funny, i look exactly the same. it was taken in laguna beach as part of a national charity league photo shoot during my junior year. these pics went in the program at our fashion show, the fashion show where i wore a fur stole around my shoulders and walked up and down a runway. please feel free to stop laughing at any moment. i'm telling you this story, because it has never been told before. now its over. also, i'm in the process of finding a more recent picture that makes me look half way decent, so say your goodbyes to 17 year old alli! she's all grown up now.

sunscreen?! its winter!

so i may or may not have come home with slightly pink skin due to a little overexposure in a certain tanning bed (darn you, free gym tanning). as some of you may know, my employer is a dermatologist--and she handed my a thing of sunscreen this morning. ha...subtle. also, it doesn't even smell good.