The Power of the iPod

Oh, how I love my iPod!

Tonight, like most Monday nights (or, in this case, a Tuesday that's mighty Mondayish, thanks to Memorial Day yesterday!), I spent the usual four hours flipping through hundreds of pages of phone calls to the Laguna Beach Police Department and posting them online. (Go here for the fruits of my labor - search Laguna Beach!)
Anyways, listening to my iPod makes the oft-tedious task a lot more fun. What really struck me this time around is the power of music for connecting to memories! It's not a new discovery, granted - I'm a sentimental gal, so certain songs always transport me to a specific time and place in my life. What struck me tonight is a certain sense of gratitude, I guess is the way to describe it - pure joy for some of the oh-so-fun and happy memories I have. I've had such an amazing life!

Here are some of the classics on the random shuffle tonight - and, as a disclaimer, the iPod pulled these up! This isn't a list of my favorite songs, or even close to it. These are just the ones that popped up and tonight and brought a smile to my face as a memory came with it.

"Barbie Girl" by Aqua - this came out in my high school days, so Rebecca and I put it on the "La Crescenta Mix" we made in early college (remember?). Every time I hear it, I think of my high school friends at one of the many church dances we attended in high school.

Haha, and now it's popular again with the tweens - my 11-year-old sister thought she was introducing me to it recently. I was like, no, that's ooooooold... It's like "introducing" my mom to the "Moulin Rouge" soundtrack, except I'm the old one now! Yikes!

"Fever" by Kylie Minogue - one of the warm-up songs from my favorite dance class EVER, taught by the incomparable Wright Rance my junior year at BYU. Whenever I hear that song, I just want to do shoulder isolations, haha. Under Rance's tutelage, I finally started throwing down triple pirouettes like nobody's business! (and now I can scarcely manage a double - so sad!)
"The Start of Something New" - yes, "High School Musical." I'm a fan. I'll admit it. The song reminds me of Seattle, actually. I bought it at the Blockbuster around the corner from my cute little hotel room in Queen Anne on my trip there Christmas 2006. It was the night before I found out about a close friend's death, and I know it sounds morbid, but it always reminds me how fragile life is, and how things can change faster than you realize.
"Silent All These Years" by Tori Amos - I still vividly remember the first time I ever heard this, back in 7th grade. It's so haunting! I actually called up KROQ to find out what the song was.
"I Love a Piano" from the Broadway version of "White Christmas" and "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" from the Broadway musical "Movin' Out" - both songs reminded me of how much I loved seeing the shows live, and how much I miss the theater! I'm thinking "Wicked" for my 26th birthday in August - who's in?
"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In medley" by The Fifth Dimension - This song always reminds me of my mother, who, when we were listening to the Forrest Gump soundtrack I'd bought on our San Fran trip in 2002, related to me how the song always reminds her of dancing on the bed with a friend of hers in 8th grade. Now every time I hear it, I think of that, too!
"Blues in the Night" by Eva Cassidy - My BFF Karen used to always bust out with this song in college. Hearing it makes me realize how much I miss her, even though we talk a few times a week. It's not the same as face time!
"Love Potion No. 9" by The Searchers - It's from a British Invasion compilation I got at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland last spring. For the most part, my Ohio trip was... interesting... but that day in Cleveland was delightful! I guess Cleveland does rock! =)

"Bang" by Eve 6 - Eve 6 went to my high school, so anything by them reminds me of CV (Crescenta Valley HS). The bassist's younger sister, Juliette, was a friend of mine from 7th grade on - and our senior prom queen!

"California Girls" by the Beach Boys - Reminds me of my childhood summers, when we'd listen to the Beach Boys en route to Newport Beach. We went almost every weekend the last two summers my parents were together, and they were some of the happiest childhood memories I have! I was quite the boogie boarder, too.

Haha, I'm sure I've bored you enough with this walk down memory lane. What are some of your favorite song memories?

Big News!

Sooo... I've had big news since Wednesday, but no time to post anything, so finally, here it is: I quit my job at The Orange County Register!

As of June 16, I will once again be a PR superstar, this time working for Maples Communications, a Mission Viejo-based high-tech public relations firm whose main account is Toshiba.


Truth be told, I'm thrilled and relieved. I know, I loved my job - I still do, in that I love journalism, and Laguna Beach has been a great community to track. Journalism comes so naturally to me, more than anything else I've ever done.

But the Register's heading in a direction I don't want to go, and the job I'm tasked with now isn't quite what I signed up for a year ago. I'd like to think I have greater value as a writer than the number of page views I generate, and I'm so excited to work somewhere that values (and actually rewards) my writing ability and hard work.

Not that I'm bitter. It's sad to become so disillusioned with something you love, though.

But that's part of growing up, right?

Meanwhile, my new gig is as an account executive, a step up the corporate ladder. A job where travel is REQUIRED! *girlish squeal of delight!* I've always dreamed of being the have-suit, will-travel type, among the many possible lives I've dreamed up. And it's a career with a future! A friend of mine's been working there for a while, and I've seen him rise through the ranks. I'm hoping to do the same and see where hard work and talent can take me. I've been curbing my career ambitions in the hopes of marriage and motherhood too long, and I'm thrilled to see where this path will lead.

Why Customer Service Counts

Wow, has this been a long week! Between yesterday and today, I worked 29 hours - and I have so much work to do before we go to press at noon tomorrow that I'm going to get minimal sleep tonight, too. Craziness!

But more on that later - and on a big announcement coming soon...

So, in the midst of my crazy day today, I realized that I really needed to get my trip booked, since I'm leaving in just over two weeks (yay!!!). Glad I waited, too, since the ticket price dropped $20.

Booking this trip wasn't simple, however; the whole plan was to use the credit I had from a cancelled Christmas flight with Delta. When I called Delta today, however, I was told that the amount had been returned to the credit card! I figured out fairly quickly what had happened - my Christmas trip was cancelled initially because I changed the travel date within 24 hours of booking it, so true, that was cancelled, but another charge for the same went through.

After spending a good hour and a half with two different reps who weren't willing to look beyond the first transaction and kept telling me, sorry, lady, you don't have credit with us, I asked to speak to their supervisor, who ended up being a delightful man based in Georgia. He verified that I was not, indeed, crazy, but that there was outstanding credit, and he applied it toward my trip. Not only that, but he waived the usual cancellation fee - so I am now flying for $7!!!

This was a lesson to me in why customer service counts. After the first two agents, I was ready to never fly with Delta again, but the supervisor made me sing a different tune. So, yay for Delta - and yay for my upcoming trip!

I can't wait. After the 14-hour days, believe you me, I can use a vacation.

The ABC's of Christa

I saw this on Karly's blog and thought it would be fun to fill out - enjoy!

And keep posted... I just might have some major, major news in upcoming weeks...

A-Attached or Single: Single, and quite enjoying it!

B-Best Friend: Karen McMullin Rains, the coolest person on the planet. Seriously, I love this girl! We met in the dorms fresh out of high school and have been tight ever since. Even though she lives in upstate New York, we still talk on the phone a few times a week, and she knows me better than anyone.


C-Cake or Pie: Cake, in a heartbeat. I'm not a pie fan. (Oh, PS, have you seen Ace of Cakes on the Food Network? It's amazing!)

D-Day of Choice: Thursdays. I know, random - but Thursday is the day after deadline, so it's a chance to breathe, plug away at the upcoming week, almost always go to lunch with my friends, and then Thursday night is the only night I don't have something scheduled... except to watch the awesome NBC lineup!

E-Essential Items: Day planner, contacts, cell phone, lip gloss, laptop with its wireless card, Diet Pepsi.

F-Fact or Fiction: Fiction. I enjoy nonfiction and documentaries and all, but there's a lot to be said for curling up with a good novel or a fun flick.

G-Graduation: High school was 2000; BYU was... well... I left in 2004, walked in 2005 but finally finished my independent study class in 2006.

H-Hometown: La Crescenta, a nice suburb in the foothills of L.A.

I-Indulgences: DVDs (I love 'em!), ice cream, retail therapy at the Gap.

J-January or July: July, for sure!

K-Kids: Someday... but not too soon. I'm totally not there yet, as I'm reminded each week when I babysit. They're so cute and fun, but yeah, not yet!

L-Life is Incomplete Without: The gospel and good friends and family.

M-Marriage Date: Eventually someday... I'm not really worrying about that one.

N-Number of Siblings: 1 brother and 1 sister.

O-Old or New: I love old stuff, like really old buildings or old cars. The history involved fascinates me!

P-Phobias or Fears: Bodily injury (hence why I avoid team sports!), failure, letting down a loved one.

Q-Quotes: Wow, there's a ton - I love quotes. To keep it simple, "The chiefest source of unhappiness in life is sacrificing what you want most for what you want in the moment." Something like that.

R-Reason to Smile: Each day we have the opportunity to start over again and do better than the day before!

S-Superhero: Iron Man, aka Tony Stark. It used to be Superman, but dude, have you seen "Iron Man"? Amazing!!!

T-Transportation: My white 1999 Altima, Alfredo. He's a winner!

U-Unknown Fact About Me: I once snuck onto the set of an MTV pilot in Santa Monica with a couple of guys I'd met that day at a leadership conference reunion, and we pretended to be extras in the rave scene. We could have stayed for the shoot, too, but my mom flipped out and ruined the fun. Bet you didn't know I could be so spontaneous and cool like that! ;)

V-Vacation: I love San Francisco and seem to go once a year - at least I have for three years running! My top destination, though, is my grandma's cabin near Yellowstone. That place is so dear to my heart. And I'm going in three weeks!!!

W-Worst Habit: Procrastinating and making excuses. I mean, to me, they're reasons for behavior... but to everyone else, they sound like excuses.

X-Xavier or Magneto: Xavier, of course! Go X-Men!

Y-Your Favorite Food: Calamari tacos or tostada from Taco Mesa... mmmm... basically anything from Taco Mesa, really!

Z-Zebra or Leopard: Ummm, leopard print. And yes, I recognize the lameness of the question I made up, but there aren't many Z options out there!

Calling all Crystal Balls!

Every few months I get incredibly antsy about my next life step, and I start the plotting and scheming of what future I want. Now, I can't say I haven't acted on this ennui before - in fact, that accounts for my year-long stint in land entitlement PR (great firm, but not a great fit for me) and my subsequent, swallow-my-pride return to the Register.

However... I woke up the other day realizing that my "short stay" in South County has stretched to *gasp!* almost three and a half years! That's a long time, yo.

And it's not that I haven't made attempts to leave, either. There was my I'm-going-to-grad-school phase about this time last year, when I actually did submit half of a UCLA application and paid for the GRE, only to wimp out the night before, in fear of being haunted by a bad score. Oh, and there was that whole prompting to stay put. That curbed those plans quickly.

And then in January, I decided I should move to Utah... since that's what all unmarried LDS people do, right? Go to the "meet market"? But then I remembered that I had done that before, as a BYU coed. For four and a half years. Delightful? Absolutely - then. But I've grown past my BYU phase, so that plan lasted all of a week.

Well, I'm getting antsy again. My apartment contract is up this summer, and I've fulfilled my promise to stay at the Register for at least a year. Now, granted, I don't want to career-hop annually, so I think I'm staying put for a little while yet... but it's fun to think of the possibilities. Although ambitious in nature, I aimed for attainable career goals... and accomplished them at 24. Boring! I need some sort of big career dream to be working toward.

But what career? What future? If only I had a crystal ball, to see what lies ahead! Here are some ideas:

• Move to Manhattan and work for some glamorous publishing company (ummm... "Devil Wears Prada" much?)

• Abandon my education-trained career and become the most amazing personal assistant EVER to some bigwig in New York, D.C. or San Francisco. If I'm all type-A with my schedule, I could certainly do it with someone else's and get paid for it!

• Go to UCLA and get that master's in film history after all, and devote my life to studying the silver screen's impact on American culture and consciousness... and Jimmy Stewart's dreaminess...

• Move to the Midwest and open a bakery. I bet those Midwesterners are missing out on the gourmet cupcake craze, and they aren't all diet-obsessed like us West Coasters.

• Return to Seattle and convince Microsoft to hire a brilliant writer. After all, they already employ my insanely-gifted computer genius of a brother - why not numerically dyslexic, completely right-brained me?

• Give up city life altogether and move to West Yellowstone, Montana, to pursue my lifelong dream of being a Playmill Player... and figure out something for the other half of the year... like making pizzas at Geyser's, or working at Eagle's Curios, or scooping ice cream at Arrowleaf (wow, I seriously can name more businesses in West than I thought!)

I love that my future is whatever I make it... and then, at the same time, oh my gosh, my future is what I make it. I don't want to wake up and be 30 and still spinning my wheels! If you have a winning suggestion for my future, I'm all ears.

Welcome to the O.C.!

Life is so amazing! Tomorrow I have the day off, which I am sooooo looking forward to. I'll definitely be hitting the beach, working on my tan. I'm becoming such a beach bum! Heather and I seem to make it out there at least once a week, and it's divine. Seriously, y'all gotta come visit me.

It's funny how life never goes quite as planned. When I moved back to Orange County three years ago, I was such an L.A. snob - I was only going to be in "the O.C." for a little while, and then I'd bolt for some more glamorous locale, like back to L.A., or to Seattle or Manhattan. None of this Orange County stuff. It's too perfectly manicured, too out of touch with reality, too suburban...

But then I got sucked in.

I mean, let's face it: Orange County is amazing. It's stunningly gorgeous. I'm in Laguna Beach at least three days a week, meaning I see the ocean at least that much. The weather's amazing - not too hot, not too cold. Some people have a bit more of a sense of entitlement than I'd like, but in general, people are nice and family-centered.

There's plenty of that superficial, stereotypical Southern California stuff, sure, but there's also much more good than meets the eye. Perfect tans and giving hearts are not mutually exclusive, after all! Some of the people I've met just blow me away - high rollers, yet so generous and down to earth and genuine. It's refreshing.

And besides, where else could you do this...

... or this...
... or this...
... or this...
... or this...

... or this?
(Aren't we gorgeous?)

So, in South County I hope to remain. It's funny, because I still distinctly remember once in childhood, driving to Laguna Beach with my mom and grandmother through the stretch of the 5 that I drive through every day now. I recall glancing at the hillsides of Laguna Niguel and Mission Viejo and thinking, wow, it's so nice - must be special to live here. Well, I'm not gonna lie - it's pretty awesome, and it finally feels like home. =)

Oh, and P.S. - no one ever really calls it "the O.C." Well, at least no real Orange Countians.