So... a few of you have commented on how everything seems to be out of sorts on my journal lately... it is because, after much deliberation I have decided to take my journal FRIENDS ONLY. This was a tough decision for me, because I've always supported the idea of having an open forum... but circumstances have changed and I have finally converted 5 years of back entries to friends only.

If you want to read my journal, just comment to be added. I'll generally add you back... :)

But, I warn you -- my disclaimer still applies...
If you read my journal and I know you in real life, and you don't like what you read -- it's your own damn fault for reading it anyway!

I cannot even believe how fast this weekend went by. I had planned to use it getting ready for Boston and resting up for everything to come. Wrong! I had forgotten that Sean’s parents were coming into town this weekend.

I got off work at noon on Friday and headed straight to Frisco for my hair appointment. There went two hours, though Mai did a great job on my hair. I was dubious under the fluorescent lights of the salon, but in natural light, it looks a lot better. She fixed the dull colour that was looking absolutely awful and made it look more like itself. Hoorah!

Friday night, Sean had plans to go to a concert at the House of Blues with some Lubbock friends, so I decided to do a little shopping. I found the SWEETEST white cotton dress by Elie Tahari and the hottest little black dress by Diane von Furstenberg… interesting dynamic, I know… Black and white… but it was exciting. I cannot even express how sweet this white dress is. It is seriously so darling. The best part? I’m apparently losing some of the weight I had put back on! I’ve dropped 1-2 sizes. I also found two cute Burberry skirts on SUPER clearance, and a throw pillow for my linens. I was finishing up and ready to head home when the Mrs. Norville called to tell me they were in Fort Worth and invited me to dinner. Since they didn’t get in until after 9, we couldn’t make the usual stop at S&D Oyster, so I suggested Campisi’s on Mockingbird.

What. A. Disaster.

Granted, we got there late and they were closing at 11… but our waiter was just terrible. It took almost 20 minutes for him to bring Scott’s beer. Then, the food was left sitting on the table next to us for 5-10 minutes while the waiter dropped off someone else’s, as opposed to leaving it in the kitchen where it could stay warm… then Scott’s order was wrong. So, when they brought his pasta, the waiter spilled it all over his pants. Surprisingly, he kept his cool relatively well… but YIKES! The food was good, but our waiter left a lot to be desired. He was completely spastic. I felt terrible, since it was my recommendation.

Saturday morning, I had to judge Venom Girls cheer tryouts. It only took 2 hours, and some girls surprised me, though it was disappointing on a whole. I was incredibly distracted by the daughter of one of the judges, who could not be bothered to behave. I feel it casts a very unprofessional light on the whole organization for somebody’s kid to be trying to run the show, and it irritates me when parents do not make their kids behave. Anyway, we’ll be having another tryout for the Venom Girls, so we’ll see what happens there.
Saturday afternoon, we met Sean’s parents for lunch at S&D Oyster, spent awhile at Half Price Books, headed over to North Park, then Sean and I bailed for a few hours to relax. I actually fell asleep on the couch, watching him play video games. I was just so worn out.

That evening, we went to Toyko One in Addison for dinner. It was an interesting concept, but I didn’t feel like it was worth the money, unless you’re really into sushi! We had a good time though. Sean and I came home, fixed a “drank” and watched Mostly Martha. It was definitely a low key evening, which was a good thing.

Sunday morning, we slept until around 9 and dragged ourselves out of bed, but Sean’s parents didn’t show up until after 11! We definitely thought they would be there before then. We had brunch at Café Brazil, and they headed back to Lubbock. Sean and I went to the grocery store, and we decided to go on a mission to find a vase and put fresh flowers around the house. We weren’t able to find one by 3, which is when we headed to Main Event for bowling with my brother’s family… so the search continued after bowling. We picked up one at World Market, and thus began the great flower search! We looked for flowers for probably 2 hours, ending up with some beautiful yellow tulips from Market Street. It was slightly ridiculous.

Suffice it to say, dinner was not started until after 9:00. We finished dinner 4 minutes before 10 last night. I probably fell asleep sometime after 11:00. This morning, I just wanted to sleep! But, I got here… and I have 2 hours and 25 minutes left.

Last night, while we were cooking dinner, I realized that I actually *really* do enjoy taking care of things like dinner and the house. I have really enjoyed having Sean here, who doesn’t really NEED someone to take care of him at all, but allows me to do so in small ways like fixing dinner. I really enjoy having someone around, which is an incredibly hard thing for me to admit, being very independent single girl for the past couple years. I like having someone to go do things with, whether it’s shop or go find dessert in Dallas. It has been so good having something to occupy my mind while I continue to go through this stuff with the moving company. It’s definitely teaching me a lot about myself, that’s for sure… and that not all living with people situations have to be dramatic and catastrophic, like so many of my college roommate situations were, lol.

I cannot possibly put into words how sick I constantly am about my loss. I cry at least once a day, usually more than that. I have pretend to be okay for co-workers, friends, and family... but I am just dying inside. It's like being stabbed in the heart over and over and over.

I am appealing to everyone I know on this... please repost, email, or send along to others... especially if you have contacts in the DFW area. I'm not even making it Friends Only, in the event that someone, ANYONE can help me.



Please hear me out, and if you can, try and help me get my words out to someone who might be able to help.

Last weekend, I went to California to move out of my house and meet the movers who would bring my stuff back to Dallas. They were supposed to deliver to my new apartment on April 29, the 15th anniversary of my father’s death. Late that afternoon, I got a phone call saying my moving van had been stolen from a hotel on Spring Valley and Central Expressway between 2am and 8am. I am still in shock and disbelief.

The truth is, most of it is just ‘stuff’. Stuff that can be replaced. Appliances, books, DVDs, electronics, most of my furniture, day to day household goods… It’s all stuff that money can buy. I’m not worried about that – the insurance will cover some of it and I’ll get by without the rest.

I need help finding the stuff that can’t be replaced.

My father died when I was 10 years old, and all I had left of him and his family was in that truck. My dining room table and chairs were refinished by my dad. It is something very near and dear to my heart. It probably wouldn’t fetch too much money, but the sentimental value is priceless. It is one of the last relics of my childhood. There was also a drum table that I used as a lamp table in my living room. It matched the dining room table, and both were flawless. My dad spent a lot of time ironing out the imperfections and it was a reflection of his character. The tables were passed down to him from his mother and passed down to me. I had hoped that when all the people who knew my dad had passed on, I could share these things with my children, and eventually, pass it on to them.

My great-grandmother gave me her curio cabinet full of things she had collected over the years. I spent my childhood cleaning that cabinet, taking out every bell, one by one, listening to the way each one tinkered differently. She also saved some ceramics that my dad’s mother brought back after they were stationed in Asia. When pieces were broken, my dad was very upset and wanted to get rid of them all… but she hung on to them, knowing they would be important to me one day. These things aren’t worth anything… They are just part of who I am and where I came from.

There are also some pieces of art that I would like to have back. First of all, I would like to have my diploma returned to me. It has my name on it, and it means nothing to anyone else. The significance to me is priceless. I worked harder than you could have ever imagined for that piece of paper. Please bring it home, so that I may hang it up with pride in my office. Second, there are two small watercolor and ink drawings of Florence, Italy. Few people know that I studied abroad in Florence, and it was single-handedly the most amazing experience in my life. Those two drawings bring me so much joy every time I see them. Third, my ballerina painting. It is the pride and joy of my life, and it is so personal and dear to me. Ballet is one of the happiest things in my life. Please bring my ballerinas home where they belong. Finally, my autographed Phantom of the Opera poster. My mom bought it for me on the last trip we took together when I was in school. All of my friends will tell you, I’m a bit obsessed with Phantom… and my mom made a donation to Broadway Cares so I could take that piece of the show home with me.

Finally, I appeal for the things that have absolutely NO value… my photographs, journals and scrapbooks. I have kept a journal a year since I was 10 years old, and they are all gone now. Those were my words and memories, and I feel so lost without them. I lost my parents’ wedding album, when you decided to take my truck. I lost all of the pictures I had of my father the months before he died. I lost all of the best times of my life. These pictures, journals, and scrapbooks will bring you nothing financially, but they mean everything to me. Please bring them back to me.

I am appealing to everyone who has a heart, a family, and perhaps a soul. Please help me recover these things. If you stole the truck, please just bring back my personal effects. You can keep the bed, the expensive linens, the furniture, the electronics, the DVDs, the appliances, the books, etc… but please, please, please give me back my personal effects.

I have never known that my heart could be so broken over losing something material. As I said, most of it is just ‘stuff’ that can be replaced, but these things are near and dear to my heart. I have cried for the last week, because I can’t imagine that you understand what you did to me when you took every last thing I had from a prior life, especially on the anniversary of my father’s death.

Please help me bring these memories home.

If you didn’t take my truck, but you see these things out and about. Please email me. I won’t ask any questions except where, so I can bring them home.

I realize this is like trying to find a needle in a haystack… but I have to try. Photographs are in the gallery below.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=tmyy0hv.3xjk7c3f&x=0&y=a5i8ba&localeid=en_US