I’m Getting Old

As 2008 draws to a close, I think it’s starting to just now hit me that time is flying. Quickly. I hear the music on some radio stations these days and don’t understand the hype. I see high school aged kids proudly walking about in their "Class of ‘11" sweatshirts and I’m taken back. I can still remember the rage that surrounded bringing in the new millennium in 2000, when everyone thought that computers would revert back to 1900 and crash. It’s hard to believe that that was about nine years ago. Then there’s my probe (I love that car- despite it’s appearance, it’s deeply loved). It’s a shock to see one running these days. I remember pointing at it, sitting pretty on some random used car lot on E 14th at saying "that one." I promptly wrote a check for 3.5K at the ripe age of seventeen and drove it home with my sister trailing me (since I didn’t exactly have my license at the time). That seems like ages ago.

Then, a few days ago when Eric and I were driving around Dublin searching for a RedBox to return our DVDs after visiting with Mom and Grandma Palshis, we found ourselves at Long’s in Pleasanton- the little store that brought us together back in 2000. It looked just the same as we got out of the car and headed for the entrance. Eric’s initials were still carved into what was fresh pavement in front of the Japanese restaurant next door. My old parking spot under the big shade tree was vacant. But upon entering, I would not have recognized the old store any day- in what is now a brightly colored, oddly organized, generic drugstore. The photo center? Gone. In it’s place, a series of HP digital computer systems instead of the old-fashioned laboratory where photographs were actually processed in house. The center blocks where I tirelessly set the weekly ads? Gone. The cosmetics counter where I neatly displayed the perfume, cologne, and silver jewelry? Gone too. And where was Joyce? The thoughtful, kind, and cheery cashier who happily greeted everyone? Nowhere to be found that evening. In fact, we only came across a single employee throughout the entire store, who quietly stocked the soap isle. And then there was the pharmacy where I also spent many, many hours- it was completely remodeled to accommodate private windows for customers and surprisingly, more than one register. I couldn’t believe it.

After our brief reminiscence of what used to be, Eric and I promptly returned our DVDs to the RedBox machine and made our way to the exit. As we drove away, I almost wished that I had not walked inside. I tried to remember the old store- the one I grew so fond of. The store where I first met Eric on the hardware isle in his cute green vest. The store where I tirelessly straightened each isle on most evenings. The store where Elaine picked me up late at night in the old Tempo so I didn’t have to walk home. The store where Eric and I rearranged our schedules so we could have lunch together in the break room. The store where a surprise Cal graduation cake waited for me in the break room along with all of my coworkers one afternoon. The store where our vests hung neatly, pockets awaiting love note exchanges. The store where Eric taught me how to drive his manual 1976 beetle in the parking lot after hours. The store where I lived my life for nearly seven years… Gone.

Holiday Traditions- Old & New

A few days before the holiday festivities began, Eric and I had the chance to drive around looking for festive holiday lights! This is one activity that I try to make time for each season, as I have fond childhood memories of family outings that simply involved driving around endlessly as we all "ohh-ed" and "ahh-ed" at all of the pretty lights. Shortly after Eric and I started dating, he drove me to "Kript’s Place"- a popular organization of blocks in Fremont that lavishly decorated their homes to raise money for children’s cancer research. Nearly every home, at least five or six blocks wide, would display all sorts of festive lights. It was a sight to see. Sadly, the display has withered in recent years to only a few homes. So, this year we lucked out with our newly discovered block of homes a little closer to home- right in San Ramon. There was even a home that streamed holiday music on beat to the movement of their lights! We were very impressed and recommend the trip if you find fun in this sort of thing.


There’s nothing like a warm, gooey, cinnamon roll lathered with icing and paired with a tall glass of milk on Christmas morning before you break into the stockings. My own little holiday tradition that I look forward to carrying on with my own little family in the future. But sadly, I did not have the time this year to make them (…sigh…). And I was not about to break open a can of Philsbury- that would be even more disappointing. Instead, I made sure to prepare a batch this morning, the day after Christmas (which I thankfully had off from work! A first for me, since about eight years ago). I tried a new recipe, as I was unimpressed with the results from Ms. Betty last year. Although not quite what I was hoping for, they turned out good overall.

An Overwhelming & Exhausting Holiday (as usual)

As a kid with divorced parents, I became quite accustomed to being shuffled around, going from home to home, from party to party at any given time, especially on Christmas Day. Back then, I swore that this would be one of the not-so-enjoyable aspects of the holidays that would not continue into my adult life. And yet, there we were on Christmas Day, driving from house to house to house trying to squeeze everyone in. That’s the way it goes I guess. For now at least- until we can afford a big enough house to notify everyone that it they expect to see us, then they’ll just have to trek out to our place.

So, as you may have guessed, this was a busy day for Eric and I. First, it was a quick stocking and gift exchange between Eric and I at home. Then, we got ready to go. First, dad’s place in Antioch, then h’or deuves and the famous gift exchange at Eric’s aunt’s place in Brentwood, followed by snacks and more gift exchanging at Mom & Patrick’s house in Dublin. Finally, we had dinner and late night conversation with the Fleming clan in Danville before we officially headed home and crashed. Despite our hectic schedule for the day, it was nice to see everyone- well, almost everyone.

Sadly, Elaine and my schedules didn’t seem to coordinate at any point during the day, so we decided that we would get together the day after Christmas instead. Elaine gave us an awesome basket full of all kinds of things she made. There was jam, lip gloss, and a candle among a bunch of other cool things like a beautiful homemade table runner (I love how awesomely crafty we both turned out!). Anyway, the four of us enjoyed a fun-filled afternoon of chicken wings and chocolate donuts over wii games in our pajamas.

A Very Homemade Christmas

I’m sure many will soon notice or have already noticed that my choice of gifts to distribute this year are not the typical sweaters and dvds. In light of the recent economic slump and the need for me to lose myself in some mindless crafting (to get my mind off of school, teaching, and the like), I decided to make some gifts instead. Although I enjoy the holidays for the opportunity to spend some quality time with family and friends over good food and conversation, it seems the real spirit of the holiday season gets caught up in the rush. Maybe it’s the midnight door-buster rush of rude people fighting over an ugly sweater that tramples my holiday mood. Or it could be that we’re just too busy. But back some years ago, people used to bake, make, and craft their way into the holidays- An idea that I thought I would embrace this year. So, after a few trips to the farmer’s market, hardware store, drugstore, and craft store- and some careful planning- I was ready to begin!

The Jam Experiment

This was my first attempt of making jam. After finding some amazing pluots (a delicious hybrid fruit of plums and apricots) at a local farmer’s market in San Francisco, I did some research online to educate myself on the art of jam making. I barely had a stockpot large enough to accommodate the jars during the sealing process, but the overall experience was rather simple. I was delighted to hear the "pop!" sound of each and every lid as it sealed its contents. I tried the finished product a few days later, and it turned out better than I expected.




Potpourri Pie Warmers

Okay- so I can’t take credit for this idea, per se- but I did improve upon the original. When my sister and I went to a fall-themed art and crafts show in Danville, we stumbled upon these darling little pies, made from little terracotta pot dishes, potpourri, and ribbon. When you’re baking or using the stovetop, you simply place the pie on the warm surface and the potpourri fragrance fills the air, just like an essential oil warmer. I almost bought one- but then I thought- twenty dollars for one of these? I could easily make them for less than half that cost. So that’s what I did. I made three different varieties: Pumpkin Pie, Apple Spice, and Cranberry Orange. They turned out great and all the extra supply I needed for this project was a glue gun.




Soy Wax Candles

Candles were the first things that I thought of when I initially planned to make gifts this year. During my online research on how to make these, I was directed to soy for a number of reasons. I learned that it not only burns cleaner and longer than traditional parafin waxes, but it was an ideal wax for the novice candle maker (apparently the ideal pouring temperature for most wax is a difficult thing to gauge, but this wasn’t an issue with the soy wax). This was also an easy craft to make. All you have to do is melt the wax to a certain degree, add the fragrance oil and the colorant, and then pour the liquid into containers. I tried burning one and they definitely last quite a long time. I made five different scents: Amber, Cranberry, Gardenia Lily, Hazelnut Crème, and Pear. My favorite scents was the pear- very sweet and juicy.





Lip Balm

My sister has made lip balm in the past and raved over the result, so I figured that I would try it for myself. This project was relatively easy, since you simply melt down all the ingredients and pour the liquid into containers to set. But my final product ended up a little firmer that I was anticipating, more like a candle than a malleable balm. It was an easy fix though- just melt the concoction back down into a liquid, add more oils, and pour again. On the other hand, the Pyrex bowl that I used to prepare this was another story. I was very glad that I bought it specifically for this purpose, as the waxy, oily mixture was very difficult to clean. I made two different varieties: Peppermint and Vanilla.




Bath Bombs

I found a recipe online for these and thought that I’d give it a try. The recipe itself sounded a little daunting, with all the different ingredients and specific ratios to follow, but I managed (after a few trial and error attempts). I couldn’t find the citric acid anywhere- one of the main ingredients- so I had to order it online by the pound. And when you mix the dry and wet ingredients, you have to be especially mindful of the consistency, or else the final product would either crush back into powder or start to swell and fizz slightly. When the consistency is just right, you end up with bombs that resemble the real thing from Lush! (an awesome store that sells all natural bath and beauty products). Looking back, I would rate this project as an intermediate crafting effort.

Another Semester Down, One More To Go! (hopefully)

Today marks the completion of my last official class for my program. The past few weeks have been completely stressful and overwhelming, even after I carefully scheduled work at the hospital along with all of my other tasks into one-hour timeslots. On top of grading about 60 undergraduate essays, I had term papers and presentations due in both of my classes (an ANOVA statistics class and a seminar on culture and cognitive development) within the same week. And let’s not forget to mention the endless task of preparing my IRB submission (the tedious report of my official thesis proposal). Then, my advising professor informs me at the last minute that she would like me to guest lecture on self-identity development in one of her classes. Okay, add that to my list. Needless to say, I was about ready to lose it. Yet miraculously, I was able to keep it together- even on minimal sleep, which if you know me, is difficult to imagine (Sleeping comes very easy to me; I thankfully sleep like a rock. I can have a pile of things on my desk left undone, yet I will not sacrifice my sleep. I have never pulled an all-nighter, nor will I ever- Me + stress + little to no sleep = a very unhappy camper). So, I am extremely relieved that this semester is finally over! I can take a short break before the madness resumes in a few weeks.

One Fake Tree for Adams-Stessel, Inc.

We received a Christmas card in the mail today addressed to "Adams-Stessel, Inc." I have to admit, it was definitely the most unique salutation that we’ve received yet (thanks Grandma & Grandpa Fleming). We receive all kinds of oddly addressed correspondence on a daily basis- everything from "Holly Stressel" to "Erick Addams." And then there was "Eric Stems" (my personal favorite). Anyway, I think we will try to see how well this one sticks with us.

We broke down and bought a fake Christmas tree today. As a kid, I despised the fake tree that came around about every other year, when the rest of the family’s protest against the ugly, fake, plastic excuse for a tree failed. But, realistically speaking, artificial Christmas trees do make sense. We don’t have to worry anymore about the cats trying to eat it (or future children either). Also, it will pay itself off in about two or three years, since one must fork over at least $50 for a decent tree these days. And I won’t have to feel sad for throwing the tree away after we’re done with it (I know, you can recycle the tree, but still…). Lastly, no more pine needles mysteriously popping up all over the carpeting in the middle of July. On the con side, no more fresh pine smell throughout the house. But, we did find a lovely candle at Illuminations that smells just like the real thing! I took a few pictures of Eric putting the thing together and after I had the time to decortate it.

Walnut Creek on Ice!

Every year around the holiday season, the city of Walnut Creek hosts their annual outdoor ice skating event, hosted by Long's. Since we didn't get around to going last year, we jumped on the opportunity when our friends Lisa and Peter invited us to go. Plus, we went on a night when Long's employees skate for free (I'm not technically an employee any longer, but Eric and I still had our employee discount cards and we didn't exactly want to pay $14 admission per person).


Overall, it was a good time. The rink itself was far larger than we were anticipating and there was Christmas music playing over a loudspeaker. The ice quality was sub par but understandable since it wasn't a true ice skating rink, just a rink built temporarily for the event. Eric had fun on the ice, since he doesn't get the chance to skate all that often anymore. And, I'm proud to say that I didn't fall. Not even once.

We’ve Created a Monster! (well, two actually)

So this is our kid. Yes, he’s perched on the kitchen countertop. Yes, that is the stovetop directly behind him, and no, thankfully it was not in use. For anyone who doesn’t know, Eric and I have two very spoiled kids at home- the four-legged variety that is- Ragdolls by the names of Mr. Blake and Penny May. I have very few rules regarding these two. They roam the house freely, nap when and where they please, get fed expensive organic food and filtered water, and sleep on our heads. Yes, our heads. But there are two things that are off-limits! No going outside and No kitties on the countertop (the kitchen countertop that is). Well, from the looks of this photo, it seems that my parenting skills need some attention… either that, or I need to figure out how to permanently barricade their access onto the countertops. Suggestions?

The Big Two-Four

My birthday fell on a Thursday this year, which was certainly not ideal considering my workload with school on Thursdays. I did manage to get out of a meeting, which meant that I could get home around 6 in the evening instead of 8. So, Eric called Elaine and we went to an impromptu dinner at an Italian place called Tulio’s that came highly recommended from yelp.com (Nothing to say here about their sub-par cuisine. Their ratings took a steep decline after we came and went. I will soon learn to stop relying on yelp and all the reviewers that apparently don’t know what good food is). Anyway, the dinner outing was still fun. Eric even made a cake- funfetti- my favorite. How sweet.

Then on Halloween, Eric’s mom invited the whole family over for a costume party, which apparently turned into a birthday party for me in disguise. Feeling quite lazy in the costume department, I conveniently dressed up as a crazy Cal fan and Eric posed as a Jedi (complete with fancy lightsaber). Eric’s mom bought me a foot bath bubbling contraption (what do you call those things?) that I really wanted. I tried it as soon as we got home. And I got to blow out the candles over all of my favorites- ice-cream cake, brownies, and pumpkin pie! Good times.

So, do you have a couch?

This query that typically follows my response to the ceaseless question regarding my studies- psychology- never gets old. Does this mean that I have a couch? Nope. In fact, psychology is far broader than the average person tends to realize, and hence the reason why I was interested in pursuing it. I’ve studied everything from infant development and cognition, to language and culture. This field seems to have something to offer for everyone. Perhaps more importantly, it offers a wider perspective; a challenge to those who have assumptions. And it offers a deeper understanding of why we’re so different yet at the same time, so amazingly similar. That’s truly what I appreciate about psychology. No couch. Sorry.

“Never has anyone with so little to say said so much to so few”

- courtesy of my dear husband

I’ve officially joined the masses- I have my own blog. I decided to create it for a number of reasons. First, I truly enjoy visiting the pages of my friends and family members to see what’s new and exciting in their lives. Many of them live far, which makes it easy to keep in contact. And I’ve been recommended some great recipes and book suggestions from others’ posts. Second, I really enjoy journal writing- and writing in general for that matter. I rarely take the time to sit down and write much of anything, unless it’s one of many forty-page research papers for my graduate program. Unlike the structured, jargon-ridden papers that I’ve become accustomed to within the last few years, I’ve found writing posts like this for a simple blog really serves a greater purpose. It not only provides insight but also serves as a force for self-reflection for me. And plus, it certainly costs less than therapy.

Official Farewell to Long’s

If you could rewind over 7 years ago, back to when I was about 17 years old, you would have found a young, optimistic red-headed girl eager for her senior year of high school, embarking upon her first official job at Long’s Drugs Store in Pleasanton. I remember walking from my mother’s apartment on a hot summer afternoon to the store on the day on my interview- I wore a purple shirt and black pants. I was nervous when the store manager dealt me the typical interview questions, but relived when she asked when I was available to start.

That began my career at register one. A job post that I would assume for over 2 years. During my first week on the job, my trainer assured that I was properly introduced to all of my fellow coworkers. One of which was an outgoing 21-year-old photo technician whom I was introduced to on the hardware isle, in front of the entrance to the break room. He claimed that he recognized me as a former customer, which, sadly, I did not recall. But that did not stop him from insisting that I join him and his friends every Friday night on their group outings. I said no at least three or four times before I finally caved. Little did I know that that part-time photo technician with his amazing blue eyes would turn into my best friend for life.

So, everyday after school during that long senior year, I would walk the couple miles from my high school straight to the store to put in my time. I had dreams of a car and college- so I made sure to work as often as I could. I would work the late shift from 4 to 10pm on weekdays and put in full shifts on most weekends, which certainly wasn’t fun, but at least provided me a way to save up some money. My sister had already been working for a few years at this point, and when she could finally afford a car (R.I.P. ’91 ford tempo- one of the crappiest cars ever made), she would often pick me up from school on her lunch break just to make sure that I didn’t have to walk so far. And then when my shift ended, I would walk home (unless my sister was kind enough to come to my rescue with the tempo, providing it was running for that particular week).

After what felt like forever at register one, someone finally decided that I was capable of something else- stocking. So that became my job. I would set the weekly ads, keep the sale products in stock, face the shelves every night, and organize the warehouse. Then came the cosmetics department, the mailing center, and finally, some brief training in the photo lab. I could officially run every department in the store at this point- with exception of the pharmacy.

One particular event that I will never forget must have occurred at some point around this time- I was about 19 years old, crouched on the floor as I faced the OTC pain relievers (you had to crouch down to find and reach the expired boxes shoved in the back of the shelf). A lady dressed in high heels and a business suit (complete with a purse that could pay for my mother’s entire rent for a month) approached me, asking where something was and I quickly told her where to find it. But before she left, she paused, looked down at me and asked, “What are you doing anyway?” Confused, I replied, “Just straightening the shelves.” The lady quickly responded, “Ah, that’s interesting. Hopefully that will teach you to stay in school next time” and briskly walked away. I nearly fell over in shock, unable to reply, wondering how some random stuck-up lady could amount the nerve to insult a 19 year old kid trying to put herself though community college in order to afford Berkeley one day. Talk about a defining moment.

And while this event is fresh in my mind from retelling, I would like to add that your local drugstore employees are not idiots. Although there are the rare and few that don’t seem to be qualified enough to check out your toothpaste and Doritios, there are so many wonderful people that I have had the opportunity to meet. If you ask me, every one should be required to work in a retail setting at least once during their lifetime. It would definitely change a few things about the way you think, not to mention make you a little more grateful for all work that the “small” employees who can’t quite reach the corporate ladder do on a daily basis.

Back to my story… One night as I performed my nightly routine of facing the OTC shelves in front of the pharmacy, one of the pharmacists leaned over the counter in the pharmacy and hollered, “Hey! Hollie! Would you be interested in working in the pharmacy? We need a good worker back here!” Interested, I replied, “Sure!” This began my career in pharmacy, one that has served me well up until now. I learned everything I needed to know about the pharmacy- how to type prescriptions, call doctor’s offices, multitask while on hold with insurance companies, tell customers that their prescriptions were not ready just yet, and everything else that running a pharmacy entailed. After almost 2 years, I learned that I could be licensed as a technician if I took the PTCB exam, which took some studying, but wasn’t too difficult. This was around the beginning of 2006- when the cute blue-eyed photo technician turned firefighter-in-training asked me to marry him and I graduated with honors from Berkeley.

After we were married, I continued to work in the pharmacy at the Pleasanton store as I prepared my graduate school applications and studied for the GRE. Not long after, a bid we placed on a condo in Walnut Creek was accepted, which made the commute to Pleasanton a little too much. This was when I transferred to the Lafayette store, a small pharmacy store that was convenient and full of hard workers just like my home store back in Pleasanton. Despite a rough start, I learned to like my position in my new store and even made a few friends. But grad school would soon give me the hardest reality check yet.

I thought juggling Berkeley and working 30 hours a week was a challenge. Not even close to my first semester of grad school- talk about a completely exhausted, overworked, and sleep-deprived shell of a person that I walked around in for those first few months. I broke down a few times, wondering if I had enough to get through it. Only with the undying support of my wonderful husband was I able to make it through. After one hell of a semester, I had the chance to breathe again and was even offered a new job opportunity at Children's Hospital & Research Center at Oakland, which I was excited to accept. But this meant that my career with Long’s would need to change.

I became a weekend employee with Long’s, while I split my time at school and at the hospital during the week. But the busy schedule would soon took its toll… which brings me to my decision to leave Long’s. It seemed inevitable all along, yet I’m saddened at the same time. I have so many memories tied to my job with the company. It has been my identity for the past 7+ years. A job that has provided me with all the tools I needed to get by, and even gave me some motivation to push myself even harder along the way (thank you stuck up business lady). So with this, I must say farewell. It’s been fun.

What do you know… the little red-headed girl from register one actually made it.