Koski Reunion at Lake Tahoe

Posted in Entertainment, Friends and Family, Hobbies, Me Me Me!, Travel, Vacations by Marci

A couple of weeks ago I took a few days off from work and flew to Lake Tahoe to meet up with most of the Koski clan. It was the first time I got to use my new camera (woo hoo!) and I’m sad to report that it appears that I, too, have been inflicted with a genetic disposition to take vast quantities of photos. This sickness has been further enabled by the fact that my new camera has a 2 GB storage card – you can only imagine how easy it was to snap off a few hundred pictures. At any rate, click here or on the picture below to see the top 50 photographs from this mini-holiday; just remember, there are plenty more where these came from, and if you don’t see a photo you were expecting to see, there may be good reason (i.e., future blackmail material, so stay on my good side, please). Enjoy!

1Jul2007

Whirlwind trip to Portland and Back

Posted in Friends and Family, Me Me Me!, Travel, Vacations by Marci

Well, it finally happened. Mom sold her house in Escondido and moved up to Portland. What an endeavor! Packing up her home took several weeks and it was very strange seeing the house completely empty. We started out on Friday and drove for about ten hours, stopping overnight just north of Sacramento. From there we drove about eleven hours all the way up to Portland. The second day was much prettier – we drove past Mount Shasta, and the landscape became rolling and green. I’m actually kind of jealous – I want to move up there now! Michael (the parrot) was very good the entire trip – she sat next to me the entire time and happily clucked throughout the drive. I think she rather enjoyed sitting in the car! Mom drove the white Durango (pictured below) with Leo and Bailey, and overall, the trip went very well. I flew back home on Sunday and called in sick on Monday to rest. It will be very weird being here without my mom, but things change, and I think she’ll be very happy in Portland. Here are some pictures of our adventure:

1May2007

Holy Guacamole!

Posted in Day Trips, Friends and Family, Me Me Me! by Marci

Did you know that the Avocado Capital of the World is just a few short minutes away, in Fallbrook? Neither did I! But since I love avocados, and Fallbrook happened to be hosting its annual Avocado Festival last weekend, I decided that Mom, Mark and I should go. And I also decided that Mom should drive because her car, more than mine or Mark’s, most resembles an avocado.

Wow – what a scene! It was an avocado mob scene, to be sure. Although it was mostly like a really really really crowded street fair (actually, that’s precisely what it was) – they were anticipating 75,000+ people – there were a few avocado-related booths. They had avocado fudge (!), fresh quacamole (yum!), avocado pottery and crafts, and fried avocado. But mostly it was just your usual street fair fare – snow cones, tee-shirt booths, sausages on sticks. And it was soooooo crowded – parking was slim to none (luckily we didn’t get a ticket or towed for parking on someone’s front lawn), and by the time we made less than one circuit through the street doing the slow-paced street-fair shuffle we were ready to go. But at least I can say that I’ve visited the Avocado Capital of the World! Woo hoo!!!

What is wrong with this picture???

5Sep2006

Ah Portland – the Sister City I Never Had…

Posted in Friends and Family, Me Me Me!, Travel, Updates, Vacations by Marci

I know it has been a very long time since I’ve posted anything on my blog. Well, I’ve been busy, ok??? I mean, I’ve got a real job now, an apartment, two cats and a dog to feed, you know – actual responsibilities. So, blogging, sadly, has gotten moved down on my priority list. But don’t worry – I haven’t completely forgotten that all you folks out there need a little Marci fix every once in a while. So, here’s the latest.

Mom and I flew up to Portland, Oregon, during the weekend of my brother Paul’s birthday – he turned 31 (shoot – I thought he was turning 15) on August 19. Anne is a power-house crafting dynamo, sewing and baking and being fit and all that crazy stuff that I can only dream of. Their cats are insane, but cute. And their house…ok, I must say I am a bit jealous. Well, sniff, I used to own a house, sniff, and maybe, sniff, if I work real hard, sniff sniff, some day I’ll, sniff, own one again. We went into Portland a couple of times for shopping dinner, and good times, good times. My Uncle Tom and Aunt Tje also stopped in – Paul and Anne’s one bathroom was working overtime, but managed the job well considering the circumstances. I had a great time – Portland is a cool little town, and it had been too long since seeing the bro. I’d like to get up there again soon (hee hee – look out, Bosco, watch your back!).

3Apr2006

What did we see when we went whale watching???

Posted in Day Trips, Friends and Family, Me Me Me!, Travel by Marci

We saw lots of things…but no whales! Matt and Alyssa, for the second week in a row, failed to see any whales. So that settles it – clearly they are bad luck, and next time I go I will not be going with them! But I had a good time anyway – we saw a sea lion, a couple of dolphin, lots of kelp, and actually – we did see the spray from a whale but it was kind of far away and by the time we got there the whale had disappeared. No worries though – it’s the end of the season, but the whales will be migrating back in December and I have a pass for two to go again. So here are some photos of our adventure, even though there were no whales, it was a good time!

Here’s a seagull that was following us for quite a way.

Here’s the view of San Diego from ten miles out to sea.

Oh, the excitement of it all…

29Mar2006

Random Acts of Kindness…or…Internet Stalking?

Posted in Entertainment, Friends and Family, Me Me Me!, Music and Dance by Marci

So something kind of odd happened to me last weekend. I came home to find an Amazon.com package sitting on my doorstep, which I thought was strange considering that I hadn’t ordered anything in a while, yet the package was addressed to me. And when I opened it, there were six CD’s in it that I had on my Amazon music wishlist. Apparently, the CD’s were a gift order from someone in Florida who appreciated a review I wrote for Amazon, and the CD’s were a “thanks for participating” gesture. In fact, the note on the packing list read “Hi Marci. You don’t know me, but I appreciate your reviews on amazon.com. This is just a “thank you” gift for your participation – Jim”. Kind of weird, huh? I mean, I only wrote one review, for a product that cost about $40. And the CD’s he sent totaled about $65, not including shipping. But, he picked out some good CD’s from my wishlist – a couple of Prince’s earlier albums that I didn’t have, the latest Black Eyed Peas, K.T. Tunstall, and the soundtracks to 50 First Dates and Napoleon Dynamite. Sweet! I’ve popped a little thank-you note in the mail for the CD’s, but am still a little perplexed.

So what gives? Is this a genuinely nice person who randomly does cool things to brighten complete strangers’ days? If so, that’s awesome. I aspire to be similar in nature. Or is this an Internet stalker who was attracted to my exquisite taste in movies and music, as defined by my Amazon wishlists? I’m not difficult to locate, on the Internet or otherwise. He could be reading this RIGHT NOW. Anyone have some insight? Anyone? Anyone???

P.S. – If you’d like to see for yourself how exquisite my taste in movies and music actually is, there’s a link to my Amazon wishlists to the right. And speaking of easy to find on the Internet, I just opened a MySpace account, also linked at right (yes, I finally caved under peer-pressure!).

27Feb2006

You know that scene from Alice in Wonderland?

Posted in Friends and Family, Me Me Me! by Marci

You know, with the door mouse, the March hare, and the mad hatter? That’s right, Alice was celebrating her un-birthday at that crazy tea party, but I got to celebrate my 32nd birthday in style at the Courtyard Cafe and Tea Room in Fallbrook, CA. It was smashing good fun, too – each of us had a pot of tea (ginger peach for me, thanks), fresh-baked scones with Devonshire cream and jam (not clotted cream, thank goodness), and an assortment of finger sandwiches, quiche, salad, and fruit. And for dessert: lemon cheesecake – a triumph! It was all very good, and the tea room was really cute – a little bit country cottage, a little bit rock and roll (well, much more contry cottage than rock and roll, but I thought I’d throw that in for fun). Nik and Jackie were kind enough to arrange the entire event; I’d never had a full tea service before, and at thirty-two years of age, I’d say it was about time!

I’ll let you figure out which of us were Alice, the March hare, the door mouse, and the mad hatter. Hee hee hee! 🙂

27Feb2006

Another chapter ends…and I’ve listened to my last recorded phone call!

Posted in Career, Friends and Family, Me Me Me! by Marci

Friday was my last day as a temp at CLC. Which was sad, because I grew to really like everyone that I worked with. But it is also good, because I have a new job to start, and new adventures on my horizon. It was a nice send-off though; they decorated my cube for my birthday, got a “Happy Birthday and Good Luck” cake, and even bought me some essential letterboxing supplies. Out of all the temp jobs I’ve ever worked, this one was definitely the most fun – not because of the work but because the people were so awesome. I will miss them, and hopefully I’ll be able to keep in touch with at least a couple of the friends I made there.

Here’s a picture of everyone, each with their own personalized rubber ducky. From left-to-right, we have Alyssa, Matt, Tricia, Tom, Peter, and Russ in the back row; and Erica, Joan, Marci, and Raquel in the front row. Sadly, Marnie was out sick on Friday but that’s her pink duck I’m holding.

Click here to get down and funky with a farewell dance for Marci!