Girls Just Want To Have Fun

There is something magical that happens at the end of the work day on Friday.

You punch the time card day in and day out throughout the work week and when it comes 5:00pm on A Friday afternoon you feel something sensational... you feel free.

Feeling that freedom makes excitement through your veins, your heart beat to a different drum, and makes your mind starts to think about all the possibilities the weekend can bring you.

As I sat at my desk finishing my last e-mails of the day this past Friday, I started to plan my Friday night. Although half of the planing was already done because my co-workers were g-chatting with me throughout the day, our plans still needed the finishing touches. I sat at my desk and sipped on a beer and began to chat with my co-worker about what I was going to that evening.

Now one thing I must mention working at Yelp we do have a keg on each floor. A beautiful sliver barrel that pours the most heavenly beverage that could ever touch your lips while still at work. On Fridays our days end with the sales floors being invited to a happy hour. Now to me this is a genius plan on there part. Keep the sales team sane. I mean we make about 400 calls a week, so giving us a reward in the form of a alcoholic liquid to me is smart. If you are like some of my co-workers and over indulge on his opportunity on a Friday, you may be able to forget every single one of those 400 calls.

Anyway where was I.. Oh yes final touches on my plans.

It had been pre-determined that it was going to be a Girl's Night. My two besties at work Alex and Mckensie had talked me into (with little convincing needed to be done) that the girls were going to get together and grab some drinks and venture out for the night. As I sat at my desk and punched "send" on my last e-mail, the feeling of freedom took over and Friday was all mine!

Alex, Mckensie, and I then decided that we certainly could not have a proper girl's night out unless we looked the part, so we made plans to go home change and I would drive and pick Alex up and then head over to McKensie's apartment and go out from there.

As I left work my mind began the endless conversation with itself of what I was going to wear. My virtual closet inside my head began to spew out outfit ideas while my memory was asking myself "when was the last time I wore that?" and "Oh I could wear that but lets be honest after the trail mix I have been eating this week, would it still fit?"

It took me off a few minuets while I was walking to the L to decided that maybe I should just have a quick stop in Forever 21 just to see the "new inventory."

Forever 21 is a girls dream here. The first time I went in there I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. Three glorious floors of fashion. It makes the Forever 21 that I used to work at in St. Louis look like a flea market in Boise Idaho. No offense to the Forever 21 back home, but the SF one kicks your ass.

As I walked into the front entrance I noticed that their was the greeter sitting in a chair blocking off the main entrance. Oh by the way- Forever 21 has a greeter at their door in a full on suit and also serves as a security officer. He is like a member of the Fashion FBI. Welcomes you at the door, but he'll take you down if you steal any of their precious merchandise.

The greeter sat there and I noticed he was not going to let me in. I looked in the window and to my horror it looked like Forever 21 was bare inside. At this point my blood began to boil and I had a slight heart attack- did they close down?!? The greeter must have seen the look of horror on my face because he told me "don't worry they are still open just doing some renovating... use the side door." -Wheww, I almost had just fainted in the name of fashion.

Sure enough I walked into the side door and there way the good old Forever 21 I knew and loved, Now I knew that I shouldn't have been shopping, but this was really the first night out that I was going out with the girls so I made a sacrifice and used my grocery money I had saved for this week to use on clothes instead. You must sacrifice when times are rough. I figure I will just eat at work and scavenge their kitchen before I go home at night.

I went upstairs where they have the section that is more my style. I found some black leggings and a cute light teal floral top. This was perfect. I scanned my head for what shoes I would wear and decided that my red pumps would being out the little pinkish red flowers in the shirt. I figured I would pair it with my teal sequin jacket at home and this outfit was fit for a girls night out. With little time to go home and get ready I quickly went down stair and paid. I needed all the time I could get at home to shower and powder my nose!

Once home I took a shower and did my usual routine of getting ready. Shower, shave the legs, put on lotion, then set on my floor and do my makeup while my straightener heats up. There is something so fun about getting ready when you know it is going to be a good night. It is funny though because when you get ready and something is "off" it can ruin you whole night. Luckily this night was a good one, my makeup was looking good and I decided to be a bit sassy and throw on some fake eye lashes. My roommate Christie had convinced me that I should try them out because they make your eyes look great in photos. So I decided what the hell, I'll give it a go.

Two tries, 10 minuets, and an eye almost glued shut later, I had successfully obtained long luscious lashes.

I made the finishing touches on my hair and splashed on some perfume and it was time to go pick up Alex.

When I arrived at her house she was waiting for me and she hopped in. Alex is just adorable. She had on the cutest jeans I had ever seen and a headband that held back her strategically placed curls. When then were off and to Mckensie'e we went.

On arrival to Mckensie's apartment we realized she was still in her PJ's! This was not a problem because that only meant we could have a drink while she finished getting ready. As she was getting ready she did a mini fashion show until we found an outfit we all agreed on. Choosing between blue kitten heals and Jessica Simpson pumps can be a hard choice, and having the suggestions of two other girls can only complicate things. We decided to go with the Jess pumps: a.) because they were more comfortable (who knows how much dancing we were going to do) and b.) because they were new.

We then called a cab and off to the first bar we went.

The Bar scene is a funny thing in San Francisco. Depending on what part of town will depend on the type of people you will see there. Going out in North Beach will get you all the hipsters, wanna be screenplay writers, and the girls/guys who think they are all the "next big thing." If you go to the Castro you will submersed with gay bars and will probably see some things that you wouldn't see on the average bar night. The last time I went out in the castro I went to a event for work and got sandwiched while I was dancing with two tranny's who looked more like a woman than I did. If you go out in the Marina you get a lot of beach boys and swanky sushi bars. I prefer going out in the Mission or the Marina. they have a lot of bars that pull a good crowd and usually you will run into someone you know.

The girls and I decided to go bar hopping. We met up with Alex's friends at Eastside West and got a drink there, then decided to go find somewhere with a bigger crowd. The next bar we went to was so crowded I didnt have room to even breathe so we got out of there. Our final decision was to go to Colombus. It was a dive bar where some of our friends from work were. By this point we were a few drinks and tequila shots deep, so we didnt really mind where we went.

Colombus was an interesting place I must say. The girls and I stayed there till closing time and dont think that we payed for a single drink. The bartender kept offering us shots. We were to the point we didnt need anything else so I just stated adding OJ to my shot and sipped on that. I tend to make some strange concoctions when I can't even taste what I am drinking anymore..

I would have to say the most fun happened when we left the bar and this is getting to the heart of my story...

The best thing to do when one is drunk is to indulge in some late night eating. Alex was shouting that she wanted a burrito, I was saying I didnt know where any eating places were, and Mckensie kept talking about how good her bed was going to feel. As soon as Alex said "burrito" we all automatically dropped whatever we were thinking about and set our sites on getting some grub. Pizza, sushi, hell at the point I would have gone to the grocery store, bought a steak, and cooked it.

We decided on ordering pizza and getting it delivered to Mckensie's house. So we called a cab to get home. We must have gotten the best cab driver in San Francisco. His name was Joshua and he was blaring the best sing a long music ever. We all piled in and finally got to throw the dance party we had been wanting to throw all night.

We turned his cab into studio 54.Mckensie had her arms up in the air, Alex was singing into her had which she had made a microphone, and I was playing a mean air guitar. The cab driver was breaking it down himself and shouting every word of the rap song that was playing. I wish I had a video of this.

It was a priceless 15 min car ride that I will remember forever.

As we pulled up to Mckensies house we joked with the cab driver that his car ride was the most fun we had had all night. We got his card and told him if we ever needed a cab again that he was going to be seeing a lot more of us if he kept up his selection of tunes.

As we all piled on Mckensies bed and talked about our night we ordered he pizza. We had no idea what we had ordered when we got off the phone, but as long as it was pizza I don't think we cared. It seemed like weeks had gone by before the pizza actually touched our mouths. We were so hungry and by the time it got there the delivery guy must have thought we had not ate in days. Between the three of us girls we devoured a large half and half pizza and a whole order of cheesy bread sticks. All that trail mix I told you about in the beginning of this.. yeah I don't think that mattered anymore.

3:00am had come and we had declared out girls night out as a success. We had gotten dressed up sassy and classy, gone to a few bars, gotten our drink on, and made some great memories along the way. Us three girls made a night that was something to write about. It didnt matter what we wore, how many cute guys they ran into, or the fact that my eyelashes had stayed in place all night. What mattered most was that I had a night with two of my closet friends here and it was full of giggles and an occasional great dance move.

Surround yourself with people that bring out the best in you. Find friends that think you are funny. Laugh at each other. When you have a long week and maybe something doesn't go your way, erase them on a Friday night with your closet girlfriends. I can tell you from this personal experience that I am lucky to have friends that bring out the best in me, and also don't mind sharing the last slice of pizza...

A Dumb Blonde..

Being blonde is a funny thing.

There is a stigma that you automatically get when your hair is a a fair shade of yellow. Whoever came up with that stigma anyway? We have all heard the jokes.. and they all end with the same punch line; "Blondes are dumb." I mean some may be, but to blame a whole subculture of hair mavens to have anything less than the average IQ is a bit ridiculous.

Then there is the saying "blondes have more fun." Now this I can attest to.. but do I really have more fun because my hair is platinum blonde? And if this is true then would I have more fun now because my hair is almost white vs. the girl at the bar next to me who just has a few face framing highlights?

Then if all this wasn't enough.. you also have a stigma if you are not a "natural blonde". It is almost like if you are not blonde by birth you automatically have to prove that you deserve to be blonde. So if this is you and you attend a party you have simultaneously: act both dumb and clueless, parade around like you are having the time of your life, and occasionally run your fingers through your newly touched up roots.

My post this week goes out to all the blondes of the world. This is for the naturals, the freshly highlighted, and all all colors of blondes to the dirtiest of blondes. And hell if you are not blonde and wanna be... this is for you too.

Living in the Sunset I have learned many things. I have been submersed in so many different cultures and walk of life living in San Francisco and I can say for the first time I have felt what it feels like to be a minority. Yes I said it a minority. Now some may laugh at my ignorance but I have never been somewhere where I have felt out of place for having blonde hair.

I get on the L Train every morning and look around and realize that I stick out like a sore thumb. I mean no one can tell that I am not a true Californian, but they can tell that I am not one of two things: Asian or dark haired. The Sunset is a predominantly Asian neighborhood. So when I walk down the street it is apparent that I am different.

Laura my roommate thank goodness shares "condition" with me. We always joke when we get on the L that we look so out of place. On occasion when another blonde buddy hops on it is almost like we try to make eye contact her to say "Hey you are one of us" and give her a silent air high-five.

The most memorable "blonde moment" I have had in San Francisco so far happened a few weeks ago...

I had gotten of the L train and walking to work when I noticed from a far a flock of blondes at the corner of the street by my favorite coffee shop. As I was walking towards them I literally had this thought process:

"Wow I see a bunch of blondes up there"

keep walking closer...

"They must not be from around here, maybe they are visiting from LA"

getting closer now...

"man she has a cute purse.. and those are some great highlights. I wonder where she gets her hair done."

Then one girl stops me:

I had run into the John Frieda "Blondentourage". Yes I said it... Blondentourage. They preceded to tell me that it was National Blonde Day and that they were handing out samples of shampoo and conditioner. I laughed out loud when they were telling me this because I was thinking to myself: "well I just knew they were not from around here!"

I gladly took the free samples and told them Thank You. I then walked to work and thought to myself, "well hey at least this is a small payback for the money I spend for upkeep of these luscious locks of mine."

When I saw Laura at work I giggled to her about my experience and had some samples for her as well. I mean she deserved it as much as I did.

Forgetting about the Blontentorage I went on about my day.

5:30pm came and I packed up my things and off to the L I go. As I walked around the corner by the coffee shops again I was stopped by the blonde beauties. I told them "oh you already got me this morning, thank you though." They then all flocked around me and told me "Hey we have this giftcard for Starbucks, all you have to do to get it is take a picture of us." By the looks on their face, I had a feel these poor girls had a very..very..very long day.

I was more than happy to help them out. As soon as the photo was taken it was almost like they were a mirage. Poof they were gone. I walked to the train and confirmed that "Holy Cow, from 8 am this morning till 6pm, these girls had little choices of people to shower them with gifts... they should have gone to LA."

When I got home I saw that there was a code one one of the things they gave me. Bored with nothing better to do I got online and went to their website and entered the code. Guess what?! I won a prize! Hot dog this was a good day!

I won a facial at a spa downtown. A $65.00 value. I was so excited and I planned it for that coming weekend. All week I couldn't wait to be pampered. I had never gotten a facial.

When the day came to get the facial I was giddy with excitement. I drove downtown and arrived to find that the Spa was everything a spa should be in more. It had a pretty lobby with expensive elixirs on the shelves, it smelled of roses and sweetened air, and a receptionist was waiting with a nice glass of lemon/cucumber water. <--- Lemon cucumber water?! I don't know what that is but it must make me more beautiful.. so I drank it! The receptionist escorted me to the "lounge" and gave me a robe to slip into to be more comfortable. As if I wasn't comfortable enough...I was in heaven. I took a Cosmo magazine propped me feet up and thought to myself "well isn't this the life." I then got the most luxurious experience of my life. An oxygen facial with all these creams and smelly good things rubbed all over my face. It was far more pleasant than how I can ever explain it, but I am sure you can imagine.

90 mins later my skins was a smooth as a baby's bum! It glowed and I swear I even saw a sparkle!

As I went to the lobby to see the receptionist, to leave a tip for the esthetician. She greeted me with a gift bag and told me "Oh no tip has already been taken care of". - This was the life!

I think as I walked to my car my stride slowly transformed itself into a frolic. I was on cloud nine thinking about how wonderful my day just was. I was channeling my inner J-Lo and thinking to myself. "Yeah one day I will be having one of these a week." I literally was swooning over the fact that I had just received all of this for free and for being a blonde!

At this point life was good.

As Paris Hilton.. I mean as I was walking I slowly fell back down to earth when I noticed I had no idea where the hell my car was. Thank God for the lock button. If I press it twice my car makes a nice little "hey dumb-ass I am over here" beep and lets me know where it is.

10 mins later I finally found my street and found the Kia. I swear from afar it could almost look like the kid brother of a Mercedes Benz. As I look around for my chauffeur and try to get J-Lo back it all disappears when I see this white little paper stuck in my door...

$65.00 parking ticket for 12 min overdue meter.

... I didn't have nothing on J-Lo.

The moral of this story is simple.. Do blondes have more fun? Yea maybe they do, but it depends on your attitude about every situation. No matter what the color of your hair make each day something to write about. If you want to know if I think being a natural blonde is any different than "faking it," honestly I don't know because I have been faking it for years. Last but not least, do I think blondes are dumb...

Certainly from this story.. lets just say everyone has their moments.