Mellow Mushroom!

Woohoo! I'm just chillin on the corner of Glenwood ave & Peace st. Gotta love their pizza :)

~Lor

Barefoot Landing tiger :)

Aww.. Its sleeping..

~Lor

Cruising Ocean Blvd last night..

It was a mile of bumper-to-bumper traffic of ppl & cars :)

~Lor

House of Blues!

Having a breakfast buffet.. Good thing I got an omelette before the rush of 20 ppl in line now. Hehe.

~Lor

Sea Mist

A view from the 5th floor :)

~Lor

At the beach.

Finals are next week. This is a little mini vacation before taking the plunge. :)

Why do ppl want to live up in north california when its so warm here? The water is a cool 84° these past two days here in Myrtle Beach. Its 54° in Eureka. Big difference.

~Lor

Tripps! Yummm..

At Broadway at the Beach. Eating at Tripps. Ok, here's a really cool story. We walked past a long row of benches with ppl waiting. A woman exited the enterance and told her group that it was going to be a 35-45 minute wait. We walked in, asked for 2 ppl. And sat down a minute later. Right in front of that same woman. LOL.

~Lor

Myrtle beach!

The largest sandcastle and relaxing on the beach at night :)

~Lor

College inn!

A cool looking pic I tried to take of while driving by. I stopped inside to sign over the security deposit to the guy that subleased my old apt last year.

~Lor

Hair cut & roots

I got my roots dyed & a haircut to lighten the load I'm carrying on my head. heh

~Lor

Yay! I'm back in Raleigh!! :)

Woohoo! Going to get my hair cut & highlighted later today.. Now I have to try to stay awake with little sleep during the flight.

~Lor

Personal in-flight monitors!

Movie & games for $5. Free trivia game amongst other ppl on the plane. I even won an entire round!! I'm that smart ;)

~Lor

Damn you myspace.

Shit. I got a response from myspace support. They "deleted" my account. But I know I can get it back. Its just the fuckin' automated emails I'm getting from them. They replied with "your request has been fulfilled!". Fuck that. Well, of course I'm going to respond to this. I DIDN'T WANT MY FUCKING ACCOUNT TO BE CANCELLED!! I JUSY WANT TO GAIN ACCESS TO IT AGAIN!!

But I don't have time for this shit right now. Ill reply, but I'm not going to worry about it for the rest of the trip.

~Lor

All packed up on another trip to NC!

On the way with about a 4-hour drive to Sacramento where we'll have dinner at Outback Steakhouse.. And then the flight from Sacramento to Atlanta on a redeye.

Stay tuned for continuing updates ;)

~Lor

It's official. The town of Eureka is the WORST location in California to drive in!!

Congratulations Eureka! You all must be very proud of yourselves. I've been preaching this opinion ever since i've moved in this weird town of September of last year. This place is literally the WORST place in California to be living in. Why? Your car and well-being is basically prone to be hit by another car, and in result, you will likely die or suffer from it.

On Monday, July 30, 2007, The Eureka Reporter newspaper released a front page story titled "Crash Course" about the significantly high levels of traffic injuries/deaths from accidents in the town of Eureka, California.
Just think about this diagram. There are about 29,000 people living in Eureka and MILLIONS of people living in Sacramento. This diagram is definitely embarrassing for the town of Eureka.
But of course it's true. Just look at the layout of the city. It's such a waste of space with all of those small white lines for roads. Instead of making residential blocks surrounded by a square of roads and sidewalks, make roads simply parallel with one another. Not only it would stop the collisions of cars at 2-way stop intersection on a one way road, but it would save alot of space for more homes and buildings. But of course, this town doesn't have the money to do this type of improvement. Why not just destroy this town and start over, shall we? Of course, i'd never return to this dump after i get out of here. NEVER. It's just so out of the way.

And so.. i will now post the article from The Eureka Reporter. Click Here for the original source of the article. And in the article below, i have BOLDED the information that really stand out to my opinion and conclusion about why i hate driving in this town so much and how people received licenses to drive here in the first place.

------------------------------------------------------

"Crash Course" by Heather Muller

If dangerous driving were a competitive sport, Eureka motorists would lead the field, according to statistics compiled by the California Highway Patrol.

In 2005, the most recent year of study, city drivers managed to get themselves into 372 vehicle crashes, resulting in 402 injuries and four deaths.

The report, from the CHP’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System, showed motorists were at least three times more likely to be injured or killed in a car wreck within the Eureka city limits than in any other city in Humboldt County.

There was one car wreck injury or death for every 63 residents of Eureka, while other Humboldt County cities in the study scored far better than the state average of one vehicle injury or death for every 126 residents.

In Fortuna, the rate was one in 242. Arcata: one in 331. Rio Dell was the safest city in the county for motorists in 2005, with only one car wreck injury for every 1,579 residents.

Humboldt County as a whole rated one injury or death for every 116 residents — but when Eureka’s population and car crash numbers were omitted from the tally, that rate improved to one in 151 county residents, almost 20 percent better than the state average.

And Eureka’s numbers were impressively bad even when compared to cities on the other side of the Redwood Curtain.

While many residents moved to the North Coast to escape the traffic of the big cities, those who moved to Eureka may have significantly increased their chances of being injured or killed in a traffic collision.

In 2005, Redding had fewer car wreck injuries and deaths than Eureka per capita — one in 85 residents — as did Sacramento (one in 70), San Francisco (one in 141) and even Los Angeles (one in 89).

In fact, according to the California Department of Traffic Safety, among cities of fewer than 50,000 residents, Eureka actually led the state in speed-related and hit-and-run injuries and deaths per capita, and was second only to Beverly Hills in DUI wrecks and total injuries and deaths per capita resulting from all car crashes.

If recent reports are any indication, Eureka’s numbers are likely to be much higher for 2007.

When Eureka Police Department Public Information Officer Suzie Owsley issued a news release Tuesday announcing yet another injury collision at the corner of Myrtle Avenue and Sixth Street — the city’s most accident-prone intersection — she noted that the collision was the 87th crash resulting in injury or significant damage in the city limits within the past 30 days.

But when asked how many similar wrecks occurred in the 30 days prior to that, she said that number was even higher, with the city’s seemingly nonstop destruction derby resulting in 93 car wrecks from May 25 through June 24.

“Over the last three weeks we’ve had numerous traffic collisions, one right after the other, and they’re getting worse and worse and worse,” said EPD Officer Greg Hill, one of two traffic officers currently working for the EPD.

He noted that many of the collisions he’s been called to lately were caused by a failure to yield the right of way — which Owsley identified as the leading cause of crashes in Eureka.

A two-vehicle crash at Harris and S streets Monday provided one example of this — and sent six people to the hospital — as did the Tuesday morning collision at Myrtle and Sixth in which two people were injured.

So is the problem bad driving, lack of enforcement, lousy street design or a combination of all three?

On Thursday, The Eureka Reporter attempted to contact the EPD’s traffic sergeant to ask that question and learned that the position no longer existed.

EPD Chief Garr Nielsen explained that the position was administrative and it didn’t make much sense to him to have one administrator managing only two traffic officers. Instead, he said, the sergeant had been reassigned and Nielsen planned to fill the spot with an additional traffic patrol officer.

The chief said he was surprised by the car wreck statistics, but believed numerous factors affected Eureka’s abysmal rating.

He named the city’s maze of one-way streets and the confusing run of U.S. Highway 101 through the middle of the city as contributing factors — and there is some statistical support for both.

According to figures provided by Owsley, of Eureka’s 26 most popular collision sites in 2007, 17 involved at least one one-way street and nine took place along the highway.

But whatever the reason, Nielsen said, the rates were unacceptable, and he was quick to note that the EPD must shoulder some of the blame.

“I think Eureka drivers are probably like drivers in any community. For the most part, they’re courteous and safe and drive defensively, but there’s always that faction that disregards the rules of the road and doesn’t pay attention,” he said.

“The bottom line is, if you don’t have good traffic enforcement, those people are going to take advantage of opportunities, and I think to some extent that’s occurring.”

He added that 90 percent of the complaints police departments field in any community center around traffic enforcement — and on that statistical point, at least, Eureka is right in line with other jurisdictions.

“I’m not going to make excuses and say it’s not a problem in this town, because I’ve seen it myself. We need to do a better job educating the public and a better job of providing traffic enforcement. It’s not going to happen overnight, but we’re going to get there.”

------------------------------------------------------

This article states it all.

When the EDP Chief mentioned how drivers here are usually courteous and safe, that's total bullshit. I am a (temporary) resident here and i have never seen so many stupid drivers here. When people mention Humboldt County having the "best" weed, the consequences of having that here are bad drivers. You can honestly bet that many of them are as high as the clouds and driving. Yeah, and you thought that weed was harmless. Fuckin' idiots. Don't do drugs. I have friends who have literally seen the deterioration of their friends right in front of their eyes as they turn to weed to undo the stress of everyday life. Total weakness, i say.

I also want to point out in the beginning of the article when it states "while many residents moved to the North Coast to escape the traffic of the big cities", this is also a highlight to one of my prime nuisances about those that move here. Remember me calling them "washed up"? That's right. They can't handle the traffic down in the cities, because they do not know how to drive properly and defensively. They deal with accidents that they have caused or have been in. And thus, move to Eureka to get away from it all. Unfortunately, it's much worse for them to move up there because they would likely be killed by a t-bone collision at an intersection in Eureka compared to a person cutting in front of you on the highways down on the PCH.

This is why there are so many banged up and literally cars that are falling apart driving around town. I seriously want to know how cars that look so bad are even allowed to drive on the roads. I have lived in the south, in North Carolina, and i have seen "bad-looking" cars. But i have NEVER seen cars that seemed like they were going to fall apart as they drove, when i compare other places to this place called Eureka. I hardly seen any type of of luxury cars such as BMW, Lexus, or Mercedes. There's no point in driving them here. They will end up in the car dump pound, where it will be crushed into a square and recycled. One thing i also notice is cars that look really ugly, they make it more uglier and direct your attention to the rear of their car where they have placed literally hundreds of bumper stickers of their political views and other causes. Nothing gets any more hippie than that. I do think it's fine if you have one or two, but covering your entire rear of your car is just plain stupid. You forgot to cover the side of the car, the roof, and also the hood. It's disgusting.

In conclusion, i suggest not moving to this town. You will die a slow death from the gloomy weather and the depressing faces of people walking around in shabby colorless clothing. You'd be lucky if you died from a car collision here. Just dealing with the insurance company and other physical problems are hard enough already when majority of the people living in this town are Caucasian lower-middle to low-(or NO)-income households. I do have to admit that Eureka is a good place to brush away the bad drivers, the hardcore hippies/liberals , and the pot heads away from society. It's just unfortunate that i'm living here right now. I'm really going to step-up my defensive driving from this day forward. I have never pushed the car horn so many times before. lol.. damn Eurekans.

Lil Mama - "Lip Gloss"

I be lovin' it. I be, I be lovin' it. lol.

i loveee this song. yeah it's very catchy. i just dance like crazy when im driving to this song. lol. people going by and sayin' wtf. ;)

Rihanna gets Mad!!

This is why i love Rihanna. She stops in the middle of her performance because of a fight at her concert. gotta luv it.

Wtf Dior?

I was browsing men's accessories on eLuxury.com and i stumbled upon the Dior Homme bags and i saw this!:
and obviously it resembles my new duffle bag that i recently got from Nine West
and the thing that gets to me is that the Dior Homme Delville Silver Leather Duffle bag is priced at $1,585 compared to my Nine West Mercury Sport Duffle Bag which i got for $50 on sale. LOL

i would definitely choose my bag, instead of that Dior Homme bag any day. Just look at the greenish-grey leather. it might be that online picture, but i can honestly bet that my bag is shinier compared to the other one. :)

Finally got my photos developed..

Before work yesterday, i left a few minutes early to stop by Target and drop my photos on the computer with my USB disk in hand. it was going to be ready in like 40 minutes, but i didn't have time to wait, since i had to go to work.

Surprisingly enough when the receipt printed out.. my estimated pick-up time is 4:20 pm. typical humboldt county. lame.

and so i worked. worked worked worked at starbucks.

i saw a new face in store, her name was Carly and she was training for the new Fortuna starbucks store location opening in about a week or so.. I really wanted to train her and show her around. I eventually did, and it was exciting. I love training people. Not because it gives me a sense of authority, but i like to give em a "this-is-what-you-do-&-this-is-what-you-get" approach of working at starbucks. So i pointed out many of the key things around the store, like the frappuccino bases & how many pumps of syrup go into what size cup. etc..

So anyways.. ooooh. omg. there's this one guy name elliot. blonde, tall, and i believe about 18 years of age. as jeff dropped me off at work, elliot started leaving the store on his bike, he saw and waved at me. jeff even wondered who he was. lol. and then an hour or so later.. elliot returned again!! but dressed up in a suit. he's always has his ipod earbuds in his ears. heh. i asked if he was going to a job interview since he dressed up.. but instead just said.. "just because". lol. ok then. later that night.. i was closing and we just locked the doors 10 minutes ago.. and elliot shows up and tried to open the doors but couldnt. i would've let him in, but only if he cleaned up the store while i watched. haha. i had a feeling he wanted to see me. lol. oh no. someone's obsessed with me. he seems to come to my store whenever i work. this isn't a bad thing. im just surprised when i meet a decent looking person that doesnt give me the impression that they smoke weed or use drugs. and besides. he's very cute too. lol. jeff thinks so too. yeah. i said it.

and then 5 minutes later, jeff came by and picked me up from work. we went over to Target to get my photos. and Target is FAST. seriously. 1-hour photos? heck yeah. I wouldn't want to drop my photos off at Costco because when photos are finished developing, they are placed in a open shelving area where anyone can just pick it up and take it to the counter. A bit stupid if you ask me, i wouldn't want someone rummaging through my photos. But the person that's developing the photo is the only person that can see em. (so here's a tip, if you photographed something scandalous.. i suggest not getting it developed..)

and the photos turned out great. well obviously, i edited them first on my computer. LOL. i had to resize them to 4x6 inches so that when they got developed, they weren't cut off (compared to the first time i did it). but yeah.. some photos are from my trip to southern California, the cruise to the Caribbean, and some pics from & for Starbucks. My original starbucks photo of me sitting on the counter and eating a donut was "inappropriate". It just amuses me how that photo had been posted for everyone to see for more than 3 or 4 months and then finally taken down because it was not suitable for starbucks. yeah. it just disappoints me since my photo isn't up there. But now, one of the photos that i got developed will finally go up there. On the espresso machines along with everyone else's polaroid snapshot. And a few will go on a different board of miscellaneous photos of people & pets.

anyways.. finals are coming up.. and i have to finish my assignments.. ehh. wish me luck.. and then north carolina!!!!!!!!!! :D