I did it, I got the Charlie Brown tattoo. On Thursday evening after work, I called a shop in West Hollywood that had good reviews on Yelp and was open late, I picked Chris up so I could hold a hand, and just went. Yes, it did hurt a bit, but no, it wasn't enough to make me cry or scream in pain. Just wince a bit here and there. I picked the good, fatty part of my arm to do it on. I wanted to surprise my parents when I was down there for Comic Con but the temptation to torture them with this news was just too damn good to resist. They reacted exactly the same when I told them individually (Ohhhh, Raaaaachel, ok, but that's it! No more!) and when they saw the pictures (it's...BIG!) My brother still hides that he smokes cigarettes by showering multiple times a day when he's home for the week.

And the picture!



I couldn't be happier, I really love it and expect to not regret it for a good 15 years.

My 4th of July was surprisingly nice - I went to a co-worker's house party, so I didn't know anyone except for her and her husband, but there was tons of booze and food, two Great Danes named George and Cleopatra, a huge desert turtle named Izzy, a fireworks view from standing on the roof (and trying not to fall and die), and 15 Jewish grad students who have brighter futures than myself.

I saw Wall-E for the second time, and it affected me just as much, if not more, than the first time. The love story gets to me even more than the post-apocalyptic view of earth. The scene where Wall-E and Eve are dancing in space is so gorgeous, like those times in life when you are absolutely, perfectly happy doing such a small thing with just one special person. I really want to get a stuffed Wall-E to sleep with at night and speak in his voice to annoy people.

Last night, at Marlene/Kevin/Noah's place, Kevin asked me "Why Charlie Brown? You explain it to me and I'll see if it matches my theory." After explaining it to him, he replied "Yeah, that's exactly what I said." The evening included me spitting up Diet Coke through my nose and all over my car after Alex made an AIDS joke, me spilling strawberry margaritas all over my dress and floor, and Noah announcing I hadn't flushed the toilet to everyone. Charlie Brown hopes and Charlie Brown failures, indeed.