Experimental Cooking

I love it when the cooking I do actually turns out results that are edible instead of gross.

Lyday and I got lost Friday night looking for Wal-Mart out in Lakewood, but we found Fred Meyer instead. Oh how I love Fred Meyer. They had a muffin mix that I have been looking for so last night after going to the movies I stopped up at my grocery store. I picked up some raspberries, blood oranges and raspberry yoghurt. The instructions for the muffins say just add 2 cups water, 1/3rd cup oil and 1 1/4 cup sugar. Instead I mashed the raspberries with sugar and then squeezed 2 blood oranges into the mix. Added the yoghurt and then mixed in the dry mix and more sugar. I wasn't really sure how it was going to work out. After that I tossed in some mini-chocolate chips. Was that too much? Turns out, nope. :) They were really good. I'm excited. That'll be breakfast the rest of the week.

For dinner I had planned on simple pork fried rice. I browned the pork in chili oil with some garlic and ginger. I threw in a little sweet/spicy sauce and thought I was good. Until I discovered I was out of soy sauce. How can you make pork fried rice with no soy sauce? So I poked around the fridge and decided to make it an asian bbq kind of sauce and I tossed in some honey bbq sauce and a little worschester sauce. (then I found the soy sauce in the fridge which is not where it goes.) So then I tossed some soy sauce in too and it turned out pretty darn good. Who knew?

I went to see the movie Whip It last night. It was the preview before the movie actually starts next week. I really liked. I thought it was cute and fun. I really liked all the characters and thought it was well cast. I believe, although I could be wrong, the ladies in the audience who were there from our own roller derby thought it was pretty good too. I have a better concept of roller derby now, although I still don't know what the slapping the waist is about. :)

Now with 50% more Carol Brady hair

I looked in a window and saw my reflection as I was walking somewhere yesterday and realized I had Carol Brady hair... but only on one side. I don't have the bangs across the forehead, and the length on the sides is a bit longer, but that flip in the back... totally there. Only on my right hand side though. I can't wait until this weird length phase is over for my hair. I may do something drastic if it doesn't improve soon. (Also it is too short to tie up, but long enough to hang on my neck so it gets hot!)

Terrified

(Look 3 posts in one day, somebody is feeling better! Ooh and look there'll probably be a 4th post forthcoming too)

Tuesdays interview went really well I think. I could be shooting myself in the foot, who knows, but the person who would be my manager liked what I had to say. I answered the questions well and when I was done I thought, wow I really do know my shit. Look at that. :) It was a good feeling.

The terror... what if I actually get this job? What if I actually have to make a decision? What if I actually have to move?!?!?! I've been talking about it for 5 months, but talking doesn't mean doing. It doesn't mean something is actually happening. I'm not sure I can wrap my head around it all. Maybe a little teeny tiny part of me hopes I don't get the job so I can continue the status quo. Status quo is easy. I like status quo. If I get offered it I will have to weigh it carefully. Portland is not on the 'approved list' so if I wanted to live near Michelle I'd have to move again in a couple of years. But I might be in a better position fiscally to do that (and probably career wise... I wasn't kidding when I told one of the people I was interviewing with that Universities are where employees go to die. We have staff who have worked here 15, 20 even 30 years!) So we'll have to wait and see... (I'll take it, I think... I'm pretty sure... I don't know!)

If I don't get this job, I'm going to take a break from searching for awhile. My boss isn't going to move on with the hiring of a new boss for me. He doesn't think he'll be able to do it so he is going to hire another generalist instead. (I don't know this, one of his favorites told me). Since no changes will be happening I'll get my employee through this year's open enrollment and then begin looking again in November. I do feel badly if I were to leave in the middle of open enrollment. It is a lot of work and it won't fall to my boss... it will fall to the rest of the team and that would suck for them. When I first started this process I had hoped I'd be gone by now. Sigh. Why is being a grown up so hard?

So Innocent

I was watching a couple of episodes of Friends last night and I was kind of shocked at how 'innocent' Chandler was. It was the episode with Julia Roberts and he was:
a - Scandalized about wearing her panites
b - Tongue tied about having relations in a public place
c - When she asked him to wear her panties, he couldn't figure out what she'd be wearing.

It was kind of refreshing and yet at the same time a little bit sad that I consider that innocent. If I watched Gossip Girl or 90120, those kids are probably having sex in the glass elevator in the mall with some guy videoing it and posting it on youtube.

Told You So

One of the things my boss is unhappy with me about is that I'm not innovative in ways to curb medical costs and plan design. The thing is, and I told him this, we have tried several times over the years to make changes to help with our ridiculous costs of benefits for our dependent and family coverage. We always get shot down. I read an analogy once about why you don't smack toddler's hands... if you continue to do so, they eventually stop reaching for things and it can impact curiosity. It is the same situation here. We'd do work and propose changes and get shot down. After awhile you stop reaching. SO... my boss and to a lesser extent me did a bunch of work to propose new coverage levels and new cost for employees blah blah blah. He and our broker presented it to our executives last week. This week... No go. No changes (except a higher cost for dependents yet again as they have no more money to give us either). They want to form a committee to study the possibility of considering forming a task force who will think about the feasability of forming a consortium to ponder the conversation around benefit changes. (Or something like that :) ) I totally want to say "Told you so" but obviously will not. Maybe in my exit interview if and when I get a new job.

The Opposite of Me

The rental car that I just picked up is the complete opposite of me. I like to rent from the Enterprise in my neighborhood because usually they don't have the teeny tiny economy cars. I always end up somewhat upgraded. Today I have a Pontiac G5. It is kind of sporty I guess. Totally not me. It is also bright yellow. It's like Big Bird yellow. It also has a rear spoiler. Seriously. This car could not be more notme if it tried.

I get to submit my mileage to the place I'm interviewing with. Since it is almost 350 miles to Portland and back, I'll be getting a nice amount of cash out of that. So weird to me.

I learned today that bossman refrains about talking about the proposed changes to our staffing because he doesn't want to upset me. It upsets me more to not know what the hell is going on.

Crazy Dreams

Probably I shouldn't eat so late at night, but I had some of the weirdest and yet most vivid dreams last night. The one that really made me sad was that I was dreaming I was pregnant. And in my dream I started miscarrying. I knew that was what was going on, but I wouldn't go use the restroom because I didn't want it to happen. I figured if I just crossed my legs and didn't use the bathroom I would keep it. Obviously my awake brain knows this is not the case but my subconscious was positive that was all I would have to do.

The interpretation from dreammoods.com... not reassuring. I'll chose the last part of the definition if I have to pick part of it.

Miscarriage: To dream that you have a miscarriage, suggests that some idea or plan did not follow through or has gone awry. The dream may also serve as a warning against your continued course of action. You should alter your path or may risk losing something of significance and value to you. Alternatively, the dream may indicate that you have been wronged in some way.

I also dreamt I was back in college and I was just moving into the dorms. I was headed to go take a shower but in order to do that I had to go to this huge shower complex. I left my room but then had to go back because I hadn't grabbed my shower stuff. I actually had packed a little bit of it (but not everything I use in my daily regime). I left again and went to the women's shower and it was actually the men's shower and it was a huge locker room type shower place. I backtracked out and went to the women's side but then there wasn't much separating the two halves and men were totally in our area. So then I left and went outside because all the showers were being used and I was waiting for one to open up. I go back inside to discover I had forgotten all my shower stuff an my camera (why I had my camera in the showers I do not want to know) outside. I went back outside to look and I couldn't find my stuff. I was getting more and more anxious about it and then woke up.

Nice and crazy:

Searching: To dream that you are searching for something, signifies the need to find something that is missing or needed in your life. You may be searching for love, spiritual enlightenment, peace or even a solution to a problem.

Shower: To dream that you (or someone) is showering with their clothes on, suggests that even though you (or someone) may change your outer appearances, it does not change who you are on the inside. Alternatively, your dream may indicate that you are unwilling to let your guard down. You are still keeping up a protective barrier between you and others.

Camera: To see a camera in your dream, signifies your desires to cling on and/or live in the past. Alternatively, it may indicate that you need to focus on a particular situation. Perhaps you need to get a clearer picture or idea.

Clearly this job thing is bugging my subconscious way more than I thought.

A tale of two interviews

I had two phone interviews today that couldn't possibly have been for more different jobs and couldn't possibly have been more different interviews. The funny thing is that I had an idea in my head about which job I wanted and once I was done, I that had flip flopped.

Job 1 - Is a benefits job for a school district on the east coast. The woman questioned me for over an hour with the most weird questions I've ever had, some of which, in retrospect, totally not necessarily legal. Among the questions asked - what beliefs do I have that are unshakable? What organizations do I belong to? What awards have I won? She also asked if I considered myself a perfectionist, how honest am I on a scale of 1 - 5, how do I show people I'm honest... and on and on. It seemed rather rote and not at all interactive. If I don't get called back for that one I won't be very sad. It would definitely be a safe job and I don't think a lot of innovation or creativity or thought will be required from me.

Job 2 - Is a benefits job for a company that is established but not very. When I did the phone screen, I thought I wasn't what they were looking for and I wouldn't get a 2nd call. I was really surprised when I did. This interview was much more conversatinal in tone. The woman seemed to want to be sure I knew what I would be getting into and asking about philosophies of benefits and what not. It got me really excited for what I do. I have forgotten how cool and fun benefits can be. Michelle posted an article to twitter earlier today about how non-profits abhor change. It was an incredibly true sentiment. We've spent years trying to get programs or policies passed and the ideas just die in committee. I would get to help build a benefits program from the ground up and that's just interesting and exciting. The best part about this interview... the very best part... I got called an hour and a half after the interview ended to come down for a face to face interview. On Tuesday. *cough cough* That was an awesome feeling... that someone thinks I can do my job well and wants me. The negative to the job... it is in a place that is not on the approved list. I'd either have to move again after Michelle & Fam did or I would have to just not live near them. Of course I'm getting ahead of myself. Another interview is not getting hired so I shouldn't count my chickens. It'll just break my heart.

Invoking Murphy

I'm planning my trip to CA for Thanksgiving. I'm excited to go. K remembers me apparently and sometimes talks about me so I want to get back and hang out with her. OH and see Michelle and shop. :) I've decided to buy my ticket sometime this week (I think).

I've got a theory... Given that Murphy's Law is a big influence in my world, I've decided that if I buy a ticket from Seattle to Burbank (or LAX?) leaving on Wednesday afternoon and returning on Sunday I'll get a new job offer which will cause me to either have already moved or have to spend Thanksgiving weekend finalizing a move. Either that, or I'll get a pretty good rate for my flight and that'll be just dandy. (I'm seriously hoping beyond all hope it will be the former. :) )

Unrelated to anything else, I just cooked lemon chicken and I added sweet chili sauce. I don't know why I thought it wouldn't make it super sweet, but it is a bit more sweet than I expected. The spicyness is just right, though. Next time leave out a little sugar and it will be dandy I think.

Barefooted

As a child I would change out of shoes the moment I could. I would walk out to the car with shoes in hand and only put them on when we got to the destination. Back in the car I'd take them off again and this would repeat as we went about our errands. I think that drove my family crazy. Although this was back before the 'clickers' for cars so I could just lock my own door and catch up. I used to get chastised for going out into the garage barefoot. We had black widows and other spiders out there and it was my dad's shop so there'd be wood pieces and nails. Seriously in retrospect it was lucky I never got tetnus or a nasty spiderbite. The bottoms of my feet were regularly black from going out the front door barefoot... walking through the cacti barefoot... down the driveway and on the sidewalk barefoot. You get the picture, right. Barefoot is where it is at!

Fast forward to being an adult. I still hate shoes. I sit in my office barefoot when I can. The moment I get home I kick off my shoes. (Doubt it? There's a pile in the front hallway of the shoes I regularly wear which is the spot I kick them off). Hence, shoe buying is always a THING for me. I like comfortable shoes. I like simple shoes. I loathe buying shoes. Currently I'm looking for a black pair for work. I'm hoping to buy a simple versatile pair I can wear with socks and I'll probably end up with some ugly vaguely lesbian pair because that's what I always end up with when I take function over form. Part of me thinks I should wait and see what kind of job I get so I can tailor this shoe purchase to match that... as though this will be the only shoe purchase I make for a year (sadly, it probably will be. I buy shoes in fall for the coming winter and spring for the coming summer and I buy 2 pair max - one black and one brown. Sometimes I buy tennis shoes but not too often). Blech.

Ridiculousness

I'm working on a job application for a position and it requires THREE background checks. Three. One of which is an FBI clearance. Wouldn't you think the FBI would come up with issues if I were a child abuser or a meth head? (Maybe not I don't know...) But the easiest was the criminal background check for the state. (Wouldn't that also show up if I were a child abuser?) I went online and entered some info and I have a certificate indicating I have never been convicted of a crime in XYZ state. Awesome.

I didn't look at the third required check until this morning. One of the things it requires... all of my addresses since 1975 and... and here's where it gets even better... everyone I've lived with since 1975. Given that I was born in 1974, I'm 100% certain I was not a child abuser in 1975. I don't even think I could be considered a child abuser until maybe 1980 when my little sister turned 2. (I'm going to presume I didn't beat on her when she was an infant and young toddler.) And technically since I would have only been six at that point, I'm pretty sure I'm still not considered a child abuser. (Although my baby sister may beg to differ... ) So that puts me at 18. Thanks to college, I lived in a lot of different spaces for 4 years. I'm not 100% certain I can remember the addresses for each of those locations and I'm fairly certain I can't remember the apartment numbers for Anderslum and Little Beruit. I think we were #2 in the tri-plex, but the physical address of the tri-plex? No clue. Then there was the place I lived with with Brenda that had all the dogs. Can't remember anything about that place except it had a lot of dogs. (And what constitutes living? I couch surfed for about a month or two in Fairbanks does that count?) (I think in the past I've put down the PO BOX address I had all 4 years and call it good, but given the purpose of this form, that may not be the right answer).

While I'm walking down memory lane let's recall the quality places I lived in in Alaska:

Little Beruit - You could unlock the door with a butter knife. We were known as "The college girls in the back" and we went on a rent strike and THEY DIDN'T NOTICE!

The Tri-plex - Neighbors were probably drug dealers... they had A LOT of 15 minute friends. Came home one day and there was a girl sitting on the front step staring at her hand. Apparently she was like that when Michelle returned from work too... like half an hour earlier. Guy in the 'apartment' building behind ours shot his dad, in the front yard, while I was home taking a nap and I DIDN'T NOTICE!

Anderslum - All my undies and bras stolen from the laundry. Actually had to call 911 on my neighbor. Bought my own damn peephole and insisted they install it after that incident. And I had the Jehovah's Witnesses coming to my door regularly. It got so bad my friend Katie would yell "It isn't the Jehovah's Witnesses" when she would knock and I wouldn't answer.

Those were some good times. :)

You Too Can Be Like Me

I get a lot of compliments at work about my lunches. It always looks so good one person says. Or it smells delicious. Or wow you must be a good cook. Seriously... I'm not. I'm not a bad cook but in reality I'm not a good cook either. So here they are... my secrets for being a "good cook"

1 - I only cook what I like. I live alone. I don't have to cater to different tastes than mine. I cook what I want to eat.

2 - It's all about the mixes and sauces. I don't need to make Thai Curry from scratch... Combine a few tablespoons from a jar of curry seasoning and a can of coconut milk and there you go. Taco seasoning, lemon chicken, kung pao chicken, spicy beef and rice, blah blah blah... all from those spice packages at the grocery store. They have easy explanations on the back and if you don't like an ingredient on the list... exclude it. No big deal.

3 - Make enough so you have left overs. Don't want PB&J for lunch every day... bring left over dinner from last night. (Except fish. Everyone in your building will hate you if you reheat fish in the microwave. Seriously. I'm telling you. NO FISH!). Again, as a singleton, I usually end up with enough left overs for about 3 days. Most people don't have the fortitude to eat the same lunch every day for 3 days... but then again they do. They eat PB&J 3 days don't they now? :)

Could, Should, Will

Could: So we have a 3 day weekend coming up. I like to sit here and dream about what I could do that weekend. Fly down to Mexico. Train up to Vancouver. Go to Astoria and hang out on the coast of Oregon. (Ok probably not that one because hotels in Astoria are EXPENSIVE) I could go camping. Haven't been in awhile. It might be nice just to rent a car and spend the weekend camping. (Although camping is always more expensive than you think it will be)

Should: I should clean and work on sorting and packing. A three day weekend is ideal for this. I have stuff in storage to sort through. I have to clean. I can begin boxing things to get rid of them or to put into storage until I'm ready to move. I don't need all my bric a brac out or all my books and all that. (Or really I can get rid of things and throw things away and clean which is great and needs to happen.) I know I'm not moving yet, but I am going to move. Come hell or high water I'm moving somewhere...

Will: However given option a and b I think I can safely guess what will probably happen. I'll do nothing. There'll be some trashy marathon of some show I didn't know I loved like Burn Notice or Law & Order SVU or Lifetime TV movies and I'll spend the weekend slack jawed and slightly drooling whilst I watch trashy tv.

A world of Unknown

I'm frustrated. I had hoped to be on my way out by now which clearly is not happening. Philly has not called. I am emailing the recruiter today. I am sick of not knowing what is happening with that. Yeah, probably I'm not getting the job, but honestly they could tell me that you know? Especially as excited as they originally seemed about me. (Or if it is a 'hiring freeze' that would be nice to know too). My recruiter friend thinks they are still considering me but also weighing their options. I'm hanging a lot of hope on this one because there is not much out there right now frankly. The funny thing is that I thought I'd take a couple weeks off from the hunt because I'm burnt out on it... so now it is a forced couple weeks off and I'm panicking. :) Isn't that the way it always goes.

Work is particularly difficult right now. We're changing to a different life insurance vendor. That would normally be no big deal. The problem... I have 3 people who will be dying in the next few months. The new vendor won't pay their claims because they were not actively at work on the 1st of the month. The old vendor won't pay because they aren't our vendor anymore. Interesting Catch 22 that is. I'm working it out, but it is a bit stressful...especially for the one whose death is imminent. (Well or for the one who seems to be in denial about her status... she's a fun one to talk to).

I checked out http://www.adoptuskids.org/ last night. It is basically a catalog of kids in foster care looking for families. It is interesting and is giving me some good insight into my future plans, if I go through with them. A few blogs I've started reading are scaring the hell out of me. :)

Can I have my money back?

So one thing I hate about election time is the damn phone calls. I loathe being called by a recording to explain why I should or should not vote for candidate x, y, or z. I especially loathe it when the voicemail (it's always voicemail, I rarely pick up my home phone) is just a recording of how bad the other candidate is. It goes to my whole hatred of attack ads. I could not care less what candidate x is or is not doing. Tell me what YOU are doing. I think after this election I'm not going to vote for any candidate whose campaign includes phone calls. I'm going to make a list of which candidates call and leave me voicemails and I'm not going to vote for them. They may be the only candidate who is pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, pro-puppies and kitties on the ballot but I will not vote for them because they've pissed me off. (obviously it is too late for this election because I didn't keep track of the 4 different candidates who called the past two weeks. FOUR candidates for a freakin' primary election - although since I didn't keep track it could actually be the same candidate who I got called about 4 times... either way, there were 4 voicemails at home).

I was thinking about this whole stance yesterday before hopping in the shower and it made me wonder... if I had donated money to a candidate who then called with one of those recorded messages could I ask for my money back? Can you ask for your money back once you've donated it to someone? I think I should be able to. "You've pissed me off, I'm no longer supporting you... give me my $20 back!" I like that idea. :)

John Vogt sat in the wrong seat...

And other adventures in flying today:

So I've seen more famous people being out and about at the Burbank airport than I've seen anywhere else. (not that that's saying a lot. I have only ever seen Heather Lock lear in public doing normal people things). Today it was John Vogt. He was actually on my flight from Burbank to Phoenix. I wasn't sure it was him at first but he was literally right behind me as I was getting on the plane and I heard him on his cell phone. It was totally his voice. So I'm sitting on the plane watching him, since I'm about 4 or 5 rows behind him, and I'm apparently a stalker (I don't actually think it is stalking if I happen to randomly see someone famous on the plane actually) when first this woman gets on and sits next to him but then she goes to the back of the plane. Whilst she is gone another guy gets on the plane and takes her spot. She comes back and a discussion ensues and that's when John Voigt discovered he was actually in the wrong row. Hee.

So my next flight, it was REALLY empty. I'm in an aisle seat and this fairly youngish guy is on the window seat. After we've taken off I glance over to look out the window and notice he's watching something on his iPod. I look and realize he's watching p0rn on his iPod. P0RN! Seriously, dude? It's a 2.5 hour flight and you can't go without for that length of time. So once we're given the go ahead to begin moving about the cabin (because you can turn the electronics on before you can stand up) he and the iPod go to the bathroom. Ew. Ew. Ew. So during this 2.5 hour flight, he gets up no fewer than 5 times to go to the bathroom. Sometimes he brought the iPod sometimes he didn't. I kind of thought he might have actually been doing drugs in the bathroom, but I didn't really know. In any event he annoyed me greatly. By the 4th time he got up I kind of wanted to punch him.

In related news, the kiddos are very very cute. Tenna (as she calls herself) cracked my shit up. I spent the very short period of time being called Joyanne, Jordanne, Jodanne, and any other variation of Joanne you can imagine. That baby, Olivia, is a very good baby. I held her for a little while today before I left. It is not my favorite thing... holding little babies. They kind of freak me out.

It's like they're reading this blog...

Which I hope they aren't because that would be creepy and troublesome and undoubtedly would lead me to not getting the job. So I got an email this morning that they were still interviewing candidates and they would let me know what the next step is. (Philly that is). That's better than silence. :)

No news is ... well no news.

Every day I come home to the fear that there'll be a TNT (thanks, but no thanks) letter from Philly in my mailbox. (Ok by every day I mean today and Monday.) I think I want this job. I hope I want this job. I hope I don't just take the job because it is the first one I get offered. Then again, I move out to Philadelphia and the economy gets better and I can always just look for a new job.

I also haven't heard form the one I phone screened for on Friday. I'm not anticiapting on hearing from them. I'm really okay with not hearing from them. Seriously. I must have totally not been paying attention when I applied there.

This week so far I applied to one in Milwaukee and one in Virginia. I was about half way through my cover letter for another one when I reread the job posting and thought I don't want THIS job, so I didn't apply for that one. I think it was also in Virginia.

I haven't reached total desperation yet... although I'm getting there. Well not really. I just really want something to happen so I can get out of this limbo I'm stuck in. I don't want to make too many future plans because I don't know if I'll still be here in Seattle. I don't want to make too many weekend plans because I may need the weekends to pack. It just sucks not knowing what is going to happen.

Things I like right now

Sadly I'm not in a great mood lately. And honestly, you people that are happy with your lives, whatever. I'm bitter and grouchy and I may not be as supportive as I should. Get over it I say.

So here's a list of things I like right now. Yes I'm well aware most of this list will include escapist activities. We'll see how it pans out:

Burn Notice: I spent most of Saturday glued to a marathon of Burn Notice. I only wish they had shown the episodes in order because I am not a regular watcher of the show and it might help me out a little bit. Otherwise. Awesome show and I need to become a regular watcher.

True Blood: I wasn't sure about this season when it first started, but now that we might finally be getting some ending to the neverneding Mary Ann orgy and the Light of Day church story is coming to a head it is getting interesting. Apparently I'm much more interested in bloodletting than sex.

Movies: I went and saw Funny People this past weekend. It was pretty good but I agree with the critic who said the entire Marin County part of the movie shouldn't have happened. It started getting meandering and lost its focus. It as around the two hour mark I leaned over to Lyday and commented that the movie was getting toooo long. And we still had 1/2 hour left. But movie theaters are air conditioned and 2 hours of escapism is very nice.

Nintenduh: I've been playing Gardening Mama on my Nintendo since I bought the game on Friday. It cracks me up. It is not at all ecologically sound as I get to use pesticides to kill off bugs and some other spray to kill off viruses. Whee. :) Also fun is Final Fantasy Tactics Something of the Grimoire. The newest FF game I bought makes me motion sick. That sucks.

Mama Mia: I've watched this movie more times in the past month than I ever thought I would ever see it. It has grown on me and now I want to buy the soundtrack. But only if the cast is actually singing it. I don't want someone else doing those songs. (Yay! According to amazon.com it is sung by the movie stars!)

Unintentionally Hysterical

So somewhere along the line I applied for a job in a small town (townx) in a rural area of a mid-western state. I have no idea how this happened I think I thought it was actually in the suburbs of a larger mid-western town (towna). I had a phone screen for said job on Friday. I finally got some time to check out the website of the company on Friday morning and as I looked around the site it became apparent that a - I was wrong and it was not in the suburbs of larger midwestern town and b - it is not the type of company I would ordinarily be looking at.

As I was surfing around the company's website I headed on over to their community events. Oh... they do an annual day where the town can come and take tours of the factory and do arts & crafts... that's cool. And look they have a group that does trail maintenance neat. And they provide scholarships. Great! And hmm.. what could this last item be... disability hunt? Hmm... how wonderful, they take developmentally disabled folks out and do a scavenger hunt with them. Neat! No. If you take those two words at their most literal meaning you can get what the activity is... they take people who have been disabled out to go hunting. Like for deer. Or wild game or whatever. There are photos. I was cracking up.

Finally during the phone screen the recruiter mentioned that sometimes I may have to go down to the plant. In order to do that, I would have to wear jeans and steel toed boots. It was so hard not to laugh my ass off. I'm really glad she didn't ask why this job was important to me or what excited me about this specific job because I would not have been able to answer that at all.

We Are Family

While waiting for the bus after the Blue October concert tonight a guy came up to the woman and her daughter who were also waiting for a bus. He says to them, "You're family, where can I find a family bar?" She didn't get it. I didn't bother to explain what he meant by family. I really didn't want to get involved in a conversation with random bus people. But he kept asking her where are the family bars. Finally I pointed out that he wanted Capitol Hill and started reciting all the different bars depending on what he was looking for. We finally established Madison Pub was what he was really looking for and he went on his merry way. In retrospect I'm totally cracking up at myself... "Well if you're into the leather scene there's the Eagle or The Cuff, but if you're looking to dance there's RPlace or Neighbors but if you want..." All three people were looking at me like I was nuts but I can't help it... Also, the lady and her kid were not family they were just a lady and her kid. (I think he thought they were a couple)

Warning: This post may contain disclaimers

So one of the things I did whilst in Chicago was drag Kate the Peon to the zoo. I think we had a pretty good time. One of the funniest things about the zoo to me, though, was the number of disclaimers. It was as though they wanted to be sure the public knew that they were well aware of every little thing wrong in each animal's habitat. In the Penguin exhibit, there was a disclaimer about a penguin who had trouble molting and some of the feathers hadn't come in. At the hippo exhibit, apparently the hippos were being introduced for potential mating possibilities and were a little like a typical chick flick. They hated each other on sight. So there's a disclaimer stating that the hippos may have some cuts and scrapes but that's due to their introduction for breeding. I'm sure that just like that Heigel chick and the oh so yummy Gerard Butler, they'll end up madly in love. There was one about some facial reconstruction surgery that one of the animals had... basically saying "yes we know its nose is deformed now move along." It was both hysterical and horribly sad. Horribly sad because you know they only have all those disclaimers because someone has reported to them x, y or z.

Meltdown!

I made a little girl (about 2) have a meltdown yesterday on the plane ride home. Her parents were in their seats when I boarded. As I was one of the last ones to board I think they thought they were home free and could use the extra seat for the daughter. Not so much, sadly for them. I took my seat and the little girl FREAKED out. She screamed. She wailed. She cried. She roared her terrible roars. She gnashed her terrible teeth. She kept plaintively wailing about her seat. "Seat!" "Seat!" she kept saying. She kept wriggling out of her mom's arms and puddling on the floor in a heap. I felt really badly but the plane was packed to the gills. As it was I think a US Air employee took a jump seat (the seats the flight attendants sit in) instead of taking a real seat. Finally she cried herself to sleep and proceeded to sleep the entire 4 hours to Vegas. The father commented she'd never done that before and pondered if it was a possible indicator of the future. :)

This Too Shall Pass

But right at this moment I hate my life.

More Offensive than Drop Dead Diva

So Drop Dead Diva is this show about a fat chick and a thin chick who each get into their own car accidents and die. Through who knows what kind of machinations the fat chick body doesn't die but somehow the soul of the thin chick ends up in it. And oh my god now the thin chick is fat. How will she survive?! Horrifying.



Yet, in my hours and hours of watching ABC Family channel, I have found something even more horrifying. Labor Pains starring Lindsay Lohan. In it she plays a girl who is about to get fired from her job. Instead she tells her boss she is pregnant. He doesn't fire her and then she continues on with the charade of being pregnant buying pregnancy bellies and all that. And this is a comedy? I can't figure out how she's going to get out of this mess without pissing off everybody except since it is a comedy you know she'll come clean and they will all forgive her because this is TV Land.



Later today I'll post my review of Harry Potter. It is mixed. Oh and maybe I'll finally take my camping pictures off my camera and post those too. :)

Better Week

I've decided this week is going to be a FABULOUS week. I believe this is my karmic pay for the jackass I had to put up with all weekend long.

1. I have a videoconference interview with a position in Philadelphia. I can totally do the job. I LOVE Philadelphia. Seriously this could be good. (Fingers crossed I don't come across as the total low self esteem boss hating neurotic I really am)

2. I'm going to go see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on Thursday night. I've ordered my ticket on Fandango. I'm all ready to go.

3. Well ok so that's it for THIS week, but I'm sure there will be more good things to come (like Chicago and the ability to quit my job before I have to do my performance review with bossman).

4. Well I am going to cook enchiladas tonight. I do love the enchiladas. That's good too. I did very very well at eating at home mostly last week and not eating out too much (one lunch and one dinner only!). I'm going to try very hard to continue that trend. (And WOOT! Chicken breasts are on sale 1.99 a pound. It's a sign! :) ) (Ok I don't believe in signs, but if I did it would be)

My Girls

I never post photos of my girls. They are not my children so I won't show their face online even though I think on a good day only 3 people read this but I did like this photo and can share it. We went camping at Kayak Point Park in Snohomish Co. We had a pretty good time. Played a lot of Apples to Apples and played on the playground. We cooked and ate and did arts and crap. All in all it was a pretty successful camping trip.

Chicago!

So I'm going to Chicago for a few days later this month. Michelle's going to Blogher conference and I'm going to just be a tourist. You can imagine my joy at the email I received from my celiac group listing GF restaurants in Chicago. I'm not positive I'll get to go to one, but it is nice that there are options that I may be able to easily find. I may have to actively seek out Swirlz Cupcakes. Now to figure out what I'm going to do whilst there. :)

Wildfire
Rose's Wheat Free Bakery
The Balanced Kitchen
Da Luciano's
Stillwater Restaurant and Wine Bar
Gluten-Free Grocery
Adobo Grill
Weber Grill Restaurant
Lou Malnati's
Whole Bakers
Uno Chicago Grill
Vinci Restaurant
Lux Bar
Swirlz Cupcakes
Smith and Wollensky
Tavern on Rush
Ben Pao

Shop til I drop

Yesterday I went to Target to get an air mattress. $104 later I leave Target. How does it happen? Well I bought the mattress but I would need a pump to blow it up so that's another thing and then the pump needs batteries so there's something else and then I thought about how much I love Target's brand of fruit leather so I bought some of those and then I found myself buying more underwear and a couple of bras and there you have $104. Ridiculous isn't it?



I also traded in 4 video games and bought a new one and a previously owned one at the mall. I was sad to discover the health food store I used to go to all the time is now closed down. Oh and I went to the movies at the new theater in Northgate. It is a beautiful theater. Of course because it is brand new and relatively unadvertised so it isn't crowded at all and dirty yet. The chairs were super duper comfy. I liked it.


Today I went to the grocery store and that wasn't too bad but then I went up to the drug store and bought... yet another fan. I now own 6 fans not counting the ceiling fan that is in the kitchen that isn't "mine". Sadly, 3 of those fans don't work. I need to throw them away but I get all bogged down in the "can I throw this away?" question and instead I just store them in my apartment. I keep thinking I can't throw them in the trash and have to find another way to dispose of them but then I don't know what the other way would be. This new fan oscillates. It is the most wonderful fan ever!

I bought Big Brain Academy and Mario Kart for my DS. I spent 4 hours this morning playing Big Brain Academy. It might be an addiction. I like Mario Kart, but mostly I like the regular one and not the challenges. I need to practice the regular way before I get into them too much I think.

What does this even mean?

So I was reading my horoscope and here is what it is for today:

Prepare yourself. The more you've been thinking about doing something 'different' lately -- and the more restricted, controlled and constrained you've been feeling -- the more amazingly erratic your behavior has seemed to the people around you. That's not a reason to stop yourself, however. Every now and then, everyone needs to let go. It's officially your turn, and your turn has only just started.

My turn has only just started? I need to let go? I don't think I've seemed more erratic. How do I know? Whatever. :)

Photojeraphic Pimentos

So when I was a little girl I desperately wanted to go be on the Bozo Show so I could play the Grand Prize Game. If you didn't do well you got a 'photojeraphic pimento' of your time on the show. I totally didn't get that it was taped in Chicago and couldn't understand why we couldn't just go there. That's a long explanation that has nothing to do with this photo. :)

So obviously this is a photo from Disney World. I think my sister is about 3 which would have made me between 7 and 8. My mom posted an unedited version of this on her facebook account and I pulled it from there and ran it through photoshop. It helped quite a bit actually since her photo was faded and somewhat red. My actual point to all of this... for those of you with families. Take family photos. This may honestly be the only family photo we have that my sister is in. That's a little sad if you think about it. We took a bunch the last time I was visiting my parents for Christmas, but obviously it isn't the same.

Denver

I'll upload my photos tomorrow. I feel like the interview went well. I have such a hard time with them. I answered all their questions. It only took like 45 minutes... I don't know if that's good or bad. I think the interviews were only slated to be an hour anyway. I don't know why I'm having such a hard time finding a place that doesn't have a decision making disability. They are going to be making a decision in the next week or two and then decide on the next steps. I could be waiting until July for Christ's sake. That's just too long.

Another problem... I don't know how I feel about Denver. Denver is far more like Arizona than I could have imagined. I can't figure out if that's a strike against it or not. While walking around the Denver Botanical garden, I was in this one section that reminded me so much of scout camp in AZ I was transported back to being a camp counselor years and years ago. We used to smell the trees and some were vanilla trees and chocolate trees. I don't know but the kids swore they smelled it. I leaned against a tree and smelled. I could almost smell the vanilla.

This morning in Denver was great. Went to the Botanical Garden and it was gorgeous, but by mid afternoon I didn't know what to do with myself. That's why I schedule myself so much more carefully. I just get agitated. Now I'm not sure if my questioning of Denver is due to residual agitation about driving all over Denver looking for something to entertain me that would have killed an hour and a half. I don't know.

Struggling

There are two things I'm really struggling with with this whole job search.

1 - I'm trying very hard not to panic and just apply for anything I see. I have been very thoughtful in only applying for jobs that are at my level and in places I want to live. I did apply for two jobs that are a step back. I had good reasons for both. Job a - with firemen. That's all there is to it. :) Job b - is a combined comp & benefits position and I have no hands on comp experience so I thought this might be a good way to get into the comp aspect of things. Interestingly enough, those two jobs are the only ones that have led anywhere yet. I'm still optimistic though. :) I just applied for 3 more jobs this evening and the first 4 candidates we've interviewed in my office for the new boss job have all fizzled out. My boss seems to clearly suck at phone screens. So I'm presuming, hopefully not incorrectly, that my pay cut won't actually occur until the new person starts. Fingers crossed.

2 - The other hard part for me is the whole dishonesty about the whole job search. Honestly, people usually are job hunting in secret. So I put on this very public face of I'm coping well and being a team player and professional and all that while planning on leaving the moment I can. It bothers me a little bit.

3 - I am finding it really hard to give a rats ass about most things. Now that I have a plan in place to leave, I find I couldn't care less about a lot of things I should. I'm going to have to fight harder against that because I still have to do my job.

I blame Sookie Stackhouse

For the fact that I accomplished nothing today. I started watching True Blood after realizing Anna Paquin is in it. I like her acting a lot so I decided to watch a few episodes On Demand. True Blood, for those without HBO, is a show about vampires and other supernatural creatures. I forget how I discovered the shows were based on books (I think they might show a little thing when the episode first starts or ends) but I decided to check out the first one. I was hooked. The Southern Vampire Mysteries are much better than that other big vampire series. :) They are really rather short reads - the first book is 292 pages - and they are quick to boot. The basic premise of the stories is that vampires have come out of the coffins because Japan has invented a synthetic blood that allows them to get the nutrition they need without drinking from people. So now they go out at night and associate with people. Sookie is a small town waitress in Louisiana and meets one and has all sorts of adventures due to her ability to read minds. Regular people don't like her either because they know what she can do or just because they think she's crazy. On the show, they followed the book somewhat. The basic premise of the first season follows the first book although there were definitely places of digression and addition. I just watched the 2nd season premiere and they've gone way off the original books but that's okay. It was still a pretty good episode.

I bought a new gray pin striped suit yesterday. I'm going to take a picture of me in it as soon as I find my camera. :) I like it. I think it is slimming. It was originally priced really expensively - $300 (ok that's expensive to me, maybe it isn't really expensive). It was marked down to $122 which is a good deal. I've never owned something so elegant. :) I just have to figure out how to get it to Denver so I can change into it when I get off the plane and after lunch and it won't be wrinkley. I do have one of those squishy hanging bags... Do the stewardesses only hang those up for first class? Hmm...

Poke me in my head

I think my acupuncturist thinks my pain is psychosomatic. Or maybe not that but he seems to believe I'm a big ball of tension. He's probably right. Friday he did the pin thing and since I always ask when he puts them in weird places I asked what each of the different pins do. So he put one in the top of my head (although how did he know where to put it?) and two in the back of my neck, three on one wrist and two on my other hand, one in my elbow and one on the top of each foot. The purpose of all of those... relaxation. And yet still... spent most of the time either jiggling one of my feet (not my fault... he puts one into this spot on my back which totally kills my hip and makes my foot fall asleep) or tapping my fingers. (Unrelated to this... I don't think I like Eva Longoria however I do have a weird little crush on the freecreditreport guy). Hopefully when Denver and Pittsburgh both offer me jobs (because why wouldn't they, I rule! Which I might be crushed if neither even offers me a next interview) and I get to quit this job I will be a little less tense. Of course I'll have a whole different source of tension - moving - but let's not think about that, shall we?

I spent the afternoon going to and from Bremerton on the ferry. Whilst in Bremerton I volunteered for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Poker Run and Regatta. It was pretty fun. I spent the afternoon on a dock handing out envelopes with cards in them to boats who came by. It wasn't too hot outside which was nice.

Honesty... is such a blah blah blah

One of the things that has been annoying me about this job search is the question about why I am interested in relocating to xyz location. I frequently give some vague answer about being nearer to family or whatever. I think I'm going to revise that policy and instead I'm going to give the honest answer: After researching possible locations that I may decide to move to xyz city has appeal based on several criteria including being large enough to support the size of industry that would need to employ a benefits manager yet not so large as to be impersonal or intimidating, four seasons for the northern locations, warmth for the southern ones, near a large body of water for those that are or near mountains, a lower cost of living and at least on paper decent public transportation. Other good factors of xyz city include a hockey team (Denver, Austin, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Chicago) as well as cultural opportunities so that I may continue my volunteering endeavors. Again depending on location I may expand on that and say near enough to places like NYC and Boston (again Pittsburgh) without actually being NYC or Boston. I think this might be the more well thought out answer and may make me shine a bit in their eyes. :)

The other part of the question I'm starting to get annoyed by... what kind of support system I'll have. Let me worry about that. I've moved more than once with one person or less as a support system in place... I'm not too worried about that now.

So Happy

I had a dream this morning that I really didn't want to wake up from. The funny thing is, when I look at the pieces of the dream, I can't figure out why I was so happy in it, but I really was.

I dreamed I was back with an ex-boyfriend. In my dream I was younger than I am now. We were living together with my parents. But these parents weren't my real parents they were just dream parents. For some reason I drove him back and forth to work. (Really in retrospect it sounds rather ghetto). He worked in a PR company that was huge and he worked in a giant room that was kind of like those 50's movies about the future and automatons... just a big room with a big screen and a boss on the screen but the workers were all scurrying around doing their work. So for some reason I sneak in to see him and give him something and in the process I end up sneaking out several tubes of lipstick and nail polish. All very red shades. That was very vivid... the red. I have to sneak back out down a spiral staircase and then past a big desk to go back to my car. All very weird.

Red: Red is an indication of raw energy, force, vigor, intense passion, aggression, power, courage and passion.The color red has deep emotional and spiritual connotations. Consider the phrase "seeing red" to denote anger.
Red is also the color of danger, shame, sexual impulses and urges. Perhaps you need to stop and think about your actions.

Ex: To dream about your ex-boyfriend/girlfriend or that you and your ex got back together again, suggests that something or someone in your current life that is bringing out similar feelings you felt during the relationship with your ex. The dream may be a way of alerting you to the same or similar behavior in a current relationship. What you learn from that previous relationship may need to be applied to the present one so that you do no repeat the same mistake. Alternatively, past lovers often highlight the positive experiences you had with that person. It could also signify aspects of yourself that you have x'd out or neglected. To dream that you are making out with your ex, signifies your acceptance of certain characteristics of your ex. The dream does not necessarily mean that you want to get back together with him or her. Consider what were the things you liked and disliked about him. These are the same qualities that you are finally acknowledging within your own self.

Lipstick: To buy, see, or wear lipstick in your dream, suggests that you are not entirely truthful about something.

Stealing: To dream that you are stealing, denotes that you are deprived and where the stealing takes place (at home, the office, at school....) is indicative of your neediness. Alternatively, it may signify unrealized and unfulfilled goals. You may have set your goals too high.

Poor Ghetto Sampson*

So this morning the first time I woke up (4 AM after going to bed at 1 AM thank you heartburn. :S) I came out to the livingroom after the pepcid I took did not help. While I was out here playing on the computer I discovered that the right hand bottom corner of Sampson's monitor (which had been steadily breaking) finally gave up the ghost. So now it is a little hard to open and close the computer. So in an effort to repair him I was going to use black electrical tape to hold the corner on better. Sadly, I can't find it (or maybe I used the last of it?) so now... masking tape. Seriously if he were hanging out at the high school the other kids would really pick on him.

*Sampson is the name of my current laptop. You may or may not recall that I name certain products that I may some day need to yell at or beg and plead with... Sampson the computer, Pip the iPod, Ben the Bronco, Jakob the old laptop. So far the Kindle doesn't have a name yet but that's because I haven't thought of one I like.

It's on the list

Unrelated to anything, I'm totally Jon & Kate's bitch this weekend. I am embarrassed by how many hours I watched their show over the weekend. It is ridiculous!

So Michelle and I have been discussing which states are on the list or not on the list as possible places to move to. Apparently, though, we can't remember usually which ones are in which catagory. :)

On the list: Colorado, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Utah, Idaho, Virginia, Maryland,

Not on the list: Arizona, California, Alaska, Hawai'i (would be so fun but TOO expensive), Arkansas, West Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Oklahoma (too windy), Nevada (too hot and expensive), New Mexico, Illinois, Kentucky,

On the hmm, but probably not list: Alabama, Oregon, North & South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming, Montana, Iowa,

There's no real logic here truthfully... well there is. A lot of the northern states are out because of their cost of living and high taxes. That's Michelle's beef (not that I disagree, but I've lived in a state with no state taxes and I don't own property so property taxes have not impacted me either, so I don't see it). A few that are nos are strictly due to my own prejudice... I just can't live in Arkansas or West Virginia. And those on the probably not list are there because I doubt there will be the type of employment Michelle's husband would need so I'm not bothering to apply there either. Illinois is technically on Michelle's no list, but I've applied to a job or two there. There's one job I would LOVE from there (Ok I don't know if I would love it. I could get in and hate it but I THINK I would love it) and that I would take in a heart beat. Of course .. there is always finding a new job here, but given that I've seen 1, that's ONE, job posted for what I do in my own area I'm not holding my breath. Although I did get contacted by a recruiter for a job in Tacoma. That would be a suckyass commute and I'd eventually have to move south I'm sure. Although if I'm thinking I'm moving in the next 6 -8 weeks I have got to get moving on getting my shit togther... seriously. (Maybe I'm in denial actually that any of this will happen. That's quite probable. :) )

Random thoughts

If I can't have a baby can I have a puppy?

So it really IS all about that

I was thinking about things to talk about today and really the sad part is I've got nothing... nothing but job searching and how much that sucks and how I hate to be doing it and how there are some things that if I have to leave Seattle I'll really miss. How I'm anxious at the thought of coming in and managing a team I didn't hire. (Since I currently manage one person I did hire). Maybe even one of whom wanted the manager job but didn't get it or couldn't get it. Who knows. And since I work one on one with my employee, how do I fit into a new team? With the exception of the Denver job, I have not applied for any other positions that are a step back. That scares me too. What if I fail? (I know I say in my head all the time What's the worst that can happen, I die? but Seattle seems to have made me more neurotic than I was before. Who knew that was humanly possible?)

But in non-sucky/whiny things... I didn't not get the job in Denver. They had some sort of personnel crisis so they will be letting people know if they are up for next round interviews next week. That could be great. Denver is #1 on my hope list right now.

The job I would love in Chicago keeps getting reposted. I'm presuming that means my lack of project management experience is a negative. :) That's fine. I didn't really even expect an interview for that one but I just imagine I would LOVE it.

Had a good phone screen with a hospital in Atlanta. (Well I think it went well, who knows really). Should hear if I'm selected for next round next week. Since I only applied for them on Friday and she called me on Monday I took that as a positive sign. Which means, really I could have screwed it up. :)

I think job searching this round has been less traumatic for me than last time because I know I'm asking for a lot. I am asking to be relocated in a bad economy. Theoretically there should be people in these places that can do this stuff. Although based on the number of jobs I see reposted in places I don't want to go (or positions that upon reading the description I think no, that's not for me) that may not be the case. I frequently fret that my career path is too niche but maybe that's not such a terrible thing. I also keep reminding myself that my boss posted the new boss job 4/14 and is just this week doing phone screens. This shit takes time, yo.

One thing I could do without... so many of the insurance companies contacting me to sell insurance products. I'm not a sales person. I would never ever want to do that. Even if I could earn upwards of 200k. (Like I believe that).

In other non-sucky/non-whiny/non-job things I'm getting my hair cut and colored tomorrow. Whee! Finally. It is at an awkward in between stage that I really don't like so much. It is constantly held back with a head band because the bangs are long enough to sweep to the bottom of my nose and tickle and itch it but not long enough to tuck behind my ears. I can't decide if I go back to short short because I'll be doing interviews and want to look my best or if I get some sort of in between maintenance done and call it good because I want to grow it back out. Decisions decisions. Also sometime after payday (I was supposed to do this this month) I've got to field trip to the Bellevue fatchick store so I can buy a new interview outfit.

Job hunting is for the birds

Well I'm pretty sure the job I was trying to get a 2nd phone interview is out. I haven't heard from the recruiter in like a week and the phone interview I was supposed to have didn't happen because the hiring manager was sick. I noticed yesterday that the job was re-listed online so I'm fairly certain that means no. That's okay though. I wasn't sure I wanted to move to San Antonio. Currently the order of hope goes like this: that specific job I applied for in Chicago, a job in Denver, anyplace that isn't Texas and then Texas.

I am hoping to hear today on a possible 2nd interview for a job in Denver. It is technically a step back and yet... yet pays the same or more than I currently earn. I know it isn't a great career move to move backwards, but I'm about to anyway so why not do it while working for firemen? And working for firemen for the same amount of money I currently earn. That's the most important part. Oh wait, working for firemen for the same amount of money I currently earn in a city with a lower cost of living THAT'S the important part. Rock on. :)

I'll keep applying to any job I see that is on the approved locations list and seems like I could and do want to do it. I am really hoping I can get out before my new boss is hired. I'm not sure I could train this new person. I'm pretty sure I can't. Ok I could. I just would hate it. And would have to fight pretty hard to not be bitter. Luckily we can't actually make the hire until our office moves since there is no space for this new person. We keep being told we're moving in July, but I'm not holding my breath.

Taxiscam

I just spent an outrageous amount of money on a taxi home from pouring beer. As I was walking down Phinney (I think) in Fremont, I saw the bus go by on 34th. As I got to the stop it was long gone and a quick perusal of the bus schedule indicated the next one was 45 minutes later. I couldn't believe that spending 45 minutes outside in Fremont at midnight was the best plan ever so I caught a cab. So not only was I paying x amount per mile, I also noticed that the meter counts time as well. I was a little peeved. But since it is a rare luxury I'll get over it.

Pouring beer was pretty fun but not as fun as usual. I was at a brewery that wasn't that popular. It is a common Seattle brand so not a lot of people would come by. They can get that anywhere. There were a few people. People who have been drinking can be kind of funny people... funny in their own minds. This one guy with big hair kept coming back to get beer from me. He would always pretend he hadn't been by already for the exact same glass he was getting. He also pretended to give me a token instead of actually doing so. Towards the end of the evening, there was another guy who spent about 15 minutes griping about the box the beer comes in. Apparently they changed their box style and he was unhappy with the new marketing. He was VERY drunk. He finally left me and went over and harangued the yelp lady for another 10 minutes. One other guy was asking about volunteering and he asked what would happen if a person signed up for a Sat shift and then got their free beer on Friday night and then didn't show up for their shift. I said that you're inviting bad karma with that and you end up with your girl friend breaking up with you... and an STD. His friend busted out laughing and he looked mock offended. It was quite funny. All in all it could've been worse. :)

A movie review or two

Do you think Michelle Pfeiffer is embarrassed by Grease 2? I love this movie, but if I recall, it isn't considered such a great movie.

Thursday former student worker came in to my office and was asking about some contraption being built in a neighboring park. I didn't know what it was but a quick google search let me know it was a set for Daedalus Rising by the Annuki Project. It seemed interesting so I asked Stephen if he wanted to go. It was supposed to have aerialists and fire artists and it seemed cool. I am apparently not so into peformance art. I disliked the first performance a lot. The second one was okay. The third went on way too long. The fourth had potential I think... but failed to live up to it and we bailed before the fifth really got started. Actually now that I think about it, I think the fourth also sucked. I needed a lot more dangerous stunts than people just hanging on a trapeze in positions I could probably do.

In good things, though, I went and saw Wolverine today. I really liked it. I thought Leiv Schreiber did a great job as Sabretooth. He's got that kind of malicious creepy down quite well. The movie was paced quickly. I think it has a running time of 1 hour 48 min and it pretty much GOES the whole time. And for those of us not comic book geeks, it was an interesting tale of how Wolverine becomes who he is with a little about Scott (Cyclops) thrown in for good fun.

More photos are up!

So I've added still more photos to the Ireland set on Flickr. I just keep adding to the end of the list. Now Cork and Galway are up. Last will be Belfast, but I actually have to finish editing them. (And sadly, I haven't edited most of them anyway. I just pick out the ones I like best.

Here's a few samples. :)

Blarney Castle

Druid's Cave at Blarney Castle Grounds

My feet in the sea at Inishmore

Cross at Corcomroe Abbey

I want more!

I've posted more photos up on flickr. I'm now through Kilkenny which was where we were on the 20th through the 22nd.

Here are a few:

River Nore
Kilkenny Castle

Me!

Panic attack...

So I often say my biggest fear is getting fired or evicted. Those are the ones that swim around in my neurotic head. My tangible fear is insects. This post isn't about insects except to say that is my real fear. I jump around and scream like a girl when I see one in my apartment. I'm fine with them in the wild, but I don't want them on me. I am afraid they will crawl on me whilst I sleep. This fear has a root. When I was a little girl (maybe 8 or 9 or 7) we went to my grandfather's house (must have been under 8 because I think that's how old I was when he died although I could be wrong about that too... I have this vague sense that everything happened when I was 8 but I think I'm wrong about most of those things) Anyway, we went to my grandfather's house and he lived on a farm in middle Florida. (wild. Elton was my father's uncle). So we went to my grandfather's trailer and across the driveway was this family with a bunch of kids who, in retrospect was probably migrant farm workers or something, and one night I spent the night at their trailer. I woke up in the middle of the night to pee and in the kitchen was this hoarde of roaches. So many. Crawling over everything. Since then, terrified of bugs.

(Unrelated, I'm watching this show and they are doing the whole "Oh he has a concussion and so he has to be kept awake" thing. I had a concussion with a loss of consciousness and they didn't do that for me and a simple google search confirms that is not treatment... and it definitely wasn't in 2004 when this show was aired)

So my latest fear - What if I can't get a job. I'm surrounded by all these messages about the terrible economy and how jobs are going away everywhere and what if I can't find a new job? Am I just going to have to keep this crappy ass job as it gets crappier and bend over and take the huge pay cut? Am I going to have to move to Texas? Seriously, even though I've only applied to 4 total jobs in the past 5 days (two of which were weekend days) I might be freaking out a little bit.

We'll take some lovely Photos!

So I've started uploading the photos to Flickr. I could do them here, but that's becoming too much work. Here's the start of them. There'll be more added sooner or later. I've put descriptions with most of them. I'll also probably post a few to Facebook.

Trying new things

This weekend has been a weekend of a few firsts.

Firstly, I went to a concert of the Lake Union Symphony on Friday night. They were good performers, but I did not like the 3rd piece they played. It was a little too discordant for my taste. Afterward went out for some booze with Big R and his boyfriend. I like them both and don't see them too often. Now that Big R knows I may be leaving, he wants to hang out. We'll see how long that lasts.

Today I field tripped to Michaels via the bus. Now this isn't really a first since I've taken bus 150 before. Bus 15o sucks. It is one of the buses that runs through all these little areas and makes you a little bit crazy. But I got a bunch of craft supplies and so the girls and I should be good for our next couple of meetings. I don't know if they'll like what I got for them to do though. They had these wooden bracelets on clearance. I bought a slew of those as well as some ribbon and some wood paint to decorate them. The other thing I picked up were some tin boxes and some rub on transfers. We'll put the transfers on and then modge podge the whole box to make sure they are sealed. I hope the girls like both projects.

Finally I attempted to make something different than I usually would for dinner. I found a recipe online for an Indonesian peanut sauce. It was a pretty simple recipe and somehow I didn't know I didn't have vinegar, but even without the vinegar it was pretty good. The peanut sauce is really peanutty (imagine that) so a little goes a long way. But otherwise it turned out quite nice. :) I now have another chicken recipe to add to my arsenal. I had to come up with something since all the usual recipes I would make seemed to be missing one ingredient. (Apparently I have nothing in my cabinets because it isn't like I was missing one thing. I was missing a whole slew of one things. Grr)

Related to grr... my tv is having issues... well not my tv but my cable. And now I've missed sesveral minutes of this movie. It is illogical because it has only been 2 minutes that have passed. I'm confused.

Like a bra but different

My mother is being rather supportive of my planned job hunt and move. Of course the problem with my mother being supportive is that she tends to go overboard. She's now decided I need to work for the feds. They have great benefits she says. And, in reality, I don't think you ever get fired with them. I'm not against the idea, per se, but I'm not in love with it either. Here's part of the problem... I rarely ask her for help. When I finally do, she gets all excited about it and goes overboard and kind of becomes overbearing. If I were smart, I would ask more frequently for help from her and then not have to deal with this weirdness.

Two and a half more shows bite the dust

You know I love television, right. I mean I LOVE television. I'm okay with that. It entertains me. What else would I be doing on a random weeknight otherwise? (Since I like to just be at home when I get home. I don't really like to go out on the weeknights.) However, I'm finding that more and more TV shows don't do it for me anymore.

Heroes: I've been trying to get into it. I find I don't care. There are too many characters. There are too many weird plot twists that I can't figure out where things are going. I'm over it.

Reaper: I liked this show when it first started. I'm not sure why I lost interest... I think because it has been so long between the seasons. Funnily enough, though, there's nothing else I like on Tuesday nights so it isn't like it is losing to a different show.

Ugly Betty: Might bite the dust. I haven't decided yet. It used to be must see tv time for me, but not anymore. Now I watch it if it is on but don't bother searching it out.

What are you watching these days?

Mixed Bag

Did Taylor Swift start out on American Idol? I must know if I'm allowed to like that Romeo and Juliet song and if she was on that show, I don't know if I can like it or not. :) You know I suffer enough cognative dissonance just liking Kelly Clarkson. Ok. I KNOW David Cook was on Idol (that makes me sad but I think TWOP had a picture of him on their main page when he was in it). Luckily I'm kind of meh about his song. (I'm watching VH1. Did you know they actually show music videos at 7:30 on a Sunday morning?)

Since I've been sick (caught a cold. I blame the Philly Airport) I've been using those breathe right strips at night (in conjunction with real cold medicine). I really think they help. I don't wake up in the middle of the night unable to breathe because of my head being so stuffed up. I got the wrong sized ones (I wasn't paying attention when I grabbed the box. I don't THINK I have a large nose, but maybe I do... :) ) So the ends don't quite stick down the way they are supposed to. Also, taking those things off in the AM SUCKS. I've been trying to soak them to make it easier to get off, but it sometimes doesn't seem to help.

I just finished a fabulous book called The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University. It is about Kevin Roose, a student from Brown who decided that instead of taking a semester abroad, he was going to take a semester and go to Jerry Falwell's university, Liberty University. Roose is an excellent writer for 19 years old. I was completely under his spell and enjoyed his whole book. He really humanized Evangelical Christians on an individual level. You get to know these students he interacted with and get to appreciate them as individuals. He offers an interesting critical view of Liberty (but not painting it with the "Oh it is an Evangelical college so it sucks" brush). He even finds things to praise about Liberty. He talks about how comforting it is to have these large events where all the kids are united (he's not describing a mass protest of an abortion clinic or anything, but their thrice weekly convocations). Through an interesting twist of fate, he was also the last person to do a print interview Jerry Fallwell before he died. He talks about how he feels when Fallwell dies (the day before his last exam) and what it is like to stay at Liberty for the funeral. His article is passed out to the mourners as a rememberance piece of Fallwell. He also talks of his conflicted feelings about their political views vs his. All in all a really excellent book that even had me tearing up over the death of Fallwell.

Best April Fool's Joke Ever

This is honestly without a doubt my absolute favorite post ever. I love to reread it every year. It makes me so happy. :)

So I am re-linking as my gift to you. Happy April Fool's Day! :)

Happy Happy Joy Joy

My luggage has been found! I was about to post a whole diatribe about how I was starting to get a bit worried when my cell phone rang. It died immediately because the battery was low but I went online and my luggage has appeared. Yay! Now I have to go get it. I think I'll flexcar it. :)

Book 4

I'm on book 4 of the Twilight Series. I ended up finishing book 1 and 2 while in Ireland. I originally wasn't going to, but I ran out of things to read. While in Philly, I downloaded book 3 and 4. I originally only downloaded book 3 but then I realized I wanted to know how the whole series ended so I got book 4 too. I read the last chapter or so first. Just so you know. :)

Book 1 - Started out very slow. I really do not like the character of Bella and I can't fathom why anyone likes her. I could be clouded in judgement by both my dislike of the actress I saw in the previews of the movies and what I think about the author. I still do not think the author is a good writer. Without the movies I would have no mental image of any of the characters (and in reality, I only have a mental image of Bella and Edward because they were so heavily featured in the previews). I forget when it finally got decent, but I still wouldn't go so far as to call it good.

Book 2 - I liked parts of book 2. I'll admit that. :) I like the character of Jacob. I still don't like Bella and kind of hope she dies. Obviously she doesn't or else there wouldn't be a book 3 or 4. :) I have a huge issue with this love story though and what it teaches girls. Perhaps it is because I'm not especially romantic but in reality I wouldn't want someone to "love" me the way Edward and Bella "love" each other. Edward's also a bit of a drama queen.

Book 3 - I liked book 3. Still hate Bella, mostly dislike Edward but I did enjoy Jacob and the rest of that storyline. I also liked the struggle and how things were resolved.

Book 4 - I'm part way through (33%, thanks Kindle for letting me know that) and still hate Bella, think Edward is a fool.

All in all, the writing gets vaguely better as she goes along. I'm not a fiction writer, should I really judge? Sure, why not. I don't think she's anywhere near as good as JK Rowling, though. While there are definitely times where Harry is kind of a whiney baby, he's nowhere near annoying as Bella. Are they worth reading? Probably. If you're not me. :)

I have a whopping 10 min left. :)

So today we were in Northern Ireland which is its own separate country. (Well it is part of the UK or something I don't really get it and honestly at this moment I don't care enough to look up exactly how the relationship works but they do use pounds just like England does). We crossed over yesterday on the train and when we got off the train we couldn't find anyone to stamp our passports (did I already talk about this? I feel like I might have). I asked the guy at the ticket window and he said we didn't need to. I double checked and said I was from the US but nope didn't need to. Weird that.

Today we took another tour. Unlike Matty's and my fateful tour a way back when, this tour was not populated entirely with old people with a vendetta. Today we went up to the Giant's Causeway and the Carrick a Rede Rope bridge. The wind was blowing too much for us to go on to the bridge. I have a photo. I'll post it when I get back. It will illustrate the level of the wind. Otherwise the Carrick a Rede area was pretty. The Giant's Causeway, though, AMAZING. Seriously. Honestly. I have photos. I'll post them. :) But really, do yourself a favor if you ever come up here, visit the Giant's Causeway. It took me a day to figure out why Northern Irelander's accents are so different than Ireland accents... Scottish. There is definitely a Scottish bit to the accent. Also they use wee a lot which Ireland does not do. However if you watched the amazingly quality filum (films are always 2 syllables and pronounced fil-um) Charlies Angels #2 which had the hot Irish guy who was trying to kill Drew Barrymore... he had a Northern accent. Whilst in the Aran Islands we discovered the movie Leap Year is being filumed there sometime in the semi-near future. I'll have to check that out when it comes out.

We had crappy dinner tonight of hotel food because after climbing up hill and down dale we were wiped out. Tomorrow we head back to Dublin where we will shop a wee bit and then fly home on Sunday. Something fun to cause a bit of trouble on Sunday... daylight savings time. They start it Sat night/ Sunday am. I wouldn't have known if the tour driver today hadn't mentioned it. Glad he did... would've sucked to get to the airport an hour late.

4 min 33 seconds to post...

We're in Belfast today and until Saturday when we return to Dublin and fly out Sunday morning. It was weird travelling into Belfast, they didn't stamp our passport when entering. Apparently they don't need to. I'm not sure what'll happen when we leave to go back to Ireland. They only stamped our passport until 3/25 (whoops we were there until 3/26) because I told him we'd be travelling into Northern Ireland and then returning on the 28th. He said we'd get it stamped coming back. I dunno. There didn't seem to be a customs place in the train station. Maybe they do it on the train.



While I'm having a great time, I'm kind of getting ready to come home. I'm sick of spending money (and oh how I have spent!). I'm tired of living in a suit case and travelling every couple of days. I want to sleep in MY Bed on MY sheets and by myself. :) Two weeks is a LONG vacation. I'm not sure I could do it again.



(Also if I paid 2£ for this internet connection, I should be able to see the screen full screen instead of mostly covered in ads.)

I have 5 min and 22 seconds...

So here's my latest addiction... logging into my work email. I'm on vacay. Why do I keep doing it? why can't I stop it?

We're heading to the Aran Island of Insh Mor (I'm fairly certain I've misspelled that) today. Should be a fun all day adventure. We're going by ferry, which my coworker says can flip upside down! Eek! Oh crap it is 8:30. gotta run anyway.

I have less than 4 minutes to post this

Today we're in Galway. It is really pretty here. We went on another tour around the Burren, Cliffs of Moher and into Aillwee caves. Very cool all of it. I'll be sad to leave. Tomorrow we're heading to the Aran Islands via ferry. Whee! Hard to believe only about 4 more days here. :( I have filled up 2 gigs worth of card on my camear. That's a lot of photos. I should probably weed out the unfocused ones before I even try to upload to my home computer.

Phew... finished with 2 min 23 seconds left on my 2 euro computer use. :)

today I'm in Kilkenny

We were in Dublin for a few days. We're moving on to Cork tomorrow and then galway a day later. We'll be there for 2ish days and then on to belfast. Whee! So far it has been a pretty fun trip. I got lost once on a tour. We're not going on a tour here in Kilkenny, just walking around. In cork we will just walk around and in Galway we will take a tour. I've taken like a billion pictures and fallen in love with the accent. Hopefully in galway I'll meet a nice Irish lad and be swept off my feet. The odds are good there 3:1. Hopefully it won't replicate the Alaskan odds, which means the goods are odd.

It's a great adventure!

I know what y'all are thinking... Yeah yeah you're going on vacation whatever it is a great adventure. But, aha, that's not what I'm thinking is the great adventure. Apparently my getting to Philadelphia is the great adventure. What's in Philly? Is there gold in the streets? Are all the raindrops lemondrops and gumdrops? Should I stand outside with my mouth open wide going ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah?

My sister both called and emailed me today about my flight out of Seattle to Philly. It is not only full but over full by 2 people. I have to hope beyond hope two people don't show up and between now and 8:45 tomorrow 10 more people don't decide to go to Philly. Otherwise there are a few other flights that take me through Las Vegas or Phoenix and to Philly. Worst comes to worst she'll buy me a ticket on Delta. Hopefully we don't have to go that route. Think lazy thoughts tomorrow between 7:00 - 8:45 AM. :)

Otherwise I'm off! Don't miss me too much. Also hopefully I'll have awesome pictures when I get back! :)

I'm on fiyah!

So I've been experimenting with cooking Thai curry you know? I bought a new type of Thai curry paste tonight. I followed the instructions which required 3.5 tablespoons of the Thai curry. The other recipe on the other kind of paste requires .5 to 1 tablespoon. That one is always too bland. Even when I add more of the paste (although I don't know that I've ever added 3.5 tablespoons) it is bland. This time... too spicy. However it is really pretty good. I also am pleased that I managed to make a one pot meal out of this dish by adding more water and the rice directly into the curry. I am quite pleased with the results. :) I also like the fact that the left overs give me lunch for the rest of the week.

I'm having a bit of a hard time believing that in less than a week I'll be on vacay. I still have some planning to finish up. I want to figure out transportation to and around Ireland and have some options in mind already. Since I'm leaving my laptop at home I won't be able to access the bus/train schedules online. (We are travelling by both. :) ) It just seems so surreal.

(Totally unrelated to anything but I'm watching this commercial where a monster truck drives up a ramp and over a bunch of maytag washers and dryers with the "Do not attempt" label across the bottom. Who in the hell would buy that many of the fancy new maytag washers and dryers and try to drive a monster truck over them? Really? This is a concern?!)

Bo-Ring

So while I love the new Kindle I've run into something that isn't working out for me. I can't skip to the last chapter. Or at least I haven't yet figured out how to do it. Usually if I am having trouble getting into a book I skip to either the last chapter or some place in the middle to see if it is getting better. If it isn't, I stop reading. There are too many books for me to read out there to waste my time on something that is crap.

Do you know what is crap? Twilight. According to Kindle, I'm 24% of the way through the book. I am so bored by this book. I don't like Bella at all. I don't like the writing. And after reading the story that explains the wolves vs vampire thing, I pretty much lost all interest in the whole thing. I downloaded a new book while heading to pick up take out.

Good news & bad news

The good news is that my storage unit in my building has been cleaned out and I got rid of a bunch of stuff that I didn't need to be storing anymore. The bad news is two fold. One the reason I did that was because apparently the ceiling above my storage unit has a leak and water has been dripping into my storage unit for who knows how long. I discovered it today when I went to put some GS cookies into my unit until Sunday's site sale. I heard something dripping and I reached up for my sleeping bag and it was wet. As I was moving everything out I discovered this had been going on for awhile since my cast iron dutch oven had rust and there were many boxes ruined by water damage. Now for the most part, that was no big deal. As I am a pack rat, a lot of those boxes were acutally empty, or if they weren't, the contents weren't damaged. However there was one box that was mostly unsalvagable and unfortunately that's the box with the most sentimental attachment to me. It was a box of all the letters I've received over the past 27 years or so. There were letters back to when I was a little girl and I went to NY for a summer and my best friend, Junna, wrote to me. There were letters sent from friends while I was in college. Obviously if they were this valuable I should have done something else with them. All my photo albums are here in the apartment, but I am a little sad at the loss of those letters. Even the few love notes I've received in my day were in there. Maybe it is better, though, break with the past. But, on the bright side, there's a lot of freed up storage space. That's what I'll concentrate on. The fact that I can stack more crap in there now.

Whoooooooooo Spoooky!

Sometimes I think my apartment is haunted. Earlier there was a knocking on the door, but it wasn't a knocking on the door. Just a knocking in that area. And then just now I shut down the computer because I was going to restart but instead the command said "Install updates and shut down" so I did that. And then went into the kitchen to heat up food. I heard, what I thought was the computer starting up but thought, no it shut down. Then I came back into the living room and lo and behold.... computer had booted up. I didn't do it. I'm sure it was a ghost.

I've booked most of our hotel rooms for vacation. I have one more to book. Or wait, two more. I need one for one night in Dublin after Belfast but it is just the night before we fly back so it will be close to the airport. Even though I'm booking all this stuff, it still doesn't really seem real.

On Friday I'm going to my first ever acupuncture appointment. I don't know that I believe in it, but can't make things any worse, right? :) My sister, Michelle and Stephen all swear by it. (Actually my sister does acupressure because she doesn't like needles. When she came to visit I saw these little beads on her ear. Since I'm surrounded by people who do all sorts of body modification, I presumed that they were piercings. Nope, acupressure thingies.) I'm hoping to sort out some of my tendonitis issues and some back pain issues. We'll see if it works.

Sometimes all you can do is laugh

(Unrelated to this post, the commercials with babies that talk in grown up voices creep me out a lot)

So today was a completely unintentionally hilarious day. First, Lyday and I went to REI to get rain jackets for the big vacation. As we're getting ready to turn into the parking garage we notice that the car ahead of us is having rouble. It seems the driver forgot that his bicycle was on top of the car and the handlebars got tangled up in the 7' limit sign. Other people had to help him get his bicycle detatched. He seemed to not be able to figure out the best thing to do. First he unhooked the first wheel from the bike rack but he didn't unhook the back wheel. He was just trying to lift the front wheel to unhook it. Unfortunately the U shape of the handlebar had actually hooked itself around the sign. Really it was just funny.

Then we went to dinner. Now this is more of the you have to laugh or else be furious. We went to Applebees. Eh. Our waiter was TERRIBLE. Like I think the only worse waitstaff I've had was when Michelle, and I think our friend Janel and maybe one other person and I went to a Mexican place in Fairbanks and the waitress kept apologizing for her incompetence by saying that the restaurant was just so slammed. It wasn't. Including us, there were 3 tables. So our waiter tonight, Steve, was not just incompetent but also one of those who blames everyone else for his issues. Firstly, he was a mumbler. Half the time I couldn't understand what he was saying. We ordered an appetizer and a meal. We waited and waited and waited and waited and the meal came but no appetizer. At least once he came by and made a joke about our waiting. I'm like, dude, that's not good. If you know the food is taking forever you should be apologizing and doing what you can to make it right. Lyday's "cheeseburger" was a hamburger with a slice of cheese slapped on it, not melted like it should be. When I asked the waiter about it he blamed the kitchen and said they made him look bad but he's just the messenger you know? So at the same time I asked about our appetizer and he seemed shocked we hadn't received it yet. Although he also seemed to totally forget we ordered one which made me think he forgot to put it in altogether. And we eat. And Lyday finishes her meal. And I finish my meal, still no app has appeared. And he comes by and asks if we wanted it to go and I say no we'll eat it here. And we wait. And we wait and it finally appears. And I have pulled out my card to pay and we start eating them. And we wait. And we wait. And finally he reappears and we just give our cards without even waiting for the ticket because I figured if I have to wait for the ticket and wait for him to return we would never get out of the restaurant. So, and this is impressive because I'm not this person, when the manager walks by I caught his eye and told him how ridiculous the whole thing was - including that Steve blamed the kitchen for the food issues which made the manager's eyes widen. He gave us some gift cards. It was so bad. I think Steve's problem, quite possibly, was he was a fan of the pot.

However, as bad as it was for us, it was worse for the table next to us. There were 4 adults, it appeared to be 3 generations of men actually. So one guy ordered a bacon cheese burger. He received sliders. And then about 10 minutes later he got a side of cooked bacon. And then eventually he got a real bacon cheeseburger. The oldest man had ribs and fries. But something was wrong with them and so he sent them back. It took a minimum 30 more minutes to get his new ribs. All in all it was a bad night at the Applebees. The oldest man was quite feisty and said to his family that he would not be returning to Applebees. I mentioned to the manager when I was talking to him that their experience seemed to be terrible too.

But I did get a jacket that is light and was on clearance. It is orange and gray and a men's jacket. I found the women's "enhanced sizes" section, but sometimes I feel like my shoulders are too broad for women's sizes. When I would cross my arms in front of me it felt tight across my shoulders and back. I also bought 2 new pairs of shoes (another pair of bites and a pair of merrill hiking shoes). I am almost ready for this trip... now all I have to do is book the hotels, and figure out the buses/ trains we will be using to get around and book the tours and and and. :)