TV On the Bubble

I watch a lot of TV. I admit it. I don't have a whole lot else to do in the evenings so that's what I do. This season, though, totally disappointing. I have started three or four new shows, to drop them all basically after the 2nd or 3rd episode. (90210, Sons of Anarchy and the Mentalist in case you're interested) (Well and in my defense, I only watched 90210 for the nostalgia aspect and they had Kelly and Brenda back together, but no. Just no.) There's nothing I like on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. After this week, I'm down to only one 30 minute show on Wednesdays. Mondays are still good but I'm on the fence about Heroes so that show could drop at any time. Thursdays are still sort of good but I'm on the fence about Ugly Betty too. Really I don't think there's anything I wouldn't mind not watching and catching online the next day or in reruns at some point in the future. That's a little sad to me. :)

Fuddy Duddy

I went to see Dark Side of The Rainbow with Stephen and his friend last night at the Pacific Science Center. Dark Side of the Rainbow was a laser show with Pink Floyd music set to The Wizard of Oz. Here's what I've learned after attending this show.

1 - I don't like Pink Floyd at all.
2 - I don't get this synchronizing thing. I think MAYBE there were three spots that matched up with the movie, but that seems tenuous at best.
3 - About 1/2 way through I got cold... COLD and by the "encore" I was shivering a little bit.
4 - I found the whole thing kind of boring and maybe if I was a stoner I would've found it more entertaining.
5 - It has been a REALLY long time since I saw Wizard of Oz. I didn't recognize almost any of the beginning of the movie. But it hasn't encouraged me to see the movie either. :)
6 - I think Toto was a Norwich Terrier and if I believed in owning pure bred dogs, I would totally get one because I think they are insanely cute.

New Hair!

So for perspective, here's my hair a few weeks ago.

And here's my hair today! I cut off a lot of it obviously. I went to the Gene Juarez Acadamy and I definitely think I'll go back to Charli. I like what she did. I did freak her out, though, I could tell. :)

Here's how short it is in the back. It feels so weird. I haven't had my hair this short in like 22 years.

Date with destiny

Isn't that dramatic?? :) It just means I'm going to the hair cutting place tomorrow after Tess's vet appointment.

I'm a tiny bit worried about Tess's visit. I have noticed when petting her that she feels much thinner than she used to. You know how when you have an OLD pet, they start getting that weird thinness happening. I think (although could be wrong) Tess is starting to get that thinness.

My sister is coming to visit during Christmas. She wants to go to Vancouver. She has to go back on like Christmas or the day after... maybe Christmas since I think she said she has to go to work on the 26th. I might actually have to wait to open my presents until Christmas Day. That's going to be hard work for me. :)

Ideas?

I think it is time I obtain a new Halloween costume. I'm volunteering again this year at the Pacific Science Center so it has to be a G-Rated costume. I'm just at a loss. I was thinking of obtaining a simple blue dress and making a white apron, buying an Alice band (thick black headband), tossing on my brown Mary Janes and going as Alice in Wonderland. Or else making a simple blue jumper and wearing a white blouse under it and going as Dorothy. But I just don't know what I want to be. Looking at patterns and/or costumes online isn't really helping me either. If I didn't insist on chopping off all my hair all the time I could've had the braids to do Pippi Longstocking. :) (I did that once when I taught school in Fairbanks. My hair was down to my ass at that point and so the braids went out farther than my shoulders. I felt a little bad as I saw a young lady also with Pippi braids who weren't nearly as long. She looked a little crestfallen when she saw mine.) I was never really that good at this as a kid which is why I've always kind of hated Halloween.

Weigh In

I'm chopping off all my hair. I just can't take it anymore. All I do is tie it up. I have rather fine hair, but there are a ton and a half of them. So what do you think of these? Three other things to keep in mind: 1 - I hate my hair in my eyes. 2 - I don't want to look like a lesbian and 3 - I am willing to use product what not in my hair but not have a whole hair routine. One final thought... I have a round face. Please feel free to post your own links to something better. I never know. I'm such a waffler.

This one is cute. Looks simple. Hair in eyes is a downer, but may not be too bad. Or maybe can be adapted with the shorter bang.

I like this one too, but would it make me look old??

This is essentially a bob which may not work for me since it looks like it might hit on the fat part of my face.

I kind of like this, but maybe not. It may be longer than I want.

Well and there's always this option. (Kidding, I swear but it is featured on the page I got these styles from and I laugh a little bit every time I see it. Could not be more lesbionic if it tried).

Groceries

Draino
TP
Chicken
Soda
Ice Cream

So sad the shopping list of the single chick.

I can't peeve!

I have two peeves and yet I can't login to typepad to post them, hence here they are:

1 - I hate those damn videos that suck you in and then have something pop out or jump up and scream. I hate hate hate them.

2 - I forgot the other one. Sigh.

All the world's a stage

And Tess wants to perform on it. I just bought a new bookshelf at Ikea and set it up. I haven't yet put anything on the bottom shelf yet but Tess has already decided it is her home. She keeps climbing up on it and rolling around. It's pretty darn funny.

Friday Lyday and I went to see Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist. I thought the movie was funny but my big issue with the movie was that all these kids are high school kids and none of them had any difficulty getting into the various bars and clubs in NYC they were going to. I know kids have fake IDs and what not, but a - these kids look pretty young (Although thanks to IMDB I now most of them actually are over 21.) so I can't believe ALL the bouncers would buy that and b - well, I forgot my b point but there was one. So that was the downer I found for the movie. Plus it just seemed like too much. I know that high school kids are different when I was in high school, but would it have made it so difficult to make them a tiny bit older...19 and 20 maybe?

Irrational Desire

So I'm going to the big fancy gala again this year. I'm wearing the same dress I wore last year because a - I love it and b - I love it and c - it isn't like I'm so rememberable that people will realize I wore it last year so whateva. I was looking online for a black wristlet so that this year I don't have to ask Stephen to hold my cell phone etc in his pocket. (Well and I discovered the word wristlet this year too.) And so I google 'black wristlet' and of course ebay comes up and I start scrolling through them. I've fallen in love with a Coach wristlet. Now, I'm rarely a brand whore, but I covet it. And yet, somehow I can't get over my innate unwillingness to spend so much money on something like a little purse. So I keep bidding in hopes I'll finally be the winner. But I've got my limit so we'll see.

Isn't it cute??

Do you want to know the worst part? The very worst part? Even if I could find something similar in non-Coach I don't think I would want it because it isn't Coach. What's wrong with me??

Southwest Convert & Old People

This is sad to say to my poor baby sister but unless I'm flying free, I'm not flying her airlines. I'm not flying anyone's airlines except Southwest. (OK that's a sweeping generalization. There may be times when I have to fly a different airlines simply because Southwest doesn't fly there, but mostly I'm only flying Southwest). And I'm only flying Southwest because they currently don't charge bag fees. I may change my mind. They may start doing it (and then what?? I have to travel by train??) but seriously bag fees can add up to 100 dollars to a ticket. That's outrageous!

I've been obsessed lately with my index finger on my right hand. The nail is starting to go flat. It is so weird. It was never like that before. A quick google search says I may be lacking in vitamins. I'll have to start up with the multi-vitamin again. Sigh.

I went to this refresher training for my volunteering at the Paramount last night. I was mostly dreading it because I figured it would be one of those "This is what we're seeing everyone doing wrong" type of refreshers. (Clearly certain aspects of my personality will not succumb to my hopeful philosophy of believing in the best). Refreshingly it wasn't. Mostly they were telling us about changes at the Paramount and rah rah we're necessary. That's fine. I was one of the three youngest people in the group of over 25. And we were youngest by at a minimum of 20 years. Here's where I realize I don't really like old people though. In college (and I'm sure Michelle could back me up) old people (heh, when I was 22 old people were like 35 - 40) going back to school never seemed to go back for a physics degree or a mechanical engineering degree. They go into the social sciences fields and that's where I learned to hate adult learners. They always had stories to share that maybe related to something but usually they were just annoying and took away from class time where we needed to learn something and not just anecdotal evidence about how the special education system in the district sucks. I share this because old people are like adult learners. They share stories that don't matter and seem to ask questions that have nothing to do with what's being discussed. Or if they do, it is just the same stuff over and over. Yes sometimes the paid staff are short with the volunteers. Whatever. Get over it. The guy just said he's working with them on that so we don't need to keep rehashing that point. Amusingly enough, there was an old lady in front of me who clearly does not suffer fools. She kept making comments to herself wishing everyone would just stop asking stupid questions so we could just get done with this. I kind of dug her.

Not responsible

I've been working for weeks on these proposals to our executive team about our open enrollment. We have several recommendations that should be good for the employees. So help me god if they decide to make no changes at all I will not be responsible for my actions.

Isn't that always the way

I was totally late for volunteering at Phantom of the Opera last night. I thought, for some reason, the call time was 5:30 not 5:00. Tonight we have a refresher training for ushers. In 5 years I've never been late, but the day before the meeting bam! Tardy.

Also my bank officially failed on the same day I activated my new debit card. Coincidence? Yeah probably. :)

Fail.

So I should've vetted my Thanksgiving plan more thoroughly before I got excited. The Pearrygin Lake State Park isn't open in the winter. That means we'll be headed somewhere else. There is another one Cama Beach State Park that has cabins and they are open in the winter. They do not, however, have stove burners inside so we would have to cook outdoors. Not an insurmountable problem. But the sad part is that they are not close to Winthrop so no Christmas Extravaganza! :(

My bank failed yesterday. Yesterday I felt bad for me because this means my checking account will probably change. Luckily I don't have credit cards or a mortgage through them because that will definitely change. Today I feel bad for the employees. I wonder if it is easier or harder to go to work today... the uncertainty is gone but has probably been replaced with a different uncertainty. That was the hardest thing about working at homestore for me... when we started to hit the skids I hated how uncertain everything was. I also hated, since I worked in HR, knowing before others who was getting laid off and who wasn't. Especially since I knew these people, you know.

Final fail... this morning I was walking to work wearing a greenish sweater. I was reading my book while walking and realized I had worn this sweater already this week. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal, but there was a spot of taco sauce on my sweater. I turned around and walked home. Sigh. I did think it was amusing, though that while I was walking and reading another woman was walking up my street while reading. A kindred spirit so to speak. :)

Potential plan

I did some research and discovered some pretty nice cabins available through the state parks. It seems like it could be fun to go to Pearrygin Lake and then to Winthrop for their holiday extravaganza thing. I'll keep you posted but I think we've found a winner. (It even snows there!!!)

What to do... What to do...

Since Michelle is going to Florida this Thanksgiving, I'm not going to CA for my traditional Thanksgiving at Michelles and mad shopping spree on Friday morning. This leaves me with a 4 day weekend to fill with something that may or may not entertain me. I could probably con Lyday into doing the shopping thing with me... although now that I think about it maybe not. I don't remember that I know her stance on that kind of thing. I do know her stance on being up at 5:00 AM and that is not in this lifetime. I could rent a car for the day or check out the flexcar for the AM and go by myself. That's not so fun though. I mean a whole part of the adventure of black friday is getting up and having one person get in the lines ahead while the other goes and picks stuff up. Plus who would I go to lunch with when I was totally and completely done shopping and then spend the afternoon doing arts and crafts with?

Another option would be go visit the fam. Last Thanksgiving wasn't too terrible. We survived it without incident which is an improvement over the last time I visited them. I didn't want to kill anyone. But Black Friday was not the same kind of fun (even though they tried... they did pick up paint by number kits) but somehow Pep Boys isn't the same as Mervyns. I wonder if I could convince my family to stay in a hotel Thursday night so we could shop in Tucson on Friday morning... Probably not. :)

I have also considered going away for the weekend. I think it might be neat to go to a state or national park and rent a yurt or cabin (both are heated) for the long weekend. I would want to go to one that is near someplace I haven't been before so I could go do little day trips to see things nearby.

I don't know and since my default on that is to do nothing, I'll probably do nothing and spend 4 days sitting on my couch until I grow moss. :)

Do the Puyallup

On Sunday Lyday and I went to the fair. I do love the fair although I must admit that I love the Ventura County Fair even more. Although I don't remember a lot of animals at the VC fair and I do love those too. One thing they do that I think is fun is they have a table setting contest. It is so weird as a concept yet so cool.

I always like to go see the animals. Lyday is not as fond of them as I am. My older sister had clydsdales. They are really cool horses and HUGE. They're gentle giants, though, and rather mellow as far as horses go.

Lyday as we head upside down on a ride. I think it was a green and purple kind of ride that flips you upside down. It kind of seems like the pirate ship ride but then it continues. It was fun. Lyday LOVES the rides so we went on way more than I usually do. I have a weird thing about the rides. If I'm flipping head over feet I won't get sick usually. If I'm spinning around and around I'm going to get sick. So we went on a lot of rides. I tried to take my camera on the rides as much as I could (although I didn't even try on the zipper because you're in a cage.).

Here is as we go upside down. Pretty fun, eh?

We went on this ride. At each end, there is a space for 4 people. The ride is fast and according to the sign it prevents you from getting sick. The weirdest part for me was not so much the centrifugal force but how close it felt like we were getting to the ground. I would've loved to bring my camera on this one but the operator said we couldn't even bring our cell phones (like in our pockets not that we would talk on them) because they would break due to the force. I don't know if that's right.

Oh this is from the other ride (apparently I didn't load these pictures in the proper order). The camera is technically right side up, I am not. :)

You can see the long ride from the ferris wheel. We talked about the boing boing ride that is between the two long poles but two things stopped us... 1 - cost. It is 50 bucks to ride! 2 - Joanne isn't down with the cables. If something is made with steel I feel better but the cable freaked me out a bit. 3 - the bounce up was fine but there seemed to be no control over how you swing around. I was not down with that thought.

This is from the big shot. You know it is one of those tall rides that shoot you up into the sky. It is fun.

And that's all the photos. I ate a lot of junk food which is always nice. :) We spent about 4 to 5 hours at the fair and I was so exhausted by the time I got home. Clearly a sign I'm old that I can't handle a few hours at the fair.

Something I do like

I do love Panic at the Disco's I Write Sins not Tragedies. The song cracks me up but my very favorite line is at the beginning. He's singing about what a beautiful wedding it is and it sounds all nice and then he says "What a shame the poor groom's bride is a whore." Cracks me up every time.

Never Listen to Morons

That is a rule I should live by but sometimes I forget.

I'll get to that. First I poured beer on Friday night for the Fremont Oktoberfest. The money raised benefits the Fremont Chamber of Commerce. Mostly I like pouring beer at these events. I get to flirt and just have a good time. And Friday was mostly like that. The only downer was that I was assigned to a truck that had taps and so we would pour the beer into pitchers and then pour the beer to the people from the pitchers. That seemed to take a lot more time and slow down the process. It was probably easier for the brewery liasons though since they didn't have to frequently mess with the kegs to make them pour correctly. (Which can happen if the CO2 gets off or if there's not enough ice in either the box or in the tub with the keg or if the keg is empty). At the end of the night, I was getting ready to pour out a pitcher and there was one guy trying to get me to give him what was left in the bottom. I couldn't since it was past the time and his cry of despair was heartwrenching. Poor guy. (Luckily it didn't rain on Friday night.)

Saturday I attended a 1st time homebuyer class. WA has programs but they require a certificate and you have to have attended a seminar in the past 2 years. My last one lapsed. I found my previous seminar a lot more helpful than this one, but this one was okay. The guys presenting it were much more personable and funny so it balanced out in a weird way.

In the evening I volunteered for the Light The Night walk with the Leukemia & Lymphoma society. I was to work with another person as a sweeper. Basically we followed behind the whole group walking around Greenlake (or is it Green Lake?) (I think it is Greenlake) and pick up litter and directional signs and the like. Here's where I should know never to listen to morons. The guy I was paired up with and I start out around the lake. At the very beginning of the walk is a huge line of signs memorializing various people. E, the guy, looks at the signs and says we should pick those up. I say, no, B the event organizer said there were no signs to get. We go back and forth on this for a few minutes before I finally give in because he's done this before and I haven't. Also, I'm lazy and didn't want to walk all the way back to where B was to ask her so my own lazyness also bites me in the ass. I totally ignore the logic that says come back for these signs after the walk. So we pick up signs. There are like 50 of them and they are stuck into the ground and have pictures taped on them. They look like the rough picture below.... roughly.

So frequently the poster wouldn't cover the bottom rung thing so I could grab that and so most of the signs I carried I carried by the bottom piece but some had that taped over so I couldn't so I carried those signs under my arm. This works pretty well... for a while. And we set off. Part way down our walk I realize this idea isn't working that well because when I see litter I can't stop to pick it up on account of the ridiculous number of signs I'm carrying plus a lantern because it is dark. So we leave it. Also someone has attached a balloon to one of the signs and so as I carry the signs the balloon keeps banging me in the head, but it is all tangled so there's not much I can do about it. And so then we walk. And we walk. And we walk. And every once in a while we stop because E's signs get messed up and he drops a bunch but so far my method is working very nicely. So we get maybe 2/3rds of the way around the 2.8 mile trail and my hands are killing me. They are completely numb because of the angle I've been holding them etc. So we take a pit stop at the boat place. (This map shows Green Lake Park. We started at the upper right of the map where there is a swimmer and a sign for a swimming pool. The boat place is the lower left hand corner. We are walking the inner trail.) E goes to the restroom and I just rest my hands and arms. We eventually begin walking again and now my hands have had it. Even though they felt better about 15 steps in, my hands go numb again. I keep switching hands. I eventually accidentally pop the balloon attached to the sign. I am miserable. And I keep switching how I'm holding the signs so that at one point I end up with one tangled in my hair and another set tangled in my ipod cord. I think we get to about the next little pink picture on the map and I just drop all the signs. I've had it. E keeps swearing we are almost there and I could leave the signs and he could come back for them but I can't do that... so I'm getting ready to pick them up when an attractive Mexican man stops and offers to help. I'm so grateful I could almost cry. He took probably 3/4ths of my signs and we start walking again. He was out walking because he has troubles... he lost his job, his girlfriend broke up with him and his family was pressuring him to go back to Mexico to take care of his mom. We chatted the rest of the way with him holding the bulk of my signs until we reached the end. We take the signs where they need to go and he leaves back into the night. I see B, the event organizer, over by the finish line and I ask her... we didn't have to pick those up did we. No, no we did not. This, my friends, is why you should never listen to a moron!

Male Artist Trifecta

There are three male singers I really don't like. For some reason, though, 99% of the time I can only remember two of them. I was thrilled when I finally remembered the third. They are: Jack Johnson, John Mayer and James Blunt. There's not a lot of logic why I don't like them, but I really think their music is kind of whiny.

True Seattelite

It's official, I've become a real Seattleite. How did I do this, you might wonder? It was nothing like becoming a TRUE Alaskan which involved peeing in the Yukon River (how did we even hear that? I wish I could remember) which I have also done, that's for sure. No, today I exhibited the classic "Seattle Freeze." Someone said to me "We should do lunch sometime" and I responded with the vague yet terribly Seattle, "Yes, we should." No further plans were made. No dates confirmed or discussed. I am now a Seattleite. Sigh.

That's a lot of Jesus stuff

You know, for an atheist, I don't tend to get too hung up on the details about being one. I don't care that our money says "In God We Trust" or that in the Pledge of Allegiance it says "One nation, under God," blah blah blah. I don't care if kids want to say a little prayer to themselves in school or if the school wants to have a moment of silence where kids can do that. It doesn't hurt me in any way shape or form to have these things out there. I was a little surprised, though, to go through one of my scout's school fundraiser forms and see quite a bit of religious materials. I'm ordering some heart shaped silicone cupcake thingies. I will not be ordering the prayer hands paperweight or the angel charm stretch bracelet. If I had a garden I would totally order some Queen of the Night tulips because those are my favorite. (They're almost black and totally cool!)

The Phantom of The Opera something or other...

The Phantom of the Opera is playing at The Paramount. I've never seen it before today. I was a volunteer usher at the matinee today. While the costumes are beautiful and the sets are gorgeous, I found the play to be kind of boring. I'm sure a large part of that is because I really couldn't understand the songs that well. I have three more shifts to do with the show. It could be worse I'm sure. It could be Oklahoma!. :) I thought the chandelier falling scene was supposed to be some big dramatic thing. It took so long for the chandelier to do its fall it wasn't dramatic at all. Could've been a stage glitch I suppose, but it definitely didn't strike me as exciting or anything.

Kind of Child-like

Unrelated to this post but I kind of wonder if I would get car sick if I tried to watch a video on a long car trip. Unlikely I'll ever find out since usually I'm either driving the car for the long car trip or I'm with people who actually expect me to interact with them during the long car trip. What's that about??!!

So today I went for my bi-annual (does bi-annual mean twice a year or every two years? And if I have to ponder this wouldn't it have been shorter just for me to say my every other year eye exam? Is there a better way to say this??) Anyway... today I went for my bi-annual eye exam. I only go every two years because I can only get new frames every two years so why bother going in the off year? I ordered new glasses. I am not a fun, funky glasses wearer. I am more a thin metal frames similar shape/color every time. I tried on a few fun, funky glasses and I just felt like it made it REALLY obvious I was wearing glasses. I didn't like that. I also tried on a pair of frameless glasses. I don't like that look. I read an article that Sara(h?) Palin is bringing that look back. I still do not like it. I also tried on a couple pairs without the bottom frame. I also do not like that look. Anyway... I'm now having buyer's remorse. I almost called them and said Oh No Never Mind Take It Back!! I think it was because my eyes were totally dilated. How can I know what I'm picking out then??!! (I'm sure it will be fine but I really really love my current glasses and I'm hesitant to change things like that. But the paint is chipping on them and they are two years old) I also find that I ask a lot of questions of the optometrist. I like to know what he is doing and what the various tests tell him. I also like to know how I compare with other people.

I spent the whole afternoon hanging out with Lyday at the hospital. She had outpatient surgery and needed someone to be her 'escort'. I think this is how hospitals have cut back on the over night visits... they just hand you off to friends and family! So while there I asked a lot of questions. I like to know what things are happening and why things are the way they are. We got there at like 1:30. I've never been back into that part of a hospital. It was interesting, however I'm such a hmm... what's the word.. not prude exactly (well that too) but I like my privacy and so this would've driven me nuts! We got to hear all about the guy in the next space's reason for surgery... warts in his rectum. And the guy two cubes away too. Then in the pre-op place the young woman who was having breathing difficulties and they were discussing with her the possibility of an over night stay with this logic "Well it will be the same price if you leave tonight or stay until tomorrow." How crazy. And even while I was in the waiting area... the doctor came out and I heard about this Russian family's female family member who had ovarian cancer. Good news, they got all the cancer and it hadn't spread anywhere else. It all just seemed so not private to me. Also also also... Naked old man ass. I made the mistake of looking up and there it was hobbling to the bathroom. Seriously I can't be admitted to the hospital ever. However Lyday's surgery went well and she was even feeling well enough afterward to go for dinner so that's good.

Such a dad thing to do (although I probably would too)

I peeved over at the Peevery about dropping my breakfast and it totally reminded me of something funny. I was with Stephen and Ben at this fancy ice cream place in the U district. (I think it is the U District, I'm not really sure where the lines are drawn... maybe it is actually Greenwood or Greenlake... how have I lived here 6 years and I still don't get that??) (According to their own website it is Wallingford.) There was a dad and two daughters sitting at a little table near us. The little girl did the thing that if I was her age would've totally made me cry... she took a big lick of her cone and proceeded to knock the scoop onto the floor. The dad bent over and picked it up. He took some napkins out of the dispenser and wiped it off and then plopped it back on her cone. He kind of mashed it in to make sure it didn't happen again and she resumed consumption. I don't blame the dad. I totally would've done the same thing. :)

Eating

I'm sick of thinking about food. I'm sick of thinking about what I want to eat. I'm sick of eating. This is why I'm broke at the end of each month... I eat out because I don't want to cook. I wish I lived in like the Jetson's time and I could have the food I want just appear magically. OR if I were a witch like Ron Weasley's mum (what was her name... Mrs. Weasley... I can't remember) and I could use magic to cook and clear up. So the question is... what are you having for dinner?

Jam Packed!

At the ass crack of dawn (or 8:30) on Saturday I went to get my hair cut. Three hours later I left with shorter hair and touched up roots. :) Yay! I like the cut. I originally was going to go and just get a trim but Saturday morning I randomly decided to have them take a lot more off. The stylist took off 6 inches. Yay.

Randomly, I'm watching an old episode of Law & Order SVU and two embryos of a woman were implanted into two different women. One girl died in a car accident and the mom (crazy with grief and positive her kid was still alive) had her daughter's picture aged by an artist. She saw a kid in the park who looked like the aged picture and attempted to kidnap her. So my confusion is why would the two kids look exactly alike? They wouldn't be twins because they were separate eggs. (Of course this is a TV show I'm trying to puzzle through. Sad that is.) (Also, Queens is on the beach?) (Although this episode does have Abigail Breslin and I like her) (Also, Lea Thompson plays crazy very well, but I'm sad that she is relegated to playing roles in Law & Order SVU)

Anyway... sometime this past week Lyday and I were driving around and we went past the zoo. We decided to go today. It was a perfect day for the zoo. The weather was just right and the sun was shining. I took pictures. Eventually I'll post them (maybe). I saw the flamingos which apparently are a big deal (although their enclosure seems a bit small to me but I don't really know too much about flamingos. Maybe they only travel in small areas). We went into the butterfly and blooms exhibit. That's one of my favorites because I just love all the butterflies! We did not go into the bug exhibit. Although in this one exhibit we were looking at snakes and lizards and other cool things when I came across an exhibit of hissing roaches. Those freak me the fuck out. I think it is because when I was little I was visiting my grandfather and he lived in a trailer on the farm. This married couple and their like 5 I think kids had a trailer next to my pappy's. I think the adults worked on the farm and I remember staying the night over there. I remember waking up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and there were roaches everywhere. It scared me so badly I didn't go pee and instead lay back down in the bedroom and stayed awake for much of the night. And on that note, I'm going to bed. Night y'all!

TV

Also, I have decided I'm excited about Sons of Anarchy on FX that is premiering tonight. I may have a beef with Comcast (really what is the 'price adjustment' I'll be receiving next month??), but I'll never be able to rid myself completely of cable. I just love it too much.

Random

I know it is just me, but I'm vaguely fascinated by the fact that the arrow on the compass that is next to my phone changes direction when I pick up my phone. Phone in the cradle the red arrow is pointed at 20 degrees. Phone out of the cradle and the arrow points at 315 degrees. Probably some magnet in the phone. I coulda been a physicist. :)

I am a petty petty person

I admit this. My employer told me earlier this year that I could no longer hold my scout meetings in my building the way I had for the past 3 years. Note how they waited until my boss, who had conferred with the lead counsel at the time and gotten permission, was gone. I've since decided that if they can't support my endeavors I can't support the ones I used to. I know it is petty. I really do. But I was really mad and felt it really (notice the number of uses of really here... because I'm REALLY fired up) said something to me. So they've been requesting volunteers for this one thing that I've volunteered for the past 5 years a number of times. I'm not doing it. (Also I'm not doing it because all the activities are like invasive plant removal and trail maintenance and I hate those so that's another good reason.) (Plus I'm still wearing the boot anytime I have to be walking up hill or doing a lot of it so I would be booted doing it.) (Look at all the justification and the parentheticals!) :)

Videos!

It is entirely possible that I broke the law in recording this and I fully admit that these are done on my teeny tiny pink camera while I was being jostled by a large crowd of people so I apologize that they aren't that great. I do like the one that has the crowd surfer going by me. Hee.


Stone Temple Pilots Plush from Joanne on Vimeo.


Stone Temple Pilots Interstate Love Song from Joanne on Vimeo.

Photos from Bumbershoot!

Here are the photos I took at Bumbershoot. Aren't y'all envious? :)

This is the lead singer of The Blakes. I don't know anything else about this band except that I liked them.

Here's a shot of the singer and guitarist (bassist?? I don't know the difference). I converted the photo to black and white. I like that effect.

I think this is the lead singer again.

This is all I saw of The Whigs. I was sitting on the grass during the show because my feet hurt and I knew that I would be standing for Stone Temple Pilots and Jakob Dylan. I originally had a staunch group of sitters around me, but eventually I was the sole sitter surrounded by legs.

Look it is me! Yay.

Jakob Dylan. We were far from the stage. Stephen's friends were sitting there waiting for the show to start for 3 hours. That's kind of crazy to both of us but if you really like the artist then that's good I suppose.

Another shot of Jakob Dylan. I ended up shooting through the sound board guy's tent thing.

Stone Temple Pilots. Yay! This is during their opening number.

The guitarist.

Scott Weiland. I still believe guys shouldn't wear skinny jeans.

Again.

And again. Note the foot of the crowd surfer. I totally laughed when I saw that appear.

The band came out at the end and bowed.

Too old for this

Yesterday I went with Stephen to Bumbershoot. It was the first time I actually attended to see shows - including the mainstage. We got there around 1 and went in and got our tickets for the mainstage that night. Stone Temple Pilots was playing. I rather like them. We stood in line to try to go to see Janeane Garofalo but missed out on that. I let Stephen dictate which shows we were going to watch since I didn't really have any preference. We saw The Blakes, who I liked, the Whigs, who were okay, Jakob Dylan and Stone Temple Pilots. It was really exhausting. I was on my feet for a long time.

Stephen likes to be towards the front for the shows so during STP we were near the front. For future reference, I'm totally going to sit in the seats. :) It was getting painful to be on my feet so much and that was much of my focus. STP started late - about 20 min or so. And we were jammed. Gray sweatshirt guy in front of me kept inching me back. Hearing impaired woman behind me kept inching me forward. It was quite an adventure. When the music finally started it became a little more chaotic. There was a lot of moving around and I ended up getting shoved a variety of ways. That part was unpleasant. Eventually the crowd got equilibrium and although I was smashed I didn't get tossed around again. There was a fat chick behind me who was jumping up and down. Since she was pressed up against my back that was uncomfortable for me. There was a point where I was so squished I thought I could probably pick up my feet and just hang there.

A mosh pit opened up about 3 - 4 people away from us and that was something I hadn't seen before. I am glad the people on the edge really seemed to like where they were because I would not have liked it if the pit had gotten closer. After awhile I was just enjoying the music and that was awesome. There were a bunch of crowd surfers who, if they got to the front of the crowd, got pulled out by security. I kind of liked watching the beefy security guys hauling these kids over the barrier. There was a group of boys who decided to crowd surf backwards. The back crowd was not so adept at holding them up and they kept falling through. One actually fell on me sort of kind of sliding down my body taking my glasses with him as he went. Luckily I grabbed them before they fell totally off or else it would be a long two weeks until I get new ones.

Don't ask the question if you're not sure you want the answer

So, remember the post a few days ago (ok last week I admit it) where I mentioned my sister and the cancer and all that? I asked my mom which type of Leukemia she had had. She had CML (Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia). If you read the wikipedia entry you see that had she gotten the disease four years later, she most likely would have lived. Gleevec was approved in 2001. She was diagnosed in February of 1997. (And died in 02).

My older niece is in college now. She started this week I think. I don't know if she got a lot of money from the school or if satan is paying her way, but he promised to pay my nephew's way too this year and apparently that fell through. My pop doesn't know if it is due to satan or due to my nephew. Chris is a bit of a stubborn stubborn boy. He apparently has a weird refusal to fill out a FAFSA to see if he could get other aid. He's an orphan who earns some ridiculous minimum wage working for Target... he should be getting grants up the ass. Silly boy.

Old Age

I'm always fascinated when I hear a certain famous person is some age beyond 70. My dad turned 71 this year and I swear he must be the oldest 71 year old in the history of people. So when I realize that Barbara Bush is in her 80s or John McCain is 70 something I'm kind of amazed about how different their lives are. Besides the obvious, but more how they're getting out there and doing stuff regularly and not really slowed down as much as my dad is. You would think this would encourage me to lead a healthier lifestyle. So far it hasn't. :)

Surreal

So this may not be weird to most people but it was kind of weird to me... I went to a volunteer appreciation event Saturday. It was for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. They held it at Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center. I've never been to the Fred Hutch Center and actually didn't realize it was where it is. So here's why this was weird to me... my sister received her bone marrow transplant there. And that's all I could really think as I walked the halls... my sister had been here for a time. They almost killed her here (not on accident... on purpose. When you get a transplant they have to basically kill you and then bring you back.) The facility is beautiful. But as I walked down to the location the event was being held, I still couldn't help but think about the fact that it is a cancer hospital. And that was a bit depressing honestly.

They also did a presentation about leukemia and lymphoma and it was a bit sad I suppose in that there have been so many advances in treatment that my sister was maybe 1 - 2 years short of getting the benefit of. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the cancer that killed her, but the graft vs host disease. (although I could be wrong, it wouldn't be the first time since despite our Catholicness we are very WASPy in my family what with the not talking about things and all). So if she could've avoided the transplant, maybe she wouldn't have died you know?

So I'm sitting in this event which I went to because I really feel I need to get out and meet more people. Plus you know the dream... the hottie who volunteers right? :) And I'm sitting by my self because most people came with their spouses or with their friends (before you say anything Stephen I didn't invite you for two reasons... 1 - the invite said immediate family only please and you are not immediate family and 2 - how can I meet hottie who volunteers when I'm sitting with you??) and two of the women who work for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society sat with me. Which was nice because the people on one side of me were talking a lot about their own diagnoses and their treatments and the evil little part of me thought, dude, you people are old, why did you survive it? Well, actually the guy sitting catty corner across from me actually was currently in the throes of chemo so technically he hasn't survived it yet. But I digress. So it was nice that these other two ladies sat with me. But of course they asked about why I volunteered and the one offered the relative truism that most people who volunteer for them do so because they have been touched by it. So I said my sister had had it and they asked how she was and I said she died. And I will admit I'm usually rather blunt about the whole thing. I'm not one to say passed away or whatever. She died. Which of course slightly embarrassed the woman and I forget what all she asked but she probably got way more information about the whole thing than she needed. Oh yes because she asked about having kids etc. So all in all it was a mixed bag of experience. Although I did sit and watch the whole Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory movie they showed. I love that movie. Although I'm about 98% certain I dozed off during the part where (ooh actually that just went to 100% as I try to think about this) Violet goes all the way to the Wonka Wash. Hee.

Blanket Officianado

I think I've mentioned that Tess loves the green blanket my mom got me for Christmas. She LOVES it and frequently will sleep curled up by my feet on the blanket. To try to get my blanket back from her, I bought Tess a little pink cat blanket from the pet store. I swear it feels just like the green blanket. She doesn't like it. She still goes for the green... and worse... she's taken to climbing up onto the sofa and sleeping under it so when I go to sit down I sit on her. Poor girl. She's been sat on twice in the last week.

Hee. I started this post yesterday and this morning couldn't figure out where it went. Apparently I fell asleep before posting it. So silly.

Random bits and bobs

I went and saw Fly Me To The Moon last night with Ben, who is 5. It was much better than I thought it was going to be. He was entranced. He may have played it cool when he talked to his dad (Stephen) later, but he spent the whole movie with his eyes glued to the screen. It is in 3-d but doesn't rely too heavily on those stupid 3-d tricks. There are definitely some effects but it is not as much as it could have been. The story was good and I really enjoyed it. There's a Russian substory where the Russians are trying to sabotage the reentry of the Apollo 11 shuttle, which I thought was unnecessary, but I think the creators thought it necessary because otherwise I just paid $9.00 for a kid to watch a movie that was only an hour long. (With the Russian story it was an hour and 25 minutes.) I really enjoyed the animation of the moon and the earth and what it would be like to travel in space. (Although I think with space being a vacuum and all, the flies wouldn't have been able to use their wings to move about the way they could because there'd be no air resistance, although I could be wrong about that.)

I spent yesterday evening wondering about how birds and reptiles procreate. I read this article on Yahoo about a turtle who could now mate because she had been attached to a skateboard after her back end was paralyzed and then I was obsessed with figuring out how birds and reptiles reproduced.... I know I know they lay eggs but how do the eggs get fertalized? I then became curious about chicken pen1ses only to discover that's not what they do at all. They and reptiles reproduce through the cloaca. I had no idea. I feel so much smarter now. :) (Also how did I miss this in biology or science or whatever I took??!!) (Ok rereading the article, some birds do have a pen1s. How weird is that?! Also, clearly I'm a 12 year old boy because now I'm laughing about swan pen1ses.)

Priorities

Michelle & I were going to discuss priorities when I came down, but clearly due to my airline that didn't happen. :(

So I've been thinking about them and here they are:

1 - Obtain a job that will both pay me enough and give me some flexibility so that I can adopt children. I work in kind of a specialized field. AND ultimately I work in a field where I have to find an employer who is large enough to need a benefits manager, but for my own sanity isn't so large I'm lost there. For example, I wouldn't want to work at the evil empire. This also requires me to live in a moderately sized community or larger.

2 - Adopt said children. I originally said I want to do this in 2 years. Honestly 2 years was an arbitrary deadline I set for myself because I know me. I can procrastinate until hell freezes over. I don't want to be 55 and look back and say whoops, I should've when I had the chance and when in the hell did I turn 55? (Because honestly, periodically, I think to myself how in the hell am I 34 already?!) And, when I said 2 years I really meant start the process in 2 years. I know it can take up to a year or more. Plus while adopting said children I have to do the other stuff to get there - bigger place to live, larger support network, etc.

Everything else isn't really a priority just something I want to do. I want to take a real vacation sometime before I adopt children. Once I adopt, if I remain a single parent the money won't be there for me to do it again for a long long time - if ever.

Transformers

I've watched parts of Transformers several times this weekend. I really do enjoy the movie. I LOVE that the chick is a badass. But, the one thing that drives me crazy about this movie, I cannot believe for a minute that the military tacticians would think it is a good idea to bring the Allspark into a town. It drives me nuts. But I totally will see the 2nd movie. :)

Also, I went and saw Pineapple Express this weekend. Fucking hysterical. I laughed so hard through the whole movie. I was a little worried because the reviews were so positive that I would hate it, but no. It was great.

Disappointment

I was supposed to go see Michelle and Kenna and Bryan this weekend. Alas, the flight had other plans for me. I got to the airport at 1:20 and was hanging out waiting for my 2:40 flight. The 2:40 flight became a 3:15 flight. The 3:15 flight became a cancelled flight. It took them HOURS to rebook all of us and I was booked onto the last flight out of Seattle that would get me to LAX at 1:00 AM. In between I had tried calling my sister about 15 million times. I finally got ahold of her at 7:30, about 30 minutes before my flight was due to leave. She did a bunch of checking and discovered that although my flight was only 1 overbooked like the CSR told me... there were 11 people ahead of me on the stand by list. There was no way I was making that flight and leaving this morning would've meant getting there after the party so I'm home this weekend. :(

I will say this, I totally went on TSA's website to figure out the best way to take my liquid cough medicine because it is in a 4 oz bottle. They said to declare it at security and give it to an agent to examine. I tried that. The guy looked at me like I was crazy and made me put it through the x-ray without even looking at it. I feel oh so much safer now TSA.

Back in the boot

Sigh. I went to physical therapy today. She wants me back in a boot for 3 weeks. Until I can be pain free while walking. And then I wean off the boot instead of just stopping. I'm fine wearing the boot. It does help a lot, but it is so damn hot. (Although it does mean I get fun special treatment at the airport. ;) )

Mixed bag

Yesterday I was cracking up in my grocery store because there was this little voice on the other side of the aisle saying "Pease... pease...pease...pease." I know I shouldn't laugh and I know her mom was probably getting peeved but the little girl's pleading for whatever it was the mom had that she wanted totally was funny. She was also a cute little girl. (They were in line behind me while the little girl continued her "Pease...pease...pease... I think she wanted some goldfish but her mom wanted to pay before giving the kid the snack.)

The other day at dinner there was a little boy who was so cute and well behaved I think an ovary exploded. I had to tell the couple that he was adorable and very well mannered. I've become one of THOSE people...

As much as I dislike Paris Hilton, I loved LOVED her ad in response to the John McCain ad. I do appreciate that she seems to have some sense of self-awareness and a sense of humour about herself.

One other celebrity thing that I kind of hate... Morgan Freeman and Shia LeBouf were both in car wrecks while having another person in the car with them. I hate all this weird speculation about why those people were in the car with them. People give rides to coworkers or friends all the time, it doesn't mean someone's cheating.

Also, I should feel ashamed (but I don't) I bought the People Magazine spread with the Jolie-Pitt babies. All things considered, they do have a very attractive brood. I do wonder if the adopted ones will have some of the issues that all my adopted kids books indicate are inevitable. Maybe they've already got the troop of therapists on retainer.

Scared myself

I just looked at the old blog post from when I took Tess & Rig home and there I quoted their ages as being 2.5 years which would make them only 5 now. So then I looked at the ferret shelter site and there they were listed as 3 or 4 (and I remember distinctly on their cage they were listed as 4). I'm not saying I want them to die because I do love having pets, but if they had 3 more years to live that would change some of my plans because I will not even attempt to adopt children while owning ferrets. (Also that would mean another 3 years of Tess's shots which mysteriously keep changing price on me.)

Because I like to whine...

My right eyelid is twitching mercilessly. And it is driving me nuts.

I did sleep like the dead last night thanks to my good friend cough medicine with codeine. That was nice. I didn't wake up until 6:15 this morning. I have the feeling Rigby tried all her usual tricks to get me out of bed because when I woke up I discovered her sleeping curled up by my knees. She only does that after she has walked around my body and stuck her nose to my nose and done all her other things to get me out of bed. She then gives up and just hangs out until I get out of bed. This was the first morning in a long long time that I slept through that entire process. I might love cough medicine with codeine.

PM's current place of employ has a cat opening for what I do. Upon emailing with her she pointed out the illogicallity of attempting to acquire that cat based on the commute with family factor and the if I lived closer to that cat the family far from PM which defeats that purpose. I'm in an interesting conundrum. I kind of have to wait for the ferrets to die (which, given their life spans, should be any time now although they certainly don't act like they are decrepit) if I want to move back to CA. They are illegal there and although I don't have an issue with breaking that stupid ass law, Tess needs a shot every month and although there are vets who treat ferrets there I would rather not have to deal with that monthly.

Sleeeeeeeppppyyyyy

Also, guiafffaasseeen (how do you spell that?) (Cough medicine with codeine) is really really tired making. I took it about 40 minutes ago and suddenly I'm getting very sleepy. My eyes are getting heavier and heavier. Pretty soon I will be asleeeee.........

Why do I even bother?

I went to the doctor today for death cough. (Death cough is the cough I get once the cold has left me and I spend the next week coughing my ass off and having pain in my ribs and back because of it.) And as usual, there's nothing that can be done for me. She gave me some cold medicine with codeine and I went on my merry way. Sigh. Next time I'm not going to bother going. Also apparently I don't have pertussis. Big schocker, my parents actually believe in immunizations so I was immunized against it years and years ago.

Although I did discuss my tonsil stones with her (gross white solidish things that I cough up periodically). She said that they were because I have large tonsils and large tonsil crypts. Ew. Oh and there's nothing much to do. Sigh. I didn't ask if I could get them taken out but the thought crossed my mind. I suspect my insurance will not support that as I read on WebMD that physicians don't typically take tonsils out of adults. Although after reading the wikipedia site about tonsil removal, I don't want to do that anyway. Ew scabs. EW EW. But there was a link about tonsil stones which also ew. ew.

Kill me now...

I'm turning into my mother. My mom believes that if one is good 10 must be better. Yesterday when I stopped into QFC to pick up some bacon salt for Michelle, I wasn't sure what kind to get her. I had called and left a message but my cell was at home so I didn't see her text response. Originally in my message I had said I'll just get original but if you want the other two let me know and I'll pick them up to. While at QFC I thought, well I'm here and I'm currently thinking of it, I'll just get all three types and if she doesn't want the other two I can either use them myself or give them to someone else. That is exactly what my mother would do. I'm so ashamed.

I don't know what to do...

Here's the thing... I have all these ideas running around my head and I keep thinking if I want to make plan x (adopt kids in 2 years) and plan y (vacation in Ireland next spring) I have to stay the current course. However, I'm not totally satisfied with the current course. If previous cat wrangler had stayed there'd be no question. But with the new cat wrangler in place and the toolman, well being the toolman, I'm now starting to question staying put. Therein lies the problem... I currently have time on the books which will allow me to take my adoption leave fully paid. That's going to be important for a single parent. A three month fully paid period of adjustment has to be better for the kids than less... although who knows really. Maybe it would be better to settle into a regular routine and begin things as I plan on them continuing. That's a very pondering thought, one I hadn't considered... But I digress. Also if I want to go on vacation I would need to not abandon my current cat in the near future because I won't have enough vacation at the new one (unless I negotiate it, and let's be honest, I'm shit at that). BUT in order to get the time off for the adoption plan, I'd need at least a year with the new cat. I don't know. Otherwise I have to push things back further and I don't know if I want to do that either...

So I have options. I think that in CA, I'd have a better support system for the adoption plan than I do here. (No offense intended, Stephen, but Michelle's got a whole family there who while not my family, would be supportive I think, plus Michelle is my BFF and I do miss hanging out with her.) The downside of CA is that in all honesty, I don't think I want to live there again. Although maybe if I could find a job and a home in Ventura Co, that would not be totally bad. (Oxnard, while scary, is still somewhat cheap.) They don't terminate parental rights, though, until they have families to adopt the kids so I wonder what their disrupted adoption rate is.

Option 2. There's a cat available in Portland. I could move there. It is a cheaper Seattle with fewer ridiculous laws. And the Portland cat is worth a lot more money. However, the downside is that there is even a smaller support system there than there is here. I could create my own but clearly I'm not good at that as I have a support system of 2.5 people here in Seattle. (Ben, who is 4 doesn't really even rate a .5 but I figured I'd offend Stephen. :) )

Option 3. Stay here. Possibly find a new cat. Possibly keep the old one. Work on building a bigger support system (there's a group for singles adopting that meets in Kenmore I think.). Just see where things go. (That tends to be what I usually do by default since I am generally lazy.) Option 3 keeps me with my girls and I do like them. The problem is, I feel like I have to figure this out sooner rather than later, but I honestly just don't know. (If I were married I wouldn't have to figure this out. Someone else would have an opinion that is equally as valid as mine is. I might be sulking about that. ;) )

Foodless

I hate it when I go poking through the fridge to find what I am cooking for dinner and I can't find anything that I want to cook.

Update: I had it in my head I wanted to make chicken salad. I cooked the chicken. Let it cool. Mixed it with some mayo and some other things and had it with crackers. It didn't taste that great so I stopped after only like 3 - 4 bites. Ate PB & Crackers and went to bed. 4:30 this morning... ill. So clearly my chicken salad idea was not a good one.

That's one way to force me to mop the floor...

Last night I got home from dinner with Stephen and went to the bathroom. (Number 1 which is pertinent to the story.) And I flushed the toilet and the water didn't go down. Now because apparently I'm a moron, I flushed it again. (Unlike most of y'all I don't have a toilet with a tank. I have a flushometer type and this is the style you see in like the mall and what not.) This was a very bad thing as it caused all the water to spill over the toilet and flood the teeny tiny bathroom I live in. It was quite a mess. And then, suddenly all the water went down so apparently whatever was blocking it quickly got over itself. It was very weird and very messy. I'm sure in this case it is all me and not my apartment itself that caused this but moving on. So I will say this. #1 Brawny paper towels rock! I used them to reach the areas that I couldn't get with the mop. #2 Mr. Clean Mop (in a box) also rocks. I used that to absorb much of the liquid off the floor.

I crack myself up.

I was just sitting on my sofa making this weird throaty growly noise until I totally busted up laughing. It is a good thing I live alone sometimes. :)

Unrelated, although I hate the Olympics (I know how UnAmerican of me I confess) I do kind of like the Visa commercials that are going on right now about memorable Olympic moments like Kerri Strug's vault and Derek Redmond getting helped through his run by his father after tearing a hamstring. (I had to Wikipedia that one). They make me all weepy. (or maybe this cold makes me weepy. Oh who am I kidding, most things make me weepy because I'm a weepy weeper who weeps.)

Pondering

Why doesn't Nyquil have an 8 hour formula? Isn't it illogical that the medication wears off after 4 hours? I need to sleep longer than 4 hours. And when I woke up at 1 this morning totally unable to breathe because one nostril was so full of whatever that I couldn't get enough air I pondered taking more Nyquil but then I thought I didn't want to take too much and be groggy in the AM. So instead I didn't and was groggy in the AM. Hm.... I usually worship at the alter of pseudophedrine but I recently read that it can cause sleeplessness so I don't want to take it at night when I'm already having a terrible time sleeping. However during daylight hours I'm all over the Aleve Cold & Sinus. I love it!

I had another pondering thought but apparently in my cold induced foggyness it has escaped me.

A$$ a redux

So apparently sleeping poorly was a precursor to a cold. Who the heck gets a cold in the middle of summer? Apparently I do. I'm falling asleep at my desk. I would've called in sick today but I have a big important work meeting. I may do so tomorrow. Although I have a PT appointment tomorrow.

A$$

I feel like a$$. I didn't sleep well at all last night. I tossed and turned until at least 4:30. I would've called in sick this morning except my new boss started today. Sigh. Plus my employee is out for the month on a mission trip. So I've sucked up the headache, nauseus, vaguely flu-like feeling I've got right now. Hopefully as the day wears on it will go away.

My notboss is now sitting in the office next to mine. Since my employee is gone for the month, I foolishly offered up her office for the notboss who had been the interimboss. (Like I couldn't... it would be figured out eventually and stupid of me to be all stingy about the spare desk when we need a spare desk.)

Oh but I did see The Dark Knight on Friday night. It was really good. Much better than Batman Begins which I did not like. However, I will probably not watch it again. It is too much mayhem for me. Stephen's never sat near me while I've watched a movie like this. It was a bit of an experience for him I think. I tend to cover my eyes when something I don't want to see is about to happen. I also jump a lot with fight scenes and with gun shots.

I also did PYOP with Lyday at this place in Bellevue. I love PYOP.

This week...

So far has not been the greatest week ever. Last night I went down to do laundry. After I dropped my clothes in the laundry room and started the first load the elevator stopped working. (My coworker who knows how much I pay in rent likes to tease me about that any chance she gets.). Someone got it going again or else I would've been miserable. I could only get one washer all night so laundry took me 3 times as long to do as it usually would. Also, I totally spilled spaghetti sauce on a shirt I liked and even though I got it into the washing machine right away, it is still stained all to crap. AND as I was walking past a curio cabinet I hung on the wall it randomly hurled itself off the wall. I didn't even brush it or anything. One side just fell throwing everything piled on top off and so then I grabbed it to make sure it didn't totally fall and break and took it down. Now I have to get new hooks to rehang it because apparently after 6 years the present hooks have failed me. (And I lost them when they fell out of the wall leaving big holes in their wake.) It dawned on me last night that I might care more about what damage I may have caused to my apartment (holes in the wall, scraped wood floors under my sofa before I discovered I should put little coaster things under them, the tiles that fell out of the bathroom wall that I haven't gotten fixed yet) if it seemed like the managers cared about our building. We have graffitti in the elevator (the elevator that frequently breaks down) and at least 3 burned out bulbs that have been out for 6 months. And just to clarify, these aren't like little lamp bulbs, these are 3 full flourescent lights. They don't vacuum regularly anymore. I'm kind of like obviously they don't care why should I? (I know why I should... deposits, but whatever. The company is notorious for not paying those back anyway. I've googled them before and it is an ongoing complaint about them.)

Can I start today over?

And not in a tomorrow is a new day kind of way, but can I wake up tomorrow and it be Monday again?

Let's start with what went wrong today: My mom IM'd me this morning asking if I got a package on Saturday. I did not. Apparently she sent back my antique watch that she had repaired via USPS and it allegedly arrived on Saturday. It may have, but if so someone else has it. Fuck. Also, this totally undoes the 6 years it has taken me to convince her that she should just mail packages to me via USPS. I'm still hoping it may come in and that the postal carrier just hasn't delivered it yet.

I was supposed to go on a fancy schmancy dinner cruise tonight. I was excited to go and came home and changed clothes several times to look appropriately "smart casual." I walked down to catch the bus and got on bus 17. Turns out I got on the express bus which doesn't go down Westlake like I wanted it to. (Looking at the trip planner that bus must have been 15 minutes late because that should have been there at 6:00 and I didn't get to the stop until 10 after 6. So I jumped on the first 17 I saw presuming it was the right one.) Anyway, luckily someone else asked the bus driver about the fact that it was an express since it wasn't going the right way and luckily that bus driver directed us to get off and how to get to the right bus. So I get on the right set of buses to get where I wanted to go and it is just 7 PM and the boat trip was supposed to start at 6:30 but I noticed there was a shuttle from a hotel that left at 6:30 so I was hoping the boat hadn't left yet. It hadn't. Theoretically yay. Except as I walk up I see a worker for the boats and she says they were just untying it from the dock and it was just pulling away. Missed it by a teeny tiny bit. So then I go to catch a bus back to my home and I wait and wait and wait and the 17 I was waiting on doesn't show up at the time it was supposed to so I get onto a different bus that only goes to Seattle Center. And then I catch the monorail (of course getting my ticket just as it is pulling away so I have to sit and wait for the next one). And then I catch my usual bus 2 home (after waiting 20 minutes for it.) Seriously I spent over 3 hours either on buses or waiting for buses or for a teeny tiny time eating mcdonald's food.

I get home. Finally. And what is broken? I'm sure you can guess. It is broken frequently enough to be ridiculous. Yup. The elevator. Jesus fucking christ. I'm so glad today is done.

I'm Back!

I'm back from camping at Camp Cushman. I had a really fun time with the people, but I sure as shit would never go back there again. I yelped about it. I really wanted to like the place, but the people around us were not good and the park itself was ridiculous. The group right next to us was a rather large group of mixed age and all redneck. At one point on Saturday night one of the grown ups said to a kid "You're just a fucking 10 year old kid, I don't give a damn what you think is fair." I'm not 100% certain what the kid could've said, but I'm fairly certain there isn't really anything that should've warranted THAT response. I joked with the group that I'll be seeing that kid in a couple years when he's no longer with his parents. Well after midnight they were carrying on loudly and when I woke up at 3:45 they still were going at it.

The good part, I had fun. I relaxed. I swam in a nice cool lake. I had napped in my tent in the afternoon so I was nice and toasty and so the dip in the lake felt really good. Although where we chose to swim was not so good because shore was totally crazy rocky. It was also really loose so I kept slipping when I was standing in the water. I had my traditional kebabs that were lovely. (I just realized I left the left over meat in the cooler. :( ) I finished one book that was great. I started another and continued reading my adoption book. I am totally wiped out though and I'm glad I've got relaxing weekends coming up. I'll really post pictures when I get the chance. I promise. (Ok I keep doing that don't I?)

Camping!

I'm heading out camping again this weekend. It is starting to make me a bit tired. :) But we're going to Camp Cushman over somewhere I don't know where it is actually. I've never been there before. It is the annual trip I take. Although I think this might be my last year. This year boyfriends have been invited. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It changes the dynamic of the group quite a bit. I will do one more camping trip later this year. Maybe late August or early September. Lyday wants to go still and since she bought a shitton of camping gear in Feb for our Feb trip, she should probably use it more than once. :)

Maybe I'll see if Stephen wants to go on that one. ;)

On the right track?

Or just reading too many adoption books. The one I've been reading recently, The Post Adoption Blues: Overcoming the Unforseen Challenges of Adoption is really good, but it is also really intimidating. I know it is doing its job, normalizing some of the feelings that people have after adoption. I also know they are not looking to scare anyone off but to offer a realistic picture of what can happen and what is to come. It's terrifying. :) I believe I have a pretty realistic view. I know things won't be all sunshine and roses, but damn... it is intimidating to say the least. I'm reading through this book going I thought I thought about all this but maybe I haven't. Maybe I'm supposed to be more panicked about it.

Anyway... I had a dream last night that I adopted four (or at some point it became 5 or 6) daughters all at once. In my dream I was at the DSHS type office (basically a drab looking cube farm like you see on TV maybe like the one from Dead Like Me) and they bring out these 4 random girls and drive us all to our 'new' home. It was thundering and lightning outside and pretty late so we all just went into the house and we all found rooms to sleep in and we went to bed. In the morning I started searching the house for where the girls fell asleep (since apparently settling them into rooms was not a priority for me). Two had fallen asleep in the master bedroom which had black laquered furniture like Michelle & I had when we lived in the apartment in Little Beirut. They had just woken up and were jumping on the bed holding hands. (They were maybe 4 and similar to the little girls I saw walking at the mall in that one was African American and one was white and blonde). I kept searching the house and found several more girls in different rooms. I finally found a room I would get to sleep in since the other two girls took what would be "my" room. I gathered all the girls (and here's where their number multiplied) and we went into the kitchen to cook our first breakfast as a family. And then I saw a roach. And then there were several others and we were jumping on chairs and tables and screaming (which in real life I am totally inclined to do) and I was trying to call DSHS to find out what kind of house they gave us because really... roaches! And then I woke up. I think the horror of the roaches did me in (either that or Rigby walking around my body in a clockwise motion did it).

Children: To see children in your dream, signifies your own childlike qualities or a retreat back to a childlike state. It is an extension of your inner child during a time of innocence, purity, simplicity, and a carefree attitude. You may be longing for the past and the chance to satisfy repressed desires and unfulfilled hopes. Take some time off and cater to the inner child within.
To save a child, signifies your attempts to save a part of yourself from being destroyed. (This one interested me because depending on your definition of save, I saved the girls.)

Adopted: To dream that you or others are adopting a child, indicates that you are taking on something new and different. Ask yourself what is missing in your life that would make you happy.

Storm: To see a storm in your dream, signifies overwhelming struggle, shock, devastating loss and catastrophe in your personal affairs. The storm also represents unexpressed fears or emotions, such as anger, rage, turmoil, etc. On a more positive note, the storm signifies the rising of spirit within.
To dream that you take cover in a storm, foretells that whatever disturbance or problems is occurring in your life will quickly blow over. Consider also the phrase "weather the storm", which suggests your ability and strength to withstand whatever comes. (I definitely think the home was cover from the storm.)

Cockroach: To see a cockroach in your dream, signifies your need for renewal, rejuvenation and self-cleansing of your psychological, emotional, or spiritual being. You need to reevaluate major aspects of your life. (Totally unrelated but I hate the word cockroach. I much prefer to just call them roaches. It obviously is a c0ck thing.)

Bedroom: To dream that you are in the bedroom, signifies aspects of your self that you keep private. It is also indicative of your sexual nature and intimate relations. (Interesting, I was outside the bedrooms, I wonder what THAT means.) :)

Alternately Rooms: To dream that you find or discover new rooms, suggests that you are developing new strengths and taking on new roles. You may be growing emotionally. (I think that one makes more sense.)

Kitchen: To see a kitchen in your dream, signifies your need for warmth and spiritual nourishment. It may also be symbolic of the nurturing mother. Alternatively the kitchen, represents a transformation. (Also interesting... )


Only sort of related, but not to that dream last night, I frequently have a dream where I'm in a bathroom with no stalls and have to pee in public but I can't because I'm too embarrassed. Who knew that had a meaning: To dream that you are in a public restroom with no stalls, signifies your frustrations about getting enough privacy. It may also indicate that you are having difficulties letting go of old emotions. If you reveal these feelings, you are afraid that others around you will judge and criticize you.

Impractical

I know it is impractical, but I really think the developers of the latest luxury condos should have to be able to contain their construction to the footprint of the building they destroyed for their new construction. I was on 8th walking down to Enterprise Rent - a - Car and I kept having to cross back and forth across the street because the street and sidewalk was closed on alternate sides of the street. Near my apartment there is a building that just got torn down and a new one is going up that is also closing sidewalks.

A new toy!

I was looking at my netflix list earlier today and I saw that you can get a netflix player for 99.00. I haven't bought it, but I am intrigued by it. Netflix now has that thing where you can watch now instead of waiting for the dvd to arrive. This could be an interesting thing and allow you a lot more access. As always, though, I'm hesitant to buy something before I get a chance to try it out. I wish someone had them available for check out. :)

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills

Sometimes when I'm at work that's what I feel like. Especially when dealing with a particular person I have to deal with sometimes on a regular basis. Frequently her responses to queries don't answer the question asked. It confuses me.

And then her ovaries exploded

I was with Lyday at the mall yesterday when my ovaries exploded. There were two little girls ahead of us. They were between 18 months and 2 years I'd wager. One whose mom was walking nearby was African and the other (towheaded) had her father nearby pushing a stroller. They were so freaking cute together. Neither could talk I think... or if they did it was pretty limited vocab so they kind of did a little dance and then one chased the other and then ultimately they ended up walking down the corridor holding hands. As I turned around to walk backwards and watch the little scene I'm pretty sure an ovary exploded.

Nothing became something!

So now that I have a 2 gig SD chip for my camera, it seems I never ever take photos off my camera anymore. I vow to do that soon. (of course I've still got pics on there from Nashville, so who knows when soon is.)

July 4th I did the all American thing and went to a baseball game. It was boring. The Mariners were playing against the Tigers. Neither team was that good. I've been to baseball games before that didn't suck. I know we were in weird seats (behind the outfield) which made seeing exactly what was going on at the plate a bit difficult but I swear every damn pitch seemed to be a ball. I forget which side it was (the game was THAT unmemorable) but at one point the pitcher had walked all three people who were on base. One more round of balls and he would have walked the first guy home. How ridiculous is that?

After that I joined Stephen for 52 activities in a row the way he is so fond. Ok it was only three but for someone like me that is a lot to do in one afternoon. We went to a beer festival at the Seattle Center. I know he's already forgotten what beer it was he liked. I'm sure if I saw the name again I'd remember it (for now. :) ) We hit dinner. There were a lot of places closed. I tend to forget that. But we had Indian and it was good. :) After that we went to his office where we hung out in the conference room with a lot of other folks and watched the fireworks over Elliot Bay. That was pretty cool. :)

Sunday was my day of nothing... well nothing except for going to TGIFridays for dinner with Lyday. That was okay, but I'll not be getting what I had there again.

Sunday Stephen, Ben and I went to the Center for Wooden Boats. That's a pretty cool place. They had their annual wooden boat festival. I want to go back next year. I also want to go back sometime and see all the exhibits. I missed a lot of them because we were doing festival stuff. It is no wonder I need a nap now! :)