craigslist.org

another thing that i've been recently consumed with is endlessly searching craigslist.org for ppl who are either moving to seattle or have questions about seattle. i've answered about like 6 ads already since like thursday or friday. and i think part of it has to do with the fact that i'm like - "Why didn't I think of that!?" like to ask ppl who are already here questions about this city. sure, i wanted to research it on my own but isn't that part of it? i'm still fairly new and don't know everything but if it's opinionated or something that i can help with, i've been trying to answer them. i'm going to try to keep it up as much as possible, i admire them (biasely said - true, but i still do).

WEAKend!

i'm so excited to see my gals! i just got off the phone with laurie and started talking about memorial day weekend and realized how much i miss them. almost there! Saturday night caught a flic "Hard Candy" w/gf. i was going to see it anyways and he was bored so there you go. very interesting movie, had some hiccups but overall like a 'wtf'?! but it was either that or Kinky Boots...actually, i don't even think i gave him that option, but i still want to see Kinky Boots (SIFF is almost here!!)...oh well. went to happy hr with jenny + husband (his name starts with a "G" too, but too tired to think of another g-combo) at Typhoon on Friday night and then chased it down w/gelato...(wonder whose idea that was?!) i've never met a gelato i didn't like, is what i will always say from now on. i worked a full day saturday but since it was gloomy, i didn't feel like i was missing out on much and got a crapload of things done! surprisingly i wasn't the only person in the office either. this morning, i had seafood brunch buffet at "Saltys" w/gn since he was visiting again this weekend. it was just weird going home early last night cuz i had to wake up early for 9:15am brunch...got a few laughs outta that one, but it was packed at 9:15am in the morning! who would've guessed. i would probably only save that brunch buffet for parents visiting or something since i ended up throwing down more than i estimated for it. went for coffee w/m in fremont today. i like fremont on the weekends, it's great for doggie watching, they have a farmers market (like every other neighborhood) and they have TONS of doggies wandering around everywhere it's great!! but m, he's such a smarta$$, when i went up to him, who i thought was him i go "are you m@#&?" and he's like no, i'm all "are you sure?" he's like no....I turn to walk away and i'm like "are you sure you're not m#*#?" and then i take a step away and he's like - just kidding. "what a smarta$$!" he thought it was funny how i'm like - questioning if he knows who he is - but i was right!! the first time i talked to him on the phone we hit it off right away, it was like talking to sammy or something (hi sammy!). so i thought that was cool, i don't know if i shared with him i'm not looking for anything now though. i think we would make really good friends....but hopefully we're on the same page *crossing fingers* off for another work-filled week. it's still busy-busy but it keeps paying my bills! and i'm still liking it!

oh...

when T told me, he would've been content with never speaking to me again, I was hurt. I felt like he had bitch-slapped me across the face and said, "you know what? f! u!" he said he would have been content with seeing me passing by in an airport, me - not seeing him. and that would've been fine.

but it hit me -just-like-that- i see. because only now do i have that same feeling in me. and it all makes sense now, minus the airport.

seattle - craigslist.org

i saw this ad on craigslist.org and after the number of years i spent on xanga. the number of hard times and good.

and now on myspace...you'd think i'd have something to share. but my mind went - blank....

KOMO TV's MySpace Show
Reply to: tgulley@komotv.comDate: 2006-04-27, 2:54PM PDT

Hey if you have any good or bad experiences with MySpace, The Facebook, Xanga, please share your story with us! Please e-mail Tina!

no -- it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
155263462

walk.

i think i walk too fast.

i think i walk too fast because whenever i get home i'm out of breath and tired.

yes, this also means i'm out of shape but i also think i walk too fast. my calves start burning. and i bump into people.

i used to bump into people at my old nonprofit but i blamed that on the skinny hallways that fit one person at a time.

and then i worked in the std corporate office that fit many at a time and i still bumped into people. there my office was slightly in right in front of our mini-kitchen and i would always cut corners and almost spill people's coffees.

and then i realized it, that i don't practice my 'inside' walk very often. you know how people have their 'inside voices'...toned down vs. their regular loud voices. well, i use my speed walk everywhere at work, in restaurants, i don't tame it. i just speed over everywhere. i was walking out of a restaurant the other night and almost bumped into two people "oh sorry!" "oops, sorry about that!" and that's when i realized my dilemma. i don't practice my inside walk - i still try to trample over everything and everyone! tsk...tsk...tsk...

dooomp.doomp.doomp...

another one bites the dust!

i am so happy for you guys! congratulations - till we meet in may *muah*

excited!

is it so wrong to be excited over getting my WA drivers license? i didn't take a test...so i didn't earn it...i mean i took a random eye test...so i guess that kinda qualifies...i even went home and got my ss card, passport, checkbook and lease, but other than that...nothing that qualifies to say hey, i earned this! i earned this!!! (i even tried to study cuz i kept hearing mixed reviews on who had to take their WA written test fr: out of state. i thought it depended on how lazy the employee was to administer it.) but no...kinda just earned it by patience of the line. they even had a sign already up that said "Short staffed, may think about coming back another day" - i thought that was hilarious. yet overall, top pot doughnut / latte and license run didn't take long at all!

Unhappy Corner

I walked home from work today, as usual. I walked home late, not as usual. I was at my doorstep and decided to walk a block and a half further to safeway to grab something to eat.

when it comes to dinner, i may walk to QFC on broadway and grab something, eat some leftovers, walk to safeway or any junk food on broadway.

and as i was in eye distance, i saw the cop cars pull up and run out and put the tape out. i was walking towards my apt and told k (on the phone) that i don't think i can get in my home now cuz they've blocked off the whole block with caution tape. right outside the copymat, a few feet away from my building, there was a shooting. they said it was at least 7 shots. i sat down at a nearby bench and ate my dinner. this lil teeny tiny ol lady told me about how her church that serves her free lunch twice a week, sent over this guy who is partially deaf to mow her lawn....and after sitting with her for like 30 min, she told me like more than 10x bless her heart she was so adorable but after a few times, i caught onto her familiar story. but i felt unsettled and uneasy. k said tv desensitizes us. and i very much felt it at that moment, because i felt the body of the dead person --> there. it wasn't an image on tv it wasn't a body in a paper, it was right near my cross street that i walk at least 2x/day. a guy even gave me binoculars to see him. it was eerie. and i hope that my dad doesn't google my address when he reads the article tomorrow to notice that it was just merely feet away from where i lay down to sleep at night....it's...........weird. k asked if i believed in coincidences...and at that moment - i did wonder - what if... if i walked 10-15 min slower, if i went to dicks before going home, if i went anywhere on broadway before heading home, i would've been right there walking across my street, right then. literally.

Happy Place

My apt is still half done. It's coming together but little by little. I made the executive decision not to buy anymore furniture until after May because of the bachelorette party and wedding. But this corner is done. It's my happy corner. It's in the living room and the only completed portion. I bought the rocking chair at a garage sale a block away along with the table, they both have many scratches but i call it character. i had to have 'em. (and!!! they delivered) The globe is from mr.samuel because i am geographically challenged and the flowers were from gn before he left. i thought they were purty. (also featured is the sunday papers from yesterday and a coffee mug - they unfortunately or fortunately really were there and not just put there for the pix) i didn't have the heart to tell him i've never met a flower that didn't die a quick death in my care. probably why it's photographed when it's only a day old - it's 50 y.o. in human yrs...but this...this is my happy place.

what happened with the day? i thought it was going to be sweet?

did you ever have one of those days where you're like - but i thought today was going to be sweet? i even baked cookies!?

i have....had....no, have a case of the "Mondays"...i don't know how it happened or when exactly it happened but everything was in theme for the day.

i had baked cookies for gn while i was putting furniture together and didn't want to eat the other 40 cookies left, so i brought them to work. didn't even put my name, just a small gesture...from the cookie fairy. put it in the lunchroom.

i even went to bed somewhat early last night and decided to get in at 7:30am to get as much done as possible, since i couldn't clock any weekend hrs.

but somewhere in between then...and now: my computer connection on my laptop wouldn't work at Vivace after i bought a blackberry french soda the same coffee shop i spent two hrs at yesterday, it wouldn't work at work after i checked out, i couldn't find a box to mail my mom's belated bday present in while i was late to leave(since i don't drive to work and had to walk home 30 min to get my car to drive to shop for the decorations to drop them back off at work) to get my coworker's bday decorations, the same pre-madonna that connected all of the calls to my desk without telling or TRAINING me and getting bombarded and pissed off at all of the wrong people because i felt like a deer in headlights and he wasn't there. after waiting for my other coworker to head out to lunch with me and waiting 2 hrs for her to be ready for her boss to catch her for a project right when we were leaving and then my boss asking me to pick her something up AND my coworkers boss because they're busy. (sigh) and then i still clocked it as lunch cuz i don't want to not follow the rules and at least clock 30 min lunch (i hate being non-exempt again). ok, i feel better. i may just delete this in a sec...the stress release was all in the release onto the keyboard...ahhhhh....

me.me.me.me.me....

i want to visit every farmers market in seattle. i want to find every neighborhood here and i want to go to as many festivals this summer and fall that i can. i want (need) to know my: north, east, west, south - from any point in the city. i want to soak up as much of the outdoors this summer and fall, in any way possible. i want to volunteer as much as i can at the seattle international film festival (did you know that the seattle international film festival is the largest one in the country?! crazy huh??) i want the lady from planned parenthood to call me already. i want to keep walking to and from work. i want to keep up my journal writing. i want to read more. i want to start taking the photography classes i have been talking about. i want one of my photos to make it on a jones soda label. i want to get my apartment fully furnished - furnished with lots of character. i want it to feel like home, even if just for a yr until my lease runs up. i want to take that one picture that takes someone's breath away. i want to write something inspirational. i want my rag to hurry up and come and go so i can take my bikram yoga classes. i want to master my laptop and i want to take those MS Office classes i've been wanting to take. i want to eat more healthy. i want to master my job. i want to love work. i want to read the manual for my camera. i want to keep realizing that my life doesn't start every week day at 5:01pm but it's a continual journey 24/7. i want to be closer to my family. i want to be a role model for lenora, devon and kya(lil cousins). i want to keep in touch with my friends. i want to keep "my bright eyed and bushy tailed" mentality for the rest of my life.

dumb

the first time i met j i said i didn't like condescending ppl & he said he didn't like ppl who were dumb. ok, but who decides the definition of dumb? out of curiosity i looked up dumb on dictionary.com and here's what came up:

dumb ( P ) Pronunciation Key (dm)adj. dumb·er, dumb·est
Lacking the power of speech. Used of animals and inanimate objects.
Often Offensive. Incapable of using speech; mute. Used of humans. See Usage Note at mute.
Temporarily speechless, as with shock or fear: I was dumb with disbelief.
Unwilling to speak; taciturn.
Not expressed or articulated in sounds or words: dumb resentment.
Nautical. Not self-propelling.
Conspicuously unintelligent; stupid: dumb officials; a dumb decision.
Unintentional; haphazard: dumb luck.

so what if we're sitting to dinner and i become speechless...brain fart....just plain ol tired i can't think anymore...and it's a real simple question to - like what's your middle name - then am i considered dumb? or do i get a freebie card? because i know the answer but the 'lack of speech' qualifies me according to the website....it got me thinking because at one (or more!) time/s in my life...someone has labeled me dumb. just like someone has probably labeled him dumb and anyone reading this dumb...so what makes the person labeling think this? it's all relative. Einstein would think I am dumb(and i'm not talking about the dog(gies)!) but my 6 y.o. diva cousin, Lenora, may not. i mean how would you define dumb? i would define dumb as anyone who does not know AND is not willing to learn. (i can't think of a clean cut way to even define it.) Not willing to learn it is the key. this definition makes sense (only) for me because I equate a closed mind = dumb. i hold an open-mind on the highest pedestal(don't get me wrong, i'm still attached to my hypocritical nature). i like to try to leach off individuals when i can about their experiences and what knowledge they can pass on to me. that should be an ongoing experience in life - i'm pretty adamant about that. it's not sitting in a classroom, that's only one way, it's having a conversation with a stranger in line, it's hearing your friends exp at work, it's all around. i lub my friends, but friends, strangers, whoever - everyone would ask me why seattle? and my answer is to see what's there. i know what's in oakland and i love it, but my answer of 'i don't know' is what brought me to seattle - well that made sense in my mind.

so the argument would therefore be, how is condescending not relative. oh but it is very much so too...that's what's got me thinking...all this, is just thinking aloud...
but that's what i like. when i was discombobulated. no job, no home, no plan. part of the time i felt like i had to get my ducks in line and know everything about me - figure it all out before i could start meeting ppl. but i realize now, that that's never going to happen. mtg ppl is all about the continual discovery. they're going to ask you questions, you may not have thought of in forever. they're aiding in the self discovery and once i realized that...accepted that....stress went away...

i love my free internet...

gn's flight is coming in and should be here around 8:30pm. looks like we're going to be playing tourist this weekend...he randomly emailed me the other day to say he was considering moving here so he's up for this weekend (and maybe next)...unfortunately it's supposed to be a beautiful weekend and today it's really nice right now as i type away...(i love typing......*sigh*) i say unfortunately because i need to put in some (a lot of) OT and i don't have any windows nearby either. suck. last night ended up at wild ginger for dinner. i didn't have time to look into places, so i offered to drive, we hopped in the car and left it up to fate..."fate" = a deck of cards. the deck of cards picked out our neighborhood, and once i found the neighborhood, it also picked out where we were to walk and then the direction we were to head towards for the closest restaurant. i thought this would give me an opportunity to visit a neighborhood i haven't found yet or give me a chance to practice my navigational skills (which still really suck). unfortunately or fortuntely the cards led us to First Hill and First Hill from capitol hill, apparently we could've walked =) and i wouldn't let him tell me where to go either, half the battle for me - gotta find it for myself! great choice though - restaurant wise, they had yummmmmmmmmy gelato and sorbet combo. omg. freakin' yum. oh yeah, and some food too. when we first got in the restaurant he went to say hi to a friend and then this bartender told me to come up and try something. he was talking to me like i had already known him(i even kinda glanced slightly around to see if he was indeed talking to me) and he was like - you have to try this - mango daquari, he's like, just stay with me, i can get you small portions of everything...i thought that was so cute...not the bartender but his actions. he was so happy, happy bartenders are so cool!..and! it(drink) was good!

i'm connected!!

i have to stand right now, in the corner of my kitchen but that's ok! i just got connected like 5 min ago! *sigh.....* on my new toy! woohoo! recently i've been restricted to company computer but they monitor heavily so i could only check super duper quick. and not really respond. i just got home and already put two loads of laundry in and man am i kinda poop'd. i just came back from a "Correcting Your Credit" class at "U-Dub"...never figured out how that sounded like University of Washington but whatever. and i kinda felt like i was at my first day of high school all over. i raced home from work, changed and grabbed an energy bar and called it dinner to sit in traffic to the university district. i had never been on campus before so i left as much time as available for getting lost. and lost i did for awhile but as soon as i found someone sane i asked him for directions and still ended up on the wrong end of the building. my sense of direction will never cease to amaze me. i had downed a iced grande soy-sugar free vanilla latte right before leaving work. and had to tinkle pretty freakin' bad and still had like 15 min still starting. at which point i noticed the building and respective room were completely empty. my class only ended up having like 5 ppl not including the instructor. i wondered if my teacher was going to be cool. i wandered if they would call on me. i wandered how long the class was and if it was going to be fun. all of the familiar first day of class anxieties. the class was because i know absolutely nothing about credit, credit reports, what to do w/identify theft or anything! so i wanted to take my first step. it was a one-time class and as soon as my first paycheck comes in then i can start on the others! (what else.....) work is getting busy and i'm still trying to figure out my left from my right. we've just acquired and then starts the HR digs...so i'm probably going to pick either saturday or sunday and call it a day to try and get my bearings...i hope it rains that day so i don't miss anything! (what else) watched "Thank You For Smoking" last night and was laughing out loud so much. GF must've thought i was retarded because i couldn't stop laughing at the one part where the Greg Brady look-a-like asked the little kid if he could get him something (to drink)? orange juice....coffee....red bull....? i couldn't stop laughing for like-ever. overall pretty amusing movie though, i only rated it a 7.5 and got chewed out for it. i asked GF to get the popcorn guy's phone number for me and he looked at me like i was kidding...."whaaaaa?....whaaaaat????" =) i picked our next venture - it was to have a Seattle Tour. i told him i would pick out three places to put on the table so i wouldn't be dead weight. i was kidding, but now i think i raised the expectations....dangit! yesterday before the movie, i had my Planned Parenthood Volunteer Interview. I felt bad cuz not only was I late (big surprise), but I wasn't dressed appropriately, i thought it was just an info session? oops! oh well...she's checking references now and we'll see if i can contribute! i really want to though. my next step after this is to see if i can find a similar program like i found in SF to be a Sex Educator. i thought that would be cool. i want to be the approachable somewhat young =/ hip gal that teens and pre-teens can ask questions. i want to arm 'em and make sure they have info and education to help them for the rest of their lives. this volunteer gig would be easy because i believe in what they do. this weekend is the Seattle International Film Festival Volunteer Mtg, I think that's my next v. gig....I haven't been able to surf opportunities without the easy access to the internet. had my gelato on sunday....and i was late for that one too *shrugging shoulders*....this one was not my fault though! i had left the coffee shop from studying on time. the coffee shop is like 2 blocks away from my apt. within those two blocks this guy talked my ear off and convinced me to buy his rocking chair and side table and he would deliver both of them. (he had me at "delivery") - so then i'm late. but then! to make myself even more late, i forgot to look up a map so i went with what he described, saw the street sign, parked and wasn't even paying attention and when i approached a fork in the road...went down the wrong street - for like ever! so yeah that sucked. oh well. i must not have been that late since we're going to a surprise dinner tomorrow. so when i was actually on time for the movie after running around for my interview - i was so happy!! it's one of my top goals though, i want to be more punctual. so far i've been pretty good with work. as long as i leave my apt between 7:30am - 7:35am, i will still get there at 8am on the dot - walking. which by the way i love! my path includes a freeway overpass so i can laugh at all of the people wasting money on the high gas prices and their road rage. i paid my dues working in SF and living in Oakland so i think i'm allowed to let out a few snickers...hehehehehee....oops! time to transfer laundry!

internet cafe visit #4080

when i am getting ready (in the morning) i take a square of tissue and twist it to clean out my nose. and then i take another to make matching nostrils. when i wash my face i usually can never get all-all of the eyeliner off, so my washclothes will have two black marks in place of my eyeballs. my mullet is growing on me (literally - wah wah). when i was getting a mani-pedi yesterday both of the workers hit me up to write down "Crest White Strips" for them. i've been trying to actually have makeup on every day. i do my hair every day now. and i try to smile and look people in the eyes when i'm walking. safety and friendliness. i'm sitting here in my "I HELLA *heart* OAKLAND baseball T-shirt that D sent me - i lub it! i started getting ready today with the intention of trying to get to the library at 12pm on the dot, so i don't have to wait for a computer. as i started walking i realized that it's closed today! per the ad on the door yesterday! so i am sitting here in the really really crowded internet cafe right now procrastinating studying our company's benefit package that i need to know inside and out by tomorrow. Onn and Julie surprised with a call that they're in town so we had a drunken night in Pioneer Square last night and me drunk driving us to drunk munchies at Honey Court and somehow getting us home?....*scratching head*....i realized i never mentioned how my coffee was with GF....he has a fiance and is just trying to expand his network. i thought that was really cool, because now that i'm here i'm realizing that ppl are always looking to meet boys and girls but not friends....so i respect that. we're going to watch "Thank You For Smoking" on Tuesday and to his fav video store afterwards cuz he swears!! they have everything and that it rocks....i'm having gelato with J today....kinda nervous i don't know why. but we'll see - whatever happens happens.

what's that noise?

this guy won't stop snoring at the library....it's like an on and off switch you can't control....see! there it goes again! oh no wait....it's stopping........slowly....starting up again!.......that book must suck.....

internet cafe cuz the library is closed.

writers block. i'm sitting here in the internet cafe and i'm finding it harder every day to try to find something to write. whenever i'm at home with full access to the internet, it's like when i have a thought then situate at the computer and the thoughts flow so smoothly onto the computer. but when it's scheduled. and it's for this thirty min slot. what if i'm just thinking....nothing....or everything all at once? it's a coin toss right? right now i'm thinking about how slow this guy across from me is typing....he keeps looking onto the keyboard and keeps watching the two fingers type - one by one. it's kinda funny. not in a condescending way - i think it's cute. i like to have my fingers type as fast as they can. and if i make mistakes - it's ok! just hurry up and rectify! i was so tired from my walk home today. i took home homework and forgot how heavy it still will be when i lug it back to work on my monday morning walk. it's making me realize how out of shape i really am. but it...(omg! he just picked his nose and wiped it on his shirt! that's the computer i usually use!!!!) i really need my laptop to hurry up and get delivered already!....but i forgot what i was saying.....yeah his slow a$$ typing isn't really that cute anymore. tomorrow i'm hitting up the garage sales and thrift stores to start furnishing my place. it's not easy - not getting a paycheck for over two months...and moving expenses....hard times man!

untitled II

2 blogs in one day. what is this world coming to again. i am sitting in the internet cafe a block away from my place and it's like the hangout place for capitol hillers without computers and those with laptops and no time limits or something. the deal is is that your first 30 min is equivalent to your caffeinated beverage and every additional minute after is $.13. so all you have to do is to pay close attention to time. which is my downfall. i think i have 4 min until i start paying. i actually ended up coming here cuz i didn't have enough quarters for laundry, short by 1! so instead of just going somewhere for change, thought i might as well, sneak some more time on the internet. considering i still don't have a tv or internet or radio or i haven't found my ipod in all of my packed up boxes yet, it's still pretty silent inside my place. i'm pretty happy i just found a bikram yoga place that's walking distance and i don't know if i'll go, but i say i will. i say i will even more cuz i have been having backaches for awhile now and i need to stretch it all out. sleeping on a futon mattress on the floor for over a month didn't help anyone either. it was actually just going to be the sleeping bag but my ex-roomie convinced me otherwise. it's close to a month for the next time i'm heading home and it seems like i just got here and it seems like i've been here forever all at the same time. i still haven't figured out everything. i take the routes on purpose to see what else is around here. i sat in the office lunchroom today to try to see and meet my coworkers. we had a recent lay off so we don't have happy people holding hands anywhere. but i think it's a good fit with my boss. and i'm happy to be there. still bright eyed and bushy tailed. 2 minutes left! btw-i still haven't purchased an umbrella. umbrellas are for wimps and tourists =P

untitled

did you know in portland they have a state law to have cameras in all of the taxis based on violence against taxis drivers in SF? but that the taxis aren't even monitored but stored stills so that if they need to reference crimes they can look it up but it's not monitored live or anything. did you know that in both downtown portland and seattle they have "Free Ride" areas that you can just jump on and off without paying? i don't know if they have that on MUNI but i don't recall. did you know that it took me a million emails/calls to get my building manager to fix blinds and my walls even though when i moved in they didn't even mop/sweep and i don't even think they cleaned much of anything else. i could hear my upstairs neighbor pee, i'm sure i've already said that but i think it's funny whenever i hear a tinkle. i feel bad for whoever is living under me! when i wake up in the morning i only half blow dry my hair cuz i feel bad for waking my neighbors. i heard that pitter patter of a lil one when i was going to sleep last night, i think they have a doggie. my old neighbors at home did too, it's a familiar sound. my job is going well. today was my second day in the (Seattle) office and i got up early enough to walk there and walked home. it's about 30 min speed walking both ways with lights included. (my mullet hair gets messed up on my walk though. sucks but oh well. free air drying for the hair. i got a haircut like an hr before my plane ride here in feb but i got another haircut this past weekend and asked her to trim down my cotton ball frizzy hair and told her of the mullet i wanted. and now after i diffuse my hair i don't need curlers!) i could make it shorter but my TimBuk2 bag gets heavy and it was sprinkling and i start tilting fwd. i picked my job like relationships. it wasn't the brightest sparkle of the bunch, it wasn't the biggest, the most well known, it wasn't the highest paying, the one with the most resources, it wasn't the one closest to me but it was the one for me. i mostly picked it on the chemistry with my boss and hoped the rest would all fit into play. it's somewhat specific and if i mentioned what we do, you could figure it out. but it's a small company - 220 headcount. in jan, our parent company sold us and within the last week the new parent company bought our competitors (assets) that went under and want us to head them.....acquisitions...i feel like i just conquered one last yr. hopefully it's all be second nature by now but it means that i probably won't need a second job anytime soon. i'm hungry. i still don't have anything at home to cook with. (eh, who am i kidding, i hate cooking) i used to laugh at those gals in the work clothes with tennis shoes on but i'm sitting here in the library right now with a red sweater on, grey skirt, green/yellow baseball socks, green short jacket and brown sauconys and frizzy hair. oh well! =)

scarves.mittens.socks.

a nice warm scarf.
a nice fitting pair of mittens / gloves.
really cute socks.

that's what it takes to make me happy. the cheaper the better! sale rack - watch out!

my current favorite scarf is a white based - multi-colored scarf my granny made for xmas. my sister got a matching one and when she first gave it to me i thought, it was just nice but when i put it on i LOVED it! *insert picture here but don't have internet set up yet*

my current favorite pair of socks is knee length. it's mostly black with blue/white flowers on it. not too flashy but warm and cozy.

my current favorite pair of finger-huggers are these $4.99 gloves I got from the sale rack of urban on sunday. they're like these blue turquoise looking leather on the inside but on the outside it's like this knit multi-color thang! they're so cool!

so when i took off this morning for work, i decided to allow enough time to walk. it was 7:30am. i needed to be there by 8am. i didn't look up directions but knew the general direction. i looked up the bus routes and wrote them somewhere...but thought it would be a nice pick-me-up in the morning...so off i went...with my Timbuk2 bag w/my purse and work shoes in them. i was walking in the crisp morning for at least 10-15min, i made it down the (Capitol) hill and realized i wanted to put my favorite gloves on...so i reached in and only pulled out - one...so i pulled aside and kept searching, nothing....i always lose things....ALWAYS....but i just got these! so i retraced my steps...back up! the hill and made it all the way to my kitchen floor...they were safe all along....

i tried to get excerise.....at least i tried (actually got twice as much since I walked home!) and at least i still have the left side of my favorite mittens =)

if guys can stalk b!tches, why can't I stalk puppies...

I am (not) a doggie stalker.

i forgot to mention that on sunday when i was walking home, i was talking to my brother on my cell. i was on broadway and all of the sudden realized that this puppy puggy was walking right in front of me. *smiling* I got happy and sidetracked as my brother soon realized and told him there's this cutie walking right in front of me. he was tilted, ever so slightly to the right as his master was walking him. actually not slightly at all, with his leash on, he looked like he was almost parallel to the ground. He was walking his owner. he was so! excited to go for a walk. i couldn't help but notice him. *waddle waddle waddle* As we came to a curb, the man and his dog turned to cross the street. I was walking home so I could've either walked straight for a few more blocks or crossed the street and walked a few more blocks. is it so wrong that I purposely stood behind the puggy and waited to cross the street w/them, when there was clearly a green light if I had stayed in my original path. gosh, he was so darling, he was so cute. I can picture him now and it still makes me happy. *smiling*

Neighborhood

This morning I woke up and walked to the library. On my way over I walked into urban outfitters and bought gloves on sale for $4.99 (woohoo!). I went to the library (11:51am) and the sign said it would open at 1pm, so I walked to the online cafe to kill time. The online cafe, across the street from my apt has the first 30 min free if you purchase a drink. So it's like free internet since I would need caffeine anyways (today it just sucked cuz I already drank a Tab energy drink on the walk over). I then walked back home to drop off my urban outfitters and walked back to the library. To find out that they actually did open at noon, I just hadn't read the 'updated' sign on the window (dangit!).

But I like my neighborhood.

Sometimes it gets loud but I'm one of those apts where you're like - man, I wish I lived here so I wouldn't have to try and find parking here!...everything I need is within walking distance. Friday after I got off the airplane, I didn't need my car at all. I walked to the WaMu, to QFC to grab something for dinner, to the Liquor and Wine store (which reminds me I need to share the WA alcohol law) for Kettle One for pre-funk w/Christine & D, to the online cafe to check my email and to the library to sign up for a library card and hopefully use their internet to find out they were slammed. D ended up driving that night, so I didn't use my car at all and when we went for drunk munchies, we drove back to my place and walked across the street to Dicks.

So today, I don't think I'll even need my car for awhile. I'm meeting up for coffee in 2 hrs (walking distance) and until then I'm going to review my notes from training since I need to be shipped back off to Portland tomorrow morning for my last two days and I want to make those days as efficient as possible.

The Long Road AWAY FROM Home

It's taken a lot to get here...Seattle.

This blog is a current stream of my thoughts, but can be misinterpreted as patting my own back.

Mentally and physically. I've been questioned and questioned by friends, family, coworkers and my boss...not strangers. Questions about why Seattle. Why now. What about money. What about a job. What about a home. Who will I know. Who.What.Where.When.Why. These ppl care about me and want the best for me and brushing off their concerns over and over - was draining. I would love to say that it was easy; realistically I listened to their points and tried to brush off the negativity. I thought long and hard at times and the path forward would sometimes get blurred. Sometimes I would get lost, sometimes I would turn around and sometimes I would just walk forward with my eyes closed.

The road away from home - is a long one.

But I'm here for all of the reasons I've mentioned before and it comes down to trying to better me by experimenting and acknowledging that boundaries are endless.

This past week, when I would be eating with my coworkers - towards the end they said that I'm the one who's trying the weird foods. There was a new blackberry green tea frap at Starbucks and I wanted to try it cuz it sounded (and looked!) weird. Another day we were in the grocery store and they had a carbonated coffee and I bought it cuz it sounded weird. When I was at the airport, I bought chips cuz it had yogurt in it.

When I would drive I went with my gut. Since I've been in my new home without time lines, I kinda just started driving like this: *driving up to a 4-stop* "Oh! I wonder what's over here." *making a left* "Oh! What about here? and here?" getting lost was in essence, finding my bearings. And that's how I drove in Portland too and I think I drove my coworker crazy =)

(I've heard) I don't match to dress. I don't match and somehow it matches to me. I start putting things on in the morning and put on items that I want to wear, not the outfit but the items..and then I see what concoction I come up with. Sammy - had a great quote to explain my choice in dressing but I guess I could start with what I'm wearing right now in this online coffee shop: fingerless black gloves, pink "Becky" earrings, red puma sweatshirt, green sesame t-shirt, green/tan/brown scarf, orange/black/brown plaid jacket, blue/yellow capoiera pants, brown/tan sauconys, pink/white socks.

So I guess this is all relative to Seattle. I'm coming to see what's over here...And whether I like it more or less at least I'll know.

I've learned that there are some things for some people.
I've learned that everything is not for everyone. And thank goodness for that.

I couldn't not be here, after the seed of Seattle was planted in my mind.

tired...

it's tiring....it's like being a veggie for a month and not having to study in class to being thrown into the final......i'm getting back into the swing though!

sh!t stank.

so, my place is exciting. it's on the cross street of two main streets, which is hard because i'm a super light sleeper but i'm paying for location. i can hear when my neighbor takes a shower and stuff but i can walk to urban, to dicks, to the internet cafe, the bus stops, to groceries - it's too convenient. i can't afford to fully furnish right off the top, so i purchased my first bed (woohoo!), i bought a computer set up, bookshelf, bunch of small things but i'm holding off on the dresser, couch, coffee table, entertainment set up - those will have to wait. i need to purchase tickets to go home for weddings...but it's mine! it's all boxed up so far, i was only there from thursday - saturday morning and then sunday night - and now i'm here. but it's mine! out of all of the things i noticed the hardest one for me - is that i don't have a bathroom fan(or bathroom window). it's an older set up, like the clawfoot tub, high ceilings, hardwood floor - gig...so apparently in the old days ppl's sh!t don't stank....? so they don't have bathroom fans. i have my matches and freshners there but i really like the fresh air, so i just have to be careful of what i eat i guess? (not gonna happen) i don't know, my friends will have to accept me the way my sh!t reeks i guess.

port.land.

i am sitting in the business office in a portland hotel right now. i am on my first non-official day of work. officially my first day was last monday but my boss got stuck in portland, so she compensated me for the days i was scheduled and i started-started - today. i went in at 8am to belltown and then caught my train to portland at 1:45pm. i'm so tired.

friday as we were heading out to bridgebain(sp?) for a seafood buffet, sherry calls me and asks me what i was doing tonight cuz she's getting redirected to seattle. so after dinner, met sherry on e.pike and broadway with christine, m, d. had a drink and went to show her my new pad. we woke up the next morning and drove to portland. she was heading out to her old hood for a "Red Dress Party" / benefit and i tagged along. every person in there, boy or girl, wore a red dress to get in. it was so much fun. i didn't get that many pix but one of their friends got hundreds so i'm waiting for his pix to be posted. definitely a once in a lifetime picture. since i had to be in training monday morning in seattle, i drove back the next afternoon and now i'm right back here! they don't have sales tax! shop on!

what else....still moving into my new pad! so exciting! everything i could ever need is in walking distance - it's the complete opposite of my last pad. i just park and walk everywhere. the only difference is the noise since i'm such a light sleeper and i can hear everything! in the building and out....

alrighty off to bed for a busy week of info overload...