a hole in a flute

Why, hello pisco darling, where have you been all my life?

2010-06-23T17:29:00.000-07:00

So after graduating from college my brother became a bar back (among other things). Then he became a bartender. Then he became obsessed and brewed rum in his closet. Then he opened a bar (along with some other people). Then he decided to make his own drink (again with other people. He's a people person).

I find the label to be confusing, so let me break it down for you.

Their company is called Fool's Gold Terroir- because they live in San Francisco, and the history of pisco in the United States is all tied up with the gold rush.

Brandy de Peru just means Brandy from Peru. That part is easy. And while we're here, I'll mention that pisco is a type of brandy.

Campo de Encanto translates as Field of Enchantment and is the name of my brother's pisco.

And it is DELICIOUS.

He invited my boyfriend and I to Peru with him to see the pisco in action. We drank a lot of it. Mostly straight out of the bottle and then also as pisco sours, which I love.

This is my craptastic picture of a pisco sour I had there. You can easily find better photos of them. But this is what I have on hand and it gives you a general idea, right?

In it's glory days pisco punch was a super popular drink made by Duncan Nicol at a bar called the Bank Exchange in San Francisco. He died without telling anyone the recipe. Bastard.
.
.So people have been trying to figure it out, but what we do know how to make is a pisco sour. Which I've already shown you, and here is a recipe for it on the wonderful epicurious.com. Enjoy.

Ingredients
1 egg white
2.5 ounces Campo de Encanto pisco (okay their recipe doesn't call for Campo de Encanto, but of course I'm going to)
1/2 ounce simple syrup
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
Angostura bitters

In cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine egg white, Pisco, simply syrup and lemon juice. Cover, shake vigorously* for 15 seconds, and strain into 6 ounce** cocktail glass. Top with a few drops of bitters.

In case you're still not convinced, here's what Rudyard Kipling (he wrote The Jungle Book, in case you didn't know) had to say about it.

"[It] is compounded of the shavings of cherubs' wings,

the glory of a tropical dawn,

the red clouds of sunset,

and the fragments of lost epics by dead masters."

So....pretty damn good.

*they're not kidding about the shaking.
**you could really use any size glass. the point is what's inside!

Breaking News

2010-06-03T17:09:00.000-07:00

I should probably buy like 10 of these instantly and have them constantly on hand

(read: not lose them like I lose every other card I ever buy, hence the need for this card)

from old tom foolery

oh look!

they have more headlining cards.

this is probably going to be true for me. at some point in ten years or more.

and even better, they have boxed sets. i will be set for life.

Pantone Yellow Tin

2010-06-02T12:01:00.000-07:00

The picture is pretty tiny, but you get the idea.

So fun and cheery.

"Whatever you are, be a good one." -Abraham Lincoln

2010-06-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

I like this guy.

Vintage for Babies

2010-05-22T13:36:00.000-07:00

Belle Heir carries vintage clothing for babies and young children. So cute! Kind of really want to buy these all up so that when I start having nieces and nephews (and one day in the far far future, maybe daughters and sons) I can dress them like a vintage postcard.

yellow bloomers circa 1910

lady blue circa 1950

I love the lady in blue around the bottom!

tan short set circa 1935

Aaah! This one might be my favorite. Your little boy would look like a park ranger or...I don't know, I'm overcome by cuteness.

White On White

2010-05-21T11:05:00.000-07:00

Alot of people like to be surrounded by white. They find it peaceful and necessary.

I like it.

But I don't think it would work for me on a day to day basis. I need color.

That being said, I think that kitchen is wonderful.

And I would not mind eating there. Especially with that bediapered cutie.

via ikeafamilylive

Italian Trullo

2010-05-21T10:31:00.000-07:00

via ikeafamilylive.com

Cute Moscovite

2010-05-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

he looks cozy and rough, all at the same time.

via the sartorialist

bag lust

2010-05-17T14:14:00.000-07:00

truffle in yellow

morchella on white

Hi, my name is Arthur Avocado

2010-05-07T11:58:00.000-07:00

And I'm here to steal your heart.

via etsy

Vote Now!

2010-05-03T14:17:00.000-07:00

Both Mama's and Cantina are in the running for 'Best of 2010' in San Francisco. Now I love both these places, not only because the food & drinks are delicious and the atmospheres are fantastic, but because I love people who are involved: Duggan at Cantina and Felicia at Mama's. You should really vote for them!

And I will tell you why.

Have you ever had a Monte Cristo? They're delicious, right? Well, have you ever had a Mama's Cristo? Even.More.Delicious. And you can get them both at Mama's, right along with Felicia's homemade jam. You don't know this, but her jam? Her jam is amazing.

And as far Cantina, well, the drinks are delicious. The bartenders are friendly and informative. They'll basically tell you anything you want to know.

Vote for Mama's here and for Cantina here.

Water For Elephants

2010-05-02T17:39:00.000-07:00

Just finished reading the New York Times Bestseller from 2006 (a little behind the times, I know) by Sara Gruen. Definitely worth reading. A little sad, for sure, and unbelievably (but believably) grotesque at times, but it's easy to root for the protagonist. It ended before I was ready. It left me wanting more.

Sadly, a Google search for the book turned up this: They're making it into a movie, and Robert Pattinson will play Jacob Jankowski. I bet they won't even dye his hair red. Hopefully this project will fall through, or they'll replace Pattinson with Rupert Grint, or someone else equally lovely.

image via julie james

He Just Wants to be a Single Lady

2010-05-01T11:06:00.001-07:00

This is the saddest thing I have ever seen. Poor little guy.

refinery 29's guide to getting The Sartorialist

2010-04-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

I really like this guide to getting onto Scott's camera.

So helpful.

Dream Coat

2010-04-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

Charlotte's houndstooth Mary Quant coat is pretty much my dream coat. But where can I find it? Even if I can't afford it, I still want to know where to buy it if I could...

image via hbo

Shabby Apple

2010-04-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

I think The Plaza and Madison Ave would really work for me.

Via Shabby Apple

A soft place to land.

2009-10-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

You could throw this on your bed:

Fluttery friends

L-O-V-E that spells LOVE

Bird in Tree

The kind of pleats that are acceptable:

You can see it outside

Tweet, tweet!

Why don't you put this on?

2009-10-13T13:47:00.000-07:00

You know, lots of body heat escapes from your head. Cover up!

The hills are alive

Journey

This will keep you...

Warm, so warm...

RTW

2009-10-13T13:31:00.000-07:00

Garden Ring

Feather Clutch

Dior Glasses

Etsy in the kitchen!

Acorn Necklace

Etsy Prints

2009-10-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

This is my most favorite find from Etsy for a wall:

Soak up the sun like these guys:

This reminds me of Moulin Rouge

#1 on my to do list:

Joy Ride

Etsied Again

2009-10-13T12:53:00.001-07:00

More things to love:

If ya like it then...

For good home cookin'

So happy!

Disco Lantern- put in a tea light, and watch the lights dance!

My Etsy

2009-10-13T12:16:00.000-07:00

With an update to the internet browser at work, I now have access to Etsy at work. {And all God's children said 'amen.'} So of course I have found lots of unnecessary and wonderful things to covet. Here they are:

A lovely wedding dress

Small pottery...'Torn'

Bernadette Earrings

Cute owl...I realize he is a rattle for an infant but i just think he would look really cute on my bed.

Moby the Whale {Again, a child's rattle but so cute)

Can you come over P.L.E.A.S.E???

German Letter Clock

2009-08-25T15:48:00.000-07:00

Via Apartment Therapy and made by these guys, Beigert & Funk.

Re: Women

2009-08-25T10:54:00.001-07:00

"It appears that more girls and women are now missing from the planet, precisely because they are female, than men were killed on the battlefield in all the wars of the 20th century. The number of victims of this routine “gendercide” far exceeds the number of people who were slaughtered in all the genocides of the 20th century."

-from the New York Times

Ben Nevis

2009-08-06T16:12:00.001-07:00

Aero Island, Denmark

2009-08-06T16:07:00.000-07:00

From dooce.com

2009-08-03T13:50:00.000-07:00

"Yesterday at Costco a couple of homosexual men CUT ME OFF IN LINE, but I loved them so much that I didn't mind. In fact, I wanted to shout, "NO ON PROP 3!" to let them know that not only would I give them my place in line, but I would also give up the sanctity of my marriage so that they, too, could marry. Because that's how it works in Utah: The sanctity of my marriage depends on someone else."

Kind of deflates the argument, eh?

Yes.

2009-06-30T16:46:00.000-07:00

Another snippet from A Practical Wedding:

"And then, there was a moment where it was really bittersweet. We got our number, and all I could think of was this wedding. I stood in line, feeling on top of the world, and then realized that there was a huge chunk of our community, and many of our nearest and dearest who didn't have the right to stand in the line at the county clerks office, who didn't get to be grinned at by the security guard. We got our form, and I immediately asked David, "Have they changed the forms back after Prop 8?" It turned out they hadn't. David and I each filled out our names, and then we had a choice to designate ourselves as bride and groom. We didn't. It was a small protest, but it was the protest we had available to us. We will have a un-gendered marriage. And next time someone tells me "But you *have* to, you're a BRIDE." I can say with total honesty, "But I'm not actually a bride. I'm Person A." And that feels really wonderful."

Garden Delight...The Tree

2009-06-30T14:07:00.000-07:00

Are you kidding me? Yes, please.
via apracticalwedding.com

Felt

2009-06-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure, but I think I like these.

2009-05-26T09:13:00.000-07:00

Today I do not feel like working.

Today I feel like going for a swim.

Or curling up in a ball...and sleeping all day long.

Forever Hold Your Peace. Or not.

2009-04-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning and was really surprised. Somehow I had severely bruised my forearm while I was sleeping. Turns out it wasn't a bruise. Here's the story.

I dreamt that Andrew and I were hanging out somewhere when he suddenly informed me that he was getting married that day. To some girl. I was shocked and surprised, and hadn't quite gotten all the wheels turning before she arrived. Then our families arrived- not Andrew and his bride's families, his family and my family. (Why would my family be there? Were they invited to what they thought was my wedding, but really wasn't? Or did they know he was going to marry someone else- without even breaking up with me first- and they wanted to be there to support me?)

Then all their guests started arriving. And I had to put on some dress and arrange flowers! Then his mom made a speech about how wonderful What's Her Name is, and everything that she said was the opposite of me, as if she was subtly saying, 'I'm so glad Andrew isn't marrying Theresa.'

Then I woke up. Because I was so upset that through the dream I had been (in real life) biting my lip so hard that I punctured it. I had been resting my head on my arm, and that's why I mistook my blood for a bruise. (Too gross? Sorry!)

I fell back asleep, or half asleep, later, and the dream picked up where it left off, except that we got to the part where you say your piece or hold it forever, and I was like, 'No! What is this? What's wrong with you? He didn't even break up with me! He can't marry her! This is wrong! And why are you all acting like it isn't weird?!' I was really offended that everyone expected me to keep my cool. But mostly I was upset that my boyfriend was just up and marrying some ho.

She was that girl who you really really don't like, everything about her bugs you, but she never does anything mean or underhanded or negative in any way, so you can't tell someone why you wish she'd fall in a puddle of mud. And everyone just thinks you're jealous- but then at the end of the movie you find out she was a spy or something and you were right not to trust her! Ah ha!

Anyway. It was a weird night, to say the least.

I love this.

2009-04-10T14:40:00.000-07:00

I love the old frame on the modern tv. I would never have thought of that. But I want to do it.

North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell

2009-04-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

Recently read by me.

This book I love. I'm a bit sad that I never heard about Mrs. Gaskell until now, but then it's wonderful to be able to discover someone so wonderful. She's like Jane Austen in this book. It's a bit like Pride and Prejudice. Except set during the Industrial Revolution, in England. But while the love story is thrilling, the reader doesn't lose sight of the social class issues that the author addresses. The themes of this book are, I think, still relevant.

But oh my goodness. The film. I can't tell you how it ends, but I don't think you will be disappointed.

Cranford, Elizabeth Gaskell

2009-04-01T09:42:00.001-07:00

Recently read by me.

A fun book about sweet old ladies. Not what I'd call a drama. I'm actually blanking on what I can compare it to. But it's essentially a collection of short stories centered around a group of upper class grannies. Actually not grannies, spinsters more like. But fun. This is the movie cover; I haven't seen it, but I want to (mainly because who doesn't adore Judy Dench?)

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

2009-04-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

Recently read by me.

An excellent book with lots of life lessons. Money isn't everything. Holding on to a grudge ruins your own life and doesn't help out those around you. Forgiveness is a good thing. It's good not to be stuck up. Etc.

Dooce

2009-04-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

Last night I went with Stef and Meredith to see Heather Armstrong read some excerpts from her new book, It Sucked And Then I Cried, about her transition into motherhood. I think. I mean, I know I went to see her, I just don't know 100% if that's what her book is about. We were late and missed a lot of what she read. Then she opened the floor for Q&A.

She's fun. Wish I had brought my grandma's opera glasses, though. I couldn't see her very well. And I will probably always call those 'my grandma's opera glasses' even though she gave them to me.

Hm.

2009-03-20T11:08:00.001-07:00

My sister Michaela pointed this out to me. Twins?

Eye of God

2009-03-05T11:09:00.000-08:00

A woman I work with is really into astronomy (that's the scientific one, right, and astrology is the kookie one?) and sometimes she has images on her desktop that make me wish I was riding Battlestar Galactica as a pilot so I could see some of this stuff for reals.

I didn't know this was called The Eye of God. But now I realize why they called it the Eye of Jupiter on the show.

google.com

2009-02-03T15:35:00.000-08:00

I have been getting really irritated with the house cat lately. His name is Mike, and he constantly jumps up on the kitchen counters. Once I closed him into the nearby bathroom to keep him out of my hair until I was done in the kitchen. I went to google to see if I could find solutions, ways to keep my stupid feline off the counters. There were 5 basic ideas that I found over and over again. After going through a list of sites, I saw that Google had pulled this up:

"If you want to keep updated on when new videos of my cat are posted..."

People really are different.

2009-02-02T15:24:00.001-08:00

Your rainbow is shaded white and pink.

What is says about you: You are a contemplative person. You appreciate everyone around you. People depend on you to make them feel secure. You are a good listener and your friends are glad to have you around in difficult times.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

What color is your rainbow?

2009-02-02T15:21:00.001-08:00

So I found this rainbow on David's blog (which I never read before today, but quite enjoy). After reading about his rainbow, I wanted to know what mine would be. And all I can say is, I'm disappointed. Sometimes these silly, generic quizzes really feel like they ring true. Maybe I just wasn't expecting this result, since it's different from Davids?

Your rainbow is shaded white and pink.

Chelsea Lee's Spot

2009-01-22T08:44:00.000-08:00

One thing that I specifically miss about Cheslea- no, there are two very specific things that I miss. I miss her ability to make me laugh, at any time, in any place. She just lifts my spirits as if they weighed no more than a feather. I miss her hugs. She gives the best hugs. The best.

It's true that if you're having a really crummy day, Chelsea is the person to talk to. She's a great listener, and she's always ready to get up in arms if somebody hurt you.

She's great. I miss her a ton.

As much as I love kittens and puppies

2009-01-20T19:02:00.001-08:00

I am never getting either, because my kitten has just broken my camera.

He refuses to let me take a picture of him. Well fine! I refuse to let him cuddle with me. We'll see how he likes that when he gets cold! Ha!

This is the pic I took of him seconds before destruction ensued.

2009-01-20T15:04:00.000-08:00

I tried to translate something written in French into English using an online translation web site. I mistook the French for Spanish, with somewhat humorous results:

L'aquarium conçu pair Constance Guisset est thermo - formed of façon after an espace au sein duquel l'oiseau peut believed déplacer et voler to the même hauteur visuelle that him poisson. A croisement occasionnel peels between him aérien et I peeled him aquatique.

It really says:

The aquarium conceived by Constancy Guisset is thermo - formed in order to create a space within which the bird can move and fly at the same visual height as the fish. Occasional crossroads between the air world and the aquatic world.

No mention of peeling.

ROUSs?

2009-01-15T16:23:00.001-08:00

This venomous mammal lives in Haiti and Hispanoila.

Venomous mammal. Weird!

I saw a headline about a snake that exploded after eating an alligator. Gross.

"One study at least has suggested that some specimens of male sweat can calm women."

2009-01-15T15:00:00.000-08:00

-Clare Murphy
Health reporter, BBC News

Huh.

Meme via Maryann

2009-01-15T11:28:00.000-08:00

1. Make a list of things you can see without getting up.
Computer screen, framed picture, matryoska dolls, water bottle, mug, clock, stapler, date stamp, phone, pen, planner, Washington State Ferries framed poster (but only the bottom 4 inches due to hat on head).

2. How do you style your hair?
Shampoo. If I'm feeling stylish, I blow dry it. If I really want to go the extra mile, straighten.

3. What are you wearing now?
White knitted vest, grey & white satin (esque, not sure) button-up shirt, copper colored belt, blue jeans, striped SmartWool socks (warm!), mocassin slippers, brown hat.

4. What story/book/novel have you read over and over again in your life?
The Giving Tree, Redeeming Love, Jane Austen's novels, santa Biblia (en inglés)

5. What's the last thing you read/are currently reading?
Last read: Bridget Jone's Diary (& BJD: The Edge of Reason)
Currently (as of 5:30 PM today): The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the first in the tale of the Lord of the Ring (or something like that...the title is long)
American Architecture: A History (I'm interested)

6. Do you nap a lot?
No, not really. Unfortunately I've always been a very light & picky sleeper. Conditions have to be 'just so' in order for me to actually fall asleep, i.e: dark room, night hour, horizontal surface, pillows (2), blanket, pjs. Without these things, I can only fall asleep if tired in the extreme. This makes me not a very good traveler. Hopefully as life progresses I'll become a more versatile sleeper.

7. Who was the last person you hugged?
Andrew Spencer. Before that, Rebecca Ammerman.

8. What's your current fandom/obsession/addiction?
I don't think I have one, but I just started watching The Comeback with Lisa Kudrow, and I really like it! Poor Valerie...

9. What was the last thing you ate today?
Beef Flavored Top Ramen. I constantly forget to pack a lunch before bed/before work.

10. What was the last thing you said aloud?
"I would call it a thought web, but I don't know if that's what it's actually called."
To Annette, who wanted to know what it's called when, in school, your teachers ask you to write down a thought, and then the explanation of where that thought came from, etc.

11. What websites do you always visit when you go online?
go through phases. Right now:
gmail.com
The Awkward Blogger
Usually:
facebook
Throughout this past year:
mysuperhopelessromance
Apartment Therapy
IMDb
And others, but I can't remember them...

12. What was the last thing you bought?
A veggie burrito from Taco Del Mar on my way to visit my sister in Tacoma. We were going to eat once I got there, but I was too starving to wait. Non-food items...well, two fillings at the dentists office yeaterday morning. Not my favorite purchase, but necessary.

13. What are you listening to right now?
Janet: "...not anticipating a problem, but..."; children in the park across the street; cars driving; dogs barking.

14. What movie are (or were!) you most excited to show your kids (or nephews and nieces)?
Anne of Green Gables, hands down. I love this movie...puffed sleeves! I grew up with this film, and I can't imagine my kids (or my siblings kids) not seeing it. I'll bake them cookies and bring them glasses of milk, and we'll sit and watch. And when they get a bit older, we'll watch the second one. The third one they can watch on their own if they want to. Smokers voice and WWI are not for me (at least in relation to Anne Shirley).

15. If you could have any super power, what would it be?
I've been changing my mind. I type an answer, delete it, and start over. So I'm just going to say: my super power would be to speak any & all languages at any given moment.

16. What is your favorite weather, and why?
I don't think I have a favorite weather. I think I just like weather. It makes life interesting, it changes. I like it. There are definitely types of weather that are not my favorite, but the only time that I really dislike weather is when it's been around for months and I'm ready for something new or when the weather directly conflicts with what I want to do. Otherwise, snow, rain, sunshine, heat, cold, balm- I like it all. Everything in moderation.

17. What time do you usually get up?
On a good work day, 7. But let's be honest, that happens maybe once a month. On a bad work day, 8:03. On Saturdays, usually 10:30 or 11 (yay!), and on Sundays, it totally depends on what's happening that day, but usually 9 or so.

18. What is your most challenging goal right now? And what motivates you toward the completion of it?
Hmphf. Well, I think my most challenging goal is to find a job I like that pays the bills. The job I have now really motivates me to find another. Isn't that great?

19. Say something to the person who tagged you.
Maryann. I really enjoy reading your blog. But you already knew that.

20. What's the book/movie/song that, if someone were to read/watch/listen to it, would most help that person understand you better?
Bridget Jone's Diary. I am Bridget Jones.
Mark Darcy: "I don't think you're an idiot at all. I mean, there are elements of the ridiculous about you. Your mother's pretty interesting. And you really are an appallingly bad public speaker. And, um, you tend to let whatever's in your head come out of your mouth without much consideration of the consequences... "

21. If you could instantly change one aspect of your life right now, what would it be?
My rent!

22. Do you like your handwriting?
When I print, yes, most of the time I like it. Cursive...not really, not ever.

Tagged: Michaela, Julia, Stef, Chelsea, Steve, Caryn, Lindsey, Marla
The rules:Step 1: respond and rework—answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.Step 2: tag—eight other un-tagged people will be tagged.

Baja Bible School

2009-01-14T16:23:00.000-08:00

So my friend Kelly works at a school in Tijuana, Mexico. I really like the look of their building, see:

Doesn't that look like a fun place to be? I think so. Anyway, I asked her to tell me about the school, and here's what she said:

"The school is in Tijuana Mexico.

The classes are in English, but it is an international program open for students from any country.

The school is opening up in September of 2009 and we are now accepting applications.

We are looking to bring on a summer staff right now. It would be volunteer work especially focusing on landscaping and construction work. Also, if there is anyone who would like to come and volunteer their time/skills before this summer they would also be most welcome!

The building is flippin' awesome and so is life here in Tijuana.

It is a really unique program, so it is totally worth people checking out. You get to learn about the Bible and put it into practice by serving in the community here. As you do that you gain a better understanding of the Mexican culture and language so there are a ton of benefits to attending Baja Bible School."

I love learning about the Bible. I think Old Testament history is fascinating.

Anyway, just thought I'd share.

Getting Out of the Office

2009-01-05T15:00:00.001-08:00

I did it. I finally did it. I told my boss I wanted to go down to part-time.

I feel so free!

It's not that I hate working full-time. I don't. It's just this job isn't the right fit, and spending 40 hours a week here makesme never want to get out of bed. Even on the weekends, Istay in bed forever just to celebrate the fac tthat I don't have to get up for a job I hate. This is kind of silly because why waste what precious free time you have sleeping?

In case you're wondering, I don't have any idea what I'm going to do with my time now. Probably find another part-time job so I can pay bills. But hopefully I can get my priorities straight and make some kind of 'plan' for the future.

It was just time to do something to force myself out of my inertia. Cutting my paycheck in half- while increasing my free time to soul search- seemed like a good way.

Anyway. Yay! I feel like having a party.

Now does anyone know of a job I could do?

Happy Holidays

2009-01-04T14:38:00.001-08:00

Well, I don't know if I'm in the right mood to do this story justice, but I will try.

The days preceding Christmas were chilly here in Seattle, and the precipitation turned from rain to snow. It was lovely, falling slowly, quietly on the streets like a sweet concession to the birth of Christ, offering a chance to slow down and have time to reflect on the season. By which I mean have a snow day and not have to go to work; rather, stay outside sledding and throwing snowballs.
Well, after The Grumpiest Work Week (in which I became The Grinch because I never got to have a snow day despite the fact that my car was snowed in and the city busses were not running because my boss sent someone to pick me up each day), my roommates boyfriend agreed to save the day by putting chains on my car. This was important because, though my boss finally conceded to the weather and called me to say I could stay home, I had promised a very sick Andrew a ride to work.
We got to work and home just fine. Andrew and I packed up our stuff for our short trip to California and settled in on Christmas Eve to celebrate the fesitivities. We woke the next morning at 3:30 to make sure we'd eaten before leaving for the airport for our 7:10 AM flight.
Well.
A few blocks from my house we stopped to take off the chains (this was necessary because you have to get down the hills around my house to flat streets where the snow had either melted or been removed). Surprise, surprise! The chain on the front right wheel had taken itself off! IT was nowhere to be seen or heard from. This would not have bothered us so much except that it left in its wake a flat tire.
It was now 4:45 in the morning, and the street was covered in freezing cold slushy snow. Andrew was a trooper and got out the tools to change the tire. Except the lugnuts were FROZEN ON. So we found some antifreeze -for the engine- in the trunk and judiciously soaked the nuts. Success! One by one Andrew removed the lugnuts until he reached the last...when we discovered that it was a smaller size than the rest. Which meant it didn't fit in our wrench. Which mean we couldn't take the tire off.
A very frustrated Andrew put the other lug nuts back on as I sent out an SOS to our dear friends Ryan and Melody Steiner. They woke and, true to form, seemed almost excited to take us to the airport at such an ungodly hour on such a wonderful day. Their attitudes seemed like, 'We'd love to take you to the airport; all we were doing was sleeping, and this is much more exciting.' Andrew and I still owe them.
We abandoned the car in a parking spot nearby til I returned to Seattle. After getting off work on Monday, Andrew waited with me for an hour and a half for a tow truck. What we got was someone who could change the tire. Which would have been great except that by the next morning (which was when I was going to take in the car) the spare was flat!
I called my Allstate roadside service again, only to repeat the payment issues from the day before, finally growing so frustrated that I cancelled my membership. Well done. Now I'd have to pay much more than the $13.67 they wanted, but I felt it was the principal of the thing.
Heaven smiled on me, and Andrew found my not expired AAA card from my mom. Yes! I called AAA the next morning at 6:45, walked to my car and met the tow truck there at 7:10. He took me to Les Schwab in Ballard, where I left my car to be mended, and from where Andrew picked it up when it was ready.
He met me with my restored vehicle for lunch, only to lock the keys in the car. I was so joyous to have wheels that worked I laughed. AAA came out again and saved the day. That night on my way to Maryann's for a New Years party...my car wouldn't start. Wouldn't turn over. Wouldn't do a damn thing. I was very disappointed to find I'd be spending the night completely on my own, but somehow after leaving it to itself for a few minutes, the car started up again.
Hurrah!
Since then I've taken it to get its oil change, as well as it's transmission fluid (I think?) and newwiper blades. Overall I've only spent about $250 on my car in the last week.
But it finally is working again.

So my holidays were happy. Just ever the slightest bit stressful.

Escape

2009-01-04T14:31:00.001-08:00

We have a kitten! My roommate Bekah brought home little Mike Wazowski from her parents farm in Eastern Washington. He is currently purring from beneath my blankets, snuggled between Andrew and me. I can't help but wonder if it's the first time he's been genuinely warm since coming here, sine I'm always freezing.

This morning, after introducing the boys to each other, Andrew and I decided to take a spontaneous trip out to Snoqualmie Falls. Neither of us had been there before, but we were each in the modd to get out of the city and out of the ordinary. So we drove out and saw it. Man! It was soo windy! We were at a higher elevation because we were up in the 'foothills' of the mountains (the Cascades), and the wind was doing everything in it's power to remind us of the snow on the ground. We we went out to the observation deck to look at the waterfall, the first thing I thought was. 'Big mistake.' I thought I was going to blow away.

Despite freezing temperatures, the trip was worth it. Afer seeing the waterfall briefly, we drove through the little old downtown of Snoqualmie. It's literally just a couple blocks of historic buildings next to ancient railway cars (I saw a small pine tree growing out of one of them). It was darling. Unfortunately we didn't stop so I didn't get any pictures of how adorable it was.

Sometimes you just have to break free, you know?

*I'll put up some pics later

The temp.

2008-12-20T17:40:00.001-08:00

It's -4 C here.

Yay.

Christmas in the city!

2008-12-20T16:49:00.000-08:00

Finally, I took some pics of the weather here in Seattle.

*None of the cars in the pics are mine (just fyi).

The view from my bed.
View from the front door.

Andrew and I in the falling snow.

The neighbor's wood pile.

Small collision on my street.

Perspective: My street is steeper than it looks.

Someone else went into the mailboxes! Whoops!

It's a bit slippery around here.

They were trying to get onto the street from our alley.

Our home. Doesn't it give you that "I want to be in there where it's safe and warm!' feeling?

The house across the street from my bedroom. I sometimes watch the traffic on the street behind it through the windows on the top story. I guess I'm easily entertained while falling asleep/waking up.

On really clear days you can see the Cascade mountains from our living room. They're far away, but seem really close on those days. Closer than the camera makes them seem.

In My Neighborhood

2008-12-19T13:29:00.001-08:00

There's a bit of ice. And some bus drivers aren't local. And school children almost plunge onto freeways. You can watch it here.

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-12-18T10:25:00.000-08:00

It's snowing!!!!! It's a fricking SNOW GLOBE outside, and do I get a snow day? No. No, I do not. I am stuck in the office.

It's okay though. The view out the windows is probably more interesting than those at my house, and I don't have to pay to be warm here. The only thing is I wish I could be outside for a bit, playing in the snow.

Man!

It's so so so so amazing out there. Wow.

Seattle, I love you.

2008-12-14T00:21:00.000-08:00

You are beautiful tonight. I can't take my eyes off you. I can't wait for the morning, to really see you, all white and stunning. Keep your white dress- don't discard it so soon, okay? When you clothe yourself with snow, I feel like the whole world is wrapped in a comforting blanket. I feel so safe and secure. Everything lights up. Everything is clean and pure. It gives the impression that all is right in the world.
But please, if you do decide to warm up...don't go back and forth. I'm afraid you might go through mood swings, so to speak, and I'm worried that you will cover the road I live on with ice. And you know I'm scared of that, because how can anyone survive this hill if it's covered in ice? I'd be afraid to park or drive on it, and walking down- even with the sidewalks the way they are, with the little bump-outs to help you every foot or so- walking down sounds treacherous.
So if you get too cold and decide to warm up, please don't be fickle about it. You are so beautiful this way, and beautiful even when you are crying mists and rain. We have such a good relationship, especially now, but your ice terrifies me.
I think that's all for now, dear city. You are beautiful tonight.

What I really want for Christmas

2008-12-12T11:17:00.000-08:00

Is for all to be right with my family.
And that Santa will give me the gift of correspondence.

Recent

2008-12-09T16:50:00.000-08:00

On Sunday night I forgot my camera, and I'm really sad I did because I'd rather show you what happened than tell you.
But tell you I will.

REI had their Christmas party on the Skansonia Ferry, which is docked on the northern side of Lake Union and bedecked, inside and out, with lots of little white Christmas lights. The theme was somewhat obscure, but I think I picked it out eventually: 1920's-30's flapper in Havanna. They had a live band that taught us the most basic of salsa steps. This part of the evening was really fun mainly because my date was having the best time ever learning to salsa. He was shaking his shoulders more than his hips, but it didn't matter. We were having a good time, and no one was watching us (but if they were, we didn't care).

Must run. More later.

Twlight

2008-11-21T13:09:00.000-08:00

So I saw Twilight.

And I liked it. But not that much.

I think part of that was because I went to a midnight show. So I was probably a bit grumpy. I get that way.
I may have built a platform in my mind for the movie which no movie could ever meet. Not because I had all these ideas of how it was going to be just like the book or anything like that. But everyone involved- well, Stewart, Pattinson and Hardwicke- seem so indie that I figured this movie would be the best unconventional amazing beautiful thing ever. But I think I still wanted it to be amazing in a conventional way. It wasn't. It was a bit indie...For example, the montages of flashbacks (or the future) in sephia? Didn't really care for those. They were blurry and hard to see.
Maybe because it was midnight and because of the crowd I was seeing the movie with, but all the serious lines and moments were humorous. I didn't think it was funny in the book, and I didn't want to laugh when Edward first smelled her and wanted to kill her. That shouldn't be funny. Maryann tried to explain it away, but I'm not moved.
There wasn't a whole lot of giddy-in-love moments for B & E. They were so serious. Almost like were was no joy in their relationship at all. And who wants that? Even if you're soulmates. You want laughter. But no- these two were taking their relationship very seriously, very quickly, and there was no room for, 'OhmyGod he likes me!' 'She loves me!' 'I can fly!!' or any of the other crazy things you feel when you realize that the most perfect person in the world thinks that you are the most perfect person in the world.
Nope. Just torture over one of you being a human and the other being a vampire. I realize that's a huge aspect of their relationship, but come on- they liked each other. They had fun. Where was that?

But Charlie was very attractive. Yes, that's the dad. I really liked his white and grey checkered coat. First time I've been attracted to a guy with a mustache. I didn't think that was possible. I guess miracles never cease.

I couldn't help thinking, 'Wow, he has on lots of make-up,' when Edward first appeared. He was beautiful, and Rob did a good job...but he was soo tortured. Like that was all there was to him.

I'm still glad I went to see it. Even though I have no energy today.

John & Joan

2008-11-20T12:49:00.000-08:00

Lately I just really love this couple.

(Siblings...not married)

Movies they've done together:

War, Inc.

Martian Child
High Fidelity

Cradle Will Rock

Grosse Pointe Blank

Say Anything

Grandview, U.S.A.

Sixteen Candles

Class

Yay!

2008-11-20T11:43:00.001-08:00

Twilight tonight! At long last...

Sam & Ruby

2008-11-18T14:48:00.000-08:00

I'm still just really excited about their album release. They have 6 songs on iTunes right now, but not 'More' or 'Sarah', so I haven't bought it yet. I'm holding out for everything.

I might just buy the six. But probably not. I want it all!

The Left Hand of Darkness

2008-11-18T14:40:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed this book.

A person arrives on a planet to tell them that, just fyi, there are lots of other planets, inhabited by people, out there. So if you feel like interacting with us, we're all for it. Just fyi.

But the reason this book is so amazing is that the people on the planet are- and I'm not going to use the technical word because I don't remember it- neither male nor female. They're generic 'human'.

Chapter 7 is my favorite because the narrator speculates on what life could be like without gender. I read that chapter in the downtown library, and had to control the impuls to stand up and cheer. I really liked the world I was reading about.

It made me wonder why God didn't think of that and make us that way.

I love my friend Lydia

2008-10-29T09:39:00.000-07:00

And I wish I had thought of this. I hope she doesn't mind me stealing her photograph...

War, Inc.

2008-10-08T14:27:00.000-07:00

Has anyone seen this? I think it looks interesting (also I love Joan Cusack). But on IMDb it is listed as 2008- so does that mean it's out yet?

Hilary Duff plays an obnoxious pop star. Who doesn't want to see that? Just kidding. But I do.

Banned Books

2008-10-03T09:57:00.000-07:00

Maryann inspired me to find out which banned books I've read. They are:

1984, George Orwell
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank
Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
The Catcher In The Rye, J.D. Salinger
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
One Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich, by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
The Gulag Archipelago, by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn
Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
Harry Potter (and the Sorcorer's Stone, and the Chamber of Secrets, and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and the Goblet of Fire), by J.K. Rowling
Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis
Little House on the Prairie & Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little Red Riding Hood, by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare
The Very Hungry Catepillar, by Eric Carle
Where's Waldo? Martin Handford
A Wrinkle In Time, by Madaleine L'Engle
And of course, The Bible.

Craigslist delivers

2008-09-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

RAVE: My Life Since Getting Out Of Prison
Date: 2008-06-26, 7:03PM PDT

I graduated from college in May, and this summer seemed like a good time to go through the box of papers and assignments I had been saving since the start, both to reminisce and to do a little cleanup.Tucked in a folder of an old notebook at the very bottom of the box was the essay that follows. Written in longhand, it was the first assignment from the first class in my first semester.
***********************************************************
January 20, 2003
English 1A
Professer ___________

My Best Summer Memory

Hey man, I’m not really sure if you’re supposed to put an introduction in this thing, but here goes anyway. My name is ____________. My assignment today is to write an essay about the best thing that happened to me this last summer.

I know everybody’s been kinda looking at me in class, wondering why a dude in his thirties is taking English 1A instead of being out there working a job. I’m not too keen on talking about myself much. Most folks aren’t, I guess, unless they’re Paris Hilton. But since the assignment is a personal essay I suppose I don’t have much choice. Anyways the best thing that happened to me this last summer was when I finally got outta prison based on that DNA evidence.

I’ll tell you man, if you can’t appreciate getting outta prison then you haven’t been there to begin with. For me it started about three years ago when this chick got murdered in East San Jose while opening up her plumbing supply shop. Me and Merle came by a couple weeks later to pick up some PVC for a sprinkler repair, and for some reason the dude behind the counter thought we was a little suspicious, so he called the cops. They put me in a line up, but of course the dude already knew what I looked like and what clothes I was wearing so it wasn’t that tough to pick me out. Other than that there was no real evidence, but I didn’t have an alibi and I had a couple drunk and disorderlies on my record back from when me and Merle used to fight each other for fun after closing time.

They had it in their minds I was guilty, and they kept after me for two days, yelling and throwing stuff at me and telling me made-up stories about how Merle told them I did it. I always figured I was pretty tough but after awhile it just wore me down. I had to look at some pictures of death row and I got showed on my arm where the needles would go and everybody called me Dead Man Walking. They told me if I signed a confession I wouldn’t get the death penalty and I had to think about that one pretty hard. The lawyer they assigned to me smelled like he’d been pulling a cork during lunch and he fell asleep while they was questioning me. I knew I didn’t do nothing but sometimes life just ain’t all fair, and this seemed like one of those times. So I signed.

After the sentencing Merle sold my truck and moved all my stuff into storage for me, and promised me he’d look after Mussel Shoals, my black lab. They sent me up to San Quentin, and when I got there, I was put in the section with the black dudes.I found out later that’s what they do with new prisoners, except the blacks end up in the white section. I guess it’s to soften up the new inmates, I dunno. Whatever the reason it didn’t take long for them to find this paleface. One day I turn around, and there they stood, the welcoming committee.

It didn’t take but one look to realize they weren’t there to bring me a fruit basket. I figured this was gonna be a test of me, find out if they could push me around, so I got a good shot in on the first one and broke his nose. Since it was four on one, I was looking at an ass-kickin for sure, so I didn’t follow up on the others too much, to try and keep ‘em from getting too mad. Well man, was I ever wrong about that. They got me face down, one on each arm and leg, then they got my pants down. About this time, right up till the last minute, I was thinking, this can't be happening to me.

The dude whose nose I broke went first. I was heaving and twisting my body trying to get loose, but the others held me down good. He started to poke around and then forced himself in. I never in my life had anything hurt like that, man. Everything got all cloudy and I heard him call me his white bitch. Bits of snot and blood from his nose dripped down on the cement next to my head. It’s the only time in my life I ever tried to talk to God. First I asked him why. Then I asked him to help me. And he never said a word.

You know, the only thing worse than being shined on by God is having it happen at a time like that, man. But it’s just like the preachers say: you can’t fool God. He knows why you’re finally talking to him – because you need help. So God never answered me, and I was on my own. And the only thing I wanted to do was to die.

When he was done, he got up and kicked me in the head. That in a way was kind of a blessing, cause I don't remember anything that happened after that for awhile, and I'm pretty sure the rest of those dudes took their turns.

A few weeks later, they came around again. I knew what was coming this time, and I didn’t hold anything back. I popped three of em pretty good before they got me down and did me again. They got the better of me, no question, but I left them worse for wear. That was the first time I ever saw a black eye on a black dude.

By this time I was hoping they’d think I just ain’t worth the trouble. There were plenty of others there that were easier pickins than me. But this wasn't about finding someone for sex, it was about breaking me down. So I got another visit from my new buddies. This time, they kinda formed a circle around me before moving in, and I could see in their eyes that some of them weren't really looking forward to this at all. Well man, welcome to the fuckin club.

This time I ended up in the prison hospital and spent a couple weeks there. One day, I was laying there thinking about how much I hurt and wondering what a life sentence was gonna be like with this happening all the time, when one of the inmates working in the hospital starts talking to me and tells me about the Aryan Brotherhood and how I don't have to put up with the nee-grahs no more as long as I join up with em. And that’s how I ended up with the tattoo of the swastika and WHITE POWER on my arm, right up there by the bicep.

Well, time goes by and I’m getting settled into the routine of prison life, and no one is messing with my behind no more now that I’m in this white guy gang. Then from outta the blue I find out that that someone from the Pine Hills Youth Correctional Facility in Montana got religious and wrote a letter confessing to killing that chick. He was just a kid, only seventeen years old. Can you believe that? Well, no one at San Quentin did. No one takes you seriously when you tell em you’re innocent, cause everybody in prison says they’re innocent. I didn’t have the letter or anything, just what I heard, so no one gave a shiet.

So I wrote to Merle, and he sent some dude from the Innocence Project to visit me. Next thing I know the prison doctor is scraping some skin from the inside of my mouth, and one day, just like that, they're walking me out the door and on my way. Course it didn’t take more than five minutes to be up to my ass in ambulance chasers all wanting to help me sue the government for my troubles. Most of em didn’t smell much different than the public defender, and I began to wonder if I was ever gonna get a lawyer who wasn’t a fall-down drunk. The dudes at the Innocence Project gave me the name of some chick up in San Francisco to call. That was kinda far away for me, but she turned out to be a pretty good lawyer and didn’t smell of booze either. She spent a lot of time yelling at the guys from the city, and let me tell you man, after listening to that I sure was glad she was working for me and not them. In the end, I got some money, not a lot, cause I wasn't in all that long and of course I didn’t tell a soul about the other stuff, but it was enough to get my trailer and a good truck, and they also promised to pay for retraining which is why I’m taking this class.

Once I got all signed up for school and the dust settled down, I figured I better get rid of that tattoo. So I called up Merle and told him to come on over and give me a hand with it. We heated up a weeding tool in the barbeque, and I bit down on a little stick of wood while Merle burnt off the tattoo with the weeder. You know, I never stopped biting that stick, but when the flesh started to burn, I tried to push everything outta me like emptying a squeeze bottle of Heinz ketchup. All the shame, all the rage I was carrying around inside me since I got out. I just forced it all outta me and I guess I yelled a good deal, cause Merle was looking at me kinda funny when it was done.

Merle's my best friend, and I figured maybe it was OK if I told him about it all, so I did. And when I was done, there was a long silence, then he kinda looked at me and asked in a quiet voice if I was gonna make him burn my bunghole too, and finish the job. That Merle, he's as dumb as a box of rocks, but he always finds a way to make me laugh.

I never really took to queers in the first place but it ain’t cause of what happened to me when I was inside prison. I don't blame the blacks or the queers for it. That stuff really wasn't about color or sex; it was about power plays by cons who had to ditch their humanity in order to survive. Still, as everybody knows man, no matter how many times you squeeze the bottle, you can't get every last bit of ketchup out, and for me, I still had some bits of my experience I couldn’t get outta my head. Sometimes, I'd be watching TV and just start to feel terribly sad and weak. Mussel Shoals was back with me by then, and he seemed to know something was wrong when I felt like that. He didn't know what, but he’d always come on over anyway, and lick my hand and rest his head on my leg. I tell you man, I really love that dog.

It was real tough getting back in the saddle with the ladies after what happened to me in prison. I’d always heard that if you so much as touched another guy’s privates you were queer for life, and although I was hoping that weren’t true, it was hard to think about sex without remembering all the bad stuff. Merle brought by some chick he was going out with who had a lady friend, and though she was nice and all I was kinda scared I wouldn’t be able to deliver the goods and have to start explaining everything, so I had to pass.

About a month after I bought my trailer, I met a nice chick at the park while out walking Mussel Shoals. She's about my age and pretty agreeable. Betty’s her name. She has a dog, too, a female Dalmatian named Dotty. Mussel Shoals was OK with that, ‘cause he ain’t prejudiced, and they got along just great. After we'd been going out for a few weeks it was my birthday, and she and Merle came over to my trailer and surprised me with a little cake. After I blew out the candles they said we could do anything I want, their treat. So we talked about it awhile and decided to spend the day out at Great America.

Well I don’t know if you been to Great America lately but they have this new feature which is a water park, and if you asked me that part alone is worth the price of admission. After we got in we headed on over there and changed our clothes in one of the little changing rooms they have nearby. While I was waiting for Betty to change (course chicks always take forever, took me and Merle about a minute and Betty about four hours) I struck up this conversation with this Filipino dude who was waiting behind me. He had a shirt on said he’s a police officer, so of course I didn’t mention anything about being in prison. Then one of the changing rooms opened up, not the one Betty was in (of course since she takes a million years) so I told the dude to go ahead of me since I had to wait for Betty anyway.

He moved on into the room and then his son, who was maybe 3 or 4 years old, started following him, but he told the son to wait outside. So the kid kinda backstepped a ways without turning around and then reached up and took my hand, and I closed my hand around his and we stood there awhile like uncle and son. It was a great feeling man. I never got to do that with my dad, cause he passed out on some tracks and got all mashed up by a train when I was only six months old, and none of the dudes that Mom brought around after that ever stayed more than a couple days. I didn’t really know what I was supposed to do, so I just stood there and tried not to squeeze his hand too hard.

Pretty soon though I heard this laughing behind me, and it’s the kid’s mom. And I looked down at him, and he’s looking over at her, and his forehead gets all crinkly, and he looks at his hand in mine, and you can see him sorta follow my arm all the way up to my shoulder and to my head. When he figured out I wasn’t his mom, his eyes got real big and he yanked his hand away and scampered over to where she was sitting.

Well by this time his mom is pretty much doubled over with laughter and she and I are talking, and of course Betty comes out right about then and sees me talking to this hot Filipino chick and gives me the stink eye. But it didn’t take too long before I’m the one who was upset cause Betty is wearing this string bikini top and let me tell you man, if I had charged a quarter a peek for a look at her tatas I would have made a fortune that day. Betty looks a lot like Salma Hayak (specially when she gets mad, which is all the time, Geez!) and she has a really nice rack.

But you see man this is where chicks are really sneaky. Betty knew we was going to a water park and there'd be lots of chicks to look at and she didn’t want me looking at em. So she wore her most revealing outfit cause she knew I’d have to keep an eye on her. At a place like Great America there are tons of buff dudes walking around trying to grab your chick when you’re distracted. So you got to keep your eye out every minute and that cuts into your time cruising the hotties. And speaking of that I think next time I’m gonna tell Betty how much I enjoy checking out the babes while she’s goofing around in the dressing room. That oughta speed her up.

We had a great time and ate crummy food and I won a Spongebob doll for Betty at the pitching booth. Merle almost got in a fight with some dudes who stole a big doll from one of the other carnival booths but the rent-a-cops broke that one up before it started. Later he got sick after going on the Invertigo and we got to watch him puke in a trash can. That part wasn’t so good, but after it got dark the fireworks started going off and Betty snuggled up to me real close and I forgot all about Merle, and we kinda lost him. It worked out OK though in the end. Merle called me later and told me that when he got out to the parking lot he ran into the same dudes he almost got in a fight with, and they ended up going out drinking and they’re his dawgs now. I never heard Merle call anyone that before, but he don’t generally hang out with black dudes either.

After the fireworks was done, Betty came back with me to my trailer, and we started watching American Idol. Well, one thing led to another and the next thing you know we was in bed getting ready to do the horizontal mambo. She was kinda nervous so I cracked a few jokes to relax her till she told me to shut up. I was nervous too, man. I was worried about maybe being queer, but besides even that, this was gonna be the first time for me since before I went to prison, and I was afraid I might be a little rusty.

It was a night I think I’m always gonna remember. First-time sex with a chick who's your girlfriend is always a big deal, specially if you’re a guy. You get to see what she looks like naked, specially the boobs, and see what kind of funny noises she makes when she gets all excited. In spite of all my worrying, everything turned out OK. I guess sex is like being on a bicycle, you never forget how to ride. Still, it took Betty a long time to come that night, but that’s probly cause she was busy with her own first-time sex thoughts. Chicks are funny about that. It's like the first time you take em out to dinner. They don't care about the dinner so much as not looking bad eating it, which usually means not eating much of it at all. Same thing with sex. The first time, they don't care so much about coming as much as they don't want to embarrass themselves. Next time though you better deliver, that is if you want there to be a third time.

So we're laying there afterwards, her head on my shoulder, and just talking real soft about nothing in particular, when all of a sudden there's this big commotion and damn if Mussel Shoals wasn't trying to have sexual relations with Dotty. She didn’t seem quite as interested as he was, but he stayed right on it, the two of em crashing into the walls and the bed and just going to town. I'll tell you, no one is gonna mistake ol’ Mussel Shoals for a 60 minute man, but seeing it was his first time and all, maybe he'll improve with practice.

A bit later I was the only one awake, and I was laying there listening to the three of em making their sleep noises, and wishing I could get my arm loose somehow so I could get a glass of water without waking up Betty. But I just laid there listening to the sounds, and smelling the odors of the people sex and dog sex, and thinking about my life.

I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid. I wanted to be a big success and fall in love with the prom queen and live in a four bedroom house with two kids and a Chevy just like white people do in the movies. It didn’t take long to figure out that wasn't gonna happen, and things started to look real bad there for awhile like I just told you about, and much as I try to, I’m probly never gonna forget how I got into prison and what happened to me there.

But all and all, life really ain’t been so bad to me, man. Betty said she thinks I might make a good lawyer someday. I told her I’ll be lucky to pass this class much less make it all the way to law school. But she thinks I can become a lawyer, not one like the city gives you that drinks his lunch, but someone who really helps people, maybe even get some other dudes outta prison that don’t belong there either. She said everybody has a destiny in life, and mine is to help people to redeem their lives. How can you not love a chick who talks like that, specially about you?

Come to think of it, the best thing that happened to me last summer was meeting Betty. I got me a good woman in that chick. I got someone to calm me down after I get cut off on the freeway by some dick, and to help me express my true feelings without cussin. She’s someone who’ll open the aspirin bottle for me when I have a hangover, fake an orgasm when I really need her to, and maybe someday, God willing, remind me how many kids we have and what their names are. Guys don't give their chicks enough credit for this sorta stuff, and frankly you dudes out there reading this, if you are not making use of this kinda help then you are not getting full value outta your chick.

I’m gonna do my part too. I’m gonna protect her, always. I’m gonna hold her and pet her head and tell her everything’s OK when she’s feeling sad. I’m gonna nod at her sympathetically while thinking, "Who fuckin cares?" while she bitches on and on about some other chick at work who looked at her the wrong way. I’m gonna help her watch football with me, let her change my haircut and clothes all the time, and worry about all the big shiet so she has plenty of time for chick stuff like shopping and crying.It was a great summer, man. And I’m looking forward to the rest of my life.
********************************************************

I got a D for this essay ("inappropriate content)", and a C-minus for the course. I was pretty discouraged, but Betty wouldn't let me quit. She said that this might not be my last chance to change my life, but it sure was going to be my best chance, and I should go all out. At the department graduation ceremonies in May, the entire faculty rose and applauded me as I walked up to get my diploma. And then before you know it, everyone else got up and joined in too, and Betty started bawling her eyes out. I was really embarrassed, but fortunately Merle was there, and he shouted "It's about fucking time!" to me, which cracked up everyone and got them back into their seats. In the fall, I'll start law school at Santa Clara University, on an Emery scholarship.

Merle is a Precinct Captain for the Obama Campaign.

Mussel Shoals went on to live a happy life with Dotty. When his hearing started to go, we noticed that she was helping him to understand when we gave him commands. One by one his parts started to wear out, and on December 24th of last year, my dearest friend licked my hand one last time and then slept away. I buried him on a short hill, next to a trail where I used to hike with him and Dotty. The view is beautiful, and when we visit, Dotty will lay next to him for as long as I am willing to stay.

About three years ago my grades started to get very good and it looked like school would stick. I came home one night and told Betty that I thought things were getting better every year, year after year. She started crying and wouldn't tell me why. It took me a long time to figure it out, and when I did I felt pretty sheepish. I asked her, she answered yes, and nine months to the day of our wedding night, little Tina was born. She's as cute as a bug, and someday when she is old enough to learn about her old man's story, I will take this essay out of storage for her to read.

City

2008-09-18T15:23:00.001-07:00

Sara Bareilles

There's a harvest
Each Saturday night
In the bars fill with perfume and hitching a ride
A place you could stand for one night
And get gone

It's clear this
Conversation
Aint doing a thing
'Cause these boys only listen to me when
I sing
And I
don't feel like singing tonight
All the same somgs

Here in these
Deep city lights
A girl could get lost tonight
I'm finding
Every reason to be gone
There's nothing here to hold on to
Could I hold you?

...

Calling out
Somebody save me I feel
Like I'm fading away
Am I gone?

I know I'm a bit late with discovering Miss Bareilles...but I'm okay with that. I love this song.

Dear World,

2008-09-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

You are too big. You ask too much. I can't keep up with you.

A page from Sabrina Ward Harrison

2008-09-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

I'm probably not supposed to post this, but I'm going to anyway because for some reason every page she makes I relate to.

:

I have been feeling so BLANK
and full of muted tones
I feel just sort of beige
I've been stuck in muck.
YESTERDAY I got my hair cut
so short that when I went
to school Christopher SAID
I looked like an English school boy
SO THAT DIDN'T HELP.
My face feels wide and naked.
...it just looked so good in the magazine.

I just read

2008-09-12T12:05:00.001-07:00

Love The One You're With, by Emily Giffon. And yes, I cried in the last chapter. I am a sap.

I didn't really know what it was going to be about when I started reading it. I just figured it'd be another of the many chick lit books I read, a typical love story. Turns out it's about a married woman who runs into her most significant ex and doesn't let it be just a run-in. It becomes more, and the book is actually the story of an affair- or possible one- and loyalty in marriage. Which, as it turns out, is really weird timing, because of stuff going on in another chapter of my life which I don't blog about.

One things for certain, this book didn't make me want to run, crazed and happy, down the wedding aisle. No sir. Or ma'am, take your pick.

2008-09-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what the deal is. It seems like I ought to have a ton to blog about. Andrew just moved to Seattle from Texas...half way across the country. For me; doesn't it seem like a big deal? My life has just changed a bunch. Am I just used to change? Do I not find it remarkable or note worthy anymore? I guess not. Because I moved, I have two new roommates, one of whom I'm intimidated by and I can't put my finger on why I'm intimidated by her.

Since Andrew has moved here I've spent a lot more time in a certain part of the city than I ever did before (which, quite honestly, isn't a lot of time but it's still that much more than before)- the water. I've gone kayaking on the Puget Sound, in Elliot Bay. Seems like I would have some pictures or some thoughts about that, right? And I do...a couple thoughts, no pictures, so why haven't I written them down, or shared them with anyone? I also rode the water taxi...which I had heard of before but thought of as a myth, or urban legend. I like it. It's cute and looks like a cartoon.

I wish people wouldn't congratulate me when they find out that I've graduated. It doesn't feel like an accomplishment, and I'm so sad to be done. I wonder if people ever feel that way when they retire. Like they know they're supposed to be excited about free time and...whatever they're going to fill that with...but they miss their work.

I discovered a friend's blog yesterday, via a link in another friend's blog, and caught up on her life. The truth is we're 'just acquaintances' now, and that makes me sad. I mean, before we were just co-workers, but I really enjoyed seeing her throughout the week and now I never, ever see or talk to her. And I always had hoped that our working together would bloom into hanging out outside of work, but it never did. And that sucks.

I went through a phase of wanting to change the world. Work in another country...join the Peace Corps and Teach For America...not care about material things...learn lots of languages, be well read. Not be satisfied with the status quo. And now? Even though I can say, in all certainty, that this is not the life I want (the one I'm in right now, with my job, townhome, car that needs it's oil changed...badly), it's so easy. It's already in place. I don't have to work to get it in motion, which is what I would have to do if I really wanted to work/live abroad/change-the-world.

The world seems so inconsistent, so unfair. So filled with grey, and I hate that. I do not like to deal with grey. I don't enjoy that messy work. There are parts of the grey that are good and make life more beautiful and fulfilling but...ugh, seriously, it's a lot of work.

Another thing that is true is this: I feel like if someone were to knock on my chest, there'd be a resounding, hollow echo. Which I know probably sounds pretty morbid, but I don't mean it that way. I just feel like there's not much inside...which is really strange. Maybe it's because I've lost sight of who I am...or the idea that it's important to know in the first place. Lost sight of God, and the import of knowing him. Lost sight of everything I've learned, simultaneously losing any motivation to get myself into motion again, out of inertia, to begin learning. I love learning. But again...I've stopped. If no one knows me, if I have no good friends, it can't be that surprising, because in addition to realizing that I have some kind of subtle social anxiety, which backfires on me and only surfaces right before I'm supposed to hang out with someone and cancel at the last second- because I'm scared that they'll be bored with me- I don't even know who there would be for them to know if they got under the surface. I wouldn't say I feel lost, just that I feel genuinely shallow.

And I can't remember if I've ever had this experience before.

Or it could just be that I've taken on parts of the identity and experiences of the main character in a work of fiction that I've just read. Which would be utterly ridiculous.

Wise Words

2008-09-11T16:07:00.000-07:00

Nobody's perfect and if I've learned anything in life it's that the most difficult thing to handle is a relationship.

Andrew Mullen (who I miss, by the way)

Blur Building

2008-09-09T14:53:00.000-07:00

Literally made of hot air.

Webcam

2008-08-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

I can't get it to work on my blog, maybe because I'm not technologically savvy, but there's a webcam south of Louisiana monitoring the appraoch of Gustav and Hana.

Image

2008-08-20T10:46:00.001-07:00

James Tissot (French, 1836–1902). What Our Savior Saw from the Cross

An interesting perspective.

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746–1828). Capricho 26: They've Already Got a Seat (Ya tienen asiento)

From the Brooklyn Museum:

"Los Caprichos, Goya's famous series of satirical etchings and aquatints, consists of eighty plates with text. "Since the artist is convinced that the censure of human errors and vices … may also be the object of painting," he wrote in 1799, "he has chosen subjects adequate for his work [Los Caprichos], from the multitude of follies and blunders common in every civil society, as well as from the vulgar prejudices, and lies authorized by custom, ignorance or interest, those that he has thought most suitable for ridicule as well as for exercising the artificer's fancy."

Mano Poderosa: Hand with Religious Figures Atop Each Finger

I can't help but be reminded of those Halloween candy bowls that have the hand of the dead pop out when you reach for your treat.

Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (French, 1827–1875). A Negress

She's beautiful.

Convertible Bed in Form of Upright Piano. Smith & Co. Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1865

Sneaky.

YES.

2008-08-20T10:09:00.000-07:00

One more reason to love Kapow! Coffee: Petition to build a 300 foot tall statue of Paul Allen.

Plan A: Right in the middle of Cascade Park.

Plan B: Stradling Mercer.

Don't get me wrong, I love all the new construction going up around town. For the most part the construction is visually interesting, and I love watching the buildings take form. Paul Allen is definitely committed to making his mark in the city. He wanted a Central Park, at the south of Lake Union, but Seattlites voted against him. He owns, through Vulcan (I think) a third or so of the property of South Lake Union.

The thing about all the new construction is that, with the improvement of the neighborhood, things are getting so expensive that locals soon won't actually be able to afford to be here. It seems like developers have got Seattle by the ears, or the antlers, or whatever that expression is. Just look at the destruction in West Seattle; and yes, I know destruction is an ironic word. But why tear down amazing, adorable, healthy sized single family homes for crazy, ugly, ginormous condo and apartment units that are remaining empty? Probably the condos are 'right on schedule', and people are expected to fill them in the coming years. Nonetheless, it's ridiculous to just destroy the old homes.

It makes me sad. Surely there is somewhere else that developers could build their multi-million dollar monstrosities? And what an interesting comparison, the mark Paul is making on the city versus the mark Bill is making. EMP v. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Someone commented (here):

"Paul Allen is doing a hell of a lot more with his money than B. Gates. At least he's investing it in the US and even Seattle rather than sending it all to Africa."

Can't say I'm a party to that perspective. I love the city and I know it's in a certain maturing phase that will make it harder for poor people to deal with, but I'm more pro-'helping the world' and having a global awareness than being selfish about what our city needs. I don't know what all their various contributions to the city/world have been, but I will say this: A giant statue of Paul Allen would definitely draw more tourism, don't you think? Which would bring more money to the city. I don't see how Paul could see this as a negative thing.

You can sign the petition to create the Paul Allen 'Thank You' at Kapow! Coffee or online...I think. But I don't where online.

I love irreverent and unapologetic coffee shops. What spunk and gumption. YES.

I really enjoyed this book.

2008-08-18T11:20:00.001-07:00

I read it over the course of a weekend, and cried the whole time.
It follows the friendship and lives of two women who meet at 14 in Snohomish into their 40's. Since I'm in a transition phase in life, it was interesting to see the course of two women continue on from where I am now. I related all too much to one of them when she was in college, because she had pursued a dream her friend had, and wasn't brave enough to do anything about the fact that she knew she wanted something different. When she graduated from UW she felt lost and unsure.
The course her life takes in the next 20 years doesn't answer any questions about what should happen, or what choices she should have made. Which I guess is good- if anyone was going to plan their life from a fictional novel, it'd be me.
But outside of how I related to the characters, the story itself is amazing. I highly recommend it.

Oh, patriarchal society, how I love thee.

2008-08-05T08:57:00.000-07:00

Domestic partnership
Eight year old boy: If I marry a girl, will I have to change my name?
Dad: No. Usually the girl changes her last name to be the same as his.
Eight year old boy: If I marry a boy, will I have to change my name?

-Overheard in PDX

Is it weird that I want to have a love affair with these garage doors? Because I do.

2008-07-31T14:04:00.000-07:00

That llama looks better than the emperor!

2008-07-31T12:08:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is with me and pictures of animals lately...

I can't help myself.

2008-07-31T11:39:00.000-07:00

Ring By Spring

2008-07-28T16:57:00.000-07:00

I've had an ingenous break through.

Along with your diploma, colleges and universities should provide graduates with a 'graduation packege' inluding attire to wear to weddings.

The number of dresses/suits, etc. should be directly related to the number of MRS degrees received by graduating females.

Agreed? Agreed.

Adam Kalkin House @ Shelburne Museum

2008-07-28T12:53:00.000-07:00

Apartment Therapy posted something about one of the buildings at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont, and I really want to go. It is a museum with 39 exhibition buildings, a number of which are relocated to the site. It is modeled after an old town or village, and the insides of the buildings are the collections. I think it would be charming to wander around an old 'town', if you're going to go to museums anyway, but mostly I want to see this:

I am newly in love.

2008-07-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

You see, Sam and Ruby first caught my attention after being referred to them by my dear friend Stef. And over the weekend I thought, You know what? I haven't listened to them in a while, I'm going to revisit their myspace page.

OH.MY.WORD.

I'm so glad I did. They have a number of new songs up and they are as amazing as could be hoped. 'Suitcase Song' and 'Sarah' were my immediate favorites. Now I'm suffering at work because I can't listen to them.

I am not a critic, and I don't write amazing reviews of things I love, but just go to their myspace page or find them on iTunes and listen. Your life will be better for it.

Baby Flamingo

2008-07-25T10:59:00.000-07:00

I never knew they had such big feet!

Camping!

2008-07-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend Andrew and I went camping at Cape Alava (we still aren't sure how to pronounce it). Andrew saw his first banana slugs, his first starfish, his first seaweed and his first sea anemonies. We each saw our first beached whale. That was a surprise! It was a juvenlie humpback whale that was hit by a ship as it's pack had been migrating north.
We had one truly amazing campfire, complete with the most delicious smores I had ever had in my whole life. We built a sand castle and drew water from a nearby spring. Afterwards we stopped on ourway back to our campstie to watch a baby deer walking along the beach; she was joined by her mother, and they walked toward us and did not seem afriad at all. On Sunday morning as we were beginning to pack up camp, a deer walked lazily through our campsite. We stopped and stared, and were surprised by her spotted baby that came prancing (literally leaping, like a gazelle, it was soo cute!) behind her. For some reason it took us all of Sunday to get back to Seattle. We listened to 'Persuasion' (by Jane Austen) on cd, read by Juliet Stevenson. She is really talented, and made the drive pleasant, since we were both tuckered out.
Anyway, that's the update from my life.

From 'Overhear Everywhere'

2008-07-15T11:13:00.001-07:00

Nanny (in thick Irish accent): Get over here right now!

(little girl does not move)

Nanny: Jesus sees you!

(little girl still not moving)

Nanny: Santa sees you, and you'll get nothing!

(little girl runs to nanny)

Pray for this sweet little girl!

2008-07-14T13:40:00.001-07:00

I didn't know until today, but sweet little Natalie Orlando, three years old, has been battling cancer. Please keep her in your prayers as it may be coming back!

Learn Something New Everyday

2008-07-11T15:48:00.000-07:00

Racoons are very territorial. So if, for example, they decide that the attic space above your laundry room is theirs, and one has her babies there, and you throw them out, they have no problem ripping through the side/roof of your house to get back.

Huh.

So when getting rid of an unwanted racoon tenant, take it to a place far, far away- like 60 miles- so she can't get back. If you prefer a female to a male racoon, let the female stay. She'll let her sisters and aunts stay, too, but she will not allow the father of her children to stick around.

So weird.

In other news, I found the most amazing thing, and I am so jealous. This is what I want to do, and other people are doing it. A married couple in LA gutted and refitted 3 1920's cottages, making them totally 'organic' and 'eco-friendly' and 'sustainable'- and so cute. Um, why can't that be my job? Seriously. I would jump out of bed every morning. Look how cute they are:

Getting Organized

2008-07-10T09:47:00.000-07:00

So I'm really disorganized. About life. I like to think that I have things together, but just look in my room. Or look in/at my car. Or in my kitchen sink. Or under the coffee table in the living room. I'm not organized.
So I was reading through June's issue of Real Simple and there was an article called '99 Ways to Get Organized', or something like that. And while I can't use some of the suggestions (I don't have a shovels, place mats or childrens toys to keep track of), I did find something that I find interesting. ButtonedUp is a web site that sells life organizers- for important documents, to-do lists, pet info, fitness goals, etc. etc. The fitness thing costs $4. I might order one.
Whether or not I spend $30 on a Life.doc organizer, I do need to get organized. Bills have to be paid.

The Kindness of Strangers

2008-07-06T21:27:00.001-07:00

So I needed to go grocery shopping badly. It was almost- though not quite- at the point where you ask yourself, 'What can I make from onion and rum?' The answer? Not dinner.

So I jumped on the bus. Ruby Red (my '92 Toyota Corolla) was out helping a friend. My plan was to utilize, for once, the reusable grocery bags that I always forget to take to the grocery store. I thought about taking my backpack to make bringing things home easier, but I figured, nah, I'll just make sure I only get a small number of groceries. Who did I think I was kidding?

So I missed the first bus, but that did not dampen my grocery spirits. On the contrary! I wandered into the 'new' Safeway (new to me), grabbed a cart (I'm not going to fill it up, I'm just taking it so I can meander without my shoulder hurting from grabbing the milk too soon), and began in the bread section.

By the time I was ready to leave the store the cart was full, to say the least. Shoot. Well, I only have to carry it from here to the bus-stop at the corner, and then up one block from the bus stop to my house. Cake. But actually, turns out the bus stop at '1st & Republican' does not exist. So I wandered around the neighborhood in the general direction of home hoping to come across any bus route that would get me closer to home. By the time I'd walked three blocks, the bags had slipped down to my wrists and I had to set them down to prevent an early onset of arthritis. As I crouched at the corner of 2nd & Roy, Danielle took pity on me. She rolled down the window of her silver grace wagon and yelled, 'Hey, do you need some help?'
'Um, I think I got it! I only have to get it across the street to that bus stop'
'Okay, well, I can help you if you need help; I'll just park really quick'
(Hesitation) 'Sure; thanks!'

She drives up the road, u-turns, drives back and puts her car in park in front of me.
'Alright, chica, get in here'
'Thanks!'
'Just grab a few and we'll do it in different trips'
'Wait- I can get it all at once; look, see? I have them all now'
'So how far do you live from here?'
'I live over by the animal shelter on 15th'
'Oh; well that's not too far. Why don't I just take you home? I promise it's not too far out of the way.'
'Really? If it's really not too much trouble, I would really appreciate it. I don't know where my bus stop is'
'I've been there; one too many bags. Just tell me where to turn when we get close, I don't want you to have to walk too far with those heavy bags.'

Danielle. My guardian angel with a master's degree in something and an emphasis in theology. A lisp. Terribly cute dark brown hair. And then, my neighbors from upstairs saw me leave some groceries in the middle of the street as they pulled up.

'Hi, I'm Coral. And thats Honey taking your groceries out of the street. We live upstairs. What's your name?'
'I'm Theresa; thanks for the help. A stranger just gave me a ride home because I missed my bus- or, well, couldn't find it, and I bought more groceries than I meant too. '
'It's nice to meet you.'
'You too.'

Both conversations were longer than what I've written here. But man, I love me some kind strangers.

I also grew this:

2008-07-05T22:01:00.001-07:00

The Good Life

2008-07-02T15:58:00.000-07:00

Here's what I want to do: I want to trade in my bike (that I hate) for one that I will love, and my car for a scooter. A Vespa. Which I know would probably cost me (let's be honest- Ruby, though she has a brand new, wonderful engine, is not as young as she once was and her looks have long gone). But based on craigslist ads, I think I could sell her for $1500. She's worth more in torque. I promise to give her a thorough cleaning before passing her on to a new loving owner. Anyone interested?

Happy Girl

2008-07-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

I love my boss. I just asked him (with much trepidation) for time off while Andrew visits. Janet gave me a word-for-word message that I could leave on a note for him, because I wasn't quite brave enough to think of one for myself. I overshot what I really wanted, which was a half-day off (in order to get to a campsite by the 2 p.m. check-in time), and ended up with all of Friday off! (Not this Friday, obviously)

Basically, he's wonderful. Hurray for three days on the beach!!!

Rodney White

2008-06-30T16:56:00.001-07:00

Finally! I've been wondering for a year now who makes these, and I've finally found him! Rodney White. I'm a sucker for these.

Reclaiming

2008-06-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, it has been long enough. You have my book, and I want it back. I don't know who you are, because although you are the first person I lent this book to (because I decided we were good friends and you would take good care of it), I don't remember who I lent my book to. I want it back. I don't even remember when I lent it to you. But I'm ready for you to return it.

From 'Overheard in Portland'

2008-06-27T12:14:00.000-07:00

African-american customer talking to two african-american cashiers about Barack Obama...

African-american customer: First day he in, they shoot him. You watch!

White customer: They'd better not shoot him - he's our only hope!

African-american customer, to cashiers: White people think they ready; everybody think they ready.

White customer: I'm ready! I'm ready!

African-american customer looks white customer up and down, finally says: You ain't ready.

- 7-Eleven, N. Lombard & Denver

-- Overheard by another white customer

Lunch at The Office

2008-06-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

Ellen Degeneres, on microwaves:

"Anything that gets that hot that fast is from the devil. Just look at Hot Pockets. Put one of those things in your mouth- if that's not hell, ladies and gentlemen, I don't know what is."

Sponsored by: Lean Cuisine.