Bucket List Update and Revision

My new change of location midsummer prompted a few additions to the summer bucket list.

1. Read Les Miserables.
2. Get tan(ish).
3. Learn a new song on the piano.
4. Find cheap flights to Denver for Mark's wedding (fingers crossed).
5. Write something every day.
6. Explore the lighthouse at Discovery Park.
7. Go to Elliott Bay Bookstore (and don't spend more than $30).
8. Find the Sleepless in Seattle house.
9. Listen to the singing monks.
10. Become the alpha-male of the dogs I nanny.
11. Swim in Green Lake.
12. Go to the Jimmy Eat World concert.
13. Go to the Death Cab concert.
14. Visit the awesome cemetery on Capitol Hill.
15. Read a Russian (with emotional clearance from Melis and/or C).
16. Start (and finish) Jesus the Christ.
17. Make tortillas.
18. Watch The Breakfast Club.
19. Paint.
20. Go on a trip. (Canada? Spokane?)
21. Dance on the roof.
22. Attend a reading (or three).
23. Go boating.
24. See the PUPPIES.
25. Show Jess an episode of AR with STEVE HOLT.
26. Go to the temple with the boy.
27. Fish. (Thomas?)
28. Wash the car regularly.
29. Visit the Seattle Art Museum.
30. Go to an outdoor movie.
31. Ride a ferryboat.
32. Go to a Mariners game.
33. Hit the Ballard Seafoodfest.
34. Visit Chihuly Garden and Glass.
35. Ride the ferris wheel.
36. Go to the Marathon memorial in Copley Square.
37. Swim at Walden Pond.
38. Visit the JFK Museum.
39. Buy an air conditioner.
40. Attend a concert at the Hatch Shell.
41. Go to a Red Sox game.
42. Hit up Boston Magazine's Ice Cream Spectacular list.

I, I Love You

And I keep hittin' repe-pe-pe-pe-pe-peat.





Happy Valentine's Day.

Fashion, huh

When I quit my job and moved from Boston exactly five months ago, I decided I would not buy any clothes until I found full time employment. But that doesn't stop me from looking.

I am simultaneously coveting this skirt (or one like it in maybe a champagne color?):

Image and skirt found here.

And these pants:

Image and pants found here.

Patent Pending (?)

Sometimes, you decide to start a new show and C convinces you that it should be Burn Notice.

That decision will start an important discussion about snacks. Obviously.

And sometimes, even though it sounds weird, you might decide to take C's suggestion seriously and actually try mint popcorn. Because you miss having someone to do stupid experiments with. Or maybe you're tired. Who knows why you listen to his suggestion.

Verdict: Meh. When eaten in the form shown above, the flavors of popped corn and mint are distinctly separate from each other. Once smothered (as C said after seeing above photo, "needs way more york. smother it"), the popcorn is merely a vehicle for the melted patties. There is no butter or salt in your mouth. Just chocolate and mint.

oh well.

Top 12 Gchats of 2012

A highlight of the conversations that entertained me during work/designing/job hunting:

JANUARY

Laura: i have a pressing question

 me: go

 Laura: how is it possible for a giant and a human to have a child?

  how does hagrid exist?

 me: hahahaha

 I think the exact same way that two humans have a child

  though I think having the giant as the mother is probably a lot easier on both parents.

  was that too much?

 Laura: no, i just don't get how that works out physiologically

 these are the questions that plague me as i listen to HP

  also, hagrid should mathematically be in his 60s

  do giants age differently?

 me: I don't think they do

 Laura: well, then i'm baffled

 me: why would they age differently?

 Laura: i don't know. he doesn't seem to be in his 60s in the books

  i would put him in his 40s

 me: people in their 60s can do what he does

  not all of them

  but some

  plus, he has giant blood

FEBRUARY

me: hello, cute shoes: http://www.dsw.com/shoe/enzo+angiolini+leealder+pump?prodId=247143&productRef=SEARCH

 Danielle: only 60 dollars

 me: yep

  hmm...

I was looking for animal print, but I like these shoes

 Danielle: hahah still looking for leopard?

  you better hurry up before the tren is over

 me: haha, I know

  h&m has snakeskin ones that I love, but they never have my size

I think I might have to just give up on the animal shoes

 Danielle: hahahah

mike just caught me swaying/dancing in my cube

  woops

 me: hahahaha

  awesome

now the question is do I have clothes with which to wear purple and yellow heels?

Danielle: of course

me: hahaha

  of course I do?

 Danielle: yeah

  you can wear them with anything

me: I like your logic

and I think I will add them to my tax refund present.

 Danielle: there you go

me: yay

MARCH

me: do you have great spring break plans?

  I'm a little surprised you were awake to send an email at 7:40

Dema: haha yeah i've been used to waking up early now, so can't sleep in :)

  plans are just homework and hang out with friends at night

we're still on for tomorrow, right?

 me: yep

  time preference?

 Dema: well if you wanna do something right after work we can, or if you're interested in going to that show together we can meet up later

i'm currently asking Jan Marie if she would date me

 me: I'm guessing the answer is yes

 Dema: u just have to take that step into the dark/leap of faith (think Indian Jones and the last crusade).
and it always seems to pay off
Jan: I seriously love you for making that analogy
me: that's why we'd make a great lesbian couple.
think about it
Jan: absolutely

 me: hahaha

  I love it

and I'd totally date you, too

 Dema: good

APRIL

Matt: oh my word, your church has a style guide

  how great is that

 me: of course it does

  I have a copy of it

  I've used it before, I used to intern with a BYU professor writing a commentary on the New Testament

  haha, how'd you find it?

 Matt: i was perusing the general conference stuff

 me: ah

Matt: haha...top-down management of the church, very interesting

 me: what do you mean?

Matt: well, top-down meaning there's a central authority that manages nearly all facets of mormonism, opposed to most other sects of christianity where the mangement is spread across the members of each individual church (bottom-up)

 me: right

I find ours more effective.

Matt: for some aspects, absolutely

  like I said, very clean

  provides clear and consistent results

Mormonism also, i think, exercises more control than, say, Catholicism, despite both being centrally administered

 me: I don't know a whole lot about the organization of the Catholic church, so I can't say

Matt: well, the main similarity being a central authority (pope and cardinals vs. president and...his cabinet? Elders? Not sure what you call them)

me: haha, it isn't a bureaucracy. they are apostles. like in the Bible.

MAY

Miranda: hey MASTER

me: hahaha

  oh hey

 Miranda: so proud of you

  i'm going to brag all about my roommate

 me: hahaha

 Miranda: to who ever wants to listen

 me: everyone, I'm sure

Miranda: there is a line forming outside my cubicle, waiting to hear the ballad of allison mitton

me: ooh

  is it as good as when you recite ice ice baby?

 Miranda: better

  i've grown wiser since then

me: hahaha

  I loved that

  that's one of my favorite memories

 Miranda: i'm glad!

  so, have you read any of briTTany's blog?

because it irks me because it is written so poorly, i can only imagine what it does to you

me: oh my gosh NO

send me the link

 Miranda: i can't access it write now, (fb is blocked at work) but its on her page

ahhh WRITE NOW?! who am i? my brain ismelting at this job!

  right now****

 me: hahahaha

JUNE

me: okay. it's just the one selena gomez song I really like

everything else is just, meh

 Katelyn: haha, thats a good discovery

 me: is it on repeat?

  yes. yes it is

Katelyn: hahaaha

  oh, you and selena. bffs.

 me: hahaha

  terrible

my music listening sometimes takes these huge nose dives

  this is one of them

 Katelyn: haha, well acceptance is the first step

me: to recovery?

  but I haven't recovered

  case in point:

  Ke$ha

  Call Me Maybe

  Selena Gomez

  I'm Sexy and I Know It

  need I go on?

  haha

Katelyn: haha, no no. i think we all have a bit of pop music trash attraction. it's an inevitability of life.

 me: that is true

  oh. Britney Spears

old and new

  I Wanna Go is just so great

 Katelyn: case and point

 me: plus there's my horrible Maroon 5 love affair.

 Katelyn: haha

 me: all my favorites of their songs are the dirtiest ones

  and I never realize it until it's too late

 Katelyn: hahaha

me: oh well.

Katelyn: it's not the worst thing in life. embrace it

JULY

me: so I told Danielle and McCall and Anne Marie the David date story tonight

  they loved it

Jan: hahahaha

  I love it too

  that was great

 me: D wanted to know why I'd never told her before, haha

 Jan: well it's not like you go around telling everyone you meet

 me: I hardly tell anyone

it makes me look bad, haha

  and I still had the note

  so she read it out loud

 Jan: HAHAHAHA

  I can't even remember what it said now

  I wish I had been there

  how does it make you look bad?

  you didn't do anything

 me: you don't remember?

when I got back from Christmas Dema and I were sitting in the foyer at church and he came to talk to us and she totally steamrolled him and wouldnt let him talk to me

  she monopolized the entire conversation

  and he doesn't talk to me now

  we'll pass in the hall and he doesn't even say hi

 Jan: yes I remember that

  if it makes you feel better he doesn't say hi to me either

AUGUST

me: how goes the search

 Calvin: didn't yet

  got emails from BU

 me: haha, I knew it

  oh yeah?

  how are the terriers?

Calvin: fast

 me: not as fast as jackals, though

Calvin: who has a jackal mascot?

 me: I don't know

  but I always say to be speedy fast like a jackal

  have you never heard me say that?

 Calvin: of course I have

me: well then. terriers aren't as speedy fast as jackals.

 Calvin: how do you know?

me: because jackals are the speedy fastest

Calvin: no they're not

  two words

  cheetahs

me: that is one word

  also, I saw the african cats movie and the jackals were running just as fast as the teenager cheetahs

 Calvin: teenager cheetahs are always high on weed

me: you are making that up

Calvin: i would never

 me: you would always

 Calvin: touchez

 me: haha

  I win

SEPTEMBER

me: so I've been watching grey's again

  it's bad because I get sucked in, and because it makes me think I have some weird serious thing wrong with me and I don't know it and I'll die

but also I like it because I love Cristina and Meredith's friendship.

 McCall: haha oh dear

  yeah their friendship is great

  but that's bad because you tend to self-diagnose anyway

but in all likelihood you're fine

  however, if you would like to take this opportunity to go to a doctor, i'm all for that

 me: hahaha

  you and everyone else

McCall: smart people

  smart people

 me: yeah yeah

haha

  aaah there is a moth in my room

  it keeps saying you do not receive my chat

  hmm

McCall: yeah, it said that for mine too which is why i said it twice

  really weird

  also, kill the moth

me: so last night I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and turned on the lamp

when I got back to my room I saw the moth six inches from my pillow, on the wall

 McCall: ugh, creepy!

 me: haha, I didn't know what to do. I don't know how to kill moths

so I managed to suck it up and get in bed. though I think that was part of the reason I didn't sleep well

  when I woke up it wasn't on teh same wall anymore, but just now it started flying all over

  ooh there it is again

McCall: just throw a shoe at it!

OCTOBER

me: I'm glad you're checking up

 Reed: doing my best!

me: you're doing great

  I'll fill the SEO stuff and post it

 Reed: word - thanks! Over the weekend if i have time maybe i put together a few screen shots and send them out ... maybe that will help them figure it out

me: that's a good idea

Reed: those come across my mind from time to time ... yes!!!!!!!!!!

 me: haha

  don't let it go to your head

Reed: shoot ... too late!

me: hahaha

  that's okay

  Dema will make sure your head doesn't get too big

Reed: def'ly true .... that's why we have women in our lives... they build us up and rip us down at the right times!

 me: and we do it well.

NOVEMBER

Daniel: now about you

  what's the news?

me: no news

  I'm going to California next week

 Daniel: ooh fun

  which part?

 me: my dad just bought a new car but it's in Orange County

  so my mom and I are flying down to drive it back up

we're going to stop in San Francisco for a day with my uncle

 Daniel: have I told you that I love SF?

me: nope

 Daniel: or what's left of it?

  it's in my top 3 of cities

 me: what do you mean, what's left of it

Daniel: post Giants victory riots burned some stuff down

 me: yeah, but they won

 Daniel: hey, no one is happier than me

  i love the giants

 me: umm, I probably am

  did you go to Giants games every year since you were 1?

 Daniel: that's probably true

in fact, a lot of people are probably happier than I am

  but I'm more than halfway between indifferent and hey-that's-cool

 me: haha

  terrible

Daniel: i did see the giants play every time i visited my grandpa though

  and those are my favorite memories

 me: I love them so much

  mostly Brian Wilson and his sweet, sweet beard

Daniel: not the one from the Beach Boys though, right?

 me: I don't know why you'd even say that

  look:

 Daniel: hahaha

 me: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/sports/baseball/wilson-giants-closer-leads-team-without-pitching.html?_r=0

DECEMBER

Calvin: and graduate study in cw will round blah blah?

me: that could work

 Calvin: will round me more fully as a writer

  something like that?

me: hmm.

I want a different word

  something other than 'round'

 Calvin: yep

 me: the first thing that comes to mind is 'flesh', which is equally bad

 Calvin: ew

 me: hahaha

 Calvin: advance

  enhance

entrance

  fire dance

  romance

  fat chance

 me: you should write the entire letter like Dr. Seuss

 Calvin: bagger vance

 me: now you're just making things up

 Calvin: haha, that would be awesome

 me: it really would

A Variety of Summations

As I attempted to write my 2012 review post, I became irritated by the lack of specific photos that I wanted while listing certain things. (If I resolved each year, maybe I'd resolve to photograph more. Pretty sure the itouch will help with that.) While searching, I changed my plan. So here's a stupid intro-post forewarning you that there will be three 2012 summations this year. Starting, now.

No: Oil that burned quite slowly . . .

Just in case you need a little pick-me-up during our favorite holiday season. . . .


Can I interest you in Hannukah?

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
A Colbert Christmas: Jon Stewart
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

Uh Oh

I discovered another magical time-wasting tumblr. It's full of definitions!


The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows


The good (bad?) news is, they are all words that I've been searching for. I feel like this all the time. See Zielschmerz. Also, Nementia.

Pro/Con List

Moving to Seattle Cons:

• Public transportation in a widespread city takes forfreakingever to get anywhere. 
• Pacific time zone does not allow you to call friends in Boston and/or DC when you get out of class at 9 p.m.
• Job hunting sucks.

Moving to Seattle Pros:

• It has rained once in the past month, and the weather is quite pleasant for someone who's lived in New England for two years (roommates are wimps) (also, Boston is quite rainy currently = irony).
• There are so many more trees.
• Mexican food is available and actually tastes like Mexican food should taste.
• Rent is half as much each month.
• Unemployment allows for babysitting cousins once a week.
• Printmaking class. Best idea ever. (Granted, this also would have happened in Boston. But the tuition would probably have been three times as much.)
• Going home for Conference weekend costs $25 instead of $400. Tualatin, here I come.

And Then There Were Four

I attended my very first concert in 2007. Snow Patrol, a new listen for me, and OK Go opened the concert for them. It was a cold March night in Salt Lake, and I went with a boy who'd broken up with me a month before, but we were still friends. The concert was loud and overwhelming, but so fun, and the lead singer shared a great anecdote about singing Set Fire to the Third Bar in San Diego.

Really crappy photo taken on a phone before the iPhone existed.

My next concert happened a little over a year later. In May 2008, while home for the summer, I drove with Kirs and her good friend Sarah out to Bend to see Death Cab for Cutie, with The Decemberists and Mates of State opening. As we waited to get in we could hear the band tuning, and as they ran through What Sarah Said it started to rain and the entire line began to sing along with the band. It was magical.

Kirs and I waiting in line.

Sarah and I at the concert. We were smashed up in the front.

My last concert was probably the most fun. While I was in Jerusalem Kait and Erik started dating, and they got engaged the following May. I discovered Erik's love for Kelly Clarkson on Kaitlyn's birthday, and that spring of 2009 when Kait was home in Oregon but Erik and I were still in Provo I accompanied him to the Kelly Clarkson concert at UVU. I have only seen Erik more excited one other time in our friendship (the day he and Kait got married) than when we went to that concert. He was beaming; it was just as much fun to watch Erik as it was to watch Kelly Clarkson. And her live version of Miss Independent was better than any recording possible.

A double rainbow over the stage. The rain was rockin'.

Tonight will be my fourth, and quite probably best, concert. At 7:00 p.m. in the TD Gardens, McCall and I will dance like crazy people while listening to Coldplay. I finally get to wear the glow-in-the-dark musically-coordinated bracelets, and see the patented Coldplay confetti. I can't wait.