Costco

I made an interesting discovery today while researching moving supplies for Carol. Costco, the go-to place when you want a year's worth of toilet paper or a pickle jar large enough to hold an elephant fetus, is also your source for the afterlife: that's right, they sell caskets and urns. I'm not sure if you can just throw one in the cart along with your oversized box of dishwashing detergent, but they have a section on their website devoted exclusively to funeral goods. Don't worry, you don't need to buy these in bulk.

In other news, I'm baking a pecan pie right now. Someone left a big bag of pecans in the refrigerator in the apartment, so I snagged them when we cleaned it out. I have enough left for another pie, which is convenient because they only sell frozen pie crusts in packs of two. Mmm... pie.

Blast from the Past

Here's a little anecdote for the secretary's cocktail party: I was photocopying today and the CRAZIEST thing happened. The first 15 sets of 3 documents turned out fine but the 16th set was BLANK! I panicked, thinking that the toner had run out. But, when I checked the information panel, the toner light was not on. Just as I was about to open the machine and ruin my crisp white blouse just to make sure, it dawned on me: I PUT THE PAPER IN THE FEEDER UPSIDE DOWN! What an idiot I felt like! Har har har. How rich.

My friend Diana from college was in town yesterday, the first in a 3-week blitz of visitors. She is doing a whirlwind West Coast tour and JUST HAD to see Seattle and catch up- it had been positively AGES since we last spoke! I got caught up on the post-Bates gossip: who's penning a thinly-veiled autobiographical novel (which hardly compares to her current dystopic writing project), who was accepted to grad school at Brown, who is living the posh life in Brooklyn and just LOVING it, blah blah. We went to a FABULOUS Indian/Nepalese/Thai fusion joint for dinner (which managed to accommodate my aversion to meat and dairy, David's carnivorism, and Diana's allergy to everything under the sun), then explored the city by foot, because after all, that IS the best way to get to know a new place. The Market was closed, but we saw the public art at Olympic Sculpture Garden and the taxidermied freaks at Ye Olde Curiosity Shop and a whole lot more of the city because I got us lost. It was fun. Next comes Jessica, then my brother, who instructed me "prepare thy liver!"

Somaly sent me a card and a bottle of nailpolish today. I really miss her.

Utilikilt

Work today was boring, so instead I am going to talk about Utilikilts. What is a Utilikilt?

A Utilikilt is a garment designed for the man who likes to feel a breeze between his legs without appearing too feminine or Scottish. It seems to be a uniquely Seattle phenomenon; I see on average one Utilikilt per diem, whereas prior to moving to this fair city I had never set eyes upon one. Don't let the guy in this picture fool you: Utilikilt wearers are hardly ever muscular or tanned. Personally, I prefer the look of shorts, pants or trousers, but people in Seattle seem more concerned with comfort than fashion, so more power to the Utilikilters I guess.

Capitol Hill Block Party

Well, I think I'm finally recovered enough from the Capitol Hill Block Party to write about it; it was a rough morning. Chris bought us tickets as a birthday present for David; they block off a couple of blocks in Capitol Hill and have a bunch of bands on a few stages, although I don't know where the other stages were (I only saw one). We got there at 7:30 and it was really crowded and lame, so we figured that what we needed was some beer. So, we went and got a couple of beers at Elysian Brewing Company. Both of us enjoyed our selections. Then, we decided to try another bar, so we walked up a few blocks and found somewhere that looked like a dive. The rainbow flags and the burly yet really, really friendly bouncer should have tipped us off that it was a gay dive. There were a couple of other ladies in there, but I was the only one who was born that way. The women's bathroom didn't even have a lock on the door, because seriously, who's going to walk in? We went back to the concert, but the band wasn't very good, so to kill time, we went into another bar. The headlining band (Vampire Weekend) started around 10:30. The governor introduced them. They were ok, but we don't know them very well. So, we started to head over to Nate's going away party, but we ran into Chris, Kristin, and Casey and we stayed for a little longer. Then we decided that we actually did want to leave. On the way over, we watched a dodgeball game in the park. That was pretty entertaining. We made it to the bar, which is only a couple of blocks from our house. Details get a little hazy from here on out, but it was fun. I just wish I had hydrated before going to bed.

I love Seattle, Pt. 2

Today was a good day. David had to work late, so he went in later too. Since I was going by myself, I decided to walk. Seattle in the morning is really pretty.


I am amazed by all the little details- I saw this in the sidewalk on a barely-traveled street corner:
I might have made a new friend this morning, a woman who responded to a Craigslist posting I did yesterday; we're getting rid of our corporate apartment and some of the furniture needs to go. We chatted while she was looking at them, and I helped her get them to the car. She sent me an email afterwards asking if I was interested in happy hour some time since I mentioned I was new to the area and didn't know anyone. I said yes. I liked her.

I also got some sweet free stuff- which is almost always exciting! For one, I called dibs on the apartment's alarm clock, so I picked that up while we were over there. Second, it's Friday, and that means it's Jones day; Jones Soda is across the street and they give away free soda from 3-5 on Friday afternoons, so fyi if you're in the area. Third, I helped our interior designer clean out some wood samples, and I took a few of them to use for my print making. I've been wanting to try woodblock prints for a while.

Wireless

I am loving Seattle. Here are some pictures I took today.


Lake Union

SLUT: South Lake Union Transit.

M is for: molding.

Bio-diesel pump. God bless America.

The monitor came off today around noon. I still have red circles on my skin from the adhesive but I feel human again. I went to the hospital after work to drop it off. It was a pretty good day; we had a meeting for about an hour and a half with bagels, then these two girls from a club down the street stopped by around noon with a bucket of peanuts, candy, coupons, and beer and asked us to consider their place for our next office event. The peanuts were tobasco peanuts, and they were mighty tasty.

Holter Monitor, day 2

Day 2 hooked up to the box went well. Instead of taking a shower, I was able to get 10 extra minutes of shut-eye (hey, every minute counts)! I camoflaged it well with a long, high-necked shirt and a big necklace (points to the robot and bright colors suggestions, I admire your creativity), and nobody let on that they noticed. One guy did ask me quietly if I was ok to walk the two blocks to Fed-Ex after giving me something to ship. I told him I was fine. I'm always fine when it comes to getting out.

Doctor's Visit

I went to the doctor today to get to the bottom of my recent fainting incident. The whole process took about three hours: one hour to get there, one hour to be examined, and another to get back. (I also took an hour for lunch. I got piroshky again.) The doctor was almost scary in her perkiness. "Oh, that's SUPER-DUPER common..." but decided I needed to have my heart checked up. I now have four electrodes running from my rib cage to a box clipped to my waistband. These will come off on Thursday at noon, and since sensitive electronic can't get wet, it's no showers until then. Every time I feel like something isn't right (like I stand up too fast and get dizzy) I'm supposed to press a button on the side of the box and write down the sensation and what I was doing when it happened. So basically I'm going to be walking around for the next 42 hours with greasy hair and wires sticking out from under my shirt.

Signs

David and I went to Georgetown and Ballard today. We saw a lot of neat stuff, including these signs.

Two things that suck: vacuums and religious fanatics. Also this guy's spelling.


Must transcend all physical possessions. Must also encourage people to buy stuff.



Hee hee. It says "breast."



I don't get this one. I'll have to ask Jessica.

Day Off

I took the day off yesterday. I figured that leaving work on a stretcher day before was an automatic green light for a sick day and I would be stupid not to accept the opportunity. After calling in around 8*, I went back to sleep until about 11. I spent a little time deciding what I wanted to do, then I put on some clothes and set off for the art store. Along the way I leisurely browsed a couple of shops** and got some lunch.*** Then I got a little lost**** but found my way again. I bought my supplies and headed home. On the way, I stopped in a few more stores.***** Since my neck was really stiff, I treated myself to a massage.****** Then I bought food for dinner and made dinner,******* which we ate while watching a movie.********


*even though I knew they weren't expecting me.

**a used CD and used clothing store, did not see anything I liked.

***I passed by Piroshky's, a small cafe that sells nothing but piroshky (bread with filling), so I went in because I like piroshky. The piroshky I selected combined three of my favorite foods: bread, mushrooms, and cabbage. Of course it was delicious. They have many meat-filled options too, so I'm going to take David there sometime. It's next to the Jamba Juice, so he won't complain.

****I ended up walking past the same hospital I was in the night before. Some guy was canvasing and asked me if I had some time to talk with him about the Democratic Party. I was still eating my delicious piroshky and was on a mission, so obviously the answer was no. He said something snarky as I passed. What sort of jerk canvasses outside a hospital and makes rude comments when people ignore him? Of course no one is going to have time to talk with him. People entering and exiting hospitals have other things on their minds. "Excuse me, do you have a couple of minutes to spare to learn more about Barak Obama while your sick loved one waits inside and could possibly die while you're out here listening to me talk about something Obama will do for you if elected, which he probably won't do anyhow since he's a politician and most of them will say anything to get elected?" No.

*****A pet food store: left with catgrass seeds and two free samples of cat food. A shoe store having a going-out-of-business sale: replaced my worn-out gym shoes. A craft store: bought a pamphlet of sock patterns. I was passed by a policeman on a segway: if I had been thinking clearer, I would have taken a picture. It reminded me of Robocop or something.

******I can't really afford it and feel guilty about having spent so much money in one day, but my neck really hurt from falling and stress, and the massage parlor had a half-off offer to first-time customers.

******* I found a recipe for a brown rice and garbanzo bean salad in a QFC handout. It was really good! I made some substitutions and halved the recipe and ended up with this: 1/2 cup cooked brown rice, a can of garbanzos, a fennel bulb (I might use celery next time), 2 chopped green onions, 8 chopped green olives, 1/4 cup dried cranberries, 1/8 cup chopped pistachios, and feta cheese over mixed greens, tossed with equal parts balsamic vinegar and honey. Lamb was on sale, so I (over)grilled some of that for David and grilled some tofu for me. Dessert was grilled peaches and plums topped with honey and vanilla ice cream. Picking up on a theme? My mom gave me a panini press, and I've been having fun grilling things.

******** "In Bruges": good movie! The characters are all well-developed, and even though they are all killers, you don't dislike any of them; even the "bad" guy is quite likeable.

Photography

I took my camera to work today and took pictures of the Space Needle in the morning and on my lunch break:




































































Ok, so that last one's not the Space Needle: I had a fainting episode in the afternoon and got to take a ride to the ER. Since it was my first time in an ambulance, I thought I'd document it. After 3 hours and multiple tests, they didn't find anything wrong.

Wednesday

I had my best day of work yet: I didn't do anything more interesting than usual, but was consistently busy all day. Carol told me that the nature of reception does not provide for long-term projects, so I'm going to be stuck living day-to-day until I find a better job.

I also made a wonderful discovery on my lunch break; I had intended to spend the entire hour reading, but it turns out I only had a few more pages in my book, so after I finished I wandered over to the coffee shop I passed by earlier in the week: Uptown Espresso. I am in love. It's open and spacious, nicely decorated, comfy chairs, free wi-fi, good music (ELO today), money-saving 8-oz lattes, chocolate chips on the counter, and here's the best part (for me at least): rice milk! I will return tomorrow.

Camping

Today was an ok day, workwise. It was boring, but I got a good night's sleep and felt well-rested and energized. Plus, I found a starlight mint while cleaning off my boss' desk: score! As as added bonus, it wasn't a mint afterall: it was cherry candy! I need to stop eating random things I find around the office. Today was not a good day, public transportation-wise. I forgot my bus pass, so I walked, then had to wait for a second bus on the way home because my usual was full. However, I made it to each destination ok so no harm done.

Maybe another reason I felt positive at work was because I had an interesting weekend. We went camping with Chris and Kristin at Tinkham Campground, about 40 miles outside of Seattle on the Snoqualmie River. It was nice to get out of town and into nature. Umm... "nature." The rushing noise we heard from our campsite could have been the river or the highway, no one is really sure. David got in touch with the wilderness by making a stone tool to rip open the tent, since the QFC checker left it on. QFC sells everything. He also impressed me with his foraging skills by picking me a berry, and again with his fire-making abilities using a lighter and a paper towel. Chris brought some good food and a little stove, and we roasted and grilled. There was some Franzia involved too. Thanks to some 30% DEET bug spray, I only walked away with one mosquito bite, and I killed at least two of them, so I win. Despite the slight chill in the air and the people ignoring the "no shooting" signs, I slept like one of the rocks I was lying on. All in all: a good time. Two thumbs up.

Today I did a bunch of reorganization. First, I went through a box of stuff that the Interiors department used to stage a beautiful Capitol Hill Mansion a few years back. We're going to use this junk as gag gifts at an upcoming Employee Event. The box contained: a silver tea set, 4 wooden finials (I had to ask on that one), plates, different plates, chipped porcelain bowls, a fountain pen, a seltzer spritzer, four fake apples, two fake chocolate-dipped strawberries, one fake piece of cake and a fake cookie, a chenille throw, a bunch of vintage postcards, a set of World's Best Short Stories, and a pair of binoculars. I used the binoculars to watch people up in the Space Needle for a little bit.

Once that task was completed, I started to organize the Office Manager's desk. Daunting. We talked about music for a little bit; we have pretty similar taste. Lunch in the park. More desktop reorganization (does this guy ever throw anything away? nope). Then we had a meeting because one of the girls is moving to Portland. Then, I started to enter the information from her Rolodex into a spreadsheet. I got through A and B before calling it a day; I have until Friday to finish up C-Z.

After work, I went to the bank. On the way, I saw/smelled a man smoking the reefer at a bus stop, and watched a homeless guy ask a Duck Boat of tourists for change at a red light.

It's here!

After much anticipation, David's projector finally arrived. He's tinkering with it right now, and has managed to get it into focus. It's got sharp resolution and good color, and takes up much less room than a TV. Plus, the picture is HUGE!

I think I saw a prostitute today at work. Carol says that they like to hang out near the park with all the other transients. This woman kept pacing in front of our front window wearing high heels and short shorts. She was pretty out of it.

Other than that, I received and deposited my first paycheck. Today also marked the culmination of my research of luxury Realtors; I found 99 and that's enough. I celebrated the event by making labels of their names and addresses, then applying those to big white envelopes until I ran out of labels. The highlight of my day was either talking to Nikki (the girl I am working on befriending) or the dum-dum I got at the bank. Overall it wasn't too bad.

Crazy 4th of July weekend!

It was supposed to rain on Thursday night, so instead of watching the Whidbey Island fireworks, we saw Wall-E at the AMC downtown (I mention AMC specifically because David had a pass there). Go see it. It's as good as the reviews say it is.

We went to David's folks on the 4th. They throw a nice bbq on their front porch every year, which has a great view of the mainland. Grilling and good times. After, we sat around Dan and Mollye's outdoor fireplace (also a great view of the mainland) and watched the fireworks displays.

We woke up to a tasty pancake breakfast cooked by Mollye, then took the little ones to a park. They soon tired themselves out, so Dan took them for a nap while David, Mollye and I went to the shop to play "Landslide" with David's dad. David won.

The ferry line was really long, so instead we took a different route. It's a very pretty landscape, a nice mix of flat, hilly, and beach. We stopped in Oak Harbor for dinner (tofu enchiladas- yes) and went over Deception pass. We walked on the bridge for about 10 feet so that I could get an idea of how high it is, then turned around because we're both afraid of heights. We also drove up to the top of Mt. Erie and were rewarded by a picturesque view. Here's a picture David took (pretend it's not sideways):















Chris and Kristin came over with some beers around 11:30, but I was beat and a waste of space.

Week three is off to a slow but promising start. Carol says I'll start to do more with marketing soon, and I remain hopeful that things will pick up. Of course, yesterday I did more filing, and today... I don't even remember what I did. I ran an errand, threw out a bunch of magazines (only to fish a few of them out of the recycling bin again because Carol forgot to mention that we might need them), started to compile data into an Excel spreadsheet...

I met David after work by the Space Needle. We caught the bus back and finished watching the movie we started last night: 10,000 BC. It's finally cooled down in our apartment, and it's nice to relax and enjoy it.