Beans to Emeralds

My first film

2010-03-05T08:45:00.000-08:00

Here's my final project for one of my courses; it was intended to be the final version, though our instructor said we have another week to improve it. I sent it to the brewery just for fun, and they put it on their facebook page and a local beer blogger put it on his blog, which is kinda cool/embarrassing. It's very much a student film (audio/video quality isn't great) but I worked really hard on it so I'm proud of it.

Anyhow, this is what I've been doing instead of blogging for the past 3 months.

A note to my blog

2010-02-24T11:10:00.000-08:00

Oh, hello little blog. You may think I've forgotten about you, but I haven't. Sure, there are some other blogs that are playing very important roles in my life right now, but you're still number one in my heart. I look forward to the day when I will be able to post to you more frequently, but for now let us both be content knowing the special place we hold in each others' souls.

Winter Break

2009-12-23T14:22:00.000-08:00

I'm still alive (knock on wood) and managed to survive a challenging quarter. It actually ended more than a week ago, but I've been in recovery mode. It's nice to have some time to relax- I'm still working 20 hours a week, but without classes, reading and the two heinous group projects assigned by both courses (one that came with frequent marathon meetings) I'm feeling a lot freer.

I haven't really done anything I promised myself I would do. The apartment is only marginally cleaner, the scarf I promised David for Christmas last year is still not finished, I haven't done any art or cracked open any books. I have a blog post for my program's blog due on the 27th and have only today begun emailing people for quotes- really bad timing. I supposed I should focus on what I have done though: I've baked some good cookies, cooked some good food, completed my Christmas shopping, done a fair amount of work on David's scarf, rejoined the gym and started to get back in shape, and come to the somewhat difficult conclusion to stop writing my Examiner beer column because I don't have the time or the money to drink and review all that beer. Oooh, and I just bought (well, my parents just bought me) a new camera: I found a great deal on a digital SLR. I've been writing weekly blog posts for work, and my 5 year old point-and-shoot isn't cutting it. It's supposed to arrive tomorrow, so prepare for tons of pictures of the Cobra.

Busy

2009-10-16T12:27:00.001-07:00

I suppose sporadic posting has become a reality instead of a passing trend.

I started my 3rd quarter a couple of weeks ago, and so far my classes are interesting. One is a required research class with all the new students (65 of us) and the other is a web interactivity class which I have high hopes for. I've even made a friend or two, people I met over the summer but now talk more with and actually hang out with outside of class, which has been nice. What's different about this quarter than previous quarters is that I felt overwhelmed immediately after the first class. My first quarter, I wasn't working for the first few weeks, so I wasn't really busy until halfway through the term. My second quarter, I only really had big assignments due at the end. This time, I was hit with a massive paper two weeks in. Factor in a 4-day trip to North Carolina for a wedding that didn't actually happen and a project at work, and you've got a slight raise in blood pressure. The apartment is a mess, I've only written a few beer posts since I've been back, and my willingness to do anything other than heat frozen dinners has decreased. But I'm having a good time.

So, yeah.

Cutest. Story. Ever.

2009-09-28T18:45:00.001-07:00

My cousin Shawna and this kid named Trevor were buddies growing up. At age 12, Trevor tells his mom that he is going to marry Shawna. But Shawna likes other boys, and she's really pretty, so the other boys like her. She dates a few in high school. At 18, she has her first kid and then marries the father. She has another kid with him. Her husband treats her poorly, but since they have a couple of kids, she's stuck. Then the husband hits a deer on his motorcycle and dies. Shawna is now a widow at age 23, but her friend Trevor is there to support her. She mourns her husband for as long as she needs to, then she starts to see Trevor as more than a friend. They begin to date. She and her kids move in with him. And they just got engaged.

I don't know if that's the whole story or even the true story, but it's a cute story.

California

2009-09-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

I went down to California to visit my folks last week: flew out on last Wednesday and flew back on Tuesday. My hometown is one of those places where everything is always changing and yet nothing ever really changes. Stores and restaurants are always going in and out of business, but even though the news ones are different, they are exactly the same. A few years ago, the trend was bubble tea. Then all the bubble tea shops turned into frozen yogurt shops. Next time, I'm sure the frozen yogurt shops will be cupcakeries. If a start-up folds, there is a new one to take its place. Ugly McMansions are torn down and replacements are constructed. A new wave of students comes and goes but they are carbon copies of their predecessors. Everything -cars, phones, gadgets, clothes- is modern, expensive and cutting edge, which means that while there is constant change in the material, the conceptual remains stagnant. In mathematical terms, were you to take the derivative of my hometown's change equation, you would get a constant. Correct me if I'm wrong on that one, math people.

Anyhow, on the first day I was there, we drove to Santa Rosa to meet up with the parents of one of my dad's former patients. The patient is now in her mid-thirties and has a fused-glass studio. She does some of her own work, but mostly she teaches glass fusing classes. It's kinda like a paint-your-own ceramics studio (in fact, she shares the space with a pain-you-own ceramics studio): she has the supplies, and she helps people make stuff. I wish we would have had time to make something (though then we would have had to ship it, so probably not worth the hassle) but we wanted to make a 3 PM tour of a nearby brewery. That was pretty cool: a free sampler of their beer (the equivalent of a pint, plus more if you count that it was pretty high ABV beer, plus more if you count that my dad and I split my mom's) followed by a brief (10 minutes) tour of the facilities. I was only moderately embarrassed to be doing it with my parents, mainly because when the tour guide passed around hop pellets for us to smell, my dad ate it. He broke the pellet in half, sniffed part of it, put it in his mouth, chewed, and then did the same for the other half. Then he turned to the guy sitting behind us dry-hopping a cask with whole hops, asked him for one, and proceeded to eat that too, leaf by leaf. Since he was still hungry, we stopped in San Francisco on the way home so my dad could get a sundae at Ghirardelli Square. Every time we are in San Francisco, we inevitable end up at Ghirardelli because they have the best sundaes in the world and my dad really, really likes ice cream, especially with hot fudge and whipped cream.

The next morning, I went for a jog and then hiked the Dish trail with my mom. Stanford used to have these big radio telescopes to search for aliens (I believe it was part of the SETI project- another reference to a course I took my freshman year of college: I am on fire). The telescopes are no longer used to look for ET; instead, they are props in a scenic path along the rolling foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, frequented by inhumanely athletic college students, skinny powerwalkers, and yuppie moms desperately trying to get their post-baby body back. So, my mom and I were a little out of place. We came back, chilled for a little bit, and then I hopped on the train up to SF to meet up with Jessica for a night of debauchery (if 2 beers is considered debauchery).

I met up with her on Market Street around 5 after walking from the train station, about 2 miles. We did a little shopping (she needed a new watch and I needed another pair of running shorts). She has been staying at her parents' condo, which is on the 32nd floor of the Four Seasons hotel and has insane views of the Bay and downtown. She took a nap and then we figured out what to do. I had a plan already: Haight Street pub crawl. My beer peeps had told me of a couple of great places to go, both on Haight Street. Even if you have never been to SF, you are no doubt familiar with the Haight (as in, Haight-Ashbury). Back in the 60's, it was full of dirty, strung-out hippies, and today it is still full of dirty, strung-out hippies. But, there are also plenty of trendy boutiques and restaurants, making it an interesting mix of white-collar and tie-dye collar. Anyhow, we got some sushi then walked to the first bar, a cute brewpub called Magnolia, where we ran into this girl we used to go to school with. Weird. We had a beer, then walked to the next bar, a dirty, metal-playing, graffiti-bathroomed beer bar that despite the dive-y atmosphere still attracted the same type of clean-cut person as the cute, non-dive-y bar. Go figure. We had another beer then caught a taxi home.

The following morning, Jessica wanted to go to the Mission District to look at a bike. She has this obsession with Peugeot bicycles after the bike she rode in the Netherlands (despite having flown over the handlebars on said bike and broken her arm). She liked the bike, so she bought it. After realizing that my blood sugar was getting low (not physically dangerous but unpleasant and cranky), we walked around the Mission for a while looking for a suitable place to eat. We got some sandwiches at a way-too-crowded-for-what-it-was cafe and ate them in the park. There's a name for the park (Dolores park?) but I can't remember it. We went back to her condo, where she finished packing, since her summer was over, and we headed back home. I went out to dinner with my parents and called it a night.

I can't really remember what we did Sunday. Went to the Farmer's market... Oh yeah- back to San Francisco! My dad left for a week at his job in New Mexico around noon, and my mom and I saw the King Tut exhibit at the DeYoung museum in Golden Gate Park. That was awesome: tons of Egyptian relics, all in great condition. Then we went to Alive, this amazing raw food restaurant for dinner.

On Monday, I had my first-ever facial: interesting experience. It was very relaxing, except for the extraction part, where they manually cleanse your face of impurities. The woman doing it had to whip out a needle for some of them; in theory, being stabbed in the face with a needle isn't all that fun, but she was very gentle. Basically, she slathered a variety of goo's, creams and rubs all over my face, and told me to wear sunscreen. It was cool, and I know my mom paid a lot of money for it, but I'm not sure if the cost was worth the result. I hung out with my mom the rest of the day, and then we met up with Jessica and her parents for dinner. The next morning, my mom drove me to the airport, and by 3, I was home!

Family Reunion

2009-09-14T11:58:00.001-07:00

Oh boy, what a fun summer it's been! Except for taking a full courseload and all. Summer quarter has been over for a few weeks though, and I've been enjoying having extra time to relax.

Last weekend was the big family reunion. It wasn't really that big, since my dad's side of the family is fairly small. He has two brothers and one sister, and only one of those has any kids: one cousin (Betsy) lives in Seattle, and the other (Josh) lives in LA and works in the, umm... film industry. Anyhow, my Aunt Fran flew out from Maryland (her husband stayed behind), my dad flew in from California (my mom stayed behind), and my Uncle John and Aunt Becky came up from Colorado; my Uncle Bill and Aunt Susie live in town, so they acted as tour guides and chauffeurs. My dad and Aunt Fran got in on Thursday afternoon, so we walked around the Sculpture Park before being joined by David and Betsy and heading over to Westlake Center for a Public Option rally. Then we went to Happy Hour at a Japanese restaurant for dinner and hung out for a little bit before coming back to our apt with my dad.

The next morning, I did a couple hours of work, then we went to Best Buy because my Uncle has a temper and somehow killed his computer. I've said it before and I will say it again: my family is very tall. One 6'8" guy draws sideways glances, but two of them together draws stares; my dad and Uncle Bill are both this height, so going out in public is always fun. Anyhow, after a successful best Buy adventure (my Aunt and Uncle left with a netbook, which, now a week later, they still have not figured out) we headed out to the Locks for lunch and to watch the salmon. We hung out again at my Uncle's before going to another Happy Hour for dinner. David joined us after that, while we waited for Uncle John and Aunt Becky to get in.

The following morning, the siblings headed out somewhere to visit some other relatives, and Aunts Susie and Becky headed to Bill and Susie's place on the Hood Canal. David and I chilled here. I can't really remember what we did, but the following morning we too headed to the Hood Canal. It was raining pretty hard, so we stayed inside, played cards, drank beer and ate food. The old folk shared family stories, most of which involve a shared dislike for their father, who apparently was kinda a jerk. Uncle Bill just turned 65, so we celebrated that as well.

We stayed the night, and the next morning my dad headed to Anchorage to see my brother, and David and I headed home. Yesterday, which was my Uncle's actual birthday, my Dad stopped in on his way home from Alaska, and we all went out to celebrate again. We hung out over there for a while, then came back here. I'll see him again in a few days: I'm going home for a week starting Wednesday.

My other blogs

2009-08-16T14:43:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated here in a while, though I've still been busy blogging:

Something for my program's blog: http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2009/08/seattle-p-i-launches-neighborhood-blogs-bloggers-react/

My final project for US Digital Media Law: http://truthinblogging.wordpress.com

Various musings on Digital Media

Family reunion

2009-07-22T17:13:00.000-07:00

My dad and all of his siblings are going to be in Seattle next month; my one uncle just moved back, and the other three are paying a visit. My aunt and uncles all went to UW, so Seattle is a natural meeting place. I'm thinking about making a short documentary of the get together, as the oldest of the bunch is 69 and it may be one of the last times they are all in the same place. Knowing my family, it probably (definitely) won't be a very interesting movie, but at least they are all very tall.

I'm on a boat!

2009-07-16T21:18:00.000-07:00

I went into my internship today and S. asked me if I wanted to go out on the boat today; she and B. own a 36-ft. sailboat. Oh heck yes! So, after work, the whole gang all went to the Marina and went sailing on Elliott bay with beer, snacks and good times. Pretty freakin' sweet. Kinda reminded me of a certain SNL short:

12:34:56 7/8/09

2009-07-08T14:44:00.001-07:00

I'm a dork.

New Neighbors

2009-07-06T11:49:00.000-07:00

I've never had much desire to own my own house. Sure, it would be nice to have a garden or be able to customize my kitchen, but mostly I've been content to be a member of the landless proletariat, mainly because I'm lazy and have other things I want to deal with besides maintenance. However, upon being woken up at 2:30 AM (on a Sunday night/Monday morning) to our new downstairs neighbors' thumping bass beats made me reconsider. After a half hour of enduring the noise, I went out into the hall to investigate. The original plan was to just see where the noise was coming from and then alert the manager in the morning, but I decided to be bold and just knock on the door. A young gentleman with his shirt unbuttoned half-way to his navel, highball glass in hand, answered the door.

Me: I'm your upstairs neighbor and your music is keeping us up. Do you think you could turn it down? It's 3 in the morning.
Young Gentleman: Sure, I mean we already turned it down once, but I can turn it down again. I heard a lot of noise up there so I just figured we had loud neighbors. Must have been someone else.
Me: Yeah, must have been someone else. We're in bed. Please just turn it down.

Of course, he didn't turn it down, so we listened to his techno bass beats for another 15 minutes or so, which at 3:00 in the morning seems like an eternity. David is going to call the manager today, and if it continues I have no qualms about filing a noise ordinance against the little shit.

New (temperary) toys

2009-06-29T15:57:00.000-07:00

I'm borrowing a couple of pieces of equipment from the Communications dept right now: a logitech USB mic and a Nikon D80 digital camera. I'm a little in love with each of them, though initially I was really frustrated since neither come with a manual and both needed some figuring out. I had to reconfigure some stuff on my computer to get the microphone to work; it's not great audio quality but not terrible either- better than just the internal microphone. They run about $25, so I think I am going to invest in one so I can do more podcasts, since checking out equipment is a bit of a hassle.

The camera, on the other hand, runs around $1,000, so I will not be investing in one any time soon but will check it out repeatedly until I graduate. It has both manual and automatic options; I had to think back to my high school photography class in order to get decent pictures (apertures, f-stops, etc) but I am really pleased with the results.

A Tree-hugging Hippie Vegetarian Rant

2009-06-27T17:39:00.000-07:00

I'm tired of people telling me that I should eat meat because it tastes good. It's like saying you should use cocaine because it makes you feel good.

Every time I go in for my internship I am asked another question about what I do and do not eat. My coworkers are all foodies, and they have a very Western idea that only food with animal products can be gourmet. I suppose I understand: meat has traditionally been a global luxury, therefore "meat" is still equated with "good." My favorite cuisine has long been Indian food, even before I went vegetarian. Indian cooking does use a lot of animal products; even if there is not meat or cheese the dish is often prepared with ghee (clarified butter), but because Hinduism reveres cows and supposedly respects all creatures, I've found Indian dishes to be very vegetarian-friendly and still delicious. Also, since meat is scarce in many places, the vegetarian dishes of these regions are spectacular. India, China and Ethiopia come to mind.

At the same time, I'm pretty much convinced that PETA, Greenpeace, etc are all right-wing conspiracies to make the American public look down on the environmental and animal rights movements. The local PETA group hired a homeless man at the Pride festival today to hold a sign saying "Save the Cows- Go Vegan"; how does that make veganism look? First, I don't give a damn about the cows. Don't get me wrong- I like cows on an individual level, but cattle are a huge detriment on the environment. Second, the alcoholic, most-likely mentally-ill man who begs for money and cigarettes outside of QFC should not be the face of the movement. Again, I am not trying to pass judgment on this person as an individual and I do not know his story. My point is that PETA should be making a convincing argument for their case. PETA is essentially applying for a position in people's lives; if an applicant walked into a job interview having not showered or changed his clothes for days, the company would immediately show him to the door; a man in a suit would have a chance. If PETA truly wants change, they should be transmitting a convincing message of legitimacy.

My Great Alaskan Adventure

2009-06-21T21:41:00.000-07:00

I spent a few days last week visiting my brother in Anchorage. He's been up there for about 3 years for school, though he stays on during the summer as well. This summer he is working as a dishwasher in his school's cafeteria. He had to work almost every day we were there, but since his shift is 5:30 AM to 1:30 PM we still had the afternoons to do things. Plus, since the sun never completely sets, the day seems like it has more hours.

The first day whole day I was there (Wednesday), we went to the Native Heritage Center, which has an outdoor exhibit with recreations of 6 different native dwellings. Then we went for a hike:
His band played that evening, so we went to see them; they were pretty good- very different from bands Carl has played from in the past. The next morning, I biked to the Anchorage Art and History museum and the Russian Orthodox museum. The Russian museum was small and pretty lame but free and interesting enough, and the Anchorage Museum had a great exhibit detailing Alaskan life through the years, from the ice age to the present. When Carl got off of work, we drove to Seward, which is about 3 hours away. Along the way, we stopped at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. There were all sorts of cute and uncuddly creatures (bear, moose, musk ox, elk, bison, caribou, etc) but my favorite was this little deer:

Seward was an ok little town; pretty small and kinda boring, but the drive was worth it:

I saw a couple of bald eagles in the trees, which was the first actual wildlife I had not paid to see. We had dinner at an Italian/Greek restaurant and Carl took me to a beach, where we skipped stones for a little bit. The scenery was pretty much what you think of when you think of Alaska:

We got home around 11 and watched some YouTube before going to bed. Carl didn't have to be at work until 10 the next day, and I went for a nice bike ride through Earthquake Park (the landscape was altered by the 1964 earthquake) until he got home. We went to the gym, and then the drinking began. We hit up the Midnight Sun brewery and then went out on the town.

Saturday morning, we woke up, rehydrated, talked about how hungover we were, and then drove to the airport. So, in a nutshell, that was my trip! It was fun. Today, we went to the Washington Brewers Festival (more beer...) and tomorrow classes begin again!

School's out for summer...

2009-06-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

...only I'm taking summer school.

National Donut Day!

2009-06-05T15:51:00.001-07:00

Today was National Donut Day. Translation: free donuts! I went on a donut run (literally: walked about 1/3 of it though) to Mighty-O donuts, my favorite donut store. They're vegan and organic. Along the way, I saw a few things, like a paper crane girl:

a severed head:and the angriest cat ever:

After about an hour, I made it to the donut mecca.

They had free mini donuts; I took a glazed and bought a regular-sized cocoloco, a chocolate donut with cinnamon sugar.
You can also watch them making the donuts:The mini are probably better than the regular because they have more crispy surface area, but both are quite good.
Mmm... donuts.

Podcast!

2009-06-02T14:43:00.000-07:00

The final version of my personal podcast- I'm screening if for class tonight!

1 year!

2009-05-31T08:48:00.000-07:00

The original reason for writing this blog was to chronicle the move from Boston to Seattle. Today is the one year anniversary of our plane ride out here! Crazy. So far I'm really glad we moved. I like Seattle a lot, and things are going pretty well right now: I'm learning a lot in school, keeping busy with my internship, and having fun with David.

The quarter is almost over, which is hard to believe- they go by a lot faster than semesters. I'm taking two classes over the summer, which hopefully will put me in the position to graduate in Spring '10, about a year from now. Over my break I'm going to go visit my brother in Anchorage for a few days. I've never been to Alaska and am looking forward to seeing it. It was kind of a last minute decision. I didn't get a good deal or anything, just realized that this might be one of the last opportunities I have to go there before he graduates in December. I wish David could come too but he has to work; we're pretty close to Alaska though so it won't be hard to go again.

Dinner and a Beer

2009-05-27T14:38:00.001-07:00

Here's the draft of my personal podcast for class:

It's academic

2009-05-24T20:15:00.000-07:00

I've been editing audio all day for my podcasting class; one project is a personal one on food and beer, and one is a group one on Seattle tourism. Here's my part of it:

Editing audio is easy but takes a lot more time than you would guess (unless you would guess that it takes a lot of time, in which case you are correct). I had some problems recording last week; I don't really know anything about equipment, so everything so far has been trial and error. I've recorded directly to file with portable recorder, into GarageBand on David's Mac and with Audacity on the PC though several different microphones (even stupidly bought one at Radioshack), all with little success: it sounds like I'm under water no matter what I try. However, I think I've got them to a point that I feel comfortable with, though they are still a work in progress. I was hoping to have everything finished by this weekend, but I need to re-record a few clips. I'm still in pretty good shape: have a group presentation for my other class on Thursday, which I am a little nervous about but feel that we're on our way to doing a good job. The assignment that I was most worried about was posting to the department blog, and I got that out of the way on Friday. You can read it here.

We went for a hike yesterday near Mt. Si with Devin and Catherine. It was nice to get out of town and into the outdoors; plus, Devin and Catherine are fun to hang out with. We couldn't make it to the top of the trail because there is still too much snow (well, technically, we could have, but it didn't seem worth it) but it was still a really fun day. My camera died before we even started the real hike (we had a false start with a lame "nature trail") but I did take a few pictures:

Finally, here's The Cobra with her idol:

IFBC

2009-05-17T19:03:00.001-07:00

So... my first post in nearly a month: I've been pretty busy with school and my internship. The work isn't too hard, though it is challenging and keeps me on my toes. It's basically just a lot of stuff all at once.

This weekend was really cool: the folks at my internship organized the International Food Blogger Conference, so I got to attend it (well, work it). There were a lot of prominent food bloggers talking about everything from writing to photography to ethics and legal issues. My main responsibilities were set-up and maintenance (busing tables, brewing coffee, odds and ends, etc) but I also monitored/contributed to the Twitter feed during the sessions. I got some great stuff out of that which I can use in my classes.

One guy, who I will refer to as Inappropriate Twitter Guy, was interesting. He is a food blogger and sex educator (something tells me that it's less high school gym class sex-ed and more of something that interested adults pay good money for) and some of the stuff he said was a little weird. The other interns and I got a nervous laugh out of some of what he included the group on. As proof, here is his entire feed from the event:
-Great gift bags at #ifbc, though wouldn't it have been cool to include mojito peppermint lube: http://store.babeland.com/safe-sex-lubes/babelicious-lube?kbid=828
-someone finally talking about sex at #ifbc!
-On the plus side: easier access to men's restroom than women's restroom at #ifbc (but i'm willing to make men's coed)
-Overheard at #ifbc: Food porn is good, but real porn is better.
-Careful. At #IFBC, food porn session is talking about hand...shots.
-Did I miss the "porn" part of the food porn session? #ifbc
-Sex educator in me should applaud the pineapple at today's IFBC breakfast. One of the best foods for our sex lives. #ifbc
-FINALLY! Someone used "porn" with the right meaning. #ifbc
-(BTW, some porn people rock, too.) #ifbc
-In response to my pineapple comment, people at break asked other good sex foods, so I offer: kiwi and celery. #ifbc
-And...chocolate is an aphrodisiac...banned for women during Aztec times. (I think this is when the feminist movement really began!)

Umm... yeah. The rest of the event was great. As you might expect, there was plenty of excellent food, most of which was not designed for the animal-product adverse (there were some definite veg-haters in the room), so I pretty much just ate bread. Not a problem: bread is probably my favorite food in the world, and this was good bread. Still, I'm glad it's done and I can spend the week focused on school. I need to do the recordings for two podcasts, a ton of reading and some stuff for a group project focusing on a social media strategy for Habitat for Humanity. Plus, I really, really want to cook a whole bunch now.

Weird

2009-04-26T20:32:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a group project for my podcasting class. We're doing a podcast that focuses on Seattle culture. In the course of my research I came across this piece of info about Frances Farmer, an actress who was involuntarily committed to mental institutions: "Frances Farmer went to West Seattle High School and the University of Washington. At one time she lived at 312 Harvard Ave East which is believed to be behind the current Washington Mutual on Broadway." That's where we used to live! Crazy.

We built a house

2009-04-25T23:08:00.001-07:00

Umm... kinda. David and I volunteered at Habitat for Humanity today, as part of the Bates' (my alma mater) Day of Service. We got a ride to the site from two Bates girls who live in Capitol Hill and go to my gym, though I didn't know either of them in school. We spent most of the morning carrying and putting up drywall, and the afternoon doing the same. All in all, I think we did two walls and put up 8 roof brackets in 6 hours. I'm not super gung-ho about alumni events, so this was more an excuse to do some volunteer work. After a two hour nap after our return home, we've almost recovered, though my knee has just started hurting because I accidentally whacked it with the back of a hammer on the site. Whoops.

The new internship is going well, as are my classes. I pretty pumped up for both of them, though the increasing workload has got me a little worried. This week is going to be a little intense with deadlines, but I've been working at it (as in, I did homework on both Friday and Saturday night while David played his computer game) and feel that I've got a decent handle. I don't intend to make weekend nights work nights, it's just that with Habitat for Humanity taking up all of my Saturday and some moving yet to be done tomorrow, I wanted to make sure I got everything done. Working at a food website has got me really excited for new things to cook, so I'll try to make time for that too. I've managed to work in exercise by walking everywhere, which also saves a few bucks in bus fare.

The apartment is also pretty sweet, with a few slight drawbacks. I don't mind not having a garbage disposal, though having one would be better. The oven doesn't cook evenly, but as long as you rotate the food it's fine. Plus, having gas instead of electric totally makes up for that. The only thing that is worse than our other place is that water pressure in the shower is a little weak and the water doesn't heat up very well. David had to tighten the screws on a couple of the cabinets, since they would swing open and The Cobra would get in them and knock stuff over (like the trash). I heard a scratching in one the other morning and opened it up, expecting to see a mouse; instead, The Cobra came out. I must have shut her in without realizing it. It's kinda funny to see her pawing fruitlessly at the doors. She seems to really like the place.

ScribeFire

2009-04-21T20:01:00.001-07:00

This is a test of ScribeFire, a Firefox add-on.

First Day at Second Internship

2009-04-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

First day at the new internship went well; I'm considered a contract employee and am earning a sizable amount more than I was at my last internship. It's still not much, but it's higher than minimum wage, and if I am really, really frugal I may just make ends meet.

I'm going to be helping them with social networking and editing: I'm really excited. It's going to involve contacting bloggers, editing and adding content, and maybe some Facebook stuff. Most of it is going to be from home too, so that's nice. I really enjoy sitting around in my pj's and bathrobe.

New Beginnings

2009-04-19T22:04:00.000-07:00

We're (mostly) in our new apartment! There is still a bunch of stuff that we have to move but that'll happen over the next few weeks; the most important stuff has been taken care of.

I start a new internship tomorrow with a start-up called Foodista, a recipe sharing site and food blogging community. I'm excited: it seems like a really neat company and it's pretty much exactly what I want to do with my career. I would like a real job instead of another internship, but while I'm still figuring out my needs for school, I figured that another internship would be best.

Thanks!

2009-04-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Mollye for hosting such a nice Easter Sunday dinner! We had a lot of fun with the Island folk (as usual) and (also as usual) I am amazed by how much kids grow in such a short period of time. The cooking was excellent, as were the leftovers, and I am looking forward to using some new Body Shop products :)

Recent Stuff

2009-04-10T12:54:00.001-07:00

The odds of me ever playing my cello again have become drastically reduced. I was in a rare musical spirit this afternoon and decided to tune up the old girl. While tightening my stubborn C-string, I heard a crunch and the string popped up. It didn't seem possible that I had broken the string, because C-strings are about as thick as a rat's tail and I have never met a cellist who actually broke one just through tuning. Sure enough, I looked down and noticed I had instead snapped the bridge in half. Whoops. I have also never heard of that happening! I went to the local violin maker and he said that a new bridge would cost $175; David said that wood glue only costs $1. I think that's what I'm going to go with if I ever hope to play again.

This past week has been great; I read, worked on projects for school, went to classes, and blogged. I wasn't working but I was really busy the whole time. I am getting really excited about my classes. Last night, the CEO of the Seattle Habitat for Humanity chapter pitched us a problem, and we need to turn in a proposal by next week's class. I woke up this morning and just wanted to work on it; I don't think a school assignment has ever interested me so much. I actually want to learn more.

Ooh, gross story: we got a sample of all-natural food at the Green Festival and fed it to the Cobra this week. She's really picky about what she eats, so I was surprised when she liked this stuff. It, however, didn't like her. She had some digestive issues that required serious treatment: a bath and manual feline fur scat extraction. It was probably the grossest thing I've ever done. Granted, I've never changed a diaper, but babies don't have hair on their butts either. Wet cats are funny though, so it was worth it.

Also, go see Monsters vs. Aliens! We saw it 3-D at the IMAX and it was awesome! I love Pixar. Also, I wrote my best beer blog yet: http://www.examiner.com/x-5933-Seattle-Craft-Beer-Examiner~y2009m4d10-How-to-Host-a-Beer-Tasting-Party. I am just really excited about the internet right now.

"Historic Low Usage Sunday"

2009-04-09T12:58:00.001-07:00

Oh Seattle Public Library System, you are a tricky one! By renaming Easter "Historic Low Usage Sunday" you have cleverly maintained our society's Christian dominance under the guise of municipal non-denominationalism. Good job. Learning doesn't take a break for religion! In fact, Easter is a great day to hit the books, since all the fun privately-owned places are closed. Plus, there are always bums looking for a free place to warm up, even on major Judeochristian holidays.

It's not the fact that the library is closed that gets to me or even that a governmental body is closed for a religious holiday: what bugs me is the PC facade. Just say you're closed for Easter instead of making something up

Taste WA, etc.

2009-04-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

I'm still recovering from the weekend. Not in a hungover way, though I was probably around more alcohol than I have seen in my life. Sunday was Taste Washington, and even though it's just a 6 hour event, I put in more than 15 hours on Sunday alone making it happen. We set up all day Friday, then checked in the restaurants, wineries and exhibitors on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. Sunday was intense, but really fun. Doors opened at 2, and I even got to enjoy the event a little; I couldn't really drink since I was working or eat most of the food since it was mainly meat-based (WA Beef was a big sponsor) but I cheated and ate stuff that I knew had eggs or dairy and even sampled a couple of beers. The only crappy part was manning the gift bag table when the event closed at 8, since we ran out of freebies and people were pretty drunk by then. I didn't see it for myself, but the men's bathroom had turned into a vomitorium by the end of the night. Tear-down was the fun part; WA has a law that open containers can't be left after an event, so we collected any bottles that had more than an inch of liquid left over, but since I wasn't driving I also did a bit of sampling at this point. It helped make the clean-up a little more fun. I also picked up a bunch of corks that I am going to turn into a memo board for the kitchen in our new place.

So now my internship is over and I am just a student. Classes are going well so far. I am really interested in the material and excited to learn more. I have my second Podcasting class tonight; by the end of the course we will have learned how to pitch business ideas to companies and also will have produced our own group and individual podcasts. The Thursday night "Social Production" class also seems interesting; it's about applying social media to businesses as well, though this focuses more on social networking. The professor is the director of the program, which is essentially why I signed up for it, though I also expect to learn a lot.

It's really too nice of a day to sit on the couch in front of the computer, so I am going to take my books to the park. I've had it sitting on my lap all morning and my legs are starting to sweat. I wrote a beer blurb this morning if you want to check it out.

Hemophobia

2009-03-30T18:04:00.000-07:00

There is nothing like someone else's blood to get your day off to a rotten start. I was sitting on the bench at the bus stop this morning when I noticed a very bloody tissue several feet in front of me. Then I noticed another. And another. There was a trail of blood leading from the tissue to the bench, so I lifted my bag and noticed smears of reddish brown on the paint. I stood up and noticed the same smears of reddish brown under where I had been sitting. It was dry, but blood in general really freaks me out; AIDS dies once it's been outside the body for 12 minutes, but hepatitis is very resiliant. I knew that there wasn't any blood on me or my bag since it wasn't wet, but I couldn't bear the thought of having sat on someone's nosebleed so I went home and changed my pants and switched tote bags. I was a little late to work (took a new route) but it was worth it to feel cleaner.

The good thing about sitting on blood is that nothing else you do all day really can be any worse. In fact, my day was pretty good: we're 100 prizes over where we need to be for Taste Washington, and I feel proud of my contribution to this. I had an eye appointment after work (no change in my vision) and also wrote a new post on my beer blog. www.examiner.com/x-5933-Seattle-Craft-Beer-Examiner~y2009m3d30-ExBEERience

Classes

2009-03-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

I am now a full-time student: since my program let me matriculate early, I registered to take 2 courses at 5 credits each. One is on podcasting as a marketing tool, and the other is called "Social Production and Distribution of Digital Content." Classes start this week, Tuesday and Thursday from 6-10 PM. I'm nervous for many reasons: will I be able to pay attention to a single subject for 4 hours? Will I be alert in the evening, especially once I have a job and am working 8 hours a day? Will I be able to adjust to the rigor of graduate-level education? Fortunately, since my internship ends this week, I will have a lot of time to read and concentrate on my studies while looking for a job.

This week is going to be intense: Taste Washington is this coming weekend, and it's a big deal. At $85 a ticket, it attracts a high-end clientele and everything needs to be perfect. So, I work Monday through Thursday in the office (only 6 hours each day, not too bad), then Friday and Saturday setting up, then a scheduled 14 hours on Sunday to run the event. Plus my first week of classes on top of that! Fortunately, I am being paid extra for working at Taste WA. Sweet.

Ooh, in exciting news: we're hopefully going to be moving to a new apartment! It's just right across the street from our current one. We saw it yesterday afternoon and turned in the application this morning. It's bigger, cheaper, and actually has separate rooms with doors, so when I want to wake up early on a Saturday afternoon and make oatmeal, I won't wake David up. Other than that, we went to the Green Festival at the WA State Convention Center today, and I made some enchiladas for dinner. We also watched "Return of the Jedi".

Craft Beer

2009-03-26T18:41:00.000-07:00

There are a few simple pleasures in life, among them blogging and beer. And now I'm blogging about beer. I answered a posting on Craigslist looking for people in Seattle wanting to write about certain topics for a website, Examiner.com. I have a lot of free time on my hands, so I applied to be their vegan/vegetarian examiner. However, the position was full, but they asked if there were any other openings I would consider. I wrote back with a list based on openings on the website (craft examiner, knitting examiner, beer examiner) and somehow they decided I was qualified to write 2-3 articles a week on microbrews as their Craft Beers examiner. Am I really qualified to write about beer? Well, I like a good beer. I don't drink a whole lot of beer, but when I do I enjoy drinking quality, locally-brewed craft beer, so I guess this makes me a good candidate. I have a lot to learn; I am almost ashamed by how much I don't really know about beer. However, I like writing, and feel that this is a good way to get some tangible experience in this area. So, you can check out my work here: www.examiner.com/x-5933-Seattle-Craft-Beer-Examiner

And please give me any suggestions, comments or beer recommendations.

Don't worry, I still enjoy Bud Light with Lime.

Gross

2009-03-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

I stayed home today from my internship today; still not feeling so hot. On Wednesdays, I only work 4 hours, so I debated in the shower at 6:15 am about whether or not to go in: it's only 4 hours of work, which is not really that much. On the other hand, it's getting out of bed, getting dressed and riding the bus for 45 minutes while feeling like crap for only 4 hours of practically-unpaid work. So, I stayed home and am really glad I did. I slept until 10:30, grudgingly went to the bank to deposit a check for my parents, bought more kleenex, got a smoothie, and came back and watched a movie on the couch. Right now I am watching Oprah and contemplating a nap. I'm glad that I don't have any real responsibilities!

Bubble Tea

2009-03-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

I bought some tapioca balls and giant purple straws at Uwajimaya yesterday to make bubble tea, my favorite type of tea.

My cold just hit my sinuses about an hour ago. I'm drinking the Manoschevitz wine I bought yesterday for cooking to numb my throat, which doesn't hurt but just feels gross. David feels like he's coming down with something now, and I feel bad for giving it to him.

Veg-tastic weekend

2009-03-22T16:27:00.000-07:00

I've been fighting some sort of illness for the past three days that has caused me to lose my voice and generally feel headache-y and tired, though hasn't hit my sinuses the way a head cold would. My dad said it's laryngitis, but I always thought that laryngitis was more serious, since this hasn't stopped me from having an excellent weekend.

This weekend is the biggest weekend of the year in the Seattle vegetarian community: Vegfest, an all-vegetarian trade show put on by Vegetarians of Washington. I signed up to volunteer a while ago (volunteers get free admission), and was assigned to hand out food from 4-8 PM. David asked a few days ago if there was still room for him to do the same, which there was, and so he handed out samples with me. We arrived about an hour early to tour the event and taste the samples. There were all sorts of tofu, drinks, desserts, snacks, entrees, and more, plus literature, cookbooks, etc. The food ranged from fake meat to crazy soy concoctions to weird raw stuff, all quite delicious (in my opinion- David didn't eat anything). We watched a video before our shift started to acquaint us as to what was required of us, then checked in and received our booth assignments. I handed out tortilla and pita chips, while David poured Almond Dream. Fortunately, the event closed at 6 so we were only doing this for a couple of hours instead of the 4 we had anticipated. From there, we began clean-up, and were out of the hall by 7:15. I renewed my membership and took home a bunch of stuff for doing so, including: a can of soda, a loaf of bread, some nutrition bars, and coupons to vegetarian restaurants. I've seen some weird things put in goodie bags, having worked now at two consumer golf shows and one upcoming wine show, but never a whole loaf of bread.

David went over to Chris' after we returned, but I stayed on the couch since I still wasn't feeling well. I read a manuscript ("novel") that a friend of mine from college wrote. It's all about the feelings of uncertaintly and depression that everyone experiences after graduating college, and is interesting only to people who have recently graduated college and are feeling depressed and uncertain. He's a good, creative writer and I think he will eventually have great success, but this is not it. The topic has been covered before, better, with an excellent Simon and Garfunkle soundtrack and Anne Bancroft's killer gams.

This morning, I woke up bright and early: 7 am. It's not too early, but because of my illness I didn't fall asleep until about 2, so I would have liked more sleep. I got a bagel and some coffee and hopped on the 49 (which turned into the 7) to the Red Cross for a pet first aid class. If I am going to be a pet sitter, seriously or just recreationally, being certified in feline first aid is critical for marketing, and a good skill set to have in case anything happens to The Cobra. We learned how to do CPR, mouth-to-mouth (mouth-to-nose), the kitty heimlich, first aid, and how to find normal indicators of health like heart rate, breathing rate, and temperature; we practiced on stuffed animals with breathing tubes instead of plastic dummies. The class was 4 hours but went by really quickly, which gives me hope for grad school: the classes will also be 4 hours, though they will be at night instead of in the morning. I've been worrying that my short attention span will be no match to marathon lectures, but as long as I am engaged in the material, I have a bit more confidence I will be able to survive.

Christoph Niemann does it again

2009-03-19T18:55:00.001-07:00

My Life with Cables

So true.

Phone Rage

2009-03-18T15:54:00.000-07:00

I hate automated systems. The Washington Unemployment Hotline has static-y 70's top 40 hits for their hold music; it's almost impossible to listen to, but they've got me stuck- I really need to talk to a representative! I just called Hartford Life with a question about my parent's trust and I could not speak with a representative; I tried pressing zero and no luck. It's funny, because the recorded message mentions their "extraordinary customer service." I know that machines are more convenient and save on overhead, and the real people aren't always all that helpful anyhow, but they're usually better than the automated ones.

Walking

2009-03-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

I walked a lot today- well, not too much, maybe 6 miles. First, I walked to Madison Market and Trader Joe's for groceries. Then, I decided to walk to the UW campus to drop off my college transcript; I tried mailing it, but it was returned to me (I got the zip code wrong), so rather than waste another $1.00 I decided to drop it off in person, which would also give me a chance to get familiar with the campus and explore the neighborhood. The reason for walking was to skip the gym and save $2 on bus fare; it wasn't a particularly beautiful day and I wasn't feeling particularly energetic, so I made it about 2 miles before catching the 49. Then, I walked over to the hall where the graduate admissions office is located. At Bates, it would have take about 2 minutes to get from one end of the campus to the other, but since UW is huge, it took me a while. Then I walked back to University Way and stopped in Wells Fargo, Tully's, and several consignment shops before reaching my ultimate target, a vegan grocery store. It was closed. If I had checked its hours before leaving, I would have known that it is not open on Mondays. I took a peak through the window though and wasn't too impressed by the selection- nothing I can't get at Whole Foods or Madison Market, though I guess the point is to support small, local businesses. My transfer was still good and I made it back home without having to pay another fare.

Hawaii

2009-03-15T13:53:00.000-07:00

Vacation's over, and we have only pictures, memories, and several boxes of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts to remind us of our travels. David has a little bit of a tan too. Here's a day-to-day break-down of the trip:

Friday: met my brother at the Seattle airport and flew to Honolulu, where we met up with my parents. Flew on separate flights to Kauai. There was a woman waiting at the airport with lei's for my mom and me in honor of our birthdays; we finally figured out after a day or so that my aunt and uncle bought them for us. Got the rental car and made it to the resort. Hit the bar almost immediately and went to the nearby Italian restaurant for dinner.

Saturday: Carl and David took a surfing lesson while my parents and I bought food for the week. I think we hit the pool or the hot tub when we came back. Dad lit up the grill and we had steak (or mushroom) and margaritas for dinner.

Sunday: Mom got me a massage for my birthday, which was really nice. It was in a tent on the beach, so I got to relax to the sound of waves and birds; probably the best massage I've ever had. My folks also gave me a watch and a cookbook, and my brother gave me a hand-held blender. The sun was out after my massage, so I got some tanning in while David hung out the the hotel room. We had dinner reservations at 7:30 at a vegetarian/seafood restaurant I found online in a town about 20 miles north, so we hopped in the car mid-afternoon to tour the island. We went to a waterfall and drove around for a bit, but still made it to the town about 2 hours early. We did some shopping and killed time in a bar; I got a snack at a nearby health-food store and the menfolk got some nachos. We all partook in their Happy Hour, me just in hopes that the waitress would card me and give me a free drink after noticing it was my birthday. She did not check my ID though. David and I walked to the beach while the rest of the family sat in the bar. When we got to the restaurant, it turns out they didn't have record of our reservation, but my mom had an email trail that straightened it all out. The food was really good- I'm going to try to replicate the coconut rice they served with my burrito.

Monday: Snorkeling! Mom stayed in the hotel, but the rest of us were picked up at 7:45 in the morning. Our guide was a twitchy Hawaiian guy who knew a lot about the area and had all of the gear we needed. I couldn't believe the variety of colorful ocean life that is just a few feet off of the shore. It was like stepping into an aquarium: we saw fish of all shapes, colors and sizes, an eel, urchins, sea cucumbers, and an octopus. The guide even picked up the octopus and let us touch it. My brother got to hold it, but I didn't really care to. We took pictures with a disposable underwater camera which I'll post once my dad sends them to me. Snorkeling was insanely fun but also insanely cold, so when we got out of the water to go to a different beach I decided to stay on the shore. I missed out on seeing sea turtles, but saw a whale out in the water. There was a monk seal on the beach, which is supposedly a really rare species. People kept bugging it though. After snorkeling (and warming up in the jacuzzi for a bit) David and I drove up to the west side of the island to see an old Russian fort and to watch the sun set. We picked up hotdogs for dinner and drank margarita's with my parents.

Tuesday: We drove to the next town over for coffee and breakfast (and I did a bit of shopping), then drove back. David and Carl rented boogie boards while I read my book in the sun and went on a quest for macadamia nuts that turned into browsing every store in the area for souvenirs (I was in a shopping mood- all I bought were the macadamias though). In the evening, we went to a luau at a local plantation. It was a really fun cultural adventure. It was also open bar, which might be why it was so fun; my mom was the DD and she wasn't too thrilled. They put on a hula show telling the story of how the Hawaiians came to Hawaii. I think. Like I said, it was open bar. One guy danced with fire. The food was amazing too: more coconuty stuff that I am going to try to make at home. I just really like coconut. Carl, David and I went to a local bar after that and played a round of pool before heading back.

Wednesday: David, Carl and I drove around looking for a place to mountain bike. We did not find one. We stopped at the town we went to on Sunday for lunch so that David and Carl could get nachos and I could get another muffin from the natural foods store (coconut papaya: best muffin of my life). We went to a beach way up at the top of the island, but it started to get chilly so we headed back to the car. It was a good call: it started to pour as soon as we got in. We drove south and over to the Western side of the island, where we saw Spouting Horn: a place where the ocean pushes through a hole in the rock and looks like a geyser, but did not see any places to rent mountain bikes. We drove home, dejected, and made margaritas while watching Dog the Bounty Hunter. We went to the Mexican restaurant across the street for dinner.

Thursday: It was our last full day, so we decided to make it count by going kayaking on the Wailua river. We rented two kayaks: David and I in one, my dad and brother in the other. A couple of miles down the river is a place where you can hike to a waterfall, but with all the rain it's been really muddy (a woman slipped and died there a couple of days before) and all we had on were flip-flops. Dad and Carl decided to brave it, but David and I checked out a recreated Hawaiian village instead.

The native Hawaiians had a different house for everything: eating, sleeping, building boats, even menstruating (kinda gross, but true). It took us about an hour to canoe to the town, find a bathroom (the actual point of the visit), tour it, and canoe back, but Dad and Carl still weren't back from the waterfall yet. As it turns out, the trail was so muddy that even though it was only a mile in each direction it took them almost 2 hours. We waited patiently in the meantime. Finally, they showed up, grumpy and grubby, and we canoed back. We stopped at a burger shack for lunch. We then showered, napped, and got back into the car because Dad really wanted to see the Waimea Canyon before dinner. The canyon was cool, though it was so foggy that it was hard to really see anything. We did get a sense of how big it was though despite the haze. We had dinner at Roy's, a restaurant my aunt and uncle gave my mom a gift certificate to for her birthday. The food was really good there, which I guess is fitting since it's a really nice restaurant. We went home and finished off the rest of the Margarita mix.

Friday: I had breakfast with my mom and dad, then we finished up our packing and headed out. Our flights were both good; we said goodbye to my parents in Honolulu but Carl was on our flight to Seattle, though we didn't sit together. We finally got home around 12:30 in the morning.

I'm glad to be home, but overall it was really fun. I mean, there were some frustrating parts too, but there always are on family vacations. I think my brother said it best: "nothing tears this family apart like an automobile," meaning that we squabble the most when we are in the car. My dad left his driver's license at home and I don't have one, so my mom, David and Carl had to drive. My mom hates driving at night, and my brother just gets really stressed out behind the wheel, so it's never a fun experience. Plus, everyone is a backseat driver, and my mom has "Nuvi," her talking GPS device which usually causes more harm than good. And none of us likes to make decisions. I felt bad for my mom because since she fractured her foot we pushed her around in a wheelchair we borrowed from the hotel most of the time, and she couldn't do a lot of things with us because she couldn't get around. She just likes to sit on the beach and read anyhow, so it wasn't that big of a deal, but I think she felt a little handicapped. She took it pretty well though.

Now we're back and it's time to get back to the grind. I'm going to buckle down and look for a job, hardcore. I found out while on vacation that I might be able to start classes as early as the end of the month, which would be pretty sweet: I'm eager to start the program.

Vacation!

2009-03-05T20:26:00.000-08:00

I cannot wait for Hawaii: sunshine, palm trees, and (now that my dad can drink again) mai-tai's. I really need this vacation. Wait a minute, you might say, you don't have kids or a real job, why do you deserve to "need" a vacation? Good question. For one, I am looking forward to seeing my family: we haven't all been together for a year and I miss them. Second, the golf shows of the past few weeks took a toll on me, so I need a bit of time to recouperate. Third, which Pacific Northwesterner couldn't use a bit of sun? Finally, I need to gear up for the intense job search that will commence upon my return. I'm really excited: my suitcase has been packed for days.

Melinda and I went down to Kent this morning to inventory some stuff for our next big event. She picked me up at the Bellevue Park and Ride and we drove down. As far as I can tell, Kent is pretty much just warehouses and fast-food chains. We went to two of these warehouses; the first was entirely filled with cases of wine. Imagine, a football field-sized area with boxes stacked 15 feet high with alcohol. Kinda made me want to indulge in some vino. The second warehouse was only half full. Both were freaking cold: I'm still warming up. Since most of the office was at one of the three events that are going on this weekend, the atmosphere was strangely quiet, so I am glad we were gone half of the day. Plus, my impending vacation made it difficult to concentrate.

It's good to be home

2009-03-03T20:24:00.000-08:00

Long Beach was an interesting experience, but I am glad it's over. I can't say I had fun, but I worked hard and learned even more about putting together a large-scale event. It was different from Portland in a number of ways. For one, we had only 5 people going down; Melinda was the only person who was in Portland too. So, it was nice to interact with a different crew, and I got along well with all of them. Plus, I was exposed to more aspects of the event since I had to wear more hats.

I worked the interactive events all day instead of just half, which was really draining: standing up and engaging an audience for 8 hours is exhausting, particularly when you're tired and your blood sugar is low. Plus, there were a few bad apples (like the random guy who came up from behind and yanked me away from the green because my shadow was covering the contestant's ball) that made me overlook all the genuinely nice people I served. I have learned over the years that I am not a people person. I like people on an individual and personal level, but I am not the type of person who can just schmooze- I envy folks who can do that.

We pretty much worked the entire time. We went from the hotel to the convention center and back without really spending much time outdoors. The restaurants we ate at (except for the last night) we all chains. I wish that we could have got a better taste of the area, but we didn't have any time. I shouldn't complain, since the food was consistently delicious and we were down there to work anyhow. I am proud of the work I did, and I think that everyone was pleased by the show's outcome: attendance was up from last year.

I'm still not sold on golf. It seems pretty sexist- old men calling each other women's names (Alice?) and asking where their husbands are every time they make a weak shot. Women do play, but the majority of our attendees seemed to be men. As my mom said, golf is what old men do to get away from their wives, so I guess there is some sexism that develops on the course just from male interaction. Still, if I hear "put down your purse, Alice!" one more time I am going to slap someone.

I am really looking forward to next week: Hawaii! We went shopping after David got off from work this evening; he got some shorts and I got some sandals. Actually, I went shopping at Value Village earlier today too and bought a pair of jeans. I walked a lot today and am still recovering from SoCal, so I am exhausted even though it is not even 9.

Humbled

2009-02-24T20:49:00.000-08:00

I didn't get in to the graphic design program at Seattle Central- by a long shot. I am humbled; I thought that since it is a community college I would certainly be accepted, but the program itself is very selective and they were not impressed by my work. Out of a scale of 20 possible points, with 12 being the minimum, I got a 7. I could work on the portfolio again and try to improve my weak areas, but I am just going to let it be. While I would greatly like to learn graphic design, I am at the same time relieved: I can focus on my graduate studies next year.

This does mean though that I will absolutely need to find a job, which I am not thrilled about, but I am viewing it as an interesting challenge. My goal is to target firms I want to work for and write them letters. Ok, I know that this is nothing new or innovative, but in the past I have always just passively scanned Craigslist, so being pro-active is exciting. I'm going to create a website with my resume, writing samples, recommendations, etc. and include its URL in my cover letters. Again, nothing groundbreaking but I finished my Dreamweaver class last week and am excited to give it a go.

The coming of Lent doesn't mean anything to me, but it's always fun to celebrate Mardi Gras. Since today is Fat Tuesday, I madeg gumbo and banana bread, since we had some bananas that were past their prime. I wanted to put something in the banana bread for luck the way they do in New Orleans (I think it's usually a little baby doll) but couldn't find anything suitable so it's just banana bread. Bad story. I had never made gumbo before, and it's not something I would eat (pretty much just sausage and gravy) but it was fun and relitively easy to make. I was a little intimidated by the roux (the recipe made it sound tricky) but it wasn't hard, just a lot of stirring. David seemed to like it, and even though I halved the recipe, it will feed him for a few days.

A shuttle is picking me up at 5 am tomorrow to take me to the airport, where I will meet up with Melinda before flying to Long Beach until Monday. I took a few pictures of The Cobra with my phone to show to her in case I need to make conversation: she loves her cats. I am pretty excited; this show is going to be different from Portland because there is no Clearance Center, the consignment area that took a lot of my time and effort. This also means that we have 5 people instead of 9, so it's going to be a different dynamic. Laura, the other intern (and our neighbor), is coming too so this is a good chance to get to know her, since we will be roommates. I will be working at interactive events the entire time the show is in session, which will mean more interaction with people but also a lot of standing up, few bathroom breaks, and little opportunity for snacking. I'm looking forward to being in California again, even if it is just Southern California.

Soo...

2009-02-19T21:35:00.000-08:00

My day started off pretty well. I came in to a voicemail from the ticket office at the LA Sparks, saying they could give some tickets for prizes at the LA Golf Show. I thought that was pretty cool, seeing as they are major sports team, even if it is just the WNBA. Then, I started calling Northern California golf courses to see if they would send out emails to promote the shows. I wasn't too excited to do this, because the Portland and SoCal people weren't very receptive, but all of the Bay Area folks were really friendly and agreeable. It just proves what I already knew: Northern California really is better than Southern California.

Anyhow, I was really getting into the swing of calling when I noticed I had a voicemail. It was from one of the guys I called yesterday to see about emailing members chewing me out for not doing better research. Turns out, he's the show's major sponsor and I didn't realize it. All I had was a list of golf course names, for crying out loud, but he was right: I should have checked the website first to see which of the courses on my list were sponsors or pariticpants. Still, he could have left a more gracious response. That threw me off of my game, so to clear my head, I decided to take a break and check my email, where I learned that...

I GOT INTO GRAD SCHOOL!

... which made me lose my concentration even more. I was a total waste of space after that. I emailed David, my parents, the people who wrote recommendations. I looked up financial aid infrmation and browsed the net for a UW sweatshirt. I called golf courses in between IMing Jessica.

I'm pretty excited. I really didn't think I would get in, especially with the economy supposedly pushing up the application rates, so I am more surprised than anything. I've wanted to attend UW for ages, and I finally feel like I am going somewhere with my life instead of treading water. Plus, if I do both this and the Graphic Design program at Seattle Central simultaneously I will be able to postpone finding a job until I have skills to get a good one, and I think the combination of the two programs will teach me what I need to find my ideal professional fit when I get out. Don't get me wrong, I love being self-sufficient and earning money, but I hate menial soul-sucking jobs, which is all I am currenly qualified for. The only downside to this plan is that both programs emphasize working in the field to apply what you learn in class, and by not working I would miss out on this vital connection. I'm going to talk to an advisor at UW about this. First I had better wait until I hear back from Seattle Central; it maybe a an open-enrollment school as a whole, but there are no gurantees I will be accepted to this specific program.

But for now I want to just be happy that I got in! Yay! David and I opened up the bottle of champagne Chris left at our place after New Years to celebrate, and we're going to fill out our FAFSA applications this weekend. It's a bummer that David won't hear back for certain until June; his essay was great, his GPA is excellent and I know he'll get in (knock on wood) but it sucks to wait.

Un-PC but funny:

2009-02-18T21:10:00.001-08:00

http://menwholooklikeoldlesbians.blogspot.com/

Internship, Post Golf Show

2009-02-18T19:21:00.000-08:00

My internship went by pretty quickly this morning. I talked with David in Sales at the coffee pot who told me that everyone said I did a good job at in Portland, which was nice to hear. Melinda was out and Katie wasn't in until 9, and someone had logged me out of my email and I couldn't get back in, so I didn't have much to do for the first hour. I picked up where I left off last week with calls, but that didn't take too long. Finally, Katie arrived and she cracked the code to my email account. Turns out, no one knew the password and they had been actively trying to log me back in. Once my email was fixed I just emailed both of them to ask what to work on next so as not to disturb Katie a second time.

I can't figure Katie out. I like her sense of humor and feel that we could get along, but she won't acknowledge me. I asked this morning how the week had been going post-golf show, and she responded like it was the stupidest question in the world: "I don't know... fine?" End of conversation. Ok, it was a stupid question, but I was only trying to be friendly. She's just a year older than me, so I think that might have something to do with it: she sees me as an annoyance who is bugging her with questions instead of as someone who is there to help, which is the same way I felt about Newton back at the BAC. She started out as an intern three years ago, and was hired on after, which makes me wonder if she questions my motivations. I know she doesn't think I'm gunning for her job, but I think she thinks that something must be wrong with me for taking an internship after college, when she worked hers. Plus, I know that she's had some difficulties in her personal life lately: she got married really young and was recently divorced. Of course, it's pretty arrogant of me to assume that the problem lies with her: she could simply not like me as a person, since not everyone is going to like you all of the time. I wish she would give me a chance, but I'm not going to obsess.

Other than that, I went shopping for a new bathing suit for Hawaii. The bus driver gave me a transfer that was good until 4:30, so I stopped off at Northgate on my way home. I already have a decent swimsuit, but I want one that I will be really comfortable wearing. Bathing suit shopping is traumatic for most ladies, and I am no exception. Plus, I have trouble finding one-pieces because I am pear-shaped, so two-pieces are my best bet even though they are the most revealing. I struck out on the bottom but found a great top at Target that will match my current bikini bottom. I love Target: prices are great and so is their stuff. I couldn't believe how inexpensive cereal is there! However, I have resolved to never again be tempted to try on anything in the Juniors department. I am not petite, but I shouldn't be the largest size on the rack either.

You know you're cheap when...

2009-02-16T17:49:00.001-08:00

... you go on a shopping spree at the half-off sale at Value Village. Still, for $16.50 I picked up a GAP shirt, a Banana Republic cardigan, a vintage dress, a nice pair of J. Crew slacks (brand names included just for emphasis the bargain), a knife for cutting vegetables with ridges instead of straight lines, a couple of golf-themed shot-glasses (to roll up thank-you notes in for when my internship is done), and some ferry greeting cards. I also donated some old clothes so that my closet won't overflow: maintain the balance.

I met my personal hero this afternoon, the owner of icanhascheeseburger.com and the FAIL blog. I had a job interview as a sales assistant at his company as part of my Unemployment scheme (which I am starting to feel guilty about though I could use the money). The interview went well, but I am definitely not going to get the job. He wants someone who can start immediately, and though it sounds like a fantastic opportunity, I can't end my internship early: they are counting on me to finish the job I signed up for.

Portland Golf Show

2009-02-16T08:23:00.000-08:00

Whew. It's over.

It's been an intense week of 12-hour days. John picked me up at 8 am on Wednesday morning, and the ride down was a lot smoother than I thought it would be. Once I figured out that John's passion in life is racing cars, conversation flowed fairly effortlessly. Plus, he had a recording of a book that we listened to for half of the ride. Once we got down there, it was pretty much work, work, work until 8:30, with a break for lunch. In fact, here's how the entire 5 days pretty much went:
1) Meet in the lobby at some ungodly hour.
2) Breakfast stop at Starbucks.
3) Rush around or stand up for 5 or 6 hours.
4) lunch.
5) Rush around or stand up for another 5 or 6 hours.
6) Return to hotel and eat dinner at unreasonably late hour.
7) Sleep.

I can't say it was fun, though I learned a lot about planning a large-scale event. There is a ton of effort and organization required, down to the minute detail. We pretty much just worked and slept. Katie and Melinda were both in charge, which got confusing. One of them would tell me to do one thing while the other would tell me to do another. I don't get a good vibe from Katie- I don't feel that she thinks too highly of me, though I'm not sure why. However, I really liked everyone else. Melinda is super sweet, and Courtnie, my roommate, was awesome. She interned there a few years ago as a student at the Art Institute, and had such a good time that she helps them out at the Golf Show every year. Dick, the president of the company, is hilarious, and very friendly. Everyone made me feel really welcome. I made a few mistakes (like having VIPs putt instead of chip in a competition: I don't golf, I didn't know the difference...) and they all were very understanding.

The food situation was not as bad as I thought it would be, though it wasn't ideal. We just ate a lot of junk, and the restaurants we went to were limited in their selection of vegetarian options. I had a salad with beans the first day for lunch, and some tofu with noodles for dinner the second day, but other than that the only protein I consumed was from Clif bars and soy milk in lattes- literally. The hall only served hotdogs, pizza, and salad with meat, so I ate oatmeal at Starbucks and a bag of pretzels every day for lunch, supplemented by candy and granola bars, then a salad for dinner. Ick. However, we also moved around so much that I was just happy to eat anything. Today all I want to eat is fruit and vegetables.

I am so glad to be home. I found flowers waiting for me on the living room table, which my thoughtful boyfriend had put out as a welcome. I was really happy to see him. It was only 5 days apart, but I missed David a lot even though I barely had time to think about anything except for golf. The ride back was actually almost fun, though I was exhausted; John stayed an extra night in Portland, so Brian, the company's editor, gave me a lift. Again, conversation flowed effortlessly and 3 hours went by pretty quickly. He's a pretty interesting guy and we have similar taste in music and movies, so we managed to find things to talk about. Plus, he is married with kids, so when worse comes to worse I just asked him about his family. People love to talk about that.

The show has reaffirmed my opinion of golf as a stupid sport for people that take themselves too seriously. It's elitist because it requires an incredible about of money and leisure time, and is incredibly detrimental to the environment, which is why it's largely a sport for wealthy, conservative db's. I worked at the snack bar of a country club one summer, so I had the option to learn how to golf because employees were able to play when the course was closed on Mondays. However, none of my friends or relatives golf, which is a sign that I am surrounded by quality people, so I had no one to teach me or loan me clubs, and I am grateful for this. I've known some golfers that I like, but for the most part it's not a lifestyle I want to be associated with.

Applications

2009-02-10T16:56:00.001-08:00

The graphic design department at Seattle Central is really cool; the rest of the building looks like it's stuck in the 60's, but the 5th floor is all sleek and modern, with student work everywhere. I dropped off my portfolio today and decided that if they accept me I'm going to do it. If UW accepts me, I'm also going to do it: that's the beauty of night school. If neither of them accepts me, I'm going to apply to the Web design program at Seattle Central, which starts every quarter instead of just Fall. They tell me on the 23rd if I was approved. David mailed off his application to UW today; now all we do it wait.

I watched "Big Love" more today. Not a huge fan but I'm going to finish out the season. It has reaffirmed my opinions on Mormonism.

Another Monday

2009-02-09T20:52:00.000-08:00

I woke up a little later than I planned, around 8:30; last night's snow seeped through our window and made dripping noises at 5 am, and we had trouble getting back to sleep after that. I applied for a couple of jobs to satisfy my unemployment requirements. My strategy this month is to only apply for jobs that I am qualified for but I know I won't get, like off of Monster or Craigslist where the competition is huge: I need to be "willing and able to start full-time work immediately," but I'd rather not end my internship unless a really juicy opportunity came along. I know it's kind of cheating the system, but writing cover letters is still good practice, so I justify it as that.

Other than that, I went to the bank, went to the store (the Safeway on 15th has a Wells Fargo branch in the store: two birds with one stone), read David's essay, talked to my mom for almost an hour, did a bunch of dishes (how do they add up so fast?!), washed two loads of laundry, biked at the gym for an hour, baked half a batch of cookies (I wanted to thank David for printing off my portfolio but we don't need a whole batch floating around), cooked dinner (broccoli and beef/black beans), and watched a couple episodes of "30 Rock" with David and one of "Big Love" by myself.

"Big Love" is kind of an interesting show so far: it's about modern-day Mormon polygamists. I've only watched one episode, so I can't really judge yet. I'm not completely taken in by what I've seen, though it has the potential to get interesting: catfights! I can say with absolute certainty that polygamy is not for me.

Saturday

2009-02-07T22:02:00.000-08:00

I filed for unemployment today. The lady on the phone was very informative and pleasant to speak with, which I was not expecting from a government bureaucrat. She did ask me why I waited so long to file; I told her that my boss had told me that the company was going to send me info, which is kinda true. Basically, I just have to be looking for full-time work and I am paid the equivalent of working a minimum wage job 40 hours a week. No wonder so many people just freeload off the system.

We didn't do much today; we took the bus downtown to see the Science Fiction short film festival at the Cinerama but it was sold out. We did a little shopping at and around Westlake Center, but neither of us bought anything. Wait, that's not true: I bought two golf-ball shaped memo holders for $1.50 each to give to Melinda and Katie at the end of my internship. Then we came home at watched "Monster Camp" and four episodes of "30 Rock:" I am loving that show. "Monster Camp" is a documentary about the Seattle chapter of NERO, the live-action role-playing game. My friend Tanya's freshman roommate was really into that- she had the boffers and costumes and everything.

David worked on his essay and I worked on my portfolio. It's almost done. It was done, but I didn't do it right so I had to start over. We'll finish our work tomorrow, since we don't have any other plans. Well, I plan on getting a chocolate chip bagel at Noah's since they were out this morning and I had to settle for a blueberry bagel: not the same. I'm also dropping off a job application there, since minimum wage in Washington state is higher than I thought and I love the smell of fresh-baked bagels. And I'd like to go to the gym- I'm going to drag David with me.

Bus

2009-02-07T13:49:00.001-08:00

I ran for the bus downtown yesterday and almost collided with these two blind people getting off. I backed outside and waited for them to exit. Once they were out, the bus driver shut the doors in my face. I waved at him and he opened them again. "Sorry," he said, "I didn't see you- you were in my blind spot."

Portland planning

2009-02-05T17:29:00.000-08:00

We had a meeting today to discuss the Portland Golf Show, which is next week! I'm excited. It's going to be a lot of work, but I think it will be fun and a good chance to get to know the people I am working with for the next two months. Seems like of like a waste of bonding, but any social interaction is good: I've been really feeling the lack of friends lately. I'm a little worried about food, since all of our meals are covered by this group of greasy, meaty, cheesy restaurants; Katie had me print off all of their menus one day and I was not impressed. I am going to be living off of salad and Clif bars.

I get to ride down there with this guy named John. Originally, it was going to be me, John and two others, but for some reason it's now just him and me. He seems like a really nice guy (and I assured David that he is both unattractive and married) but it's going to be awkward, since it means we have to make conversation for 3 hours. Plus, I can't take a nap in the car like I had planned, which I would really like to do considering we are leaving at 7, getting there at 11 and then working until 8. Ok, I could nap, but that would be more awkward than awkward conversation. I'm going to ask John what kind of music he likes so I can bring some to fill the silences.

Ramblings

2009-02-04T15:57:00.000-08:00

I have a new pen pal, actually a friend of mine from college. I used to cut his hair because he was too cheap to go to a barber. We were pretty close back then but hadn't spoken in a couple years; he asked for my address so he could write me a letter. I thought that was funny: how many guys write actual letters? I told him I would write him a letter too. I like writing letters. I like receiving letters more, but usually to get letters you have to also write them. I'm working on making Valentines right now; so far I have half of a Valentine for Erik and Dan. They are also guys who are fans of the postal service.

While I love the USPS, I am not a big fan of UPS. I am waiting for them to deliver a package that David didn't even know he was receiving. I would like to go to the gym because I won't get the chance tonight because we're going out to dinner with Molloy and his girlfriend, but I'd also like a day off so I'll go tomorrow instead. I'm excited: it's my last chance to befriend one of David's friends' girlfriends. I haven't had much luck with the others for various reasons. She seems nice, and Molloy seems to like her, and David likes Molloy, and I like David, so I don't see why she and I can't be friends. I prepped some dinner for tomorrow night so that when I get home all I have to do is stick it in the oven, go to the gym, and come home.

I was frustrated with being an intern today because I can't put the effort into the work that I would like due to only being there 20 hours a week. For instance, I mailed off some tickets today. When I confirmed that the tickets would be mailed, it was already after the postman had come to pick up the mail, so I told the woman that the tickets would go out tomorrow and would get there Friday or Saturday. But she needs them on Monday, so I would want to call her next week to confirm that she has received them, and I am going to be out on Monday and Tuesday and leaving for Portland for Wednesday. So, I dropped them in the blue mailbox across the street from my bus stop to make sure that they went out today so that I can call her on Friday to confirm. That's not a very good story, but the essence is that I am craving a real job.

There is so much work to be done at the internship, and I want to make sure that I am doing my best on everything so I can get the best recommendation out of my short time. There are a ton of little details and I am afraid I am going to miss something. For instance, the VP was annoyed today because he didn't know if the other intern had mailed some tickets; she hadn't recorded anywhere that she had, and she wasn't in to ask. He and Katie were scrambling around trying to figure it out. I don't want that to happen when I'm not there, but there is a possibility that it might: I need to be more conscious in the future about keeping track of every action I take. I think I'm pretty good about it but I need to be better.

I love this guy:

2009-02-03T08:21:00.000-08:00

http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/i-lego-ny/?em

http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/coffee/

http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/new-york-cheat-sheets/

http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/21/bathroom-art/

http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/the-boys-and-the-subway/

Groundhog Day

2009-02-02T13:11:00.000-08:00

Happy Groundhog Day! In case you hadn't already heard the news: Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and has predicted 6 more weeks of winter. He's seen his shadow 97 times in the past 122 years, so it's no big surprise there. If this means more clear and beautiful days like today, I'll take it. If it means more snow, then damn you Phil!

Because I don't have a bus pass anymore, I walked a nice little 4-mile loop this morning: from my apartment to the temp agency downtown to Trader Joe's and back home. I wanted to stop by the bank and visit the library before my 9:30 appointment at the temp agency, so I left at around 8. The first branch of Wells Fargo I came to didn't open until 9, so I kept on walking until I got to the library, which is about a mile and a half away. It was 9 by then, but they didn't open until 10. Curses! For some reason I thought they would be open; should have double checked. Fortunately, the big Wells Fargo tower is right around the corner, so I was at least able to deposit my check.

The temp agency tested my proficiency in typing, Word, and Excel. I scored 94% on Word, 80% on Excel, and type 53 words/minute with 90% accuracy. This confirmed my belief that while I am not the best typist, I am indeed a Microsoft Word master. The only question I missed was a stupid one: formatting margins, which I absolutely can do (it was a different version of Word than I am used to, and the next question showed me where to find it). I'm hoping that the agency can find a few days of work for me here and there.

So now I'm sitting on the couch. When I returned from Trader Joe's, I made a sandwich (grilled soy cheese and tomato on rye: pretty freakin' delicious) and did some dishes. I also dumped a few expired things from the fridge: there is nothing that smells worse than milk 1 month past it's expiration date. Don't judge me: I don't drink milk. I should work on my portfolio, which is due next week, and I've got to make some phone calls to figure out some bills, but I think I'm coming down with something and am tired. The couch is looking mighty inviting for a nap. Must... resist...

Ok, just a little one.

Chextravaganza

2009-02-01T20:36:00.000-08:00

I thought I could not get enough Chex Mix, but I was wrong: there is such thing as a Chex overload. I am currently experiencing a Chex coma. I can barely type. Most of the Chex Mix is gone, and what's left is nothing David can't handle in a couple of days. There are also three half-full boxes of Chex on the fridge (those boxes look small but hold a lot of cereal) but I'll take care of those pretty quicky. I'm a cereal fiend.

The party was fun; Chris and Kristin, Molloy and his girlfriend (Catherine), Casey and us. Molloy and Catherine brought cookies, chips, and bean dip, and Chris and Kristin brought chips and more bean dip. No one was pleased with the outcome, but it was fun to watch. The only reason I generally watch the Superbowl (other than as an excuse to eat Chex Mix) is the commercials, and I was not impressed. I have some memories of great commercials in years past, but these were all fairly lame. The best was the 2 second Ivar's clip; I can relate to their thrift.

I have a meeting at a temp agency tomorrow morning at 9:30. I'm going to talk with them about what I am looking for and do some computer/typing tests. I'm not sure about my typing skills but feel pretty confident in my Microsoft Office abilities. Hopefully they'll be able to get me little one-day assignments.

Chex Mix

2009-01-31T22:00:00.000-08:00

I made 3 batches of Chex Mix tonight for our Superbowl party tomorrow: original, spicy/sweet, and Puppy Chow (peanut butter and chocolate with powdered sugar). Actually, they're all half batches, but it's still a lot of Chex Mix; I don't even have a bowl big enough to create a full batch. I'm pretty proud of my Chex Mix making abilities; it's a hidden talent I didn't even know I had until this evening. To be honest, it's pretty hard to mess up Chex Mix, but it's the little details that count. For instance, instead of buying bagel chips, I created my own out of a stale bagel and some garlic salt; that's dedication to the craft. I bought Chocolate Chex for the Puppy Chow because it was on sale, though the recipe is already so chocolately that I don't think it really makes a difference. They key to a good Chex Mix is getting the proper ratio of wheat to corn to rice Chex: wheat Chex is a hearty cereal that is good for the savory mixes but too heavy for the sweet ones. Rice Chex is too light for the savory ones but good for holding chocolate and peanut butter. Corn Chex is a good utility player: crunchy and mild.

Making Chex Mix really took me back to my childhood; I have a vivid memory of my cousin Sig (who is more like my aunt since her oldest daughter is my age) making Puppy Chow in my Grandma's kitchen in rural Michigan. I must have been 8 or 9 years old. My cousin Carl, Sig's husband, was born when my aunt was 16, so Grandma played a significant role in raising him; they were very close. When he grew up and started a family, she let him and his wife put a trailer on her property (she had 80 acres) to raise their two daughters. Because the trailer was cramped, Sig and Carl and the girls spent a lot of time in my Grandma's house. Her house was also very small: just two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, a basement, and an attic, but she and my Grandpa managed to raise 6 kids in it. Grandma was lonely by herself and enjoyed their company. Before Grandma died, she sold her home to Carl, and now he and Sig live in it and their daughter Shawna and her two kids live in the trailer. Shawna will probably live in the house some day.

Anyhow, I ate a lot of Chex Mix growing up and making it made me think about all the relatives that I haven't seen in years. For the most part I'm fine with not being close to my extended family; they're good people but we don't have a lot in common. A lot of them are on Facebook now, so now I can keep tabs, which is pretty cool; it's nice to be able to establish relationships with them on my own. Two of them have friended me in the past week so I've been reminiscing a lot.

Greenpeace makes me want to club a baby seal

2009-01-29T17:46:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty environmentally-conscious, but I hate Greenpeace. There shouldn't even be a "but" in there: I'm environmentally-conscious AND I hate Greenpeace. One of their representatives asked me at the bus stop today, "want to help save some trees?" What does it look like I'm doing: I'm riding the freakin' bus instead of driving! Another asked me once, "want to stop global warming?" while I was locking up my bike. Again, what does it look like I am doing? The above image (ok, I added the red part) was on the New York Times' "Day in Pictures" this afternoon; it's Russian police arresting a Greenpeace activist. Angering the government is not the way to make a difference, Greenpeace! Especially not in a country like Russia, where the government still has so much sway. To really change things, you need to convince the people to change, not irritate them. Anger create backlash, which is not productive. This is why I will never give a cent to one of the overly-eager Greenpeace salespeople, who I am pretty sure earn commission by signing you up. The best way to stop global warming is to proactively make a difference in your own life, not donate to an organization who will probably spend your money to bail their activists out of jail.

Unemployment, day 2.5

2009-01-28T16:40:00.000-08:00

My internship was pretty exciting this morning. However, I was put in my place at the staffmeeting, where we learned how to use the new copier; one of the staff members was not there, and another said, "oh it's ok, Helen will just do the copying for him," to which another replied, "no, she's not his intern, so he's on his own." However, Melinda, Katie, Pam and I had a meeting after to discuss the Portland show, and I am very excited. It's going to be chaotic but interesting, I hope. After my internship, I went to a new Whole Foods. Since the folks at my old job designed all the Whole Foods stores in the Pacific Northwest, I knew this location existed but didn't realize it was on my way home.

I've only been unemployed for a week and I'm already starting to feel discouraged. It's been a week of official unemployment, but I've been applying for jobs for the past 6 months. I feel like I keep stepping backwards; I went from advising students and planning events to answering phones to now being a lowly intern. My first job gave me a completely undeserved level of responsibility, but it also showed me what I am capable of. I applied for an entry-level job today that sounded like a perfect fit, and the employer got back to me almost instantaneously to tell me I wasn't qualified. It was a part-time entry level bitch-work job! With three years of professional experience, I am still not qualified for entry-level bitch-work jobs. But, that's today's market: it's super competative. Everyone else is feeling it too. And three years isn't all that much experience in the scheme of things. I'm still young, and the first 5 years after college are all pretty much proving yourself no matter how much responsibility you hold. Hopefully this internship will look good on a resume. Still, I find it ridiculous how much experience is required for "entry-level" jobs- many want 2-4 years! Oh well, sorry for the rant. It feels good to vent.

Unemployment, Day 2

2009-01-27T20:18:00.000-08:00

Day two of my unemployment was also productive. I:
1) scanned my artwork for my portfolio
2) applied for a couple of jobs and found another to apply for tomorrow
3) fixed my cello: I put it off for 8 months and it took about 10 minutes to fix
4) went to a spin class
5) went to the post office to mail thank-you's to Cait and Len for writing rec's
6) went to the bank: I received a couple of checks covering my last week of work, unused vacation and my 401K and didn't want them just hanging out in my wallet
7) went to Value Village. Bought a nice white button-down shirt.
8) went to my Dreamweaver class

My insurance information came in today; it hadn't arrived yet when I talked to my mom on my way to the gym and we got into a little argument. She told me, "You shouldn't even be going to the gym without insurance!" I promised I would call them when I got back. When I got back, the confirmation letter was in the mailbox, so that saved me from dealing with the bureaucracy. I feel bad that I was fighting with her: she fractured her foot yesterday and is pretty bummed about it.

unemployment, day 1

2009-01-26T18:29:00.000-08:00

My first day as an unemployed bum was fun and productive; even though I slept until almost 9, I got a lot more done than I would have if I had been at work, that's for darn sure. I:
1) Did a couple loads of laundry
2) Did a few drying-racks worth of dishes (I shouldn't admit that the sink was piled that high)
3) Went grocery shopping (at Safeway, not QFC). Got a Safeway card.
4) Worked on my portfolio for my SCCC application
5) Applied to a couple of part-time jobs
6) Went to the library
7) Went to the gym and read half of a book: multitasking!

The aforementioned book that I read at the gym is Pet Sitting for Profit. Though outdated ("[a computer] is nice but is not absolutely necessary. If you don't have access to one, or don't type, you can hire a typist..."), it still had a lot of handy information. It's going to be a lot harder to start a pet-sitting business than I had realized; I was seeing as it as a cheap way to be around animals and have some fun with marketing, but if I am to do it legally and profitably I need:
1) Business License
2) Insurance
3) Phone line
4) Website and advertising
5) Pet first-aid certification

There's little additional overhead involved, but this first step may be too much money to justify starting my own legitimate business. I could always advertise on Craigslist and make money under the table, but I want it to be legal. I need to do a bit more research in this area. Once I get it all set up, it might be a good part-time job if I go back to school.

In other news, my Entertainment book has already paid for itself. David and I went to the Science Fiction Museum at the EMP yesterday; it was really interesting. I like some Sci-Fi, though I'm not into the hardcore stuff and I wasn't expecting to enjoy the museum as much as I did. In fact, I didn't realize that many of my favorite books and movies actually are Sci-Fi: it's so much broader than just Star Trek and outerspace. Also, to everyone who has ever made fun of me for studying Russian in college, take this: science fiction in the 1950's developed largely as a response to the Cold War; the fear of communist spies was represented on the page and screen as aliens among us. Fact.

Coincidence

2009-01-23T17:36:00.000-08:00

Laura the other intern is moving to an apartment a block away from ours. She suggested that we carpool on Fridays. I am in favor of this idea.

I was really busy all day and it felt wonderful.

Jobless in Seattle

2009-01-21T19:41:00.000-08:00

So, after 7 months of getting paid not to work, the firm has finally caught on and laid me off. I had it coming, and I'm not sad to be gone. I'm feeling pretty unsure about the future, but I have a lot to work on over the next couple of months. It's difficult to search for a long-term job because of my internship and upcoming travel, so I'm going to look into temping and start doing research into places I want to work so that in late March I will have a focused plan of attack. I need to work on putting together a portfolio for the graphic design program I am applying to, and maybe I'll try to do some pet sitting. I can use what I'm learning in my Dreamweaver class to make a website, and in my spare time become more familiar with Photoshop. My mom is taking all of March off: it's her 60th birthday and she wants to travel a bit to celebrate. Part of this includes visiting us, so I'll have time to spend exploring with her. I'm just thankful I have the internship to keep me occupied and feeling useful. David is going to let me cook for him, and I'm going to try to keep the apartment in better shape. I can knit and paint and make greeting cards and read. I can go to the art museum and the library and the gym. It'll be ok for a month or two, and by then I'll be done with the internship and ready to apply myself to my job search. Like I said, I am a little scared, but feel relieved too.

Change

2009-01-20T20:54:00.000-08:00

The mood in DC's Capitol Hill was a lot different that Seattle's Capitol Hill this morning, though I don't think anyone here was any less optomistic, just a little less frostbitten. Three things to say about the inauguration:
1) Michelle Obama's outfit did not disappoint. NY Times Style bloggers will have many good things to say in the coming days. Biden and Obama appeared to wear the same ties they wore on election night though: maybe they believe that the ties will bring luck?
2) Invocation and Benediction were inappropriate for a government event and contradictory to the Obama message of Change; it was the same Conservative Christian dogma as always. Saying Jesus' name in several languages does not make Jesus a universal figure. I respect the Obama's desire to pray before the ceremony, but that should have been a private matter: seperation of Church and State. However, I appreciated Obama's inclusion of non-believers in his roll-call of faiths.
3) I'm excited for the future but still cynical: he's inherited a mess.

We watched it in the conference room, mostly: the office don't have cable, so we just projected CNN.com, which kept freezing up on us. We watched Joe Biden get sworn in, but it froze during the following musical interlude and we switched to radio. A solicitor called the front desk at around 8:45 and I was very curt with them. She was Southern, so my guess is that she weren't thrilled about the outcome on the election. Neither was most of the office for that matter: I think the only people who really cared were Carol, Dave, Ellen and I; even though the other half of the office is younger, they're all fairly conservative. Carol brought in cookies with the Obama family stenciled on them: Barack, Michelle, Malia, Sasha, and the mystery dog; I had a bite of Michelle. She was delicious.

Tomorrow I find out if change may be in store for me, whether or not I have a job. Just to be safe, I've secretly taken home all of my personal items over the past few days so that if I am laid off tomorrow all I need to carry home is my radio. I can always bring them back.

I <3 CS4

2009-01-19T21:17:00.000-08:00

Pretty basic, but I'm having fun!

Entertainment

2009-01-18T21:01:00.001-08:00

I bought an Entertainment book a few weeks ago and I'm really excited to use it. I know that coupons sometimes can make you actually spend more than you would otherwise, but I think that this is a great opportunity for David and me to get out and do things around town. We've been wanting to go to the EMP and Science Fiction Museum. We've been wanting to go to the Zoo. I've been wanting to go to a comedy club. All of these have coupons in the book. There are coupons to restaurants we've already been meaning to try. A lot of them are 2-for-1 deals, which is good for a couple, though if I was a single person I would be vexed that there weren't just solid discounts (ie, 50% off one item). As long as I don't view it as an incentive to spend money, it's a good investment.

Creative Writing

2009-01-17T17:11:00.001-08:00

My creative writing class is really bizarre. The instructor is an elderly British man named Peter who wore a button down shirt tucked into sweatpants. Peter reminds me of a Monty Python character. He has a very literary and exaggerated manner of speaking and says "right-o!" a lot. He spend the first 15 minutes of class going around to everyone in class and handing them a course outline and a list of recommended reading. While I appreciate his desire for personal communication, he could have just passed the handouts around. The other students are a mix of oddballs. There are a couple of new-agey middle-aged men with turquoise bracelets, a poetic Vietnam vet, this really enthusiastic woman who looks like Bettie Page, three French women who seem to be friends, a young lawyer with a huge engagement ring who just got back from an "amazing" month in Uganda, a nerdy guy who insisted that the class need an email list and talked about the mood-inducing setting of "Firefly", a hipster girl with greasy hair and a piercing through her nose, and a few others who actually seem normal. I don't know what I'm going to get out of it, but creative writing seems fun so I'm going to stick with it.

10%

2009-01-15T18:52:00.000-08:00

I ate something green and leafy for the first time in ages tonight. I've been telling myself that it's ok to live off of carbohydrates because they are cheap and supposedly upset my digestive system less. Plus, I take a multivitamin and still eat plenty of fiber, so I convinced myself that this diet was ok. However, on the way home the prospect of eating more starchy brown food didn't appeal to me. What kind of vegetarian doesn't eat vegetables? I bought a bunch of kale. It was delicious.

I emailed Dave yesterday to let him know that I didn't want to be laid off, but if someone from Seattle needs to go I should be first, since I don't have any real future with the firm and everyone else does. I may be screwing myself over but I feel a little better knowing that it's out of my hands now. Logically speaking, the person to go should be the person who wants to be there the least. David's work got hit pretty hard today. Ten percent seems to be the key figure: my firm is laying off 10%, David's company is taking a 10% pay cut. David's work goes the communist route, my work prefers to throw sacrifices into the volcano.

Tuesday the 13th

2009-01-13T20:39:00.000-08:00

The CEO sent out a memo today announcing that the firm will cut 10% of jobs company-wide by next Thursday. Carol and Dave are hoping that our branch will not be affected, since we've already laid off two employees and lost another 1.5 (Michael and me), but there are no guarantees. I'm not sure how to handle this. I'm wondering if this is my opportunity to quit outright; the past two nights I've come home in tears, and I don't know if it's worth staying even though I need the money. I don't want to be unemployed, but I don't want to deprive someone else of a job that they do like. Plus, I'm going to actively start looking for a new job when my internship ends. Might as well just do quit now. The only thing stopping me is the worry that I will not find something else.

Blast from the Past

2009-01-11T19:24:00.000-08:00

I had coffee with Lindsey this afternoon, a different Lindsey than the one I've written about before. This Lindsey was my best friend from kindergarten until 2nd grade, when her family moved to Santa Fe. She's been living in Seattle for a couple of years, and found me on Facebook; Courtney, my neighbor across the street, and Lindsey's sister, Jamie, were good friends, and their moms still keep in touch. Kathy (Courtney's mom) told my mom that Lindsey was in Seattle a while ago, and of course my mom mentioned that to me (as in, repeatedly hounded me to Facebook her) but I hadn't followed up.

Anyhow, we got together for coffee. It was weird to see her again after all these years; she looks exactly the same as she did when we were little. There was a fair amount of awkward silence, which always leads me to ask ridiculous questions just to fill it, but I'm glad we got together: I had been wondering for a while what happened to her. After living in Santa Fe for 4 years, her family moved to Santa Barbara. She went to UCSB and moved here after graduation, after spending a few months in Tanzania. She worked at a preschool for a while, and is now a grad student. She lives with her boyfriend, Brian, an electrician who she has been dating for 7 (!) years. She still plays soccer, but is a lot girlier than she was when she was 8. I'm not sure if we will be friends again, though I liked her. I'm thinking of seeing if she and her boyfriend want to get drinks with David and me some time.

It's crazy to think that Facebook made this all possible. The program I just applied to focuses heavily on the impact of social networking sites like Facebook, and I'm really starting to appreciate its role in my life. Along those lines, Len sent me this morning a copy of the recommendation he wrote; he made mountains out of molehills, in a favorable way: my work sounds like actual accomplishments, and I am a little more confident about what I have to bring to the table because of it. I also feel a little guilty, because I didn't do anything he wrote about as well as he said I did it. I'm going to be really nervous until I hear the verdict from the admissons committee, but after fooling around in CS4 all afternoon, I won't be crushed if I don't get in; I'll be perfectly happy doing the graphic design program at Seattle Central.

Application sent!

2009-01-10T12:52:00.000-08:00

I sent off my grad school application this afternoon. So, now all I have to do is wait. Actually, I have to double check that they received a couple of things- I think one of the people writing me a rec may have sent it to the wrong place. Still, at least my part is done.

TV

2009-01-08T21:01:00.000-08:00

Did I mention that we got TV recently? I missed it.

Internship: First Day

2009-01-07T20:28:00.000-08:00

My first day at my internship went well, for the most part. There was one major setback to a completely perfect first day, but I will get to the good stuff first. I arrived at 9 and met with Melinda and Katie, the internship coordinators, and Laura, the other intern, for an orientation. They explained our responsibilities to us and showed us around the office, basic first-day stuff. Around 10:30 they set us loose at our workstations to familiarize ourselves with the system and get started. Joanna, who interned last semester and is sticking around until she can find a real job, explained to me another aspect of the position. Basically, while I am there the company will be organizing four golf shows and one wine-tasting event. My responsibility on the first golf show is to help organize a Clearance Center, a place where pro shops can liquidate their extra inventory. So, I made a few calls on that.

Melinda came upstairs (the office is divided into two floors) around noon and assigned me the task of making some follow-up calls to various golf courses; there were maybe 35 courses on the list, and I left voicemail with about half. Almost 2/3 of the way down, my neighbor in the next cubical over (Brent?) says to me, "The phone number you've been giving people is incorrect." Joanna gave me the wrong long-distance number! She was very apologetic, but I have to make 15 calls on Friday to make up for this error. I didn't want to say, "Joanna gave me the wrong number" when I told Melinda, but I also didn't want her to think that I messed up. I just told her that I was working with the wrong phone number and will call everyone back in a couple of days.

Other than that, it went well. I like the office environment and I think I'll get a lot out of it. I even get to travel to some of the events: Portland and Long Beach, maybe Salt Lake City. Joanna is friendly and seems nice, so I hope I can talk with her more. She graduated from UPS in May; I asked her if she knew my brother's best friend, who also graduated in May. She said she did. Laura, the events intern (I'm the marketing intern) is a student at UW Bothell. She insanely tall and thin with bleached blonde hair and seems nice enough, though I think I'm going to need to crack her shell. I have the advantage of being older than both her and Joanna, which isn't actually an advantage but it makes me feel less shy about opening up.

The only negative aspect that I see right now is the commute: it's about an hour in each direction, so I will need to leave the house at 6:50 3 days a week. But, I only work until 4:30 instead of 5. Plus, there is a Value Village right down the street which seems to have a great selection (I went into before my interview to kill time) and I am looking forward to staying later one day and doing some shopping. The bus stops at Northgate, which will be another shopping temptation, but on an intern/part-time receptionist salary, I need to be reasonable.

One thing that is starting to worry me is my neck; I've been getting terrible pains in the right side near where it meets my shoulder for the past week or so when I sit at my desk. I think it's my posture, but it's starting to bother me when I'm not at work too. David was sick this week, and I hope that the pain just means that I am coming down with something too instead of a more serious ailment. I'll have to ask my mom what she recommends, as both a former nurse and someone who's sat behind a desk for years.

Lunch Break

2009-01-05T13:34:00.000-08:00

I had the brilliant idea to bring my laptop to work with me today. There are two cafes offering free wi-fi right by the new office, and I am taking advantage of this on my lunch break to work on my application.

I also got the schedule for my internship figured out. I'm going to be working Monday, Tuesday, and the second half of Wednesday at my current job, and Wednesday morning, Thursday, and Friday at the internship. Because I got this settled, I signed up for more continuing ed classes at SCCC. I was hesitant to register until my schedule was set, because I didn't want to sign up and then learn that the class was on a Lake City day; I don't think I can make it from the internship to the campus in an hour, and most classes start at 6. I'm taking Intro to Web Design on Tuesdays and Creative Writing on Saturday mornings (11 to 1:30). Very excited.

Grr... lunch break's over, back to work.

Grad School Application

2009-01-04T10:03:00.000-08:00

My grad school application is due in 11 days; the program I'm applying to is the Master's of Communication in Digital Media at UW. I've been working on the essay for months now, and am finally almost done. I've posted it below in case anyone has free time on their hands and would like to give me any feedback; I appreciate all the help I can get. The essay needs to state "in 1 to 1.5 single-spaced pages, ... how your background, skills, achievements, and goals make you a good match for this program. The letter also serves as a writing sample, demonstrating your skill in organization, clarity, analysis, and English."

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When I went off to college, the Facebook was a section at the back of the school handbook with a black-and-white picture of everyone in the entering class. By the time I graduated, it had become synonymous with online social networking. Today, even my mom is on Facebook and has 21 friends. As technology advances and makes information easier to obtain, the weak economy pushes consumers to free online alternatives, and people grow more aware of the detrimental effects of paper on the environment, printed media grows obsolete. Well-established newspapers such as the Christian Science Monitor are stopping the presses as their audience looks to online news sources. In this past election, digital media even shaped how people voted: Barack Obama emailed me personally, and Sarah Silverman's YouTube video may have convinced a few retirees to cast their ballots.

My interest in the MCDM program springs loosely from my undergraduate major: Russian. Most people laugh when I tell them what I studied. Some even say, “what a waste of time!” I’ve found this to be quite the opposite: learning a foreign language heightened my awareness of communication as a whole. When perfecting my Russian grammar, I also turned a critical eye on my English composition. When I lived in Russia for a semester, social networking sites helped me stay in contact with my friends and family 11 time zones away. My elderly host mother still practiced folk remedies and washed her clothes by hand, but used a brand-new cell phone to keep in touch with her granddaughter; in one lifetime, she has gone from Stalin to SMS. It’s Occam’s razor: the most effective way to communicate is often the simplest, even when backed by complex technology.

My professional experiences have also shown me the value of new media. As Coordinator of the Practice Department at the Boston Architectural College, a title that essentially translates to Career Counselor, I managed the school’s first job search website. I was amazed by all of the program’s possibilities: customized searches, automatic notifications, and infinite options for messages and uploads. It allowed employers to log in and post jobs, which the students could then view and apply to. Before we implemented this website, I personally wrote, edited, classified and emailed job descriptions to students, which took time away from advising them face to face. This experience showed me that while technology has the potential to eliminate the need for human interaction, it can also enhance it.

Digital media allows everyone to voice their story. My alter-egos are environmental journalist and food critic, thanks to two blogs I started because of my interest in these areas. Before the internet, if I wanted to write regularly for the public about either topic, I would need to land a coveted job at a newspaper or magazine; I write from the comfort of my couch. Anyone can read my blogs, and I can discuss any issue that I wish. Blogging allows me to combine my love of writing, research and graphic design. I can develop these skills on my own, but want to learn more about how they fit into the greater social context through the MCDM program.

Digital Media is an ever-evolving way to adapt traditional writing and design to the 21st century, and the MCDM curriculum is especially relevant in the current job market, as virtually every industry embraces new communication technology. Social networking, online marketing, and user-generated content can easily be integrated into almost any discipline; my goal is to use them in the non-profit sector. I like that the MCDM program gives its graduates the ability to work for an established company or to run their own business, which will be invaluable down the road when I want to balance my career with a family. Technology is constantly advancing, and I look forward staying on the cutting edge.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T09:28:00.000-08:00

And also thanks to everyone for a great Christmas.

I have a few New Year's resolutions:

1) Get in better shape. I bought a heartrate monitor to enhance my workouts and learned that just running half of a 12-minute mile pushes my heartrate to its maximum range. So, I want to improve my cardiovascular fitness and in the process get a bit more toned for Hawaii in March.

2) Improve my complexion. Any time I pick at a blemish, I will put 10 cents in a bank for David to spend as he wishes. I would give a quarter, but when you've got coin-op laundry, quarters are worth a lot more than just 25 cents. David says that resolutions are more effective when there's money attached, and having that little bank by the mirror will remind me.

3) Clean up more. I'm not a naturally tidy person, but just a little bit more effort on a regular basis should make an huge improvement in our home environment. I've made a couple of rules: wash dishes every time I microwave something and devote a minimum 15 minutes a day just to tidying up.

4) Be more conscious of electricity: always turn off lights and unplug my cell-phone charger when it's not in use.

It's hard to change habits, so I might be overextending myself by trying to break three bad ones, but it's worth a shot. Another thing that is more of a necessity than a resolution is to stick to my budget better, since it's about to be tightened. For the duration of my internship my goal is to eat on $40 a week, which is completely manageable with a bit of planning. It will mean a lot of oatmeal and beans and less pudding and frozen veggie burgers, but if that couple in California can live off of $1 a day, I can easily live off $5. I bought an Entertainment book yesterday which has coupons to restaurants and attractions, so I hope that will encourage us to try new things and have more fun. I'd like to make some new friends, but I think that will happen when I go back to school. Ideally, at this point next year I will be well on my way to a real career.

I think that today is going to be unproductive. David has tomorrow off, but I have to work; shouldn't be too busy though. Tomorrow is Michael's last day, so I am going to make him a card and maybe bake him something. He's allergic to dairy so it's an excuse to use one of my vegan cookbooks. I'm also going to work on my Letter of Intent for grad school- it's due in two weeks.

Weird Day

2008-12-22T16:30:00.000-08:00

Today was almost surreal. For one, half of the office was absent because of the snow, including the bosses, and those of us who were in had nothing to do. I worked on my grad school essay while the boys goofed off. Second, I kept getting calls from people looking for Virginia Mason hospital. I asked the third caller what number they were trying to reach (which didn't resemble our number at all), then dialed it; the call came through to my console. I contacted Virginia Mason, but they had no record of the number in question. Third, at around 11:30, a transformer blew and the power went out. With no heat or electricity, we couldn't even pretend to work. Once the city determined that we wouldn't have power for the rest of the day, we left. The outage proved to be a deus ex machina, an improbable event that allowed me to finish my Christmas cards. Every relative that my mom likes will be getting a handmade card from me; I like or am indifferent to all of my relatives, but I got the address list from my mom and there are a few she does not care to stay in touch with. Thus, my cousin Josh and his wife (who I have never met) will get a card, but his mother will not because my mom is not fond of her youngest sibling.

One Dollar Diet Project

2008-12-21T19:03:00.000-08:00

I read article in the New York Times about a California couple who decided to live on $1 of food a day as an experiment in poverty. They used it as a fundraiser for a local charity. The pair subsisted primarily on rice, beans, and peanut butter sandwiches, but managed to make it work. Since my income is about to be reduced, I am especially intrigued by the recipe section. $1 a day is a little bit of a stretch, but $5 is doable with a little planning.

Canterbury Bar on E 15th is Stupid

2008-12-21T09:56:00.000-08:00

We had another day of crazy snow yesterday; fortunately, it was Saturday and I didn't have to leave the house, other than to go one block over to the grocery store and the gym. David was not so lucky: he had some Christmas shopping to do, so his quest for the perfect present took him on a scenic tour of Seattle in the snow.

I made dinner based on a recipe in the book "KCTS 9 Cooks: Potatoes II," something left over in work. It's a compilation of recipes from KCTS viewers, and even though every one has the common ingredient of some form of potato, there is still a variety of options, from salad to casseroles to desserts (potato candy anyone?). I also wanted to try a recipe I found for Wassail, spiced beer with a little port (or in my case, a nip of brandy and some cheap wine). We were getting cabin fever, but the party we had intended to go to was in Ballard, and we didn't think we would be able to get there and get home in the snow.

Chris called to see if we wanted to go to a bar. We did. We walked up to his place and hung out in his apartment for a bit while we regrouped. The bar they wanted to go to was just around the corner. After about 45 minutes of chilling (well, warming up really) and watching videos on Chris' PC, we headed out. Chris and Kristen got a couple of gin and tonics, David got a beer, Casey got something, and I had a soda- I was already tired. David thought that the bartender was a jerk.

We sat in front of a fake fireplace and watched the Top 10 Greatest Northwest Sports Teams on TV. Next to us, two guys and a girl were getting hammered. They ordered another pitcher, and asked us to watch their table while they went outside. We agreed. They were so drunk and obnoxious that someone (Chris or Casey) had the idea to put something in their beer. We laughed at the idea, but Casey decided to do it. With an evil grin, he deftly put a few shakes of tobasco in each of their glasses, plus the half-full pitcher.

The trio of drunkards returned, and resumed their drinking. After a few minutes, we heard one complain that his beer was stinging his lips. They talked for a few minutes among themselves, then began to question us. "You were watching our table, did you see anyone do this?" "No," we said.

Before long, their beer-addled brains still had enough sense to figure out that we were the culprits. "Did YOU do this?" they asked. "Of course not," we replied. But by then, they were on to us. One came over, and had Casey sample his beer. "It's a little spicy," he agreed. The jerk poured it out in Kristen's cup. She marched off to get a new drink.

The drunks were still bothering us, and they wanted to fight. Casey offered to buy them a new pitcher, just to get it to stop. He argued with the first guy. The other fellow, a portly man with a sweatshirt and a mustache, came over to Chris and knocked his hat off. "My girlfriend's lips are burning because of you," he growled. "I want no fight, friend," Chris replied. Then the man backhanded Chris in his left eye.

Kristen came back with her beer and noticed that something was wrong with Chris' face. She went to get the bartender. Casey was still talking to the other men, then went to buy them more beer. David and I sat there.

Casey returned with a pitcher, and the bartender came over. He talked to the other men and got their side of the story. He talked to Casey next. Casey came over to get his jacket. "I have to leave," he said. The bartender came over to us. "Is he a friend of yours?" He asked. "Yes," we replied. He motioned to the door; "you too," he said.

So we gathered our winter gear and headed for the door. Casey and Kristen paid their tabs. The drunks stayed- apparently in that bar, a practical joke where the offender offers to undo his wrongdoing is a more serious offense than assault. As we walked away, David said, "That bartender was a jerk. I didn't tip him even before we got kicked out." Kristen said, "Casey did!"

So, Chris got into his first bar fight, Casey learned a valuable lesson about the perils of pranking drunks, and all of us were ejected for unruly conduct for the first time. It was a memorable evening.

Snow Day!

2008-12-18T18:02:00.000-08:00

Today was my first snow day ever. We had much worse storms in Maine and Boston, but they were either on the weekend or the administration held out until it was almost quitting time before they released us. I was really excited when I looked out the window and saw how much is was snowing. It's not even that much snow, but it was more than the city can handle; it's just a mile from our house to my work, but going down the steep hill on the bus is dangerous.

We arrived at the bus stop a little earlier than scheduled because we knew things would be slow. The bus didn't come; other buses we stopped halfway up the hill with their hazards on. So, we went back to the apartment to call our respective bosses. Carol told me to stay home, but Gary was nearby so he swung by and picked David up.

So, David had to work and I got the day off. I was sorry that he didn't get to relax with me but was grateful to have the time away from the office; I didn't sleep very well last night because I was worried about my future after the internship, finding a part-time job, and giving my notice. I was nervous about having "the talk" with Carol on such sleep deprivation, so this was a lucky break.

I decided to be productive instead of just sleeping all morning: I cleaned the kitchen a little, made some Christmas cards, knit for a bit, went to the noon spin class at the gym, made a nice lunch, did some laundry, baked some cookies because I was really craving gingerbread.

Tonight we're staying in because it's just too freakin' cold outside and our apartment is warm and comfortable. David is playing a new computer game, and I'm trying to finish at least one of the crafts projects I started today. Later we're going to watch a movie.

Good news! Well, Maybe.

2008-12-17T16:51:00.000-08:00

Today marked 6 months at my job, and tomorrow I'm going to quit: I will be interning at a marketing and event-planning company for three months starting January 7. It's probably the stupidest thing I've ever done, given the economy: leaving a regular, paying job for a temporary, part-time deal with a very small stipend. But, this sounds like a fun opportunity in an area I am interested in; I loved planning events at my old job and am looking to exploring marketing. Plus, I will actually be working on projects and helping to put together events; my efforts will have a tangible outcome that I can be proud of. I am really excited.

I wanted to quit on the spot today before I even found out about the internship offer; it was just a bad day. I was grumpy to begin with (didn't sleep well), and the repetitive motion of sealing and mailing our holiday cards just put me in a worse mood. Plus, I made a mistake on a mailing I shipped off to Canada last week, even though I had Customer Service personally walk me through it as I prepared the shipment, which irritated a couple of people and made me stay later than I had planned (ok, 3:30, no big deal, but I had done nothing but sit around for the hour and a half before the problem was brought to my attention (at 2:57) so I was ready to go home). This incident wasn't all that important: people make mistakes, and it was my first time preparing an international commercial shipment. It's just that I don't do a lot and I want to do what I do do right. And, someone in Canada needs those documents!

So, I am optimistic about the future but a little scared. I'm hoping that I will learn a lot and will have many more marketable skills when I am done, at least some concrete experience, and marketing and graphic design often go hand-in-hand: the interviewer (my new boss) was pleased that I was learning Illustrator. If I stay at my current job for another three months, I will be in the same place in my career and still unhappy. It's going to be a challenge financially, but I have been saving a decent chunk of my paycheck each month and will get by until it's over. Plus, I know that even part-time jobs are hard to come by, but I will try to get one. What scares me is that I won't be able to get a real job when the internship ends.

Does this mark the end of my complaining about my job all the time? I sure hope it does!

Tuesday by the Numbers

2008-12-16T15:40:00.001-08:00

600: total signatures signed on Holiday cards

300: signatures forged on Holiday cards

5: CPU stands assembled

2: emails to David

1: Gingerbread cookies eaten from the bag on the kitchen table

So, as you can see from above, I picked up a new skill this morning, which will be invaluable if I
decide to pursue a lucrative career in identity theft. A coworker went on vacation and hoped that someone (me) would sign her name for her on all of the office Christmas cards. It was mundane work but sort of fun, and a lot harder than I thought it would be: an artistic challenge. If I did it really slowly, the shape of the signature was close to the original, but it looked fake. If I did it quickly, the line thickness appeared genuine, but didn't look like her signature. So, it's a fine balance. By the end, I started to pick up on the subtle nuances, and though it was difficult to control my hand against its natural inclinations, the repetition made it easier. If I ever need to forge someone's signature for a more significant purpose than holiday greeting cards, I will first practice really slowly so that my hand gets used to the motion (muscle memory) then speed it up so that I can do it quickly and accurately. Judging from other people's signatures on the cards, there is wide variation in a person's own signature, so I would need to develop my forgery from a set of several samples to determine that my copy is not mimicking a fluke. Funny how much your mind can wander during repetitive tasks.

Now We're Nine

2008-12-15T16:21:00.000-08:00

Michael gave his 2 weeks today; he's going to be returning to school in January to become a massage therapist. I'm sad to see him go for several reasons:
1) I like him: he's considerate and seems to care about getting to know me. He deduced from my eating habits that I must be a vegetarian, something I've kept secret for some reason- mainly because it's something else that sets me apart from my coworkers. He's nice, and adds a little bit of variety to the office.
2) The quota of young male architects has gone up. Michael isn't all that young, and he isn't an architect (he does decor), and though he is male he also is married to a man. The stronger their sway in the office is, the more I feel that I am on the outside.
3) I feel like I can't quit. I'm not going to stop looking for a better job, and if I get one I will take it, but I'm going to feel guilty about the process. I don't really care what my superiors think, since my own happiness comes first, but something about looking around for a new job behind their backs while they are already a man down feels wrong.

Seattle in the Snow

2008-12-14T18:19:00.000-08:00

Holiday Cheer

2008-12-13T20:28:00.001-08:00

David and I put up our Christmas decorations this evening, and when I looked out the window, it was snowing. I think that the combination of the two is helping to put me in the Holiday spirit. Tomorrow, I am going to make Christmas cards.

We cleaned the apartment, and I made some pasta with roasted vegetables for dinner; the recipe was in the latest issue of Vegetarian Times magazine. It's a treasure trove of recipes; my early New Year's resolution is to try more recipes- I think this will force me out of my food comfort zone and allow me to sample new things.

This week so far

2008-12-10T21:19:00.000-08:00

My Illustrator class ended tonight, which makes me sad, though I am so excited to use the program more (once we buy CS3). It was fairly successful; one of my goals in taking classes is to meet new people, and I enjoyed interacting with a different group of folks. Plus, I learned some interesting ways to manipulate and create images.

We're in our new office after the big move this weekend. All in all, the space is great: it's large and filled with natural light, with a kitchen and plenty of storage. My only complaints pertain to my work area: despite my objections, they hung a rusty 200-lb i-beam right above my head for decoration, and my desk is treated in a high-end finish that scratches and warps easily, so I can't slide anything around, not use a coaster for beverages, or eat soup (the spatters!) without damaging it. Just pushing a cardboard box across the surface while unpacking scratched it visibly, and there is now a bowl-shaped ring from the heat and moisture of yesterday's lunch (despite putting 2 pieces of cardboard underneath). I don't really care though- why they decided to use this as a working surface is beyond me. Those gripes aside, the new location is a huge improvement.

Busy day

2008-12-04T20:20:00.000-08:00

This guy makes me want to be a graphic designer. My Illustrator class was really fun last night and I am so excited to learn more.

I went to an informational session for the program I am applying for at UW. I am really interested, though I am not sure if I am quite ready; it's geared towards professionals who seem to have a solid grasp of where they want to go in their careers. I am still sort of searching, and though I think this will help me find direction, my sense is that they want people who already know. Still, I won't be crushed if I don't get in- I can wait a few more years to figure out my life and then re-apply.

The office move is going well. I had a little bit of frustration this morning with one of the architects over labels for a mailing (she didn't review them until the last minute, which meant I had to scramble to get the postcards out) but people have finally started to do their share of the packing. We took a ton of stuff to the dump, literally: over 2,000 lbs of granite, marble, tile, metal, wood, books, binders, carpet and fabric. It was all high-end, expensive, and lovely, but I am so sick of looking at it that I don't care that it is going to waste. I still can't believe the sheer volume of the materials library: I coordinated with almost 50 vendors to come in and pick up their supplies, we donated carfuls to Bellevue Community College, employees took stuff home for crafts, we did two dump runs last month, and we still threw out thousands of pounds of junk today.

In other good news, Carol is going to leave the title on my new business card blank, which gives me some freedom to move around and grow within the company. She told me yesterday that I am the best receptionist that they've hired, which made me feel somewhat good. She said that her brother-in-law just let go of his, and that she was telling him about me. "I told him that the key is to getting a good receptionist is finding one with a college education!" I don't agree with her there but appreciated the compliment. She thinks it's funny that they found me on Craigslist.

I scheduled a massage for Sunday; my lower back hurts from being constantly in motion all week, and my mom gave me a gift certificate through Spa Finder last year that is just enough to cover 30 minutes. I've been saving it for a special occasion, and I think this is the one. I am lucky that David always rubs my shoulders and neck, but I am looking forward to just lying down on a warm table with soothing music and having every knot worked out.

Cobra Crush

2008-12-04T06:49:00.001-08:00

I'm starting to think that The Cobra has a little crush on me. I don't know why- I don't feed her, scoop her litter or grow her cat grass. She's sitting a couple of feet away staring at me, and last night she came under the covers to suckle/cuddle, and then again at 5:30 this morning.

Tuesday

2008-12-02T20:55:00.000-08:00

My interview went ok this morning. She seemed excited that I'm learning Illustrator, but I don't think we really clicked. Nothing bad, just a few awkward silences. The position would be interesting: helping to plan and market special events. I loved planning stuff at my old job, and am looking to get more into marketing. Still, earning only $900 in the course of three months isn't ideal, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

The office move is going well and it's keeping me busy; now that we're in the final stages, I can just pack everything instead of just the things we wouldn't probably use. We've got a mailing going out on Thursday, and putting labels and stamps on postcards is boring, but I can sit at my desk and listen to music.

I was a little hurt today that I wasn't invited to a meeting that everyone else was in; the topic was "outstanding design". They tried to define "outstanding design" in order to further develop the firm's vision and brand. I'm not a designer, but I, like everyone, have an opinion on what good design is. Plus, Carol isn't a designer and she was included. Nikki is an IT/CAD tech, not a designer, and she was included. I'm probably just being over-sensitive, and attending it would have been a waste of time, but the fact that I flat out wasn't invited when everyone else in the office was made me feel excluded and just reinforced that I am not really a part of the team. Being a "designer" is everything to my coworkers, and this felt like a division, a way to emphasize that I am just there to do the crap they don't want to do. Which is true: the fact of the matter is that I am the lowest rung and I just need to accept that. Sorry for another rant.

Capitol Hill Cats

2008-12-01T21:23:00.001-08:00

I'm thinking about starting my own pet-sitting business for people on Capitol Hill: Capitol Hill Cats. I used to cat-sit in high school, and figure that I'll give it a shot here. I like cats, and it doesn't seem that hard: feed the cat, play with the cat, scoop the cat's poop. I'd also water plants, take in mail, all the things you want when you're out of town. I could do other animals too, like rodents and lizards, but no spiders. Snakes would be on a case-by-case basis. I've never had a dog or a bird, but I'm guessing I could handle them. On second thought, I don't really like birds and dogs scare me, so I'll stick with cats, rats, and lizards. There are a few things I need to do, like in order to be legit I need a business license, and in order to be competitive I need to become certified in Pet First Aid: all the other cat-sitters advertise it and it's only $50, so why not. I would also need a website, which would be a nice chance to use my Illustrator skills. David is a computer whiz, so he could help set it up. Plus, it would be fun to advertise my services, and good marketing practice too. A couple of my mom's friends could act as references (one is even a vet) in case anyone doubts my abilities. With the economy, I hear that people who go away are boarding their pets less and turning more to in-home care. However, with the economy, people are also taking less vacations, so I'm not sure how my business will do. I always feel like I come up with crazy money-making schemes that aren't really any good at making money.

Thanksgiving, etc.

2008-11-30T20:16:00.000-08:00

Our trip to California was fun. We had a bit of a delay in the airport in Seattle, so we got to Palo Alto around 5 PM on Wednesday night, a couple of hours behind schedule. We went out to dinner with my folks, and then went to a bar with Jessica and a few of her lawyer friends. She seems to be doing pretty well, although she has made the questionable decision to spend next semester in the Hague working on Charles Taylor's defense team. I didn't know who Charles Taylor was, so I Wikipedia'd him. He's a former Liberian warlord and an all-around bad guy. The charges against him include, but are not limited to: child soldiers, chopping off arms, cannibalism, and human sacrifice. And Jessica is trying to set him free. She says she's doing it to promote justice: in order for a trial to be fair, the defendant must have an equally sound defense and offense. She really just wants to go to the Netherlands.

Thanksgiving day was nice; we went for a hike through a trail at Stanford that has really pretty views of the Bay Area and goes really close to The Dish, a giant radio telescope that used to search for extraterrestrial intelligence but is just sitting there and rusting now. We went over to Jessica's family's house for dinner; the guests were Jessica's brother and his family, her aunt and her family, me, David, and my family, and a couple of Jessica's law school friends. Kate, her mom, prepared a delicious feast. I was shocked by how much of a MILF Kate has become- she works out constantly now that she is retired and is in great shape. I've known her since I was 5 and have never seen her, or anyone else her age (65) for that matter, this fit. It's scary. Anyhow, she's a good cook and cooked a lot of good food. Their house is impressive in both size and grandeur, and if I hadn't grown up in it I would be a little intimidated. The whole thing was a little over the top but fun. David handled it very well.

On Friday, we woke up at the crack of dawn to hit up our local Walmart and go shopping. Just kidding. We took highway 1 (the scenic route) down to Monterey. David lived there for two years and my family would take weekend trips when I was growing up, so we both wanted to go back. We went to El Torito, which is a Mexican restaurant right on the water. It's a must-do in Monterey. The food is so-so but the view is spectacular. We thought we saw a whale, but it was just a wave. We wandered around Cannery Row. There used to be an indoor carosel with an old-time picture place, which I thought would be fun to do, but it's all been replaced by an imax theater. We stopped by a cafe that had a heated outdoor bench, which was the highlight of Cannery Row. Even though it was chilly and overcast, this crazy stone bench felt like it had been sitting in the sun for hours. We drove to Pacific Grove, and David showed me the route he used to run in the Army. I was impressed: it was very long and steep. We couldn't go on the base, which was disappointing, since I wanted to see where he used to live, but we drove around and he pointed out other important landmarks. We went to Carmel too but it was all overpriced shops, so we didn't stay long. When we got home, we went to this loud Japanese restaurant and hung out a bit with my parents.

I went to a spin class at my mom's gym on Saturday morning; I wanted her to do it with me, but she was afraid her knee wouldn't be able to handle it. We got some coffee and picked up pastries to take home to the menfolk. Peet's has a scone that I really like, so I try to eat it whenever I am home- there's a Peet's two blocks from our apartment, but they don't have my scone. We had talked about meeting Jessica up in San Francisco, but we weren't feeling up to it. So, we did a bit of shopping. David had never been to Costco, so my mom took us there. I got a fuzzy robe for lounging around the house, and he got a light jacket. I realized while I was there that Costco is probably the reason I enjoy free food samples so much. My parents took me there all the time as a kid, and I loved to snack on the little samples they hand out. We came home arounf 3:30, had some sandwiches, made some margaritas, and that's pretty much the rest of the day. My dad rented a couple of weird foreign movies; we watched one all the way through, but the other was too bizarre to finish: it was this Armenian art film full of symbolism and pretension.

This morning, my mom got bagels for breakfast, which is what I was secretly hoping she would do though I didn't want to ask. If she hadn't brought them home, I was going to suggest that we go up and get bagels. She must have read my mind. We walked up to the Farmer's market; I got some almonds to take to work tomorrow, and David got some almonds for the plane. The we said goodbye to my mom, and my dad drove us to the airport. It was a pretty quick flight, and now we're home. The Cobra was really happy to see us. I'm not looking forward to work tomorrow, but I am glad to be back in Seattle.

CEO

2008-11-25T18:29:00.000-08:00

My co-worker George was wearing a suit this morning. "Looking sharp," I said, "Client visit?" "No," he said, "I figured I would look good for the CEO." I had thought that the CEO was coming in on Wednesday, so I was surprised; since I'm gone tomorrow, I hadn't even really registered his visit at all. I quickly scampered off to turn on the coffee machine and wipe off the conference table. It's a good thing I didn't wear my jeans today like I had considered; I'm tired of putting professional outfits together just to throw crap in boxes, but denim would have looked pretty shabby next to everyone else in their CEO-best. Next week it's all comfy and casual, except for Tuesday, because I have an interview for an internship at a Marketing firm.

Optimistic

2008-11-24T21:30:00.000-08:00

I found three people to write me references for grad school: Cait, Len and Shahrayne, all folks from my old job. I was really putting off asking, not because I didn't think that they would help me, but because I've been out of contact and it's awkward asking for a favor after not speaking for a while. They've all been busy, so they understand and probably haven't even noticed. One shocker that's bumming me out: Cait is having surgery on Wednesday to remove the early stages of cervical cancer. Len said that it's not uncommon for this to happen in transplant patients, but she's suffered enough with her kidneys. Kidney failure is just as lethal as cancer, but it isn't as scary for some reason.

My day went by really fast and I'm not even sure why. It was nice though. It started off really well too: I decided to treat myself to a baked good at Whole Foods for breakfast. As I was walking towards the pastry case to get a bagel, a man came out of the kitchen with a big tray of freshly baked mini-baguettes. I followed him and he said to me, "the ones in back are the best." I picked one out and sure enough, it was still warm. It was still warm when I ate it at my desk a half-hour later. I hope to repeat the incident tomorrow.

It was a good weekend too: we had sushi with Dan and Mollye on Saturday night, and went to the zoo and did a little shopping on Sunday: I bought some yarn and David bought a new game.

Shopping!

2008-11-22T16:59:00.000-08:00

I came to the realization this morning that if I do my Christmas shopping before going down to California for Thanksgiving, I will be able to save a lot of money on shipping just by bringing presents for my family down with me and leaving them there. So, I went shopping today. I had some gift cards from places I never shop at (Borders, Anthropologie, Sephora) so I was able to get good gifts for my family without breaking my budget too much. I love getting a good deal. I also got a piroshky from the piroshky place at the market, which I had been wanting to try for a while and turned my good day into a great one.

Art Imitates Life

2008-11-21T20:06:00.000-08:00

On Monday, I cleaned the office microwave. It hadn't been cleaned since I started working there, and had become so gross that something had to be done; I presume that since no one else cleans it that this is my job. We have a service that comes in and "cleans" the office on the weekends, and I feel that this should fall under their jurisdiction; I would complain to Carol, but this service is really just one of the Architects in Training and his girlfriend, so I would just feel like a dirty rotten tattler doing that. They get paid as an outside vendor for vacuuming and taking out the trash, but apparently not to dust or clean the microwave- am I wrong that this should be their responsibility and not mine? Eh, probably. Anyhow, I cleaned the microwave; scoured is a better word. When I was done, I put a little sticker above the clock that says "If your food spills or spatters, please clean it up."

On Thursday, "The Office" aired (we just watched it online). The opening scene: Pam the receptionist notices a mess in the microwave and puts a note telling people to clean it up. People are angry that she has put the note on the microwave, not at the person who made the mess.

Anyhow, I just thought that this was funny (in a coincidental, not ha-ha, sort of way). Sorry about the cleaning rant. I actually had a really good day at work today: I was surprised by a marketing mailing to be sent out ASAP, so I spent most of the day working on that. These are always fun. Randy the marketing guy is a horrible writer, and I enjoy improving his work. Plus, he always tells me that my corrections are great, which isn't always true but still feels good. Architects are so blunt and critical that it's nice to receive empty praise every now and again, especially for something I've actually used my brain for.

Sick Day II

2008-11-20T19:06:00.000-08:00

I just talked with a man doing a background check on one of my college roommates; apparently she's trying to get a security clearance. Some of the questions are ridiculous: "have you ever known this person to be involved in an organization planning on overthrowing the U.S. government?" Umm, no. I can see how it is important for the sake of national security that people working with confidential documents are not terrorists, but if they are, you probably aren't going to get an honest answer out of their friends. The interviewer also seemed concerned when I told him that she socialized with people other countries.

I had my first Illustrator class last night. Illustrator is a really neat program- I'm really excited to be taking this class. I have to miss next week because we're going to California, but the instructor said she would send me what we're going to be working on so I can practice on my own.

I took another sick day today; it's just a little cold but I'm not feeling so hot. I want to take tomorrow off too, but am not sure if that's a good idea. I don't have anything to do, but I don't want my boss to think that I'm not a good worker. Still, I just don't feel like dragging my body into the office and pretending to work when I could be on the couch sleeping. I'll have to see how my voice sounds; if I sound sick I'll stay home, because I don't want to answer the phone with a croak.

Sick Day

2008-11-19T12:53:00.000-08:00

I took a sick day today. I was considering taking one yesterday, but didn't. Then this morning, I woke up with sniffles and a sore throat. So, serves me right for trying to fool the system: Karma. I went to work, but really didn't need to be there so I left around 10 and slept for a while (a long while). My first Illustrator class is tonight, so I want to feel well for that! It's also a nice chance to work on my resume and improve my job search tactics, although all I really want to do is sleep.

Boo

2008-11-13T16:40:00.001-08:00

I just got a call from Seattle Central that my InDesign class has been canceled. They are going to give me a refund, but I'm pretty bummed: I really need those skills to be a viable candidate for even the most basic entry-level graphic design job. Knowing InDesign might even help make my current job better, since the firm overall has a strong graphics department but the Seattle office does not. The Illustrator class is still on, so that's at least a start.

On a positive note, I got an email from one of the jobs I applied for last week asking when would be a good time for a phone interview. Plus, I found another job opening that I would be perfect for: someone with workshop leading/planning experience and a background in International Studies, so I am looking forward to writing that cover letter tonight. I am trying to be optimistic.