Fucken can't figure out my new health insurance. I know I'm not pleased with it: I have to pay a deductible on going to acupuncture before my 90% coverage kicks in. Stoopid insurance plans.

In other news, we took our first trip to Mission of the season. Of course it was a great time - eight great friends, in the middle of Wenatchee, with not much to do besides boozin' and foolin' around. Too bad the snow was packed so hard you could ice skate on it. Ok, not that bad, but it was freaking COLD out there! Brrr. Hopefully next weekend brings better snow. Sounds like Stevens has been getting dumped on and I think we're planning on some hooky to go ski tomorrow? (ok not hooky but more fun than admitting to getting morning off...)

Hooo, I found my guilty pleasure of the day. In Hunter's folder: Dude Ranch. When did this come out? My senior year of highschool or later? No matter when, this isn't good but IT IS!

Blog, I need to go back to acupuncture. My arm is hurting me again and I don't remember when but I hurt my shoulder in Jackson. I wake up it hurts, I turn it, I'm putting on my clothes and it Hurts. Typing hurts. I am a big pile of uncomfortableness in my arms. Great.

Oh and CP is moving in to the cube next to us. Yay, that. I feel claustrophobic in my large cube with a view.

I can't write now although I want to. Really on a roll today.

Oh my god, blog. This weekend did not have enough hours in it. Boo! On Friday, I had to powernap to function, then experiment with vinyl for present-making. Very different than expected. Instead of easy and fast, it was over an hour of figuring out how to make the stupid material agree with me in terms of sew-ing ma-chine. I think I got it, but by that time I was ready to quit and catch a cab with Sara to then grab Gin and go to Dragonfish for some deliciouso tofu pillows and pearl sake. Yum-um!

Saturday was like - woah! Why did I wake up at almost 10am? Guess I WAS exhausted from the week...B and I lazed about until about 11:15 and then took the boat down to southcenter for some extremely efficient shopping. We did marvelous, I am so glad Bri doesn't dawdle about and we both had the goal to go in and get out. Then we came home only to walk downtown for another two-and-a-half hours, where I get a coffee and Bailey's to help out with the last tidbits of shopping...I almost exploded in several different ways, trying to navigate around this crazy town (on foot, even!) and get things Done. But yes, we came home and were both too wiped to cook. (yay pizza)

Today...oh, I can barely even keep typing! Today Holly came to meet me around 10:45am and we walked downtown for just about three hours. Have I done enough walking this weekend or What. Goal today was to get Holly's shopping done and finish my Cards. While the ones for my work-buddies (are out of control. really.), I will still come home to make some more cards tomorrow. But I think I have a beta version down for next year, it will be really snappy. Plus, I took pictures before they are going to be sent off, I think that might help?

Okay I am so over this weekend. I've been working now since 8pm and just want to SLEEP. Stupid busy weekend, too much work to do, so much shopping, and I feel full of spirit but weary. Very excited for Whistler, much more so than for Stupid Sales Meeting. Excited to relax with everyone, for Tandoori, for Sushi perhaps, for some actual riding and not just a couple runs and then backdownforwork. Phew.

Sleep...oh bed, you are so sweet to me...exhausted.

Rant: sick of all the work that is piled on us. Not a chance of creativity to seep out of anywhere. We are busy busy and I have tunnelvision.

Rave: B got me a boquet of cute anemones! They don't smell, but they are so colorful and look like something you could make out of crepe paper, perhaps. Their leaves are clustered and I just Love seeing them by my desk.

Tried making christmas cards with my wonderful printer last night. Looks like although I know tons about web graphics, I have a lot to learn about my digital camera and how to bring in images at 300dpi instead of changing it afterwards. Duh.

Going up to Whistler for a week did nothing but take away from my creative time. I need that! OK back to work so I can do my own work tonight...

Today sucks. I hate being at work today. All I can do to keep from crying my eyes out is keep my headphones on tight, don't look over to see what is going on across my room. I can't wait for the 4:30 boat to come and pick me up, while I'm sitting in Hunter's car trying to avoid eye contacts and conversations. Just want to go home and curl up in the oceans of blankets on the bed. Sleep, tears, nothing work. I hate that so much work is piled up but my brian wants to divert. My eyes don't want to focus on these screens.

Still hooked on Transatlanticism. It's like a lullaby for me to code to.

You know what I could do without?

When I'm walking down the hall at work, like over by the mailboxes, for example, and I pass some person I don't know and I get that GRIN. Like saying, hey, I'm friendly. You don't know me, we just happen to both work for the same company, but I can at least smile. The eye contact is never warm, it's just business as usual.

Stupid business.

What an awesome weekend! B, my dad, Becky and I tripped out to the cabin and did some major nothings. For having such a packed schedule, it was supernice to put in some time for not running around, not snowboarding, not anything. We got in late, had a beer, went to bed. Saturday we slept in until 10.20am which is pretty much unheard of for me...guess I needed it? Walked down to the river which was silently being covered in snowflakes. Took some lovely pictures of everything, ate hot cocoa, played scrabble & hearts, snowshoed (in the dark! with headlamps - very cool), knitted a ton and smiled more. I have said it a thousand times before, but how great is it, how many people can really say that their best friend is also who they want to marry? Words can't spell it out.

Now back on the island - wooo. Monster/Fangfish made it through the long stretch of no foods. I swear beta fish are the best. Low maintenance. And I think I may be able to last with Grandaddy for the morning. Really need to ween myself off of dc4c or I may tire of it too soon. Wear off the shine.

Ah la la. Such a great ad I get to work with - bye!

I really like the singer from Iron & Wine. Barely whispering sweet things. Listening to him makes me want to cry for beauty.

Today has blown by. Too many ideas, I can't focus. Need to prioritize and g-o. Finished my belt and now want to figure out what to do with big fun yard of clear vinyl. Need to find time to practice making truffles, I am guessing it won't be as easy as the instructions read. Sort of like fresh spring roll experiment. Wouldn't that be exciting though? It could also equal a big stomach-ache.

Beautiful roses sitting next to my desk. I love them! I love having flowers as company for when I work at home. Hi, flowers!

brainoverload::

So right now, I am officially
"so annoying"

I want to sew, I want to add mexico pics to my website. I want to have a glass of wine and watch a movie. I just don't feel like going to bed yet. Which is pretty out of the norm. I bet in twenty minutes I'll be snuggling up.

Tonight went to new fabric store for clear vinyl. I have grandiose ideas for belts, wallets and small handbags. While there (with only 25 minutes to closing) I had racing thoughts of embroidered pillow/cases, faux fur hats, thick felt bags and things with snaps on them. I hate that I don't know where to find the really good things like belt buckle/loops, neat snaps, etc. Prolly just second-hand or Red Light, right? We'll see. So anyway, I wanted to buy about a hundred dollars worth of things but couldn't justify it. This was purely a present-shopping visit.

And I am STILL listening to Transantlanticism. Tried some Halo Benders but I'm back. When will I tire of it? Soundtrack for December, it seems...

Very excited for the cabin.

Left: why is Mudhoney playing at the showbox?
Right: i dunno, maybe it could be good, like you're back in highschool?
Left: yeah...sorta skeptical on this though, I didn't like their later stuff...you think it could be fun?
Right: Oh i didn't say that. i think it could be, but prolly better to stay home and see if someone else went. showbox is probably twenty bucks anyway.
Left: good call.

That is the conversation my brain had when I saw mudhoney on the pollstar.com.


///
i am waiting for you to flee the scene
as if you held in your hand the smoking gun
and on the floor lay the one they said you loved

imhome.imhome.imhome!!

Thank gad I'm home again. It's really terrible, but I'm starting to tire of Whistler. Who does that? Who gets tired of being surrounded by gorgeous mountains and snow dumps? (me.) It really would have been more fun, less lonely, not so drab if B were up there with me. Big fat OH WELL to that because imhome! Really made good time w/Hunter. Left the Delta at 1:40, crossed truck customs at 4pm and dropped him off pretty much at 6pm. Got home, got kisses, went out to Machiavelli with B. Haven't really cared for it the past couple times we've gone, but last night was pretty much good - the spinach ravioli did it for me. And I remembered that although a chianti is what I want, at Machiavelli it's the house red/merlot that is best.

The cat, snuggling and toes at bedtime, finally some good music on the radio...I love travelling and being out but right now all I want to do is nerd out on my computer and drink tea. Mmm.

Can I just say that I hate bro-brahs? I saw so many blowjobs this past week and it's really disgusting. People need to just realise they work for a snowboard company, and that in itself is fun. But they don't need to be so upping each other and kissass. I prolly didn't see all that I could have, being that I was busy and also avoiding most crowds and parties...

Oh and I also have to say that it sucks when you have to go somewhere for a long time and your best friend, your boyfriend, isn't there. So that everything you want to go and have fun doing, is without him. Paints everything a shade of lonely. A shade of appreciating that other friends were there just a little more. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful, loving relationship. Something that most people should envy. Though I never knew it possible to have such a large love, every day I am overwhelmed with feelings of appreciation, awe, wonderment at what we have.

Begonia really wants to play. She's climbing all over the couch and running around at high speeds. And I can't stop listening to transatlanticism! On the way home we were stuck because my smart ass forgot my cds back at the hotel. I swear deathcab is good in any situation. Ben Gibbard = makes soundtrack to my life. Weird. kexp just played some new strokes song and I sorta liked it. What does THAT mean?

Two days we go to the cabin. Two weeks we go back up to Whistler. Twenty days and we hop on a plane to Jackson HOle! Wooohee to that! This month is so packed with fun I can hardly think about the work that is also piling up. Stupid work. Stupid everybody wants their own site and we have zero creative realm to embrace. Glad that work is opening up here, would be nice to go do something different, something appreciated.

Gotta clean frog's pad. Feeling responsible for their uncomfortableness. Maybe if we named them...I would attach personality and also more parental responsibility to them? Horrible me.

I wish the world was flat like the old days
& I could travel just by folding the map
no more airplanes or speedtrains or freeways -

there'd be no distance that could hold us back.

Such an impressive show on Friday! Oh, the songs they sang...the dancing and Love I felt inside! Big smiles, still as I keep listening to Death Cab, I love the pretty pictures they paint in my head as I work. Watercolors, not watered-down, but dauby and blots and such.

Holy cow I have work cut out for me this (two-day) week. Gotta get the going on!

Weird Dream I Had:

I was staying on this farm with a girl who I (really) met in Mexico, she lives up in Kamloops and is name Dominga. We were hiding out in her attic for some reason (it was cold?) and we had to keep covering up the windows with blankets and had nothing but some nails and random items to use as a hammer, to keep the coverings in place. There wasn't really any furniture; sleeping bags were strewn across the floor. There were a bunch of those and it looked like it should stink like a hippie room but it didn't. I don't remember any smells. The two of us were sticking our heads out of this window that was near the back of the room, it was biting cold outside but she had this cigarrette she wanted to smoke and so that window was left open. I smelled it and it smelled like pot, but also like some herbs. So I asked her what it was and she said "thursday smoke". It looked like a joint, and I smoked some and my whole head went upside-down. Like when you watch a movie and you're looking straight ahead, then the camera pans down to your feet really fast, then spins around in a circle, then you're looking back at the ceiling. That's what happened to me, what I saw, when I smoked it. I looked down from the window where we were and saw that the room we were on was actually connected to a truck bed, like a trailor. But the room we were in was so big! It was almost the size of my apartment, so maybe 600 sq. ft? She kept smoking the joint, and dropping it on the window sill. And she also kept repeating "thursday"...not even looking at me, it was like we were in two separate worlds, really. The truck started to move, and everything was shifting in our room. Now there Was furniture - dressers were sliding back and forth across the entire length of the room, on the shiny wood floor. Dominga kept smoking. We were travelling on a bumpy, rocky dirt road. The blankets were all falling off the windows, and light was streaming in. It was hurting my eyes, it was brighter than normal sunlight. Then we laid back on the sleeping bags, with everything shifting and rolling and bumping along. Looking up at the ceiling, it was like a big patchwork system. It might have even been made out of cloth, so many different patterns and shapes it was like looking at a very close-up view of a model farm or something that is usually very small and miniature.

FREE FLU SHOTS.
Or, should I say: flu shots "provided by" RM. So if he doesn't see your name on the list, you know he's gonna keep a log in his head about it and if you do end up getting sick, he's gonna terminate you. Yeah, I know...presidents of companies don't really have time or interest in keeping up with things like that, but it was in back of my mind. So I got one. Don't know if I have gotten one before, but gee my arm hurts now. Weird how I didn't even know it was going in and now it's all sore. Great. Ran around Greenlake last night so my legs are also sore. I'm just a big sore-ball today. Whee. Oh and I woke up this morning and think I had some vertigo, it was like I was drunk. I'm not kidding you. I had to hold on to things to keep from falling over, and I have felt slightly dizzy/naucous all day. Plus, it's real hard to see straight. (wah!)

Saw thee movies this weekend. Here is my synopsis:
#1: Lost in Translation. Very good movie. One of the best I've seen (ever?). Had touching, real moments - or, rather the whole thing seemed very real and plausible. I liked that the girl in it wasn't some skinny, beautiful, make-up-faced girl who talked a bunch of poo. I liked that the end, only she could hear what Bill Murray whispered in her ear. I liked that (I think) they fell in love - but it was a desperate, lonely, out of need for company kind of love. It was sweet, and I had tears in my eyes for one scene.

#2: Elf. Funny! Will Farrell is going on a good track, and I really laughed throughout this movie. Ending got sorta mushy/stoopid but hey - it's rated PG. You gotta expect stuff like that. Don't think I'd buy it, but glad I saw it on a Saturday night.

#3: Scary Movie 3. Maybe I should have actually watched all of #1 and also seen #2 before seeing this? It was funny (not so much as Elf), but about 1/2-3/4 of the way through, I sorta lost interest and felt like it lost the funniness and tried to hold on to a disintegrating story line. Good DVD rental material for sure.

And...here I am back on the rock. My Flash class was great. Now if I can just get six hours in front of a computer on Sundays, maybe I can just morph myself into one...trying to keep up with stretching so I don't get all wah and have to do PT again. I feel like I can't shut up lately. I keep talking, I type into this blog, I call B all the time. What is going on that I can't just think inside my brain and trust my memory to remind myself of telling someone information Later? Like I don't have a memory and must transmit:NOW.

Breakfast on Sunday at Longshorman's Daughter. Very delicious, as usual.

Going to try (if I remember!) to cut my hair tonight. Ridden with split-ends. woo.

Ouf. Still with head cold. This thing is determined to get in the way of my work! I have wonderful plans to get this hype section finished, but every day I feel pretty much worthless by 2pm. BIGWAH!

This weekend I start the much anticipated Flash 2 course! Very excited to learn more advanced concepts, esp. because Ali is already having me incorporate them into the sites...yay, me!

And not much else to report on, really...been hanging far low after work, doing a little knitting and trying to get this SQL mail thing straight. I swear, it's right on the tip of my...err - fingertips. No need to bore you with that sheyt though. Also been doing some good reading of a new author B's dad helped us discover. Carl Hiassen. Great stuff, good mystery/drama/law. Highly recommend 'Sick Puppy', which I can very much see being made into a movie.

Saw farewell CW show last friday. That was a sad, beautiful sight. As usual, my eyes welled up during the Valentine song. A special treat was the avril lavigne cover - HA! So many good songs, good shows came from that band, sucks they're not around anymore...

My brain is becoming saturated with congestion and snot, so I must go now.

It's never good to wake up with a cold. At four this morning, I knew today would be groggy and tea-infused. I like that there isn't much little updating to be done here at work, the bulk of my projects really are projects and not little to-do's. Lovely.

put it away
check out for the day
in for a round of over-exposure
the thing mother nature provides
to get up & go

bottle up and explode - seeing stars
surrounding you: red, white & blue

you look at him like you've never known him
but i know for a fact that you have
the last time you cried, who'd you think was inside?

It's too bad about him. Such lovely, secret songs...though I wasn't a fan of the whole thing it is always sad to know that there won't be any more.

Ravioli, I like ravioli. Ravioli, it's the one for me!
Excited to start flash 2 class. It's about time, right? I have too many projects, I think, to ever tackle them all. Does that cause anxiety? Liking to have projects and things waiting around to do, but having too many and not stopping the accumulation?

Looking forward to dinner w/B's parents!

Hola, Blog.

Seems like I've been ignoring this part of my blog-world. How would you like an update? I am currently:
- making lentil burritos
- drinking pumpkin ale (Buffalo Bill's Brewery)
- waiting on loads of laundry
- listening to new OutKast

Returned super late last night/this morning from (yearly) Mexico trip. Drove down to PDX ($140 cheaper tix) on the eve of the 16th. Spent the evening drinking beers with Brian & Mark's friend Casey & his wife Chelsea. Slept little that night, to wake up and arrive at the Portland airport at 4:45am. We were greeted with a lovely $100 fee for the surfboards - !!! I couldn't believe the lady didn't charge us more for that whoppin' nine-foot coffin!

So anyway, normal airport/layovers/sleepiness/mixedwithexcitement ensues, and we arrive in PVR at 3pm - Jalisco time. Hail a taxi for a third of the asked price and zoom our asses to Sayulita.

What a great crew! B, Mark & myself...looking for nothing but surfing, exploring, cheap beers and taco stands. Thank GOD my digital camera now has six movies and 200+ pictures on it. Plus the cameras those guys brought, I don't know if there was a moment longer than ten minutes survived without a photo documenting it! Can't wait to get into work tomorrow and download all of them. Then there's the web documentation...I think I can pull that off without much fuss. Maybe some flash auto-slideshow or insertions? Still thinking...

Our little ten-day stint went by slow, then fast, then all of a sudden we're home today and have work to look forward to (as usual). I think the thing that is really going to stand out in my memory are the waves. They were larger, more consistent and just really so much more Fun than I have ever seen them down there! Never thought I would spend my vacation time hanging out at the Beach under an umbrella, but that really was the best plan and once we started, it lasted four days. I could read, wander around to stores for food, or hop in the water whenever I wanted. It's not like our house was that far away - because it wasn't, but it was just So Convenient to bring everything to the Beach and pay the darn $5.00 for the chair & umbrella use.

Emotions, sights and sounds really can't be relived in this blog. Too bad! I'm going to be slammed at work this week & next, not even sure of all the things going on that I missed. Want to get pictures posted and adventures official SOON.

Damn I made a good batch of burritos! I like that there are some things I can cook well. Next I'm trying some squash. I don't think it will be that hard, but I'm already thinking of yummy things to make with it. Soup, bread, muffins, dip?

Between the hour-changeover and being an hour ahead for a little over a week, I'm starting to get sleepy.

Adios.

Made a nice little list of things that are better to do tonight than go out. Some light cleaning, some projects, some cards to write. In comes the rain, and with it arrives a lust for hermit-ism. Tonight I organised my file drawer and am baking cookies! They didn't turn out how I wanted (though I'm currently baking the 3rd set, so we'll see) but they still remain pretty tasty: reese's pieces with oatmeal. Had a hard time finding a recipe, seeing as reese's doesn't just give you one like hershey's does.

Well. Glad this week is over, I am head-over-heels in love with the atHome for the weekend idea. The past few months have been a flurry of fun, trips, things to-do galore! But I am ready for a pleasant chill-out session.

About a week ago I was reading in Discover Magazine, about human evolution and what we learn from studying and examining fossils of our ancestors. At some point in the article, there was discussion of what our next relatives will look like, how they will advance from us. From now.

Today, I am sitting at my computer. I have a keyboard tray. I have an ergonomic chair and keyboard. I have blocks under my desk legs, to help elevate it to the proper height so that my body isn't crunched or being forced into uncomfortable positions.

My proposal is that in another million years, what our relatives will be seeing are bone structures that are hunched from sitting at computers, cracked wrists and longer arms from reaching for the mouse. The internet super highway has its impacts!

Disgusting, I know.

they're all surrounding,
we're both hoping -
they're slowly attempting one thing
to stand up
with dignity - to walk away

This song haunts me in the morning, with its quiet whispers and jen's voice in the background. I can't believe they're breaking up and we'll never get to see them after nov.2!

Such a great weekend, such a beautiful time we had...
Thursday was Coastal Kitchen and Man! those guys can cook up some wicked dishes. I ordered up some ginger chicken that had just that right amount of jerk sauce on it, and the veggies were Mmm. B got this BEEF dish but he loved it. For dessert - ohmygod - fresh, sliced fruit with a rum/cinnamon/nutmeg glaze with coconut ice cream! My tastebuds were in ecstasy and I could not stop taking bites. More than savory, this dish was filled with wonderful tastes every bite. YUM. After such a pleasant dinner-time, we weren't ready to go home yet. So we skipped down to the Hop Vine pub, which neither of us (strangely) had been to before. It was a smoke-friendly bar but lucky for us, it was smoke-free (or, relatively) that night. Comfortable air was drifting in from the doorway, and we enjoyed some imported beers they had on tap. I loved that night, it will always stick in my memory. We always have beautiful and easy conversation, Brian and I. I love him so much!

Now for the quick recap:
Friday I worked from home so we could go down to Bumbershoot w/Sara & Brendan to get MM tickets for everyone. After work, Nick & Christy showed up, we met up with Mark and Stevie and vroooom! headed down to the show. It's still strange to me that Modest Mouse isn't more popular - that they couldn't even fill up half of the stadium, on a Friday night. Setlist was crazy, too! Along with the four new songs they played (which are great), we got some cowboy dan & trailer trash. Plus others that really get me dancing, but I didn't used to follow the song names, so forget about it.

Saturday Ohh, lovely lounge at home day! Breakfast at the B&O (used to be restricted, gave it another chance!) - shaking up some good bloody mary's at that place! Nice little hangover cure, they've got. Scones are a Go...
Spent some nice time just doing n-o-t-h-i-n-g at the apartment...feet up on the couch, sprawled across the bed, talking about everything and nothing with B...Around 2 it was time to get ready for ye grande ole' Cirque du Soleil. I had never been and neither had B; it was our present to each other. Very excited to go, very excited to have gone. It was mezmerizingly beautiful. Captivated audience we were, I didn't want it to stop. Beautifully intricate costumes and well-played out parts. Equal parts laughter, skill, amazement, gymnastics, and love. Go!

Sunday It was all about getting out & skating today! Jeezus, how long had it been?? Yeah...seven weeks? SO, we were supposed to rally out to Bainbridge but a flaw in communications led us out to Bonney Lake. That's fine with me! The snakerun/bowl there is just sick, so fun! It felt like no time had gone by, I was loving the nipple, the corner curve, the bowl and yeah! the loup-de-loup. Time flew by there, it was so much fun. We didn't have a bbq that day, but the little dip I took in the lake felt sooo necessary. Love water. Love swimming and being in it. At Eli & Michelle's, I floated a little down the river by their house and it was a little piece of heaven...Just lay back my head, lifting up the feet and d r i f t. Love it!

Monday Had a little bit of a late waking-up but gathered together w/friends and headed down for Day Two at Bumbershoot. Carissa's Wierd played their second-to-last show and it was Perfectly Sad. Beautiful songs, I had goosebumps the entire show. They played everything I like listening to and more. Last song, it was just the two of them doing a little duet. I am very looking forward to nov.2.
That night was Wilco, and they played two of the songs that I always think of B when I hear. I love that we have our songs, our bands, that we "adopted" for our own. Cute! Bonus round that night, we had time after Wilco to eat foods and catch Pedro! I haven't seen Casey in forever, but it made me happy to see that him & Jen are engaged!! I miss seeing Casey as much as I used to, but am happy he found a girl that compliments him well and makes him happy. He was always wanting that, and really deserves it.

I love everything about what I've been doing. This year has been flying by, I can't believe it...so many things have been done and so many dates to come! I am so happy, so content and so smiley inside.