All I Want for Christmas - Reprised

At the risk of seeming greedy, I very recently realized that I had one more item for my Christmas list: To be in Seattle with Paul for Christmas. And I am thankful indeed that this wish will come true!

You see, we went for a short 2.5 day visit to see our friends in Sacramento over the weekend. As we were leaving, Seattle was getting a big blanket of snow. In our absence, Seattle enough snow to shut down the airport and cancel our flight. Our return was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, but I certainly didn't feel confident that the flight would actually go. Then, Paul and I both got nasty headcolds.

We finally made it to Seattle and immediately went to the store, since we heard more bad weather was on the way - just getting throught he checkout line took 55 minutes because the cashiers appeared to be untrained seasonal help rather than people of average intelligence who could figure out the cost of a bunch of grapes. Seriously, our ice cream melted while waiting behind only 5 customers.

Then it took about 40 minutes to make it the last 40 yards of our street, but we finally slid/rolled our way into the driveway a little after 10 pm.

Lastly, this all also means that we won't be able to drive down to my parents' ranch for xmas this year - I'm really bummed about it, but can't risk being stranded again (on the way down OR back), and I'm positive my family doesn't need our headcolds. ["Merry Christmas, We got you a little something!"]

So, that's a lot of complaining, and while I generally try to stay positive, sometimes things just go crappy for a bit.

But now that's all out of the way, I can also say this:

* Our house, yard, and neighborhood covered in snow are SO pretty!
* I LOVE being home with Paul
* Seeing our friends in Sac was a wonderful treat, and very affirming
* The game Killer Bunnies is a blast
* I miss California
* I especially miss my family at the holidays
* Building a fire on a cold wintery morning while it's snowing outside and I have nowhere to go is like a gift of time from the universe.
* Colds come and go, but cookies always taste good
* Artificial xmas trees are much nicer than I would have guessed
* The fact that any airline employee can deal with delayed passengers for days and still be nice may just be evidence of a higher being
* Cakewrecks.blogspot.com is still one of the funniest things I've seen
* I am thankful to & for more people than I can ever hope to personally acknowledge

Take care, stay warm, and I hope you are exactly where you want to be this year.

Australia, Underpants, and Being an Unwilling Witness

Saw the movie "Australia" a couple weeks ago, and was that a 4-hour long steaming pile of cliches. In fact, it would probably have been a delightful movie with a couple small tweaks: 1) having a storyline that wasn't 5 different storylines of indeterminate relevance, 2) if it had no sound. Lots of interesting pictures, but very little need to hear the dialogue.
While leaving the theater, I got to thinking about what kind of incomprehensible tripe would be in a movie called America - does make one shudder.

While away on a recent trip, Paul said that (as an example of how discombobulated he is without me) he'd gone to work one day with his underwear not only on inside out, but also backwards.
Still makes me laugh. He's awesome.

This last weekend we had some snow, and so Sunday morning I got up and went for a walk for about an hour, to assess how bad things were. I spent about 20 minutes at the top of a long, curvy, steep hill, watching car after car make a slow approach and then inevitably lock up all 4 tires and go coasting towards unavoidable collision with the next vehicle. Fortunately, no one *actually* collided when I was there, I think they managed to save all those reindeer games for the bottom of the hill. Thankfully I didn't have to be present for any stupid police witness statements, cuz it would have been something like: "They were all idiots, anyone without a lobotomy would have known this was NOT the street to drive when covered in ice."

Paul and I went back about 5 hours later just to see what the conditions were like, and the city had closed the street and erected signs to that effect.
On an icy Sunday afternoon. You KNOW that if you get the city to go out on icy roads and put up signs Sunday afternoon that there must have been some really exciting car sculptures at the bottom of that street.

Got to work from home Monday - the commute ROCKED! :-)

And, for the record, this is sooooooo sweet, I'm just psyched such unadulterated happiness exists:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcT4paZfflg

Dec 21

National Haiku
Day is on the 21st.
Get ready to write!

Send me your Haikus.
5-7-5 is the scheme,
ryhming not needed.

Compose with a friend -
Raise a glass and toast the words
we can briefly share.

Silly excesses,
writing these little poems.
Kind of addictive!

:-)

Been here and there

I went back to DC for a business trip immediately after Thanksgiving. It was way beyond awesome to see so many really neat people that I'd met when we lived there.

The trip was excellent for a lot of reasons (great client meetings for my current job, a couple meals on the business dime, seeing old friends, racking up frequent flier miles, talking with a bunch of locals about the incoming president, etc), but it was unexpectedly valuable for wrapping up loose ends I didn't even know I had.

I'd always felt like leaving my previous job left some unfinished business - I acutely felt how much more I'd wanted to do there. Maybe I should have just transferred to another office? Maybe I should have just waited it out? Maybe I just needed an attitude adjustment of some sort that would have made things better? After all, a lot of extraordinarily bright and hard working friends of mine stuck with it, emplying various strategies to maintain sanity. And, I certainly felt intellectually qualified to do the work, as well as curious enough to excell in an environment where I was constantly learning.

What this recent visit showed me, though, was that there was, in fact, no alternative path for me: My friends and former colleagues are more willing and able to deal with the things that drove me nuts, and I see now that moving to a new office or just waiting it out would not have worked for me. [Let me also clarify that I believe all people have different sensitivities and thresholds, and what might drive me to cover my naked self with stamps and mail myself to a pirhanna infested region in the amazon may just roll right off the backs of others. This isn't a negative assessment of anyone involved, only that we all have different lists of what drives us crazy.]

Must also say that knowing that these quality people are carrying on the work they do makes me feel better.

So, I returned feeling great about seeing old friends who I genuinely miss, having really good business meetings alongside the most senior people in my company, and attaining unanticipated closure to a period of my life that I invested a LOT of energy into. (yeah, that's right, ended that sentence with a preposition. it's MY blog, I can.)


Friends back east: I miss you tons. Be prepared for the regular pitches to move out west. Cuz da west is where it's AT.

Off to bed.

The most amazing food-like item of 2008

Imagine the smoky goodness, the crispy-chewy satisfaction....

http://bacontoday.com/turbaconducken-turducken-wrapped-in-bacon/

drooooooling

ps- LOVE this website, good sense of humor

What you can get me for Christmas

Because you've been sitting there thinking to yourself, "Gosh I wish Liz'd tell me what's on her Christmas list."

Well good news!! I have begun posting my Christmas Wish List on the left. No need to thank me, I'm just doing my part to help out. Like a Public Service Announcement.

Actually, the whole thing stemmed from the fact that I have come to realize that what I really want just isn't the kind of thing that takes wrapping paper and a bow very well. Instead of lamenting that, I thought it would be interesting to actually make some space to record those 'wish list' things I think about every day.

Anyone else have similar wish list items?

Powerlessness and omnipotence

About a year ago I flipped through one of my brother's magazines or books on philosophy and buddhism. I recall seeing something about anger, and how the true source of anger is feeling powerless.

That was the first time I'd ever hear those two concepts linked together, but after very little inspection it made a lot of sense: for example, nothing sets me off when I'm driving like someone else driving recklessly, i.e., endangering my life. I become pissed because I'm totally powerless to actually make that other driver treat me and my life with respect.

Intellectually knowing that, however, and absorbing it are two different things, and 35 years of unexamined patterns don't dissolve just because I have more understanding about them.

Interestingly, those times when I've been able to be more mindful of the link between anger and powerlessness, I've found that I'm able to actually see ways to influence my actions and environment more than I initially thought possible, like the whole exercise helps clarify that I'm powerless over some things but not everything.

Tangential theological item that I just thought of now: If anger derives from powerlessness, one could conclude that the omnipotent would never experience anger. Interesting to consider a theology where the deity never behaves in angry or retributive ways.

And, thank you Kelly.

Indian food + friends = awesome

Just had a lovely dinner with my friend Jeannie at an Indian place in Ballard.
Raining outside after the sun went down ridiculously early at 4, so it was really soothing to get a warm tandoori-cooked meal and a couple cups of chai.

Yesterday had Indian food for a very enjoyable lunch with Shaffer, and kept those leftovers for lunch today.

So that's 3 Indian meals with two friends in a day and a half, *and* I've got leftovers from tonight for tomorrow.

This week isn't bad.

Making Progress

Getting rid of clothes, getting a wee bit more organized.

We've re-started unpacking some more and trying to make the place feel more like we live here rather than co-occupying space with our stuff.

Voted in a damn fine president and vp.

WA passed a death with dignity law - hard not to think how that law enacted just one year earlier could have made a huge difference in the stress and suffering of Paul's mom. This law, and the similar one in Oregon, sure highlights to me where I hope to spend my later years, assuming I'm lucky enough to have some.

Also passed a huge transportation package that should help push forward more transit options for this region.

Aside from all that, I'm in total shock that it's Nov - what happened to Sept and Oct?

I'm pretty sure it should be August.

Thinking about joining an over 30 soccer team - not so sure I can (or want to) keep up with the younger players in the league. Retirement is out of the question.

Happy First of November, get ready to sleep in: Random Dispatches from South Seattle

(singing)

"Uh huh, I voted...
Oh yeah, I voted...
I voted early...
And mailed my ballot."

It isn't a good song, but you get the idea. Have you voted? Do you plan to? Or will I sing this song alone?

Unrelated: Set your clocks back 1 hour tonight.

Also, ran out of heating oil at home last night, much much to our surprise. It's actually colder inside than out, and we were under the impression that the 300 gallon tank was topped off when we moved in. So, we have the distinct honor of buying 300 gallons of diesel oil Monday. $3.30/gallon.
Oh boy?

But, we do have two good fireplaces and a couple space heaters, so it'll all work out. Paul is currently building a fire downstairs and it's a little smokey... kinda hoping that'll fade soon.

Halloween was fun with Jason and Rebecca - chill, had dinner, handed out candy, watched Deathproof (Tarantino), played video games. Dressed up like a sock monster for work. You know, the monster that steals one sock? At night dressed like a catholic school girls cuz it wasn't work and was a little more fun.

Paul, on the other hand, dressed up like Caribou Barbie. Good times had by all.

Did some recent fun cakes, feeling really proud of the stuff we do, and we've now got the occasional intern, which is pretty cool.

Went and visited my parents and grandmother in Oregon 2 weeks ago. It was really nice to see everyone, even though it was a quick weekend trip.

Now at a phase where I feel like giving all my stuff away. I think I actually have more clothes that don't fit me than do, and that's stupid. Lots of books I have just for having and maybe even for seeming like an interesting person, which I don't have the energy or enthusiasm for. There's nothing like trying to lift a heavy box to remind me that back strain does not, in fact, impress others. :-)

I also find that I increasingly envy me of about 10 years ago: When I was living in Japan in a teeny tiny flat, I was very efficient, organized, and had minimal stuff. It felt good to live so thinly.

And while I've embraced a married-and-running-a-business-from-home lifestyle, it's starting to dawn on me that I don't actually need to have quite so much stuff just because.
To his credit, Paul is starting to come around more, too.

On a different note, my brother's girlfriend developed a staph infection, apparently from visiting her sister in the hostpital (not staph-infection related). It creeps me out that someone so healthy and young (early 30's) is getting such an infection, and the emergence of MRSA seems increasingly alarming. I don't know if that's what she had, but she's apparently healing now and I'm really glad to hear it!

Last note: holy cowbell, the food at Machiavelli is so damn good. Anyone up for an Italian dinner in seattle, just call me and we'll hit this place. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Tax-payer to Markets: "Can I have my money back?"

"Dow closes below 10,000 amid global sell-off"

So, can I have my $700 billion back, please?

Foreign Policy Matters

Listening to NPR this morning while getting ready for work.
Candidate McCain is being interviewed.
Interviewer asked him an array of questions (economy, campaign, etc).

One question was along the lines of, "Governor Palin has stated at least twice that she has foreign policy experience because her state is close to Russia. Can you talk about how Alaska's proximity to Russia gives Governor Palin foreign policy experience?"

Candidate McCain began by saying he doesn't trust Obama or Biden, and then replied that Palin is qualified because of her experience working on energy issues......


.....Um. What?



I can't quite figure out who I'm more disappointed in: the interviewer for not pushing the issue ("Sir, your answer has nothing to to with this question of great importance to the nation's future"), or in McCain for not having the cojones to answer a legitimate question, or in McCain for picking her in the first place.

Hmmm, maybe I do know who I'm more disappointed in... but it's a shame. Only a few years ago I was chomping at the bit to vote for him. Now I'm just saddened and a bit scared. This certainly doesn't sound like someone who's putting America First.

And nevermind the fact that at least 13 US states border other countries. I can guarantee you that Jesse Ventura was not automatically qualified as a foreign policy expert when he became Governor of Minnesota.

Brinner

My dinner the other night consisted of two vegetarian spring rolls, two organic pork sausages, and a short stack of silver dollar pancakes.

It all somehow seemed like a good idea at the time. Turns out it was.

Announcer for the Apocalypse

I realized recently that Shay Stevens - on-air news announcer for NPR - will be the one to announce the arrival of the apocalypse for a large number of people.

Once that flashed through my head, I now can't hear her opening ("I'm Shay Stevens") without immediately thinking, "And this is the apocalypse."

I'm not really feeling that dark about things, it's just that I realized that if I ever actually hear about a global catastrophe - as opposed to experiencing it firsthand and therefore not needing any commentary - the chances are extremely high that Shay will be delivering the news.

I wonder if she's had that though, too.

Weird.

An actually non-partisan political blog entry

I recently stumbled across two different places where you can complete a survey on various issues, and then your responses are compared to the positions of the major presidential candidates.
I'll admit I was actually suprised in some ways by the results, and found it an interesting exercise.

Whatever issues are most important, or whomever you plan to vote for, I think it's valuable for all voters to know why we're voting the way we do.

And, if you're feeling bold, drop in a comment about what you think about the surveys, the results, and such.

Survey 1 - http://kuow.org/elections/selectacandidate.php

Survey 2 - http://2008election.procon.org/viewresource.asp?resourceID=1564

all of the sprain, none of the glory

In the first 5 minutes of my (90 minute) soccer game sunday, I was jogging up field while watching the play on the far side... play changed direction, and so did I.

My right ankle, however, wasn't aware of these new plans, so I rolled my ankle out, and while trying to correct quickly, rolled it in, which tweaked my knee a little, too.

No glory, no contact with another player, heck - not even fatigue. Just dumbness.

It'll be fine in a week or two, and I've injured my ankles far worse. Of course, since our team was down a player, I really didn't want to stop playing, so I was mostly a warm body for the remaining 85 minutes, but with occasional flashes of above-mediocrity.

At least I got a cherry slurpee on the way home. So that made everything better for a while.


Also, I think I'm developing a massage habit - I've had a pro massage each of the last two weekends, and I can only imagine that it would be a stellar idea for this coming weekend, too.

6 years and counting

It's been 6 years today since Paul and I exchanged promises to be the best partners for each other that we can. I think Paul has succeeded wildly.
And, while I think he'd say he has no complaints about my overall performance in this category, I always feel like there's more I can do. He is somehow magically patient with my learning curve. And I - I am very very lucky.

I realize there's nothing I can say about this love that isn't sappy, hasn't been said in a cheesy love song, and hasn't been true for others more skilled in prose than I. But that wouldn't make it any less true.

It doesn't feel like 6 years at all. It feels like maybe 1-2, like he's still my totally hot, fun boyfriend. Maybe we'll both grow up someday, but at this rate, it seems unlikely. There are worse fates.

To commemorate that fact that it was our wedding anniversary and that we didn't have a cake due this weekend and didn't have any other huge projects hanging over our heads, we took saturday and just spent totally unplanned time together. That's not quite true, the day started with one planned event: I got us both massages to celebrate. Then, we kinda wandered through the (sunny beautiful) day doing whatever came next. We laughed a lot and talked a lot and ate well and just enjoyed each other's company.

I hope this fine weekend finds you well and feeling blessed.

Work, politics, power for the sake of power

Those of you who I've talked to in the last month already know this, but Paul and I are trying to devise a better way to strike a sustainable work-life balance.

The good news: we're both on the same page, agreeing that working all day and then coming home and working on cakes until 12, 1, or 2 in the morning and then doing it all over again for a week straight totally ain't going to cut it.

Before we recently talked about it, I was kinda afraid he would think I was trying to abandon this business, or him, or something like that. But it's just that I want to also have a life (see friends, exercise, not have a disaster in the kitchen and living room and not-yet-unpacked boxes everywhere else). Paul's with me on that, and I'm so relieved we both hit this point at the same time.

Anyway, I certainly welcome creative ways to approach the whole thing, if anyone has been sitting out there with an "It's so obvious, you just have to do this..." thought in their head.


On the political front, I'm pleased as punch that McCain picked Palin:
Obama is a candidate with national experience (as well as state and local, thank you) whose first executive decision was to choose a statesman with extensive experience and long-standing relationships with international leaders....

While McCain's first executive decision was to choose a polarizing figure who has no national experience, no international rapport to bring to the table, and who may be - based only on the known medical history of her candidate - far less than one heartbeat away from being commander in chief. I could not have imagined a better way to weaken the ticket.
But fortunately, I didn't have to: McCain campaign manager Rick Davis declared recently (seriously)

"This election is not about issues," said Davis. "This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates."

Not only is that deeply disrespectful of the people - on both sides - who recognize the weight of their vote and who really are working hard to educate themselves and their communities, but it's an explicit surrender to a campaign of image: style over substance.
Agree with McCain or not, I expect far far more of a leader of his stature.


Conversely, this is the first election when I don't want to see the 'other guy' just smeared; I kinda like McCain because I don't believe he's actually a horrible guy. But patriot does not = capable executive leader, no matter the years of service or prior experience. I have no doubt I'd be one of the worst presidents possible, but I still am deeply grateful for this country, and I plan to keep working to make it even better in the small ways that indivdual citizens can. Leave it better than how I found it.

Obama chose a running mate with an eye towards effective governance of this complex and unique country, while it appears from every angle that McCain chose a running mate with an eye towards getting elected.*

Regardless of party, personality, or ancestry, I know I trust someone who wants to get elected to make things better more than I'll ever trust someone who just wants the job for the sake of having it.




*For the record, I really disliked the following prior Democratic candidates: Kerry, Edwards, Clinton, and many of their peers in the field either because of their policies or backgrounds...
All by way of saying I'm not a knee-jerk democrat. My loyalty isn't automatic, and I will vote for the better guy/gal in any election regardless of party.

It's been more than a month??

Holy crap it's been over a month since my last post.

I'm pretty sure that it's really only been about a week, just highly compressed.

Anyway, the first thing I should note is OHMYGOD HE PICKED BIDEN!!!!!!
:-)

Biden has been one of my favorites for years, and I'm even more excited about the Obama campaign. tee hee!

Otherwise, the big thing is trying to figure out how to run a business while both Paul and I have full time jobs cuz right now we're nowhere near a satisfactory balance. I feel like I'm working so much at my day job and then for the bakery that when I DO get time off, I only want to do something completely mindless that doesn't feel like work (i.e., bad tv, napping, video games, ...).

Result? Seemingly endless dirty dishes and laundry, most of our stuff sitll in boxes from the move over 2 months ago, and real disappointment that we have not been able to actually enjoy living in this really kick ass house.

These days I just feel lucky if I manage to put together an actual meal.

On another, only slightly related, note: If you have not read every inch of this blog, you are missing out on some of the funniest damn stuff I've read in a loooong time. It's not really lude, just really funny and will leave you amused and speechless.

It also leaves us thinking that the work we're doing might just be good.

Totally unlreated, I recently ate the nicest dinner (by nice I mean expensive, and by expensive, I mean top end and worth every penny and holy crap they have a wine steward!) at Ray's Boathouse. If you ever come here and want to spend 3 or 4 pretty pennies on great local fresh food with ridiculously beautiful views, give it a try!

Happy August 23rd!

Algae, Allergies, and All that jazz

A recent algae bloom in the water system here in south seattle completely clogged up some of our cold water lines. By completely, I mean that I could turn the sprinkler on all the way, and the only way it was going to experience any sort of dampness would be if I then dumped a bucket of water on it. The main shower and the washing machine were at about the same functionality.

Now, for someone with allergies so bad this year that I tweaked a nerve in my neck this morning during a sneezing fit - can't turn my head to the left now - the inability to rinse my person and my linens was a little distressing.

But wait, what is this on the horizon? It's Super Paul, man of fearlessness and brains, wearing +2 pants of smartness! He talked to the utility, figured out the problem, and fixed our various intakes all before I got home from work today. Hooray!

As for the allergies, it's gotten so much worse from last year that I'm finally seeing an allergist this week. The goocher: I can't take any more allergy meds this week, in order to make sure they can accurately measure my reactions on Friday. So, considering that I'm miserable when fully medicated, I expect this week to consist of near incapacitation.
The mantra will be: I can do anything for a week, and it's about to get better,
I can do anything for a week, and it's about to get better....

Unfortunately, Paul's elderly cousin George passed away last week, so we're going to the funeral tomorrow in bellingham. 2008 has been a tough year on his family here, and I'm hoping this is the 3rd of the 'bad things come in threes' set.

Otherwise, summer plans include: deck, froofy drinks, yardwork / berry picking, soccer, and maybe - just maybe - getting a little sun.

Hope this finds you all well and enjoying the summer!

Recent Victories

Victory # 1 - not my personal victory, but since I'm related it counts...
My paternal Grandmother turning 100 last week, which is such a mind blow... she's the oldest of 6 and is by far the best looking and moving of them all. She's just amazing.
One of her wishes was to go hot air ballooning, so we all went down to Sonoma county and hopped in a balloon last week.
Victory #2 - Surviving the balloon ride
For about 90% of the balloon ride, my grandmother who'd lived through so much, managed to have her hand accidentally wrapped around the emergency deflation strap that would cause the balloon to drop like a stone. Very late into the flight the pilot took notice then calmly unwrapped it from her wrist and tucked it away. The ride was actually otherwise quite pleasant.
Victory #3 - DDR
I managed to play Dance Dance Revolution in an arcade down in CA and not impale someone or fall perilously off the platform.
Victory #4 - Stimulate me!
We got our stimulus check which, while I think it was a terrible policy, is still better than a sharp spoon in your spleen, given those two options.
Victory #5 - Don't go away mad, just go away
Full props to Paul for really pushing back against our former landlord (cukoo bananas) who wanted to deduct an array of unreasonable charges from our deposit. Paul managed to get our full deposit returned - Woo Hoo! Now we're finally done with that drama and I couldn't be happier.
Victory #6 - Rat-a-tat, Bang! Boom!
We've accidentally moved into this awesome part of South Seattle where there are lots of people who take fireworks seriously on the 4th of July. The local displays up and down our valley were great, free, and went on for hours without dealing with crowds and traffic. Party at our place next year!
Victory #7 - Home is where your boxes of stuff are.
We're getting unpacked this weekend. We won't be fully done, but we're finally making progress in our first unencumbered weekend since moving in, and it's feeling better and better every day. I trimmed back all the blackberry branches yesterday that don't have flowering buds on them, and I can't wait for them to all fruit. Oh yeah, and we have tons of fresh figs. Anyone want figs? Related news - we have passively acquired a nice female pheasant. Yes. Really. Not trying to keep her, and she belongs to one of our neighbors, but she can't really be caught and I don't want her to starve. She's kind of sweet.
Victory #8 - Big Ben, Parliament
So we blasted out of work early last week to make sure we caught our scheduled 6:30 pm flight from SeaTac to SF, CA (thx 2 JJ and Rebecca for being airport runners!). Got to the airport about an hour early, then waited as our flight was delayed over 4 hours. Got to SFO, finally made it to the car rental place at 1:15 am. Waited in line an hour to get our car. My license didn't register in their system. Then the first car wasn't available. Finally got out of the airport, heading up through SF when we found that the ramp to the Golden Gate bridge was closed. Okay, no sweat, I know the city, we'll just wind around and come at it from another angle and we'll be fine. 3am - During our detour, got trapped at a red light that would not change. Made executive decision to run red light. Made it to hotel about 60 miles north of SF. Got to room at 4:15am. That was the most comfortable bed on the entire planet ever.
Victory #9 - Another happy little accident
Holy Crap! Summer showed up!!!!

Aaaaa Yeeeeeaahhhhh

Okay, I got this new phone (treo 700) which has more bells and whistles than I'll ever use. (Disclaimer - it isn't actually new, a coworker sold his old phone to me.)

As I was trying to figure out how to use the phone, I realized I was sitting in front of my mac which also has a camera, so I embraced my inner geek to take a picture with the mac of me takinging a picture of said mac with the cell:





I know I will be mocked, but true geeks always have been.
:-)

It's summertime....

And we're in our new place!

Of course, last night the low was in the 40s, so I'm pretty sure summer is holding out for a better offer, but what do I care: I have this awesome yard on a quiet street, and we're hooked up again via phones(same as our old phone #s) and internet. So who needs summer??*

We're still working out where our stuff is going to go while simultaneously trying to find that thing that's in that box somewhere that I think I marked as stuff for the bedroom, but it might have said "living room", and Hey Look! I just found this other thing I wasn't looking for but I did want to find eventually and now I'm going to go find a place to put it... well, you know how it is.

But in this moment, I'm sitting at the kitchen table window looking at the golden light of the declining sun on the trees across the valley, listening to some lively jazz, with the ridiculously intoxicating scent of perfectly ripe white nectarines and white peaches a couple feet away.

Enough time in front of the 'puter.


*I'm hoping that by playing hard to get, summer might become a little desperate for attention and come for a visit. But I'm not begging.
Oh no, not me.

Wearing my feisty pants again

Copy of letter I just sent to the editor of the Seattle Times -

Hello. I am writing with a brief comment about a headline I read in your paper moments ago: "Less-violent Iraq raises hopes for early withdrawal."

Early? Early?? Aren't we about 4 years and 8 months past the administration's wildest estimates? And didn't VP Cheney declare that the insurgency was in the "last throes" three years ago on May 31, 2005?

"Early" implies ahead of schedule, and all sane people would agree we moved out of that era a long, long time ago.

I don't know what it is about the late night-to-early morning, but the feisty just comes out.

DNA & Me

I recently got interested in the migratory history that my DNA would reveal after watching an astoundingly fascinating short series called African American Lives 2. This program showed a variety of African Americans what their DNA said about their ancestral origins and unknown heritages. The featured individuals, and no doubt most of the audience, were usually surprised by what they learned, and sometimes surprised to learn how far away their beliefs about their backgrounds were from the reality.

So, Paul and I ended up getting these testing kits from the National Genographic project. We sent in our DNA samples, and are now tracking the progress of our samples online - this is so cool!

Right now our samples are in step 4 of 6 - DNA analysis - and I look forward to seeing what comes of it. Although I expect it to confirm my self-described Euro mutt status, it'll still be neato to learn the details.

Also, Paul's ancestry on his mom's side is almost totally unknown, so this will be a great chance to learn more about his maternal lineage.
Stay tuned for more details!

You may not be surprised, you may disagree, but here's why I'm voting for Obama

I haven't read any of their campaign literature, and I don't get anything out of this. It's born from hearing pablum on a daily basis about electability, voter profiles, and foreign policy. If you agree or disagree, awesome. Just be engaged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Obabma campaign,
Here's why I'm voting for your guy:

1) Foreign Policy - this country has such a ridiculous wealth of natural and political resources that we've been able to squander it for over 7 years and still are only at war with just a few countries. Obama is the only candidate who will be viewed by our long-standing allies and our adversaries as someone who will seek paths other than warfare. Many foreign leaders have already said that he is the only candidate who can restore their faith in American power and ideals. Talking to your adversaries is not immoral - invading and bombing them is. Nearly every major religion - and numerous minor ones - seem to agree on this point.

2) Broad Support - Obama does not polarize the population like Clinton does - he has support from people from many backgrounds and political stripes. He is the electable candidate.

3) Constitution - Clinton voted to improperly turn over war making powers to the executive branch when she voted for the President's Iraq resolution. This is no more or less than a violation of the Constitution's explicit separation of powers, and so I can't see any reason she should be trusted with one whole branch of government. I spent two years teaching citizenship classes, hammering home the idea that only Congress can declare war. Yet, Clinton supported sloughing off this key responsibility to the President. Many would agree with the assessment that it didn't end well.

4) Change - Obama is the only candidate who represents real change. Clinton (and her off-the-leash husband) and McCain are about as establishment as you get. This world is increasingly multifacted and dynamic, and we need a person who is engaged with it on those terms. McCain and Clinton have been too isolated in the world of party politics for too long to have a real sense of the real world the rest of us are living in.

5) That Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi - Obama is smart, well reasoned, impassioned about his work, and surrounds himself with other bright people. Some would say that he's not that politically different from Clinton, since he has many former B. Clinton advisors, but flip that on its head: These former B. Clinton advisors looked at the horses running and chose the one they thought was the best. Clearly, they saw a real difference.

6) Experience - Some would say Obama lacks experience. First, NO President has ever done the job before, we're always hiring rookies. Second, he has sufficient experience with government to know the difference between good governance and bad. Third, he is not tainted with all the negatives in the foreign policy arena that his rivals are, so he will have greater access (read:leverage) with foreign governments than they will upon reaching office. Finally, Hillary wants us to grant her credit for her time married to the President, but how dialed in to key Presidential issues could she have been when she wasn't even aware enough to make sure Bill kept his pants on? And then he got impeached. So, exactly what relevant experience does she get credit for?

7) Energized - This guy and his campaign have got a lot of people energized. Just imagine what can get done when so many people are working for the same goal with such enthusiasm. And I don't mean just lefty goals, but solid conservative objectives like balancing the budget, ensuring government is accountable and transparent, and reducing our overseas entanglements so we can channel resources at home.

Headlines

This will take less than 2 minutes. Read it.


http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2008/04/15

High-Low lights

Probably not everything that matters, but it's what I have time for today....


I read last week that sleazeball Ron Perleman was sentenced to 25 years in prison for bilking investors or some such financial crime... and recalled from the cellars of my mind that once upon a time I'd applied for a job at one of his companies.
It was one of these sketchy group interviews that was more about selling the job to me than me selling my skills to the employer (Danger Will Robinson, DANGER!). Because I did really need a job at the time, I seriously considered the job, until my good friend Jeannie talked me out of it. Thank you Jeannie.

Unrelated....

I realized the other day that I have an on-again, off-again relationship with my inner ear; I used to think I had a form of position-dependent vertigo, but after seeing a very experienced physical therapist at Virginia Mason (Debbie Stewart, very good), it looks more like I've just got some minor but permanent damage to my inner ear. She said it may have been due to an inner ear infection, possibly quite a while ago, and even though I don't remember anything like that, it doesn't surprise me with the nasty war of proliferation that allergies are waging against my sinuses each year.

So, the great news is that the crazy ass dizzy spells I was getting - more frequently and more serverely over the last few years - are actually manageable by doing very easy though somewhat uncomfortable exercises. One such exercise: Look at a written word on a wall (calendar, piece or art, etc.) that you can read clearly from about 2 feet away. While focusing on that word, shake your heard side to side rapidly for 30-60 seconds. Try not to throw up or get a massive headache. Get a massive headache anyway. Nonetheless, doing these 'desensitizing' exercises has helped a metric ton.

Unrelated...

I miss my friends from back east. No, I don't miss VA/DC even one shred of an iota... but the really excellent people I had the good fortune to meet. And this isn't saying anything about my good peeps here, whom I'm truly happy to be able to hang with again, just that I wish could could easily see and spend time with ALL the people I like, and like a petulant child I'm bummed I can't have it all. East coasties: you are missed.

Meanwhile....

Pleasant surprise about having to call in sick last month with a bad case of the spins was finding out how many other people at work had experienced something similar, and were very sypmathetic. It's such a hard feeling to describe that it was nice to know that others understood how debilitating it can be.

And now....

Paul is working in the bakery, rocking out to Cookie's "Closing Time" and Marilyn Manson's version of "Tainted Love". We're getting ready to begin moving our stuff to our new place in 2 weeks, so there's a good deal of packing and sorting we have to do. I can't wait to move.

So much so that I'll say it again:
I. Can't. Wait. To. Move.

We are really fed up with our current situation - in 17 years of being a renter I've NEVER had problems with a landlord, and this is so goddamn irritating and stressful.

And, while we know that there's no 'perfect' living situation, this next one will bring so much of what we want, it truly feels like a stupid lucky blessing.

And over at the Wayne mansion....

Got my car towed this week. Ah hah hah. Hah. Turns out they really mean it about not parking on the street between 7-9 am. Hah.

Saw Ironman last week with some friends, a good ride.

Last night Paul and I fell asleep after exhausting ourselves from a few good rounds of rowdy giggles. Maybe that's where today's general sense of well-being comes from.
It's a good good day.

A passing

Paul's mom, R, passed away last weekend.

Some of you might have known that this was her third bout with lung cancer, and she held on for far far longer than any of the doctors predicted. There is something to be said for hardheaded determination.

I am grateful for the time that experience gave me to get to know her and other members of Paul's family better, and I am also relieved that she is no longer in discomfort.

While it is a bittersweet Mother's Day for Paul and his brother, it is one where we believe she's more comfortable, and hopefully having a good laugh with friends and family who have preceeded her.

We're Movin On Up!

Yes yes, I know, we just got here.... but an improbable array of circumstances have aligned to provide us the opportunity to move again (see how positive I can be?).

Anyway, we'll be out of the 1908 house(same year my Grandma was born) in North Seattle at the end of May, and will be moving into a 1964 house (same year Paul was born) in South Seattle around June 15th.

Those of you who weren't humanities majors will quickly spot a disconnect between last possible day here (May 31) and first possible day there (mid June). For that period of time, we will be participating in something I like to call couch surfing - more accurately described as relying on the kindness of friends. Many have already offered to put us up(THANK YOU THANK YOU), and we're still working out what makes the most sense.

Also, my ass-kicking mom is coming up to help us pack up our stuff, and I hear tell that my brother has also volunteered, which is very sweet.

Oh yeah, and we have a huge cake due on (drum roll).... the 31st! Hooray!

Both Paul and I are very confident we can do what we need to, it just won't be as easy as if we were staying put. That said, we're also feeling like the universe is taking care of us - we're getting into a much better situation and are genuinely excited about the new place.
Wanna see the it? Check it here.
[no, we didn't buy, but this site has the best pix]

Seriously, it's going to feel like we're on vacation when we're home. And, YES, we'll still have a guest room.

Take care, y'all, and may all your unexpected fertilizer deliveries help your tomatoes grow sweeter.

out

Happy Spring, or Not!

We had snow last weekend. Seriously, SNOW.
The Saturday before that was host to the first real day of sun we'd seen in months: upper 70's, just beautiful.
Then, not a week later, snow. So my theory is this: all us northwesterners and our hard-earned paleness poured outside on that sunny day. The cumulative effect was that so many vitamin D deprived bodies actually reflected the light and heat back, rather than allowing the lower atmosphere to absorb it. And thus, snow shortly thereafter.

But I'm not a scientist, I only play one on tv.

And, in case you think I'm fibbing:





















Paul is reading An Embarassment of Mangoes right now, and has mentioned wanting to throw a rum party soon. I like how he thinks.

Head cold. Evil head cold.

like allergies on steroids. twitchy sinuses all over the front of my head.
but last weekend's sun was worth whatever price I'm paying now.

besides, I can't smell the cakes Paul is baking, so at least I'm not craving cake. (white chocolate swirled with raspberry, and red velvet)

in other news, Paul had a total flame out on a new cookie recipe. it was so amazingly bad I could barely get through one bite. chucked-the-whole-batch-into-the-trash bad. which just makes the many other great cookies he's come up with that much better somehow.

Recent developments

As noted in a recent post, since I've begun working full time I am finding that I am less likely to blog as often as before.

Nontheless, things are a-happenin'.

* We are thinking about buying a house for the first time. ARGHH! At times, I am really excited, and then sometimes I wonder, "What are we thinking??" Honestly, if I didn't have a close friend who is a very competent realtor, I think it'd still be out of reach. We'll just have to see how things develop with both our business and finances to see if it works out. Stay tuned. And, if any of you have thought about an investment property in Seattle, we can hook you up. ;-)

* We've got a 1995 diesel suburban, which we traded for a cake! Paul is an amazing deal maker. The catch? It doesn't really run. At all. But it's the kind of project he's psyched to take on, and we'll run it on biodiesel.

* I tried out a fauxhawk recently, cuz I could.




















* We have the world's best CPA; this is our first year filing taxes as people running a business, and I can't even imagine the degree of complication that would add. We actually showed up with bundles of receipts and bills, handwritten tallies of various expenses, and other scribbled notes. Rather than running out of the room screaming, she said it'd all work. Man, that is so comforting.

* Went to the year's first cookout last night. It was stupidly beautiful yesterday - perfectly sunny, warm without being hot, and just the right day for breaking out the flip-flops. Deep cleansing breath, Ahhhhhhhhhh. I even bought a small potted plant for my office despite the undeniable history of dead plants in my wake. There's something so optimism-inspiring about the first real day of sun.

* I can't wait to hear from my friends Chris and Elizabeth, who are about to have their second child - and first son - any day now. Their daughter is so amazing, I'm really excited to meet the new addition to their family.

* OH YEAH! I almost forgot - We found the world's best scones at a place just down the street, Sugar Shack Baking Co. I used to associate scones with doorstops, but these are just so amazingly tender and in great fresh flavors.

* I hope you all are well and are getting to see some sun, wherever you are. Off to bake some cookies and deliver them to KUOW for their Spring Pledge Drive.

Best Name EVER

Jan Johannes Vennegoor of Hesselink

Really.

He's a soccer player on the Scottish league team Celtic.

And his last name really is Vennegoor of Hesselink.

What's with the total lack of posts recently?

I got a job!

Turns out that working full time makes me less likely to blog than when I had endlessly unstructured days.

Go fig.

Anyhow, I am working with a company doing banking compliance analysis... yes, it's nearly as boring as it sounds, but my job is actually enjoyable. The pay is pretty good and the bennies are great (100% paid by the company for me). Only drawback is that my commute sort of blows, but even that isn't too bad, since my boss is willing to let me work a later or earlier shift. Overall, not bad at all!

And, here's a close up picture of my new home away from home:

Visit to the ranch

I recently visited my family at their 90 acre ranch - otherwise known as 42North - in southern Oregon. It was a nice relaxing trip and I got to hang with my mom, dad, and grandma a good bit.

It really is very beautiful and peaceful down there.

Mom is growing a pot of mini daffodils


Saw some elk - blurry but true:

The south fork of the Coquille River is running beautifully






















Can you guess which side of the pot faces north for most of the day?

















And I even came across an ancient relic: this is a picture of a hot watter bottle holder that my cousin Sandy made for me when I was a wee little girl.... I'd forgotten all about it until mom dug it out of the basement looking for something else. Apparently I had leg cramps a lot when I was little.
The nose and eyes are velvet, and the hooves are all pink satin. I think this is so cute.

One of those days

I was thinking that there should be a single word for those crappy days where it's really clear nothing is going to go right. One of those terms that just succinctly communicates

"I'm going to write this day off as a bad alignment of the stars or planets, and everything will be better tomorrow, but it's probably best if I just stay in and go to bed early. It's nothing personal, it's just one of those craptacular days, y'all."

I just bailed on seeing a friend tonight and I feel really bad about it - and I might even have had a great time if I went - but this whole day has been poo scented and I suspect I wouldn't be the best company and, with that kind of forewarning, isn't it wise to heed the signs?

And, no, nothing really big went wrong (Paul is still the best, we still have housing and electricity, and the business is still moving along), but after one of the worst night's sleep I've had in a long time, I just woke up grumpy.

Maybe I could call these "phone book" days: Days when just hearing someone reading the phonebook would put me in a foul mood.

I'd even consider chalking it up to pms if I had pms - now that I'm on the pill to regulate my cycles, most of that stuff has abated greatly (hooray!).

I'm probably able to embrace the craptastic nature of days like these because I do truly believe that I'm stupidly lucky most of the time and that the universe doesn't, on the whole, suck.

Anyway, if any of you have suggestions for a concise term that would capture the moment, I'm all eyes.

any title is insufficient

Christvertising.com

To quote the immortal Bender

"Oh. Your. God."

Really?


REALLY???


I can't sort out what part of the text is the most bizarre:
1) that there is anyone who thinks this is an even remotely helpful thing to do for their business, or
2) that there are Christians who think that this isn't a bit off message. WWJSF - Who Would Jesus Shill For? Or, WWGB - What Would God Buy?

Lawmaker Larry Craig Unclear on Law

This article suggests that Lawmaker Larry Craig was unclear that pleading guilty to something means that he's not innocent.

[Craig's defense] attorneys argued that even though Craig may have pleaded guilty to avoid publicity and face a more serious charge, that doesn't change the fact that the plea is inaccurate.

Because I hate to see injustice done anywhere, I am creating a fund to help the severely overprivileged learn the meaning of words in their native language and chosen profession.

What greater indictment could there be of our educational system than a Lawmaker who doesn't understand law or a President who is "misunderestimated"?

Please, donate today. Because a nation is a terrible thing to waste.

Just about to head out of town in the next few minutes to go visit my family at the ranch, but in a last minute let's-see-if-there-are-any-jobs-I-should-apply-for-before-leaving effort, I came across two unusual postings on - where else? - craigslist:

> Vaccinated against Anthrax? Earn Money from Donating your Plasma
> Tactical Weather Forecaster, Air National Guard, Entry Level

The first seems like a marketing effort to an amusingly slim demographic, and as for the second, I can't seem to imagine how to tactically forecast weather. And would it be possible to tactically forecast weather at an entry level?

Anyway, I'll be back sometime next weekend, peace out.

I noticed that we started getting some flowers coming up in our little front yard the last couple days, a nice sign that Spring really is coming. This flower was closed yesterday morning, but when I came home from some errands at noon, it had opened up into a bright piece of happy:














After a late night finishing a cake, Paul threatens me with his dirty laundry.














That's right folks, this is the unglamorous side of cake making that they don't show you on TV!

Happy Leap Day! (on Friday)

It only shows up every 4 years, so do something special for yourself!

And, if you don't like this, at least you have March to look forward to, which is National Frozen Foods month.

*******************************

Quote I read the other day:

"Some people are like slinkies - completely useless, but they make you smile when you push them down the stairs."

Eddy's in the spacetime continuum

I noted previously how the Senate appears to be distantly behind the curve, recently banning a CIA practice that the CIA itself banned 2 years ago.

Turns out that it's just temporal dissonnance: I flipped on C-SPAN2 this afternoon to see what they're discussing these days. To my obvious surprise, the date noted in the upper right corner was "1/29/08".

Huh, whew knew they could do that?

Huh, go figure!

Because idle hands are the devil's playthings
and because I've yet to secure full time employment
and because I'm rather partial to participating in a participatory democracy, I applied to be a worker bee for Washington state's primary election on Tuesday the 19th.

Here's the "careful what you ask for" part: The county elections board contacted me and asked me to be an Elections Inspector at one of the sites! Beyond managing the staff's shifts and breaks, I'll be responsible for the materials getting to and from the polling site, setting it up, assisting staff and voters, then properly repacking all the supplies and transporting them back to the county's offices with a staffer who is a member of the opposite party.

I love this and I'm totally psyched. It's not every year I would have the time and energy to do this, so I'm pleased to take advantage of it now!

And, the irony is not lost on me that the election I become involved in is when the party I am supporting has decided not to count any votes (we're having a so-called "beauty contest" election). At least when I complain about it in the future to my state's party leadership, I may be able to complain with more authority! ;-)


******************************
On an unrelated note, I got my hair cut today, it was way too floppy there for a while. I took this picture with our Mac's built in camera - technology is fun.
Anyway, Hi Everyone!!

You may want to get a piece of paper and draw a horizontal line across it with arrows on each end.
This line indicating time, or "timeline", will help sort out the sequence of the following events:

*CIA director Micheal Hayden barred its interrogators from using waterboarding in 2006, shortly after he took over leadership there.

*So the Senate, in its ahead-of-the-curve thinking, decides TODAY to ban the CIA from using waterboarding.

Next up on the Senate's docket: We will no longer tolerate the distribution of disease-ridden blankets.

Let's Play Ball

I have not followed the Congressional hearings and Mitchell report on doping in baseball very closely, so I will admit the possibility that I missed a key point somewhere along the way.
That said, as a casual observer I have yet to hear anyone state clearly why it matters so much as to require these sorts of resources.

Perhaps Congress has nothing better to do.
Perhaps Congress doesn't know it has something better to do.
Perhaps Congress does have something better to do but doesn't want to do it.
Perhaps Congress thinks we think this is what it should be doing.

Either way, I'm pretty sure that the very worst thing that could happen to baseball should Congress ignore it completely is nowhere near the scale of importance of what could happen to our nation if Congress ignores revising FISA court regulations, doesn't prepare for the economic consequences of the ill-concieved stimulus package, or the fallout of the EPA's recent declaration that states do not have the authority to enact stricter environmental regulations than the Federal government.

They just don't make banks like they used to

Time was, you used to be able to trust banks to protect your precious belongings.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004177006_webmeth11m.html

And here I thought I was the only one who mistook my money for a baggie of meth.

Badger Badger Badger/Footy Footy Footy...

http://www.koreus.com/files/200406/badger_football_england.html

Song sticks in brain, like gum on shoe.

By now, most of you know Obama won

Washington state went overwhelmingly for Obama. How overwhelmingly?

Reading the state's Democratic party stats, I learned Clinton only won 1 jurisdiction in the entire state. Most of the jurisdictions shown are counties, though some of the larger counties were subdivided; ours was King 46th, if you're curious.

I was really surprised - though not disappointed - at how many apparently like-minded people live in my state. Don't even get me started on how much better this process has been here than if I still lived in Virginia, where the political parties can actually advertise IN the polling place. (Note: perhaps they're not *supposed to*, but they do.)

I'm so juiced at the prospect of having a president who represents a generation newer than the boomers, appears to understand the pragmatic necessity of talking with adversarial nations rather than acting like a child holding a grudge, and doesn't trigger the sort of vitriol that the name 'Clinton' does.

Oh yeah, and Clinton essentially improperly voted to turn over the power to declare war to the Executive branch(based on an intelligence report she never even read), and I don't know how I could trust her to then become the head of that branch. Given that the Constitution is the standard by which we judge all other legal concepts, disregarding the checks and balances part of it is troubling.

Really, doesn't this stuff keep anyone else awake?

"I'm a little caucus, short and stout....

... here's when I vote, and here's when I shout."
(gold, I tells ya)

Today is caucus day for both parties in Washington state. What is caucusing? It's intended to be the opportunity for people to argue the merrits of their preferred candidate, and for undecided voters to learn more from their neighbors about how the candidates will address key issues.

Below is an excerpt of a note I wrote to my friend Jeannie, who helped me learn more about my choice, Obama:

I [...] got myself in fighting spirit, and went to the caucus.
The line simply to get into the building was unbelievable; the poor caucus volunteers looked kinda freaked out.
Eventually we all found our caucus rooms and signed in with our vote. My precinct had 7 delegates, 5 went to Obama and 2 went to Clinton. Woo Hoo!!
Paul and I then took off, as the sides were pretty set at that point.
This caucus was so much larger and unruly than the last one I went to, where there was actual opportunity to talk with people and discuss - really, this was just a vote where you had to be present and go through a bunch of inconvenient hoops. To my satisfaction, a woman had brought with her a proposal to make Democratic party primary votes count. I hope it passes at the state level!

Anyway, I thought your little reporter soul would like to know how it went for my precinct. I even managed to talk Paul into going, who was initially resistant.(He called it an interesting experience in arcane democracy.)

In the 2004 caucus, there were still so many candidates (Kerry, Edwards, Kucinich, Clark, Sharpton, and probably 1-2 others I can't remember) that there was functional value in caucusing. This time around, though, it's hard to imagine too many people having so little preference as to consider voting for the other guy/gal.

I'm just pleased that my precinct went the same way I did; more often than not I feel like odd man out, so this was a nice change.


And then there's this take on things:

Sex advice columnist and editor of The Stranger Dan Savage reports from his caucus location in Seattle:

Maybe the caucus system works--when precincts have at most 10 people in them and no one gives a fuck about the election. But it's total pandemonium right now at Stevens Elementary. The lines to sign in--for for precinct--stretches all the way across the gymnasium. Lines to sign in for other precincts intersect with our line and no one is keeping order. Thank God for our neighbor: She commandeered a dozen sign-in sheet from the table and brought them to the end of the line so we could register our preferences and get the hell out. Here's hoping our sign-in sheets got back up to the precinct table: we didn't hang around long enough to find out.

Note to the Washington State Democrats: Please don't put us through that bullshit again. Don't waste our time. Let us vote in a primary. Yeah, yeah: The caucus system is supposed to build community, or something, since we're all supposed to gather together with our neighbors and talk about who we're supporting and why, and make appeals to the braindeads--excuse me, the undecideds--blah blah blah. But the only thing neighbors at Stevens are discussing right now is what a bullshit waste of time this is. You're going to need smaller precincts, and a lot more precinct sites, and a lot more workers, or you're going to need to go to a primary system.

It ain't all gloom and doom

I know there's been a thread of grouchy sarcasm in my last few posts. Maybe it's because I'm preparing to get all feisty at this weekend's caucus - go Obama! Either way, here is the rectification:

Paul made his unbelieveable chocolate cookies last night. After a 2 week long craving, they are sweet indeed!

My dad is sounding and feeling better after a l-o-n-g year of some hard medication.

I plugged our printer into our new mac today and was printing within 30 seconds; it was *actually* plug and play as advertised! SO nice when things work.

I've started journaling a little again, which gives me material that I'll soon edit and throw up on my other blog, ItMightBeDrivel.

Today is the beginning of the Year of the Rat (Xin Nian Kuai Le!), which is my year. In fact, according to wikipedia, I am a Water Rat because I was born in 1972. According to a Chinese Astrology webpage, water represents cold, black, wisdom, and lust. Also, it turns out that 2008 is supposed to be a very lucky year for Water Rats. So I've got those going for me, which is nice.

Had the chance to reconnect with some people I've not really talked with in years at a friend's birthday party last weekend. A real treat, and nice to take a moment to realize how many really quality people I know.

Freakshow Romney dropped outta the race, so I already feel 10 times better about any of the remaining candidates.

What next? A couple warm-just-from-the-oven chocolate cookies, a glass of milk, and a pbs show.

Geek? Yes.
Warm and content? Yes

Show Me da Money!

Well hot damn, turns out the guvment is gonna send me and mine a check for about $600. Wooo HOOO!
Why, with that I could go out and buy me that Sony PlayStation 3 I've been wanting, plus some really good games.
Or, maybe we could take that money and buy a new copy of Photoshop for our small business.
Of course, we could always just pay our $580 monthly medical insurance bill.
Stimulus my foot.

Dumb Question from Dumb Blonde

Listening to NPR and reading the news, I began to wonder:

How will our government afford funding 2 costly wars, bail out homeowners for 5 years, and send all of us a check in the next few months during the beginning of a recession?

Okay, I admit I may not be fully blonde. And this may not be a fully dumb question.

Retiring of the Happy Hour Webcam

At least for now, I am removing the link to our happy hour webcam.
Summer may see its return, but who knows.... With a second computer and second desk, the bounds of technology may expand yet again, but we'll just have to wait and see.
In the meantime I invite you to take a deep, cleansing breath and enjoy the beautiful picture in the upper right of the beach in Mexico. On the Caribbean. My happy place.
Ahhhhhhhhh.

What else would one do on a snow day?

Slept in.

Heard a painfully funny parody of an ad for tonight's State of the Union on NPR:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18479111
Talked to my mom and to Paul's mom.

Washed the shower curtain.

Tooled around our new Mac book, which will soon become our business' main computer.

Made some business calls.

Took a picture of sox my mom gave me:


















Yesterday I scored a goal, a rarity for me. It was beautiful. After a nice long talk with my dad, Paul and I later went out to a pub called Quinn's (sadly, they don't offer a discount for 'family'), where I had a remarkable lime daquiri. The best outside Mexico.


Hope you are warm and finding something fun in unexpected places.

Please, don't give me money! It'll just make things worse.

Sunday morning is a great time to air out some of those bees in my bonnet. Sen's Cantwell and Murray both got this, as did Rep McDermott.
buzz buzz buzz...

**********************************************
Dear [representative],
I am writing to tell you that - as a middle class resident of Washington state - I want you to VOTE AGAINST the proposed economic stimulus package because it will NOT work for the following reasons:
1) We will not spend the money as the government hopes - we will use it to repay debts such as medical and credit card bills. And, the amount will be too small to have any real or lasting impact on our household;
2) Increasing the Nation's debt in order to boost the economy is a clearly self-defeating measure: if the economy *is* boosted, it will be only for a short time and it will Not increase investor confidence domestically or internationally;
3) We regular middle class people want to hear that our leaders think this nation's economy is strong enough to weather occasional slowdowns. Such corrections force reorganizations in the economic sector that make our country even stronger over the long term;
4) Stealing from my nation's future to pay for the mis-managed present is a deeply, deeply worrying idea that reflects a lack of leadership, and a lack of stewardship for future generations.

Thank you for your time and service, and I truly hope you will vote against the proposed economic stimulus package.

Sincerely,
Rev. Elizabeth Walsh

On the job front, a birthday, and one mom's truth

As part of the saga I've periodically recounted in my efforts to secure employment, below is the full text of (what I assume is) a rejection letter from the EPA.
This is one of the worst and most amusing rejection letters yet.

"Dear Applicant

Thank you for applying to Merit Promotion Announcement No. Reg 10-DE-2008-0010, Environmental Protection Specialist in Office of Water & Watersheds, Drinking Water Unit, Seattle, Washington.

A selection was made:

We appreciate you applying to EPA for consideration, and encourage you to apply for other EPA vacancy announcements at this web site at http://www.usajobs.gov."

An application was submitted, a response was sent, an applicant was confused:
***
In other news, my brother turned older than dirt last week (40!), and he and his friend came up for a visit. We, of course, had cake.




Action photo of Kelly threatening to put the candle out old-skool style....











***
Finally, my favorite story from last week: Paul, my brother, his friend, and I were in a local creperie (hooray for crepes!!) one morning and a mom walked in with her 3-5 year old son.
He declared, "Oh, it's quiet in here!"
To which mom replied with some humor, "Not anymore".

God bless such parents of young children.

I heart geeks!!!

I probably have too much time on my hands, or am at least spending it terribly unwisely.
But I am amused.

And, appropos of nothing, happy Winnie the Pooh Day.

Reading through the Jan. 12 issue of Science News magazine and came across an article that begins,

"Roundworms need protons to poop."

science + poop = awesome

little milestone

Paul and I started dating on Jan 16th, 9 years ago.
I've never met anyone weirder, and there's no where else I'd rather be.

From the thrilling world of home improvement

So we undertook some home improvement projects this last weekend.
Yes, you're right, we are renting the place. Even so, there are a few things we've wanted to do since moving in and the landlord has been pretty groovy about them.
Anyway, one such project was replacing the upstairs kitchen faucet, which previously leaked and the faucet head was too low to get anything big (like a kettle) underneath. We picked out the least costly model that had the bells and whistles we needed. Props to Paul for rocking the install.

Turns out, the people at Peerless have not only got smart management but also a healthy sense of humor. Paul and I laughed our way through the instructions, and I sure have to admit that I'm far more likely to buy another one of their products because of it.

Since this shouldn't be limited only to people seeking the thrills of faucet replacement:

"The hardest thing about putting a new faucet in is getting the old one out.... Good luck to you, and may all your coupling nuts turn freely.

Did any water come out? No? Good. It wasn't supposed to....

Again, this may take an adjustable wrench or pliers (and if you like, a few mild curses)....

Watch out for falling rust. That stuff is no fun to get in your eyes, and even less fun to get in your mouth.... [next step]Spit and drink a pop. See? We told you it was no fun to get that stuff in your mouth....

Have you banged your knuckles on the pipes yet? If so, congratulations. Get out from under the sink, apply a bandage and move on....

In a best-case scenario, the faucet will come right out. In a could-be-better-case scenario, the faucet will just sort of sit there, snickering at you."

Also, there was never a step 2. Just step 1A, 1B, and so on.

Wouldn't it be neat if the Peerless people wrote tax forms?

Possibly my favorite NPR moment

All Things Considered did a story today on black carbon nanotubes that absorbs light better than any other material.
This brought up reference of Spinal Tap (Nigel asserted their new album cover was "blacker than black"), and at the conclusion of the story, they played some Spinal Tap music. I love that such a movie/band has made it into the set of legitimate cultural refences.
And I love that people who I rely on for delivering the best and most serious news also have a sense of humor!

Mea Culpa, without the Culpa

A lightly edited version of an article I read this morning, with commentary:

"by the New York Times and the LA Times
ROME — Pope Benedict XVI, in a rare papal acquiescence to protest, has canceled a speech at Sapienza University here amid opposition by professors and students who say he is hostile to science. ...

"...The pope's speech at the university was to mark the start of the academic year. But professors and students objected, citing specifically a speech that Benedict gave in 1990, when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, on Galileo, condemned by the Inquisition in the early 1600s for arguing that the Earth revolved around the sun.

"In that speech, Ratzinger, who would become pope in 2005, quoted the Austrian philosopher Paul Feyerabend as saying: "The church at the time was much more faithful to reason than Galileo himself, and also took into consideration the ethical and social consequences of Galileo's doctrine. Its verdict against Galileo was rational and just." (The Church was *more* faithful to reason....wait, what?? I wonder if he meant that the Church was more faithful to the same reason that made it wrong. Which doesn't seem the kind of thing that one would want to brag about. And definitely seems a little weird to say, 'Not only was the Church right about being wrong, but it was right for oppressing someone who - as we all know - was right.')

"In the speech, Ratzinger did not argue against the validity of science generally or take the church's position from Galileo's time that heliocentrism was heretical. But he asserted, as he has often since elected pope, that science should not close off religion and that science has been used in destructive ways. (Um. Exactly how is it that discovering the earth orbits the sun - which changes nothing in terms of how the masses should live - would be destructive, I wonder? And, how is it that understanding the world around us - which I'm betting God created - is an activity that should draw the ire of any religious leader? Okay, I can see how those Dianetics people don't want to use reality as a corrective, but they're nuts...) ...

"...The pope would be welcome at the university to debate these issues, [physics professor] Frova said, but not to deliver a speech in which there would be no opportunity for discussion or response.

"Benedict is known as a strong intellectual who has emphasized the importance of reason in the practice of faith. He also says evolution is the work of a divine creator and has helped defeat Italian laws that liberalized scientifically assisted fertility procedures." (I guess if the Italian leadership can be sufficiently persuaded that God had nothing to do with giving us brains amazing enough to do science, then perhaps they don't deserve to have a population that keeps making more adherents. Or voters.)

While some of my favorite people in the world are Catholic, they are all - without exception - also admirable thinkers for themselves.

We've come a long way, baby

Mindful that the Chinese press once printed an Onion article as straight news - evidence that satire often translates poorly - I would still put my money on this being a real article.
You're not going to hear me say this often in a 'freedom fries' kind of way, but there are some real perks to living in the ol' U. S. of A.!

And by the way, in regards to the Presidential Primaries, how is it that GUAM and AMERICAN SAMOA have their primaries before Oregon, Montana, and South Dakota? Man, those Guamanians and American Samoans are totally going to skew the whole process. They're ALWAYS messing with our politics, them and all that sun, and being on an island, .... mutter mutter mutter...

The more our world changes, ...

(**WARNING: The link below includes lots and lots of swearing. If you prefer to avoid such language or have problems discerning satire from reality, please don't read.**)
...the more it stays the same. Except maybe with an expanded vocabulary. In any event, it's a touch dispiriting to see we're dealing with all the same stuff that Carter had to handle.

AND ANOTHER THING!
Experience: let's review, shall we? Obama is taking heat for not having enough 'experience' despite his local and national service, yet our current Commander-in-Chief had only been governor prior to his election.
I hope with all that's in me that the Obama campaign recognizes that discrepancy and runs crazy with it, especially if he gets the nomination and has to go against any Republican. What fun it would be to chide the Republican candidate on that point!!!

If I could ask a Presidential candidate one (compound) question, ...

... it would be this:

Do you believe the President is required to follow the laws of the nation or do you believe that the President's executive status grants him/her exceptions to such laws?

If you were President today, how would you respond to the Federal judge's order to identify the status and location of documents generated in the White House?

Vote early vote often, because it's just possible that we can't do any worse, even with a waffling mormon spaz who denigrates his own constituents or a sweet little vegan gnome who wants to discuss UFOs and transubstantiation.

Note the time.
We just finished a cake.
Ugh.
Off to bed.

my own disconnect

So I'm taking a break from working on a big cake because all the work requires tilting my head down, which is making me dizzy today (see previous post on Benign Positional Paroxysmal Vertigo). Which is to say, this has started effecting my ability to work and earn money. And only now have I begun to think that maybe seeing a doctor could be a good move.
Of course, I'm not going to. I'm on some minimal health care plan - because I'm between jobs - and don't want to get substandard care on a condition that will then become a pre-existing condition once I DO get employment.
Meanwhile...
Yesterday I was taking a survey on the candidates, and one of the questions was about healthcare. I was asked how much the issue mattered to me; "Very important, Somewhat important, or Not important".
The disconnect between my own situation and national politics was revealed by the fact that I initially said Somewhat important. How much more important could healthcare reform be for someone like me??
Damn. Some days I feel like a very low watt lightbulb.

totally hooky little song

disclaimers
1. The description below includes a spoiler about the game Portal.
2. I embrace my inner geek and make no apologies for her.

Backstory: You have navigated a series of near-fatal experiments - including hazards such as rockets, toxic slime, and neurotoxic gasses - partly in promise of a cake reward. In the process, you destroyed the company(Aperture Science)'s main computer that was behind it all. Oh yeah, and you also died. But the computer sings you a little song about the whole experience, and is surprisingly good natured about all the destruction. So that's something. It's not cake, but it's something.

Hens on my mind

Ok, for reasons totally related to work - really - I came across an entertaining blog about chickens.

Yep. Chickens.

Happy New Year..... where to start?

First, congratulations to all of you who've made it to 2008. It was not an easy year for many of us, and here's hoping that the challenges of the last year have well prepared us to laugh at the challenges of the next.
Second, great gratitude to Jeannie and Aaron for the perfect night in.

Finally, (don't worry, there'll be more. Afterall, it's just the 1st day of the year...) 2007 taught me that if you get the chance to do any of the following, I would generally recommend it:
* watch "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians". A very earnest cult-classic with a crazy-memorable theme song.
* Drink a really good, really expensive bottle of wine
* spend an evening with only natural light (candles, fire, so on)
* ask someone to tell you a story/something that you don't know about him/her
* go to Akumal, Mexico and eat yourself silly
* visit family when they need you. For my part, most the time I probably wasn't able to actually do anything, but I'm hoping they'll remember I was there.
* try Amish food
* start a new business with the blind optimism and reckless confidence that made this nation('s credit card companies' profits) great.

Grateful to have made it to 2008,
Z