techNOlogic.

seriously. the logic board on my computer went kaput. so my computer has been sent to houston, tx to be repaired, and hopefully it will meet me in seattle by the time i return. keep your fingers crossed!

downtown for the holidays.

with the help of some friends, i finally started to get into the christmas spirit yesterday:

• i received a fantastic (and delicious) surprise package in the mail from an old friend. 
• whitney and imri surprised me with delightful little somethings. seriously, so perfect on all levels.
• going ice skating at the seattle center with some really great friends.
• stood in awe of the "holiday" tree on top of the space needle (thank you seattle, for being so politically correct)
• egg nog and scones at bob's. 

now! time to go hop on a plane to texas, and spend these coming holidays with my family!!! ahhhh! i can't wait!!!!

stir it up.

as mentioned earlier, i spent this past weekend in ohio for gold's wedding. with bob marley as our soundtrack, here is what occurred:

best friends reunited at last.

typical troublemakers.

three mischievous bridesmaids with the bride and groom at the sangeet.

we were henna'd.

so official.

gold's the master dancer.

we know how to get down with it.

post temple. ang politely reminded me of how white i am. thanks ang, i wouldn't have known otherwise...

all the single ladies with the one who got a ring put on it.

if only you were aware of how many versions of this exact same photo, with all the same faces have been accumulated over the years...

ang thought it would be a good idea to give herself a nose job right before pictures.

reception hall.

sara told this kid that ang tasted like sugar. the result? the kid viciously trying to to bite ang. it was one of the funniest moments all weekend.

mr. & mrs. coleman's first dance.

what wedding reception does not have tahitian dancers?

the men learning to hula. some were a little more successful than others...

thought we would put the center pieces to some good use.

sara caught the bouquet. is she next? will i be traveling next summer to be, yet again, another bridesmaid? i may have to get another closet just for all of my bridesmaid dresses...

liter leader.

if there were a competition at work for the liters of water that were consumed, i think i would win. thanks danny for bringing in the cases of water that were left over from the marathon.

p.s. 100 % oxygen water does not taste like regular water at all...sorry air water, but you can't fool me.

chrismukkah.

seth cohen created the chrismukkah tradition, but who knew it would transcend beyond prime time television to our nation's leaders?

last week i found this article, and it made me roll my eyes and embarrassed for the fellow. but luckily so did conan, and so he and max weinberg knew exactly what to do: make a christmas song for mormons. and boy, is it great!



hooray for chrismukkah!

temptation.

sometimes i wonder (emphasis on the "wonder" part) what would happen if i didn't return from christmas break and stayed in my shorts all year long...

...alas, i am too responsible, but i do miss the days when i could take off and be the free spirit that i am...

indulgences.

the holiday season is all about delicacies and indulgences in our diets...hence why most people place "getting into shape" at the top of their new year's resolution list.

i have an indulgence that i partake of a little too generously during the holiday season, which is listening to delilah. i just love it during the christmas time. i laugh and i cry while listening to her program, while she spins christmas favorites from dolly parton, etc.

while listening to her program last night, i learned two things: 1. she has her very own christmas song. 2. her daughter's name is laneequah, and for some reason both of these facts caught me a little off guard.

one more bonus fact about this local, seattle celebrity is that she has a clothing store called, "hoochie wear." wha???? oh delilah...

ps...for some reason, i realized that i really wish that jennifer lopez was still j.lo and that she was still jenny from the block....that's all. 

dress for success.

today's outfit:

• pearl earrings
• hands adorned with henna
• nice pin-stripe button up under a cashmere sweater
• jeans with acid spill stains on the back left calf (i wasn't aware when of it until after i was at the office)
• a pair of 10-year-old chuck taylors

well at least i am two-fifths of the way there...

some mornings, it's a little more difficult than others in dressing oneself...including finding a decent pair of shoes...

the thrill of it.

do you ever have those moments where you realize how ridiculously funny many of the moments in your life are? i just had one, and those moments are my favorite.

anyways, i'm back from ohio and ready for action. some brief highlights from the weekend:

• forgetting to pack my underwear. it happens, okay?
• having two dance-off's with gold's uncles and having hundreds of her family members encircling us. 
• angela giving herself a nose job right before the wedding pictures
• constantly laughing all weekend with my favorite girls: gold, ang and sara. 

don't worry, there are plenty of pictures coming soon...in the meantime, the above picture is ang and i after gold's sangeet on friday night...see you soon.

oh. hey. yo.

spinderella's off to ohio for gold's wedding. see you sunday.

mash-up.

it's no secret. i love square dancing. another pretty well-known secret: i really, really enjoy lady gaga.

so, today at lunch, i had an epiphany. what if i could square dance to lady gaga? how magical would that be?

victory.

erin: 1; postman: 0

that's right. this week the postman and i got into a squabble. really the postman was not involved at all, and it was me getting into a squabble with him.

you see, i went to the post office on tuesday to buy stamps for my christmas cards. there is a little bonus tlc added to them, so i asked the post office if i would need to add more postage. he replied no, just as long as my cards are not larger than the measurements he had just shown me. so the next morning i confidently and proudly placed my christmas cards in the mail box. i came home that evening to find my postcards still in the box, with a note scribbled by my postman: "erin, these need more postage."

i was appalled and, surprisingly, offended. i'm not sure why i took this so personally, but i felt like my postman was trying to undermine me and the entire federal mailing system...okay, maybe not really...but i am a bit stubborn, and i asked just the day before about this very matter. so, yesterday, i went back to the post office...waited in another half-hour long line (apparently everyone is into mailing packages early this year), and i talked to sonja. she immediately loved my cards, and asked if i had done part of them by hand. i said yes, and proudly showed her the callous on my thumb that was a result from the needlepoint. she loved it, showed her coworker, and agreed that i wouldnt need more postage, but just to be sure she would check with the head postmaster of their branch.

in the back, i heard them talking about how much they loved the cards, and then she returned and said not only was the postage just fine, but she was going to manually put them into the system, just to be sure that they didn't get ruin. and she also said that for all the other ones i make to just bring them to her and she will take care of me.

did you hear that mr. postman? you just got played! huzzah!!!

maybe, now i will make her a christmas card...

#81.

reason why i am more like liz lemon than i care to admit #81:

we wear the same clothes. seriously. she was wearing one of my favorite shirts last night.

i guess it beats being like tracy jordan.

shipshape.

tell me, why is that i always find myself driving in circles at the denny triangle?

zombie famous.

back in october, i participated in the zombie walk.

my friend, matt, filmed our escapade, and the seattle p.i. picked up the video and featured on their blog. you can read about it and watch the movie here. i also posted it below...and yes, that is alena and me tossing my baseball wishing it were brains featured as the video still.



ps. this is my second time to be featured by the seattle p.i. this year! i guess i am the ideal seattle citizen...

falling short.

crafting into the late night has caused great sleep deprivation, which in turn has led me to take naps during my lunch breaks. good thing i'm shorter than i actually perceive myself to be. as i nestled perfectly in the front half of my car, i was able to perfectly outstretch my legs and after only just a few pages into my book, i fell into a deep slumber. thank you winter sun, for being out today and keeping me warm as i slept in the front seat of my car.

now, what i really need to do, is start getting decent sleep...in my bed...not in my car...

all queued up.

whenever i go home i watch all of my favorite childhood movies, including this one:

can't wait!

too2late.

crafting until 2am is not always the wisest decision. especially when you leave the tv on for ambient noise. i can now say that i have seen romy & michelle's high school reunion, which i have never had the desire to see and it's quite possibly one of the oddest movies i have ever seen. i also saw an advertisement for a neckline exercise device, and right before i turned off the television, al bundy cracked a joke about his wife bringing back the swine flu...if only we all would have listened to him. history truly repeats itself.

in other news, christmas cards are half-way to completion, and my thumb is not nearly as sore...

nimble thimble.

i really need a thimble. preferably like this one:

but i only need one. because let's be honest, who wants to look like this guy:

but in all honesty...i'm pretty sure before the christmas season is over, i will have a nice little callous on my thumb...so ladylike...

(oh) dear, americans:

why do you have such a strong desire for materialistic consumerism on the day after thanksgiving? driving through northern washington late last night, you already packed the outlet mall parking lot beyond capacity and formed a line down the side of walmart by midnight. don't you want a decent night's sleep in your warm bed? that was all i could think about during my drive home.

ps...maybe you should go see fantastic mr. fox instead. its amazing and probably the best movie i have seen this year.

ok. now go home and enjoy time with your family. and maybe get some sleep too, because i think you must be exhausted by now...

i have always loved the muppets.

and this is no exception:

today.

it's just one of those days where i would like to be curled up in my bed, sipping on hot chocolate, listening to dead man's bones and reading edward gorey books until my heart is content.

calling it.

periodic tables are the next kitty cats. just saying...

cough. cough. ack. ack.

my body is wanting to get sick. yikes! i don't have time for it, that's for sure.

what's my solution:

• constantly ingesting umcka.
• bringing my schlitterbahn souvenir cup full of orange juice (equivalent to 1 liter) to work.
• soup. soup. soup.
• superfood.
• echinacea.
• sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeepppp. which is what my body really wants to do. right now. right this very....zzzzzzzz....

faux pas?

aren't they just in the eye of the beholder? let's hope so.

in college i fell in love the basic editions boat shoes found at k-mart. i wore them year round for my last two years of college, including the winter. the problem is that they are not very good insulators, so i wore socks. not just any socks, i might add. i was wearing green, white and red striped socks that i bought in bulk for only 7 cents a pair.

now, you would think this is a fashion statement i would grow out of, and grant it, i do only wear the boat shoes during the summer time now, but today, i found myself sitting my zurk tennis shoes, with those so same socks being shown to all the world.

fashion faux pas? possibly to the rest of the world. but for me, this is fashion at its finest. now, i am just waiting for everyone else to jump on this band wagon.

leonid.

seattle. why are you cloudy tonight? i know it's winter and you love to rain, but i would have really really loved to have seen the meteor shower tonight. thanks a lot.

ps...i love that you are a city that loves square dancing as much as i do. you have only slightly redeemed yourself this evening.

reunion.

as of late, it seems as though there have been a lot of reunion tours. i would love it if the anniversary would do a reunion tour. 

for the record, they were my first concert. thank you to the year 2000, for making that dream come true.

to DI for.

i bought these shoes for $2.50 at DI last spring. they are up there with some of my favorite shoes. they maintain the trendy victorian style, but have the comfort of 80's cushioning the soles of my feet. i'm pretty sure, like most other things i own, these will never go out of style in my eyes.

a few other notes:

i am going with mr. patrick tonight to see the pixies. !!! my fourteen-year-old self things i am so cool right now.

sometimes i think of worse case scenarios, and the idea of them actually occurring makes me laugh. i wonder if i would laugh in real life too?

i completed my first of three jigsaw puzzles also purchased at aforementioned di. and guess what...not a single piece was missing...take that haters.

and most importantly, my roommate returns tomorrow!!! woo!

pugs not drugs.

best. bumper sticker. ever.

let me know when you find my spare moment?

.love//hate.

i look forward to my wednesday morning e-mail every week. really, i just love getting my travelzoo e-mail every week.

at the same time, it also taunts me. it causes me to wish i had the money and the job, that would allow me to take off to hong-kong for only $649 r/t at the drop of a hat. or that i could finally head down to LA and take advantage of virgin's cheap flights.

if you know of a job that will let me do this, and that will pay me lots and lots of money, let me know.

new blog.

hi. i'm starting a new blog. but keeping this one. the other blog is just where i will post things that i like and how they fit into the primary 5 senses. enjoy.

sweet or spicy?

am i the only one who thinks imitation cherry flavoring is more spicy than it is actually sweet?

i regret getting a cherry flavored anything every single time. so tricky.

anniversary.

20 years ago today, this happened:

and i remember watching it on the news with my parents. i remember the magic.

it's almost time...

for lost to start again! i don't why, but i just got really excited for it. now i want to watch the entire series just to prep for all the mind-blowing plot twists that will be coming my way in february.

ps. did anyone catch the lost reference on 30 rock last week? maybe lost is just one of hurley's dreams...

pps. i got my google wave invite tonight! now i just need to figure it out...but i did squeal with excitement when i saw it in my inbox.

she bangs. she bangs.

remember ricky martin? i do.

today i am pleasantly pleased as a plum with my bangs. seriously, i feel like i have been trying to get them to do this for months...maybe i will sleep with wet hair more often?

too short.

and no, i am not referring to my height. i am referring to fall. it just seems like yesterday that all the leaves were turning red, and now they are all on the ground and bare branches are exposed all over town. there is just something so dreary about this sight...although i guess this puts us just one season closer to spring time again...

on another note, i was so exhausted when getting ready this morning that i almost put my toothpaste on as my deodorant. the only thing that deterred me from this debacle was when i went to swipe it under my arm, i noticed that it still had its lid on. and that is when i realized that i almost had mint fresh underarms. oops.

sharing.

here's a story i just shared with a friend:

on halloween, i had just left the local grocery store with a sandwich in hand. i paused to buy a newapaper from a local vendor, and i then chose my route home. this day, i chose to walk through the neighborhood streets, as it was halloween, and the mainroads were bombarded with children and their pumpkin shaped buckets full of halloween candy. as i made my way through the neighborhood, eating my sandwich while reading the front page of the paper, an elderly gentlemen and his wife stopped me. his wife, held a huge grin on her face, as her arm was tightly clasped her husband. he held a clear ziplock bag filled with fun-size snickers bars. he reached into his bag, and pulled out a candy bar and handed it to me, as he did so, he remarked, "what a cute costume!" i laughed a little and gave an ecstatic "thank you!" for his kindness, and went along my way.

but here's the thing, i wasn't in costume. i was in my normal clothing. in fact, it was one of those days where you put on the perfect outfit. you know what i mean?

afterwards, my mind was quickly flooded with the warnings i received as a kid: "don't take candy from strangers," etc. and everything about that situation went against what my mom taught me as a child...i ate the candy bar for dessert last night...sorry mom...

wild.

joe came to visit a couple of weeks ago, and we went wild...or at least at the "where the wild things are" premiere at the pacific science center...

explanation.

i think my favorite part of today was watching our CFO approach my coworker, who was working on her halloween costume, and hearing her explain her costume and the meaning behind "c*** blocker." im pretty sure my face turned red for her. but the best part was watching her act it out. oh halloween...

hallow's eve.

i think a vampire sneaked into my house last night...this being the only explanation for the bite mark i have on my neck and the one on my hand...

do i have my very own edward cullens???? i can't decide if that would be romantic or creepy...

pause.

sometimes i wish i could schedule my sanity somewhere in my crazy schedule.

...or at least get a half time...

seriously, leaving the house at 6:30 am and not getting home until 11:30 or midnight everyday is exhausting...


ps...sorry if i have stood you up lately...somehow i have been double booking my calendar...woops...it may be from the lack of sleep...

miles and miles

true. i am in texas. true. i have been up since 3 am. true. i wore my cowgirl boots simply out of principal. true. i had many people compliment me on them...of course only in phoenix and texas. true. i brought the seattle weather with me. true. a natural gas rig, which is probably what nasa looks like at night, was put up around the corner from my house. true. i over indulged at hard eight bbq tonight. true. i finished today's very long day with a cup of blue bell dutch chocolate ice cream. true. i love texas. but, it's just different this time...

cheers.

i found mine! where everyone...well at least the kj (karaoke dj for those out who are not karaoke aficionados) and the bartender (who remembers my affinity for shirley temples)...knows my name.

yes, this was my third saturday in a row...i debuted a new song, "to be with you," by mr. big. i had a couple slow dancing to my smooth ballad, and had the bar singing the chorus with me. and yes, there were moments when i sang with my eyes closed, and may have had my tightly clasped fist raised in the air for emphasis, but who needs the details?

i think that was the best night of karaoke yet...and to think that i wasn't going to go at all last night....

tonight.

i am going see dead man's bones.

want to tell me i can't? over my dead body.

kindred spirits.

sheenmo's dec. 2007 wedding

anne of green gables had one, and i am lucky to have many. some i have known for longer than others, and these girls are just that for me. my kindred spirits. having known them for more than 12 years, they have left such an impression on whom i've become. the best part is that we are each completely and entirely different from one another, with the exception of one thing: our love for one another...and that we like to take silly photos....and i'm pretty sure that we have an identical one to this from when we were 14-years-old...

frozen in time.

today i went to pull my zucchini salad out of the refrigerator, only to find it frozen. i hate it when that happens.

in other news, my eating raw onion the other night (they are just so good), has completely ruined my palette for the week. no matter how many time i brush and wash my mouth/tongue, everything, and i mean EVERYTHING, tastes bitter. i guess i will stay away from the onions for a while....

block.

there are numerous types of blocks:

• blocks of cheese
• block parties
• bloc party
• blockbuster
• h&r block
• HTML's:

  &

• wooden blocks
• blockheads
• chopping blocks

and then there is writer's block...which i am currently suffering from. fudge.

addendum.

p.s. though the new moon soundtrack is great i thought that i should confess that as i wrote that post and am currently writing this one, i have been listening to my favorite pianist, i want him to be yours as well: ludivico einaudi.

he eases the mind and inspires the imagination.

guilty pleasure.

i would like to make this my proclamation to the world. though it required a lot for me to muster the courage for this, i think it's time i come clean: i can't wait for this to come out on nov. 20. and the only thing that is subduing the excitement is the soundtrack. seriously. when did movie soundtracks get to be so good?

please don't judge me.

oh fudge.

i just realized that i am closer to my 10-year high school reunion than i am to when i graduated high school. quarter-life crisis sets in...riiiigggghhhttt abbbbbboutttt....NOW.

honey fresh and so clean clean.

laundry night. i noticed how everything smelled honey fresh. i was perplexed, as i use oder-free EVERYTHING. i just assumed that my neighbors upstairs must have left a dryer sheet in the machine. i wish. needless to say, the one time i forgot to check my pockets (my mother ingrained us with this to the point where it may be borderline ocd) is the time that i left my lip balm in my pocket. the sad part is that i can't decide what i am bummed about more...my clothes smelling like my lip balm or my no longer having my favorite lip balm....

...right now i am leaning towards the latter...

dad?

hi. if you are not my dad but you are the same age as my dad, and i do not engage in eye contact with you, then please don't talk to me. it creeps me out. this happened twice today.

1. i am leaving the coffee shop next to my work, and as i look at the ground and concentrate on making sure i did not trip over my feet, i hear a "hi!" as i exited. i turned to find a man that could be the same age as my father greeting me as i left the store. he was eating his chicken noodle soup, and i gave him a puzzled glance. he smiled and waved, expecting me to engage in conversation. i continued to give him a puzzled look and turned around and walked back to my office.

2. i am leaving pcc, and i was concentrating on not dropping the contents i was juggling. i thought i would do my part in saving the world by not getting a bag. i know. i know. you can thank me later. a gentleman entered the store. i was less than 10 feet from the exit, he walks over saying "how are you doing?" and blocked my exit from the store. i turn around to be sure that this man, who could, again, pass as my father, was not trying to engage with someone who may have been behind me. but most assuredly not. it was me. i looked up, and gave him a half smile, and said, "have a good night." he seem surprised that i did not want to continue the conversation as i sidestepped him and quickly shuffled my way out of the store.

now i often, admittedly, get engaged in odd conversations with all kinds of people. there were a few other instances today that were kindly brought to my attention, but when we boil it down...if you could be my father...then it's just plain creepy.

but hey, at least i got half off at the store this evening....just a perk from one of the aforementioned random conversations, by someone who was not the same ages as my father. huzzah!

...have it also be noted, that it is through random incidences like this, that i was given my rip mj shirt....so i guess its not always creepy...just 90% of the time...

!!!

tomorrow joe arrives!!! get ready seattle....

you can call me maestro.

i can now check the "yes" box on the "do you know how to play a musical instrument?" portion of ward getting-to-know-you sheets. due to the astounding patience of imri, i can now play the keyboard cat song. so next time a musical number is needed for sacrament, i can now contribute...as long as i can play the keyboard cat song...and i can only play on the keyboard...as i am still intimidated by all those additional keys on a regular piano. but hey, even beethoven had to start somewhere...

p.s. get ready to get played off this halloween! woot! woot!

tis the season...

...for zombies!!!

Today I participated in the Seattle Zombie Walk held at the Space Needle, where we haunted all the tourists at the Seattle Center and Lower Queen Anne. We threatened the well being of innocent shoppers at Metropolitan Market, and I learned that Elvis does, in fact, still live. I dressed up as a baseball player zombie...it was too much fun!

LOST mystery solved.

i figured it out. no need to watch the series finale of LOST. i have solved it!

the island is actually jurassic park. duh. see?

seattle.

i love seattle. it's true. sometimes i scare myself with how much i love this city. afterall, it's the first city that i have felt comfortable calling home since leaving texas 6 years ago. it's the first city in 6 years that does not have me already plotting my next destination. anyways, here is quick, incomplete list of why i love seattle:

• sunsets. at golden gardens. or just in the city. the large buildings turn into gold and the water hue is a deep blue with pink and orange highlighting the sky. too good to be true.
• farming year round. i love that i get fresh veggies year round from local farmers.
• the morning fog. it reminds me of the lake district in great britain. and also pete's dragon.
• the ballard locks. mark my words...one day i will be jumping into them.
• gasworks park on sunny, sunday afternoons.
• the burke-gilman trail
• the space needle. guys, it seriously never gets old.
• green lake
• sasquatch...not the music festival.
• first thursdays, and of course all of the other neighborhood art walks as well.
• the library!
• and the list could go on and on and on...

it's the fall, and with every new season, along comes more visitors. i am so excited for all of my upcoming visits, but i also really love giving tours...seriously, i think my dream job would be a tour guide.

do's & don'ts.

DO try trader joe's carrot ginger soup. though, not nearly as good as chef hans' recipe, it will tide you over until one day you can indulge in such a delicacy again.

DON'T try trader joe's butternut squash soup. for some reason it tastes like tomato soup and you may have to pour half a canister of pepper in it to flavor it.

at least my container can also function as a hand warmer. brrrrr...it is chilly today!

if i did everything that my spam mail told me to...

...then i would:

• get online RIGHT NOW and buy prescription medicine...probably from canada too...
• let William Cheng intimate a money fund transfer of magnitude proportions (i mean this in only the cleanest way possible)
• probably be able to understand "KQJFUDREKLCEKBKGZDHJW..."
• never have "bout to mizz mah burthdai"
• believe that it was divine intervention that Mr. Cann Eric Pettigrew contacted me and want me to swoon over him and his $3.5 million investment
• have ordered a lot of Sony Vaio's
• never report my income and always be in contact with the IRS' hotmail account
• own a lot of discounted Rolex watches
• and I would probably be multilingual, specializing in Chinese and Romanian.

BUT, unfortunately my torrid love affair with Mr. Pettigrew will never be, and for now, i will be an ignorant mono-linguistic person. BUT not a day goes by where i am fascinated by the subject lines of said e-mails, and more so fascinated by the people who actually respond.

NOTE: I do keep a side file of really great junk e-mails for me to read on bad days. They always seem to do the trick!

sleepover.

remember the ones you had when you were a kid? we had one at my house, since, for whatever reason, i have byu tv broadcasted in seattle. this made waking up to watch conference that much more convenient...and delicious. hans, catherine and imri came over. and between sessions we made delicious eggs benedict. here is our delightful table setting:

i made the hot chocolate....with perfect foam i might add....

down on the farm.

for those who are not aware, i am a csa member with full circle farm.

yesterday i took hans, imri and rebecca to their annual "hog and grog" potluck. boy, was it ever a grog. it was nice to see where my produce comes from, and the food was amazing.

p.s. their horses turned out to be vampire horses and glitter gold in the sunlight. just like twilight.

friday night lights.

great friday nights include:

leaving work in the middle of a project, bc i found out there was zero traffic between the office and home. 18 minute friday evening commute rather than the 45 minute.

singing in the shower (though, have it be noted that for whatever reason i cannot remember an entire song, so it consisted of a verse or two of numerous songs, and loudly humming the parts of songs i could not remember the words to).

guilty pleasure cd exchange dinners.

oktoberfest root beer parties at the monster house.

attending a midnight showing of the rocky horror picture show, only to find out that we had the days wrong. next month i will be doing the time warp. mark my words.

and let's throw a cherry on this sundae by completing the night with a dance party in christian's bedroom.

seriously. so great. thank you friday. come again soon please.

i look like amy.

today i joined a coworker of mine to a local restaurant near the office for breakfast. i was without an appetite (still recovering from some ill-fated food poisoning), so i waited patiently for him to get his food. as i was waiting, i turned and noticed a 4-year-old boy eating his breakfast meal with his mother, and he excitingly began to wave at me. i kindly returned his wave, not thinking much about it.

then as my coworker was finishing his breakfast, the young boy and his mom were walking out of the establishment and the lad stopped at our table and exclaimed to me, "hi! this is my pirate!" he proudly displayed his toy action figure for me to see. and so we began to engage in a conversation about his pirate, and how the pirate's wife fell off the boat once into the ocean, but now she is okay. AND most notably, that this is a good pirate that fights bad guys with the weapons he had attached to the toy's arms. it was quite an enthralling conversation, but then his mother soon decided that it was time for them to depart, so he ended with an excited, "BYE! You look like Amy!!!!"

I don't know who this Amy is, but I am sure glad that she is nice to him. Can you imagine if Amy was otherwise? The reaction may have been pure fright for the child...and that could have gotten a little awkward.

confession.

i just spent the last 5 minutes repeatedly pressing the delete button on my computer to get the "error" ding over and over again, so it would match the beat of the song i was listening to. it's the little things i find entertainment in.

i may not play a formal instrument, but i do play the "backspace" button better than most.

back to work.

promnade.

last night imri and i went square dancing.

best. idea. ever.

i was grinning ear-to-ear from the beginning until the end of the evening. laughing uncontrollably. stepping on people's toes. awkwardly trying to figure out hand placement. and i have never spun so much in my entire life. seriously. who knew there was so much spinning in square dancing?

the "wow" factor.

this occurs at various times and manifests itself in numerous ways for different people. i had one such instance this afternoon.

have any of you ever been reading a book, and something in the book makes you say "wow!" aloud? this happened to me today.

i was reading and walking back to work from the tire shop. the author basically had just blown my mind in regards to the subject he was discussing, and in response i exclaimed an audible, "WOW!"

shortly, thereafter, almost immediately, i hear a guy's voice, "on your right." it takes me by complete surprise. i jump, he looks and laughs and continues to walk. i then turn red of embarrassment. not because he scared me, but that he probably heard my aforementioned "wow," which probably would have been more self-restrained had i realized that someone else outside of seattle actually used the sidewalks along the highways, and who was within hearing distance over the loud autumn winds. talk about a double-whammy surprise.

this occurrence also caused me to wonder if he was laughing, not because of my "wow," but whether or not i was walking in a straight line. i guess we will never know...

planning ahead.

it doesn't happen often. especially when it comes to halloween costumes. to be quite honest, i wasn't sure how i was going to top last year's costume that i so serendipitously created:

especially since last year, the coat found me. how does one top a muppet? i knew for sure i did not want to wear something quite as warm as the cookie monster coat. i also came up with costume just weeks before halloween. this is even better than previous years, as i normally come up with it the day of.

anyways, while typing away at work today, it hit me. i knew what i was going to be this year:

yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's the keyboard kitty. yes, it's the same cat that i have been inundating your inbox's with yet another occurrence that he is playing someone off. kanye cannot even interrupt this kitty. it is just that awesome. so look out for the keyboard cat on halloween. you just might get played off.

an a fair to remember.

i grew up going to fairs. i might as well have been raised at one. how could one pass up seeing Big Tex greet all the visitors as they entered the state fair? or going to the fort worth stockyards? the funnel cakes? the lemonade? in my youth, i even had a stunt of volunteering at the rodeo checking in all the show animals. yes, ladies and gentlemen, i was really that cool.

since leaving my roots i have only been to two fairs. i know, i am just as astonished as you. the southeastern idaho state fair and the utah state fair, only just to see styx and reo speedwagon (true story. i was there.).

last night i had the pleasure of attending the puyallup fair. it was great. i found lemonade. i saw the animals. i enjoyed the lights. and i went with some great friends, who happen to love photo booths as well. so perfect. can it be next year's fair already?

p.s. does anyone else get the pun on the title?

redrum.

pardon me. what i meant was red plums. so tastey. so messy. so all over my shirt...oops.

baby. baby. babe.

eating three spoonfuls of peanut butter and half of a not-so-fresh nectarine and only eating an apple for breakfast before leaving on an all afternoon bike ride? not the best idea. i dont think i had ever felt so nauseous. oh well. the bike ride was beautiful and worth it.

burning your tongue on the roof of your mouth the day before you go to the dentist? also not a good idea. so tender. but i did get a gold star!

this american life.

i love this program. so much, in fact, that i actually had an episode finally repeat for me on their podcast. i didn't think that was really possible. don't worry. it still made me laugh and cry all the same.

anways, the last couple of weeks have been a bit of a disappointment. i'm sorry, but i just haven't loved listening to "frenemies" or "kindness of strangers" or even, "the cruelty of children." however, i did love, "rest stop," and it makes me want to stop at them more often.

i am pretty sure that this one is my favorite though.

i have some pretty talented friends.

and they made a pretty great video:

Typophile Film Festival 5 Opening Titles from Brent Barson on Vimeo.

great job meg and regan...and i guess the rest of the design dept. at byu. miss you guys.

smooshed.

if you attended last night's pre-fireside dinner, you may have seen some untouched lemon cupcakes on the dessert table. they more than likely looked like they had been in some sort of accident, with the icing all scraped away except for the bottom left hand corner of the tray. probably one of the ugliest desserts you have ever seen...and i am not exaggerating.

it wasn't an accident that happened. it was my incapability of packing my backpack before leaving for the event. for some reason, i thought it would be an ingenius idea to pack them in the back pocket of my bag with my bike lock pressing on the top of the box, which led to the demise of the frosting during the bike ride, which ultimately ended up coating the inside of my bag.

the only brave soul that indulged, did so only after i witnessed her prodding the baked goods, probably checking to see if they were still alive, and i then pressured the stranger to take a bite. she politely stated that the flavor was still delicious, i think to make me feel better about my baking capabilities, but her face was not as amused when i explained they were store bought. oops.

needless to say, i shot any facade of my homemaking capbilities last night. or should i say smooshed?

2007.

Lately my mind has been inundated with memories of this fateful year. I really, really loved that year...maybe it is because this is the year I graduated from college and so I lived it to it's full potential. So many shenanigans took place, and at times people kindly remind me of some of the trouble I caused, and I get a bit embarrassed. But I am glad I have them, because it keeps me in touch with my inner free spirit.

Anyways, I have been listening to Wolf Parade lately, and it takes me back to 2007 and fall 2006. It reminds me of when I lived here:

With her:

And sometimes him (just on the weekends and some school nights...don't tell BYU):

And we frequented the hot pots and sometimes frolicked around our house looking like this:

And AmberLee and I painted our room purple while listening to Wolf Parade.

Thank you 2007 for making my last year of college great. And thanks Wolf Parade for making a great soundtrack for it.

monochrome.

that's me. today. right this very second. i realized this when i was walking into the office this morning.

white shoes.

grey jeans.

blue and white t-shirt.

grey hoodie.

canvas bag w/ blue writing.

oops. i guess i really should get that full length mirror now...

summer extended.

that's right. summer can continue. i delayed my LSAT examination from september 26 to february 6. now we can all breath again and frolick in our swimsuits, at least until october...then it's study nation.

why the delay? per my discussions with recent law school grads (who are finding it difficult to get a job and pay off their loans), those who are in law school (who cannot find internships to save their lives) and those who are seeking enrollment (who tested in the top percentile and still cannot get in) , i've decided that it's best to just wait it out another year.

so seattle, you have me at least until fall 2011...and hopefully for longer depending on school.

dear american candy.

i wish you tasted better. everytime i grab a new flavor from our candy drawer at work, i am always disappointed. can we just start importing canadian kit kats please?

in other news...

i just made my first dentist appointment in over a year and a half. i know, i know. please stop rolling your eyes. it's just that when i imagine the dentist, i still envision steven martin's role in "little shop of horrors."

transfers

last week, hans, catherine and imri helped me with a project i was working on. we were using old polaroid 690 film, and halfway through imri began using the negative of the film to transfer the image on to notecards found in my car. i really love how they turned out:

i love how goopy the ink is.

in other news...

imri and i went thrifting today in search of the perfect chest of drawers for my room. while exploring, i came upon an old camera bag holding this:

it's in prime condition, and even still has its instruction manual and a box full of bulbs...AND for such a steal of a deal price! i think it was fate that this camera and i have found each other. so much fun will be had with this camera!!!