Haps of the week

Finishing up work projects before the end of the quarter

Finalizing the admission process

Happy hour at the Palomino with the girls

Good stories from the mouth of Paula Green

Breakfast date w/Mels at Alki Bakery

Trabant, a new favorite coffee shop in the U-District

Bad news immediately followed by good news

Random phone calls from good friends

A clean bill of health

Not missing the bus a single time, but nearly missing it several times

Meeting with new writing partner

Reading a worthwhile book and gaining new perspective

First Taco del Mar experience (I prefer Chipotle)

Hearing people's stories of discovery

Finding favorite new quote: "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." --Dr. Seuss

My latest triumph

Video games haven't been my thing for many years. I was about to start this post by saying, "Video games have never been my thing," but that would have been a blatant lie.

In the 8th grade (circa 1991-92), I was a Nintendo addict. I couldn't fall asleep at night because all I could see when I closed my eyes were Tetris pieces falling. (That was WIERD, by the way. But at least, I won when I played in my head.) I mastered Super Nintendo as well, at least the basic game with Mario & Luigi. We knew where all the little vines were to let you skip worlds and "SAVE THE PRINCESS." Wow, we were lame.

Who is "we?" We was my best friend, Gina, and sometimes our other friends...but always Gina & me. The very same Gina you 've read about on the blog who I have been reunited with here in Seattle.

Last night, Gina (circa 2008) invited me to hang out with her friends and guess what we did? We played video games. My, how we've grown. Anyone know about a game called "Rock Band" on Playstation? As you may have guessed, you create bands with whoever else is in the room with you. My character was Pegalicious (for obvious reasons), and I was a rocker guitarist. It's amazing how sexy I felt, just being a guitarist in a punk girl band on a video game. Mwah-ha-ha.

BUT, I am multi-talented, as we all know, so I forsook my guitar and took the vocal later in the evening. The vocal is basically karaoke. My song? "Wanted Dead or Alive" by the fabulous Bon Jovi. My score? 100%. Tony (the owner and definite expert of all things Playstation) stared at the screen. He had never seen someone score 100% on the vocal.

Should I contact Randy, Simon & Paula now? I could be the next American Idol.

The newest Mia Hamm

My friend Ashley invited me to play soccer today at Green Lake. After hemming & hawing about the decision (did I want to look like a fool or not?), I decided to go (look like a fool). Having never played soccer and not played any sport in a few years, I had zero gear. Ashley, who is 5'1" on a good day, loaned me her shin guards and Jason loaned me a red shirt so I could play on their team. And off we went.

Every Saturday at Green Lake, random people show up and spend about an hour learning/practicing soccer drills and then another hour scrimmaging each other. We arrived just as the drills were wrapping up, and solidified places with the "red people." They were lucky to have me.

As you might have guessed, it's rained quite a bit lately in Seattle and the field was not grass, but dirt...or as you probably put together already, mud. With nice, large puddles of water scattered about...one of which was strategically located in front of the goal I was supposed to be defending.

Everyone chipped in to help the new girl, constantly yelling little words of advice as we played. A few of them had accents so thick that I decided to just nod along and move whereever their fingers indicated they were saying they wanted me to go.

A tally of the scrimmage:
1 turned ankle
1 kick in the head
1 slide in the mud resulting in me "eating it" (several others did this as well)
3 defensive plays that earned me kudos from Jason
1 goal scored on me
Lots of romps in the aforementioned puddle
1 sore spot on my right lower back (Ash & I deduced this is what we use while kicking)
1 off-sides play called because the ref didn't see me and thought the other guy was off-sides
2 soaked feet (since I do not currently own cleats)

The ref came up to me after the game and tried to explain the off-sides thing to me. He said it was clear I was new. Awesome.

Musings from a muse

I burned my tongue today. Just the tip. Hurts like a mo-fo, though. And I didn't even burn it on something delicious. Boo.

My friend, Mark, is calling the NY governor the "Love Gov" due to his recent infamous news. Aurally, I appreciate this nickname. Visually, it drives me up the wall because it's not symmetrical. But if I say "Love Gove," it doesn't work. Of course, I could go all 7th grade on it and say "Luv Guv."

Each of the past 2 seasons on American Idol, in the first week of the top 12, exactly one person has forgotten the lyrics. And each of those two were promptly sent packing. But oh, that sweet 17-year old David Archuleta forgot his lyrics this week and was not only NOT sent home, but he didn't even make the bottom 3. That's my (slightly illegal, but whatever) boy.

I went out with this guy and he gave me a book to take with me based on a conversation we had. I assumed by giving me the book, I'd see him again. Clearly, I was mistaken. I guess I'm keeping the book. Or, if said fellow is reading this, you can appreciate the cleverness of my posting here and contact me for aforementioned book, or just another rendezvous.

I've been realizing how powerful my thoughts are, and how powerful I am to choose them. If I'm going to make up stories of interpretations based on things that happen, shouldn't I choose a story I like? I think so.

My friend, Ashley, introduced me to a cafe called The Grateful Bread. I love wit with words.

I go to Texas in less than 2 weeks. I am already fantasizing about my week on the beach. Another fantasy I have is of wearing flip flops. I am one pasty white girl right now. It was 41 degrees at the high today. Lame. Other fantasies re: Texas include...Chick-fil-a & Whataburger, putting my head on Grandma's lap, seeing friends who are my family, being so hot I'm sweating just standing still outside, Tex-Mex, the reunion of me & my swimsuit, and hearing "y'all" more often than I see a Starbucks.

Finally, stolen from Nicole, have you ever really wondered about the Stuff White People Like?

Wanna see the video?

Here's the video for "Falling Slowly"...

Once

The movie Once is a new favorite of mine. It has an absolutely incredible soundtrack, featuring the music of the film's two stars. One of the songs from the movie, "Falling Slowly," won the Oscar this year.

As I watched the movie, I started making up song titles to describe my life.

Hopeless Sigh
Retreat
Solo
Waiting for Warmth
The Irony of Feeling Detached
Melancholy of the Soul
Path to Nowhere
That One Friend
Becoming Nonconventional
Do You Speak Psychobabble?

Surreality

Things don't seem real right now. I feel like I'm walking around in this dream-like trance, a fog of sorts. I'm not sure what it's about. I am doing things I don't do, and not doing things I do. I mean, normally. So, I thought I would title the post surreality.

My grandma is safe and sound in Plano, TX now. The house is just a memory. But you know, it's okay for the house to be a memory. It's just brick (and some other stuff). What made it what it was is Grandma. And I still have her. So all is well.

I started a book today called The Female Brain. I'm already intrigued, and wonder what will happen to my convinced state of mind that says gender stereotypes are boo-hockey, and it's all sociocultural anyway. Ah yes, the old nature vs. nurture dichotomy...what ever will we do?

I'm eating Thai for dinner tonight, and that is always exciting. Thai good.