Seattle Rock City

Friday afternoon I got a phone call from a very excited husband.  He had just been offered 2 free tickets to see KISS in concert on Sunday night.  The way he was talking I thought he was going to tell me he'd won the lottery - he was THAT excited.  He was a HUGE fan of the band when he was growing up in Jordan and he'd always wanted to see them live.  As we'd made a pact at the beginning of the year not to go to any concerts this year with only a few specific exceptions, he hadn't even looked into getting tickets.  So when 2 came his way, he was over the moon.  I was more excited for the idea of having a quiet Sunday night, but he wanted me to experience it with him.  That and he couldn't think of anyone else who would want to join him.  I resisted.  But he pointed out the fact that it would surely be good blog fodder, and I relented a bit.  Ultimately I gave up my quiet and joined the KISS Army for an evening.

The opening act was a band called Buckcherry.  They've had a few moderately successful hits, but nothing we were in any way interested in catching.  So we showed up about a half hour after they started and just ended up standing around the hallways, waiting for the intermission and getting in some good people watching.  When the lights went up and the switchover started, we headed for our seats.  Let me tell ya, I don't think I've had seats that good for any concert in my life.  If only I could get that close for next year's Bon Jovi or U2 concerts (they were on the excepted list, by the way :)).  Anyway, we were in the section closest to Stage Left, about 4 rows up.  Ever been to a concert and had to sit far away and felt jealous of the jerks who scored tickets right up against the stage and hogged the entire band's attention?  Yeah, that was our section last night.  Crazy good seats.  Whenever the flames would shoot up, it was so hot I worried my eyebrows were going to singe. 

I really only recognize about 3, maybe 4 KISS songs.  But that just allowed me to share my attention with the crazy show going on in the audience.  Yes, plenty of face painters.  Many of them children.  Lots of children there with their parents.  A cross-generational love of rock - a beautiful thing, I'm sure.  There were a few in full KISS costume and they were swarmed with people who wanted their pics taken with them.  There was one guy I so desperately wanted a picture of - wearing his KISS t-shirt, face painted, but his arm in a sling.  Clearly injured in the line of duty.

One guy sitting a few rows in front of us was cracking me up.  He was wearing a bowling-style shirt with KISS on it and he kept pulling at it whenever Paul Stanley walked over and looked in his direction, as if to say, "Look how big a fan I am?  I have a shirt with your picture on it!  Pick me out of the crowd to stand (literally about 3 feet away) in the "special fans" section (more about that in a moment)!"  At one point, Paul sort of mocked him pulling at his spandexy strap (can't call it a shirt) , as if to say, "So what?"  Or, perhaps more appropriately, "Perhaps if you were about 30 years younger, female and had bigger boobs."  But this guy's love was true.  And his exuberance was real.  Do you know that old SNL skit where Molly Shannon plays the woman who jumps around yelling "I'm 50!  50 years old!  And I can jump, and I can stretch and I can KICK!"?  That was this guy.  He kept attempting to replicate the band members' jumps with their guitars (which, I must admit, they still carry off successfully, in spite of their advanced rocker age).  It was really funny, take my word for it.  Though I give him props for devotion.

But perhaps the most interesting phenomenon is one that surely has occurred at every rock concert since the beginning of time, I've just never sat close enough to witness it.  I am referring to that of the hoochie.  The female who has dressed and/or acted SO SLUTTY that she has gotten the band's attention and has been singled out.  One girl sitting a few rows in front of us walks in wearing a pink mesh shirt and a black sort of bustier/vest/corset thing.  But the true advantage she gains in this contraption is that it buttons just under her boobs.  So her ta-tas are totally out there for the world to see, covered only by completely see-through pink mesh.  She has cleverly covered her nipples with star-shaped pasties.  So, so classy.  But totally successful, as about 2 songs into the set, Paul sees her and stares and nods.  About 2 minutes later, a staff member walks down the aisle to pull her and her friend out of the crowd.  About 2 minutes after that they show up below us in what is apparently the area for the "chosen." They joined other classy gals and got to watch the rest of the concert right in front of the stage.  The seat she started out in was probably better viewing of the whole show, actually, but it's about the prestige, isn't it?  There was also another upstanding gal in front of us who, I believe, flashed her boobs right to Paul (he hung out on our side of the stage for most of the show) and he was totally into it.  He motioned to her to rub up on her hot female friend and they grinded and spanked each other, and all the while her male friend (I assume it was her boyfriend) was egging it on.  The funny thing is - I don't think the boyfriend thought it was hot as much as he hoped they'd get pulled into the "chosen" area and maybe he could go with them.  So very entertaining.

What else?  Oh, there were a few points when the entire band would leave the stage except for one of them and this person would give us a solo performance while the others got a break.  One of the guys (not an original member of the band) did a guitar solo with a guitar that shot exploding flames out of it.  Pretty impressive.  But the last time he did it he aimed it up toward the ceiling of the stage on the side where we were sitting and hit a light fixture above the corner of the stage.  It hung by a cord for a moment before crashing to the stage.  It very nearly took out a security guard.  Though he didn't seem phased.  My heart was racing so hard as I thought for sure I was about to witness the top story on the night's news.  But now I'm wondering if it was somehow all part of the show.  Perhaps I'll never know.  If anyone reading this happens to know if this is a regular occurrence at a KISS concert, please fill me in. :)

Paul Stanley showing off his sextagenarian goods

Gene Simmons sticking out his tongue at us

After the pyrotechnics, the fake blood and the flights over the stage and the audience, Z had gotten his fill.  And in a fashion more in keeping with the age of most of the crowd (who were apparently opting to ignore the fact that they had to wake up and go to work the next morning), he opted to leave before the encore had ended so we could beat the traffic.  He had realized his dream.  And we were home by 11:15.  Rock.  On.

A Brush With Greatness. And Hotness.

Z informs me last week that he heard where 2 of our favorite Sounders players, Kasey Keller and Freddie Ljunberg, were going to be signing autographs at the Home Depot by our house at 5:30 on October 22nd. We make plans then and there to leave work early so we can attend. Z buys a mini Sounders soccer ball for them to sign. We don (is that the right spelling?) our Sounders attire in the AM and head over yesterday at 4:30pm.

The line was really long – looped around most of the inner perimeter of the store – by the time we got there a little before 5. But we finally got up to the front and got signatures about 6:30 I think. Let me just say this – Ljunberg is hot and I’ve always known that. But there is something about him in person that makes him HOTTTTTTT! Seriously. First off, he was wearing this nice white shirt and vest – so hot. And then we get up to the table and he looks up at me with a big ol' smile and says in his great little Swedish accent “Hello! How are you doing?” Like he genuinely cares and hasn’t just said the same thing to 300 people already (which I’m sure he has). I say “I’m good! How are you?” But before he could really answer the stupid woman in charge of keeping things moving snaps at me “what are you having signed?!” to which I point at the scarf (that I’m having signed for Z since he’s getting the soccer ball signed) that Kasey was already signing at that very moment. She then realizes that she probably sounded pretty bitchy and says “Oh, ok. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t miss out” or something like that. Yeah, well guess what Lady. Now I have missed out. Missed out on a brief conversation and possibly deep, spiritual connection with an underwear model. Not cool.

And then I really didn’t get a chance to say anything to Kasey. Although I feel we must’ve had a subconscious connection, as we both wore our Seahawks hats yesterday. Kasey looked pretty hot, too, I must say. He was kinda scruffy and was wearing glasses – a feature that I have liked about guys since I was in highschool. Glasses get me. Anyway, we did smile at each other at least and Z and I thanked him as we took our stuff. The girl in front of Z was hogging Kasey and after he signed our ball the chick makes like she’s going to pick it up. Z grabs it and says “Um, that’s mine.” To which Kasey says “Sorry. Man, I don’t know” with a sort of shrug as if to say “it’s chaos. I don’t know what’s going on” in a funny sort of way so he and Z share a chuckle I guess. I don’t know, I was too busy bonding with Ljunberg and gettin’ ready to rumble with the hooker who interrupted us.

So anyway, we got the signatures on a ball and on Z’s scarf. I realized afterward that if I’d been thinking, I would’ve printed out pics that I’ve taken of them at the games and had them each sign them. D’oh! Maybe next time, I guess.

For your viewing pleasure, please enjoy these rushed-so-not-great-but-passable photos taken on my iphone:

"Camel is EVERYTHING!"

Snuggies are funny. I laugh at the commercials and I laugh when I see them at the store. But I've gotta admit, as one who is always cold during the fall/winter/spring in Seattle since it's hella expensive to turn on the electric heat, I kinda want one.

So I hear rumor that you can find Snuggies now that have your favorite team's logo on them. Sweet. Thanks to Google I quickly find a Seattle Seahawks "blanket snuggie." No, this is not a legitimate Snuggie. It's a knockoff. I'm apparently a Snuggie snob now, as I found myself thinking "I don't want to fork out the cash if it's not a real Snuggie." Seriously. Then my train of thought had me wondering if they came with the logos of colleges, because a BSU Snuggie would be pretty sweet, too, and could double as a Christmas gift for a few folks on my list. That's right, I said it. So I return to trusty Google and am informed that not only do such Snuggies exist, but they are LEGITIMATE Snuggies! Made by the real Snuggie company that started it all. Oh, the glory of it all.

For those of you not familiar with the many options presented to a shopper when deigning to purchase a Snuggie, I can tell you there are many. At the grocery last week I saw the "Designer prints" of "leopard" and "zebra." I also saw the standard blue Snuggie, as well as the ever-so-feminine pink Snuggie. There is also a child's size Snuggie and, though it was not available at Albertson's (or perhaps sold out), there is a Snuggie for dogs. Brilliant. What dog wouldn't love it? According to the website, you can also get a green snuggie. You can even custom design your Snuggie to say whatever you want! Oh, the possibilities.

So to summarize - there are 3 colors - pink, blue and green. And there are "Designer Prints." That's ridiculous in and of itself. But here's where I started laughing: On the website, there is an ad for all of the "Designer Prints." Apparently, Albertson's was not offering all of the options, and the one they were missing is the one I probably would've bought for the pure hilarity. The 3rd print: "camel."

You may be asking yourself, "what exactly does a camel print look like?" Well I can tell you. It's brown. That's it. It's a brown Snuggie. But I guess some genius at the Snuggie corporation decided that it would not sell as well as the green, blue or pink Snuggies if it was just sold as a brown Snuggie. But if you market this gem as a "Designer print" and call it "camel," get ready for them to fly off the shelves. Again, they weren't at Albertson's, so perhaps this was true and I just arrived too late.

Anyway, Z and I have a long-standing joke about camels being "everything." We were once watching some travel show and the host was interviewing a Bedouin and he was describing how the camel is everything: "Camel is shelter. Camel is transport. Camel is everything." (To be honest, I don't remember if those were the examples he gave. We've added so many things onto the list over the years that I don't remember what the original definition of "everything" was, but you get the idea). Anyway, it is now official. Camel is Snuggie. Camel IS everything.(Thanks again to Google, who supplied me with this random photo of 3 random dudes modeling 3 Snuggie options, most notably, "camel.")

New and Improved! Well...new.

Oooooh! Ahhhh! Look at the pretty new colors! Until I learn enough about html to actually know how to create my own layout here, I'm kinda stuck with whatever generic layouts Blogger gives me to choose from. For giggles I decided to check it out and see if they had anything new for me to pick today, perhaps giving me inspiration for a new post. And look - new colors! I mean, it may not even be a new layout design option, but for whatever reason, the darker colors spoke to me today. Perhaps it's my mood. Or maybe the weather. Whatever, now the background is blue. It's exciting stuff, I know.

However, still no inspiration to write about anything even remotely interesting. I'll keep trying.

Oh, and if anyone reading this has any suggestions for topics they'd like me to tackle, I'm open to suggestions...

Walkin' the Walk (or something like that)

Wow, get me, posting a blog update only 11 days after the last one. Don't get used to it.

Earlier this month I got an email from one of the various progressive websites that I subscribe to, asking me to pledge to attend at least one Town Hall discussion with a representative during August before they all go back to Washington. In spite of the fact that all conflict makes my heart rate jump and often leads to hyperventilation - even when I'm not directly involved in it - I made this pledge. I feel like I don't have full right to be as vocally supportive of Health Care Reform if I'm not really walking the walk. However, I then found that nearly all of the meetings with my rep were either during a week day when I couldn't attend because I had to work or in towns outside Seattle that weren't particularly easy to get to. I've always been incredibly honest (some might say to a fault at times) and it was worrying me that I may have made a promise via the interwebs that I was not going to be able to fulfill. Then, with just a week to go in the month, I learned of a Town Hall that was happening on a Sunday and in a town just outside of Seattle. Totally do-able. So I sucked up my hesitation, packed a paper bag to breathe into and headed out.

While my revolutionary husband would've liked to attend with me, he had to work. So I was joined with 2 of our best friends. I was grateful to have them with me. So we get in line about 2 hours before it's set to start. We then learn that the residents of this representative's congressional district were to be allowed in first and anyone else would be allowed in later. We figured, even though they are technically not in his congressional district, my friends live less than a mile away from us so we would just break the "rules" and they'd go in with me anyway. But at the front there appeared to be a sort of sign-in sheet. They figured they'd be found out, so I went in with the aim of saving seats and they waited outside. Turns out all the check-in folks asked was my zip code, which is the same as theirs, so they totally could've come in with me (this was one of those times when that honesty can be a detriment). But by the time we figured this all out, it was too late, they'd already been branded as "outsiders" and I ventured in on my own for over an hour of solo people watching. They finally got in right before it started, though only one of them could fit in the crowded bleacher space I'd been saving (I suck at saving seats apparently) so we were separated. But at least we all got in.

About 15 minutes before the meeting starts, people start marching around the gym with their signs, eliciting cheers and/or boos from others in the place who agreed or disagreed with what they said. My adrenaline shoots up but I do some deep breathing and try to stay calm. Even when the guy with the "I like my health care - buy your own" (seriously) sign walks by. Breathe, Devin.

People continue to pour in and by the time it starts our view is nearly completely blocked by people who had no seats to sit in. Here's a crappy iPhone shot of my view before it was totally blocked:

Representative Jay Inslee, who I already really like, enters and commences to give me even more reasons to like him. He introduces us to a local 4th grader who leads us all in the Pledge of Allegiance. He then asks us all to turn to our left and shake our neighbor's hand and asks that if our neighbor says something later that we disagree with, that we remember that handshake. He then starts with a brief powerpoint presentation highlighting the FACTS of our current health care system, where it is heading, and how reform would/should change it. There are a few outbursts by people who are obviously against the reform, but each time it happens he reminds us all that the sooner he can be allowed to get through it the sooner he can get to our questions. He also later thanks the 99% of us who are being respectful and allowing our neighbors to speak. Nice touch.

The questions begin. Before it started, anyone who wanted to ask a question could put their name and their city on a card and place it in one of 3 boxes - FOR Health care Reform, AGAINST Health care Reform or UNDECIDED/regarding another issue. Cards were then drawn out of the boxes and those people got to ask their questions or make their comments, so all "sides" were given an opportunity to speak. For the most part, people would let others speak and Jay was given a chance to respond. People would applaud and cheer when they agreed with what was said. But every so often someone would say something that would spark loud LOUD boos and heckles. I'd be willing to bet that if a poll was taken on every single person in that room, there were more of us in support of the bill. But those who are against it are loud. I don't know how that always seems to be true, but it does. While it wasn't to the point that I've seen it at other Town Halls (on the news), it was still a bit overwhelming at times. And each time it happened I just took a breath, took comfort in the fact that I was at least sitting with people who feel similarly to me and remembered that I am not alone. We stayed for the hour and a half that it was scheduled for and then needed to leave as one of my friends had a class he needed to get to. I was fine cutting out when we did, particularly so I could get back to a stabilized pulse rate. I'd been there, clapped and cheered my support and fulfilled my promise.

I should note right now that I realize this post is probably reading rather incoherently. I'm still processing it all. I'm trying to figure out if anything was really accomplished by it all. I hope so. I'm glad I was there to at least act as a head in the crowd who was cheering on my representative's support of the bill. I'm happy I got to hear my Rep speak and see him diffuse a frequently tense situation with honesty (if he didn't know the answer to something he made sure his staff had that person's contact information and he would look into that specific issue and keep in touch with that person) and at times, humor. There were some good points made - many by Inslee and also by a few people asking questions. But mainly, it was a bunch of people who had already made up their minds and didn't really want to work with the other "side." ("Side" Note: I keep putting "side" in quotes because I hate that things have become so contentious between people in this country that we are no longer constituents but are really now relegated to "sides." Us against them.) It makes me sad. But I can't say I'm any different. I don't want to negotiate. I want Health Care Reform now. I want a Public Option. I want Socialism, dammit! So I'm no different than anyone else on the other "side" who won't hear the other "side's" thoughts, am I?

It's pretty great that we live in a country where we really do get the chance to voice our opinions on issues. And regardless of how much I disagree with many people in attendance today (particularly those who showed up there - as they do anywhere there's a political discussion - with giant, grossly inappropriate posters of graphic, awful pictures of aborted fetuses and make everything an issue about abortion) I do appreciate that people are taking an active interest in the workings of their country. Apathy really is the biggest enemy in a democracy, right? I say this every election day that rolls around and I get so frustrated with those who are given the voice to vote and don't use it.

But honestly, with some issues, I just wish the other "side" would stop caring.

Complete and Utter Randomness

It has been forever and a half since I've written anything in this blog. I keep thinking that I need to write about a funny experience, but I haven't had any funny experiences. But I feel I owe it to my loyal followers (all 2 of you) to give you something. So I've decided to compile a list of totally random things - events, trivia about my life, whatever thought I'm having as I type - exciting stuff. But I needed a picture so that when my blog listing shows up on Emi's blog, there will be a picture attached and people won't be able to ignore it. So I decided to google images for "random" and use whatever came up first. See above. Pretty, huh? But the thing that came up 2nd was just as pretty, just in a different way. Cuz I'm a giver - and a fan - I'll share for your viewing pleasure. See below:

Literally, as I was typing the above, Moby jumped up on the table and started sniffing a flower we have in a vase. Here is a picture of said flower, courtesy of my handy dandy iPhone that conveniently sits beside me: Notice the...what are they called? My middle school science knowledge is failing me...stamen? The little antennae things that are covered in a sort of orange powder in the middle of the flower. Notice those. Moby sniffed them. He now looks like this:
No, he doesn't naturally have orange powdery splotches on his face. Although I guess you could say it was nature that gave him those splotches just now. He now looks like he got into a bag of Cheetos.

Mobes is handy like that. Ask for randomness, he's happy to provide.

Ok. What else have I got...

* The whole health care reform issue gets me worked up like little else. Just typing this gets my blood pressure rising. There is no debate - our current system is in dire need of reform. Anyone who disagrees is wrong. I generally try to be open minded and at least try to see the other side's point of view. I can't do it on this one. I've spent enough of my life without health insurance and plenty of health problems to know that the current system isn't working for anyone but the insurance company executives. If you disagree, do not post something about your disagreement here. I have no tolerance for it.

* I have awesome friends. Examples:

1) I arrived at work today to find a voicemail message from one such friend's little one, singing Yellow Submarine to me. It's on my work voicemail so I can now listen to it whenever I need a smile. Such a great way to start my day.
2) Another took a quick trip to a bakery at Pike Place Market today and brought me back one of the best desserts I've ever eaten. An amazing brownie with cream cheese frosting, drizzled with a sort of MagicShell chocolate icing. So fantastically good I don't care how many calories it transferred directly to my ass.

3) Yet another sent me a coupon for a free taco! Not a discounted taco, a FREE taco! So freakin' sweet!

That's just a small sampling. If you're somehow reading this and not noticing anything about one of the good deeds that you did for me, don't think it went unnoticed. This is all random, remember?

* I've been taking the bus a lot lately, as Z got a new job that often requires him to work a bit later. I keep expecting more funny bus stories to happen to me. So far, not much. I guess that in and of itself is a story. Although I did have a guy wave his hand in my general direction to get my attention and after mumbling his request for some spare change once I took out my earphones and leaned in close, I had to be honest and tell him I had no change on me. He stared at me with disappointed eyes. Not so much disappointed that I wasn't giving him money, but disappointed that I was lying. But I actually wasn't! I had zero dollars on me! I didn't appreciate that false judgment.

* I have an awesome husband. Prime example: a few weeks ago he and I and a friend of ours were walking down the street from the car to a Sounders game when a woman came up to us and - again - asked for a few bucks. She said she's pregnant and usually goes to the rescue mission, but it was closed on that particular day. We didn't have any small bills and aren't really financially comfortable enough to give out twenties, so rather than blow her off (and let's be honest, many of us would), he invited her to walk with us to a store on the way where he could buy her something to eat. That's pretty fantastic and I have to admit it's probably not something I would've even thought to do.

* Speaking of the Sounders, there are some people that sit behind us at the games (we have season tickets so we're in the same seats around the same people each time) who seem to be unable to handle more than a minute without the sound of their own voices. They are always saying things that are totally obvious. Why waste your breath? An example: One game was particularly aggravating and the crowd was calling for a lot of fouls that weren't getting called. Mr. Obvious says "The refs are getting a lot of help today." Wow. Thanks for pointing that out. Of course they aren't talking to us, but in rather close quarters, as they are, we hear everything they say. So now it has become code for me and Z. Whenever we hear something obvious, "The refs are getting a lot of help today." Use it. Spread it. Let's make this big.

* It is 10:13pm. I should go to bed.

Sometimes I Miss the Subway...

Since I've documented my past bus issues on this blog, I felt it my civic responsibility to document my latest aggravation. For any readers in the Seattle area, the geography will make more sense. For anyone else, just take my word for it.

I left work at 3:30 to catch the bus to my therapist’s office by Pioneer Square (turned out to be a rather fortuitous destination). Naturally, the storm that had been threatening all day decided to hit about 5 minutes before I left, so that was lovely. Fortunately it was just sprinkling at the time. Anyhoo, the last time I bussed it over there from work I took a bus from the bus tunnel transit stop. But yesterday I saw that a bus arrived at 3:41 at Stewart and Yale, so I thought I’d take that instead since it was a closer stop and I'm lazy. So I walk over there and realize that the usual bus stop is closed because of the construction that has thrown our morning commute off, too. Damn construction. So I look at the sign that says where the stop has moved. It’s now in front of Play it Again Sports, across the street. So I walk over there and wait. There’s another guy over there waiting, too. Eventually, a bus shows up, but it’s not the one I’m waiting for. The other guy goes to get on and says “this one is going downtown if that’s where you’re headed” and I say “thanks. That’s ok, I can see my bus right there.” It was just coming around the corner. So this bus pulls away and I go and stand right at the curb and wait for mine to pull up. I notice that it’s not getting into the right lane to pick me up and there’s no reason for it not to. Traffic moves forward and he still doesn’t move to the right. I then realize that he’s not going to effing stop! So I’m trying to figure out what to do and I consider just walking across the street and knocking on the door as he’s stopped at the light. But I hesitated too long and a big ol' semi truck pulls up between me and the bus and I can’t do it. Damn my slow decision-making skills and fear of breaking the rules! I’m freaking out because my appointment is in 15 minutes and I now have no idea how to get there. So I start booking it down the street in the direction that the damn bus is headed, hoping maybe I can catch up to it at some later stop. Well of course I can’t. So I reach a bus stop further down Stewart where a bus is loading up a bunch of people and I ask the driver how far into downtown he goes (it’s one of the fancy transit busses that was headed to Tacoma). The (blessedly) friendly driver says “2nd Ave” and I say “close enough” and hop on (fortunately my decision-making ability kicked in at that moment at least). I hear another rider ask a few stops down how close he gets to Safeco Field and he says he goes to Washington, so I’m thinking this should be perfect. Well after stopping for what felt like every bus rider in Seattle along the way, we finally reach the last stop on the ride free zone, 2nd and Washington. I leap off and finally luck is on my side cuz the building I’m headed for is at 1st and Washington and I’m only about 7 minutes late for my appointment. My therapist was really cool about it, so it was fine. Just so damn aggravating because for the 2nd time, a bus has complete blown past me! What the hell??!!!!

But my bus woes don't end there. So my appointment is over and I start to head for the bus home. Well as you may know, streets around here are confusing as hell and stop and start all over the place. Each time I’ve gone to this bus stop I think I’ve taken a different walking route to get there. Apparently I took the wrong one this time because I’m walking up 1st, looking for James St., and it’s not showing up. I keep walking and walking and it’s not there. So I finally think “screw it, I’ll just walk up to 3rd Ave and pick up the 358 at any of its stops cuz I know it stops all along 3rd.” So I pack my provisions and pick up my sherpa guides and make the huge hike up to 3rd (I despise the hill from 1st to 3rd) and hit a bus stop just a minute or so before the 358 arrives. I’m proud of myself at this moment. Yay me.

So I get on and there isn’t the usual plethora of empty seats to choose from, since I’m getting on further down than I usually do. So the only empty row I see is in the back of the bus. I grab the seat and as I’m sitting, I notice Crazy across the aisle. Son of a bitch! This woman is flailing her arms and legs and chanting incoherent words and sounds. Ugh. So I put on my headphones and crank up the music and hope that she tires herself out sooner rather than later. First I tried Jack Johnson, but that was too quiet and mellow to drown her out. So I went with the Foo Fighters. Even that had to be cranked up louder and fast forwarded through a bit because the beginning of some of the songs were just too damn quiet to drown out the crazy. A few people sat down next to me and I was thankful for the buffer, but both times they only stayed there briefly before moving up to some less crazy-saturated seat a stop or two down the line. After about 20 minutes of it, I notice that there are some open seats that I can move to so I do. I can still hear her, but not as loud and her crazy dance isn’t in my peripheral, distracting me from my book (that is, naturally, in the climax of the story so is particularly interesting right now, making it even more irritating that I'm being distracted). I am finally able to hop off the bus at my stop, about 45 minutes after getting on. And she never stopped. I’m not sure if she was crazy or on copious amounts of drugs or both. Still, as insanely annoying as she was, I couldn’t help but be a little jealous of her energy level. Cuz I was exhausted.

So I’m now walking home the few blocks from the stop and of course the weather has taken this moment to start torrentially raining with hurricane force winds. Of course I’m exaggerating, but it was really sucktastic – not just the drizzle I dealt with earlier in the afternoon. So by the time I finally got home I was cold, wet, exhausted and irritated.

And we were out of chocolate in the house, which just made matters worse.

I think it may be important to note at this point that I really am not as negative a person as this blog must make me sound. I just find rants easier and more interesting to type. I'll try to work on more positive experiences to add. And maybe my therapist can help me with my negativity. I'll just need to take a different bus to get to her next time or it may be a lost cause.

Why Did the Sounders Fans Cross the Road?

Last night, Z and I went (as proud Season Ticket Holders) to the inaugural Sounders FC game. Growing up in a country outside the US, my husband is understandably a HUGE fan of the World's Game. And I enjoy watching the game, as well as the hot guys who tend to play it. We were both very excited.

So first and foremost, let me say how much that game kicked ass! Our seats were on the end of the field where we were right next to the end where we scored 2 of the 3 goals, and since they switch sides in the 2nd half, we got to see all of our goal keeper’s amazing saves up close, too! It was so great! My voice went a bit hoarse but Z sounds like he was out all night drinking last night from all the shouting and cheering and celebrating. It only barely sprinkled on us a little bit, so the rain wasn’t a problem after all, which was awesome. And talk about great seats! I was imagining what it must be like to sit there during a Seahawks game. We were in the lowest section, closest to the field, not our usual Seahawks seats in the 2nd to the last row in the tippy top of the stadium. So cool! And we found parking in a lot not too far away for only $5. AND by the time we got back to the car and drove home, we were home by 9 – so it wasn’t even a late night! Such a great game to start the team off with – a 3-0 shutout of a team that was in the MLS Cup Championship game last season!

That was all great and I am not going to let the earlier evening’s unpleasantness overshadow it. However, it bears mention.

So we’re walking from the parking lot to the stadium, down around Pioneer Square. I’m following Z and he decides to cross at a crosswalk where the light is still green but the crosswalk signal is blocked by a bus (from our angle at least – you could see it if we’d waited to start the cross until we were all the way at the edge of the corner, but we didn’t). I figured the signal was probably blinking and we should just wait, but Z starts to quickly walk across the street, so I follow. It wasn’t like there was a long period of time where we thought it over, it all happened in a fraction of a second, ya know? Well another thing blocked by the bus was the traffic cop who was standing on the corner there. Great. He waves us to keep crossing after we’ve started and once we get across he asks to see both of our IDs since we were jaywalking. He then proceeds to talk in an extremely condescending tone to my husband, explaining how we should not have crossed the street when the light was flashing. He was really the stereotype of the asshole cop who seems to need to talk down to people to make himself feel powerful. He was a prick, no doubt about it. Well as you may know, my husband does not like to be talked down to. In fact, he refuses. I appreciate this fact about him. However I disagree with the ways he tends to express his unhappiness. He ends up getting in an argument with the cop and finally just says “Fine, you know what, nevermind. Just give me the ticket so we can get going.” To which the a-hole replies “Alright then, I can do that.”

Lovely.

So we have to follow him over to his car (he’s still holding our licenses so it’s not like we could run) and he proceeds to write out Zaki a ticket for $56. For jaywalking. (For the record, I asked Z later and this is apparently less money than the ticket he got a few months back for speeding 5 whole miles over 60 on I-5 - yes, he was going a whopping 65 on the freeway. So that’s something I suppose.) Once he’s done writing the ticket the jerk asks me if I would be willing to listen to him or if I’d like a ticket, too. I said I’d be fine to just listen to him. And then this jackass proceeds to go over the EXACT SAME things that he was just saying to Z. As if I hadn’t heard him. Again, he just needed to exert his power or something. I just nodded and stayed silent until he gave me my license back so we could get out of there without owing another 56 damn dollars.

As you can imagine, this ruined our moods for a while and we really had to struggle to forget about it.

Anyway, Z says he’s going to fight it. I imagine if he does go in they will reduce the fine but since we were, technically, jaywalking, they won’t throw out the ticket.

So let that be a lesson to you: I had always looked at the flashing crosswalk sign as a signal to hurry up and cross cuz your time was about up. Apparently it REALLY means that you need to stay put so that cars can turn.

Oh, and if you’re gonna stand your ground with an asshole traffic cop, whatever you do, don’t dare him to give you a ticket.

Grey Street

We live in Seattle. We have for the better part of 5 and 1/2 years. So the fact that Winters are long and grey here is not news to us. But for whatever reason, maybe the fact that we got a ton of snow a few weeks ago, this winter is seeming even more grey than usual. Example:

When we went out to the car this morning at 7:15 to go to work and it was still kinda dark out, I looked up at the sky and said “Oh my gosh! Look at the sky!”
Z:“What?”
D: “There are no clouds! It’s clear!”
Z: “No it’s not.”
D: “Yes it is! Look at the moon!”
Z: (after looking at the moon) “Holy crap! It is!”
D: “It’s been so long you’ve forgotten what it looks like, haven’t you?!”



Now at the time, we laughed. It's still funny. But it's also sad, cuz it really is true. The clouds don't have any definition that show where the breaks of sky are and where the clouds start. It's just a solidly grey sky, all the time. But this morning, there were no clouds! We could see Mount Rainier as we drove down I-5! And as the sun came up, it stayed that way!



For about an hour.



And ever since, this has been the view from outside my office window:

Granted, this was taken with my phone. Through a window. So the quality is bound to be bad. But honestly, it's a pretty accurate representation of what it looks like.

My Seattle Winter mantra: Remember the summer. Hold on for the summer.

Baby Love

(If you're for some reason reading this post and wondering what the heck I'm talking about - there was originally a pic here of me and my beautiful newborn nephew. At the request of his parents, I've removed the pic. But if you know me and wanna see the pic, shoot me an email :). And just trust that he's the cutest thing EVER.)

I'm sorry, but could this kid BE any cuter???!!! No, no he could not. For anyone reading this who doesn't already know (although I don't know who that would be), this beautiful specimen of perfection is my new nephew, Eli Benjamin. Sweetest. Baby. Ever. And no, I'm not biased.

Meeting him last week really got the biological clock ticking. I mean, I just celebrated the Big 3-0 so I'm not getting any younger. But while my previous concern about having kids was whether I could handle it or not, now it is whether I could handle moving past the newborn phase. Seriously. Holding Eli is my new very favorite thing in the world. I've held newborns before, but there was just something about having him sleep on my chest the way he did - I don't know. And even the few times that he did cry, I wasn't bothered at all! That shocked me about myself, but I think it may have been because he was truly upset about something (hungry, wet) and not just screaming cuz he needed a nap. Cuz when he needed a nap, he just fell asleep! Brilliant! (I'm looking at you, toddlers! Take note!) So how do you still tolerate your kids when they get older and start to scream for no reason and talk back and you are left to think back to how sweet they were when they were a week old? How does that not just devastate you? I mean, I'm not deluded enough to think that my kids are going to be as angellic as I was as a child (right, Mom?). And if they have even a fraction of the opinionated, stubborn personality of their mother and father, Z and I are doomed.

So until I've reconciled this within myself, I'm opening myself up to anyone who may not care for the newborn stage. I find it hard to imagine, but apparently there are those who find it exhausting and look forward to their kids being able to do things for themselves. So they can drop the kid off with me and I'll take care of them like they're my own. Then, as soon as they start thinking and doing for themselves, back to biological mom and dad they can go. Easy, right?

I'm only partially kidding, by the way.

But seriously, what is cuter than this???:

(Sorry, the pic was removed - but take my word for it)

NOTHING! That's what!