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Riley & Mt. Rainier

{ 11:02, 2008-May-16 } { 1 comments } { Link }

It's so, so, so warm today! It's like 90* or something, that's unheard of! It's about time, I love it! I go outside and it feels.. nice!

My parents were here a few weeks ago to visit for spring. It snowed while they were here, which they found really disturbing. I found it a little odd myself, because it was mid April and all- but I still find it a bit fascinating. They're from Jersey, they didn't appreciate it at all, they were freezing the whole time they were here. I'm proud to say that I held up better than they did.

My parents came to visit, persuaded me to get 'my own dog' while they were here. Originally, the plan was to pick up the ones back home, but my dad's statement of "I just don't think it's the best idea, I'd prefer you look into leaving them with us and maybe getting... a new pet" changed that. If you don't know, my dad, to me, is the smartest man alive. I realize how much of him is me, and how much wiser he is for the added thirty years, so generally- I listen to him. That said- this is RILEY (an Roo the kangaroo):

So, a little about Riley- he is mine by way of a family that has a new infant kid, he is three years old, not well trained in anything other than waiting until I get home to potty (thank God!), he sheds like a bastard, he likes to chase his tail and he walks around in a circle before sitting down every time. Also, whenever I put on my shoes, or pick up a jacket, this is where he goes and he waits there until I take him out, even if it's taking me a while.

I still miss my other dogs, he's nowhere near as entertaining or awesome as them but- he tries, I guess.

Speaking of my dogs back home- I'm trying to put together a week long vacation for the 4th of July, but I need to find a dog-sitter. He's going to make vacationing a little bit more difficult. :)

Last weekend, I went on a road trip with the dog. We went down to Mt. Rainier and just hung out for a while. There's this little town/city called Eatonville on the way up there, and we stopped to walk around this little park they had for a bit up there.

It was a really weird place, I thought. It had a little lake in the back, and a huge playground, and a skate park. That's a bit much for a park compared to what I'm used to. There was this grass field with the whole wagon thing there on one end, and a trail in back with weird plants and flowers and a little creek or something. And then to the other side of the water there was this big ol' creepy looking metal contraption that.. I'm still not really sure about. It was a neat little place, there were bathrooms, and places for the dog to do some business, and that's what mattered most, at the time.

Mt. Rainier was interesting when we got up there too. The temperature there was was about 40*, so it dropped like twenty degrees in a half hour!

I didn't take too many pictures up there because it was cold. Also- with the little bit of snow on the ground the dog's feet were a disaster, my car soon became a disaster, and by the second time we got out of the car it was like- everything was such a mess I just kept forgetting to grab the camera. Plus, gloves make that kind of shit hard. I thought Mt. Rainier was pretty cool. We only stayed about two hours, it was kind of late when we got there and I was just hanging out with the dog. Maybe next time I'll be inclined to stay longer and explore a little more if I have some company.

On the way back, I passed this fantastic little sight of some deer hanging out on the road. I thought that was cool, it's not everyday you're little Phoenix dwelling kid gets to see something like that!

My favorite part of the whole trip was on the way home, through a little break in the trees I saw this awesome spot...

I have no idea what this place was, but I thought it was pretty awesome. It stole the whole trip! I guess it's just some other lake and that all the water was out so it revealed all the tree stumps underneath. I want to have a picnic there. It was really muddy, but it was a semi-wet day, and regardless, Riley and I had a great time running around down there just checking out the place.

:)

I think this weekend another trip is in order. I don't know where I want to go, but I'm sure that I'll come up with something. I was thinking going up to Canada. Gas is more expensive than it's ever been in my driving life, but it's worth spending the money on that compared to driving to the city and spending the money going out, as far as I'm concerned. Actually, I'm probably saving money just because going to the city always ends up being more expensive than it should be.

Also, it's my brother's birthday and I think that's cool.

True Stories

{ 11:44, 2008-May-11 } { 2 comments } { Link }

Wow- slacker!

I was going to put in a full-fledged update, really, but photobucket is currently taking a good day or so to upload my new, fun, photos. I'm going to put it off until tomorrow or.... ya. I thought, in the mean time, I share some of the sheer nonsense I've been up to.

Basically, I've been writing a lot of brain-dead crap that humors me. Very short, simple, easy to digest, maybe you'll laugh or realize how pathetic I am, either way- it's sure to be a step in the right direction. :p

ZOMBIES

On a recent vacation to see me my dad left me a note that includes a line reading "Watch out for zombies!". My first thought was good, at least he 'gets' it. I realized a few hours later that he was probably just trying to humor me.

I'm twenty-six years old.

I'm truly disappointed by that thought.

ALCOHOLICS

I find it fascinating that more bands that employ the JUG as an instrument didn't originate at college parties.

MEMORIAL DAY

I had a very intense sickness once and I thought I was dying. I refused to go see a doctor for three days.

When I finally went to seek a professional opinion it was holiday. I had to wait two hours in the urgent care center because every mini-van driving mother in the city was there with her entire clan of children.

At the time, I remember, the wait was horrible. Now, when I look back, I think it must have been worse for those mothers, either that, or they really don't know what to do with their days off.

STRANDED

I used to lock my keys in my car a lot when I was younger.

I now think this was nothing more than a strong avoidance to going to work.

HIGH CLASS WOMAN

I always thought the tree in the hall at work was real. A gaudy woman just informed me that it is not. I asked, "Why, then, are there very real, dead, fallen leaves underneath this very fake tree?".

"To make people believe that it is real" she replied, looking at me as though this should have been obvious.

"Well," I said, "If we don't mind the dead leaves, why not just have a real tree?", doing my best impersonation of her in my delivery.

She looked at me as though this were the craziest idea she'd ever heard and she walked away. I don't think she liked my shirt.

GENIUS

I had a dream the other day that the murky, man-made lake outside my door had been transformed into a storybook paradise. Crystal clear waters, mer-folk, sparking fish and glittery castles underneath-- a complete storybook wonderland.

When I woke in the morning I bolted down the stairs, out the door, and ran down to the water's edge.

It was just as murky as usual. I probably should have known better.

IMAGE

When my friends and I were younger we used to manipulate our lighters in a way that made the flames shoot up six inches high.

It was clearly not a well thought out hobby. We were far too concerned with our image at that time to be putting our faces in such mortal peril.

WISDOM

As a nocturnal creature, how much can an owl really know?

I enjoy it, I laugh at myself. So- pictures and more fun later, hope this is enjoyable as well. :)

Let me know what you think, ya? Personally, for me, they're in order from least favorite to most favorite- but who's the judge?

Outside

{ 09:57, 2008-Apr-2 } { 3 comments } { Link }

This is where I live (with blur, yes!):

literally the view from my front door

when you look to the left

and when you look to the right

You cannot help but fall in love with the world every time you step outside my door. This view comes complete with a mess of ducks and different types of birds in the daytime, spiders and slugs in the evening, one chance spotting (so far) of a river otter, and the sounds of children playing between the hours of 3pm and 8pm. I can't imagine anything more beautiful for myself, I'm in love with it.

.........................................................

When I wake up in the morning I turn off the alarm and wait for the next one to go off. I do this two more times. The fourth alarm is the radio. I get up, I spy out the window by the stairs to see if there's a sun, if there's not I take in the weather from the window- usually just judging how hard it's raining, by watching the ripples in the water. Then I go into the kitchen and I make some coffee. I spend the rest of the morning getting ready while listening to Adam Carolla. Adam is my main source of news anymore, I'm completely avoiding the rest of it (have been since February when, while making a birthday card for Ms. Kimberly out of newspaper, I realized how painfully hard it was to find the word HAPPY in the news). Adam makes me laugh, and he makes me roll my eyes and curse, but mostly he makes me laugh. It's hard to brush your teeth if you're laughing. I take my time getting ready, I let myself become distracted by things inside and outside of my house. I don't have a set time to be at work, and I enjoy the distractions.

Eventually, I drive to work. I listen to KEXP on the way in. I usually hear something new that I decide I love, or something old that I turn up ridiculously loud. I always wish the drive were longer, just to listen to more great music, but it never is, and really, I suppose that's a good thing.

I get to work anywhere between 7am and 10am. I turn on all my gadgets and wait, and wait, and wait, eventually they will all finish turning on. While I wait I go and talk to coworkers, I check the headlines on the OCA website, I find some good music to get me through the day (lately, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Neko Case, or Radiohead). I spend the next 8 hours drawing pictures of weird plane shit that I'm not really into (I find more interest in the way the software works than what I'm doing with it). I daydream a lot. I talk to my Everett friends on MSN IM, I talk to the people I sit with, I play with my phone and research the crazy ideas that come into my head and.. you know, a lot more weird plane shit. I like my job- life distracts me, but I like the things I spend the most time there doing enough to continue smiling and being interested in it, and that's good.

After work I drive home. I listen to KEXP some more. I never wish the ride home were longer, I have got "stuff" waiting for me.

Between getting home and going to bed I am usually:

-out: with friends, walking, running, just sitting on the patio watching the sun and the water play together, listening to the kids play.

-reading: books about people, about food, about what food does to people, about spirit and life and happiness and being, and internet sites about schools or really filtered news about specific things that still doesn't tell me what's going on in the world at large.

-music: listening to it, making it, just dreaming about it.

-cleaning: more like continually unpacking and rearranging.

-cooking: or not cooking, and just eating.

-dancing: alone, and having a blast doing it.

-talking to friends: on the computer, on the phone, on paper letters.

-writing: making lists, writing observations, taking notes from books, making up short stories.

Eventually, I go to sleep. I still don't ever do that because I want to. I do it because I look at the clock and realize I've been up for what most would consider too long, or because I want to wake up before noon. I do it because I've learned that while I am a morning person and night person, I feel much better if I don't deprive my little morning loving side of it's time.

That's what's been going on, on the outside. On the weekends anyway. So, next time, we'll go with the inside.

Here's another picture. The previous ones were from tonight, it was a beautiful sunset, though it doesn't ever photograph well. These are the ducks that march all around the front of my house daily from sun-up to sun-down. I love the ducks. I talk to them and play them music. Mostly they just run away, but they don't run away nearly as quickly anymore. :)

Orange feet ... crazy

Briefly

{ 06:35, 2008-Mar-22 } { 2 comments } { Link }

It's been a very long time, and I've been missing.

But, I'm here now.

I'm here and I'm doing very well. I have a lot to say, and I shall get to it very soon. I'm expected to be showing up somewhere in the eventual future so probably now is not a good time.

For a brief update though:

I've moved, and settled, and I'm doing well.
I've met some amazing people that inspire me in so many ways.
I am learning a lot about life and its forces and they are improving my mind and my well being by leaps and bounds.
I didn't realize how unhappy I was at my last place until I moved to my new place, and I vow to never return to the state I was in while I was there.

And... that's it for now.

I'm off on what I expect to be a very fun, love filled and enlightening road trip.

Sixty-two Days

{ 01:05, 2008-Jan-15 } { 1 comments } { Link }

I have 2 months until my lease is up! YIKES!!! Starting this weekend it's scoutin' time! You know this shit's gonna sneak up on me so damned fast that it's gonna seem like a mess while it's happening, even though I'm sure it will all work its course as it should. I have a roommate lined up in a friend that I went to JRHS/HS with- which is awesome, it's awesome that he even moved up here and we found each other to begin with. But then even better knowing that living together we can both cut our rent costs to afford a better place and not have to live with someone we don't know- amazing! I can't even believe that worked out as well as it did, it's like the fates have somehow put it together so that it would all work out a lot easier. That alone makes me really enthusiastic about the coming should-be-stressful act of looking, inquiring, aquiring.. it's set up so perfectly from the onset that I can't see any major problems popping up to crash it all down! We haven't spent any real time discussing yet, this weekend we're getting to it. My only, very obvious, wants are a house with a fenced yard that allows dogs and less than a half hour drive (in traffic) from work. After that there's no real criteria set yet other than 2+ bedrooms and rent that's not outrageous.

Hahaha, because of the whole only having 2 months thing (if it goes three my current lease goes month to month and increases to $1150/month on terms like that), I'm a little stressed out just wanting to get to it. So, it's all I'm thinking about. Wish us luck- we should be having a big "going over wants/needs/location preference/price range/roommate terms" date this week and everything should tumble out from there- woot!

PS- I got my first cold this last weekend, it was shit. Now I'm better, things are less shit.

Contest (Participate!)

{ 12:54, 2008-Jan-8 } { 4 comments } { Link }

You are in a contest where you will live alone on a deserted island with an endless supply of water and one of the following. The goal of the contest is to live the the healthiest the longest, everyone starting on an even playing field and having the same set of bodily circumstances (if you will), Which of the following foods do you pick: corn, alfalfa sprouts, hot dogs, spinach, peaches, bananas, and milk chocolate.

You can only choose one.

And, just for fun- you can also bring one novelty item. This part is in no way related to the contest, I just want to know, for fun.

My novelty item is the an encyclopedia book for the letter S. I just don't want to be bored. I picked S because it's the first letter of my last name, and I'm sure it will contain fun topics like Socrates, Spain, Sex (and Syphilis), Sartre, Sweden, Science, Slavery, Sociology, Saturn (not to mention Space, The Solar System, The Sun...), String Theory (o,O), and the much overlooked St. Andrew. Holy hell, I really wish I had an encyclopedia- buy me one, donate one.. do et... !

Anyway, that's the contest and that's the game.

Your turn............

Because I'm A Unicorn

{ 11:34, 2007-Dec-21 } { 3 comments } { Link }

Today I fly back home to spend the next 15 days with my family and friends. I'm both excited and saddened by this. Of course, I'm excited to see my parents, my brother, my dogs, my friends- and to enjoy all the time I get to spend with these amazing people. I'm sure will have plenty of good times, and that once I'm there I'll feel really stupid for half of me wanting to stay here right now. My work will be closed until January 2nd, if I were to stay here I would have so much free time to do whatever I want with. I'm in these moods lately where I wish I had more time here, free time. There's so much stuff I want to do- all of it mostly involving freezing my ass off outside and getting to know this other side of nature I never had in my life before. This break would be an ideal time for that, but since I will not be here that's out of the question. I'm equally torn between wanting to be with my family and friends back home and wanting to stay here and be alone right now. It's easier to say right now that I'd rather stay, just because it doesn't involve packing, flying, an entire night of travel hassels. I feel like a dick thinking that though, because there's these pictures of my dogs and my friends and my family all around me at my desk. And also because.. well, I am a total dick anyway, haha.

I have a few plans for the vacation already, but not many. I will probably spend way too much time with my dogs and going for walks and taking them hiking. I swear, all I WANT to do anymore is be outside. Not even doing anything in particular outside. I'd be happy right now just to be sitting at the lake staring out at it. I'm turning into a hippy, I've been using extra soap in the shower to try to wash it off, ha. Anyway- I think mostly I'm a little bit worried because the way I've been feeling lately makes me genuinely happy, I think, perhaps, spending too much time with my friends will get me caught up in the way of life I kind of ditched a few months ago. I was happy then as well, so I suppose it doesn't matter, but this is just.. different.

In news that's not related to my going insane- my job is going well. I have nothing to do today because most everyone is wrapping up for the holiday and doesn't want to start anything new. The project I've been working on has been put on hold because there are two different groups doing it two different ways- we've all had to cease work until we can agree on which way is more effective, after the holiday. So, today, I am pretty bored, just contemplating random things in my head. I had my review on Tuesday, high marks, good news. They seem especially impressed with my communication skills. That made me chuckle a little bit because nobody's ever said that before. These people are on crack. Also, after the holiday, they want to train me up to be their new computing focal. The two people that have that title now want to retire soon, and they've chosen me as their replacement. Can't wait- should be good. Usually, I woudn't give a damn and I'd tell them to shove it- but, I really like it here. I plan to branch out in my experience and work on developing myself to something better within the company. That's a first. I suppose it's good, because this is definitely a better job that I could have thought I'd get so soon, so at least I'm taking it a litter seriously and feeling good about the fact that they're willing to help me develop myself.

My co-worker is going to meet me at the airport, him and his roomate. They're from California, and their flight leaves 5 minutes after mine does. Since we will all be there the same time we're going to have a few drinks and kill those long airport hours together. I'm excited for that. I like Gary, he's very nice, funny and the only one that's close to my age (I think he's 23 or something).

Everyone's discussing lunch. I'm off in two hours. I'm not going, I'm gonna sit here and continue thinking about... randomness.

Peace

{ 10:12, 2007-Dec-18 } { 3 comments } { Link }

Today it's raining and it's windy.

It's "horrible" weather. I've heard that a few times today. I agree, and I don't.

I have been on the verge of tears for about an hour.

I was really caught up in the daily happenings of life earlier, and then, later, they all got dissected and crashed down piece by piece.

I would really like to run away. Not to hide, no.. to be found though. I keep getting these daunting realizations that the world is unspeakably beautiful and that living this way, is not the way to realize it truly. So I was wondering- how many times do you think this? Maybe zero, maybe thousands..

I want to shed everything and just leave. Go out into the world relying on nothing more than what the world wants to give of itself, instead of what society wants to give of itself. So then I almost cry, and this has been happening a lot- I think it's just because everything else feels dirty, but it's hard to escape. The buy in, the sell out, the drive that's wholly placed on the wrong ideals and the fortunes that aren't.

I'm not sure where that leaves me.

December First

{ 10:22, 2007-Dec-1 } { 3 comments } { Link }

December 1st is World Aids Day.

This is still/will always be an issue that's really important to me.

Please take some time to check out some of these websites or others-- look up some statistics and facts (and share them with people you know). Education and awareness are the easiest ways any of us can help.

UNAIDS 2007 Updates

AIDS Education Global Information System

Global Health Reporting - 2007 Statistics

Where you can get tested

On a personal note, one of my friends had to get screened for HIV recently on a doctor's order- he had been sick for weeks and fell into a high risk group. He was really nervous because he didn't have insurance and didn't want to come back positive and then have anyone deny him help if they were to see it as a pre-existing condition (not something he would have had to worry about). I was talking to my mother about this and she told me that I should get screened too, because I share drinks, and all that other stuff that 25 year old friends share, with him. Kind of broke my heart a little. I had to explain to my mother what HIV/AIDS actually is, how it's transmitted, all of that. She really had no idea because she's been married for 32 years, isn't in a high risk group, she didn't grow up with it- it's just not something that ever directly applied to her.

But that's sort of the problem. In my view- these are things that everyone should know about weather they're directly effected or not because EVERYONE is effected, at least indirectly.

Lastly, here's a news story I read a few weeks ago about 4 organ transplant patients who were infected by the organs they recieved:

Medical New Today Article

There's Snow! (+ pictures of snow)

{ 10:06, 2007-Dec-1 } { 4 comments } { Link }

This morning I woke up at 7:30am, and it was a pretty normal morning. I layed in bed for about ten minutes before looking at the time, and when I did I though-- ughh- Saturday, it's way too early!, I got up and poured a big old glass of pink lemonade and went to look out the window. I always look out the window when I wake up since I moved here because it could be rain, it could be fog- it could be all sorts of crazy things I'm not used to seeing, and it entertains me. But today- I looked out the window and got really confused. Everything was white.. really white. Snow. There was snow. Coming from AZ it's just.. insane. Snow.. I've never woken up to snow before. In fact, I've only seen snow once before.. so I did what (I think) anyone would do-- I grabbed my camera and took some pictures to send to my parents and friends because it's just so insane!

So, here's some pictures from around my place this morning:

CRAZY!! I can't believe I live here. And on the first day of December- it seems so fitting. :p

Super-Bug

{ 01:59, 2007-Nov-30 } { 5 comments } { Link }

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday!! Mine was okay, it definitely could have been better though. I flew back into Phoenix on Wednesday night, and I was really happy to be getting home. It was warm out, everything was familiar, I got a huge greeting from my puppies, it was really nice! My mother wasn’t home when I got home because she had to take my brother to the urgent care center for a swollen hand, but I didn’t think much of it. They got home around 2am on the night I got back and then I went to bed after saying hello.

Thanksgiving was alright. We went to my cousin’s house and saw a bunch of family, and her and her husband’s new baby (she’s about 6 mo.). The dinner was alright- I don’t get their idea of a Thanksgiving dinner (4 things to choose from- what is that about?), but the company was good and it was a decent time. My brother didn’t get to go, because of his hand- all the urgent care people had told him was that he had an unspecified infection and some antibiotics should fix it right up. He decided it would be a bad idea to be around the baby, and so he stayed at home and had chicken noodle soup.

After we got back from our holiday outing my mom had another look at his hand and wrist, asked him how he felt, and then took him off to the hospital. It was about 8pm at the time, my dad and I didn’t hear from them again until a few hours later.. at which time my mom called mid-anxiety attack and had to have us come down there to be with her- GREAT! My mom goes a little spastic, you know- she’s a hypochondriac, and gets these anxiety attacks and freaks out when something happens. We get down there and she’s sitting there with the jitters, and losing her mind, can’t sit still- and in contrast, my brother is laying in a hospital bed, totally happy, hooked up to an IV on liquids and morphine. My mom was not happy because the doctors were thinking he had MRSA and wanted him to be transferred to another hospital as soon as a bed opened up there so that he could see a hand specialist (they were afraid they and/or the swelling would damage his nerves and result in him losing some functionality), and also they were suggesting to her that he would very probably be needing surgery because of the massive amounts of swelling (it looked like he had a 500lb man’s hand placed onto his arm- sausage fingers). Great times, I know. My dad and I only stayed about an hour or two. We left because we needed to sleep, and he’s a big enough boy that doesn’t need looking after, but of course- my mom couldn’t leave, she HAD to be there.

The next morning my brother got transferred (around 5am), and was scheduled for a surgery at 8. The hand specialist wanted to cut him open, drain his hand, clean it, take some cultures and then leave him open and go back in and do it the next morning as well. My dad went back down there before the surgery to sit with my mom, and as soon as he was in there he made her come home. My dad went back to sleep (my mom called to wake him up nearly every hour on the hour the night before) and my mom continued pacing the house for a few hours before deciding she had to go back to the hospital. So- I spent most of Friday alone with the dogs… My mom eventually came home (on my dad’s orders), around 8pm and finally got some sleep and such. I went out around 9 and saw some of my friends. (I’ll put up pictures and talk more about that later.)

The next morning nobody was home when I got home (around 7am)- went to the hospital to see the boy into surgery again, so the dogs and I went upstairs and passed out until about 1:30. The parents were back by then and we had some chores to do. A little bit of cleaning (I watched), grocery shopping (I helped)- and then we all went to the hospital. We ended up being there FOREVER! We were only going to stay for a few hours and hang out with him, but then it ended up that right when we were about to leave they decided they were going to release him. His cultures and all the tests came back and showed that the MRSA was only in his tissue. Since it wasn’t in his blood he could go home. Well- it took a about 2 or 3 hours to discharge him… ah… what a drag!

Anyway, that’s the story of my Thanksgiving, pretty much. I went out again for a little bit on Saturday night, and I flew back home (delayed, delayed, delayed) on Sunday, but that was about it really. The trip was just so. It was nice to see my friends, nice to see my dogs, and nice to see my family. But- given the circumstances of everything (not having a car because everyone’s at the hospital, parents are stressed out and all that) it was kind a bla trip. I’m glad he’s better now and all that but- I really wish my trip and him getting MRSA didn’t have to happen on the exact same days.

I get to go back to Phoenix in a few weeks and that will be more exciting! My next trip is 16 days long, so I’ll have plenty of time to not rush around, to see everyone, do plenty, and nobody should be getting sick! I’ll be back with the more fun side of the holiday trip later, and I finally got some pictures sent my way from my friend (stupid, I forgot my camera), so I’ll try to figure out how to put them up!

The Job

{ 01:19, 2007-Nov-12 } { 1 comments } { Link }

I started work about a week after I moved up here. I'm really glad I took this job. I'm so spoiled by work, compared to what I'm used to, that I don't think I'll ever be able to leave.

I'm not doing much work yet since I'm still really new and don't know how to do a lot of things. I spent my first month in a Designer Development Group. It was to gain general knowledge on the software I'll be using. The class was in Everett, about 25 miles north for me, and it turned out to be an hour drive there and back, at least, each day. I'm glad that class is over. I met one or two people there, but still- that drive sucked. I'm still going to classes every few weeks here, but they're closer and they're more centered on what my actual job is. I'll be going to these classes for a few more months until I learn a lot more about how airplanes work.

After that month I got assigned with my team. I work on Product Development. My team does Configuration and Engineering Analysis. I have personalized stationary, haha. I got picked for this team because of my resume, they said that out of the few hundred resumes they recieved from the Designer Development Group mine was the only one that got picked by three leads, independantly, so they decided to go with me. Pretty cool, I guess all that bull-shitting finally payed off! My team is really great, really layed back- all of the other teams aren't and the friends I made in the Designer Development Group say they're constantly busy and working overtime every week. We don't have overtime in my office. There's no need for it. We do our little projects and everything works out. Low stress- can't complain with that. We're "inventors", all of our work consists of coming up with and designing new ideas to improve the planes, so there's really not a lot of deadlines. It's nice, really nice.

On top of that my boss is really great. He doesn't care when we work, how we work, anything like that, just that we're here (or working somehwere anyway) 40 hours a week (not 8 hours a day), and that nobody is complaining about us not doing our work. We get to come in when we want, if we want to leave early we can make up the rest of the day's hours some other time that week, we can take a five hour lunch and come back to finish work later, it's all good. We have to be at our meetings, but that's about it really. Then there's my co-workers, who are all very cool. We talk a lot and play with our little nerf footballs and basketballs, it's good. The guys in my cube are all older than me (okay, everyone is older than me), and they're sarcastic, always ripping on people and having a laugh- in a good way, kind of like hanging out with friends.

I've only got one complaint about this job, and that's the parking. The parking is rediculous. It's nearly a mile from the parking lot to the office, and then you'll get a bad spot anyway just to make the walk extra long. It's chilly on that long walk. There's these covered walkways that lead all the way to the office I'm in, but I'm not sure why because when it is raining it's also windy. The wind just blows the rain right through them, you get wet anyway. I don't mind the parking situation much at all though, it's nice when it's not wet.

I live so close to here that I could walk. I want to walk, but my timing is off all the time. Every morning I want to walk it's just raining down like something crazy. The weather is pretty unpredictable, to me anyway- I'm not good at judging it yet. Seriously, if the cloud cover looked like this in Phoenix everyday, it would also rain in Phoenix everyday. There's clouds that always look like they're going to start raining on you, but then they don't here- that's the part I don't get. It's like a trick I haven't caught on to yet.

But all in all, yes, my job is good. I'm spoiled and it would be hard to ever leave. On top of all that good stuff the sick days and vacation days are great, there's a 10 day paid holiday at Christmas time, they pay for whatever schooling I could imagine, they pay well in general and... is that it? I think that's it... well, and I get cool stationary, but ya, that's it, haha.

Seattle'd

{ 12:41, 2007-Nov-6 } { 1 comments } { Link }

I've been in Seattle for nearly two months. Well, not Seattle- I live in Renton, but it's close. Interesting place, Washington.

I was lucky enough to find a great apartment about 5 hours after I got here, back in September. It's a mile from my work, a mile from Lake Washington, about 10 miles from Seattle. Nice place- on top of a hill, 3rd floor, overlooking the lake, one bedroom, full size washer and dryer, fireplace, stone entry and kitchen, huge bathroom, good patio space looking into a little patch of trees with a clearing that's usually full of crazy creatures. It's a very quiet complex. Couldn't really ask for any place better to spend my first few months here.

I'm keeping my eyes open for houses. Some space to rent that has a yard, that's what I want. I miss my dogs. Two fifty pound animals that are 3 years old can't do without a yard, so my entire goal is to find a decent house with a yard to lease.

I don't have many friends up here. That's different for me. I have a few though, and they're pretty decent. One is a friend of my cowboy and his girlfriend, she moved up here just a few days before I did, so we got hooked up through them. She's alright, she lives a little ways out from here but we go out every now and again. Then there's some people I met through work, kind of. They sort of hooked me up with a "mentor" my first few days, out of another office- like and e-mail buddy. She's alright too and I've met a lot of her friends and.. it's good. I've met some other people here and there also, but none I've gotten numbers or would try to follow up with and maybe befriend. I guess I don't care too much.

Besides a few weekends out with friends I've been keeping really busy doing my own things. Living close to a lake is nice. This is not a lake like the one back home- nobody's ever in it, but it's pretty and it's a lot nicer than Lake Pleasant haha. I get down to the lake a few times a week, just to be there. I've also been going to a lot of shows (two more this week- Feist tomorrow and my local kiddies The Stiletto Formal will be up here on Thursday, couldn't be more excited for both of those shows!). There's a lot of concerts up here that would never come to Phoenix, so I've been enjoying the hell out of them! I end up in Capitol Hill, Pioneer Square and Fremont a lot just going around checking things or going to random clubs or bars or other places. Other than that I've been spending my home time reading mostly, and watching movies. ---O, well reading and watching movies when I'm not busy nearly bruning my building down by attempting to cook, which I've done twice now, haha. So, maybe I don't know how to take a pizza out of a box and toss it into the oven- after all these years I thought I'd picked that one up, obviously the answer is no.

I have a decent amount of really great pictures that I'll try to hook up here soon. We'll see how that goes. I'm stealing interent from.. someone, horray for apartments. Most of the time it's really slow, when it is working, but I don't have any real plans other than just going about doing my own thing at my own pace anymore, so I'm content with it.

Lunch break is over.. cup-o-noodles is amazing when it's chilly outside. Back to work!

Interesting...

{ 12:27, 2007-Nov-4 } { 3 comments } { Link }

Rite...

So, I'm a little confused. This is.. different.