California Dreamin’

So, since it’s tax season, I feel it only fair to mourn the sad fate of our friends from California…

ARTICLE ABOUT CALIFORNIA TAX RETURN IOU’s

I’m sorry Cali. 😦

truly.

These Friends Of Mine

Tonight was so fun!  Me and my small group had a game night and it was so fun!!  We played APPLES TO APPLES:

But the funny part is that Jessica had this one card that said THE SAN ANDREAS FAULT and it was like, this ridiculously odd card out that did not fit ANY of the words that were coming up. So we kept joking about how ridiculous the card was and it was just making us laugh so hard…cause it was a completely worthless card. So then it was my turn as we were finishing up the game and my word was OUTRAGEOUS and everyone handed in really great cards, and Jess threw in THE SAN ANDREAS FAULT and it was seriously so funny (in one of those ‘guess you had to be there moments’) that I chose it as a winner.

but wait, it gets better…

so then after discarding the other cards, I secretly hang on to that specific card and re-play it when Joseph called out a word where it totally made NO sense whatsoever to use that card.

and when he called it out, me and Jessica busted out laughing! And then she was like, girl, why did you play that on his card? You should play it on mine and I’ll automatically pick yours as the winner! So after he put the discard pile cards down, I snuck that same San Andreas Fault card AGAIN… and then, Jessica was like, “Hey Amanda, you should pick a card for me…”

So i picked the card PERFECT, which was hilarious cause I knew I was gonna win it! So we went through the motions and I’m pretty sure everyone was annoyed, cause she totally picked mine over all the other actually factually good ones… but I won the card! hahahahhahahahaha!

We were seriously laughing so hard! And since the jist of it is that whatever cards you get, somehow describe you, I was glad I picked perfect…cause my other two sucked…and totally DIDN’T describe me! not that perfect does either…but overall… the night was PERFECT!!

so sneaky

jessica and her husband joseph tied for first

i love my small group!

The Boob Fairy

http://www.youtube.com/v/2Ctz5T7AHpc&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1

My co-worker Leah introduced this song to me and I die laughing every time I hear it!  Granted, I’m not lacking in this area, but it’s just genuinely funny!!  It’s a song by a chick named Dierdre Flint.

Here are the lyrics:

When I was in my teenage years, I did just what I should
I listened to my mother and I was kind and sweet and good
And my friends and I did rituals and I prayed with all my might
That this would be the evening that she’d stop along her flight
Well, that was several years ago and that chick’s long overdue
And it’s time I came to terms with something plainly clear to you.

The boob fairy never came for me
No, the boob fairy never came for me

Okay, I’m perky and I’m cute and I’ve got a great personality
But the boob fairy never came for me

Well, we were the third house on a country drive, I thought
Maybe she just got lost, so I hung my bra on the mailbox
Til the neighbors took it off
And all my friends got visits and expanded through the years
And left me wailing to the gods buying training bras at Sears
Still I harbor hopes, she’ll come for me, I know she will
I’d get ’em done myself if she’d agree to split the bill
The boob fairy never came for me
No the boob fairy never came for me

Look, I wasn’t wanting melons, just a cute curvaceous B
But the boob fairy never came for me.

This isn’t a song about boobs. Not really. 

The boobs are just a set of metaphors to symbolize everyone’s 

fear of human inadequacy. 

Hey! We’ve all felt the pain of being dissed by one fairy or another,

 so during the next refrain I want you to join in with your 

own fairy that never paid a call. Maybe it’s the height fairy or the butt nymph. 

Men, maybe it’s the pectoral or hair fairy or maybe 

some other fairy you just want to mumble about. 

Look, nobody’s going to ask you to enunciate. 

And sisters, I don’t want you feeling alienated 

because you happen to be full-figured. 

Just change the line to the boob fairy wouldn’t let me be or 

the boob fairy became obsessed with me. 

Okay, here comes the refrain. 

Everybody join in.
The boob fairy never came for me
No the boob fairy never came for me
Though the hip fairy came two times
and the thigh fairy came three
The boob fairy never came for me.

Drive In, Drive Out

Isn’t she lovely…doot doot…isn’t she beautiful… doot doot…

Okay, enough with the love song… though I must admit… that beauty of a car sure deserves it.

So before I left to come up to Seattle, I sold my car, which is awesome cause it was all profit (the car was given to me as a donation). And since I’ve moved, my father has (on more than one occasion) offered to buy me a car. A Mini Cooper, by the way. And though I feel like a complete dirtbag most of the time for turning down his awesome offer, I rest assured in the fact that I can get to and fro in Seattle just by using the Metro Transit system. I mean, I do sometimes wish I had one, but for some pretty selfish reasons, like wanting to just drive to IKEA (which is in Renton- outside of Seattle) or to Alki Beach or to West Seattle to explore. But on the other hand, I’m super glad I don’t have to pay for insurance or gas or damages…or my ever frequent traffic violations. Yes, I know. I’m a model citizen… NOT. I’ve gotten my share of legitimate speeding tickets, I’ve changed lanes withouth signaling (yes. i’m THAT girl…sorry), and I’ve cut people off on the highway. But dont’ worry, I won’t be doing any of that anytime soon.

I say all this for two reasons.

ONE: I was reading an article on msn.com about how the Mini Cooper is actually one of the top choices for cars with the most value. Now, after having a car crush on the Mini (specifically the indi blue with white racing stripes), I must admit… if I were to BUY MY OWN CAR, the Mini would win, hands down.

and TWO: I read another article that made me think about all the crazy driver things I do, and how much of a hypocrite I am because I would pitch the biggest fit if anyone damaged my Mini Cooper due to being distracted by silly things like putting on make-up, changing the station, or trying to be a Speed Racer (all things I’ve done before). I’ve actually had a conversation once with my friend, Don about how astounding the human brain is, in regards to everything we do when we drive. In that car ride discussion, Don pointed out that he was driving, paying attention to other drivers, thinking ahead about directions, talking, listening to me speak, as well as everyone else in the car and listening to music. Which seems pretty standard, but when you think about all the attention needed to successfully stay in between those bright yellow lines, it still makes me drop my jaw in awe of the power of the brain. It reminded me of an excerpt from the arcticle I just referenced, which I’ll post here, since you may not follow the link to actually read the article.

A recent study of cell-phone use while driving, published in the journal Brain Research, helps explain why. When the brain is asked to tackle two tasks at once, it gives priority to the more deeply ingrained skill. Since we learn to talk before we learn to drive, our brain power goes into the conversation instead of onto the road, causing us to miss visual cues and experience impaired peripheral vision and coordination. Researchers suggest that the same holds true for other distracting activities, which means that magazine-reading, mascara-applying and toddler-disciplining drivers are very likely at the same risk of accidents as cell phone users.

Imagine, then, what occurs in the brain of someone engaged in not just two activities, but three or four. Talking, eating and driving. Driving, shaving and singing. Perhaps the most outlandish documented example of multitasking while driving comes from research conducted by Nationwide Insurance in 2007: A respondent from San Antonio, Texas, admitted to having shaved her legs, eaten a taco, applied makeup and consumed an alcoholic beverage all at the same time. Against the odds, she lived to tell her story.

I’ll See You In My Dreams

When I left the house this morning, it was raining…which is nothing new…but then it got lighter and lighter as i traveled from Northgate to downtown to Queen Anne…and now it’s bright and sunny outside!

I recently found out that my 10 days of vacation don’t kick in until I’ve been here a year, so naturally, since I know I can’t do something, I feel the need to do it anyway… so today I looked out the window as I started eating my lunch and I went on a little imaginary vacation!  😀

I started out with a visit to Seaside, CA to visit K.Rowe and we had coffee at Starbucks and brought it to the library on campus because we A) prefer Starbucks to Peets, B) think that Peet’s should know they suck, and C) absolutely HEART the library… i mean really, how do you beat great conversation surrounded by books and starbucks? We chatted for a few hours and then we went to the theater to see Coraline together.  It got kinda dark and scary, so i distracted Kel with some random jokes to take her mind off the creepiness.  Then we went to dinner at a local pizza joint and laughed and laughed some more and talked about Kip, the YouTube guy and about friends back in Austin.  She gave me a giant hug as her and Amanda Beartinez sent me off on my ‘Bjork Cloud’ as I took a shortcut to Bakersfield…

To see Lisa!  And to have tea with Lisa as we talked about creativity and writing and life post MC.  Then I had to hurry and catch the plane to Colorado to see Brooksie & Hannah, Brenty Poo, Seanny Wafa & his beautiful bride, and Gracie Loo & Sean O.B.  We all met up together at The Melting Pot and talked about our lives and shared great memories and Brooks told me all about some new jobs he was doing as well as some new programs to check out for my Mac.  Then I’d give everyone giant hugs and hop on my super turbo segway and speeding off to the ATX…

To see my family…everyone!  I had lunch with dad and cindy, dinner with mom, lunch with my brother, and dinner with my sister and the kiddos  😀  Then I took Vanessa and Annabelle out shopping and out for dinner at Chick Fil A!  After stuffing our faces with chicken nuggets, waffle fries and sweet tea, I bought Vanessa 2 brownies before taking them home to their mom (yes, I do this often…hey, it’s what i’m here for! 😉  ) 

I had to catch a quick nap and then when I woke up, I borrowed my mom’s mini van to go to Genuine Joe’s to have lunch with the MCA staff!  We laughed and laughed and talked about life and about random SNL skits and other fun stuff.  I ordered the Obama Mocha (it’s delish!) and made sure to get whip cream on my nose like I always do. P.Dan gave me the “oh brother. there she goes again” look and Norphy just shook his head slowly while staring at the ground.  :D… mission accomplished!  When we got back to the MC office, I took all the 2nd and 3rd years out to lunch at Freebirds and we stuffed our faces with awesome burritos!  Then I walked over to the worship center and went upstairs to hang out with Brian, Justin and Datkins in their office/s as we laughed and laughed and told hilarious jokes!  For dinner, P.Jesse and Crista invited me over for din (mom’s mini van saves the day again!) and we got to talk about the amazing time I’m having in Seattle and I just get to enjoy their company so much!   It was about 9:00 p.m by the time I got back to central Austin and decided to call up a bunch of MCA alumni to join me for some fun times and coffee at Epoch…and they ALL came!  Some of my high school friends even showed up!  After a few hours of that I decided I should get some sleep before I had breakfast with Lainer Bob and the Masbruchs.  We all overslept (cause we can) and decided to just do brunch at Shady Grove.  We had great food, and after talking about all there is to talk about, I was ready for a siesta…  but with this vacation coming to a quick end, I gave them big hugs and took mom’s mini van (a la my brother) and drove to Louisianna…

Where I was greeted with giant hugs and smiles from all my friends at OSC in Broussard!  I got to go to lunch with all of them and just reminisce and talk about their lives and what’s going on and I got to give Kayla a special hug, because I wanted to make sure that baby Norman felt the love too!  We laughed so hard and just encouraged one another and I left feeling like a piece of me was back…but not complete yet, because I still needed to make a few more stops…like the one to the ATL!…

Where I had dinner with Joy and Britt!  They indulged me by joining me for a little shopping at Atlantic Station before we headed back to Joy’s for an impromptu slumber party…full of chocolate and fun snacks…and healthy food too..of course  😉  .   The next morning I made us all breakfast tacos and after grabbing my To Write Love On Her Arms shirt from Joy’s closet, I decided to fly to BALTIMORE, MARYLAND…

To see my BEST EVER FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!  We had such a great time hanging out.  We called up Stacey and invited her to join us for some fun down by the Inner Harbor…and we were lucky because she showed!  We got burgers and Thrasher’s fries and headed to the Aquarium for some fun and then sat by the pier and just talked about how much we’ve changed since we last saw one another.  When out of the blue, Sarah had the perfect idea: LET’S ALL GO GET PEDICURES in the Galleria!  So we did.  Eventually, I had to say bye to Stacey cause me and Sarah were going to go have dinner with her parents, and then Sarah was going to join me for my next stop.  We hopped in her car and took of with laughter.  After singing about 100 songs out loud, obnoxiously off key, we pulled into a parking garage in…

TIMES SQUARE!  We spent the rest of the evening walking around the square and then headed to our luxury hotel suite.  After sleeping in and ordering room service, we had a great QT together and decided to hit the town!  We had so much fun walking around Times Square and going to Rockefeller Center and Central Park!  That night, we had a nice dinner (meatballs) and watched The Phantom Of The Opera live on Broadway.  The next day we decided to take a short trip to DC and go check out the National Mall and the Holocaust Museum…and we just enjoyed each other’s company so much!  Our last stop together was Syracuse to see her mom’s side of the family!  I had so much fun hanging out with my 2nd family and just loved seeing everyone again!

But alas, the trip was ending… so I hopped a red-eye flight back to the West Coast…and had a 7 hour layover in Anchorage, Alaska!  Danny Allen came to pick me up from the airport while the airport USO held my stuff in their storage locker…and me and Danny went out to eat and just spent so much time laughing and reminiscing about the MCA days!  And after I gave him a hug, just for old time’s sake….I threw a carton’s worth of eggs at him and said, “hmm.. shoulda worn your black clothes!”  hahahahaha!  Then I hopped on the flight back to Seattle and spent the next day hanging out with all my friends here in Seattle!  😀

It was a whirlwind of a trip!  😀

Brand New World

I HAVE GREAT NEWS!!! 😀 I GOT THE JOB!! I’m going to be doing layout editing as a publications assistant at Rational Island Publishing! I’m so thankful and grateful to everyone who has been praying with me and for me that the right job would open up! It totally did! I’ll be getting paid well, doing what I love! This is a giant answer to prayer and I’m so glad I get to share this great news with you guys!

And to add a cherry on top, I’ll also be doing some part time video editing for them, which will only increase my skills and challenge me to embrace more and more creativity! A lot of people have been asking how far it is from where I work, so I figure I’d include a map of sorts so you can see:

The place I’m working at is located in the lower area of the Queen Anne neighborhood and the bus runs straight from my area to the job area…so I only have to take ONE bus!! My neighborhood (Northgate) is the “A” and the job site is “B.” And the office I’ll be working in has two huge windows where I can see the waterfront and Seattle Center! I start this Thursday and I’m SO excited!

Trash / Treasure

Today I did something that I have never even contemplated doing before in my entire life. I went dumpster diving for bread today. I must admit that I am very prideful when it comes to things like dumpster diving. I only did it once when I was a teenager, and it was because it was at a thrift store and there was some peer pressure involved. Well, Jason (a guy in my small group) offered to give me a ride home from Westside today and on the way, he was like, “I need to stop at the bread dumpster on the way home.” So I agreed to go and the whole time I had to convince myself that it wasn’t going to be completely gross.

So for those who are curious about why I would go dumpster diving for bread, let me give you some context.

There’s this bakery in Fremont (neighborhood in Seattle) where they have dumpsters full of bread that they didn’t sell the day before (or something like that)…so it’s good bread, and it’s in packaging…but you just go and pick what you want out of the dumpster. there were like 10 other people out there with us all foraging for bread! it was funny. but i don’t have a new job yet and it’s free…so i did it.

Since I can be a germ-aphobe about some really silly things, i just kept calling it a “bread bin” so the inner germ-aphobe wouldn’t jump out of me. it wasn’t unsanitary…but when i think of dumpsters…that’s my first thought. but it was quite good. and i got a ton of free bread. 😀

So now I don’t have to worry about buying bread for the rest of the month!

Here’s some pictures of the foraging:

also…another funny thing happened to me today!

I was waiting for the bus to come so I could go to church…and this guy pulls off the road, into this jiffy lube parking lot… and rolls down his window. Now, I’m standing at the bus stop in jeans and a long sleeve shirt, covered by my big black trench coat, and a knit scarf (from my best friend!) and listening to my iPod. So I see him, as I’m looking up the road for the bus to come. And he rolls down the window so I’m thinking, “Oh. He must need directions.” So I walk closer to him and he tells me his name (which i don’t remember) and asks me for mine. So I (reluctantly) tell him, “Amanda.” And he goes, “I was just wondering if I could give you my phone number.” and I’m like, “No thank you.” And he goes, “Well, can I have yours?” and I’m like, “Um. No. I’m sorry. I’m not interested.” And he says okay. And then pulls out of the parking lot and continues driving down the road!

Now I know a lot of you are thinking, “GOSH AMANDA! GIVE THE GUY A SHOT! HE COULD BE THE ONE!” And let me tell you…he wasn’t attractive..he wasn’t white (I like white guys)…and he was old…like in his upper 30s lower 40s. So..no. I don’t think I missed out.

I know he wasn’t attracted to my body…cause you can’t see it in that trench coat.
I know he wasn’t into my personality…cause he doesn’t know me…and seeing someone at a bus stop doesn’t give you insight into that. I could’ve been a psycho!
I think he was just really desperate for a Valentine’s day date. 😦

Wild Thing…dun nun…dun nah nah…you make my heart sing…

I CAN’T BELIEVE IT! The day has finally come, in an age of great film technology, where there is a good opportunity for WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE to become a great film! I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the book, but I grew up reading it over and over and over again! It’s such a great imaginative story!

For those not familiar with the book, here is the link to the Wikipedia entry for the book:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_the_Wild_Things_Are

And here’s the IMDB link for the movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386117

I am really really really excited to see this book come to life! I know that a while back, a studio was trying to make it but it didn’t follow through. And there really is a lot of stress to get the characters, the look, the storyline just perfect! I mean, this isn’t just one of my childhood favorites, it’s the same for a lot of other people!