Back to the grind

I'm back from vacation and find myself having to adjust to getting back into the swing of things. Having just had the last ten days off from work has been nice. Spending seven of them in 95+ degree weather was just the icing on the cake.

Cabo was amazing. Since it was considered "off-season" while we were down there, we practically had our resort to ourselves (seriously, I think the resort was only ten to fifteen percent occupied!) All the trepidation that I had before our trip was definitely unwarranted: I had a great time with my mom. Even though we didn't get to talk about all the stuff that I wanted to, it was nice to just spend some nice, quality time with her while we were both enjoying ourselves.

We met a couple on the plane that was spending their 30th anniversary in the sun. It was really coincidental. They were sitting in front of us on the plane ride down, and during some friendly conversation with them, I discovered that this was their first time down in Cabo. Upon further investigation, we realized that they booked through the same company and were staying at our same resort, had the same airport transfer company, etc. Mark and Susan were Cabo "virgins" so I made sure that they knew about the necessities (red light/green light with customs, time-share presentation representatives trying to fool those people waiting for their transportation at the airport, tipping, bargaining, etc.) They made for some great vacation buddies. We had dinner with them a few times and went on a land/sea tour expedition with them. They were such a great couple; I could definitely see spending more time with them in the future.

It was nice to come home to some 80 degree weather, which slowly dropped over the next three days, transitioning me back into the daily grind. While there is still plenty for me to do at home, I'm saving the un-packing, cleaning, and organization until later in the week. It sounds like shit hit the fan at the office while I'm gone, so I may as well enjoy the time to myself now, while I can. I'm going to try and stay in vacation mode as long as possible.

Twenty-eight isn't going to be so bad

Tonight marked the start of my twenty-eighth birthday celebrations. Generally I celebrate my birthday with smaller groups of friends over the course of a week or so. This year it is going to be a little different as I leave for my Mexico vacation the day after my birthday; the festivities will likely work their way into the beginning of October when I get back from Cabo.

I was originally a little trepid about how I would feel about turning twenty-eight. I've come to realize that twenty-eight isn't going to be as bad as I thought. Most of my clients tell me that the thirties will be the best time of my life--I hope they're right.

The girls decided on The Chapel Bar on Capitol Hill. They have a very good happy hour and their food is really delicious. While they were out of quite a bit of stuff from their menu, we managed to find some tasty tidbits to help balance out our alcohol consumption. Word to the wise: the Black Haus cocktail is practically all alcohol; with the exception of the kiwi in your glass, the blackberry infused vodka is pretty much all you're going to enjoy.

It was nice to stop and actually enjoy myself for a few hours without having to think about what I needed to get done before Friday morning and/or what else I need to do at the office, what I still need to get at the store, etc.

T minus 60 hours and counting...

Feeling infinite

When you were growing up did you ever feel infinite? I'm talking about those moments that you realized that there was so much more to life than you could ever imagine. Times when you wish you could make time stand still and savor the moment forever; times when you tell yourself you'll never forget for the rest of your life. I can easily recall several moments. I was thinking today about the last time I'd had one of those moments and realized that I haven't felt like that in such a long time.

I remember the very first time I was honored to experience this feeling. I was out with a friend on Happy Hollow Road in Stanwood (the farthest point away from the city you can go to get away from light pollution) to look at constellations, comets, and shooting stars. It was an August night--during a week when there were hundreds of shooting stars filling the night's sky. At first I wasn't sure about what we were doing: we were in the back of a friend's car looking out the back window, parked in some farmer's land, just feet from a herd of cows and other farm animals. In between shooting stars and star-gazing, we were striking up plenty of conversation. We talked about everything: life's greatest mysteries, past experiences, future goals, and anything else you can possibly imagine. As we sat there staring at the stars shimmering in the sky, I had a moment of clarity: it seemed as though notions of place and space had converged and everything had been perfectly aligned in the world to put the two of us right where we were. Was it a coincidence? It seemed more like fate. Regardless of what it was, that was the first time in my life that I had ever felt infinite. Here I was sitting next to one of my friends that was always just that: just friends; I had never had any feelings for her, well, that is until I had shared such a memorable experience with her. I remember laying there hoping that that moment would never end. We stayed there chatting until the sun came up.

That was my very first moment of feeling infinite.

ARRGH! _NOT_ Boogie!

You all know how much I *LOVE* Janelle from Big Brother and that I was rooting for her to win it from day one. Much to my shagrin she placed third--AGAIN for the second year in a row. I thought that the game turned good when Janelle decided to vote out Will and keep Erika. If only Erika would have kept her word and tried harder in the final competition and take Janelle to the final two. The last person that I wanted to win is Mike Boogie. You can only imagine my disappointment when Mike Boogie won the $500k. I was elated, though, when Janelle won the $25k America's Choice, which means she ended up taking home more money than Erika (who won second place--$50k).

Mike Boogie didn't really deserve to win--he pretty much rode the coattails of Will until he was kicked out of the house. What really pissed me off was that he kept saying, "I just want it for the street cred, etc." He's a fourteen year-old wannabe black kid trapped in a thirty-six year-old white man's body. He says that he is going to use the money as seed money in opening up some restaurants in Atlanta. Other rumors are that he's going to use the money to buy a convertible Bentley. What a friggin' loser!

What I *DO LOVE* however is the interview given the morning following the announcement of the winner given on The View. As Mike Boogie would say, "I have to give props where props are due..." to Rosie. She pretty much kicked his ass. Take a look:


Here's to hoping that we'll see my Janey Doll on some future reality tv show(s). GO JANELLE!

September 11th

I just finished watching the second part of The Path to 9/11 and now have some conflicting feelings. I'm really disappointed that they took an event such as 9/11 and fictionalized parts of it. I'm not sure how much of the movie was fiction versus fact, however, I am completely shocked that there wasn't more fallout from the various intelligence agencies that dropped the ball and let people slip through the cracks. The only thing that I can wish for is that people become informed with the facts of what really happened and made their own, informed decisions on what happened, and use that knowledge at the polls.

The events of September 11, 2001 were so devastating to everyone. While I didn't personally know anybody who perished in any of the events of that horrible day, I can try to sympathize with those people who lost a love one; I can only imagine how each anniversary brings home their loss, especially when all the news channels repeatedly show the clips of the planes crashing into the towers. What really broke my heart today was an article I read on MSNBC.com that said that the pregnant widows from 9/11 are now having to answer to their children (who are would be between 4 and 5 years old) about what happened to their dad and why he isn't around. That is too sad for words.

What are we doing about preventing such attacks from happening in the future? I have some doubts about what our administration is doing to tackle this topic. This is a real hot topic these days and everyone seems to have passionate views about it. I'm hopeful that people will remain steadfast in their views, filter through the campaign advertisements as the elections near, and vote with that same passion.

Great poem

I was watching TV this afternoon and while flipping through the channels, I came across In Her Shoes just as Cameron Diaz's character was reciting an EE Cummings poem, and it just reminded me how much I really love this poem.

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
                                    i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)